Miracles on Fargo to Nairobi Trip

 

Exhausted Neil on Chicago to London Flight

Wednesday, March 1st, at 1:17 PM CST, I emailed an urgent prayer request to the Outfitters for Adventure prayer team. Neil needed prayer to make the London flight due to a long delay in Fargo.

Neil's plane was de-iced simultaneously while some of the extra fuel was being burned off before takeoff. Unfortunately, the de-icing didn't work, so they repeated that process, delaying the flight even longer. Neil and I were preparing ourselves for rebooking while in Chicago, but I reminded him he had been through that before. He said his luggage might not make it, but he had also been through that before. I was concerned about the worksheets for the interviews with all those children and their caregivers that took a month to prepare. 

When his plane was in the air, Neil said the flight was a disaster. They flew low to burn more of the 2,000 pounds of extra fuel but ran into increased turbulence. Neil described the flight as "shake, rattle, and roll. I have been thinking ... I probably love you more than I think." 😙

I was watching the progress of Neil's Fargo to Chicago flight on FlightAware.com. At 4:07, as his plane was nearing Chicago, a forlorn text message appeared on my phone from Neil:

"We are heading straight south [from Fargo, he thought] and are over Sioux Falls heading east." 

I immediately shot him an encouraging text, "Wow! American Airlines shows your plane just landed in Chicago! If you are actually over Sioux Falls, that's pretty goofy." 

Then at 4:10, Neil texted, "Run, Neil, run! We are at the gate! Pray, I might make it!"

Then your supportive prayers began pouring into my email inbox. I felt the Lord's comfort and reassurance that He would be with Neil, whisking him through the Chicago checkpoints. And so it turned out to be. He sent this description in an email:

"Hi, Dear-
The transfer at Chicago was nothing short of miraculous. I began to run. The rail transit left as soon as I boarded. When I got to the main gate of the International Terminal, I checked in at the British Air desk. Had I gone directly to security, I would have missed my flight. One of their reps came looking for me and rescued me from the queue at security. She was a bit poofy, but she could really run! There had been no time to replace my belt at security, so I was grasping my pants as I tried to keep pace with the British Airways rep. [Neil lost weight while we were fasting.] When I stopped to hoist my pants, she grabbed my roller bag so I could carry the other bag and hold my pants up as I ran. They closed the doors behind me as I entered the gateway. I was the last to board the big bird (two decks). There was no room in the overhead bins, so my bag was stored in an overhead bin 10 rows up from my seat, and I got separated from my belt for the duration of the flight. Everywhere I went, I had to hold up my pants. Giving up dignity is a small price for making it to London on time. After I found my seat on the plane, it took some time for me to catch my breath. My mom would say I am no spring chicken. I can only chuckle at the humor in the situation. 
 
The sun is shining at Heathrow. I received a 10 lb voucher for food. My bags would not have made the London flight- impossible. British Air will have to deliver them to Joe's place. Everyone on the Fargo flight was missing connecting flights. The poor folks who white-knuckled their way down Hwy 75 in the blinding snow had just 10 minutes to connect to Cancun. No cigar, I'm afraid.

I love you. It is a new day. The Food on British Air is pretty good.
Hugs and kisses- Neil."

I sent Neil a message to open while he was waiting for the Nairobi flight in London:
"I might not be able to stay awake very long. It is 2:30 a.m. here, but I want to tell you how much I love you! It was hard to see you going into the storm yesterday. I was so concerned for you and Bob. Then his wife Katrina said not to worry. When Bob served as an Airforce Colonel in Washington DC, he taught defensive driving for embassy drivers and general's drivers. God gave you the best driver in the whole region to take you to Fargo!

When you had only a little over half an hour to navigate the Chicago terminals, I had such peace that God himself was ushering you through that crazy airport.

Love,
Ruth"

Neil's London to Nairobi flight was delayed 2 hours and 38 minutes, so he arrived after midnight, and it took about an hour to get through the airport and connect with our friend Joe. Another miracle happened in Nairobi. Neil's luggage made it! He has the Bibles, the gifts for Joe's girls, the computer laptops, and all those precious worksheets for interviewing the children! As our pastor, Jay Jenson, would say, "Go, God!"

Thank you all for your prayers! God is answering them mightily!