This is the first post about our recent trip to Swaziland and Mozambique, Africa. I'll do my best to keep them coming! :)
Tracy, our 16 year old daughter Anna, and I packed into the
wee hours the night before we left, double checking our lists and crossing off
each item that made it into the suitcases.
I’d started days earlier, but planning to be gone for an entire month
still pushed me into last minute scrambling.
We were zipping up the bags with relief, looking forward to finally
shutting our eyes for a few hours, when one of the suitcase zippers busted.
Panic set in. There are no department stores in Buhler, and
we were too tired to drive into Hutchinson. Solution? Leave early enough to
make a Wal-Mart run before our flights the next morning. So we fell exhausted into
bed with our alarm set to roll us out in plenty of time and a prayer for grace
that all the details would work out fine.
Our son Nathan picked us up and got us to the store in
Wichita. We found a bag that would suffice, paid quickly, and suddenly realized
there wasn’t room for it in the back of the Jimmy. So we juggled things and held bags across our
laps. Hadn’t thought through to how long
it would take to transfer all our stuff to the new suitcase, but with sweat
beading on our backs, we finally crammed every item in, sure that we’d still
have plenty of time to make our flight.
Of course, that didn’t take into account that the printer
for the luggage was on the blink at check-in. Nor could we have foreseen that the clerk
didn’t have the correct information for what to do with an overweight bag. I assured her that I could pay extra to have
up to 70 pounds, but she searched through pages of documents to try to find the
information herself. She couldn’t see
it, so she made a phone call and was on hold a long time. Now we were really starting to sweat as
minutes ticked away.
I could imagine how uneasy our friend and team member Jana
must be getting since we hadn’t yet shown up at the gate. But the clerk wasn’t
in a hurry at all. She was way too calm to suit me. I wanted to give her an
injection of adrenaline. I could have
made coffee nervous by then! I kept looking at the time, wringing my hands, and
biting my lips. Okay, and my tongue. I sure didn’t want to say anything that
would make the clerk move any slower just to spite me!
She finally realized we were going to miss our flight, so
she said she’d take my word for it and ran my credit card. By then the printer was working, so she
handed us our paperwork and shooed us to security, cautioning us that we had
about ten minutes to make it.
Naturally, security was also stressful. They decided they
needed to run my carry-on bag through twice and open it to visually check my
powder supplements. My driver’s license fell behind a table—I didn’t see it
happen, but thankfully one of the TSA employees did. I had to run to get to the
gate. Jana was as antsy as I’d suspected she’d be. She’d texted our oldest
daughter Sara, who like Casey from Texas, was meeting us in DC, so she’d called
to find out what in the world was going on. But we made the flight.
Our flight in Houston was delayed, though. So when we
arrived in DC, we didn’t even get to give Anna a proper goodbye or last minute
instructions before leaving her for an entire month. Just a fast hug and a nod
in the general direction of baggage claim where our son-in-law was going to
pick her up. She was terrified that she’d get lost. I was worried that I couldn’t
remind her about checking her blood sugars or taking good care of her niece and
nephews for the month. We had to trust that the Lord would watch over all of
us—and it had to come to us on the run.
Literally! We raced to the gate where Casey waited where all
but one of the other passengers were already boarded. The clerk at the gate
determined our carry-ons were too heavy, so those had to be checked. But at
least we made it, once again. It barely registered that we’d hugged our oldest
daughter Sara hello in DC, too, as she showed us where to hurry to our gate. We
caught our breath, gave better hugs, and settled in for the final 18 hour
flight.
Jana and Sara ready to catch up now that they live more than 18 hrs. apart--and would have 18 hrs. in the air!
We had an hour delay while fueling in Dakar, but it allowed
us to stand up and stretch a bit. We got to know Casey a little bit better in
between cat naps and shuttling to the airplane toilet.
Casey and me with my infamous neck pillow
I read, watched a movie, prayed, and walked
the aisle. And dreamed of what our journey would bring to each person on the
team.
Yikes, Tracy and I started the trip already completely exhausted! Not sure if the poor guy beside us was really into his movie or just couldn't stand our snoring. Yep, we're mouth open sleepers. Ewwwww.
Because all the stress and rushing and near misses aside,
our anticipation was intact. Getting there was just the first step in a month
long journey that was filled with potential and the call of God on this team of
five. We knew with everything in us that none of the trials of getting there
would be able to take away even a tiny bit of the joy we would discover once we
met the Africans, young and old, that He had planned for us to interact
with. We were ready for the unknown
future because of the faithful God we know.
And I can see that our years on this earth are a lot like
our flights that took us to Africa.
Filled with challenges, requiring patient waiting on others who might
not share our sense of urgency, hurrying up to wait. Feeling like our
interactions with loved ones are just a blur as we rush by because it’s going
too fast.
Our lives are but a vapor, a grass that quickly withers.
Hardships are guaranteed. But when we finally reach our heavenly destination,
all of the struggles of getting there will quickly fade. And the unknown will
lose every hint of fear because we know the King Who prepared for our stay.
Getting there is just the first step.
And so worth the trip.
