...My flight was on schedule to taxi down the runway. Before I could get my excitement meter revved
up with the plane engines, the pilot’s voice came over the intercom to let
passengers know that the radio on the aircraft was broken, and we had no
ability to communicate with air traffic control. All passengers with connecting flights would
need to de-plane and arrange their travel on another airline. I heaved a big sigh, got off the plane, and
stood in line with several other passengers in search of a flight to Washington
Dulles that would get me to that airport in time to make my connecting flight
to Ethiopia. I received my new Delta
airlines ticket and proceeded to the proper terminal. I turned my phone back on after having
powered it down in airplane mode, and the following text messages were glaring
across the screen. They were all from
Kimberly:
6:21am
“There is no record of my itinerary!! Trying to get it worked out.”
6:36am “Huge
problems! No record of my ticket
purchase and flights full. Contact me
when you can.”
6:49am
“Nothing United can do for me. I can’t
reach the travel agent yet. Not sure
what to do right now!
I was in shock! I
called Kimberly immediately as I walked quickly through the airport, trying to
make my new flight to Washington D.C.
Kimberly’s voice sounded frantic and upset. She tried to explain the problems she was
having, but it was so confusing. She had
an itinerary and a confirmation number, but the United ticket agent couldn’t
find ANY record of her reservation. I
was growing concerned at this point because Kimberly’s flight from Chicago was
scheduled to take off within the hour, and she still had to get checked in and
go through security. I was suddenly
very afraid that she had been the victim of travel agency fraud. I arrived at my new gate just as the Delta
ticket agent had started boarding passengers.
I hung up the phone with
Kimberly, told her I would be praying for her and to keep me posted. I handed my new boarding pass to the Delta
ticket agent who proceeded to tell me that the United ticket agent keyed in my
flight information incorrectly, and he couldn’t let me board the plane. I couldn’t even speak; I just smiled and prayed. The Delta agent (who was just talking out
loud to himself, at this point) continued to punch in ticket information,
looking for my name on the new flight schedule, while he bad-mouthed the United
agent for his lack of proper protocol in processing airport documents. Good grief!
The Delta agent finally handed me a new boarding pass with a confirmed
seat even though he kept saying that he shouldn’t allow me on the plane. I asked no questions, thanked him for the
boarding pass, walked down the jet way, took my seat, and breathed! As the plane taxied down the runway, I
prayed that the Lord would intervene in Kimberly’s situation and she would make
her flight. My head was throbbing. I got off the plane in D.C. and headed to the Ethiopia
Airlines terminal. I checked my phone
and read this text message from Kimberly:
7:51am
“Still no word from the travel agent.
Probably won’t until they open.
Looks like they are in California which is two hours earlier. I’m going to head back home since there is
nothing anyone can do for me here.
Please don’t go without me! I
don’t know if we can leave tomorrow or what the options are. I’m just so
upset.”
My heart sank! I
called Kimberly, and she told me that she missed her flight. The airline was accusing her of being a ‘no
show’ and there weren’t any other flights going out of the airport that
day. She was going to try to find
someone who could tell her if there were any flights to Zambia leaving the next
day. I didn’t know what to do. I had two suitcases of checked baggage on
their way to Africa filled with items for the missionaries and the maternity
clinic. I told her I would try to find a
ticket agent to help me get information about flights leaving the next
day. I was sick to my stomach. I sent a message to Kevin and Savannah Pestke
asking for their help, and I knew I had to call Harden. He was already hesitant about Kimberly and I
flying to Africa by ourselves, and I could only imagine what he would say. I
dialed his number. His voice was
cheerful. He had been tracking my
itinerary online and told me he knew about the flight delay in Atlanta. I told him that something terrible had
happened, and I needed him to listen. I
tried to explain what was going on with Kimberly’s flight. I told him that she was going to try to get a
flight to Zambia the next day, but I didn’t know if I could get a new flight
confirmation for the next day. There
weren’t any ticket agents in the terminal to help me, and my flight to Ethiopia
was leaving within the hour. Then I
asked him if it would be alright if I traveled to Africa by myself if things
didn’t work out for Kimberly to come with me.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. He asked me if I would still be able to be
effective in my ministry if I went to Zambia by myself. I told him I wasn’t sure, but I thought it
would be alright with Kevin if I still came. Harden told me I could go, but he didn’t want
me to leave any of the airports and deviate from my original flight itinerary. I was so relieved to have his blessing, but I
was a bundle of nerves.
I called Kimberly and told her about my conversation with Harden. She offered to pay any fees I’d incur by rescheduling my flight (such a dear friend), but I knew I couldn’t leave the airport. I also couldn’t find anyone to help me get a different flight out of D.C. the next day, and the ticket agent had begun boarding passengers on my flight to Ethiopia. I was in tears, and so was Kimberly. I asked her if she would be willing to fly to Zambia by herself. She said she would if she had to. We were both devastated. I told her I loved her and hung up the phone. I couldn’t believe what was happening. As I stood in line on the jet way waiting to board the plane, my phone rang. I got out of line, and answered the phone. It was Savannah Pestke calling me from Zambia! I almost burst into tears! I tried to explain what was happening, but I didn’t have all the details. Savannah said she would call Kimberly and try to work things out with her since I wouldn’t be able to access my phone for the next 26 hours or so. Before I could get back into the line to board, my phone rang again. Kimberly was on the other end begging me not to fly to Africa alone. She had a terrible feeling about it and was concerned for my safety. I promised to call her as soon as I could and asked her to pray for me.
The sights and sounds on board the aircraft were chaotic, to
say the least. People were milling about
trying to find their seats and store carry-on luggage in the overhead bins. Multiple languages were ringing in my ears –
French, English, and an unrecognizable dialect (maybe Arabic or Ethiopian), and
my throat was incredibly dry. I was
thankful for my window seat. I was glad
the woman seated next to me spoke no English, for I was in no mood to
chitty-chat. I was in a state of shock! I buckled my seat belt and stared out at the
tarmac. This was my primary posture for the next four
hours – staring blankly out the window. I began to talk to the Lord, and my
conversation with him was pretty shallow.
I had nothing but questions on my mind:
“Why was all this happening?” Why
in the world was I traveling to Zambia by myself?” “How was I going to be effective in
ministering to the people?” “Why didn’t
it work out for Kimberly to fly with me today?”
“Why was I going alone after all the plans that had been made?” “Why was I alone?” I didn’t get any immediate answers to my
questions.
Sometime in the midst of that flight, traveling over the
Atlantic Ocean, the Lord reminded me of a similar time in my life 5 years
prior. It was 2008, and I was flying
home from a sixteen day mission trip to Zambia.
It had been an incredible experience, and I was overwhelmed with
emotion. I was having a conversation
with the Lord about my inadequacies and inability to make a difference in the
lives of the Zambian people. After all,
Africa was a huge continent, Zambia was a huge country, and my voice was very
small. My question then was, “How can I
possibly make any difference in a country?
I am just one voice.” My
questions in 2013 had a similar tone. I had a déjà vu and ‘light bulb’ moment all at
the same time. Sitting in my seat that
morning, headed to Zambia, Africa by way of Ethiopia I surrendered myself to
the FACT that God is sovereign. I didn’t
have to know every detail of the plans he had in store for me, and I didn’t
have to understand why things had happened as they did that morning. All
God wanted from me was a trusting heart and a willingness to be obedient
REGARDLESS of the circumstances. His
overall plan hadn’t changed even though the execution of that plan had taken a
different form. If I could place my life
in the hands of an airline pilot that I didn’t know and travel half way around the world
in a piece of machinery built by human hands, couldn’t I trust the creator of
the universe (who knows me personally and loves me any way) to work out all
things for my good and his glory? My
answer was a resounding YES, and sleep finally came.
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