8/20/2012

Super Shopping Extravanganza

Since I have landed in Budapest, I have been going non stop. That first night I was in la-la land, a trans Atlantic flight will do that to a person, and the excitement of being 'home'. I went into school that night I landed to call my parents to tell them I made it safely, but I ended up going up to see my new classroom and what kind of shape it was in. They already had moved my stuff, and at 2pm the next day the maintenance guys were coming to move the furniture to where I wanted it. I have the largest upper elementary class and so they moved me to the end room which is the largest, which means not only is my home unsettled, but also my classroom. Approximately 24hours later it hit me, the honeymoon is over! I discovered mold on some window frames, and was filled with the unsettled feeling again. Well little did I know what God had in store for the weekend! Enjoy!


Now, on to the main event.  The Harrowing Tale of a Superstore Shopping Extravaganza brought to you by Megan Stewart and DeAnn Nelson.
The day started innocently enough.  The previous night, our heroes borrowed a minivan from a missionary family so that they could make a few very important trips to IKEA, Tesco, Jysk, and a number of other superstores.  In an attempt to keep from scraping the side of the van with the edge of the narrow garage, Megan had to roll the window down in order to listen to DeAnn as she guided her safely out to the street.  Unfortunately, what neither of them realized was that the motor for the window on the extremely quirky minivan tends to go on strike.  So, now they were unable to park on the street (or in a parking lot of a superstore) so their plans came to a screeching halt.  Luckily, the school has a lovely parking cage in order to (hopefully) secure it safely overnight. 
On Saturday, they had a leisurely morning and made their way to the school for a few hours of work and access to "Plan B" – borrowing the principal’s van while she stayed at school to work.  They made their way across town to the jungles of IKEA (where pregnancy season in Budapest was clearly in full bloom i.e. at least a dozen were spotted).
Shopping there went smoothly enough.  There was nothing to foreshadow the trials to come.
As a kind gesture, our heroes knew that there was no way their kind principal would accept cash for gas.  In an attempt to circumvent her denial, they made a “quick” detour to the nearest gas station.  In this strange and foreign land, with Megan freshly having arrived from America, unleaded seemed the automatic choice.  Unfortunately, upon payment and after many minutes of attempted communication, she realized that the van was diesel only.  Uh-oh.
Decisions needed to be reached.  Panicked phone calls were made.  What to do in this tragic situation?!?!  There were many prayers lifted up and much advice sought.
Meanwhile, DeAnn turned into an action hero.  Jumping out of the car and racing down the Balatoni, she ran to school in order to retrieve the original vehicle which still had a half open window.  Driving was not something she had intended on doing that day.  More prayers were lifted up as she crossed the highway and tried to look like she understood what all of the traffic laws were.
Upon arrival back at the gas station, they quickly jumped into action to transfer their purchases from the temporarily-out-of-commission vehicle to the quirky-somewhat-working vehicle.  As the owner of the out-of-commission vehicle talked to his mechanic, scenarios and dollar signs were flashing through Megan’s head.  But there was nothing to be done.  The goods were then safely delivered to their home.
Upon departure, everything changed.
God answered their prayers. 
Megan received a phone call from the owner asking for specifics of the unfortunate blunder.  Upon hearing that 5 liters of unleaded fuel had been put into a half full diesel tank, his advice was to fill the rest of the tank up with diesel (which is what the gas station clerk suggested…) and that everything would be as good as new.  Well, as new as possible.  Praise the Lord!
As the girls praised en route to complete their task, Megan decided, why not try to roll up the window again.  Lo and behold, up she went!!  More praises!
And they lived happily ever after.
The End.

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