Tanzania - the Journey
OK. . .I'm home for a while now. It has been a wild month and a half. Between camps, mission trip, and family reunions I haven't had much time to write. So, I 'm going to try to make up for it now. A little at a time, of course!
I know that many of you had been praying for the mission trip to Tanzania during the latter part of June. Thank you so much for all your prayerful support. We saw God do amazing things throughout our trip.
My part of the trip began on Sunday, June 17, when myself and four ladies began our journey to catch up with the rest of the group that left town on June 14. The journey itself was an adventure. Throughout our trip I saw God move in us, around us, and through us.
We left on the 17th headed for Atlanta to catch a plane for Chicago where we were supposed to head to London, then on to Addis Ababa, Ethopia, and finally to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Just as we were scheduled to get on the plane to London we were told that the 4:00 pm flight to London had been experiencing A/C difficulty, so they gave them our plane hoping to fix their plane in time for our flight. At 9:00 pm when we were supposed to board the plane we found out it had not been fixed and, come to find out, our crew had gone with the 4:00 flight. So even if they had fixed the plane we wouldn't have been able to fly since we didn't have crew. What about this doesn't make sense to you? Because none of it makes sense to me.
The lines quickly formed to get re-routed and hotel accommodations. Imagine some 300 people rushing to get in line. Close your eyes and picture 5:00 am Friday after Thanksgiving at the local Toys-R-Us. If you know me I began to process what our next moves should be: contact the leaders in Tanzania, contact the travel agent to see if they could help us, and put people in lines to see who would get help first. People left to get in line, I called the travel agent - to no avail, they only work 8-5, then I called the leaders in Tanzania to give them a heads up. Out of nowhere one of our members walked up and with a comforting smile suggested we pray. What a suggestion! As everyone went their separate ways I went to sit down and pray. I told God that He was in charge and I was leaving the details to Him. All He had asked us to do was to be obedient and be faithful in that obedience. Just as I finished that prayer, one of the ladies - Jenny - came waving her hands for us to come to where she was. It seems that while I was praying, God was connecting her with a supervisor. This comes in handy since he has the supervisor codes to overwrite any objections the computers may give him and this was very useful in getting all five of us on the same planes going to the same destinations at the same time.
He as a gracious man with a great sense of humor. Of course, I couldn't stay on my side of the computer, so I came alongside him with my tablet and together we found flights for all five of us all the way to Kilimanjaro. After hooking us up with some vouchers for food, taxi, and hotels we were on our way - Chicago to Toronto to London to Nairobi, Kenya to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Thank You Lord!!
The next afternoon we boarded and took off not know what to expect next! Toronto was nice and I loved hanging out in their airport. It seemed so open and roomy. After landing in London, we went to see the sights - here are some pictures. It felt great just to get out and breathe some fresh air.
Trafalgar Square
Even a restaurant in honor of my home state. . .I thought I would tear up right there!
After seeing some of the sights and grabbing a bite to eat we ventured on back to the airport. As we were checking in to catch our flight to Nairobi we found out our bags we checked in had not made it to London as far as they could tell. We talked with several people hoping someone would/could track them down for us, but we finally gave up and boarded the plane not knowing if our trunks would make it or not.
All was not lost. Soon after we took off I found out I was sitting next to Eric Ramsey of Tom Cox World Ministries. It turns out that Eric and I graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary together - same semester - we just didn't know each other at the time. Eric was leading a team on a medical missionary trip to Kenya - southwest of Nairobi if I remember correctly. Eric's father-in-law, Dr. Tom Cox, founded the ministry in 1971 and the ministry coordinates and leads mission trips, just like the one he was leading, throughout the world. Eric is now president of the ministry and has an incredible heart for evangelism and missions.
As we shared about each of our ministries Eric invited me to pray about being a part of one or two trips early in 2008. One is a backpacking trip to the Sudan, the other would be as a team leader to India. What opportunities. I was so very pumped!!
We arrived in Nairobi in just enough time to rush to the ticket counter and get out tickets and to the gate to board our final flight - a 45 minute to hour flight to Kilimanjaro. We handed the ladies our tickets and the voucher from United Airlines expecting to get rushed right to the plane. But NOOOOOOOOOO! The voucher had not been stamped by the United supervisor. Ok, so he had codes but couldn't remember a detail like that. Not only that, but every MAJOR airline accepted the vouchers without question, but this little prop-job airlines contracted by Kenya Airways would not. I just started praying. I remember telling God - imagine me telling God, pretty funny, huh? - that He had not brought us all this way just to drop us off. And again I let Him take care of the details. We were to be obedient and be faithful in that obedience. I don't think I had finished praying when the lady from the airlines ran in and told us to hurry they were holding the plane for us. Rushing through their version of security we ran out on the tarmac and onto the plane - our final leg.
That wasn't all. That morning was one of the clearest mornings I can remember. And as we were heading to Kilimanjaro the pilot took right up to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Standing almost 20,000 feet with snow-capped peaks and the sun coming up and over it's top was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. All I could do was thank God for such a gorgeous reminder of His power and His presence.
We landed shortly after the "mountain top" experience only to find that our trunks had not made it. It was then we realized that the only clothes we had was the clothes on our back and in our carry-on luggage. After filing reports we ventured into the mission field and directed our tired bodies and minds towards more pressing matters like getting to the mission field and surviving the ride of my life!
More to come. . .
I know that many of you had been praying for the mission trip to Tanzania during the latter part of June. Thank you so much for all your prayerful support. We saw God do amazing things throughout our trip.
My part of the trip began on Sunday, June 17, when myself and four ladies began our journey to catch up with the rest of the group that left town on June 14. The journey itself was an adventure. Throughout our trip I saw God move in us, around us, and through us.
We left on the 17th headed for Atlanta to catch a plane for Chicago where we were supposed to head to London, then on to Addis Ababa, Ethopia, and finally to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Just as we were scheduled to get on the plane to London we were told that the 4:00 pm flight to London had been experiencing A/C difficulty, so they gave them our plane hoping to fix their plane in time for our flight. At 9:00 pm when we were supposed to board the plane we found out it had not been fixed and, come to find out, our crew had gone with the 4:00 flight. So even if they had fixed the plane we wouldn't have been able to fly since we didn't have crew. What about this doesn't make sense to you? Because none of it makes sense to me.
The lines quickly formed to get re-routed and hotel accommodations. Imagine some 300 people rushing to get in line. Close your eyes and picture 5:00 am Friday after Thanksgiving at the local Toys-R-Us. If you know me I began to process what our next moves should be: contact the leaders in Tanzania, contact the travel agent to see if they could help us, and put people in lines to see who would get help first. People left to get in line, I called the travel agent - to no avail, they only work 8-5, then I called the leaders in Tanzania to give them a heads up. Out of nowhere one of our members walked up and with a comforting smile suggested we pray. What a suggestion! As everyone went their separate ways I went to sit down and pray. I told God that He was in charge and I was leaving the details to Him. All He had asked us to do was to be obedient and be faithful in that obedience. Just as I finished that prayer, one of the ladies - Jenny - came waving her hands for us to come to where she was. It seems that while I was praying, God was connecting her with a supervisor. This comes in handy since he has the supervisor codes to overwrite any objections the computers may give him and this was very useful in getting all five of us on the same planes going to the same destinations at the same time.
He as a gracious man with a great sense of humor. Of course, I couldn't stay on my side of the computer, so I came alongside him with my tablet and together we found flights for all five of us all the way to Kilimanjaro. After hooking us up with some vouchers for food, taxi, and hotels we were on our way - Chicago to Toronto to London to Nairobi, Kenya to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Thank You Lord!!
The next afternoon we boarded and took off not know what to expect next! Toronto was nice and I loved hanging out in their airport. It seemed so open and roomy. After landing in London, we went to see the sights - here are some pictures. It felt great just to get out and breathe some fresh air.
Big Ben
Guard on Horseback
Trafalgar Square
Even a restaurant in honor of my home state. . .I thought I would tear up right there!
After seeing some of the sights and grabbing a bite to eat we ventured on back to the airport. As we were checking in to catch our flight to Nairobi we found out our bags we checked in had not made it to London as far as they could tell. We talked with several people hoping someone would/could track them down for us, but we finally gave up and boarded the plane not knowing if our trunks would make it or not.
All was not lost. Soon after we took off I found out I was sitting next to Eric Ramsey of Tom Cox World Ministries. It turns out that Eric and I graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary together - same semester - we just didn't know each other at the time. Eric was leading a team on a medical missionary trip to Kenya - southwest of Nairobi if I remember correctly. Eric's father-in-law, Dr. Tom Cox, founded the ministry in 1971 and the ministry coordinates and leads mission trips, just like the one he was leading, throughout the world. Eric is now president of the ministry and has an incredible heart for evangelism and missions.
As we shared about each of our ministries Eric invited me to pray about being a part of one or two trips early in 2008. One is a backpacking trip to the Sudan, the other would be as a team leader to India. What opportunities. I was so very pumped!!
We arrived in Nairobi in just enough time to rush to the ticket counter and get out tickets and to the gate to board our final flight - a 45 minute to hour flight to Kilimanjaro. We handed the ladies our tickets and the voucher from United Airlines expecting to get rushed right to the plane. But NOOOOOOOOOO! The voucher had not been stamped by the United supervisor. Ok, so he had codes but couldn't remember a detail like that. Not only that, but every MAJOR airline accepted the vouchers without question, but this little prop-job airlines contracted by Kenya Airways would not. I just started praying. I remember telling God - imagine me telling God, pretty funny, huh? - that He had not brought us all this way just to drop us off. And again I let Him take care of the details. We were to be obedient and be faithful in that obedience. I don't think I had finished praying when the lady from the airlines ran in and told us to hurry they were holding the plane for us. Rushing through their version of security we ran out on the tarmac and onto the plane - our final leg.
That wasn't all. That morning was one of the clearest mornings I can remember. And as we were heading to Kilimanjaro the pilot took right up to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Standing almost 20,000 feet with snow-capped peaks and the sun coming up and over it's top was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. All I could do was thank God for such a gorgeous reminder of His power and His presence.
We landed shortly after the "mountain top" experience only to find that our trunks had not made it. It was then we realized that the only clothes we had was the clothes on our back and in our carry-on luggage. After filing reports we ventured into the mission field and directed our tired bodies and minds towards more pressing matters like getting to the mission field and surviving the ride of my life!
More to come. . .
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