This past week has been a whirlwind of adventure through the marvels of modern aviation. I left New Orleans last Thursday evening on a flight that had been delayed due to mechanical problems. When we arrived in St. Louis it was 7:30 and my connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 7:35. Right. So I calmly walked to the gate to find, as I suspected, that the flight was gone and that there were no more flights to Iowa that night. Because it was their error, they would pay to put me in a hotel. However, I was determined not to spend the night in St. Louis.

We went to look for a hotel voucher and could not find one so we had to go to the next gate. And don't ya know that had a flight going to Des Moines that had been delayed! So at 7:45 I received a ticket for that flight and had to go clear down to baggage claim to find my bag. After standing in line, explaining my story and waiting for the guy to go look for my bag, it is now 8:25. I explained my story to the woman behind the counter and told her to send my bag to Cedar Rapids. I had to catch my flight. As I ran out the door, there was the man with my bag. I hurried up to ticketing, rechecked my bag and made it through security by 8:40. Now I am not one to run through an airport, especially with a heavy computer bag, so I hurried as fast as possible, sweating all the way and made it to the gate with about six minutes to spare. Whew. However, I didn't expect my bag to arrive until Friday, which would have meant another trip to Des Moines.

But, by the grace of God, as I arrived at baggage claim, there was my bag! Yay! My dad arrived about 10:30 and we arrived back in Cedar Rapids about 1 a.m. Although it was a long night, and certainly not the way we planned, it was good to be home and I had some great one-on-one time with my dad in the process.

Friday night I was able to meet with some supporters and family friends and share a little more of the vision of Urban Impact and my part in that. Saturday night I met with most of the Cedar Hills Evangelical Free Church missions team for a few hours and shared our vision with them as well. They are looking to bring a team down in the fall and I am very excited about that possibility.
Sunday morning I was able to speak to people between services as well as during the adult Sunday school hour. After listening to Pastor John share the vision with teams every Monday night for the last six months, I felt very well prepared for my presentation and I felt very comfortable in front of a group. Even a few years ago I don't know if you could have given me enough motivation to get up and speak, but now it seems to come almost like second nature. That is a blessing and a total God thing.

My mom's friend from school also came to hear my presentation with her family. Their children, Noah and Avery, are beautiful and Noah was full of stories and laughs. It was so neat to see my brothers interact with him and realize that they are becoming young men.

Monday my mom and I had some free time to go shopping and hang out and Monday afternoon we stopped by my dad's new job to say good-bye. As we were arriving I received a phone call from an unknown number and when I listened to the message I found out my flight had been canceled but I was rescheduled for another flight on Tuesday. I was glad to have the extra time with family and decided not to be frustrated by the delay. My flight left on time Tuesday morning but I was again delayed in St. Louis. We didn't end up leaving until almost two hours later than planned and I began to be concerned as I was supposed to be overseeing the tutoring that happens at church at 5:30. I arrived and Sandy picked me up just after 5 and I made it to tutoring only 10 minutes late.

All in all, even with all the delays and changes, it was a great trip and I now feel more confident about sharing what God is doing in New Orleans in ways other than writing.