(Below is an exerpt of an email I sent to the parents of the Nicaragua team Saturday morning, June 26th 2010, the day after the team left:)
Regarding the remaining 31 pieces of “lost luggage”, I’ve spoken quite a few times this morning with a man named Nick from Continental Airlines. When he and I first spoke, he said that the two flights from Houston to Managua today were booked solid and that there would be no room for all our bags…that maybe two or three or four would come on each flight. We were SO disappointed. BUT! Nick called me back and said that he had ‘dug deeper’ into the situation and that the airplane coming down to Managua this morning was a rather large one (He said it was a ‘737-800’…I guess that means a big jet!) and that all of our bags are now scheduled to arrive in Managua @ 11:13 am!!!! Nick was SOOOOO helpful and reassuring. He and I chatted three or four times over the course of the morning. He was kind enough to give me a number I could call that would reach him directly. I am definitely sending Continental a letter of commendation for his kindness to our team. What a blessing straight from the Lord!
Now we play the waiting game to see if they actually arrive this morning! =) If they do not come this morning, there is another plane coming into Managua from Houston again this evening at 8:15, so there will be another opportunity to get them then, if needed.
Another note regarding the luggage…One of our team members, Sami Akeson, has some health challenges for which she regularly takes medication. Her meds were in the suitcase that she checked because she didn’t want the hassle of dealing w/security regarding her medication. When we first heard that no checked bags had come through to Managua, we were, needless to say, VERY concerned about Sami. But, (why are we surprised at all at this)….I found out this morning that one of the few bags to make it through was Sami’s!!!!! Thank You, Jesus!
Now we play the waiting game to see if they actually arrive this morning! =) If they do not come this morning, there is another plane coming into Managua from Houston again this evening at 8:15, so there will be another opportunity to get them then, if needed.
Another note regarding the luggage…One of our team members, Sami Akeson, has some health challenges for which she regularly takes medication. Her meds were in the suitcase that she checked because she didn’t want the hassle of dealing w/security regarding her medication. When we first heard that no checked bags had come through to Managua, we were, needless to say, VERY concerned about Sami. But, (why are we surprised at all at this)….I found out this morning that one of the few bags to make it through was Sami’s!!!!! Thank You, Jesus!
The team was going on with the plan to breakfast @ 8 am and board the bus to Terrabona @ 9 for their three hour trek. Don’t you think there might be a lot of napping taking place on that bus ride?
My husband, David, took a call from Linda Rice (I was shopping!) at about 1:45 this afternoon. She was excited to report that EVERY BAG AND BOX THAT WAS ‘LOST’ HAS BEEN FOUND!!!! She was amazed that as the bags came off the airplane, Continental had arranged for a team of customs agents to be right there to claim our bags for us. Basically, our bags were ‘express approved’. Normally, there would be a drawn out process of checking the contents of each bag and box…all 31 of them. Oddly enough, =) THEY DID NOT OPEN UP ONE SINGLE BAG. She said it went fast and sooooo smoothly.
The customs folks normally shut things down at noon on the Saturdays at the Managua airport. There was some chance that even if the bags arrived at their scheduled 11:13 am arrival time that it would take so long to go through the customs process that they may not have been able to release the bags to the team ‘till Monday. But the Lord made provision to have Continental plan to have that extra help on hand. Linda even commented that if the bags had come in last night, it would have taken SO LONG and been quite a headache for the team as the customs folks went through all of the baggage.
It goes without saying that we are THANKFUL, THANKFUL , THANKFUL…and are learning again that when things seem ‘messed up’, that the Lord is working behind the scenes. He’s more than ‘got it handled’…His blessing is over and above all that we can ask or imagine!!!!!
The customs folks normally shut things down at noon on the Saturdays at the Managua airport. There was some chance that even if the bags arrived at their scheduled 11:13 am arrival time that it would take so long to go through the customs process that they may not have been able to release the bags to the team ‘till Monday. But the Lord made provision to have Continental plan to have that extra help on hand. Linda even commented that if the bags had come in last night, it would have taken SO LONG and been quite a headache for the team as the customs folks went through all of the baggage.
It goes without saying that we are THANKFUL, THANKFUL , THANKFUL…and are learning again that when things seem ‘messed up’, that the Lord is working behind the scenes. He’s more than ‘got it handled’…His blessing is over and above all that we can ask or imagine!!!!!
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