airplanes

part 1

even getting TO the plane, the Lord has continually been pouring His grace upon me.

so first, at the check counter, my 2 checked bags were only 80 dollars each, rather than 100 each, as was expected. hey. 40 extra bucks? yes please.

the lady at the counter, evelynn cierra, goes to hong kong every february and was saying how she should bring my mom for 1/2 off with her. so we exchanged emails for the possibility of doing just that.

evelynn then let BOTH my parents walk me to the gate. which is usually not allowed at all. if you have a child traveling under the age of 14, then one parent can walk them. but never both. with a 20 years old, at that.

praise the Lord.

so, they got to come through security with me, which meant they got to carry some of my carry on baggage through, which means they didnt think ALL of those bags were mine, forcing me to leave something behind. and trust me. i had a lot more than what is allowed on.

but not with my parents...!

He is worthy.

so we go through security and my pump didnt go off in the metal detector, forcing me to get a wand down. this was the first time i didnt have to get checked. ever. in 10 years.

they didnt open my carry on luggage or go through my purse. filled with juice, insulin and even needles. if they would have had to go through it, it's fine, i have my doctors note that makes me exempt, it would have just taken 40 extra minutes, and a lot of hassled explaining.

but didnt have to do any of that. just walked on through.

God is so good.

so my parents walk me to the gate, spend some time together, pray for me, and leave. the meter at the car being like 60 dollars overdue, and the late check out at their hotel causing them to pay for another night, due the unexpected time spent being able to come down with me.

they got to the car, and no ticket! and didnt even have to pay for another night.

my backpack barely fit in the overhead, after some rearranging, but it fit nonetheless.

man. i serve an AWESOME God.

and i'm pretty stoked to see what He does these next 4.8 months.

part 2

so... this all happened at like 12;15 pm.

by 1 pm, i was still sitting in the plane that was supposed to have departed by 11;45 am.

they told us over the loudspeaker how we would all have to exit the plane, pick up our baggage, and re-ticket because "unfortunately, this plane wont be flying to LA any longer."

i had to get off, carry everything down, get a hold of my parents before they were too far out of vegas, pick up my baggage, meet up with the parentals, and go stand in line again. that same never ending line from before.

as i'm getting more and more frustrated, the Lord was reminding me how i had been praising Him only 30 minutes earlier for the great things He was doing. and if i would continue to praise Him for His greatness even when it seems everything was now for nothing.

and i choose to say yes. :]

as my mom and i are standing in line for the ticket counter again, the woman in front of me looks upset so i try to make conversation with her. find out she is a christian missionary from thailand! pretty sweet.

we get up to the counter and plan it so we get to see evelyn again. she sets me up with my new flights, for the next day, gives us a free hotel night, and lunch.

so NOW... instead of flying

vegas->la->taipai->hong kong-> hainan,

now i'll be leaving tomorrow morning, and going

vegas->la->tokyo->hong kong->hainan.

with the possibility of a first class upgrade due my overnight layover?

either way.

through the checking the baggage again, going through all the security again, and hoping my carry on finds a home in the overhead compartments once more...

i will continue to praise.

psalm 7.17