I just had an interesting 3 ½ weeks in this hot month of July. I recently returned from a road trip with a friend where we visited some old friends and made some new ones across 4 states. It was a road trip that I don’t think I’ll ever forget because I have never been to one quite like this. We tasted various cuisines, visited sunny beaches, and took some pictures. The places we visited were Jeffersonville, Indiana, Albertville, Alabama, a few cities in the sunshine state of Florida, and Conyers, Georgia. We had a good time and here are some of the highlights of our trip.
Witnessing to Haitians in Alabama
After staying with a nice couple and eating some rich fine chocolate in Jeffersonville, Indy, we embarked on a special visit to Albertville, Alabama where we got to work with a Haitian Creole group. We attended their meeting and went out in the ministry with them. I demonstrated two Bible studies with two Haitian men in the same household and my road trip partner helped start a study with a nice lady. I didn’t realize there were so many Haitians living in Albertville. They have their own store and restaurant in the downtown part of the town. After service, we stopped and ate at the restaurant called Haitian Style and it was truly delicious.
Visiting a Humble, Country Town Called Live Oak
It wasn’t enough for us to visit Alabama. We had to pay a few visits in the sunshine state of Florida, too. Our first stop was spending some time with a dear friend of ours in Live Oak. She had a lovely home for us to stay and keep her company. Live Oak is a quiet town with long, country roads and a few stores to visit. But I still had a nice time visiting her congregation meeting (the first time in a while giving a comment in English) and going out in the ministry with them. They have some beautiful, forest-like territory. After doing one door, an owner’s dog adorably continued to chase after us down the road as we were driving off.
Spending Time with More Friends in Other Florida Cities
We experienced more interchange of encouragement when we eventually made our way to Jacksonville, Palm Coast, and even back to Miami. My friend and I both participated in the Haitian Creole preaching campaign this past January. So it was very special to reunite with our dear friends from the congregations we were assigned. But before we headed there, we made a couple of stops to visit a couple of other friends.
In Jacksonville, we stayed with a sister who had a nice house and family. They even fed us spaghetti for breakfast. After spending some time there, we headed over to Palm Coast to visit some friends there. It was a lot of rain we had to go through in Florida. But we had a nice time overall in the Sunshine State. We walked on the boardwalk in Hollywood Beach and ate some grilled mahi tacos. We visited a Haitian food truck in Miami that served some turkey wings that my friend loved. Did I mention we visited an ice cream shop in Little Havana? Of course, we also got the chance to practice our Haitian Creole speaking along the way.
A Convention in Georgia We Must Attend
Whew, after all this traveling, we still had a Haitian Creole regional convention in Georgia to attend. When the time came for this event, we were ready to leave Florida and head to Conyers, GA. It was a beautiful convention. I saw a lot of old and new friends. We had a good informal witnessing experience at a restaurant we went to in Conyers. The only unfortunate thing about it was that it rained every day that we were there. But I was happy that we were able to get the spiritual instruction we needed last weekend.
It was my first time being out of town this long. Taking a vacation like this is a good way to clear your head away from all the stress of the world. It was so nice to visit a few southeastern states and come to learn about their sights and sounds. Take a little time this summer or next to go on at least one road trip with some friends. You’ll be glad that you did.
If you’re thinking about going on a road trip or you’ve already gone on one, feel free to share your travel story in the comments below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with the next traveling buddy that you know.
