When it rains…

 

Being from Dallas, we have all learned the true meaning of the old adage of late.  We have seen literally feet of rain in the past two months, and quite frankly, sometimes it seems overwhelming!  I think we were all glad to leave our virtual swampland and head for some drier climate today.  In some ways, God had different plans…

 The anticipation was high this morning when we met at 8:00 a.m. at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to depart for Peru.  We have been planning for the trip for nearly a year, and we were all very excited to see how all of the things we have prayed for would come to fruition.

By the time we all arrived at the airport, our flight had already been delayed 40 minutes because of a problem getting the aircraft to DFW (due to inclement weather).  So we were not really that surprised when the flight got bumped back another half hour just minutes before boarding was to begin.  We finally boarded the aircraft at about 12:30 p.m. today, and we got settled into our seats, excitedly chatting about how anxious we were to get there.  Minutes later, the pilot announced that the left engine of our aircraft was not working (literally, he said that trying to fly without it would be like trying to drive a car without a carburetor).  So we deplaned and waited for further instructions.  The metaphorical showers had begun.

We soon learned that we would have to change terminals to board our new plane, which would depart in 45 minutes.  We hurriedly ran to the Skylink, and within fifteen minutes we were entering Terminal A, where we sat for at least another hour to get on our flight.  I wish I could describe to you the melee there as others on our flight tried to push and shove their way onto the aircraft prematurely.  One old saying notes, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”  Whoever said that had evidently met the gate agent at Gate A18 at DFW.

We finally got on our flight and lifted off (after waiting “in line” on the tarmac) at about 3:00 p.m…a little AFTER we were supposed to have landed in Miami.  Our flight was fine – we enjoyed hanging out, praying that we would make our connection to Lima in Miami before it departed.

At about 6:15 p.m. EST, we learned from our pilot that the Miami International Airport had been shut down due to inclement weather.  Evidently other areas of the country are experiencing torrential downpours, too.  As frustrating as this might sound, it was a glimmer of hope for us – perhaps our Lima flight had been delayed.  We circled Miami for about half an hour before we were cleared to land, which we did at about 7:00 p.m.  When we landed, several of us made prompt phone calls to the American Airlines automated service, only to learn that our Lima flight had departed twenty minutes prior….and that’s when the downpour really began.

After landing, we had to wait for about thirty minutes on the tarmac because of lightning.  It was not safe for airline personnel to guide us into the gate, and the ramp had been closed.  When we were cleared to start up, the plane lost all power.  When we regained power, we went about six feet before we were stopped again.  We waited another hour or so before we were cleared to approach the gate…then we had to stop because of “ground gridlock” on the tarmac and again because of construction at the gate.  We literally had to have a tow truck drag us into the gate.

All that said, it is currently 11:40 p.m. EST, and we are waiting – patiently – in the Miami International Airport for our 1:35 a.m. flight into Lima on LAN Peru Airlines (has anyone ever HEARD of that?!?).  Spirits are still very high…we all realize that things could have been MUCH worse, and we wonder what God has protected us from that we will never know.  We know that our adventures today will mean flexibility with our schedule tomorrow (we won’t arrive in Lima until 6:05 a.m. tomorrow) – but we also know that flexibility – and prayer – is the key to our journey.

Truly, when it rains, it pours.  Thanks for reading and sharing our adventure with us….and check back tomorrow night when we will give you the update.  In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of today’s adventures!