Hello my adorable thinkers!
This week you get the second email I sent from Zimbabwe. This email is mostly about the adventures I had traveling across the world alone. It is one of the longer ones since it encompasses thirty-six hours of traveling. With that being said here is my email from Zimbabwe 2/8…
As I write this I am in the air above Ireland. But now we must back up to fill you all in with what has happened up to this point.
Last I wrote I asked for prayers that my Covid test would be negative and that I would be able to get it the day I left. God did just that! Not only that but somehow I got a test that apparently either doesn’t normally exist or is rare because everyone says that it is not possible for me to have a rapid test that is the right kind for what I need. But mine is the right kind, and it is a rapid test which means that I follow all the instructions that have been set. Without the test I have, the restrictions are very difficult to meet when it is almost 36 hours between me leaving Houston and arriving in Harare. The rules say that I need to have the results no later than 48 hours before I arrive. A normal test that takes 3-5 days to process would be almost impossible to meet because if you took it with 5 days to spare and it came back in 3 you couldn’t fly. So my only choice was to take the rapid test and God made that test be the one I needed in the timeframe I needed.
Another thing seems to be happening on this trip. I packed a whole bunch of security features to my person. I got a sim card so my phone would work anywhere in the world and I had an invisible pouch that had a copy of my passport and my emergency money in it. When I took my test I was not aware that they wanted to call me to talk to me about whether I was eligible so I had put my new sim card in my phone but had not activated it. At the urgent care clinic they told me they needed to call me, so I tried to activate the sim card. It kept not working and not working until finally they came and talked to me in person. After my test had been taken I looked down at my lap where I had left the sim card and its holder. They were gone! That made no sense to me because I hadn’t moved! I searched the whole car, I opened the door and looked in the edge of the door, and I looked at the ground around the car. It was nowhere to be seen! I then moved the car and looked again, still nothing. After searching like a lunatic contortionist for 45 min I finally gave up and determined if God wanted me to have it, He would open my eyes to see it before I left. Almost right away I was told that my test was negative and I could go get the paperwork. I got my paperwork and went back to Bay City where I ran my last few errands before going home. I ate lunch and Emily scheduled a prayer meeting which was very nice. I could not participate much because I kept crying. But God gives and he takes away so I was only able to say what I needed to. So that is how I lost my first security measure, my second security measure of my pouch was lost somewhere after I got to the airport. I can’t remember where and everything else I was carrying made it so I have to determine that God closed my eyes to that as well. Once I had boarded the plane and found out that I didn’t have it, I couldn’t go look for it because boarding was over. I then realized that what was happening to me is similar to the story of Gideon and the Midianites. Gideon was told to go fight the Midianites so he gathered a whole bunch of troops. Those troops were his safety features. God then said that there were too many and Gideon must let everyone who is scared or who has a reason to leave to go home. After that God said that there were still too many and presented another test to eliminate more. I feel like that is what God did to me. I had too many things that I had done to “insure” my safety. I cannot be the one to insure my safety, God is, and if I believe that God wants me to be here, going where I am going, then I must put my trust in him not in any thing or service that keeps me safe.
My journey started in Houston where I flew to Chicago. In Chicago I stayed in a hotel for the night because I had a 10 hr 45 min layover. I am very thankful for that layover because I got some bed sleep and was able to get up around 3:30 am to start my day so that I would be tired right now. It only kind of worked. But anyway, I had snacks packed for my breakfast and to supplement any meals necessary. Those snacks have been a very good thing! When I got out of the hotel I had the hardest time getting to terminal 5. Apparently the walkway that normally takes you is closed for some reason. While I was walking around a group of people asked if I was trying to find terminal 5 also. When I said yes they seemed relieved until they realised that I was as lost as they were. Before I had a chance, the oldest of the group asked an employee and she told us that we had to take the bus. We went out to the bus and boy oh boy that bus driver drives crazy! If you didn’t have a vice grip on two walls and your luggage they would all go flying! When we got to terminal 5 the group found out that they had the wrong covid test. That was sad and didn’t help me be any more confident when they started to question my test. But God was still in control and He made a way for me to get where I am!
I safely got to my terminal but my flight was delayed about 30 min. I have no idea why but that is the facts. When I got to my seat on the plane I was so happy because international flight seats are far more comfortable than domestic flight seats. I was also happy when I found that I wouldn’t have to be squished next to anyone. There was a guy in my row and he tried to make conversation but I didn’t really want to talk and soon after that he moved seats, giving me the whole row to myself! That has been quite the blessing!
They served dinner about 30 min to an hour into the flight and I could eat most of it! That was a blessing! I also ate more of my snacks to ensure a full tummy for easy sleeping. Around 9pm Harare time I turned on the Avengers and went to sleep. I did that on purpose because I know the movie well enough that it is not going to hold my attention as much as a new movie would and it is loud so it drowned out the sounds around me very well. I slept for the whole movie which is like 2 ½ hours. I then slept more fitfully for a few more hours and that is where I am now, writing not sleeping. I am going to try and get some more sleep now and write more later, maybe when I get to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and I have wifi.
Well I didn’t have any time in Addis Ababa to write. My flight out of Chicago was delayed so we got to Addis Ababa later than anticipated. I also had to go through a security checkpoint before I could get to my next gate. There was a line (or que) to get through because all international transferring passengers had to get through the same checkpoint. At least all of them on that side of the airport. I didn’t look for another checkpoint. Once I got to my gate I only had time for a brief conversation with my sister, Emily, and my Mother. My sister will be joining me on the plane when it briefly lands in Lusaka, Zambia. I am going to try to find a way that we can sit together which should be easy as long as there are not a bunch more people getting on the plane than getting off.
As for getting more sleep after I left last time? Nope! I stayed awake the rest of the flight. Not on purpose but I just wasn’t tired anymore. I later had coffee for breakfast to combat my clock saying that the time is wrong. But I have a hard time sleeping when sunshine is around so I will probably crash hard tonight when the sun goes down. Hopefully that will be the last straw and my clock will be switched but I don’t think it is that easy. Well we just flew over some beautiful crop lands and we are now high in the sky with light puffy clouds below. I will write some more in a few hours time or when I have something else to say!
I am returning to y’all from my room in Zimbabwe. Emily and I made it safely and had a splendid evening. When I landed in Lusaka, Zambia it had been agreed upon that Emily would bring her portable wifi hotspot and when I could connect I would know that she was around. It worked well and I was able to tell my family that I was safe with Emily.
On the plane me and Emily could not get tickets to have seats next to each other, but God worked that out because nobody was sitting next to Emily and I moved to sit next to her. It is so nice to see her again! I have missed her a whole lot! The flight to Harare, Zimbabwe was pretty short and we spent most of it eating snacks and filling out paperwork for when we landed. After we landed we had to face the trial we were both not looking forward to, escaping the airport legally! First we stood in a long line (called a que here) waiting for them to look over our test results. We were expecting to have to get tested again even though we both already had our tests. When we got to the front of the line, they looked over our paperwork and covid tests and said that we were free to go! Wow that was a miracle! The next stop was the visas. But that was super easy as well! And now I have a stamp in my passport! They just took our passports, application for tourist visas, and the $30 necessary per person, and then vwala! The last obstacle in our journey was customs. All the customs agents were sitting in chairs chillaxing. We walked up through the nothing to declare line and they just waved us on! That meant we were now free to go! But that posed another problem. Emily’s boyfriend was supposed to pick us up around 6, it was 2:30. So Emily tried to get her foreign phone to work but their system was down so it wouldn’t work. We decided to wait outside where it is cooler. When we walked outside I walked over to where the other people were waiting. As I was walking over there I almost walked right into Emily’s boyfriend. I had never met him in person and had only heard his voice over the phone. Emily knew right away that it was him since she had both seen him and talked to him in person before. We waited at the airport for a while until our taxi came when we loaded up and came to the cottage. After we got all the bags into our room in the house we went to go eat dinner. For dinner we had chicken and fries (they are called chips here). While we ate dinner we watched a teaching on fourth century Jewish tombs.
After dinner Emily and I unpacked our bags and set up our room. Well I unpacked my bags and set up my stuff in the room, Emily started and then took a nap. After an hour or so Emily’s boyfriend came by to say goodnight. We played a game of Egyptian Rat Snake and then he left and we went to bed. I worked on this email for a few minutes but quickly fell asleep. This morning when I woke up I had accidently written ten pages of n’s because I fell asleep while writing. Sleep writing is dangerous and I do not advise you to try it at home.
Well there you are! The beginning of an adventure and a new cultural experience. Until next time my adorable thinkers! ~ The Pondering Panda
Panda's Ponderings 