The time at the airport before leaving was very enjoyable. After checking my bags in (they worked - even a little over the weight limit!), I visited with my family and with Patrick and Carissa. We talked for at least 2 hours before mom and dad decided they needed to go home. The goodbye was a lot easier than I thought it would be...Patrick and Carissa stayed until I went through security. (Thanks guys!)
Security wasn't as dreadful as I had heard it would be, and it took less time than expected. By the time I had gotten some snacks by the gate, I didn't have long before boarding. The plane was the adventure on this trip. I rode in a 737 which was SUPER crammed. I barely fit my hips between the two arm rests! However, I was in an aisle seat, so that was definitely a blessing.
When I sat down, the young man sitting next to me was politely chatting with the older gentlman by the window. Almost immediately upon sitting down, the young man commented on the smell of the airplane. I had noticed it the moment I walked in and had thought exactly what he stated now: "This plane smells like a nursing home!" We laughed a little and began introductions. He was from Columbia, TN and was headed to LA to catch a connecting flight. I think he purposely never said where he was going, but he told me that he was in the military. We discussed our home towns and I told him where I was going. I believe our discussion about where I went to school sparked a discussion about our religions.
He knew Trevecca was a Nazarene university and simply said, "So you're a Christian, then." I said, "Yes." He asked what denomination I was associated with and I told him I was a a Nazarene. He said he was non-denominational, but that he was more Pentecostal than anything else. We then talked about different denominations and what made them different. I got the feeling that he must be a new Christian, or at least still trying to figure out what he believed because he told me about conversations he had had with people from different denominations. Our conversation ended around the time he explained to me that he believed speaking in tongues was evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life. I said I had never spoken in tongues before but I have felt the Holy Spirit in my life. He said that was just what he believed – but he played his own devil’s advocate by saying that someone could refute that notion by pointing out that Christ never spoke in tongues. Anyhow, it was an interesting discussion. The only other thing I really remember from that flight was the fact that I saw the older gentleman playing Angry Birds on his ipad, which struck me as extremely funny considering he was about 60 years old or so. J
The LAX airport was a little scary – not only because I had no idea where to go, but because everyone else knew their way around so well and it made me feel as if everyone expected me to know as well. After I sat down and got something to eat, I started asking around to try to find my gate. Come to find out, I had to go outside and walk to another terminal! But I made it. Once I got to my gate I was able to relax. After sitting there for an hour or so, I noticed a group of teens sitting nearby and later heard someone reading from the Bible. I moved closer to try to see what they were doing, and asked a man standing there if they were a church group. He said they were from Revival Church there in California. (Check it out! http://www.revival.tv/) They were headed to the Philippines on a mission trip! I told him a little bit about where I was from and where I was going. He surprised me by saying that they had a group in Indonesia on an island called PeiPei who were clearing land to build a church there. What an awesome thing!!! It was very refreshing for me to run into people who were also seeking to do Kingdom work overseas.
The flight to Hong Kong was 14 hours long. I had a special blessing on that flight though – I sat by the window and the seat between me and the person on the aisle was empty! There was more room for both of us. J I did my best to sleep and I think I slept about 5-6 hours. However, I probably would have slept more if I wasn’t so occupied by looking at everything on my personal television screen. lol There were games, movies, television shows – there was even a map of the route between LA and Hong Kong that showed where the plane was and how much longer the flight would be.
Once I got to Hong Kong I knew I could sit back and relax for a while because I had a 7 hour layover. I was able to use free Wi-Fi at the airport and got to Skype my family, which was really nice. They got a kick out of watching the people behind me because they would stare at the screen as they walked past me. J After I was finally able to get through security and to the place where the gates were, I was able to find a sitting lounge. I paid to take a hot shower and a 15 minute massage (which was extremely painful but really helpful in the long run!) – both of which felt like heaven.
The flight from Hong Kong to Surabaya was a little less than 5 hours, which felt like nothing after the 14 hour flight. Once I got to Surabaya, however, I had an adventure waiting for me. I had sent the wrong itinerary to the people at Cita Hati; therefore, there was nobody waiting for me once I got through customs. I waited around for about half an hour because my flight had come in a bit early and I thought perhaps they were running late. After that I began to panic a little, but I did my best not to freak out even though I was on the verge of tears most of the time. After turning down about 500 taxi drivers I found the payphones. Unfortunately I hadn’t been able to get my money exchanged so I had to ask around for coins. A nice man tried to dial the number I had on his cell phone but apparently had no luck. Another nice man offered me some change but I could not get the payphone to work. After a walking around and talking to a few more people, I found someone who spoke English and he directed me to the information desk. The lady there dialed the number on her phone and got in touch with security at Cita Hati. They asked Ms. Vony if she knew who I was and she was able to call me back a few minutes later. She told me about the mix up and I realized it was all my fault. I had realized that I sent her the wrong one and never remembered to send the right one. Anyhow, the Lord protected me and sent the people I needed to help me contact her. She arrived at the airport around 20 minutes after I talked to her and she took me to McDonald’s for dinner. J It was such a relief to be with someone familiar. She called some people from school and they were able to get my house ready that night.
Praise the Lord for keeping me safe throughout my journey!
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