Year in Review
While writing this blog, I reminisced quite a bit about this past year. Before delving into the details of my thoughts on transitioning home, I want to take you on a journey down memory lane, back to our beginnings almost 20 months ago.
This was the first turn over we ever experienced with the bus, I think my reaction explains our emotions that day.
Still just a stripped down yellow school bus with three naive guys standing in front it having no clue what they just signed up for.
We used this picture on all of our thank you cards this year. I think it is burned into my memory because we constantly had thank you’s to be writing to people along the way.
The ultimate christening.
I will say I’ve forgotten the reality of the pace of life. We stepped off the LOST Bus almost three weeks ago, but I’ve felt like the days have flown by already. The adventure of making new friends in unknown cities, although more spur-of-the-moment and chaotic at times, was slow. It's funny; you'd think that being in a place you're accustomed to would reduce your pace. Maybe it was because every single moment was cherished. Even the dull situations were special because they would always be new.
We arrived back in Charleston, with a few days to spare before our year-long mark. To fill our last days, we joined our friend Nancy Neil, who works at 180 Place, an organization that believes everyone deserves a home and helps end/prevent homelessness in the Charleston area. We also served nearby to Charleston in a town called McClellanville, at Windwood Farms, which houses youth from the foster system on a beautiful property with a school and endless recreation for them to enjoy while going through transition. Serving these days in our area was heartwarming as we made friends at these new places who will impact our direct community. People we'll be close to and interact with in the future.
Nancy and the bus boys
The three of us knew that we needed to have some solid reflection about the past year before letting our normal lives carry us away. So, we spent one night during our last week, away from friends who were eager to see us return and reminisce. We took on the daunting task of scanning the entire ceiling, full of signatures of people we now share all these memories with. Although it took us a solid three hours to do this, we were reminded of the heartwarming experience we've had the privilege of sharing with so many people across the country. Much of the credit goes to our hosts. I think it would be easy to be skeptical when three strangers show up on a school bus with this outlandish offer to be helpful. But that was never how we were received, at least from our perspective. People didn't think we were THAT strange. We were shown love wherever we went.
To each and everyone who helped make this year possible, we give tremendous thanks. We constantly felt adopted by families along the way. Meals were provided, deep and rich conversations were had, and mothers became stressed when we would share our adventures. If we didn't have the support of those we encountered, I could easily believe we would have run out of stamina this past year. These newly adopted friends were our payment for this year's experience, the driving force that kept us going. From here onward, we will rarely travel the country without stopping in to see the people we shared this year with.
One of the originators of The LOST Bus, Ben Tucker, spoke to us about how he can't watch the news anymore since spending his time on the bus. The negativity, the divisions, nowhere seems like a safe place to go. I didn't watch the news much this past year; I got to see the country and what was happening in it for myself. And yes, there is a lot of hurting that exists - disasters, homelessness, poverty, and broken communities. But there are people out there making a difference. Throughout all our weeks, we partnered with someone already doing great things in their community to give them a boost in their mission. That's a full year of staying busy with difference makers all across the country. I consider this my own true reflection of the country, and we live in a great one.
As for the current state and future of the bus, it is currently parked in the front yard of our new residence in Charleston. I think the neighbors were quite curious about who we were when we moved in. It also makes a great landmark when describing your house: "the one with the big blue bus in the driveway." But this parking spot will only be temporary. We have begun the hunt for the next trio of busmates to travel and serve in this unique home, and soon we hope to see it back on the road. We are thrilled for the next chapter of the bus, to see where others will take it and how they will encounter the country the same way we did. I'll always smile at the thought of three boys arriving in a new community with a huge blue bus and asking the simple question, "How can we help?" That practice is far from over.
Below is a gallery of every thumbnail we used on our blogs this past year. I hope these images bring back memories of the stories we shared to you. For us, these photos unlock precious moments we got to share together this past year. Thank you for reading along with us this year. We'll continually update our LOST Bus community as the next chapter unfolds.
