Everyone knows that traveling of any kind requires a certain amount of patience & flexibility. But what happens when your so-called plans are completely thrown out the window & everything is turned completely upside down? A few days ago Ryan & I left sunny San Diego for two weeks in Europe. We left with the assumption that our plans would go, well, according to our plans. Looking back now, however, we can see that there was purpose even in the midst of chaos. After 3 hours of mechanical delays at JFK our Delta flight to Rome was canceled, which then sent 300+ very irritated passengers literally scrambling to find another flight- any flight- to mainland Europe. Thanks to our guardian angels at Kahala Travel and the grace of God, were able to get on an Iberia flight to Madrid. Once we made it to Madrid we then took a flight to Rome, where upon arrival we were informed that our luggage was missing with no record of it anywhere. At this point we’d been traveling well over 24 hours & all we wanted to do was get to our hotel & take a shower. Instead after a few hours of making phone calls & filing lost luggage claims, we left the airport with nothing else to do but wait & hope for the best. And while our first reaction wasn’t exactly one of enthusiasm, we both knew that there was a bigger lesson to be learned…one that went beyond our agendas or control. God was giving us a gift in learning what it was like to live, very simply, with the clothes on our backs; and quite frankly in a way that I wasn’t used to traveling. So for the next 2 and ½ days we became experts at sink washing & blow dryer drying, re-wearing the same clothes we’d left home in. –And with the day of our arrival falling on a national holiday, most stores would be closed till Monday. Buying new clothes was pretty much not an option. Yet in the midst of it all we were able (most of the time) to keep our perspective, knowing that we were had each other and (almost!) more importantly –we had our camera equipment!

We’ve since been reunited with our bags & can now look back & laugh at how for the first 3 days of our trip we are both wearing the exact same thing in every picture. And of course, the image of both us in our matching size XL undershirts & shorts from our amazingly handy little Iberia toiletries bags is priceless. Having to make do with whatever we could find & not worry about what we didn’t have was in a way, surprisingly refreshing; you can’t be tied down to what you don’t have. We are excited now for all the amazing destinations through Italy, Greece & Turkey that are ahead of us. After catching up on some much needed sleep & working through this jet lag I hope to be able to write more and post some of the amazing photos we’ve been able to capture thus far!! Tomorrow we head to Istanbul, which should be absolutely fascinating!

So today, take a minute to reflect on what’s going on at this moment. Can you find simplicity in the midst of chaos? Perhaps there’s a bigger purpose at work around you. Thanks for taking the time to read about the exciting start to our trip & I hope you’ll follow us through this amazing Journey we’re on.

Early morning on the Spanish Steps