Tonight, I head to a meeting of the Austin Travel Circle at the Austin Hostel (http://www.hiaustin.org). Before I leave home, I state out loud my intention to meet at least two people who will provide me with helpful information in planning my upcoming trip to Greece.

It is about 7:15 pm when I arrive at the hostel, a modest brick building situated on Lady Bird Lake near downtown Austin, TX. In the foyer, two young women are staffing the check-in desk.

The common area – a large, open space lined with floor to ceiling windows and furnished with several sofas, some large round tables with chairs, a couple of computers and a piano – is unoccupied except for a young woman on a sofa reading a book, a man by a window working on his laptop, and a woman, close to my age, sitting at one of the tables.

I ask the woman at the table if she is here for the Travel Circle (which apparently is not meeting). She asks me what it is and I explain it to her. Since I am pretty shy, I almost walk away, but muster up the courage to ask if she has ever been to Greece. She has – in May, just a few months prior!

Lindsey, who lives in San Antonio, is finishing up a trip around Texas with a visit to Austin and is staying at the hostel. She is delightful, and graciously spends the next two hours sharing her recent travels around Greece.

As we chat, with my Lonely Planet guide and AAA map of Greece on the table, a young woman asks if we are talking about Greece. Since her parents are from Greece, and she has been there herself, Ali (the hostel manager) shares some cultural tips with me as well.

It was a great evening and, putting forth my intentions proved quite fruitful. First, it let God know my heart’s desire. Second, it solidified in my own mind what my evening’s goal was. Third, it helped me focus my energy and gave me the courage to ask a question. ~