The Journey to Romania....

After months of praying and planning....I am in Beius, Romania on my March mission trip! It seemed like the leave date of March 17th would never arrive and now I am two days into our trip. God is so Faithful! I want to say thank you for everyone who is a part of this trip....and that includes more than Sarah, Kara, Heather and Earl who are here in Romania with me...it is everyone who has prayed and is praying for us, everyone who was willing to listen to the voice of God when the list of items was put on FB, given out in my church, Ringgold-GA Curves, Touch of Warmth, friends and family...you all gave above and beyond! Our team collected of 150lbs of items!!!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!! God did not just bless this trip before departure, He poured out His blessings!
Now...the journey!
Scott, Elijah and my parents took me, Kara and Sarah to the airport in Atlanta. Along the way we stopped to eat our last "American Italian" at Olive Garden before leaving. Arrived at the airport at 5pm, met up with Heather and Earl, checked in, cleared security....departed Atlanta for our first stop in Toronto, Canada. Left Toronto about 20min late. Arrived in Frankfurt, Germany with only one hour to get to our next gate....now from here it got interesting! We hurried off the plane, walking quickly to customs....then waited with about a hundred others.... we still had 45 min until our plane was to leave...however, we didn't realized it was boarding as soon as we arrived in Germany...we were not going to make the next flight no matter how fast we walked or got thru all the check points. We got to our gate, and they said "that flight has already left" we said "What!" We were sent to Lufthansa Ticket counter to get on another flight. We get there...we all get on the next flight...no problem...we thought. You see, they told Sarah that she would have to check with the attendants at the gate to get a seat number. We thought "no problem, we will get lunch..log onto our computers, call home thru skype, call Ana at REMM tell her we missed the flight so she would have our new arrival info". I called Scott, skyped with the boys at home, then my battery on my computer died. This is an important part of the story...I had packed the converter in my checked luggage. But, Kara had her computer and it was charged...no problem. HA! HA!
They called for our flight to board....heading to our last stop...Budapest, Hungry. We would be picked up by a driver from REMM then drive 5 hours to Beius, Romania. Sarah, went to get her seat number...she came over to us....with this look of "what am I going to do" she says there are no seats for me on this plane! I said...are you sure? I being the team leader...I stayed with her because she had to wait until everyone was boared to see if there were any "No Shows". I told Kara, give me your computer just in case Sarah needs to call Ana. Then as we are waiting...I am thinking, I can't leave Sarah here if she can't get a seat...I can't leave her here to figure out how to make a skype call.... Okay...we waited to see if someone would not show. Well....they all showed. We asked about the next flight...it had a wait list of 20 people and all the other flights were booked full with waiting list for the rest of the night. I said...give her my seat and I will wait, "Sarah, you have to go...it will be easier to find a flight for one person rather than two". Sarah did not want to leave me...but I insisted. She waved good bye...I prayed now what...also knowing precious Sarah, she would be praying for me! I asked the ladies at the gate what to do next...
I would spend the next 2 hours walking from Lufthansa, to Air Canada, to Hungarian Airlines...I was tired and alone in Frankfurt, Germany airport. Actually I realized I was not alone. God was with me...He said He would never leave me or forsake me. So, we (me and my Father) talked about what to do. I was in a position that I had to lean on Him, think and listen for His wisdom to be given to me. I went to Hungarian Airlines, the man at the ticket booth said they didn't have any flights, no one was at the Air Canada desk (the orginator of my flight) to help me find another carrier to get me to Budapest, Hungary. So, back to the Lufthansa Ticket counter. I had been up to their ticket help area earlier...it was an hour wait to just talk to anyone at the ticket counter and they gave me a number to get in line. All the options had been exhausted. As I went to the waiting area for Lufthansa, I showed my number to the guy in charge of that area, he told me to watch for my number on the board....I looked and my number was on the board! That was only the Lord! I knew it instantly! He directed me to a lady that would be so kind and willing to help me. She found a flight for me that would leave in two hours and get me to Budapest by 10 pm. However, before she could complete confirming my ticket....the police came up to where we were and said they had to clear the area due to someone leaving a bag sitting in the terminal. I thought "oh no, you have got to be kidding!" The lady said to me....You come with me, stay with me I will go to another place and get you on this flight, I will take care of you. And, she did! She took me with her and got my flight booked and confirmed my seat on the next flight going to Budapest on Hungarian Airlines. Okay, now I had mentioned about telling Kara to leave me her computer....however, I forgot to ask her for the password to get into the computer! So, you guessed it....I did not have a way to call REMM to get word that I was still in Germany and the others were headed to Budapest.

To finish up details of a long story and a really long trip to get here.... God knew exactly what He was doing. I really believe He allowed all the events of the day to happen to grow me in my faith. One of my prayers before leaving for this trip was for me to be able to hear the voice of God, know it is Him, and to trust Him more. I was put in a situation that I had to just listen, trust and obey. I believe I was in a situation where all options were exhausted, delivered to the lady at the Lufthansa desk, cared for by her, unable to make a call to get any word to the team or to REMM. I just had to trust. I finally knew in my heart I had to get on the plane and leave the details to the Lord. I boarded the plane, sat back, as the plane took off in my heart and mind I began to praise the Lord! He is wonderful, my Prince of Peace, my Savior, I thanked Him for never leaving me. I told Him I would trust Him. I was trying to figure out what to do if they were not still at the airport when I arrived, and He clouded my mind and helped me to not try to make my own plans. We landed safely in Budapest, I got my luggage...came out of the baggage claim... standing there waiting for me was Meeshee holding a sign that says"Beius"! I said "REMM"....he said yes....I said "PRAISE THE LORD!!!" and began to cry...God is so faithful...you see...Ana with REMM had been called with the details with what happened when the rest of the team arrived in Budapest...she called the airlines to find out if I had got on another flight. She told them the situation, they told her I was booked on the next flight out. You see, at just the time I got my ticket confirmed at 7pm, Ana called at the same time...God had handeled it all and I just didn't know it was already worked out but He did. I just had to trust and obey.