By 4:00AM the team was at the airport and after negotiating our way through getting bag tags and boarding passes, we were onto Security. We only had a few challenges with TSA. Andy had his special recipe sunblock taken away (container was too large), Paul had his toothpaste confiscated, and Nate was ushered through security by the name of "sweetie!" The United flight to Dulles was perfect and lasted 27 minutes in the air. Troubles began when we arrived at the Ethiopian Airlines gate.
Our flight was delayed until 12:45PM, over a 3 hour delay, which means we will miss our connection in Addis Ababa. That connection is the flight to Kigali, Rwanda. We're told that the airline will make alternate arrangements when we land in Ethiopia.
So, we were able to enjoy a sitdown breakfast, but until "I" resolved my uneasiness about the airline. My fellow team members laughed, but as you can see from the picture I attached, the agent had to write out every board pass (for the whole plane) by hand. Yep, the computers were down for the airline...they are not IBM computers! (LOL!) One person told me they were down since Wednesday! Okay, I realize God is in control and ALL will be OKAY! For sure, this is NOT my Delta Airlines!
As I write this, the team is together and we see the plane--it's in the attached picture. I included a picture of Betty's socks as she had us smiling...with all the Muslim women here on the concourse dressed in accordance with Sharia, Betty's "Betty Bopp" socks were a hit. After a lot of joking we're ready to board the plane. In the meantime, one group has a serious game of Shanghai Rummy going on, with a large group of fans watching them. The others are talking about the trip or meandering around the concourse, with Fred explaining our mission project with a young couple heading to Ethiopia, too. They are adopting a 4-year old child and will be in the country for two weeks. We FEEL the Holy Spirit in our midst!
Given our delay, I may not be able to post an update until we get to the Children's Home. If we have enough time on the ground in Rome (Bonjourno!!) we'll get a posting done.
God bless you for keeping-up with us, and of course for your prayers!
Ed
