Boston in the Fall..the epic adventure of our trip to meet Elizabeth Elliot

So…the thousands of people that have asked about the trip to meet Elizabeth Elliot (ok thousands is an exaggeration )…. here it is…

Day 1:
Kara Elizabeth Reish and I woke up late on Sunday morning in Pottstown, PA…yes a wonderful way to start an epic trip! When we woke up, we were both really disoriented lol and thought we had time to get ready, so after we realized we had actually gotten up late, we rushed around, loaded everything in the car and took off for Philadelphia International. I DID drive the speed limit (that was for you, father) and when we got there we still had about 40 minutes before the plane took off. So we drove around like maniacs looking for the place to drop my rental car off, and a very nice man from the wrong rental car place told us where to go lol. So we got there, dropped the car off, ran to the shuttle pick up, jumped on the shuttle and headed to the gate. We did get a chance to talk to the shuttle driver about Christ, so that was encouraging! He was asking us about our ministry and we were able to leave him with a Gospel tract which he said he would read. When we got to the gate to check our bags in, the kiosk wouldn’t let me check in and after talking to the lady at the counter we had missed our baggage check in time by 5 minutes (yes, you may groan audibly…we did not however, we surprisingly remained very calm). Because we were at the airport before our flight took off, we were scheduled to fly standby on the next flight for free. So we checked our bags on, and headed to the gate. The attendant at the gate told us the next flight was completely full, so we might not get on. Kara came back to the seat and we just sat there and prayed for a few minutes that the Lord would just get us to Massachusetts by the end of the day lol. In the meantime ( I do not know what possessed me to do this) but I bought some breakfast food since I LOVE breakfast food in the middle of the day….baaad idea at the airport…the toast was good, that was pretty much it :/ The eggs literally disinigrated in my mouth….i don’t wish to revisit this memory after tonight. Anyway, Kara and I had worked out a plan that if there was room for only one on the flight then I would take it, and pray her into Providence on the next flight. There was no need to do that though, because we both got called up as “Kara Rish” and “Jennefer Dovis” and both got onto the next flight no problem! It makes me laugh sometimes to see the Lord working everything out knowing He already knew we would miss that flight…whatever the reason, He kept us safe and we got on a plane to Providence.
The flight was nice, but because we were on standby our seats were no longer together. We both sat with very nice people…nice conversation, neither one knew who Jim or Elizabeth Elliot were though. The woman I sat by, as we flew into the Providence airport, said to me, “If you want to go clubbing, you are in the right place!” I told her I wouldn’t be doing that and she laughed and said enjoy your stay. I got to give her a Gospel tract too which she took! So Kara stands up as everyone on the plane is quietly gathering their carryons and says (in an abundant Kara voice) “We’re goin to BOSTON!!” HAHA…so yes everyone on the plane knew our agenda at that point, and we headed to baggage claim.
Kara and I completely disregarded the airline rules…actually let me rephrase…I, JENNIFER DAVIS, completely disregarded the airline rules, so in order to fit all my belongings in on this trip, we had 3 carry-on bags each (remember that for later lol) so we were lugging all our luggage around…that was the point I was hoping to find some nice man to say “Here, let me help you with those” (just kidding dad). So kara and I struggled our way up to the third floor to pick up our rental car, and by the time we got there we were literally sweating from carrying all those bags up the stairs in our winter clothes and heavy coats. We got the car, a definite answer to my prayers, and headed out to pick it up. We were walking out there, and kara had strapped a few of my bags on top of her rolling bag to make the load a little lighter, and I was about 5 feet in front of her when I heard “AGH..nooooo” and turned around to see all the bags dumping completely sideways and about to take Kara with them lol. That is an image I wish I had a picture of J We got in our Kia Rio and drove out of the garage on our way to Massachusetts! It was about an hour and a half drive, and I called Mr. Gren (Elizabeth’s husband) to let him know what time we’d be in. I think on the way there we counted over 50 dunkin donuts…those new Englanders love their dunkin! We also passed the stadium where the Patriots play…Kara knows the name, I am not football savy :/ sorry…
So we arrived in Danvers, MA about 3:30 in the afternoon and as we pull up to our hotel, Kara excitedly says “Hey if they have a pool we DEFINITELY need to go swimming” and I am not kidding as soon as we rounded the corner and the words finished coming out of her mouth, there was the pool…covered with a tarp and large ferns…we both had a good long laugh at that one. We checked in, and the room was actually pretty nice. We got settled, got cleaned up and headed over to the Gren’s house.
I didn’t realize it, but in Massachusetts in the winter it gets pitch black dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, so by the time we got close to their house I could barely see the road. The GPS told me we had arrived and the car pulled to a stop in front of two large iron gates that closed in one of the biggest properties you’ve ever seen right there on the Atlantic. Kara and I just looked at each other and screamed in delight! The house had a call box to open the gates so I called three times but there was no response. So I called Mr. Gren and said “We are here, could you open the front gates?”. His reply…”We don’t have front gates”, so I described to him where we were and he said they were in the house that the road forked left to, and the second drive on that left…which described the gated area to a T. So long story and a couple strange people cut short, an hour later we drove up to a street with a girl standing in solid white from head to toe looking straight at the car. Kara was screaming not to stop, but we did and found out she was Ms. Elizabeth’s caretaker, so she ran in front of the car until we reached the house lol (didn’t want to take any chances on losing us again). When we got to the house, we walked through the hall and into the kitchen where Elizabeth Elliot was sitting on a window seat waiting to leave. I can’t really describe this fully but to see someone who has been a living example of true faithfulness was just indescribable. So I got to sit next to her and Kara, I, and Joy talked with her husband for a few minutes. They had to leave the house pretty quickly but before they left he told us to come by around 11 the next morning and said he’d take us on a tour of Massachusetts (which we were EXSTATIC about!) So Kara and I headed back and on the way stopped by the Causeway, which is a locally recommended place that Mr. Gren told us about. Kara especially wanted to go for the seafood but to have something to talk to them about the next day too. So we pulled up and it was a building the size of my bedroom at home and there were people all out front slightly resembling gang activity…so I asked Kara if she still wanted to go and she did the “Kara yes” nod, so we parked and got a number. It actually turns out there was no gang, and everybody was dressed really well. That’s not completely relevant to this story but I thought I’d throw a good word in for the folks of Magnolia ;) When we walked through the door, everyone stared at us…and that is NOT an exaggeration. They were very friendly though and the food was delicious (I had Italian, but that is also irrelevant). When we left, Kara was carrying the camera box out and a guy at the door asked her to play a musical number for everyone lol…we just walked away laughing. We also had a lot of fun at the hotel, just getting to spend time with each other was nice and getting to relax a little bit was a blessing!



DAY 2:
We got to their house around 11 the next morning and when we walked in we heard old hymns being played on the piano, and when we walked around the corner I saw Elizabeth Elliot just rocking back and forth in front of the living room window watching the Atlantic waves crash against the rocks below.  It was very surreal, all of it. We sat and talked to joy for about an hour until they were ready to go, then we walked outside and Mr. Gren says, “Do you mind driving?” I said no, but I thought I was going to be sick lol-the thought of a legend in my backseat with my ratio of hits to the vehicle was not a comforting thought. So after the first 20 minutes of panic attack, we started our tour. He took us to this big red barn right on the water and then said that every year artists come to the community and paint the barn, each adding his own flare to it.  We got out to take a picture by it and I said “So this is a really big tourist attraction?” He said “Yeah, but I don’t know why-I think it’s stupid!” …Kara and I got to know his humor really quickly lol. So summation, we spent about 7 hours in the car with them, and drove through what seemed like EVERY part of Massachusetts. We got to ask them questions while we were driving, and I’m still kicking myself for not bringing the mic in the car, but Kara and I recorded later everything we could remember about the conversation. It started out with questions about how he and Elizabeth had met, and with each question got a little deeper into the past and he was able to tell us a lot about her, jim and the other missionaries and their relationships. He mentioned that Jim and Ed McCully were actually the closest of friends, which was interesting because of all the wives, Elizabeth and Marilou McCully were the closest, just thought that was neat. I don’t remember if I mentioned, but Elizabeth has completely lost her ability to speak. I tell people it’s similar to talking to a toddler, because you know they understand what you are saying, and can answer you but just don’t have the words to form it yet. When we talked she understood and responded, but most of the talking went through her husband (what a faithful man!). There were several points in the day where I would look back and get a smile from Ms. Elizabeth that just warmed my heart…to think the woman who wrote all of the incredible books and experienced so many incredible circumstances was sitting in my backseat!
When the drive tour was over, we drove to the store to get dinner for all of us, and Lars told Kara and I to stay in the car with Elizabeth. As we sat there, I asked Kara “Do you remember the question you were going to ask her?” (we had both pre planned questions to ask her, before we knew the situation) She said yes but then told me I should ask mine, so I did. I turned around and said “Miss Elizabeth, do you have any advice for me?” She looked right at me with the brightest blue eyes and said, “Yes.” Then for the next two minutes she gave me advice that I could not understand a word of. When she finished, Kara said, “Well, you will know what she said in Eternity.” Don’t take this wrong, I am not mocking her; in fact, I was very discouraged in my mind on the way home. I was saying to the Lord, “Are you mocking me? Why did you send me all the way up here for nothing?”. It was then that He said back to me, “ I’ve already given you all the advice you need. You came expecting a life-changing oration, but you have sought me and you know what I have called you to do. You can look to her as an example of faithfulness and for encouragement, but there is no one that should take my rightful position in your heart.” And I think He brought me there to learn just that. He is my Father, my Friend, my Comforter, the One I confide in…He is all in all, He IS all, and I’ve been trying to fill a reserved spot with everyone but the One who can fulfill all my needs. Kara and I talked a lot after that day and both were touched by different things, but of all we came out with an even greater view of our Savior.
We ate dinner with them, and the conversation was HYSTERICAL. (just ask if you are interested). Lars came in and looked straight at me and Kara and said, “So which one of you is playing the piano for us tonight?” I pointed to Kara since I only know one song, and I didn’t think they wanted to hear “Nearer my God to Thee” for 45 minutes. So Kara and I played and sang the good ole’ hymns of faith for about an hour before dinner, and again, another surreal moment just looking around realizing the place where most of her books were written we were serenading haha! It was just incredible!

DAY 3:
The next day came back just before we left to travel back to Boston to catch our flight to bring the three of them gifts to say thank you for welcoming us and hosting us so graciously! We had written cards to go along with each gift, and as Mr. Gren read ours he seemed to get a little teary-eyed (or he couldn’t read our handwriting :/ ) but thanked us for staying and for fellowshipping with them. I think looking back we were more of a blessing to them than they were to us, which actually blesses my heart more. It’s funny how you go expecting to be the receiver and you get to share in the giving! Praise the Lord for that! We took pictures with all of them before we left, and Mr. Lars gave us cd’s of her speeches and letters that she had written to others about preparing for missions work and writing-and they were an INCREDIBLE blessing!
Kara and I took several pictures in the area before we headed back to Boston. Somehow, we managed to get to the airport late again, but this time we decided to secure the tickets BEFORE we took the rental car back. We went to US Airways because I couldn’t remember the airline because our internet was down in the hotel the night before, so I went off our previous flight…turns out I was wrong. The man at the ticket counter found our flight though in the system but it was Continental, a terminal away. If you’ve ever been to Boston/Logan, it is huge…so we had to drive around another loop and go through the terminals again to get to ours. At this point it was 46 minutes until the flight took off, and we had 1 more minute to check our bags before they wouldn’t take them anymore. So we arrived and Kara beasted our two bags, ran…and I mean RAN up to the ticket counter to check them in. ( Yes, we still have the rental car). So she comes running back with nothing in her hands about 5 minutes later screaming, “CONTINENTAL IS 30 BEFORE!!! GO GO GO!!!” So we booked it to the ramp for the rental car place, which the GPS said was only 1 mile away. Apparently there was a wreck or something on that ramp and it took us about 20 minutes to get the rental car place…25 minutes until take off. We parked, along with 7 other cars that needed checked in and thankfully he got us good to go right as the shuttle was pulling up. We jumped on and headed to the terminal. Kara said security wasn’t long, so we were in good spirits until we got to the line, which was backed up to the escalator (all the little lines were chock full). By the time we got to the security checkpoint we had 10 minutes before our flight took off. He checked our ID’s and when we got to the security belt there was the whole nation of South Korea taking off their belts one loop at a time, so I jumped in front of all of them lol and got through in about 2 minutes without getting stopped. I got through, ran to the gate which thankfully was only about 5 feet away so I asked the lady to hold the gate for her, and they had a back up on the plane so we still had about 15 minutes before the plane would actually take off at this point.
As we entered the door, I was digging through my pockets and couldn’t find my driver’s license. It’s not like me ever to misplace that, so I deduced that I had dropped it as I ran out of the security checkpoint. We voted that Kara go back and I brave my way to the back of the plane with all our bags (6 carryon’s between the two of us…I don’t know how we got away with that…anyway…) I was pretty much one of the last ones on the plane, maybe 10 people behind me, but I had bags sticking out from every possible angle of my person, and I walked down the aisle I’m pretty sure I hit every person on that plane with at least one of my bags…maybe more. So about half way back, 2 very well-rounded people decided to make their way to the front of the plane. They stopped right in front of me and said..and I quote, “You can pass first” I was thinking, “Are you looking at me at all?? WIDE LOAD!” but I chose instead to try to pass. That attempt failed and after 5 minutes literally of this the passengers on the plane ended up passing my bags one by one back to my seat while the lady behind tapped my shoulder and said,  “Um excuse me…can you stop hitting me in the face with your backpack.” So I finally got back, and not to sound gross but I had worked up a sweat through that lol. Kara got back about 5 minutes later and praise the Lord she had my driver’s license with her! She sat down and asked where her phone was. She never gave me her phone. So we concluded that she either left THAT at security or it was in one of the bags, so I started calling it and it sounded like it was coming from the back of the plane…so she leaned up and it sounded like it was coming from the front of the plane.
My mind would have said,  “It’s on the plane…we’ll get it when we land” because at this point, I’m pretty sure everyone on the plane hated me immensely. Not kara…she got down on all fours, in the middle of the aisle, and said to the everyone who was watching, “Bless my face!” then proceeded to pull out EVERY single one of our bags into the aisle to dig through….and the phone was still ringing at this point. (Kara’s reasoning was if she didn’t find it and turn it off, the phone would mess up our flights tracking patterns….) So she searches for another 5 minutes, and the stewardess comes up and asks her if she’s ok and then I hear it…the voice of frustration from the woman sitting in the seat in front of Kara…”Ugh…*pause and insert groaning sound effect and prepare to say the next phrase in a new jersey accent* IT’S IN YA BACK POCKET.” Kara started giggling…a lot….and that is the point in which I turned my head away. I’ve never heard an audible groan from so many people at one time, but to say the flight was eventful would have been an understatement. We DID make it back safely to Charlotte and our brothers were there to pick us up and take us back to Greenville.
It was an indescribable trip and the Lord had a reason for every moment of it. I may think of more after I post this and have to add to it, but praise the Lord for that opportunity and what He taught us, and I hope above all to see her in glory someday and say, “Thank you for encouraging me to press on.”, and all without saying a word. Thank you, Lord for these moments…they are irreplaceable, and may we honor you by using them for You; may we follow their example, but always hold YOU highest in our hearts...thank you, Lord...for what I didn't deserve...