"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." - Proverbs 19:21
Highlights of Traveling to Lima
-Set alarm for 5:30am to travel to Raleigh, NC airport (River was the first one up...and was dressed and ready before we made it to the coffee pot). Also not much sleep- finally finished packing and re-packing last few bags at 2:30am the night before.
-Pulled out of the drive-way at 7:30am with 15 in the church van (my dad driving us all) which included all the cousins who stayed out of school to help take us to the airport. The kids called this there "party van" and loved to ask "are we there yet".
-Once we arrived at the airport- we were greeted first by our friends the Karriker's- who came to meet us and help us with the luggage and watching after the kids. (Sharon also made us amazing homemade cupcakes...THANK YOU all so much for all your help!)
-A very nice gentlemen at the curbside who worked for American Airlines helped us with our luggage. He helped way all the bags and we quickly realized the "over weight" issue on 2 of the 15 bags. We thought initnally that we would pay for 2 overweight bags thinking that there was not weight limit on those- but he informed us of the price of the additional luggage (totalling $1100). Hearing that number made our mouths drop- he said he would see what he could do to help find a solution. He mentioned first class and said that they get 3 free checked bags and a meal served. He first said that he needed to check for availablity (he looked shocked and said that there are exactly 6 seats left). We quickly booked them and the overall fee to upgrade and to cover all luggage (and a free meal for 6) was $540 (a savings of $560). THANK you God for this blessing. He hugged us and told us to always be obidient and to do good work for the Lord. (AMAZING)
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| Ready to Depart - RDU Airport |
-Saying good-bye is never easy...we knew this day was coming- but we had no idea how hard this would be to say good-bye for 11 months for our family and seeing the kids say good-bye to their cousins and grandparents. I just kept praying for strength. As we walked away- I bet we all turned around and waved good-bye 10 more times (I loved seeing them when I turned around knowing that they were still there).
-Security went fairly smoothly. We had or blue "Operation Inasmuch" shirts on and this opened the door for questions about the ministry and our faith in God. One older man told me that his granddaughter did mission work and shared stories of her faith.
-I managed to drop the camera in the security line- I assumed it was fine- but soon realized that I had cracked my display screen and no picture shows. (I could have cried because I had this camera for years) Thankfully a good friend of ours dropped by with a phone/camera the day before our flight and said that a good friend named Nancy donated it to hopefully be able to use in Peru. Josh- please tell Nancy how AWESOME this was to have a back up camera. This will be our only camera now if the other one cannot be fixed. THANK YOU NANCY for helping us capture this journey!
-Many individuals prior to boarding the flight approached us on our shirts and wanting to know more about the mission- we even met another missionary just through her seeing the blue shirt. It was amazing to see how God worked on hearts to stop and find out more.
-We felt out of place initially and we were not sure how happy the crew was to see all the kids in first class. But they soon warmed up and thankfully the kids had a blast. By the end of the flight - one stewardess even made us a care package filled with warm cookies and nuts for our next flight. (What a blessing!)
-Lake actually ventured out and ate new foods on the plane...afterwards he mentioned that he thought it tasted like "caviar" (too cute...he has no idea what caviar taste like:)
-Autumn crying about not having her pink blanket (I feel AWFUL as a mom...how could I forget this...her tears finally stopped once she saw snacks coming on the plane:(
-Hustle and bustle to next flight...after we got off the flight I realized that I left the broken camera on the plane and Sean had to wait for everyone to exit to go get it. This put us way behnd...I think God is trying to teach me something with this camera.
-We ended up being last in line- but a stewardess came up and told us to ask for LUIS and she told us that she had called him to help us (we are not kidding to say that she was an angel...she had no idea who we were and that we were needing help!)
-Full flight but Luis with help from others found 2 hidden closets that they were able to store the oversized computer and guitar.
-On the flight- things went smooth...I finally closed my eyes for a nap and was woken up by the WORST turbulence ever...I mean I grabbed Sean and my kids beside me and thought the plane was going down...my heart was racing...I mean I am still struggling with this FLIGHT FEAR I have always had...(You can imagine how Sean thought I was crazy.)
-Landing in Lima...going through customs and immigration was an adventure to say the least...2 1/2 hours later we made it through...long lines, all the luggage, and the Heath's all dressed in winter clothes (with no air in the airport and it being summertime....we were so glad to make it to the hotel and met our new friend from Villa Milagro who has helped us tremendously).
-Final note: going to bed around 2:30am...we loved the toilet sign...do not put your toilet paper in the toilet or (W.C)...imagine doing this with 4 kids...new way of life is beginning!
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| Posted in the Bathrooms:) |
Thanks for the update.... we have a family prayer every night. As you can imagine our parents ask constantly of any word. Poor Autonamic without her blanket....I hope it has been located and in good hands now! Lol. Stone was glad to hear they had one more day of American type food...he especially worried about his buddy Lake. Tell Riv Whit and Wes had a rough day back at school and tell Sailor and Autumn that Samuel and Hunter were acting out. We hope the bus ride goes well and glad to hear it is a nice bus....not the vision we all had! I will try and help keep the church and people updated so write when you can. We love and miss you!!
ReplyDeleteCasie