Keeping An Eye on The Departure Gate

 

    1 Corinthians 15:50-58 -- I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the moral with immortality. When the imperishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

"Where, O death, is your victory?
     "Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. [NIV]

Giving himself entirely to the work of the Lord, now at the age of 72, continues to present enough challenges to keep Neil from ever becoming bored. It is with Bible passages like the one above and his concern for each person who might not have found Jesus to be their hope of heaven that motivates Neil to keep on trucking.

Thank you for praying for good travel connections and safety on Neil's flights to Kenya. His travels were drama-free, except for some unscheduled travel fitness exercises in Paris. More on that later.

Beth and Dave Savela, Neil's sister and husband, offered to drive Neil to the airport. Ruth was torn between joining friends at The Church in the Pines, Alexandria, or giving Neil his send-off at MSP. Neil won out. We covered lots of ground, both on the road and in conversation. Beth accompanied Neil to Kenya a few years ago and has a heart for his work there. A woman with AIDS is still living due to Beth's speedy intervention, getting her to a clinic for care.

As Dave drove us back to Morris, Neil sent texts with a play-by-play of his progress through ticketing and baggage control in the MSP terminal. The metal from his shoulder replacement set off the monitors, so he was pulled aside for further screening. Thankfully, he allowed 3 hours to make it to his gate. It is good that Dave was at the wheel. 

Ruth had taken Benadryl before their trip because the air quality index indicated that Minnesota was in the red danger zone. When Ruth arrived back in Morris, Neil called before boarding. Before Ruth could follow his plane's take-off on Flight Aware, she fell into an exhausted sleep as the Benadryl took effect.

In Paris, Neil's USA phone allowed texting, describing the progress of his trip so far. "The 8-hour Minneapolis to Paris flight was pretty full, and then there was an hour delay before take-off. The Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris is clunky because they load and unload on the tarmac with a 10-minute bus ride to the terminal. Passengers enter the terminal through a security queue and a detailed search. My metal shoulder again set off the alarm. 

"I went to gate 46, but turns out my gate is 34. You won't believe this. I was at the end of a long concourse when I saw that the Nairobi flight was at the other end. I got into that queue and was notified I was at the wrong Nairobi gate. The correct one was, indeed, at the opposite far end. So off I went. That gate area was empty, but the gate was open. As it turned out, the crowd around the gate I had been at was my flight after all, and I had to rush back down the concourse, only to learn my flight was delayed 3 more hours. And get this, they sent us all back to the other end, anyway, which I had already visited and been turned away from. So, it was one more trip down that long concourse. It reminds me of the true story of the garbage truck in Northern Minnesota that took the police on a high-speed chase back and forth down streets in a residential neighborhood as residents would hear the truck coming, bring out their garbage to set on the curb, only to see the garbage truck speed by with police cars in tow. Then, as the truck came down their street again, the scene was repeated. 

"Well, since our flight is delayed 3 hours, another flight has been scheduled at this gate, so all the seats are already taken. There are lots of confused passengers milling around on the concourse. My heart began racing, and then it began to throb, so I slowed down. No more running for this boy!

"We were given an 11 Euro food voucher during dinner hour. But when I tried to use it, my boarding pass wasn't accepted, because it hadn't been activated yet at the gate -- which usually happens just as we board the plane. So, one more trip back to the, hopefully final, gate before takeoff. After all that, the salmon sandwich with chips was what my UFFDA hunt friend, Fred Hensel, would call "Delisshious!"

Neil began using his Kenyan phone after the second 8-hour flight from Paris to Nairobi. In April, Kenyan customs was going to charge Neil more for the books we brought as gifts than the books cost in the USA. They recommended bringing documentation to prove the items were not for sale in Kenya. We prepared Neil this time with an official invoice showing that the books and other items were gifts to Cosmas' Riverside Ministries churches from our non-profit mission organization, Outfitters for Adventure. Neil said they didn't even check his bags as he went through customs this time. 

Cosmas was at the airport to greet Neil in Nairobi and take him home to spend the night. Although it was 1:30 a.m. Nairobi time (5:30 p.m. Minnesota time), when Neil arrived at Cosmas' house, supper had been prepared for him. During the 25 hours since Neil got up at 6:30 Sunday morning until he went to bed at Cosmas' house, Neil had slept only 1 hour. He slept undisturbed from 1:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It is good that Tuesday is the day of rest for Neil to try to overcome a bit of jet lag before riding the train with Francis Owour on Wednesday for 7 hours to the Mombasa area.

I know it is Neil's deepest desire that when your final day is here, you are waiting at the correct gate at heaven's door with Jesus' name on it. Jesus already paid your ticket on the cross, Your part is trusting what Jesus has done and walking the path He lays out for you.

John 10:7-10 -- Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. [NIV]