So.... how was the trip to Namibia? Well....
It took 24 hours to get us out of San Diego! For goodness sake. The rains caused havoc at the airport. Planes were delayed all the way up the coast. Our trip originally was San Diego to San Francisco, San Fran to London, London to Johanesburg, and Jo-burg to Namibia. Then.... the rains came and the wind blew... and the delayed plane from SF meant that we would miss our London flight. So... we had a very nice United agent re-book us and we stayed in SD another night and left the next day for LAX, then took the evening flight out for London. While waiting at the airport in LAX, I had a very lovely conversation with a woman on her way to visit her son and daughter-in-law and their new little one. It was fun chatting with this new grandmother who was so anxious to see her very first grandchild - daughter of her only son. We shared some of our joys and concerns as parents and grandparents, relating funny stories and personal testimonies. About ten minutes into the conversation she dragged out of me that we were missionaries on our way back to Namibia and heard my heart for reaching the lost with the gospel message. She shares our faith in Christ and was delighted to meet us! Not only did that help pass the time, but it reminded me that we are truly on a mission and many other believers are standing with us in prayer as we press on. We were seated in the exit row on the flight to London, thanks to the kind United agent in SD. Yeah! Tony had room for his legs for once! (Well, I always feel badly for my hubby. His knees literally push into the seat in front of him). It still isn't so easy to sleep, but at least we were able to move around and we were right next to the toilets. Good news for me. The 12 hour flight to London was a bit bumpy, but we handled that ok. In London the following morning was a challenge getting our way through customs and through the terminal, finding the right gate for our Johannesburg flight that evening. We always appreciate the opportunity to walk a couple of miles pulling our luggage through unfamiliar territory while our bodies are screaming... "What are you thinking? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep!"
The flight from London to Johannesburg is about 10 hours and again our seats were in the exit row - very nice to have extra space. Lastly, the flight from Jo-burg to Namibia is another 2 hours. So, by the time we reached Namibia, we were literally walking in our sleep - totally. But... !!! We did make it along with all our luggage. No problems with customs and no problems with tickets or anything else. The only thing that would have made it really sweet... was if we would have been bumped to first class on one of those long legs! Maybe one day. All things are possible. Thanks for all the safe travel prayers!
