My Transient Friend

I'm going to try to get back into the blogging thing again. But since I have lost our camera, pictures are harder to get onto the computer.  I've been using my phone, but it's just not the same, in my opinion.

I'm backing way up to sometime in August. I don't think I've told many people about the time I brought a transient person home to stay for a few days. We were in the middle of the kitchen getting the new cabinets when this happened, so all we had was the refrigerator and stove, if I remember correctly. Dorella, whom I began referring to as my transient friend, was just grateful for a place to stay and didn't mind that we didn't have a full kitchen. But let me tell you the whole story.

One Thursday at work (keep in mind that I worked at our church) one of the pastors got a phone call from this person that had scheduled a meeting that day. She was just passing through town for the day and had wanted to meet with him to talk about a program she was starting. The phone call was a bit frantic as she had just been
t-boned by another car as she came into town and her vehicle was totaled. She did not know anyone in town at all, and asked if maybe he could pick her up and could she use the church for a bit to make phone calls while trying to figure out insurance stuff and what to do next. So Pastor Aaron went and brought her back to the church. We set her up in one of the classrooms and she started the frustrating process of calling insurances and such. Since she was originally from California, and was not planning to return there for 3 more months, it was a sticky situation.

Over the course of the day, I got to speak with her a bit, and also gave her a ride to the car rental places in town to try and get a vehicle to continue her journey. I learned that Dorella was part of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in California and she was taking 5 months to travel through most of the west and mid-west to meet with pastors and homeless shelters to share about a Christian women's transitional program that she is starting. She had been on the road for 2 months and had 3 more months to go. This accident and having no vehicle really threw a wrench in her plans. She had been living in her van, literally, camping out at campgrounds and parking lots along her journey. Since she was living the life of a missionary, basically, she did not have a lot of funds and was a bit distraught over what she was going to do. She had no plans to stay overnight, but the insurance was going to take a few days to sort out, of course. She finally decided to rent a vehicle and only had enough money to rent it for 3 days. Since it was almost the weekend, the insurance was going to take even longer to sort out.

The longer I talked with Dorella, the more I felt badly for her. She had no place to stay, all of her belongings were in her wrecked vehicle that had been towed, and she had no money. She was asking me where were the cheapest places to stay in town, and I knew that she probably really didn't want to stay in those slums. I knew I wouldn't! So I told her that we had a spare room and that as long as Jason said it was ok, she could stay at our house. She was super grateful, but was gracious enough to understand that I needed to talk to Jason first and that it might not be ok with him. (I basically invited her to stay before I talked to him.) I think I texted him at work and asked if I could bring home a transient, and he pretty much responded with, "Uh, no." I called him after we were both off work and explained who it was, what had happened, and how I felt badly for her. And that all I could think of was all of the people that have helped me out when I was traveling, or living somewhere, and knew no one. And that if I was in a situation like Dorella's, I'd want someone respectable to take me in. After hearing the story, he said it was fine, so I called Dorella and let her know.

Dorella was only intending to stay with us for 1 or 2 nights, and get back on the road as soon as possible. Of course, the insurance didn't allow that to happen and she ended up staying with us for about 6 nights. She was able to relax and enjoy staying in our basement with her own bathroom and living area while she sorted things out with her vehicle and how to proceed with her travels. On that Saturday, she volunteered to help me do a few things outside in the yard and I got to know her even more. On Sunday, she went to our church and then I took her on a drive to see some more of Wyoming. We ended up driving the scenic route to Saratoga and enjoyed some famous Saratoga ice cream and the hot springs.

Dorella and I at the lookout on the way to Medicine Bow Peak

At Mirror Lake

The Saratoga Hot Springs running off into the creek/river.

As you can see, Dorella is not a young teenager as one initially expects a YWAM'er to be. She has two adult children and I think three grandchildren. She is a widow and has quite a life story, in my opinion. Prior to her joining YWAM, her father, sister, and husband all died within a 12 month span. Some of her life experiences I believe better enable her to reach out to the homeless, broken women that she is trying to help with the Christian transitional program she is starting. Her program is called "House of Redeeming Love," I think, and she is working hard to get it going.

The insurance stuff finally got sorted out the following Tuesday and they provided Dorella with a vehicle to continue her journey. She was able to get all of her stuff from her wrecked vehicle and pack it into the rental, and she left our house on Wednesday morning. And that is how I met Dorella, my transient friend. I don't often invite traveling strangers home to stay, but I did this time, and I was really glad I did.