In Miami airport Irony looks like the lady who tells me I can't get on the plane to Bolivia that leaves at 11 pm because it is 10 pm. (Of course...)
Irony looks like the distressed Senora who comes to the counter a half hour after me saying she's got to get to Bolivia, she's doing medical missions.
Irony is the plane ticket that we both now have that will let us leave on Thursday at 11pm to get to Cochabamba on Friday at 11:15am. (Irony is that I have a friend to make the connection with!)
Irony looks like me crying to my dad on the phone while the security guards at the airport looked sad for me because they could not open up security.
Irony in Miami looks like warm and wonderful conversations from the elder Cuban man at Dunkin Donuts and the Dominican Republican shuttle driver after a youth group with T-shirts about 'God at work in Brazil' looks down at my luggage and won't make eye contact with me.
Irony looks like disappointment because I'm not spending the night on an airplane, and irony looks like me waking up at 11am in a beautiful hotel room realizing that perhaps I needed rest.
Irony is feeling stuck, and then being able to take a cab to South Beach for a day and rest. (and swim!!)
Irony is remembering that I'm not stuck, my new Haitian friend who drove the cab is.
Irony is fearing feeling alone here, because I don't know a soul. Irony is looking forward to getting to Bolivia where I will be surrounded by family, and irony is the sigh of relief because I can still call my family right now.
Irony is that hearing spanish everywhere comforts me.
Irony is resting and letting God hug me with sunshine and time to think. And it's wondering how in the world I would have held up if they had let me on the plane.
Irony, most of all, looks like the most beautiful woman in all of Miami beach- the Senora (approx. 60) in the Chita bikini. She was perhaps unfit for her suit, but didn't seem to care. She ran to get into the ocean much like the 5 year old adjacent to her. She ungracefully went under and came up smiling. Then she floated there with a huge grin. She was the reason I went swimming. It looked too good to miss.
Irony. (That God maybe thought the same thing.)
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| "What country are y'all from?" |
Hey sweet girl, I love your thoughtfulness and positive attitude. I am praying for you like crazy!!!! Que tengas un buen viaje y un buena recepción alla en Cochabamba, y que sabes que eres una hija bonita y querida de Dios. Call or email me ANYtime!
ReplyDeleteCAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN FIVE WEEKS!!!
Definitely praying for you, Lauren, my fellow "3"! Thank God for His faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteI have been praying constantly over the past day and a half--even before I knew of the complications...God has had and continues to have you surrounded with prayer...take comfort in that and rest in His arms of love.
ReplyDeleteI love you and I hope you have a wonderful trip to Bolivia my dear friend. I am very glad you could get some rest before the long trip. God knew you needed it. Praying for you!
ReplyDeleteOh, stuck! I did my HNGR internship in Bolivia in 1994 and had travel woes as well - mine being of the not-being-met-at-the-airport variety, and not being able to contact my host organization because it was a Saturday and nobody had cell phones yet. I sat on my suitcase until they started shutting down the airport at 9 p.m. and then took a taxi to the SIM guesthouse where I cried in bed all day Sunday until I finally got hold of my peeps on Monday morning.
ReplyDeleteSo hard to run into problems like that right at the beginning! Glad you are in your new home now!