The Grace of God

You've heard it said that things don't always go the way that you have planned. Well, that couldn't have been more true for our trip back to Botswana. We had a decent itinerary planned which saw us leaving last Thursday, arriving in Johannesburg Saturday morning, spending the day with our dear friend Alrike, and flying home Sunday afternoon to Maun. Well, we did arrive Sunday afternoon as scheduled, but that was about the only thing that went as planned. Our parents bid us a tearful good-bye as we went through security about 13:00 Thursday at the Saskatoon airport. We got on the plane as scheduled, and settled in for our hour long flight to Calgary. Well, the plane pushed back from the gate and spent an exceptionally long time doing what seemed like engine runs. Then, the Captain announced that he had an indicator light signifying a malfunction. We would be going back into the terminal and waiting for them to figure out a plan. "Please collect your luggage off of the baggage carousel, and return to the check-in desk for further info." What???!!! So with Jacob and Abigail's help, we dragged our six carry-on bags, and collected our eleven suitcases off the baggage carousel, and returned to the starting line. Now, our parents had long since gone home, and we were in a holding pattern at the check-in counter. You see, it may be easy enough to find space for one or two people on different flights, but we were going to miss our first connecting flight, and so the entire itinerary had to be re-booked... for six people. Air Canada did a great job of taking care of us though, which started with food vouchers while we waited in Saskatoon (6 hours), and included a hotel room in Calgary while we waited for the next flight to Toronto....yes, we had to go to Calgary, to get to Toronto. We had a surprise blessing on the leg to Toronto, as Air Canada had given us prepaid meals on that flight as well. Why do I mention this? Well, you see, when we travel, we try to do things on the cheap. We will buy a kind of minimum amount of food to share, and wait for a more economical option. So, when we each were given the ability to each order a complete meal, it was a real blessing. It is also difficult to keep everyone hydrated, and fed, so when the food comes to you, it works much better. We were routed from Toronto to Munich, Germany (7 or so hours), and seven hours after that, flew to Frankfurt, for our connecting flight to Johannesburg. We had been given another set of meal vouchers by Air Canada in Toronto, and attempted to use them in Munich. The restaurant would not accept them, but suggested that we approach Lufthansa to exchange them for us. Well, here was God at work again, as our fifty dollars were transformed into fifty Euros. Now the Munich airport is quite expensive, but with fifty Euros, we managed to eat like kings, and even have ice cream for dessert. We made all of our connecting flights, and every piece of luggage arrived along with us. We had a small hick-up in Johannesburg, as we waited for our car seat to arrive at the place we were told to pick it up. It ended up coming on the normal luggage belt, which we discovered, after waiting 1 1/2 hours for it to appear at over-sized baggage (all the while being reassured that this is where it would be sent). It made our connection time tight, but we made it just in time for our final flight home to Maun. We were the last folks off of the airplane in Maun (typical for this family of six), and were surprisingly escorted to the middle of the line for immigration, while others stood outside in the scorching heat. Checking into the country went well, and we were greeted by Mandy, one of our co-laborers in the field. At the end of a long (72 hours) journey, we found ourselves back in Maun, ready to launch into the next phase of life (after some much needed rest)!

Still hanging on

Well, August disappeared on us, and we are already half way through September. We had a wonderful trip through Red Deer(visiting my aunt) to Salmon Arm (Cheryl's Aunt), Kaledan (Cheryl's nephew), and Fruitvale BC (Cheryl's sister and her children's families). It was wonderful to see so much family after four (or more) years! We arrived back in Saskatoon at the start of September, and have been running ever since. We have a house in Saskatoon, and our renters moved out, allowing us the opportunity to do some upgrades and repairs. And suddenly, we are faced with the inevitable trip back to Botswana. We originally intended to travel back in November. However, South Africa passed a law-starting Oct 1 - which required all travelers with children to carry the unabridged birth certificate...not usually a problem. Well, we couldn't find Lily's birth certificate before we left Botswana. Our amazing HR manager in Botswana tried numerous times to get the certificate for us, but because of technical problems, did not succeed. So, with Oct fast approaching, MAF decided we better get back before the new law takes affect. Wouldn't you know it, last Friday, our tickets were re-booked for September 25th(with a financial penalty), and Monday morning, our HR gal managed to get the birth certificate. Not only that, but Monday afternoon, South Africa announced that it would delay implementing the law until June 2015. Well, the Lord must have a reason for this all. So, we are headed back to Botswana a week from today. Knowing that our time was shortening, some lovely people from our church in Saskatoon decided (in August) to host a dessert night, in order to give us the chance to share our ministry with a larger group of people. We had a lovely time with a great bunch of people, and a lot of great desserts. Thanks to everyone who attended, served, gave, and prayed for us. The evening was a huge success! So, with one week left to go, it will be a whirlwind of activity, as we finish renos, pack up, and say goodbye again to all our wonderful family and friends. We are excited to go back to Botswana, but we are going to have to hang on with all our might to get everything done.