Of a Promise and Pilgrimage

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28

I'm here, praise God! And it was quite the adventure!

I flew into Lilongwe on Wednesday -- 22 hours later than I had planned. My luggage had been incorrectly labeled for pick-up in Johannesburg, South Africa, requiring me to go through Customs and then re-check everything again. But unfortunately, my flight from London to Johannesburg was delayed for a couple of hours and I had less than one hour to make it through the long, slow lines. After getting my passport stamped and racing through the baggage claim, I located my luggage and bribed a porter to help me rush to the check-in counter as soon as possible with my 66 kg. Unfortunately by the time we got there, the gate had already closed which meant I had not only missed the 10 AM flight but I'd just been separated from my traveling buddies!

I made my way to the British Airways office with my overstuffed backpack, computer bag, and three pieces of luggage. Because of the delay, they were able to change my ticket. . . but the problem was that there wasn't another flight from Johannesburg leaving for Lilongwe that day.
"We can put you up in a hotel until 1 AM this morning. . . then we'll put you on Kenya Airways to fly you from here to Kenya, and from Kenya to Malawi. You should arrive there by tomorrow morning. We do apologize for the delay, but this is all we can do for you, Ma'am."

I envisioned myself walking outside the South Africa airport loading all of my luggage onto a hotel shuttle and then unloading it off the shuttle, into the hotel and then out of the hotel, back onto the shuttle and off the shuttle, into the baggage check-in area. . .close to 1 in the morning? I decided to just wait the 15 hours at the airport. It sounded easier and safer.

And so I waited. . . and waited. . . and prayed. . . .and prayed.

First, I prayed for faith and trust. . . I was coming down with a nasty cold, and my energy level was so drained! I prayed that God would give me more energy and health, just enough for the 12 hours until check-in time so I wouldn't fall asleep alone with my luggage in the Johannesburg airport. And I prayed that everything would just go smoothly this time. . . that I'd make all connecting flights, that I wouldn't get lost in the Kenya airport, that He would enable a way for me to communicate with the people who were supposed to pick me up. . . I prayed for wisdom and safety and protection. . . I even prayed that God would provide someone soon -- someone that I could trust to watch my stuff for just a few minutes while I ran to the restroom! And all of a sudden I realized in a deeper way how much God really cares about me -- even all the small things that kept flowing from my heart that in the grand scheme of things are so teeny and insignificant. And this caused me to plead that He would display His glorious sufficiency through my own insufficiency and dependence!

And I thought on the sweet, sweet promise of Romans 8:28:
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

All. Things. Yes, ALL things! The cold, the luggage labeling snafu, the delayed flight, my exhaustion, an extra flight to Kenya! I didn't understand why. . . it made no sense to me! I was just trying to get back to Malawi to serve Him by loving on those kiddies at ABC Christian Academy. But there was something so comforting that almost made that 15 hour wait and extra trip to Kenya really enjoyable. . . because even though I still don't understand why it all happened, I had a lot of time to meditate on the fact that God was working all of it together for good. And especially when you feel so little and helpless, it releases huge burdens to be reminded that Someone so Great and All-sufficient is working all things for my good and His glory.

Nobody had any clue that I was in Kenya, but I was able to use my Malawi cell to contact a friend for an airport pick-up once I had landed in Lilongwe!

When I arrived to Lilongwe I had to pass through Customs once more.
Man at passport check: Passport, please.
Me, as I hand him my passport: I made it to Lilongwe!! I'm finally here!
Man at passport check: Welcome back to Malawi, Sista!
Me: Thanks! Wait, I mean. . . Zikomo!!

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Please pray for Moana, a girl I met on the plane and had an opportunity to share the gospel with.
Please pray for extra strength for all of the staff as we are getting everything ready for school to start this upcoming Tuesday.
Please pray that God would already be working in the hearts of each student.
Please pray that I would have wisdom regarding how many activities I should take on this year.
Please pray that we as a staff would keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus and seek to find all of our satisfaction in Him alone!