“…so we make it our goal to please Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:9
After 36 hours in transit, I am home! Let me tell you, it was an ‘adventure’ getting here! The Hodson’s dropped me off at Cape Town International (where I had my bag cling-wrapped to prevent further theft) and I tearfully said goodbye.
On to JHB…we were a late taking off from CT so my layover in JHB was even tighter than before…but the grace of God prevailed! My bag was one of the first off the plane (yea!) and I was able to wheel it to the international terminal (thanks for the help Amy)…then things got a bit more exciting.
When I checked in for my flight I was told that I would miss my connecting Seattle flight because of the delayed JHB takeoff. I asked to be put on the next flight, but it was overbooked and there weren’t any seats - HA! The clerk asked that I take care of things in Atlanta and I sweetly pushed back and asked that they be taken care here and now (my layover was going to be tight and I knew with jet lag I wouldn’t be as ‘sweet’ on the other end) – she gave me a ‘seat confirmation’ slip and off I went.
During my travels I was still suffering from severe congestion – Thank GOD! I never thought I would be happy for sinus pressure and the inability to breathe…but I was strategically seated behind two gentlemen who had a strong, um, let’s call it, ‘personal odor’. I blew my nose right before takeoff and the fumes assaulted me - causing my eyes to tear and me to sneeze! Whoa! Needless to say, for the next 20 hours I functioned with a stuffy nose – what a blessing sinus congestion can be!
Due to other delays we landed even further behind schedule. I was glad that I had changed the flight because by now I only had 40 minutes until my next plane took off. I eventually found my gate (it had been changed multiple times) and was told that the flight was still overbooked and that I would know in about 20 minutes if I had a seat or not. Off I went to notify my pick up person about the delay. I didn’t have my cell phone and what hassle pay phones are – they don’t like money! Augh! Thank God for understanding friends and the ‘collect call’ system!
Anyway, 6 minutes before the flight was scheduled to take off I was called to the podium and asked to stand against a wall, where I waited with 3 others for what seemed an eternity while the airline staff scrambled to find us seats. Eventually I was lead down the boarding ramp and told to sit in the first empty seat I came to (excluding first class because of course that was the one I noticed!) – The door shut right after the guy behind me boarded and I barely had my belt buckled when the plane pushed back from the gate! Whew – 4 more hours and I would be home!
It was lovely to arrive in Seattle and see spring in full swing – the leaves and grass are that new spring green color and the flowers are abundantly blooming. It was also nice to have it stay light later – in Africa it is autumn and the sun sets around 5 pm…it was still light when I finally crashed into bed at around 8 pm.
I slept for about 12 hours and was awakened by my Samson wanting to be petted…very nice to be home!
Thanks for your prayers and support while I was away. I know my next several weeks will be packed with activity as I prepare to move to California to start full time with rēp.
I still have a lot of questions needing to be answered but I know the God I serve is faithful and would never send me some where without preparing things first! So, off I go into the unknown! Adventure!
As I transition, please keep praying for me…your support is invaluable:
Car: Do I buy here or in California (they have stricter smog regulations and why license here if I need to change it there)?
Housing: I am still trying to ferret this out…the girl I wanted to live with is severely allergic to Samson and I am not to keen to leave him?
Fundraising: I need to raise all my living expenses until the association brings in enough for my salary – which could be up to a year from now – how much to raise? How do I do it?
Church Family: I have a great church family here in Seattle that will be hard to leave – pray that I find a Spirit filled, Biblically sound, Bible teaching/following, worship filled church in the South Bay area where I will be moving to.
Move: How? What day? Who? What to leave? What to pack? What to store? What to throw away? Changing of address stuff?
I appreciate you!
Dena
After 36 hours in transit, I am home! Let me tell you, it was an ‘adventure’ getting here! The Hodson’s dropped me off at Cape Town International (where I had my bag cling-wrapped to prevent further theft) and I tearfully said goodbye.
On to JHB…we were a late taking off from CT so my layover in JHB was even tighter than before…but the grace of God prevailed! My bag was one of the first off the plane (yea!) and I was able to wheel it to the international terminal (thanks for the help Amy)…then things got a bit more exciting.
When I checked in for my flight I was told that I would miss my connecting Seattle flight because of the delayed JHB takeoff. I asked to be put on the next flight, but it was overbooked and there weren’t any seats - HA! The clerk asked that I take care of things in Atlanta and I sweetly pushed back and asked that they be taken care here and now (my layover was going to be tight and I knew with jet lag I wouldn’t be as ‘sweet’ on the other end) – she gave me a ‘seat confirmation’ slip and off I went.
During my travels I was still suffering from severe congestion – Thank GOD! I never thought I would be happy for sinus pressure and the inability to breathe…but I was strategically seated behind two gentlemen who had a strong, um, let’s call it, ‘personal odor’. I blew my nose right before takeoff and the fumes assaulted me - causing my eyes to tear and me to sneeze! Whoa! Needless to say, for the next 20 hours I functioned with a stuffy nose – what a blessing sinus congestion can be!
Due to other delays we landed even further behind schedule. I was glad that I had changed the flight because by now I only had 40 minutes until my next plane took off. I eventually found my gate (it had been changed multiple times) and was told that the flight was still overbooked and that I would know in about 20 minutes if I had a seat or not. Off I went to notify my pick up person about the delay. I didn’t have my cell phone and what hassle pay phones are – they don’t like money! Augh! Thank God for understanding friends and the ‘collect call’ system!
Anyway, 6 minutes before the flight was scheduled to take off I was called to the podium and asked to stand against a wall, where I waited with 3 others for what seemed an eternity while the airline staff scrambled to find us seats. Eventually I was lead down the boarding ramp and told to sit in the first empty seat I came to (excluding first class because of course that was the one I noticed!) – The door shut right after the guy behind me boarded and I barely had my belt buckled when the plane pushed back from the gate! Whew – 4 more hours and I would be home!
It was lovely to arrive in Seattle and see spring in full swing – the leaves and grass are that new spring green color and the flowers are abundantly blooming. It was also nice to have it stay light later – in Africa it is autumn and the sun sets around 5 pm…it was still light when I finally crashed into bed at around 8 pm.
I slept for about 12 hours and was awakened by my Samson wanting to be petted…very nice to be home!
Thanks for your prayers and support while I was away. I know my next several weeks will be packed with activity as I prepare to move to California to start full time with rēp.
I still have a lot of questions needing to be answered but I know the God I serve is faithful and would never send me some where without preparing things first! So, off I go into the unknown! Adventure!
As I transition, please keep praying for me…your support is invaluable:
Car: Do I buy here or in California (they have stricter smog regulations and why license here if I need to change it there)?
Housing: I am still trying to ferret this out…the girl I wanted to live with is severely allergic to Samson and I am not to keen to leave him?
Fundraising: I need to raise all my living expenses until the association brings in enough for my salary – which could be up to a year from now – how much to raise? How do I do it?
Church Family: I have a great church family here in Seattle that will be hard to leave – pray that I find a Spirit filled, Biblically sound, Bible teaching/following, worship filled church in the South Bay area where I will be moving to.
Move: How? What day? Who? What to leave? What to pack? What to store? What to throw away? Changing of address stuff?
I appreciate you!
Dena
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