The Final Destination: Are you Prepared? (REALLY?)

My flight was long and tedious. With aching eyes and a skull filled with the worst pressure headache I have ever experienced (I thought that I might explode) I watched the landscape as we started to move. The plane was zooming along the tarmac, then suddenly it was airborne. I was pushed into my seat and feeling nauseous as the plane bumped along, gaining altitude at an extraordinarily slow rate. I wish some of the flight had been in the daylight, I would have liked to see the ocean. But the stars. Oh the stars. They were brighter than I had ever seen them before. I wanted to climb out the window and stand on the wing to greet the stars. They were that beautiful.....who cares if I would have frozen at that altitude?

The turbulence in this flight didn't bother me as much. Was it because I sat by the window, or because I was less stressed? Honestly, probably both. Finally I was on my way, I mean truly on my way, to Wales. I watched two movies (If you guess right you will get e-cookies! And if you don't know what those are...well that's because I just made them up.) ;) It was a six hour flight, leaving at 6:45 pm, and arriving at 7:40am.... except there is a five hour time difference. So even though it is 4:20 pm right now, it is  like 11:20 back home. I think. Either way, I haven't slept since yesterday. Or something like that. And it is starting to affect my thinking. Really, I can feel my brain turning to mush.

I am getting off topic. Sorry....

Where was I. Oh, yes. We landed without difficulty. I didn't leave anything behind. The one problem....I didn't know the address of where I was staying. And customs wanted to know. Like really really know. One guy told me to put down phone numbers, so I did. But when I got up to the lady- after about an hour of waiting in line with a bunch of squirmy, crying, cranky children- I was told I needed an address. She wasn't very nice- it wasn't personal or anything, it was just the need to get the line moving. She sent me away, to find an address I had no way of finding. When she called me back she was more gentle, expressing concern. I was so tired I was having trouble forming sentences, so she took that as me not knowing answers to things and began to wonder if YWAM was legit. (A young woman traveling alone in a foreign land....it is suspect I guess.) Still, I was offended. Though I could see why she wouldn't trust my judgment as I came not knowing where I was going.

In the end:
I was not prepared for immigration
I have not slept since I woke at 8:30 am (Eastern Time) on Saturday morning


Praises:
I easily found my ride
I MADE IT TO YWAM WALES
AND SO DID MY LUGGAGE!!!

On a side note:
there are four other Trainees here. They are all guys. Ha. Ha. Ha. Another girl might be coming. Keep her in your prayers! I want her to come! There are female staff, but that just won't be the same.

Takeoff's, Landings, And All The Things In Between

On September 25, hours after we were already supposed to leave, my mother, and older brother and I piled into the car to drive to Chicago so that I could catch the next day's flight to England. First, we had to make a little detour and pick up my little sister. I couldn't start my big adventures without her being there to see me off. The ride was filled with lots of crazy laughter. Everything from mom overfilling a cup to a remark about blocked plumbing set us off.

Did I mention it was about 2 in the morning?

It was nearly 5am when we finally arrived at the hotel. I slept such a happy sleep, until my little sister came and woke me to tell me about the fire and canceled flights. Now, I don't know what is to be said about the man who started it all. I can say that the ripple effects were felt across the country. Since the fire was in Chicago, I believe that the Windy City felt it the most. My flight was fine, we were told. And I checked in normally. 

The good-byes were rushed, because they were about to begin boarding and I had to get through security. Mom and Little G (who really isn't that little) both teared up, and received more than one hug. Good Luck, they said. Be safe. Even my brother gave me a hug (I saw no evidence of tears in his eyes. Similarly, mine were dry too.) 

When I Finally made it to my plane, I was told that there was no more room and they had to check my carry on. They didn't just put it in the belly of the plan like I had experienced before; they tagged it for my final destination.  I am going to blame the lack of food and sleep for not thinking about grabbing anything but my computer from my bag. I didn't even get the charger. 

Then came the waiting. You know what song came into my head- something from Shrek the Musical. "I know it's today" has a line that goes 'The waiting, the WAIIIITIIING." The plane was supposed to take off at 3, but we did into get into the air until 5:10. I won't say how much my motion sickness kicked it. It was bad. But I could deal with it, knowing that the flight wouldn't last too terribly long. I was determined to get a window seat in the next plane. Only, by the time we landed my second plane was about to take off. I could not get aboard.

I was stranded in New Jersey (why New Jersey?) at night, alone. Without my carry-on.

Customer service had two people working. It took about an hour to get through the six or seven people ahead of me.  I was given a flight for today, about 24 hours from when I was supposed to leave. They did not offer me a room. It was my family that told me to go back up and ask for one. After eating my first meal that day (I had no time to eat before boarding, and hotels are not known for being gluten-free friendly at breakfast) I did just that.

God is good. Because even though the man who helped me wasn't really suppose to, he gave me a room for the night. It is one of the nicest hotels I have ever been in. 

If all works out I will leave the US today and enter England.

Things to consider:

Always have extra underwear in EVERY BAG

Keep your computer close to you and your Charger even closer

When traveling alone, eat regularly. Or else you will have a breakdown. Especially if you have a restricted diet.

Praises:

My next flight is a window seat

I got to sleep in a big, soft bed

I am going to YWAM; God will get me there.