Just kidding

Earlier this week Dad and I enjoyed lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  Here was the fortune in my cookie:  "Be prepared to modify your plans."  Hmmm...

My alarm sounded about 5:30 this morning.  I rolled out of bed, finished packing my backpack, and was ready to go by 7:00.  Our family had a time of prayer together before heading out the door and to the airport.  There was no one in line at the United desk, so I stepped right up to check in.  The baggage allowance for an international flight is 2 bags, 50 pounds each.  With a bit of rearranging, the final weights were 50 and 49.5 pounds... geesh, cutting it a bit close.

The fam sat down at Max & Ermas for a bite to eat.  A few minutes later we were joined by Grandpa and his friend Steve.  They drove over from Coshocton to see me off :).  What a neat surprise!

My first flight was scheduled to leave about 10:30 this morning.  As I headed to the gate, I could see that the forecasted snowstorm had arrived right on schedule and a blanket of white was already covering the ground.  The boarding began on time... so far so good.  The plane pulled away from the gate... almost there!  The pilot came over the speaker, announcing that the snow was too heavy to de-ice the plane.  We waited on the runway for an hour before finally getting on our way.  Unfortunately I landed in Washington D.C. about 15 minutes after I was scheduled to continue on to Tokyo and then Singapore.  Needless to say, I missed my connection.  This particular flight only goes once a day, so I was rebooked for the following day and given a voucher for a hotel room.

Bummer for the delay, but it is not all bad.  In fact, there was something very good!  My friends Amber and Justin and kiddos live just outside of D.C.  They drove into the city and took me to dinner at a Peruvian chicken place.  It was way fun!  And now I have an evening to just be before continuing my journey tomorrow.

So about leaving for PNG today... apparently I was just kidding!  But I've waited so long for this, what is one more day?  (Except for one less with Sarah.)  I trust that God has his hand even in this.