We got stopped short en route to Entebbe, Uganda today. The plan was that we would be landing at the airport there about one hour from now (as I post this blog) , but so it goes for best laid plans.
Yesterday we took off from Akron, PA at 11:30 am to catch a 6:30 flight from JFK Airport outbound from New York City to Amsterdam. We finally got off the ground a little after 7:00pm, and then about 1 ½ hours into the flight, over the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot announced that there was a technical problem that required us to return to JFK. As it turned out the technical problem was that one of the engines on the Airbus had lost power. It made for a very rocky and somewhat frightening landing, but we all arrived safely back to the point of our original departure!
We had another lengthy wait there while they fixed the airplane, and finally at 3:30 am we took off for Amsterdam again. We arrived in Amsterdam about 5:00 pm Amsterdam time, way too late to catch our 11:00 am flight to Entebbe. After another long wait at the KLM help desk we are now rescheduled to fly, via London and Addis Abbaba, to Entebbe tomorrow evening. So if all goes well we will arrive in Entebbe Sunday morning, July 4 at about 7:45 am. We may not be bright eyed and bushy tailed, but we will be running on adrenaline, so can probably keep up with the Sunday schedule of orientation which is pretty mild.
We are staying the night in a nice hotel here in Amsterdam, and were able to watch the last half hour of the World Cup game where the Netherland’s “Orange Army” upset Brazil for a 2 to 1 win. People are jubilant here! Next blog will be from Uganda! Finally!
Thinking about your diverted flight yesterday, I realized why it must have been a frightening moment for the two of you sitting in the belly of an A-330 as you realized the loss of one of the two engines reduces the margin of safety for things like climbing, turning and (as you discovered) landing. I'm happy you arrived safely back at JFK and went on to Amsterdam to help the Netherlands celebrate their great victory over Brazil.
ReplyDeleteFor the Fourth of July, woot.com was selling a color handheld GPS that downloads georeferenced satellite photography with 3-meter accuracy 95% of the time anywhere on earth (for only $59.99). I know it was a cynical commercial ploy, but the ad started out "Sorry. You probably could’ve used this 234 years ago...Think of how much easier that whole “Oregon Trail” thing would’ve been!"
That ad also made me think of the two of you. Jonah was another (albeit much more reluctant) missionary who also had a rough trip in the belly of a leviathan. He ended up with a whole book in the Bible. Today, we live in the information age, we rely upon scheduled transportation, the internet and a host of other technological marvels. And yet the most amazing thing to me about the trip you are undertaking is that you have chosen to walk this journey together in faith.
May God be with you!