The Joys of Travel and Adjustments

For those of you who have not heard, Hillary and I have at length arrived safe and sound in the good ol’ U.S. of A.  Our journey from Nampula, Mozambique to Minneapolis, Minnesota was not, however, without its share of hiccups.

Our flight departed the Nampula airport early, in fact, on Tuesday afternoon for a short hop over to Johannesburg, South Africa (hereafter referred to as “Jo’burg”).  As we flew close to the Jo’burg airport, the pilot informed us that due to a severe thunderstorm, we were not currently able to land, and were put into a holding pattern.  After circling the city a few times, we were notified that we would land at a military base outside the city.  So we landed, but were not allowed to exit the plane as we waited over two hours for permission to return to the airport and for the plane to be re-fueled.

So by the time we arrived in the Jo’burg airport, about a dozen people (ourselves included) had missed our connecting flight.  The airline then re-booked our flights, but the next available flight to London was 24 hours later, the following evening at 7:45.  So we resigned ourselves to some quality time with the various shops and sights of the Jo’burg airport. 

Things got a little more interesting when we made a new friend.  José was a Portuguese gentleman who had been working in Pemba, Mozambique, and was on the same flight as us, traveling back to Portugal to see his family.  He did not speak a word of English, though, and was consequently having a difficult time communicating with the agents at the airline desk.  Hillary and I overheard him trying to use Portuguese to very little success, and Hillary volunteered to help translate for him, as best as she could, since Hillary is fairly good with Spanish, which is quite similar to Portuguese.  So it turned out that, as he was also traveling via London, we took him along with us and helped him get a hotel and navigate through the airport.

As a result of our flights being re-booked, our London to Chicago flight was also delayed half a day, so in the end we did not get home until late Thursday evening.  However, we were quite happy to arrive safely in Minneapolis.

That is, until we stepped outside.

At this point in our adventure, our bodies had gotten used to constant sweating, intense sunlight, and 90-100 degree temperatures (that’s Fahrenheit) every day, so you can imagine our shock to be back in Minnesota/Iowa with portions of the day at or below freezing.

So we could still use your prayers in many ways:

• As Hillary and I begin to process all that we’ve experienced and learned on our trip, pray that we will keep our eyes on God for direction and wisdom on how we will use these lessons, and where we go from here.
• As we return to a vastly different culture from Mozambique, pray that God will help us adjust back to America, and perhaps use some things we’ve learned to be a light and witness here in the United States.
• Pray that we will transition well into our old jobs, schedules, and responsibilities
• Pray that our bodies will transition well, with jet-lag, different diets, and freezing temperatures.

Thank you all for you support!  We hope to still post a couple more blogs detailing some of the things God has taught us as a result of our trip and how we’re doing getting back to life here.

~Mark