This morning, (well, I guess it was yesterday morning since it is now 3:34 am) I woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee at my Dad’s house. Shane was fast asleep to my left (which is odd, since I’m the one who usually sleeps in). I immediately felt butterflies of excitement that fluttered in my stomach as I thought of the amazing journey that I was about to embark on, but on the other hand, I felt a sinking feeling because I knew that I was going to be leaving my best friend, my soul mate…the love of my life for an entire week. Shane and I have been married for almost 5 years, and we have never been a part for more than 3 days. Let me just tell you…it was harder than I anticipated.
Before dropping me off at the airport, Shane and I ate breakfast at Perkins off of Capital Blvd in Raleigh. It wasn’t the best breakfast we have ever eaten, but I savored every moment, because I knew that I would be leaving soon.
Once I got inside the airport, all of my tears dried up, and I filtered into the energized flow of people rushing to check-in their bags and scurry onto their gate. It had been a while since I have traveled, and I couldn’t believe how much things have changed! I had to take off my shoes, disassemble my camera bag, and slide my guitar into the scanner…it was a hectic five minutes, but I made it through and found my gate.
It seemed like I waited for hours for our plane to get ready to board. I was taking a connecting flight from RDU to Memphis and then from Memphis to Houston. When I boarded the plane, I was super excited that I was on the second row (a window seat at that).
As I was listening to my ipod (the plane hadn’t taken off yet) I felt a gentle tap on my left shoulder. I pulled my head phones off to hear what the lady beside me wanted to say, and she nicely asked if I would mind switching to her husband so that they could sit together. I turned around to find where he was at, and guess where his seat was….in the back. I smiled politely, and said “sure”.
It turns out that the gentleman I switched with had an aisle seat at the emergency exit. In case you didn’t know, you can’t listen to your ipod while sitting by the emergency exit. Sadly, I didn’t bring a book either. So, as you can imagine, I was ready to pull my hair out after riding 2 hours from RDU to Memphis without anything to do besides read SKY magazine….I couldn’t even look out of the window. It was torture!
My flight arrived 30 minutes late at Memphis. As I was leaving Gate A7, I heard the intercom announce that it was the final call for the flight to Houston. I had to run, with my guitar and rolling camera bag, from terminal A7 to B-23. It looked like a scene right out of Home Alone II. I was for sure that I was going to miss it.
Surely, as I came to a stop (huffing and puffing, because I’m not in nearly as good of shape as I desire to be) I managed to huff out “did I miss it?” The flight attendant said yes.
AHHHH!!! I wanted to scream! All of the sudden, she said “wait a minute”. This was my lucky day!
I managed to make it onto my next flight, which went by much faster since I was able to use my ipod to pass time. The flight from Memphis to Houston was a breeze, and we landed right on schedule.
After watching all of the remaining luggage circle around the baggage claim belt over 5 times, I realized that I should probably talk to someone at Northwest to find out where my luggage was. I had always heard stories of people losing their luggage, but I never thought it would happen to me. Well, sure enough, my bag was sent to Dallas, TX as opposed to Houston, TX. Before I could freak out, the “lost-baggage-lady” reassured me that there was a flight from Dallas to Texas at 7 and that it should arrive shortly. I opted for her to keep the luggage until morning, because we were flying to Honduras the next day, and I thought it would be better for me to pick it up, than to have them deliver it to the wrong house this evening.
I called Peter and Lauren Zaffos (who is co-leading this missions trip) and told them that I was ready to be picked up. It turns out that they were already there waiting for me with Shari Henson. We hopped into the 15 passenger van and headed to Starbucks to chat and pass time while we were waiting for Josh and Lauren Clark and Cody and Memoree Barrett.
After spending only 5 minutes with Peter, Lauren Z, and Shari, I knew that we all were going to have a blast. Our personalities work perfectly.
After we had everyone picked up, we went to Lesa’s house (our mission’s leader) and had the best fajitas I have ever tasted. After dinner, we ironed out all of the details and talked about the wonderful ways God could use us on this trip.
I forgot to tell you that I went back to the baggage claim area to check on the status of my bag, and they told me that my bag was sent to Milwaukee and was on it’s way to Memphis. I have NO idea why my bag was on it’s way to Memphis…it simply didn’t make sense. The gentleman politely said that there was nothing he could do about it, and that I should continue calling the number they gave me to check it’s status. (which continues to say that it is “pending”…I’ve called at least 10 times) He was certain that I wouldn’t receive it before we left to Honduras.
After our devotions, Lauren Clark, Shari, Lesa, and I went on a late night excursion to Wal-Mart. Let me just say that if you haven’t seen me in person, I am rather tall, and if you are tall, you would sympathize with me because you know that Wal-Mart is not the best place for finding clothing if you are tall.
As we were shopping for everything I needed over the course of the week, I realized how blessed (or even spoiled) I am. You see, in my original bag, I had over 10 shirts and at least 4 pants. The children we will be serving might only have 3 shirts in their entire wardrobe. I started feeling convicted for being so mopey about losing my luggage.
After we got back from my shopping trip (which resulted in 1 pair of navy athletic capris, and 4 shirts), Shari decided to teach Lauren Clark how to break in down on the dance floor. Let me just say, I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard in my life. I did manage to snap a few shots, which I will share shortly. But most importantly, we all had the time of our lives. We stayed up until 2:00 am talking about photography, business, life, love, God, and all the in between.
If I have had this much fun in 18 hrs, there’s no telling what’s in-store for us over the course of the next week! It’s going to be great.
Enjoy a few pics of Lauren and Shari breaking it down.
