Planes, Pains, and Automobiles

We were scheduled to leave LAX on January 7th. On the morning of January 6th, Jada began vomiting. We had the flight changed to the 14th to be sure that she had time to get over it, as well as anyone else in the family who may have picked up the same bug. Jada got better, we finished packing, and on the morning of January 14th we caravanned from El Cajon up to LAX. My dad drove his large SUV with Kevan and sixteen of our checked bags. I drove the Suburban my grandpa had given us taking the rest of the family, the other eight checked bags, our twelve carry-on bags, and the baby stroller.

I decided to go to the airport very early because we had so many bags and our tickets were kind of a mess due to many changes over several months. When we got there at noon, the British Airways counter was empty and the sign said that they would open at 12:30. So my dad, Kevan, and I unloaded both vehicles onto the curb and then parked the cars in the airport parking lot. By the time we were done, not only was the counter open, but there was already a long line!

I talked to one of the roving BA agents to let her know our luggage situation. She was very nice and helpful and directed me to stack everything at one end of the check-in area. So my dad, Kevan, and I proceeded to bring in all 24 checked bags, as well as the 5 heavy carry-on bags. Mom and the kids all helped with the lighter backpacks and the stroller.

Once everything was now moved again, I got into the very long check-in line. After waiting about thirty minutes, I neared the front of the line and was told by another agent that when my turn came I was to go to window 25. They had an agent there waiting for me... just me.

It took about forty-five minutes just to clear up the ticket confusion and get the proper seats and boarding passes. Once again, the BA staff was tremendously kind, patient, and diligent. After the ticketing was in order we began the long process of checking the bags.

Checking bags at the airport is typically a simple process. Since we are anything but typical, the process, once again, was anything but simple. Two by two - like Noah's cargo - we weighed the boxes and bags. After each was weighed it received four different stickers, like tattoos or brands on cattle, each signifying to those whose paths its crossed to whom the cargo belonged, where it was headed, and even how much it weighed. At most airports this is where the luggage is fed into the mouth of the great TSA luggage monster by the monster's uniformed handlers. Unfortunately for us (and a whole lot of other travelers at terminal B of LAX), after each bag is checked with the airline it must be taken to the opposite end of the terminal to the TSA luggage area as the TSA system and the check-in counters are not yet integrated. So as we weighed and labeled each piece of luggage we stacked them onto luggage trolleys and my dad, Kevan, and one of the airport staff moved them over to TSA for me. The service that we got from the airline and airport staff was nothing short of miraculous and an answer to prayer.

So after an additional thirty minutes of luggage handling we were finally done checking in. Since it was now about 2:30 and the kids were "starving", we lugged the carry-on bags up the escalator to the airport McDonalds and ordered lunch. While Carrie and the kids ate, my dad and I went back down and out to the parking structure and took the Suburban back to my grandpa's house to leave it there and then my dad drove us back to the airport again. We met up with Carrie and the kids again and then headed down for the security check. After saying our goodbyes to my dad we headed down the long causeway to the security area. Once again the Lord answered our prayers and their was NOBODY in front of us and NOBODY behind us. This meant we could walk right up and take our time getting all of the bags and shoes and belts and jackets and stroller and everything else imaginable up onto the xray machine belt. It went as smooth as physically possible and then we headed to the gate.

As you can imagine getting all of us and all of our stuff onto the plane is no easy feat. BA allowed us to board early, along with the other passengers with small children and those with physical disabilities (funny how those always seem to go together). We got situated and had a nice flight to London. The nine and a half hour flight actually seemed to go rather quickly. As an additional blessing, BA has finally completed Terminal 5 at Heathrow. This means that we didn't have to land at Terminal 1 and then take a bus to Terminal 4 for our flight to Tanzania. We landed and departed from Terminal 5 (theoretically... more about that in a minute). This made the flight change a lot easier.

When we arrived at Heathrow we navigated our way across the various causeways, onto the tram, up the elevator (rather than the two escalators), across the terminal, and through the security screening to the Terminal 5 waiting area. After a few hours of "potty breaks" and napping we were ready to head back down another giant escalator to our gate to wait for the airplane to Tanzania. This is where is gets a bit comical. When it was time to board we went through the doorway of the gate and ended up outside on the tarmac where a bus was waiting to take us to our plane; a plane that was far far away parked on the tarmac at none other than Terminal 4! So we had to move five very heavy carry-on bags on and off of the bus, along with all of the kids and their backpacks and Carrie with the baby, the baby bag, a stroller, and a laptop bag. Once we arrived at the plane we had to get all of that UP THE STAIRS onto the plane and then back to our seats and into the overheads. Again, to God be the glory that it went smoothly, but by the time we were done WE WERE EXHAUSTED and needed the ten hour flight just to recuperate.

We made it to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania safe and sound and tired. Dar es Salaam is on the east side of Tanzania on the Indian Ocean, and it is notoriously humid. The heat was probably only in the high 80s, but the humidity was very high. This shock to the system whilst disembarking the airplane is never one that you get used to. It's kind of a non-verbal "welcome to Dar es Salaam" that you wish had gone unspoken. We waited in the passport control line in the heat and humidity, each of us taking a non-voluntary shower in our own perspiration. Eventually we finished and found all of our luggage had arrived safely. Bwana asifiwe (Praise the Lord)! I gathered the bags into one location and then contacted our usual driver who has a minivan. We cleared customs with them checking only one bag and taking my word on the rest, and then, with the help of four or five porters, we loaded the minivan with twenty-three pieces of luggage and drove them over to the airport cargo department a couple of kilometers away. While I dealt with the cargo, John Francis (the driver) went back to the airport and collected Carrie and the five kids and the thirteen bags and brought them back to where I was. It took about twenty minutes to unload and weigh the cargo that I needed shipped to Kigoma, and then about two and a half hours to finalize the paperwork, x-ray the cargo, negotiate payment, and get out of there. All the while Carrie and the kids were melting in the heat and humidity with no water to drink. It was a real blessing to get the cargo taken care of immediately, though the price was high both in dollars spent and my family's time, temperature, and health. They were such troopers, though, and we finally headed off for the guest house.

The next morning we got to the airport at 7:30 a.m. for our 9:15 a.m. flight to Kigoma. After passing through security we were told that the flight was not leaving until 11:15 a.m. now and that we could not check in until 10:15 a.m.. That meant sitting in the hot airport check-in area for almost three hours with no food or water... again! After about an hour I went to the counter with family in tow to ask for an exception and they agreed (upstairs by the gate is semi-air conditioned and they have food and drinks available). But once they started to process the tickets they told me that our open-ended tickets had never been booked for that day. I was disappointed in the agent in Kigoma who was supposed to have taken care of this already. Then they told me that I was also missing a ticket (since we had a new baby), which was another item I thought that the agent had handled. So I had to go back outside of the airport to the Precision Air ticket office to take care of it. The girl behind the glass did this thing and that and printed something out and said it was okay so I went back through security again and to the counter. They began to check us in and said that we were still short one ticket. I was so frustrated. They called over the woman in charge and she apologized and figured out what was wrong and said I needed to pay for an additional ticket. I agreed but did not have enough in my pocket. So I headed back outside again to use one of the two ATMs at the airport before heading back to the ticket office AGAIN to finally get everything straightened out (by now it was nearing the actual check-in time). As I approached the first ATM I could see that the screen had a message on it stating that it was out of service. I went to the second ATM nearby and found it had a similar message. I truly had faith that the Lord would work it all out and kind of chuckled at the insanity of it all. I went to the ticket office and told the girl that I needed to pay for an additional child ticket. I then told her that I was short 50,000 Tanzania Shillings and that both ATM machines were broken. I asked if she could issue the ticket and I would pay the remainder at the Precision Air office in Kigoma. She said no and then tried to explain, but honestly I stopped listening after the "no". I then called the agent in Kigoma and explained the situation. I asked him if he could issue the ticket from there and allow me to pay him when I arrived. He said he would take care of it and to wait "a few minutes" for his call. It was now 10:30 a.m.. When he hadn't called back after almost ten minutes I called him again. I handed the phone to the agent at the airport, they spoke the secret airline language, she hung up, printed something, and then handed it to me. As she handed it to me she folded it in half and said, "He must have given you some kind of discount. Don't let the others [in line] see this." I took it and looked at it and found about a 20,000 Tshs. savings. What a blessing!

I went back through security for the third time. Upon entering I found Carrie at her wits end from dealing with hot, sweaty, hungry, whining kids. I rushed to the counter and finally got us checked in and our boarding passes issued. Then we rushed upstairs, through another security check, and to the gate waiting area. It was now 11:05 a.m.! We thought we had just barely made the flight, but with the precision that gives Precision Air their name, promptly at 11:15 a.m. an announcement came over the PA system: "Precision Air. We regret to announce the departure of flight PW741 to Kigoma has been delayed. The flight will now depart at 12:30 p.m.. We apologize for any inconvenience." For once, an airplane delay that we welcomed. We were able to go to the small eating area nearby and get the much needed water and food for all of us.

By 1:00 p.m. we were boarded and on our way to Kigoma. Around 4:00 p.m. we were landing in Kigoma and relieved that the "adventure" was almost over. It's funny to me because so many people think of living here as some sort of adventure when really it's getting here that's often the true adventure.

Our good friends Mwenge and John, both of whom work with a local ministry called Joy in the Harvest, picked us up from the airport and helped us to get our luggage loaded. They took us to our house in the Burega area where we were greeted warmly by two of the watchmen. Upon entering the house we found the usual build up of dirt, dust, bugs - dead and living - and spider webs. It was a bit depressing in the sense of not being a welcoming sight. Then I found that a window had blown open in our bedroom allowing rain to get all over our bed. Mold was growing on the bed and sheets as well as on much of the clothes in the closet. All three of our pillows were destroyed and you can't buy pillows here. The depression went a little deeper. Then I found in the living room the strong odor of the bats in the attic above. I had tried to get rid of them several months ago. About 400 of them left but it smelled like some had returned. The depression dipped even deeper. Then I asked about the water situation. Jonas - our daytime watchman - told us that no water had come since the last time I was there in September. The depression started to feel like despair.

In times of frustration, depression, and even despair, God is always there! Mwenge told us that we were welcome to stay at the Joy in the Harvest Guest House while we got the house cleaned up and livable. The guest house is very nice and very clean, and they work very hard to make sure it has water and even electricity. We were so relieved and blessed by the generosity of Lowell and Claudia Wertz (the missionaries responsible for Joy in the Harvest), and Mwenge, their right-hand-man.

So that's where we're at now. Every day we clean up the house a bit more, get a few more pieces of our cargo, get a little more readjusted to the time zone and weather, and generally settle in. We thank God so much for His faithfulness. I admit there were several times when the circumstances of getting here, the situation with the house, the readjustment to the time zone, the renewed culture shock, and the missing of our dear friends and family all combined to bring me to a place of wanting to call it quits. But in those brief moments of emotional turmoil God was right there renewing my vision for why we are here and what He wants us to do. It's amazing how strong a motivation purpose is, especially for a believer who is struggling with near-sightedness and self-pity! As the Scriptures say, even "when we are faithless, He remains faithful".

With that in mind we ask you to thank Him along with us for our safe return and to pray that all will get back to "normal" quickly. Please also pray for the new ministry opportunity in Congo as it appears that the Lord is moving quickly in that area and I will probably be scouting it out next month. Mungu akubariki (God bless you)!