One of these days, we'll look back and laugh...

Hello,

This is Ben writing the blog today. It’s rather long, because a lot has happened already!

Our trip to Washington DC got off to an interesting start to say the least. It began rather normally, with no problems during the drive to Cincinnati. We arrived in Cincinnati at around 8 p.m. and checked into our hotel, which was only about a mile from the train station where we were to catch our train at 3:14 a.m.

After checking into the hotel, we decided to go out for dinner. We walked around Fountain Square, which was full of people watching a movie on a giant outdoor screen. We found the Rock Bottom Brewery and enjoyed a good meal there, then we headed back to the hotel.

We had decided we would leave the hotel at around 2 a.m. to make sure we had plenty of time to board the train. In the meantime, I decided to call Amtrak just to make sure the train was running on time. The information line said that the train was running 28 minutes late and wouldn’t be leaving until 3:42 a.m. So, we decided to leave around 2:30 so we wouldn’t have to wait around in the train station.

Using our Mapquest (use at your own risk, by the way) directions, we made a few turns and looked for exit 1H, the one we were supposed to take for the train station. We saw exits 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G, then exit 2. So exit 1H doesn’t exist. “No big deal,” we thought, since we still had more than an hour before the train was to depart Cincinnati. Kay, Vicki and Allison were following us in Kay’s car, so I called Vicki and told her what we were doing. We took exit 2, and decided we would head back in the right direction. There happened to be a 24-hour McDonald’s at that exit, so I decided to stop for a cup of coffee, since we still had at least an hour before the train departed. As I was paying for my cup of coffee, my phone rang. I noticed Cincinnati’s 513 area code in the caller ID, and couldn’t imagine who it could be.

I answered, and the man on the line asked to speak to Erin, so I handed the phone to her. I heard her explaining to the man how the train was delayed according to Amtrak’s 800 number. She hung up and said the train was leaving in 15 minutes. She tried to explain to them what their information line told us, and he rudely told her not to argue with him.

We were between the drive-thru windows, and I had paid for my coffee, but not picked it up yet. Needless to say, I peeled out of the line, and headed to the train station. It was like a chase scene from the Dukes of Hazzard: Church-van Style, with the only near-casualty being a man filling a newspaper vending machine on a corner we cut a little too close. We found the exit for the train station and took it. Kay, Vicki and Allison, however, did not—we saw them go right past it.

And so began the most stressful chain of events that I’ve experienced so far in my life.

We were unloading luggage like crazy people, and I was trying to manage my luggage as well as two telephone conversations at once. We were trying to stay in contact with Vicki, as well as get all the kids to the boarding gate. No one in the missing party was sure where they were or where they were going, and I knew that another train wouldn’t be heading to DC until Tuesday. We were all praying that everyone would make it on time, but it was also difficult to manage our anger (or my anger) at the Amtrak employees who could not seem to fathom why we were late.

When we told them what their information line said, they told us that the information was unreliable. “No $#*%,” I thought, or might have even said. They told us repeatedly that the train would not wait for anyone.

While everyone was getting ready to board the train, I was out in the parking lot trying to get the others to the train station. When Vicki said, “I see it!” referring to the giant clock (the irony!) on the front of the train station you can imagine the sense of relief I felt knowing that I would not have to single-handedly strap myself to the tracks in front of the train to keep it from leaving, like people do to prevent their favorite tree from being cut down or save an old building from the wrecking ball.

As everyone made their way to the platform, Kay, Vicki and I noticed some of our party’s luggage that was still in the waiting area with no one there to carry it. I still don't know how the three of us got all that luggage to the platform, up and down all those stairs and ramps. Seriously, we were so loaded down that we stopped just short of being like that African tribe that balances their every possession on top of their heads.

When we finally got on the train and sat down, and the conductor started checking our tickets, I had tears in my eyes—I guess from both stress, and the relief that we were all on board together and safe. The fact that I had been awake for nearly 24 hours probably also played a part. Anyway, the conductor told me not to worry, that everything was going to be ok.

Once everything was calm and the train was moving, I thought about how I had acted during those stressful minutes, and I didn’t like what I was remembering. Instead of keeping my cool, I snapped at Erin, who had done nothing but help me. I also barked orders to a few of the kids. I even got in the face of a woman I didn’t know about the extra luggage I had been carrying. “Whose bag is this?!?” I was shouting. She just looked at me, and, not lowering my voice I said, “I don’t even know you!” As you might imagine, running into her on the train later was more than a little awkward.

So, I’ve decided that I will try my hardest to handle such situations more diplomatically and more Christian-like in the future.

After a long, long time on the train, we finally made it to DC, where the stress met us once again. It was difficult getting everyone and everything off the train, and on to the subway, but we did it. Everyone handled things a little better this time, even when at the very moment we all boarded an escalator, it ceased to move.

We found the Church of the Epiphany, where we’re staying, very quickly, and Ali L. greeted us at the door. She is an intern for Youth Opportunities Service Project, with whom we’re working on this trip. She oriented us to the building and the area around us, and told us some of the exciting things we’ll be doing this week.

We’re staying in the upstairs gymnasium of the church, which is really old. There is an elevated track that runs the circumference of the gym, but we were told to stay off of it, as it is not sound.

We ate at a McDonald’s about a block away from the church, then went back to the church to take showers and go to bed.

Stay tuned for more adventures, and keep us in your prayers!

The FCC Mission Team

Photos 1 and 2: The group enjoying a nice meal at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Cincinnati before the train debacle.

Photo 3: Hannah, Megan, Cara and Sam wait for breakfast to be served on the Cardinal.

Photo 4: Vicki and Kay try to catch some Z's on the train.

Photo 5: Ben and Erin take a moment from their Railroad French Toast to pose for a photo.