On July 26th, Marcy, our boys and I began our physical journey from Maryville, TN to our new home in Papua New Guinea. Our best laid plans, well thought out, had us getting on a flight early that Tuesday morning out of Knoxville. Since we were flying “standby” from Knoxville to Sydney, Australia, our travel advisor recommended this early flight, and a subsequent flight out of Atlanta in order to safely get to Los Angeles in plenty of time for the flight to Sydney. We got to the terminal with all of our bags, foot lockers and backpacks and were ready for the journey. We were blessed by a great group of friends and family who came to send us off with their support and prayers.
We departed without incident, after some tearful goodbyes, and were on our way to Atlanta. No problem so far. Once we got to Atlanta, we found the gate for our flight to L.A. and quickly discovered an apparent problem existed from an earlier ATL-LAX flight. Our desired flight was now delayed, and the situation did not look good for us to get on since many people had missed their earlier connection. 30 minutes before departure, we were advised that there might be space for 2 of us on the flight. We began to pray about how we would split up if God so chose to separate us. Our prayers were answered, as 10 minutes before departure we were called to board the plane. We had filled the final 4 seats on this flight, and were on our way to L.A.
In L.A., we sat around, waiting patiently, having about a 10-hour layover. A few hours before the flight to Sydney, our flight advisor gave us an update on our situation…it looked like there would only be available space for 1 of our family to get on the flight. While waiting another day before leaving L.A. was possible, we would have had bags to deal with, would have needed a hotel, and other issues we were hoping we wouldn’t have to deal with. We waited and prayed that God would graciously allow us to board this flight. 30 minutes before departure, there were seats available for 3 of us, and the prayers continued. Again, about 10 minutes before departure, we were called to the desk and issued boarding passes, filling the last 4 available seats on the plane. Our human understanding could not fathom what our Great God had just done, and we walked down the jetway with tears in our eyes, overwhelmed at His Grace once again.
Our final leg of travel, from Port Moresby to Goroka, was on Saturday the 30th, and as we waited in Port Moresby for another delayed departure, we expected nothing unusual. Boarding of passengers eventually started, and we climbed on the plane and made our way to our seats in Row 19. Imagine our surprise as we found that the final row of seats on this plane was Row 18!! The flight attendant politely asked that we stay at the back of the plane while the rest of the passengers boarded, then we began to try to find empty seats. And again, our God met our need, as we filled in 4 of the 5 available seats on this plane. We arrived in Goroka about 2 hours later than we originally expected to, but at the exact time and the exact way our Lord intended it to happen. May He alone receive all Glory!
David Abbott says
This is a great testimony of how God is able to accomplish His purposes against all outward appearances of hope. Praise God for strengthening your faith as you start your new ministry.