Getting there. 

Note: This was accidentally posted on my Becky Spencer Ministries blog, so I'm adding it to this correct page today.  It's from July 19, 2012.

Getting there.  

Tracy, our 16 year old daughter Anna, and I packed into the wee hours the night before we left, double checking our lists and crossing off each item that made it into the suitcases.  I’d started days earlier, but planning to be gone for an entire month still pushed me into last minute scrambling.  We were zipping up the bags with relief, looking forward to finally shutting our eyes for a few hours, when one of the suitcase zippers busted.

Panic set in. There are no department stores in Buhler, and we were too tired to drive into Hutchinson. Solution? Leave early enough to make a Wal-Mart run before our flights the next morning. So we fell exhausted into bed with our alarm set to roll us out in plenty of time and a prayer for grace that all the details would work out fine.

Our son Nathan picked us up and got us to the store in Wichita. We found a bag that would suffice, paid quickly, and suddenly realized there wasn’t room for it in the back of the Jimmy.  So we juggled things and held bags across our laps.  Hadn’t thought through to how long it would take to transfer all our stuff to the new suitcase, but with sweat beading on our backs, we finally crammed every item in, sure that we’d still have plenty of time to make our flight.

Of course, that didn’t take into account that the printer for the luggage was on the blink at check-in.  Nor could we have foreseen that the clerk didn’t have the correct information for what to do with an overweight bag.  I assured her that I could pay extra to have up to 70 pounds, but she searched through pages of documents to try to find the information herself.  She couldn’t see it, so she made a phone call and was on hold a long time.  Now we were really starting to sweat as minutes ticked away.

I could imagine how uneasy our friend and team member Jana must be getting since we hadn’t yet shown up at the gate. But the clerk wasn’t in a hurry at all. She was way too calm to suit me. I wanted to give her an injection of adrenaline.  I could have made coffee nervous by then! I kept looking at the time, wringing my hands, and biting my lips. Okay, and my tongue. I sure didn’t want to say anything that would make the clerk move any slower just to spite me!

She finally realized we were going to miss our flight, so she said she’d take my word for it and ran my credit card.  By then the printer was working, so she handed us our paperwork and shooed us to security, cautioning us that we had about ten minutes to make it.

Naturally, security was also stressful. They decided they needed to run my carry-on bag through twice and open it to visually check my powder supplements. My driver’s license fell behind a table—I didn’t see it happen, but thankfully one of the TSA employees did. I had to run to get to the gate. Jana was as antsy as I’d suspected she’d be. She’d texted our oldest daughter Sara, who like Casey from Texas, was meeting us in DC, so she’d called to find out what in the world was going on. But we made the flight.

Our flight in Houston was delayed, though. So when we arrived in DC, we didn’t even get to give Anna a proper goodbye or last minute instructions before leaving her for an entire month. Just a fast hug and a nod in the general direction of baggage claim where our son-in-law was going to pick her up. She was terrified that she’d get lost. I was worried that I couldn’t remind her about checking her blood sugars or taking good care of her niece and nephews for the month. We had to trust that the Lord would watch over all of us—and it had to come to us on the run.

Literally! We raced to the gate where Casey waited where all but one of the other passengers were already boarded. The clerk at the gate determined our carry-ons were too heavy, so those had to be checked. But at least we made it, once again. It barely registered that we’d hugged our oldest daughter Sara hello in DC, too, as she showed us where to hurry to our gate. We caught our breath, gave better hugs, and settled in for the final 18 hour flight.

Jana and Sara ready to catch up now that they live more than 18 hrs. apart--and would have 18 hrs. in the air!

We had an hour delay while fueling in Dakar, but it allowed us to stand up and stretch a bit. We got to know Casey a little bit better in between cat naps and shuttling to the airplane toilet.  

Casey and me with my infamous neck pillow

I read, watched a movie, prayed, and walked the aisle. And dreamed of what our journey would bring to each person on the team.

Yikes, Tracy and I started the trip already completely exhausted!  Not sure if the poor guy beside us was really into his movie or just couldn't stand our snoring.  Yep, we're mouth open sleepers. Ewwwww.

Because all the stress and rushing and near misses aside, our anticipation was intact. Getting there was just the first step in a month long journey that was filled with potential and the call of God on this team of five. We knew with everything in us that none of the trials of getting there would be able to take away even a tiny bit of the joy we would discover once we met the Africans, young and old, that He had planned for us to interact with.  We were ready for the unknown future because of the faithful God we know.

And I can see that our years on this earth are a lot like our flights that took us to Africa.  Filled with challenges, requiring patient waiting on others who might not share our sense of urgency, hurrying up to wait. Feeling like our interactions with loved ones are just a blur as we rush by because it’s going too fast.

Our lives are but a vapor, a grass that quickly withers. Hardships are guaranteed. But when we finally reach our heavenly destination, all of the struggles of getting there will quickly fade. And the unknown will lose every hint of fear because we know the King Who prepared for our stay.

Getting there is just the first step.

And so worth the trip.