Flying the Friendly (though rainy) Skies!
July 7 & 8, 2009
I woke before the alarm went off. Contemplated getting up, and after about 30 minutes of just lying there awake, I rolled out of bed & started the day. Going to Ghana today!
Davi & Becky spent the night with us, so soon after David & I got up, they followed suit. We gave a quick scan of emails and morning news as we breakfasted on bagels, eggs, juice, and coffee/tea.
All the “last minute” readying took place in a flurry of activity, then David began loading the luggage into the truck. We’d weighed each bag the night before on our bathroom scales, shifting an item or two from one suitcase to another, as needed.
The morning air felt pleasant as we sat on the porch for a moment. David said his good-byes to Scarlett -- ahhh a boy & his dog, it‘s a beautiful thing! *smile* She will miss us terribly while we’re gone, as we will her. She is absolutely the World’s Best Dog. But we’re leaving her and our kitties in the capable hands of our friend Frances.
Rush-hour traffic in Charlotte wasn’t too hectic, and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. On international flights, you have to check in at least 2 hours early, so a lot of the time it seems like “hurry up and wait!” Once again, each suitcase was weighed -- this time “officially” -- and we held our collective breaths as the heaviest ones clocked in at 50 pounds on the button!
Sitting at the gate area, it must have looked like a Geek Fest -- all 4 of us, wearing matching navy Waters Edge Ministries shirts, pecking away on our laptops! Gotta love technology! ;)
*****
There’s something pretty cool about feeling a plane take off. After taxiing to the runway and waiting patiently, you can feel the heavy engines rev, and hear the whine turn into a roar. At first, it’s easy to see cracks in the pavement as you roll down the runway, but soon it all becomes a blur as the plane picks up speed. You can feel the plane as it leaves the grasp of gravity and begins to climb into the sky. I love to look out the window, watching my perspective of our earth changing as a Larger Picture becomes visible.
Life can be like that, you know? As you break away from situations that seem to be gigantic and overbearing, you can gain a larger view of life, in general -- letting you in on the clue that the issue might not be so huge in the Grand Scheme of Things. Sometimes a fresh perspective gives you energy, strength, and confidence to handle whatever you have to face.
*****
Pouring rain in NYC -- hope the Carolinas are getting some, we need it.
The gate filled quickly with people speaking many languages and dialects. It’s interesting, just to people-watch here. Many folks are clustered around the large television sets, watching the CNN broadcast of Michael Jackson’s funeral services. I wasn’t ever able to connect to the internet at JFK, so the blog post had to wait a while.
It was raining very hard in NYC, and the flight was delayed a couple of hours. At last we took to the skies & flew into the night. It’s kinda tough to sleep on a plane, but we did the best we could.
*****
Landed! It’s pouring rain (well, it IS the rainy season, what did I expect, huh??) It was so good, seeing Richie, Stephen, & Chief Takyi waiting for us at the airport! We loaded the luggage into a pickup and ourselves into a car and headed to our “home” in Tema -- Rev. James & Mary Godlly’s house.
Brunch was an omelet with tuna, tomatoes, & peppers (yummy!!), toast with jam, fresh bananas and oh-my-goodness-oh-so-sweet fresh pineapple! And right after lunch I called my mom to let her know we'd arrived, safe & sound.
So I’m feeling a bit woozy, but I think its likely because I am tired. This afternoon is sort of a “catch-up” time -- though David and Richie have already gone back into town to price the polytanks for the water training. Becky, Davi, & I are huddled around the table with our mini-laptops -- it looks kinda like a nerd fest, hahaha!!!
Oh one other thing -- the Kotoka airport had a fresh coat of paint, and there were many signs posted all around, welcoming US President Barak Obama. He’ll be visiting here Friday & Saturday. Hey, who knows, maybe we’ll see him here!
Blessings, all! Oh, and I'll post pictures soon, so check back by!
Anita <><
I woke before the alarm went off. Contemplated getting up, and after about 30 minutes of just lying there awake, I rolled out of bed & started the day. Going to Ghana today!
Davi & Becky spent the night with us, so soon after David & I got up, they followed suit. We gave a quick scan of emails and morning news as we breakfasted on bagels, eggs, juice, and coffee/tea.
All the “last minute” readying took place in a flurry of activity, then David began loading the luggage into the truck. We’d weighed each bag the night before on our bathroom scales, shifting an item or two from one suitcase to another, as needed.
The morning air felt pleasant as we sat on the porch for a moment. David said his good-byes to Scarlett -- ahhh a boy & his dog, it‘s a beautiful thing! *smile* She will miss us terribly while we’re gone, as we will her. She is absolutely the World’s Best Dog. But we’re leaving her and our kitties in the capable hands of our friend Frances.
Rush-hour traffic in Charlotte wasn’t too hectic, and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. On international flights, you have to check in at least 2 hours early, so a lot of the time it seems like “hurry up and wait!” Once again, each suitcase was weighed -- this time “officially” -- and we held our collective breaths as the heaviest ones clocked in at 50 pounds on the button!
Sitting at the gate area, it must have looked like a Geek Fest -- all 4 of us, wearing matching navy Waters Edge Ministries shirts, pecking away on our laptops! Gotta love technology! ;)
*****
There’s something pretty cool about feeling a plane take off. After taxiing to the runway and waiting patiently, you can feel the heavy engines rev, and hear the whine turn into a roar. At first, it’s easy to see cracks in the pavement as you roll down the runway, but soon it all becomes a blur as the plane picks up speed. You can feel the plane as it leaves the grasp of gravity and begins to climb into the sky. I love to look out the window, watching my perspective of our earth changing as a Larger Picture becomes visible.
Life can be like that, you know? As you break away from situations that seem to be gigantic and overbearing, you can gain a larger view of life, in general -- letting you in on the clue that the issue might not be so huge in the Grand Scheme of Things. Sometimes a fresh perspective gives you energy, strength, and confidence to handle whatever you have to face.
*****
Pouring rain in NYC -- hope the Carolinas are getting some, we need it.
The gate filled quickly with people speaking many languages and dialects. It’s interesting, just to people-watch here. Many folks are clustered around the large television sets, watching the CNN broadcast of Michael Jackson’s funeral services. I wasn’t ever able to connect to the internet at JFK, so the blog post had to wait a while.
It was raining very hard in NYC, and the flight was delayed a couple of hours. At last we took to the skies & flew into the night. It’s kinda tough to sleep on a plane, but we did the best we could.
*****
Landed! It’s pouring rain (well, it IS the rainy season, what did I expect, huh??) It was so good, seeing Richie, Stephen, & Chief Takyi waiting for us at the airport! We loaded the luggage into a pickup and ourselves into a car and headed to our “home” in Tema -- Rev. James & Mary Godlly’s house.
Brunch was an omelet with tuna, tomatoes, & peppers (yummy!!), toast with jam, fresh bananas and oh-my-goodness-oh-so-sweet fresh pineapple! And right after lunch I called my mom to let her know we'd arrived, safe & sound.
So I’m feeling a bit woozy, but I think its likely because I am tired. This afternoon is sort of a “catch-up” time -- though David and Richie have already gone back into town to price the polytanks for the water training. Becky, Davi, & I are huddled around the table with our mini-laptops -- it looks kinda like a nerd fest, hahaha!!!
Oh one other thing -- the Kotoka airport had a fresh coat of paint, and there were many signs posted all around, welcoming US President Barak Obama. He’ll be visiting here Friday & Saturday. Hey, who knows, maybe we’ll see him here!
Blessings, all! Oh, and I'll post pictures soon, so check back by!
Anita <><
Comments
God Bless You!
Dennis
God Bless You!
Dennis