Namaste! We have reached our destination. ☺
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Overall, it was a pretty uneventful commute. Of course we left Nashville about an hour late trying to get into Chicago. Fortunately we had almost three hours to play with from the time we were supposed to arrive and the time our plane was supposed to leave for London. Instead of leaving Nashville at 5:15, we finally pulled out about 6:20.
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We arrived in Chicago at 7:35 and all seemed surprisingly well. And then we sat. And sat. After about 20 minutes, the pilot came on and told us there were no gates available so we were just going to sit around for a while. I still wasn’t getting tense, but there were people all around us that began missing their connectors. I felt so bad for them, having been through that frustration before. Fortunately we pulled into a gate around 8:30, still having an hour and fifteen minutes before we were supposed to take off.
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Sadly, we were nowhere near our departing gate, since international flights leave from a totally different place. So by the time we got through security again and made it to the gate, they were already boarding. No time to waste in Chicago, but I’m so grateful we at least made our flight!
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We flew British Airways from Chicago to London, and it was a great trip. Since Jeff and I had missed Lost on Wednesday night, he burned it to his computer and we decided to watch it while we were waiting on dinner. If you saw Wednesday night’s Lost, you know there was a fairly disturbing plane crash type sequence. Perhaps not the best choice. During the night we had some pretty heavy turbulence by my standards, and I was a little freaked out. But I knew how many of you were praying and just believed that God would see us through. He did.
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We set down in London around noon on Friday our time, 6 a.m. back home. Again, we had very little turnover time once we got through security and made our way to the gate. The plane to Hyderabad was much fuller than the one to London and there were times when claustrophobia set in a bit, but we made it just fine. Have you ever wondered how a lady in a burka is able to manage all of that material in an airplane bathroom? I had plenty of time to think about this one while I was waiting on her.
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This year I have the privilege of delivering prayer letters from each team members' prayer partners. It has been so much fun collecting those letters and getting them ready for each member, but even more fun now that I've had the chance to start delivering them. I opened a note from my friend Meredith as we were waiting for takeoff in London. It was specifically about travel, and included the Scripture from Judges 6:23 that says, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." I want you to know, Meredith, that when we hit big turbulence on that last flight I was reciting that very Scripture over and over and I felt completely at peace. A huge turnaround from the first turbulent ride where I left fingernail marks in the rubber covers of our armrests. Thank you so much for that.
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Before leaving on Thursday, my dear friend Darlene brought me a journal entitled, "Called." It is a devotional type of journal specifically designed for mission trips. Because she knows my love of blogging, instead of leaving the journal pages blank, she filled them up with prayers, and many of you helped her do that. This is hands down one of the most thoughtful presents I have ever received and I will cherish it forever. As I read the prayer of my oldest son, I couldn't hold back the tears. He amazes me. I am so blessed!
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We arrived in Hyderabad at 4:40 a.m. local time on the nose. Getting out of the airport ended up taking about an hour and a half. The luggage took forever to come around, but thankfully everyone's arrived in good shape. Hyderabad has a brand new airport from when we were here last year, and it is much, much nicer. JD said it is one of the finest in India now.
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Speaking of JD, we had such an awesome welcome this morning! First we were met by Sarah's brother Solomon, who helped us get all of our stuff together and leave the airport. Once outside, we were embraced by old friends, Solomon, Sagar, Emmanuel, JD, and Ramesh to name a few. What a sweet reunion. I don't think any of them had slept and had been waiting on us since 4 a.m. The selflessness of these people continues to amaze me.
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I was so excited to see them that I apparently didn't take any pictures, but time will come for that. Royce took a team picture, so I hope to get that from him very soon and get it on here. Here's a good shot of Royce and our team leader Sharon. We walked outside to a gorgeous sunrise this morning and it felt like we were being beautifully welcomed to India.
Jeff got to experience his first trip in Hyderabad traffic, and seems none too worse for the wear. It's amazing how quickly I readjusted to driving that would have me absolutely hanging from the rails of my mini-van if it were happening in Tennessee. Again, peace like this can only come from your prayers. So thank you for lifting us all up!
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I am supposed to be sleeping right now, but after laying there for 25 minutes I decided it wasn't worth it. I'll take my sweet little purple pill tonight when I can really work it out. We are meeting for lunch and then going out to do some shopping this afternoon. Hopefully I'll have some more pics to post tonight.
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Thanks again for praying us here. We are all deeply in gratitude for you!