South Africa 2011

And it begins. After months of counting down a journey that would take us to three continents in one day, we set off Thursday, July 28th at 3 p.m from First Baptist Dalton. We have a fascinating group of personalities and if you think I'm exaggerating with the word, "fascinating", you probably need to get closer to the group I have been traveling with me.

Our trip to the airport was flawless and we missed Atlanta traffic. We checked in and made it through customs/security in Atlanta in less than 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure that's a record. Our flight left Atlanta at 9:15 p.m. and before we knew it we were in London.

Reagan Fromm decided long ago that a nine hour layover in London was only acceptable if we ventured out into the city. Reagan was right and she planned our time away from the airport down to the tee. We saw everything....and I do mean everything during our time in the city and it was fantastic.

We made it back to the airport in plenty of time to board our 7:15 flight non stop to Capetown, Africa. While all the passengers boarded the plane a small......well......large accident occured. Just when I thought I was the sleepiest person in London, one of the luggage cart drivers drove his vehicle into the side of the plane! It put a hole in the vehicle and they had to call a welder to fix the issue. Bottom line: this took an extra 2 hours. So we left at 9:30 p.m. instead of 7:15 p.m. Early this morning around 3:30 a.m. Dalton time, we landed in Capetown. You can verify that with Phillip, I thought I would send him an early morning text to make sure he knew. :)

 

I thought a lot during that flight. One of the features the plane offered was an on screen tracking device that showed you exactly where the plane was currently located on a world map. I woke up early in the morning and noticed the plane was over Spain. My mind was quickly taken to Romans when Paul discusses a possible trip to Spain. It was an electric time in the beginning of the church and its followers were literally taking the Good News to all parts of the world. As I sat in 35C on flight B27, I realized that First Baptist Dalton was doing the same thing. While we flew over Spain, God reminded me of the awesome and humbling experience we were about to have and just how proud I am of our students and the support you have given them. So for every dollar you gave, for every mother that cried, for every student that gave up 10 days of his or her summer, and for every chaperone that gave up 10 days of work or time with their family, thank you. In order for the Church to be the Church we must be selfless and willing to act in DRASTIC measures. I'd say flying across the world, leaving our comfort and safety zones to tell people about Jesus is drastic....how drastic? I'll tell you in 10 days.