The Adventure Begins

Four o'clock in the morning came really quickly to an already tired crew of fourteen. Several tried an "early to bed, early to rise" method, but the consensus of the excited teenagers (and the two wishing now they had the youthful vitality of teenagers) was a "stay-up-as-late-as-we-possibly-can-and-not-sleep-through-our-alarm" strategy. Either way, it was a tearful goodbye for the group of parents, spouses and children. The Antigua crew went on their way to Charlotte for an early morning flight check-in & those of us left behind went on our way-some to work, some back to bed, some to breakfast.

Fast forward to a check-in line longer than the Mississippi River and taking arguably the same amount of time to navigate through. The airline over-booked the flight and the crew got bumped. Their compensation was one adult and five "experienced" flyers (students) being booked on a flight out of Charlotte, bound for Miami tonight (Friday), then a flight on to Antigua tomorrow (Saturday). Additionally, one adult and seven "new flyers" (most never having flown before) leave Charlotte tomorrow morning on a similar flight plan as originally booked through Atlanta then on to Antigua. Ironically, both flight itineraries bring the crew (on separate airlines) into Antigua within half an hour of each other Saturday early afternoon.

Rick & Becky Hendricks, along with myself and two kids eager to have a few extra hours with Daddy, drove the church vans to Charlotte to, if nothing else, be a familiar face in a sea of unfamiliarity. We met a very tired, very hungry (did you know that all airport restaurants are past security check-in and unattainable without a boarding pass???), very frustrated and very stressed group of fourteen. A quick bite to eat outside of the airport settled the crew and then off to a mall to kill some time & relieve some stress. One crew returned to the airport for check-in and one crew found a reputable hotel in which to lay their head and sleep for six hours before heading back to the airport, prepared to be first in line to ensure check-in.

Needless to say, if you are not already aware of Satan's plans to thwart God's work, allow this blog to serve as a reminder to commit to praying for this team. As I write this now, a crew has successfully arrived in Miami and are checked into their hotel and another is en route to the airport for a second sleep-deprived night of waiting.

Please pray that:

1) God's supernatural strength would fill each and every one of those kids (and Tony and Angela, too) to endure with grace and a Christlike attitude the hardships they are already encountering.

2) God would pave the way for smooth traveling from here on out (going & coming home) and protect them.

3) God would restore vision and purpose to those teens discouraged by this snag.

4) ...... however else God leads you to pray for this crew.....

A bit of business... if you read this blog and the many more to come this week, the crew would really appreciate hearing a word of encouragement from home, whomever you may be. Allow me to tell you how to do just that. After reading, click on "comment", write what you want to say and announce who you are("a note from Jillynn" or something similar) , type in the strange looking "code" underneath (sometimes they ask you for it and sometimes they do not), make sure you have clicked "anonymous"(I know this sounds confusing, but unless you are a regular "blogger" this is the easiest way!), then "publish comment" and you should be part of the online blogging world!