It can't always be smooth sailing

May 5, 2019

Hi all! We are safe and sound in Addis Ababa. I am writing this while laying in bed, before retiring for the night. It’s only 8:00pm here, but it’s been a long couple of days. Despite a nice nap this afternoon, not even the barking dogs, the calls to worship (from both the Greek Orthodox church and the mosque) nor the snoring roommates are going to keep me awake tonight.

My trip started a bit rocky. After Lori dropped me off at the Memphis airport I sailed right through security, ate lunch, and made it to the gate in no time. After we had boarded, we were told that because of bad weather in Houston (I know,.. why am I flying to Houston from Memphis to get to Washington DC? Go figure) the flight would be delayed for two hours. So we got back off the plane and waited. I wasn’t too worried about my connection since my layover was three hours. I even said so much to Lori when I got off the plane (yes, I jinxed myself).

Two hours later we get back on the plane and depart. As we get close to Houston, the pilot announces that because of bad weather, we are going to circle the airport for up to 40 minutes before landing. Okay, I’m still okay. I’m reasoning that my connecting flight will also be delayed. Forty minutes later the pilot returns to the radio to let us know that the weather continues to be bad (with wind shears and strong gusts) so we are being diverted to Baton Rouge. Now, I’m in trouble.

I have this long history of sending a text to Lori as soon as I land somewhere to let her know that I’ve reached my destination. I wish I could have seen her face when she saw “Baton Rouge” pop up on her screen when she was expecting Houston.

I called United customer service and was given two choices: a 6:30 flight (one hour later than the one I’d been scheduled for) that would take me to Dulles (which is where I wanted to go) or a 7:45 flight to Reagan National. That choice would have meant a long taxi ride to my hotel. I chose the earlier of the two, figuring I could change later if need be.

As I was waiting for our plane to reboard out of Baton Rouge, also trying desperately to charge my phone, the fire alarm went off. A mechanical voice announced, “Please…”. Yes, that’s right. That’s all it said. No one was moving anywhere, not even the airport workers, so I just looked around and waitied. After about thirty seconds, it turned off. After another minute, the fire alarm came back on, announcing that everyone should leave. Again, no one moved, so I stayed put. Thirty seconds later, another voice came on (this time a human) saying that we should ignore the fire alarm.

We finally made it to Houston about two hours later, but fortunately my flight to Dulles was delayed. Unfortunately, it was delayed and delayed some more, and then the gage was changed to the other side of the airport, and then it was delayed again. I finally made it to Dulles at 2:45 Saturday morning. I was supposed to have arrived at 8:30 Friday night. Fortunately, all of the suitcases made it, the shuttle to the hotel was waiting for me, and I went straight to my room, checked in with Lori and fell in bed for my four hours of sleep before I needed to return to the airport for my 11:00 am flight to Ethiopia.

I got to the airport in plenty of time, and everyone on the team made it as well. We boarded the plane and settled in for our 14 hour flight.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” “Wreck-It Ralph”, “Crazy Rich Asians” “The Meg”, an episode of Sneaky Pete, two meals and a snack later, we landed in Addis, made our way through immigration, gathered our suitcases, and walked out into the beautiful Ethiopian sunshine to meet Nardi, who runs the guest house, and Daniel, our driver. It was a quick drive to the guest house. We were looking forward to catching up with loved ones on social media. Too bad the electricity was out, and would be out until about an hour before we came to bed.

The afternoon was spent eating lunch, getting to know each other better, and taking naps. A few of the team blew up some soccer balls and took them out into the street to play with some of the local kids. Cassidy and Lori took pictures of the kids with Snapchat so they could add the furry cat ears and noses to their photos. I was up in my room on the third floor and could hear the giggles and laughter clear as a bell.

Most of the day was spent being lazy (a true day of rest). The new Ethiopian director of Children’s Hopechest came by to talk with us about his plans for the care points he oversees. It was great getting to know him and hear about his vision. We prayed over him, ate dinner, talked some more and then THE ELECTRIC CAME BACK ON! and then went back off. But THEN CAME BACK ON! We are now all caught up with our loved ones and ready for our flight to Kombolcha.

We will get up at 4:30am, eat at 5am, and head to the airport at 5:30 am for our 8:00 flight. Tomorrow we will stop by each of the care points to watch programs that have been prepared by the kids. Tomorrow night we’ll organize our supplies and get ready for day one of our program on Tuesday.

Oh, and true to the nature of flexibility, we’ve decided to make video recordings of the sponsored kids receiving their cards and photos and sending messages to their sponsored families. We had a long talk to work out the logistics. I’m sure we’ve missed something, but we’ll figure it out as we go! That illustrates the true flexibility of our trips here. Something always gets changed after we’re here… and it’s only the first day!