The Rwanda Series

First Class God

By ThinkJP.Consulting™ Copyright© 2015 - All Rights Reserved

I had never been on a plane for more than 4 hours before we went to Rwanda.  While I am a sufferer of motion sickness, we have always been pleasantly surprised that I have never experienced any problems on airplanes.  Of course there is always a first time!

Our journey began in Indiana, and we were concerned that our flights might be delayed due to the heavy snowstorm that dumped on us during the night.  Jack hadn’t felt well most of the night, but by morning, he was eager to get started.  Our flight left from Indiana on schedule, but our flight out of Pittsburgh had been cancelled. 

We spent a lot of time in the Pittsburgh Airport desperately trying to make arrangements for another connecting flight.  With only one flight per week into Kigali it was crucial to find the right one.  Here I was, sitting in a little phone booth trying to book a flight with a different airline, thinking in my heart of hearts that there was just no way this trip was going to happen.  I began to question if perhaps God was redirecting us, even though we both felt very strongly that He wanted us to make this trip.  Stories of the Rwanda rebels attacking American tourists just days before began to resurface and left me feeling a little uneasy.  So here I was in the phone booth, thanking God for helping us to realize before it was too late that we had misunderstood our initial impressions about Him wanting us to make this trip to Rwanda.  I apologized to God that apparently we hadn’t listened when He tried to gently change our course, and now He had to step in and make it obvious that He didn’t want us to make this trip to Rwanda. 

Jack, was at the ticket counter with a supervisor praying that IF God really wanted us to make this trip to Rwanda, He alone would have to work things out because we had exhausted everything we knew to do.

Jack motioned for me to come to him and I could tell that something awesome had happened.  With moist eyes he proceeded to tell me that he had been praying and just as he opened his eyes, the supervisor that had been called in specifically to help with our special needs, said, “Oh my God, I can’t believe it.  Two seats just opened up before my very eyes.”  Jack said, “Let me tell you about the God that just made that happen,” then, he proceeded to share with her that he had been praying right there in front of her asking God to help. By the time I got to him, all the people waiting in line, hoping that they too would be able to reschedule their flights, were listening in and you could tell that many of them were awed by what they were hearing.  I’m sure many of them were left stranded in the airport because just twenty minutes into our flight, the pilot announced that the Pittsburgh Airport had closed for the rest of the day due to poor weather conditions.

Jack explained to the supervisor that was working on our connecting flight that our original seats had been in First Class and wondered if by any chance these seats would be the same.  She kindly explained that they were not, and proceeded to tell us that they were trying something new, called Premiere Class.  Jack told her there was no way we could afford the difference in price, and with a smile the agent responded that this one was on the airline.  With a big smile on her face she announced that she was also taking the liberty to upgrade our seats to the Premier section for our return flights.  We smiled at how God works.  We would have been happy with our First Class seats, but God wanted to bless in an extra special way.  We were now even more convinced that God had a specific mission planned for this trip.  As we settled in for the long trip, I remember telling myself on the plane in the middle of the night while Jack was sleeping beside me, “this is it, there is no turning back now!”

We had just completed seven hours from Pittsburgh to Paris, and I had spent my first night on an airplane.  It was really quite exciting, and I was enjoying the chance to relax, read, and journal.  Since we were forced to “tough it out” in Premier Class, my apprehension about spending so many hours in the air began to fade. Feeling very pampered, we graciously survived having our own chef and baker, our own private televisions, and a Godiva Chocolate buffet to die for.  Our seats actually reclined enough to convert into a real bed, so I was even able to sleep for most of the night.  It was strange to be awakened while still in the air.  We were given the opportunity to “freshen up” before breakfast, which was custom-ordered French pastries, hot from the oven.  Who could ask for anything more?!  Because of all the delays, by the time we arrived in Paris we had barely enough time to switch flights. 

It felt good to stretch our legs some but because we were in such a rush, I didn’t get to enjoy looking around much, and spent most of the time on the “people movers”.  Our flight from Paris to Brussels was to be a commuter flight and should take less than an hour to complete.  I was really beginning to feel the jet lag, and all the stress of preparing for the trip was catching up to me.  Unfortunately, because of all the rescheduling, our seats were not together on this short flight, and we didn’t have time to try to fix it.  We had hoped that we might be able to persuade someone to switch seats with us once we were on board.  As fate would have it, we had to go to the furthest terminal and pass through four security checkpoints, showing our passports each time, within a twenty-seven minute time frame. We didn’t have a second to spare as they were holding the plane for us and literally began the taxi out before we were even settled into our seats.

I was seated between two businessmen, and didn’t want to bother anyone to get my book from the carry-on bag that Jack had placed in the overhead compartment.  Besides, things had been so incredibly busy a couple of days before leaving; I had hardly a minute for my personal thoughts and decided to take this opportunity to pray.  I laid my head back and closed my eyes and began a nice conversation with the Lord.  The next thing I knew, I awakened to find myself resting comfortably on the shoulder of the man seated on my right.  I quickly sat up and apologized to the gentlemen, who spoke only French, but obviously understood enough English to graciously accept my apology.  He was most understanding and kind about the whole thing. I tried to bury my embarrassment but that’s all I could think about as I sat there praying for the flight to go quickly. The worst part happened about thirty minutes later when I again awakened on this same man’s shoulder, yet a second time.  I shall never forget my embarrassment.  I only admit it to this day because Jack witnessed the whole thing from his seat a couple of rows in front of me, and found it all very amusing.

With less than one hour in Brussels between flights, our 8-hour flight to Kigali, Rwanda began.  Again we were seated in the most comfortable section of Premier Class, and found ourselves enjoying the special treatment to the max.  After about 4 hours into this flight, (not to mention the previous 8), I began to feel a tad ill.  I took a Compazine and made several trips to the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth, trying to focus on something besides feeling ill.  Soon, the nausea became overpowering. I sat with my head back and watched the minutes pass as the countdown for our anticipated arrival time in Kigali was displayed on the monitor.  I counted down two, very long hours before I began to feel a bit better.  Our flight attendant was so sweet and concerned, and even brought special crackers and tea among her many trips to check on me. We were all hopeful that this would help to settle my stomach some.  Of course by then the Compazine I had taken was beginning to work, and I drifted off to sleep. 

I awoke feeling quite a bit better, just in time to look below and watch the sandy brown of the Sahara Desert transform into the deep green foliage of middle Africa.  I couldn’t help but recount what an incredible day this had been!  A blizzard, a miracle, running frantically through airports in fear of missing a deadline, spending the night on a plane, sleeping on strangers, nausea, a private chef, and three continents and two oceans.  Wow!

Unbelievably, it wasn’t over yet.  In just one hour we were to meet the Prime Minister.

THE END