My, my, my… What a day.
Yesterday, after a busy morning of work and errands, we packed Renaissance Man’s truck with suitcases and tubs of goodies (your Valentines, soccer uniforms, and things for Hope Unlimited’s thrift stores in Brazil) and headed to the airport. Too many miles down the road—but not close enough to our destination—we stopped.
Involuntarily.
And fortunately…
We were in the right lane, so when it went KAPUT and died, we were able to coast to the shoulder. And there we sat in the heat until our new best friend arrived.
Look at that beautiful sky! Perfect day for flying . . .
And fortunately…
Our taxi pulled up just as we finished with the kind tow truck driver who’d promised he wouldn’t leave us sitting alone on the side of the road on a busy Knoxville highway.
We arrived at the airport and sailed through check-in without a hitch. Whew! And then we sat down at a restaurant for a nice, relaxing late lunch before boarding our flight to Chicago en route to Brazil.
And then the airline’s “important flight update” texts started arriving.
Our plane (still in Chicago) had experienced mechanical issues and was delayed. And then it was delayed again . . . and again . . . and again. Finally, we feared we’d be cutting it too close and would miss our connection, so Renaissance Man headed back to the ticket counter to check out options.
- Fly to Washington DC and catch the evening Brazil flight from there. Not an option. The one night there was no flight to Brazil was Tuesday. Of course…
- Wait for late-arriving plane and fly to Chicago (even though we’d miss our connection) and take the next night’s flight to Brazil. Not an option. The next night’s flight was full.
- Fly to Houston and catch the late night flight to Brazil. Too risky due to weather conditions in Houston.
- Fly to Washington DC, check into a hotel (compliments of the airline) and wait 24 hours for the next flight. No other choice. Final answer . . .
Several hours after arriving at the airport, we were finally on a plane going somewhere (or so we hoped). Pleeease close that door and take off! (And pleease let it be an uneventful flight!)
Finally . . .
As night fell over our nation’s capital, the last few fiery-orange embers of sunlight slipped beneath the horizon, and our plane touched down.
Safely on the ground without any in-air excitement! You can believe I was lifting prayers of thanksgiving as I stood waiting for luggage on the tarmac in Washington DC .
So this morning, after a good night’s sleep, we have the entire day ahead of us. What are our options?
- Visit the Smithsonian
- Tour some monuments
- Worship at the National Cathedral
- Stay at the hotel and get some much-needed rest
#4
Boring? Perhaps, but it’s the right choice. This trip comes on the tail of some very busy weeks—and Brazil is always a hectic-schedule, late-nights endeavor—so we’re choosing to be grateful for the unexpected respite.
As Hope Unlimited for Children board members arrive in Brazil this morning and begin several days of events and meetings, our prayers go out for their safety, stamina, and insight as they once again see “up close and personal” the programs that have changed the lives of thousands of once-hopeless children over the past 25 years.
We pray for the children and graduates they will see; some new faces since their last visit, others now familiar friends. And we look forward to catching up with them tomorrow to share hugs and smiles of our own—because it’s the children who are the stars of the show!
I’ll try to blog from Brazil as I’ve done in the past, but I’ll see how much time I have once I get there. In the meantime (and especially if this is your first time to hear about Hope Unlimited and Renaissance Man’s and my connection to the organization), I hope you’ll read more about our kids. You can do that HERE or by clicking on the Sharing Hope tab above.
