Sunday, March 23, 2008
Angels Among Us
Sorry for the delay y'all. It is sometimes hard to find time on these AIM trips to sit down and type up a detailed blog; and internet is hard to get at "The Gateway" (AIM's Base in Mexico). But I wanted to share a total "God Story" with you. It is a little long, but it is good!
It all started about 1:00 pm last Saturday (March 15). I arrived at the airport in Charlotte, NC, and I was ready to start my trip to Mexico with a short, hour and a half long flight to Houston, TX. I boreded the plan and everything seemed to be working out great. The flight was packed so getting my guitar on the plane was tough. There was no room in the overhead compartments on the small jet I was on for the flight, but there was 1 empty seat...right beside me. So I was able to keep my guitar beside me the entire trip.
Everything was running smoothly till I looked out the window just before we were to take off and I noticed the rain had started. There were major storms coming from the South and I was praying they wouldn't hinder our flight. We sat on the runway for several minutes and then the pilot informed us that flight control had changed our Flight Plan and added an extra 300 miles to our trip in order to avoid the storm. No big deal right? Wrong! Our plane did not have enough fuel for the extended trip, so we had to taxi back to the ramp and wait for a fuel truck. One problem posed itself...by the time we reached the ramp, the storms had reached us. Heavy rain, heavy wind and LOTS of lightning. This ment no fuel truck. So we waited for a total of 3 hours before the fuel truck finally was able to give us the fuel we needed. We finally were able to take off and we were headed for Houston.
But misery loves company I guess, the "small" delay in Charlotte posed a problem for me...I took off from Charlotte about the same time that I was originally scheduled to leave Houston. So I called the airline company and notified them of the situation. The put me on standby for the last flight out of Houston heading to Harlingen, TX (my final destination). So upon arriving in Houston, I race to my terminal and head straight for the ticket counter. I give the lady there my information, and fortunately she is able to get me a seat on the plane due to a cancelation. I this point, I begin to relax a little, because I know I am going to make it to Matamoros, Mexico the same night and not be stuck sleeping in George Bush International Airport in Houston, TX.
Well about an hour or so later, we begin boarding the plane. I had seat 2A which is a Window/Aisle seat in the front of the little "puddle jumper" that I would be flying on. Knowing this, I waited till basically last to board. The plane is tiny, so I know I am going to have to Gate Check my guitar, because it won't fit on the plane...this didn't thrill me at all. And adding insult to injury, as I started to board, a lady at the counter handed me a gate check pass and I took it from her. I turned and asked her if there was any way I could get it on board. I tried to explain to her that the pressure changes and temp. changes damage my guitar. She was quite the smart-alic and her reply was something to the effect of "well maybe next time you will just buy a second seat for your precious guitar". As you can imagine, I was not happy. I had already had a long day; I didn't need lip from a lady at the airport who thought she would be funny.
So I walked out or the gate and headed for the plane. I put my guitar on the gate check cart and started up the steps to board the plane. As I reached the top the Flight Attendant greeted me and ask how I was doing. I replied "I am doing ok, but I'd be doing a lot better if I could get my guitar on the plane with me". I was basically venting to this flight attendant because I was frustrated, but I tried to do it with a smile. She told me that she understood my frustration and would see what she could do about getting it onboard. Of course, this excited me. I sat down and a few minutes passed by. She continued working and helping other passengers...specifically the ones who seemed to be unable to put carry-on in the overhead compartments and the ones who couldn't open the bathroom door. I found this rather ammusing because I knew at least someone else on the plane was sharing in my frustration with that evening's flight.
A few minutes passed and she walked up and told me to go get my guitar and move to seat 6b. She had gotten a gentleman to switch seats with me because he had an empty seat beside me. So I ran out and got my guitar and buckled it in beside me. Then I noticed more passengers coming on board. They were sending "standby" passengers down to the plane. The flight attendant came back by and told me to "hang on" cause I may have to take the guitar back outside. Well a few minutes passed and the people stopped coming on board. She came by and told me it was "my lucky day". The people inside had miscounted and sent 49 passengers down to the plane...the problem was, there were 50 seats. She assured me that "she wasn't going to alert them of the mistake". So My guitar was on the plane for good. I was elated. I thanked her repeatedly and told her how much it ment to me that she did that for me; especially after the day I had been through. I mean, talk about personal service. It was a wonderful flight and I made it to the Gateway before Mid-night. As I went to bed that night, I thanked God for the blessing of a caring flight attendant and a safe guitar.
It was such a great way to kick off a great week of ministry. The trip was wonderful and I saw God do some pretty cool stuff. The week ended and I said goodbye to the particpants and prepared to catch a flight back to Houston, TX then onto New Orleans, LA. I remember thinking as I packed; I sure hope I get a great flight attendant for this flight as well.
I was again on a tiny puddle jumper and just knew my guitar was going to have to be gate checked. But I was a little happier than I was preparing for the flight a week before. I mean God had blessed me once so I couldn't complain. I arrived at the airport with a father and daughter who had been on the trip that week. They had decided to skip out on the 20 hour bus ride back to Birmingham, AL. Their flight left about 45 minutes after mine, so we killed some time at a restuarant in the airport. We got to talking and I lost track of time. I heard an announcement about boarding for my flight, so I knew I needed to hurry and get through security. I told them by and hurried to security. I was in a rush so I wasn't really paying much attention to what was going on; I just rushed to get my stuff through. As I was gather my stuff up on the other side of the security check-point, I looked behind me and saw a flight attendant. I took a double take because I thought I was seeing things...then I just started to laugh...it was the same flight attendant from my flight a week before. She hadn't noticed me yet...she was focused on "just getting through security". I tried to get her attention by saying "what are the odds" and it worked...she looked up and took a double take as well. We both laughed as we continued gathering up our things. I opened up my guitar case and quickly detuned my guitar...saying to her "I doubt I'll get lucky 2 flights in a row" she laughed and responed "well, we'll see what we can do. We walked to the gate and talked the whole way there. I told her why I had been in Mexico and how the week had been great. When we reached the gate, she proceeded onto the plane and I waited for boarding to start. A few minutes later I see her wal out of the gate and motion for me...she told me that the flight only had 46 passengers and she was having the ticket lady switch my seat so that I could have an open seat beside me for my guitar.
I was in shock! I mean, I couldn't believe it. Agian, the wonderful flight attendant had taken time to take care of me personally. As we approached Houston on the flight, she walked back and we chatted for a few minutes. I thanked her again and told her how much of a blessing she had been. She asked me about my music and we talked about other things. She then informed me that she was a Chrisitan and that she had been excited to hear that I was too. Yet another wow moment.
I mean, the whole thing was like a movie...it was just too good to be true...haha. Just goes to show you how the little things make a huge impact on people's lives. Katie (the flight attendant) blessed me in a HUGE way just by simply caring about a passenger she had never met. I wonder how many people I can bless just back taking a few minutes out of my day to show them I care.
Looking back on the whole thing, I still say WOW! I'm not convinced that my Katie wasn't an angel sent just to remind me that God is in control of everything...even the little things. I may never know for sure...but then again, she did have a set if wings (pinned to her uniform that is).
It all started about 1:00 pm last Saturday (March 15). I arrived at the airport in Charlotte, NC, and I was ready to start my trip to Mexico with a short, hour and a half long flight to Houston, TX. I boreded the plan and everything seemed to be working out great. The flight was packed so getting my guitar on the plane was tough. There was no room in the overhead compartments on the small jet I was on for the flight, but there was 1 empty seat...right beside me. So I was able to keep my guitar beside me the entire trip.
Everything was running smoothly till I looked out the window just before we were to take off and I noticed the rain had started. There were major storms coming from the South and I was praying they wouldn't hinder our flight. We sat on the runway for several minutes and then the pilot informed us that flight control had changed our Flight Plan and added an extra 300 miles to our trip in order to avoid the storm. No big deal right? Wrong! Our plane did not have enough fuel for the extended trip, so we had to taxi back to the ramp and wait for a fuel truck. One problem posed itself...by the time we reached the ramp, the storms had reached us. Heavy rain, heavy wind and LOTS of lightning. This ment no fuel truck. So we waited for a total of 3 hours before the fuel truck finally was able to give us the fuel we needed. We finally were able to take off and we were headed for Houston.
But misery loves company I guess, the "small" delay in Charlotte posed a problem for me...I took off from Charlotte about the same time that I was originally scheduled to leave Houston. So I called the airline company and notified them of the situation. The put me on standby for the last flight out of Houston heading to Harlingen, TX (my final destination). So upon arriving in Houston, I race to my terminal and head straight for the ticket counter. I give the lady there my information, and fortunately she is able to get me a seat on the plane due to a cancelation. I this point, I begin to relax a little, because I know I am going to make it to Matamoros, Mexico the same night and not be stuck sleeping in George Bush International Airport in Houston, TX.
Well about an hour or so later, we begin boarding the plane. I had seat 2A which is a Window/Aisle seat in the front of the little "puddle jumper" that I would be flying on. Knowing this, I waited till basically last to board. The plane is tiny, so I know I am going to have to Gate Check my guitar, because it won't fit on the plane...this didn't thrill me at all. And adding insult to injury, as I started to board, a lady at the counter handed me a gate check pass and I took it from her. I turned and asked her if there was any way I could get it on board. I tried to explain to her that the pressure changes and temp. changes damage my guitar. She was quite the smart-alic and her reply was something to the effect of "well maybe next time you will just buy a second seat for your precious guitar". As you can imagine, I was not happy. I had already had a long day; I didn't need lip from a lady at the airport who thought she would be funny.
So I walked out or the gate and headed for the plane. I put my guitar on the gate check cart and started up the steps to board the plane. As I reached the top the Flight Attendant greeted me and ask how I was doing. I replied "I am doing ok, but I'd be doing a lot better if I could get my guitar on the plane with me". I was basically venting to this flight attendant because I was frustrated, but I tried to do it with a smile. She told me that she understood my frustration and would see what she could do about getting it onboard. Of course, this excited me. I sat down and a few minutes passed by. She continued working and helping other passengers...specifically the ones who seemed to be unable to put carry-on in the overhead compartments and the ones who couldn't open the bathroom door. I found this rather ammusing because I knew at least someone else on the plane was sharing in my frustration with that evening's flight.
A few minutes passed and she walked up and told me to go get my guitar and move to seat 6b. She had gotten a gentleman to switch seats with me because he had an empty seat beside me. So I ran out and got my guitar and buckled it in beside me. Then I noticed more passengers coming on board. They were sending "standby" passengers down to the plane. The flight attendant came back by and told me to "hang on" cause I may have to take the guitar back outside. Well a few minutes passed and the people stopped coming on board. She came by and told me it was "my lucky day". The people inside had miscounted and sent 49 passengers down to the plane...the problem was, there were 50 seats. She assured me that "she wasn't going to alert them of the mistake". So My guitar was on the plane for good. I was elated. I thanked her repeatedly and told her how much it ment to me that she did that for me; especially after the day I had been through. I mean, talk about personal service. It was a wonderful flight and I made it to the Gateway before Mid-night. As I went to bed that night, I thanked God for the blessing of a caring flight attendant and a safe guitar.
It was such a great way to kick off a great week of ministry. The trip was wonderful and I saw God do some pretty cool stuff. The week ended and I said goodbye to the particpants and prepared to catch a flight back to Houston, TX then onto New Orleans, LA. I remember thinking as I packed; I sure hope I get a great flight attendant for this flight as well.
I was again on a tiny puddle jumper and just knew my guitar was going to have to be gate checked. But I was a little happier than I was preparing for the flight a week before. I mean God had blessed me once so I couldn't complain. I arrived at the airport with a father and daughter who had been on the trip that week. They had decided to skip out on the 20 hour bus ride back to Birmingham, AL. Their flight left about 45 minutes after mine, so we killed some time at a restuarant in the airport. We got to talking and I lost track of time. I heard an announcement about boarding for my flight, so I knew I needed to hurry and get through security. I told them by and hurried to security. I was in a rush so I wasn't really paying much attention to what was going on; I just rushed to get my stuff through. As I was gather my stuff up on the other side of the security check-point, I looked behind me and saw a flight attendant. I took a double take because I thought I was seeing things...then I just started to laugh...it was the same flight attendant from my flight a week before. She hadn't noticed me yet...she was focused on "just getting through security". I tried to get her attention by saying "what are the odds" and it worked...she looked up and took a double take as well. We both laughed as we continued gathering up our things. I opened up my guitar case and quickly detuned my guitar...saying to her "I doubt I'll get lucky 2 flights in a row" she laughed and responed "well, we'll see what we can do. We walked to the gate and talked the whole way there. I told her why I had been in Mexico and how the week had been great. When we reached the gate, she proceeded onto the plane and I waited for boarding to start. A few minutes later I see her wal out of the gate and motion for me...she told me that the flight only had 46 passengers and she was having the ticket lady switch my seat so that I could have an open seat beside me for my guitar.
I was in shock! I mean, I couldn't believe it. Agian, the wonderful flight attendant had taken time to take care of me personally. As we approached Houston on the flight, she walked back and we chatted for a few minutes. I thanked her again and told her how much of a blessing she had been. She asked me about my music and we talked about other things. She then informed me that she was a Chrisitan and that she had been excited to hear that I was too. Yet another wow moment.
I mean, the whole thing was like a movie...it was just too good to be true...haha. Just goes to show you how the little things make a huge impact on people's lives. Katie (the flight attendant) blessed me in a HUGE way just by simply caring about a passenger she had never met. I wonder how many people I can bless just back taking a few minutes out of my day to show them I care.
Looking back on the whole thing, I still say WOW! I'm not convinced that my Katie wasn't an angel sent just to remind me that God is in control of everything...even the little things. I may never know for sure...but then again, she did have a set if wings (pinned to her uniform that is).
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