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| On a hike with fellow island workers |
“Don’t worry about it,” I assure him confidently, “We’ll take care of you and make sure you get to the airport on time.” With that he walks off our porch and onto the taxi-less streets.
When I go inside, I am glad to see Tom calling the airline. Usually we try to call the day before but we had forgotten in the midst of a busy day yesterday. But it is an afternoon flight, so calling this morning should be fine.
Tom’s tone of voice catches my attention from the other room. Something is wrong. “Well, what are we supposed to do now?” he asks into the phone.
Once off the phone I get the quick run-down. They changed the flight to the morning. Our guest needs to be at the airport NOW if he wants to catch the flight. The airport is 15-20 minutes away. Our guest is not even at our house at the moment. There is a taxi strike and we don’t have a ride lined up yet.
So much for my confident assurances. We were thinking that we had all day to find him a ride to the airport, now we need someone with a car this instant (a tall order on the islands).
Tom starts calling people with cars. I go to my neighbors, I quickly explain the situation. “How can we find a car to take him to the airport?” They shake their heads, “That’s going to be hard.” None of the taxi drivers want to be seen on the road during the strike. One neighbor walks off. I go back and check on Tom. He may have tracked down someone with a private car, but in the meantime our guest isn’t answering his phone. He is roaming the streets, oblivious to our anxious efforts to get him to the airport.
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| With a newborn (a twin) |
Tom sets off to find him by foot. Tom doesn’t find him at the bank closest our house. The ATM there isn’t working. He must have headed for the bank all the way across town. Meanwhile my neighbor arrives at our door with a taximan willing to brave the streets for us, but Tom already has a friend on his way with a private car. I thank our neighbor and the taximan repeatedly for their willingness to help. Then I go inside and start collecting our guest’s belongings to help him pack.
Tom continues the search for our guest by car. Finally they find him and return to the house. I apologize, say a prayer for him and finally shout a goodbye as he rushes in, grabs his stuff and gets back in the car.
Then I wait. My heart is still thumping. Finally I get the call from Tom. Our guest is at the airport. He is checked in. He’s going to make it.
Next time I won’t be so confident.
PRAYERS ANSWERED We have a new niece as of yesterday! We’re very thankful that both mom and baby is doing well. We had a wonderful visit from our former team leaders this weekend. Megan got to meet with the young woman and some of her family. There haven’t been anymore taxi strikes.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Tom is right now on a survey trip of another part of the island for looking at future work in that aware. Pray for wisdom, discernment and good interactions as these possibilities are explored. Pray for Megan and others as we decide what the best for meeting and guiding this family group. Tom has a plan to meet with the second man to tell him the final story- pray it happens and that they can make a plan for how to proceed. Our team is going to the smallest island for a retreat and opportunity to visit our colleagues working there. Pray for safe travels and for fun, rejuvenating times as a team. We have been talking about strategy and ideas for the future— pray with us about these important discussions and decisions.
