Seriously......could anyone really plan that????

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Folks, there is no way we could have planned our day the way it happened.....

QUIZ:
Q. The team was on time for the meeting in Nashville at 5:15am and arrived at the airport in Raleigh at the scheduled time....  True or False
        Answer  =  True
Q.  The entire team made their first flight and made the following connections, on time and together......  True or False
        Answer  =  FALSE!!!!!

True story, and one that cannot be planned........

Our team did in fact meet in Nashville this morning, ahead of schedule, and left on time at 5:15am.  We arrived at RDU on time, and made it through security with no problem.  We boarded our plan late due to inclement weather in New York.. and brothers and sisters, it went downhill from there.   NOTHING went as planned from that point on.   Once we boarded the first plane.... we sat, and just as we were about to pull away from the gate, we had to deplane because of more problems with weather in New York, and air traffic.   We sat in the airport for about another hour before being 'reboarded', and we sat a little while in the plane, thinking all was well, and again, were 'deboarded'.   At this point, our team realized that we probably were not going make our connection in New York, and decided to investigate other options.   We were informed that 4 of us could rebook through Washington, DC to Miami, but the other 6 would have to wait until the next day.....   Geez... what else could go wrong from there???   Well... stay tuned, it only gets better... or worse....   The four who rebooked through to DC left about 10 minutes after the 6 who opted to remain with the original schedule left the airport.   The group that went to DC were delayed due to mechanical problems that took about 1 hour to repair.   The group that went on to Laguardia airport in NYC were delayed further due to weather and delayed flights.   The group in NYC were split again, and were rebooked on 2 seperate flights to Miami.   The group from DC arrived in Miami about 5 minutes after their connection to Liberia, Costa Rica left.   The group from NYC had not even left the airport yet... so,  as it turns out...NONE OF THE ORIGINAL GROUP MADE THE CONNECTION THROUGH TO COSTA RICA....   but that is not the total of the story.   One couple had booked a seperate flight schedule altogether.  They were taking a direct flight from RDU to Miami, so we thought for sure they would make their connection and be in Costa Rica this evening, without the rest of us..... alone....and not having a clue where to go or who to look for.   Well,  God has a seriously great sense of humor.   He delayed them at RDU, and they missed their connection in Miami too.   So, now there are 8 of us waiting at a hotel in Miami... full of pizza (comped by the airline by the way...) for the rest of our team to arrive.   We have been on this trip since 5:00am this morning.... we have missed many flights and connections.... NONE of us are in Costa Rica and we won't be until lunch time tomorrow..... and we have had the very best time bonding and enjoying each other's company. 
God is so good, and if you don't believe it......TRY to plan a trip like we have had and see what happens.   We are blessed that we are all safe.... our entire team will be together tomorrow for lunch..... our entire team from Nash County will be together in just a little while.... and we will be well on our way to seeing what else God has planned for us in the coming days.    It has been a very long day... we have had some laughs, some stress, some 'what the heck' moments... and we are all okay.    Please, DO NOT feel bad for us for we are fine.  God has a plan and we must be quiet, listen, and wait for Him to guide us.  Maybe we were all just a  little too anxious to get out town.  (ya think???)    We will try to post photos tomorrow and let you all know where we'll be, but for now... this blogger just wants to go to sleep.    

Special thanks go out to Allen Barbee for driving us to the airport and to Stewart Griffin for bringing our luggage.    George Beck, our fellow team mate is already in Costa Rica preparing the way for us... and Patrick, we will miss you soooo much this trip.   We love you all.     We thank all who came out this morning to see us off, and we thank all of you who are praying for our mission.

To our spouses and children back home.... we will miss you but we will keep you in our hearts.

To Anna, Stewart, Chris, Scott, Emily, Erin, Ryan, Lindsey, Steven, Brooks, Morgan, Trey, Mary Scott, Doug, Brooks, Pickle, Anna Kate, Kennedy, Leah, Jason, Kathy, Allison, Leon, Amanda, Tim, Cullin, Payton, Riley,Bryant, Charlotte, Riley, Tripp, and PJ.....   we love you and want you to know how much we appreciate all of your undying love and support.    We will see you all soon.....

Dios te Bendiga  (God Bless You)