November 1, 2013
It was a very long day. It took over 24 hours to get from home to Arusha through Atlanta, Washington DC, Addis Ababa, and finally Kilimanjaro.
Debra and I were up before 3:00am yesterday in order to get to the Atlanta airport for my 5:30am flight. It was a good thing we sailed smoothly through Atlanta and left early, because we ran into a problem early. Atlanta now has two terminals, one for domestic flights and one for international flights. Since I was headed to Africa, we went to the international terminal which was like a graveyard. The only people there were the cleaners! To make things worse, there was no counter for United, which was who I was flying with. We finally found a counter clerk in the far corner of the terminal who told us we were in the wrong terminal. We had to load back up and drive to the other terminal! All of this because the first leg of my flight was to Washington DC which is a domestic flight.
Things went smoothly after arriving at the domestic terminal. I checked my boxes full of VBS materials and books, and made my way through security in plenty of time for my flight. On the first flight I met a family who was headed to Uganda to adopt two boys. They were from Chatanooga and would be on the next flight to Addis Ababa with me as well. They will be in Uganda for four weeks working out all the details before they can return home with the new additions to their family.
The flight from Washington to Addis Ababa was almost empty. In the part of the plane where I was seated near the back, many people had an entire row to themselves and turned their three seats into a makeshift bed for sleeping. I had a row to myself as well, but one of the armrests wouldn't go up, so I was stuck making due with two seats.
Most of the flight across the Atlantic, Spain, and northern Africa were during the night, so there wasn't much to see, until we neared Addis.
The flight was also shorter than expected. We made good time and arrived over an hour and a half ahead of schedule. Which meant that I now had a four hour layover in Ethiopia instead of a two and a half hour layover!
November is typically the rainy season in this part of Africa, so I was surprised at how hot it was when I arrived, even at 8:00 in the morning. The terminal began to fill up during my four hour wait and kept getting hotter and hotter. The air must not have been on, because it didn't cool off until they opened the door of the gate we were waiting at which let to the tarmac. It was a blessing to feel the nice cool breeze which made its way to us.
From there it was another two and a half hours to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. While I did sleep a little on the long flight, I was wiped out by this time and had a hard time keeping my eyes open. We arrived in Tanzania half an hour ahead of schedule and since it was a smaller plane I was able to get my visa and pass through customs very quickly. My boxes were there right away, and I was off in good time. Pastor Jeremiah was there waiting for me, and said he had only been waiting a short time. It was about 1:00pm local time, which is 6:00am back home - over 24 hours since I left Atlanta.
And now begins the work in earnest...
It was a very long day. It took over 24 hours to get from home to Arusha through Atlanta, Washington DC, Addis Ababa, and finally Kilimanjaro.
Debra and I were up before 3:00am yesterday in order to get to the Atlanta airport for my 5:30am flight. It was a good thing we sailed smoothly through Atlanta and left early, because we ran into a problem early. Atlanta now has two terminals, one for domestic flights and one for international flights. Since I was headed to Africa, we went to the international terminal which was like a graveyard. The only people there were the cleaners! To make things worse, there was no counter for United, which was who I was flying with. We finally found a counter clerk in the far corner of the terminal who told us we were in the wrong terminal. We had to load back up and drive to the other terminal! All of this because the first leg of my flight was to Washington DC which is a domestic flight.
Things went smoothly after arriving at the domestic terminal. I checked my boxes full of VBS materials and books, and made my way through security in plenty of time for my flight. On the first flight I met a family who was headed to Uganda to adopt two boys. They were from Chatanooga and would be on the next flight to Addis Ababa with me as well. They will be in Uganda for four weeks working out all the details before they can return home with the new additions to their family.
A view of the New Jersey coastline as we headed out to sea at 30,000 feet.
The flight from Washington to Addis Ababa was almost empty. In the part of the plane where I was seated near the back, many people had an entire row to themselves and turned their three seats into a makeshift bed for sleeping. I had a row to myself as well, but one of the armrests wouldn't go up, so I was stuck making due with two seats.
A map showing our flight path - as you can see it was the middle of the night and I'm awake...
Most of the flight across the Atlantic, Spain, and northern Africa were during the night, so there wasn't much to see, until we neared Addis.
Sunrise over north-east Africa as we near Addis Ababa.
The flight was also shorter than expected. We made good time and arrived over an hour and a half ahead of schedule. Which meant that I now had a four hour layover in Ethiopia instead of a two and a half hour layover!
November is typically the rainy season in this part of Africa, so I was surprised at how hot it was when I arrived, even at 8:00 in the morning. The terminal began to fill up during my four hour wait and kept getting hotter and hotter. The air must not have been on, because it didn't cool off until they opened the door of the gate we were waiting at which let to the tarmac. It was a blessing to feel the nice cool breeze which made its way to us.
From there it was another two and a half hours to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. While I did sleep a little on the long flight, I was wiped out by this time and had a hard time keeping my eyes open. We arrived in Tanzania half an hour ahead of schedule and since it was a smaller plane I was able to get my visa and pass through customs very quickly. My boxes were there right away, and I was off in good time. Pastor Jeremiah was there waiting for me, and said he had only been waiting a short time. It was about 1:00pm local time, which is 6:00am back home - over 24 hours since I left Atlanta.
And now begins the work in earnest...
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment