Well in the words of my dear friend Martha Bunn, we're off like a herd of turtles! 6am flight departure requires an extra early arrival at the airport. 4:30 am to be exact. God has already been performing miracles in this trip. My alarm failed yet I managed to wake up ten minutes before.... I'd like to say my alarm was supposed to go off. Unfortunately it was ten minutes before I had planned to leave my house!!! Miracle número uno: I made it to the airport on time! Even had a few minutes to spare! We met at the American Airlines counter and began baggage check. [i would just like to insert a personal victory here that my loved ones will find hard to believe: my bag weighed 24 pounds!! A small victory in itself] We made it through security relatively quickly. I was disappointed that I did not get three green L's on my boarding pass. Apparently this means you can speed through security. Dallas and Jake must be friends with the people at TSA. I had to take my tennis shoes off and give them a DNA sample before they'd let me through.
The first leg of our travel took us to Chicago to O'Hare. I do believe Nicholson was talking when I fell asleep and I know he was still talking when I woke up. I can tell he is excited and that makes me even more excited about what he is about to experience through the kids at A House on Beekman. We had just enough time to make it down to our gate a few minutes prior to boarding the flight to LaGuardia. I was sad when we passed Starbucks in the main concourse because I knew I didn't have time to trek back before our next flight boarded. Much to my delight when what to my wandering eyes did appear, but a miniature Starbucks and 8 tiny baristas. Okay maybe there were on,y two but who cares?! I got my iced coffee with a double shot. Now I'm ready to take on the Big Apple. We've been fortunate to sit all together on the plane. It's nice to see our blue shirts and feel a part of something bigger than just us.
Even though our group hasn't been able to team build very much before our trip due to the team members living all over west TN, Nashville area and North MS, we have lots of connections already! Turns out a girl on the trip, Courtney, is the niece of a girl I know in Savannah. We have a couple of labor and delivery nurses with us so if by chance we have to help delivery a baby somewhere we'll be covered. Dallas works at the Shelby County Sheriff's department so if something hairy breaks out I'm sure she'll be able to handle it. We have a few teachers and that will certainly come in handy. Then to round out the group we have lots of excited energetic people and a couple of teenage boys who are in for the week of their lives. It's funny how God provides who we need and what we need and gives comfort in familiarity.
I am sad to say that one of our team members had to stay home and minister with us from afar. Nicole has had some mobility issues and had to make the tough decision to stay home. She has worked so hard for this and I know her efforts were not in vain. She will be with us in our hearts on this trip and I can't wait for her to get back to NYC next year with us. God certainly has a plan for her that will be made known and perfect in His time.
We are scheduled to arrive in New York at 11:45 Eastern time. We're going to purchase shuttle bus passes and ride to Grand Central Station. I am already starving so I can't wait to get to the food court there. Jeremy would probably qualify me as pretty hungry right now. However, the double shot of espresso is kicking in and I'm getting very excited!! Once we have had time to catch our breath and have lunch, Dallas will purchase our 7 day unlimited subway passes. We will then make our way to the Opera House Hotel to check in before a night out in NYC. I am praying we have wifi access (free) at the hotel so I can post these blogs and share our journey with you. Part of the group will be going to the Mets game v. Texas Rangers. Every one say a special prayer for Dallas and the baseball group because apparently she doesn't have a very good track record supporting the away team at the home teams stadium and apparently she is a huge Rangers fan! I would hate to bail her out of jail. I'm not sure bail money is an authorized purchase on the church's card.
Looking forward to getting settled into our digs and exploring the city tonight! Please pray for safety and guidance so we can enjoy our time and be refreshed for camp Monday morning.
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