December 4 – We Are Really Doing This

These next three blog postings were written while we did not have internet access. We got to Odessa Friday afternoon. We opted for a car and driver instead of the 10 hour train ride. We are now unpacked and settled into our apartment in the Odessa Executive Suites. If you are in the neighborhood in the next couple of months, stop in and see us.

December 4
We left today – after more than a year of anticipating this day, the feeling is “We are really doing this.” Not a sense of fear and trembling, but a sense of awe and wonder of the journey that God has us on.

Today’s lesson must have been patience. It started in Omaha as we sat on the plane for an hour while they changed one of the fuel filters. It probably wasn’t a part that was in stock at the local Auto Zone store. The pilot must have been speeding on the way to Chicago, since we arrived only a half an hour late.

In Chicago, we had a sandwich for lunch and boarded the plane for Frankfurt, Germany. Just before departure, the pilot announced that one of the bathrooms was out of order and was being repaired. After a half an hour wait, we were on our way.

It is about 7 pm central time, but it feels more like it is after midnight. The plane is dark except for a few reading lights. I have already watched a movie, had dinner and a nap. Maybe it feels so late because the last few nights have averaged 3-4 hours of sleep, but I think that God is already helping to adjust us to Odessa time.

I glance at the video screen in the headrest of the seat in front of me and see that we are over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland. We are traveling at 736 miles per hour at an altitude of 37,000 feet. It is a little nippy outside with a temperature of – 74 degrees Fahrenheit. We are 3 hours 51 minutes into this flight with 3 hours 51 minutes to go.

I don’t know why I sometimes think of things in the context of song titles, but right now I have this “Peaceful, Easy Feeling”. I know that it comes from the fact that God is in control and many people in Omaha and many other places in the world are praying for us and for this adoption adventure. We can really feel the love and the prayers and we feel God’s presence. We feel humbled, inadequate, excited and full of anticipation of everything that He has in store for us.

PS: The upgrade to Economy Plus on United, which gives an extra 5 inches of legroom
was well worth the $89 on the Chicago – Frankfurt flight.