Africa Day 1

January 27, 2010
Well, I’m in the airport in Greensboro waiting for my flight. I checked both bags free. Praise the Lord! And they were under 50 lbs. My carry on bag is pretty big. It might not fit in the overhead bin. We will have to see. But someone just came and gave me a tag for my bag to be stored in the cargo place. I guess that means that the plane I’m flying on now is going to be a small plane. It is a Comair flight.
I told Rick a couple of days ago that I was going to Africa. He was alert and really seemed to understand what I was saying. His eyes got really sad and he shook his head very slightly ‘no’. He was close to tears and it took him a good part of the evening to get over it. He hasn’t seemed to be upset at all since that first time I told him. But I have noticed that he has been clinging more to me than usual. When I put him to bed the last few nights he would hug me and hold me. I wonder if he remembered that I was going away.
This morning when I took Rick to the center I told him again that I was going on a mission trip to Africa. He rubbed his eyes a few times, and said yes several times. I prayed with him and sang with him. When we got to the center, I took him in and kissed him goodbye. He was smiling and joking with me by not really kissing me. He walked into the room without problems. I think he will be fine.
Everyone has prayed for me for a safe trip. I know that God is with me and will keep me in his care.
Stan and Katherine Glover brought me to the airport. I’m glad they did, because 2 big suitcases, plus my carry-on’s would have been a lot to handle by myself.
Shortly I will be meeting, Harry Yates and Celecia Cutts. Also, Eric and Jim. Yeah!
I boarded the plane and it taxied out to the runway and then the captain said there was a mechanical difficulty. So we taxied back to the gate and waited an hour while they fixed it. Then we were able to leave. We were in the air 1 hr and 15 min. The hour delay made us late from many of the connecting flights.
My flight was to leave in an hour but was already boarding. I had to go thru the tunnel from one concourse to another. I was walking as fast as I could using the moving walkways. I stopped to see what time it was and if I had time to go to the bathroom. I figured I had 30 minutes yet. So I stopped. I was only a little way from the gate.
I was back in the concourse coming on another moving walkway, trying to figure if I should ride it or go beside it. My gate was just at the end of it. When the intercom said, “Will passenger Joyce Coburn come go gate A60 immediately.” Then I started running. I was already winded from walking fast. Running didn’t last too long. They could see me coming. They rescheduled my seat, giving me an aisle seat, instead of an inside seat. I thought that was nice of them.
Then I boarded the plane, hoping I would be sitting near Harry and Celecia. The flight attendant told me to go across the plane to the second aisle. As I turned into the aisle, I saw Harry coming at me from the back of the plane. What a relief to know I had met up with my group. I proceeded to my row and there was a man sitting in the seat I had been assigned. There was another seat in the middle that was empty. I told him I was supposed to have the aisle seat. He got up and moved to another seat. I think he was just picking as seat and sitting in it. But if the gate people hadn’t reassigned my seat, I would have been sitting in the middle with no spare room. As it is, Harry and Celecia are on the left of the row of 4 and I am on the right with the seat next to me empty. How wonderful. It makes for a very comfortable ride.
They served supper. It consisted of a tossed salad, a pasta dish, a roll and butter, crackers and cheese and a brownie. It was very nice. I didn’t get lunch. I just snacked on my chex mix while waiting to board the plane in Greensboro. I was glad I had made it.
I watched a movie, tried to play solitaire, but had a hard time figuring out the controls. Then decided I would try to sleep. It is good and dark and the cabin is quiet. But I couldn’t get sleepy. So I decided to write in my journal. It is only 7:30 pm. So not really time to be tired.
We arrive in Amsterdam at 5:55 am their time. That will be about 12 mn for us. We will meet up with Roger and Lori Loomis and the others there.