Wow - it seems like it's never a dull moment for us! Ha, ha - but God is good, He is gracious, and He checks on us all the time! Giving us strong hints sometimes and other times bonking us on the head. It's all relative to how well we're listening.
After a wonderfully uneventful trip from Kumasi back to Accra we spent the night at our friends' house and then on Monday morning headed out for what we thought would be a 2 1/2 day retreat/unwind before returning to Accra for our last appointment and heading to the airport on Wednesday evening.
On Monday night, however, I got this nagging feeling that we needed to check our email. The only problem was that the place where we were staying didn't have internet access. So, we made plans to go into town on Tuesday morning to get a mobile modem so we could access the internet.
A short time after breakfast we secured a taxi and completed our errand without issue and returned to the hotel.
The internet was slow and access was trying but it felt important that I stay focused and at least get into the email account. Dave, in the meantime, wanted to go have a conversation with a gentleman we had met on Monday afternoon so off he went and there I stayed.
After about 15 or 20 minutes I was finally able to get into the email account and what do you think I found? A B I G surprise!
It was an email from Delta telling us it was time to check in for our flight from Accra to JFK.
WHAT?! We weren't leaving until Wednesday night, this email shouldn't have been sent on Monday night. But, wait a minute.....what does that say? The flight leaves Tuesday, not Wednesday? Wait...that's today! Oh no!!!
Ok, so picture this - it is approximately 11 a.m. - our flight check in time was 6:30 p.m. - we were at least 2 hours away from our friends' house in Accra where the rest of our luggage was - waiting for us to pick it up on the way to the airport. We didn't have a car - didn't know when the bus ran - and felt quite helpless really to get from where we were to where we needed to be in time.
So, I ran out of the room down to the beach to retrieve Dave and back to the room we went. We stopped, took a deep breath, sat on the bed and prayed, "Lord, we know that this didn't catch you by surprise. We know that you have a plan to get us where we need to be. We trust you. Amen"
So, one step at a time, we gathered our belongings and Dave headed over to the registration desk to check us out and find out if they could get a taxi for us that could take us all the way to Accra. Not only were they gracious enough to refund us for one of the days we had paid for, but they called a taxi and arranged the price to get us back to Accra.
The taxi ride was awesome - our driver friendly and fun to talk to. We arranged to be picked up at the American Embassy by our friends' driver who would then take us the rest of the way.
By the time we met Jasper it was going on 4:30 p.m. - it's looking like we might make it, but traffic is terrible! (Always is terrible in Accra) We run by the house to repack our bags, throw them in the car and head to the airport.
An interesting side-note - while we were in Ghana we got an email from Delta telling us that we had been upgraded to Silver Medallion status. That was great news! We knew that at the Accra airport that would mean we'd be able to hang out in the Akwaaba lounge so we were hoping for some time to decompress before getting on the plane to head to JFK.
We got to the airport - got the car unloaded - and checked in with plenty of time to spare! Thank you Jesus :).
After hanging out in the lounge for a while - filling up on food and drinks (we had missed lunch and dinner!) we headed to the gate only to find out that our seats had already been upgraded to Business Class!
WOW!
This is just one day of our journey - know that almost everyday was like this. We had a plan and sometimes our plan and God's plan were the same. Sometimes they were different. But every change was an upgrade! Just like the upgrade from coach to Business Class!
God was very clear to us - individually - that Bolgatanga is His choice for us.
We know that this will prove to be an upgrade!
Thank you for praying for us - it's through your prayers that we remained alert and attentive - that our eyes and ears remained open and we saw and heard accurately.
Here's our picture - getting settled in on our return flight from Accra! We're pretty happy!
After a wonderfully uneventful trip from Kumasi back to Accra we spent the night at our friends' house and then on Monday morning headed out for what we thought would be a 2 1/2 day retreat/unwind before returning to Accra for our last appointment and heading to the airport on Wednesday evening.
On Monday night, however, I got this nagging feeling that we needed to check our email. The only problem was that the place where we were staying didn't have internet access. So, we made plans to go into town on Tuesday morning to get a mobile modem so we could access the internet.
A short time after breakfast we secured a taxi and completed our errand without issue and returned to the hotel.
The internet was slow and access was trying but it felt important that I stay focused and at least get into the email account. Dave, in the meantime, wanted to go have a conversation with a gentleman we had met on Monday afternoon so off he went and there I stayed.
After about 15 or 20 minutes I was finally able to get into the email account and what do you think I found? A B I G surprise!
It was an email from Delta telling us it was time to check in for our flight from Accra to JFK.
WHAT?! We weren't leaving until Wednesday night, this email shouldn't have been sent on Monday night. But, wait a minute.....what does that say? The flight leaves Tuesday, not Wednesday? Wait...that's today! Oh no!!!
Ok, so picture this - it is approximately 11 a.m. - our flight check in time was 6:30 p.m. - we were at least 2 hours away from our friends' house in Accra where the rest of our luggage was - waiting for us to pick it up on the way to the airport. We didn't have a car - didn't know when the bus ran - and felt quite helpless really to get from where we were to where we needed to be in time.
So, I ran out of the room down to the beach to retrieve Dave and back to the room we went. We stopped, took a deep breath, sat on the bed and prayed, "Lord, we know that this didn't catch you by surprise. We know that you have a plan to get us where we need to be. We trust you. Amen"
So, one step at a time, we gathered our belongings and Dave headed over to the registration desk to check us out and find out if they could get a taxi for us that could take us all the way to Accra. Not only were they gracious enough to refund us for one of the days we had paid for, but they called a taxi and arranged the price to get us back to Accra.
The taxi ride was awesome - our driver friendly and fun to talk to. We arranged to be picked up at the American Embassy by our friends' driver who would then take us the rest of the way.
By the time we met Jasper it was going on 4:30 p.m. - it's looking like we might make it, but traffic is terrible! (Always is terrible in Accra) We run by the house to repack our bags, throw them in the car and head to the airport.
An interesting side-note - while we were in Ghana we got an email from Delta telling us that we had been upgraded to Silver Medallion status. That was great news! We knew that at the Accra airport that would mean we'd be able to hang out in the Akwaaba lounge so we were hoping for some time to decompress before getting on the plane to head to JFK.
We got to the airport - got the car unloaded - and checked in with plenty of time to spare! Thank you Jesus :).
After hanging out in the lounge for a while - filling up on food and drinks (we had missed lunch and dinner!) we headed to the gate only to find out that our seats had already been upgraded to Business Class!
WOW!
This is just one day of our journey - know that almost everyday was like this. We had a plan and sometimes our plan and God's plan were the same. Sometimes they were different. But every change was an upgrade! Just like the upgrade from coach to Business Class!
God was very clear to us - individually - that Bolgatanga is His choice for us.
We know that this will prove to be an upgrade!
Thank you for praying for us - it's through your prayers that we remained alert and attentive - that our eyes and ears remained open and we saw and heard accurately.
Here's our picture - getting settled in on our return flight from Accra! We're pretty happy!
What a wild ride. Life in Ghana is going to be just as exciting for you. I am thrilled you'll be heading to Bolgatanga. Hopefully, you'll be there getting settled when we arrive next May.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Susan