"Lord, thank you for this day and that we can come together and worship you. Also, let us have a safe trip to Bethlehem. Amen." Mr. Chris prayed as we prepared to depart for "Bethlehem". No, we weren't going to the real one. We were going to a "Back to Bethlehem" festival at a church on the outskirts of Canton.
"Back to Bethlehem" is a celebration that some churches participate in to make the experience of Jesus' birth somewhat a reality. Almost everyone in "Bethlehem" are actors who are villagers (including children and babies), inn keepers, merchants, animals, royalty, and even Mary and Joseph! Our youth group was going and we were ecstatic.
We packed into our cars and drove out of Mr. Chris's driveway. My dad volunteered to lead because he had a GPS to help us find the church. The car I was in included my dad, Sarah, Carly, Jordan and me. We were all singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs going down the road. Even so, we didn't get that far until we had to stop at Racetrac for a bathroom break.
At Racetrac we all decided to get drinks for the road and to make sure no one had to stop later to go to the bathroom. We drove off with good intentions without knowing what lay ahead of us. All we knew was that soon we would be at "Bethlehem".
"We'll keep in contact with our cell phones," Mr. Chris had said before we left his house. Sure we had planned to do that, but that was a bit hard since my dad's cell phone fell in Jordan's milkshake. You see, our backseat only had 2 cup holders so Jordan put her milkshake in a front cup holder ... where my dad usually puts his cell phone ... when drinks aren't there. My dad had been on the phone with Mr. Chris and hung up. That's when it went wrong. Knowing that we usually didn't use all the cup holders, he subconsciously put his phone in the "cup holder" which had Jordan's milkshake in it. When my dad dropped his cell phone in the cup, his face went pale white knowing that our contact with Mr. Chris had been cut off. Great.
Driving on (while I was trying to save my dad's phone by performing "surgery" on it), we faithfully followed the GPS. Through the forests, country roads, and so on we never questioned it. Even so, I did notice that when the clock struck 8: 15 that my dad was starting to look a bit nervous. "Back to Bethlehem" didn't let people in past nine and my dad had a feeling that we were lost.
"It'll show up soon." I claimed, but L too had a gut feeling that something had gone wrong.
"Turn into your destination." The robotic voice of the GPS told us.
That is when my gut started to tell me "I told you so." Bethlehem wasn't in sight. All there was at our "destination" was a small chapel with the same
, lame as the church we were trying to find. The only thing remotely close to Bethlehem was a small, plastic manger scene that had abnormally small camels to match.
Everyone stayed in their cars, confused about where we were. My dad was angry, but at the same time sorry that he led everyone the wrong way like an inexperienced shepherd. Mr. Chris said it was okay and told everyone what was going on. One driver was so upset that she sped out of the parking lot (with the kids in the car) and had no intention of coming back ... until the car crashed about 200 feet from the church. The driver had driven past a stop sign and crashed into another car that was turning.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. My dad went to retrieve the kids while the driver stayed back with the police. Mr. Chris told us not to worry and called a meeting with some of the adults to plan our next move.
Meanwhile, some of the youth group members (including myself) REALLY had to go to the bathroom. We explored the outside of the church hoping it was unlocked. It was unlocked and for good reason. There was a choir practice going on the inside. How could we get in without being noticed?
Luckily, my dad had the courage to walk into the front doors of the chapel and explain why we were there (and the long story behind it) and
asked if we could use their bathrooms. Being good Christian people, they said "of course" and everyone relieved themselves. Then the choir prayed for safe travels and we went on the road again.
It was 8:27 P.M. (exactly) and we had no idea where we were or where we were headed. Some drivers thought about just sitting around the plastic manger scene and have a bible study, but Mr. Chris was determined to get there before 9 0' clock. We gave the GPS another chance and found a church right outside of Canton. Unfortunately, it was 30 miles away. If we even had a chance of making it, we would have to pick up the pace a bit. "We're not going to make it!" my dad said.
"Yes we are!" I argued. It was 8:54 and we were down to the wire. "Oh ... My ... Gosh!" Jordan screamed.
"What!?!" We all asked nervously. Jordan explained that she saw a "Back to Bethlehem: 1 mile" sign. We were going to make it! Another sign came up with a big arrow that told us to turn right. All of the cars honked their horns in jubilation. We made it! We made it to Bethlehem! All it took was a simple mistake with the GPS, one ruined and milkshake covered cell phone, getting lost, making new friends at a small chapel, a car crash,
and determination. Even better, we had a big adventure along the way none of us would soon forget.
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