What do you do when a “nor’easter” (winter storm)
brings your well laid plans to “not possible.”
Thus was the experience of Ruth’s sister and husband as they heard the
news “all flights to and out of Portland, Maine cancelled” last Mar. 13. Not only did it affect them but also their
two children, one traveling from Argentina and the other one from southern
California—both of whom planned to spend a day at home in Maine before heading
to Uganda. What to do?
Their daughter was booked to fly to Maine via
a certain airport, but because they couldn’t guarantee her a seat, they changed
her flight at the last minute to fly into JFK where she became stranded. As only God could do it,
that was the same airport their son flew into from Argentina and so they were
stranded together…and in the very airport where their first long leg of the
journey for all four of them was to begin. But, how could the parents get there?
After
many phone calls, the parents found a flight out of Boston to JFK that had two vacant
seats—they booked it. But…how to get to Boston? All buses and trains were
grounded. A church friend volunteered to drive them to Portland, where they
could rent a car and drive to Boston.
Not only was the driving risky in the storm—even the snow plows were
taking refuge under the overpasses—but the wet snow completely covered road and
exit signs. What to do?
Another church friend called Ruth’s sister, Judy,
and verbally walked her through the process of bringing up the GPS on her smart
phone (which she had never used)…and that’s how they found their way to Logan
airport. Praise God that flight did go as scheduled and eventually they connected
with their stranded children and all four boarded the March 13 late night
Turkish Airline flight to Istanbul and onward to Entebbe, Uganda. Ruth joyfully welcomed her people in the
early hours of March 16.
After such a
dramatic departure from North America, God must have something special for
their first-time-in-Africa visit and mission.
