Ready, Set... GO!

On February 25th, I set off on my two-day journey that would take me to the other side of the world.  

Never having flown or travelled internationally - much less experiencing a layover - I was a bit intimidated at what may occur, but I decided to push any form of anxiety out the window and trust God to take care of it all.

The first day of my travels were wonderful, praise God. The ride from Halifax to Chicago was beginning to get long, so I was more than grateful when we landed for the layover. After finally deciding on the lunch menu and eventually permitted onto the next plane, I made my way to Detroit. It was a short flight - only half an hour of flying time - so I hardly had time to get bored before landing. Some friends of mine met me at the baggage claim area and brought me over to their place for the night. 

The next day was an interesting story. With having a perfect first day without complications, I should have expected that something would go wrong. In short, as I was checking in, I was told that my flight to Washington had been delayed, which would end up giving me only 40 minutes in the airport. As it wasn't a lot of time, I was booked a flight straight to Johannesburg from Detroit with a whole other airline. All I had to do was go over to the different "terminal" and go to the new gate. 

I think you could have pushed me over with a paper clip, but I couldn't do anything about it and besides, what's the point of going to the other end of the world if you don't have a few crazy adventures along the way?

I found my way to the shuttle and had no issues finding the baggage check-in at  the Delta location. 

Of course just this would have been too easy.

When checking in, I found out that my new flight actually did make a stop and I would have to change planes - in Atlanta, Georgia, with 20 minutes between landing and boarding time. Not only that, but I wouldn't be able to know which gate the plane from Atlanta would be leaving at until I landed there.

I was quickly becoming anxious, but I decided that the only way I could look at this was that, if I wouldn't be able to catch my flight, it's because God didn't want me on that plane, and He would work something out. 

It's fascinating to see how God provides. I was still a little nervous about this layover on the ride from Detroit to Atlanta, but God didn't leave me comfortless. I ended up finding myself seated beside a Christian couple, and the lady and I had a wonderful chat the whole flight. Also, the gentleman was a seasoned traveller. He not only found a map of the Atlanta airport for me in one of the magazines, but he also looked up the gate number for my flight. 

Who would have thought it possible to get from one end of one of the world's largest airports to the other in less than five minutes? Needless to say, I could barely breath once I made it to the gate, much less ask the stewardess to confirm I was at the right place, but who cares as long as I'm there?

And the best part? I ended up being on the same flight as Bert and Carol, an older couple who I was to be working alongside with at the Pines. God is so good. It was simply amazing to see how God work out everything better than I could have imagined.

I found out really quickly that 14.5 hours is a long time to be sitting in a plane. Between my journal, my music, and the TV, I managed to make it off that plane alive and sane, and it wasn't long before we all met up with some of the folks from the Pines. When we arrived to the childcare centre at 8:00 pm, I was quite happy to hit the sack and soon drifted of to dreamland, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Mission Trip Intro: Welkom, South Africa

Hello! 

My name is Amanda, and I'm a young adult seeking to go into the mission field. As a born-again Christian, I have the joy of experiencing a wonderful relationship with my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and my main desire in life is to tell others about how they can have their own personal relationship with Christ. 

As I am looking to prepare myself for the mission field, I had the opportunity to come to Welkom, South Africa, to help at the Pines: a Christian childcare centre for orphaned and abandoned children. With the various requests for a blog about my trip, I have finally decided to do so.

I'll be posting a bunch about what has gone on during my time at the Pines (February 25 to April 24) and the lessons I have learned.

Hope this may be an encouragement to someone out there.

In Christ, 

Mandie 

Soli Deo Gloria!