Joy in the Journey

I am here ... finally!

I will begin by saying that this trip to Romania began with a sense of normality. My bus was on time, I arrived at O'Hare, checked in (got an upgrade for free), and even went through security without a snag. Though we were 20 minutes late boarding, the entire adventure was routine. That was until we were far over Canada when a passenger passed out, and we were forced to land in St. John's Newfoundland, Canada to get him to hospital. Upon landing, a valve became stuck open. As the ground crew was working on the now mechanical problem the flight crew had reached their legal amount of time they were allowed to fly (yes, that means we were sitting on the tarmac for over four hours). That was when the routine was over and the unscripted began, we had to stay the day in Newfoundland. Has anyone been there?? I can now say that I have!






The airline put us up in a hotel for the day, provided allowances for meals, and gave us a vague time of departure around Midnight Monday night. Too tired to realize frustration and embrace the fact that I was in the furthest Eastern point in North America, I collapse on the cloud like bed of my hotel plotting my next move. Shortly later I shuffled down to breakfast and was welcomed by three strangers to join them for a meal. We spent the day exploring St. John's. Yes, there are places to explore. Lovely places nonetheless. Newfoundland is the hidden jewel of North America. If you ever find yourself in Newfoundland I would recommend the day tour of Signal Hill. Off the coast you can witness a drift icebergs, and historical land marks from the Age of North America's exploration to WW II. The scenery is divine and the people generous and friendly. Despite the wonderful day, I was never so thrilled to hear the roar of jet engines as we finally departed St. John's tiny airport in our massive jumbo jet.






My arrival in Heathrow was short lived. The gracious people at British Airways rebooked me on the earliest flight out of London. My new boarding pass came with the advice of "move quickly to Terminal 5." (All those who have recently flown through Heathrow just gasped at that last directive since getting to Terminal 5 is NOT a quick process!). God's grace gave me strength to run through the terminal and be allowed on a plane after the "gate was closed."




I arrived safely in Romania, minus one piece of luggage (it did not move quickly to terminal 5), grateful to see my friends, and somewhat rested from the midpoint stop in Newfoundland. Rewinding the last 48 hours in my head I can't help but be thankful for God's providence. Though I lost a day in Romania I did gain a new stamp in my passport. Seriously, I made new friends with those who may have never cross paths with a Christian before this unprojected stop. This gives new meaning to "make the most of every opportunity ..." for me.

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Pictures
Top: Compass Rose on top of Signal Hill. Notice how far I was from London.
Middle: Shot of the Atlantic Ocean, an iceberg, and a ship pulling in to harbor.
Bottom: Our plane was so large that it could be seen for miles. We had to dump fuel before we landed because the plane was too big for the airport. Our luggage couldn't be off loaded because St. John's International Airport didn't have the equipment to handle the mass of baggage.

posted by Laura Wilson @ 4:11:00 PM