I peered out of the window at the fast-approaching ground soaring upwards to meet the wheels of the plane. The darkened skies gave way to twinkling city lights. Amazed, I looked down at them, drinking in the wonderful sight of a city I had spent so much time waiting to see, to live in, and to explore. And now, here it was before my very eyes and almost beneath my very feet.
Applause rose from the crowd as we touched the ground. After 15 long hours, we could finally depart the enclosed four walls and walk upon solid earth again! Eagerness burst over me as I realized this was it...we were in Africa!
Allow me to back-tradck a bit. On the previous day, I arrived at Washington/Dulles airport. Unfortunately, United Airlines dropped me off at gate A2, and when I went to find my departure gate on the big screen, I couldn't see it, so I called Mom and Dad. Thankfully, they were able to inform me that I was departing from gte D23. D.C., however, has one of the most complicated transportation system I have ever seen; I got in at 3:42 and didn't get to my gate until 4:28 at least. Luckily, one of my team members, Sam, noticed I was wearing the shirt that Adam, another team member had designed and falgged me down.
We had a 4 hour layover in D.C., in which time Jesse, Donnie, and Chris checked us all in. Ethiopian Airlines, however, ordered that we only have one piece of 15 lb carry-on luggage, so everyone had to check his or her larger carry-on.
Thankfully, the long trip was quite uneventful, even though it was very long. God granted a few of us emergency exit seats, so me, Sam, and Tamara had all the room we needed.
First, we stopped to refuel in Rome. They didn't let us off the aircraft, however, so we had to be content with gathering around the open doors for some fresh, Roman air. Although everything spectacular was too far away to see, we did get a glimpse of huge but beautiful Italian villas.
We left for Addis Ababa at about 1:30 p.m. and, thankfully, my body shouted, "Enough, you crazy girl! Get some sleep!" I slept through a good chunk of that flight.
Oh! And one neat thing that happened was I happened to be seated next to a guy who was also going on a missions' trip to Ethiopia, and when I told him I was from San Antonio, he said he was from Houston!
Once we had landed, we went immediately to get our visas (you get your Ethiopian visa once you land in the country), and claimed our baggage. Between 30 people, we had 120 bags filled with personal belongings and orphanage donations! God is truly good!
We had our first realization that we were in Africa when we stepped out of the baggage area. Lined up against the railing, men, women, and children stared at us as they all tried to process the sight of 30 white people and their 119 bags (Emma's got lost and has yet to be found)!
After that, we met some of our guides and loaded our bags into (and on top of!) a bus and a van and crammed as many people as we could into both. We all just fit, and soon were rolling on our way to our lodging home- the Ethiopian Guest House. Currently, there is one other family lodging with us who have three little boys. They just moved ehre from the States 3 weeks ago, and the mom had actually been on this trip in January and had decided to move here.
I am staying in room number 34 with Emma and Kim. Last night, we had quite the scare because we went to bed only to discover there was a mosquito in our bedroom! Now, of course we would never be afraid of a regular mosquito, but of course in Africa we always link them to malaria. So we got up at like 2:30, rubbed bug spray on our faces, covered ourselves up to our shoulders, and went to sleep.*
Well, that's all for today!
In Christ,
Brittany Goodrich
*I was writing this the next day because I didn't have time to finish it.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day 1, June 26th, 2010
Note: This is my trip to Africa as I experienced it day-by-day. This entry (and the series of them to follow) are as transcribed in my journal during the actual trip.
"For I know the plans I have for you..." Jeremiah 29:11.
How great our God is! To allow us such opportunities while serving Him...just that is simply amazing!
As you might guess, my dear diary, I am on my way to another missions' trip; this time, to Ethiopia and Uganda to visit orphans. I am tremendously excited to see what God will do through me and my team as we minister to His fatherless loved ones.
So...so far? Right now, I am on a plane bound for Washington/Dulles airport, where I will meet my fellow teammates at the Ethipian Airlines Gate. At 4:30 a.m., Mom woke me up and we all got ready to take me to the airport. When we got there, however, we had quite the blessing in disguise...my flight to Charlotte was canceled! This provided a momentary shock, but thankfully (as He always does) God worked it out for the better. Instead of laying over in Charlote, I was able to get on a direct flight to D.C....the D.C. layover time even got cut by 20 minutes! I was very pleased by this, as the flight didn't leave until 11:13, as opposed to the 7:00 departure I would've taken. So, Mom, Dad, and I went to Magnolia Pancake Haus to get breakfast and went to the car dealersip (Dad's idea) and then went home for an hour and a half. Brielle, Brant, and Brock were all very surprised to see me!
Soon enough, though, we had to leave. As I was hugging my dad goodbye, I almost started to cry, but Brielle and I didn't have such a grievous parting as last year. I also nearly cried when I hugged my mom at security, and couldn't talk for a few seconds without my voice quivering.
But even with all of my grief at leaving loved ones, I am filled with excitement and love for those I am about to serve. Only God could bring about the amount of peace I am feeling. He is my comfort and my strength, and my Father even when my parents are not physically there.
God, please give me the strength, energy, and love I need for these next two weeks. Knit us together as a family, for a family we are in You. Bind Satan over any part of this trip or our lives.
In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
In Christ,
Brittany N. Goodrich
"For I know the plans I have for you..." Jeremiah 29:11.
How great our God is! To allow us such opportunities while serving Him...just that is simply amazing!
As you might guess, my dear diary, I am on my way to another missions' trip; this time, to Ethiopia and Uganda to visit orphans. I am tremendously excited to see what God will do through me and my team as we minister to His fatherless loved ones.
So...so far? Right now, I am on a plane bound for Washington/Dulles airport, where I will meet my fellow teammates at the Ethipian Airlines Gate. At 4:30 a.m., Mom woke me up and we all got ready to take me to the airport. When we got there, however, we had quite the blessing in disguise...my flight to Charlotte was canceled! This provided a momentary shock, but thankfully (as He always does) God worked it out for the better. Instead of laying over in Charlote, I was able to get on a direct flight to D.C....the D.C. layover time even got cut by 20 minutes! I was very pleased by this, as the flight didn't leave until 11:13, as opposed to the 7:00 departure I would've taken. So, Mom, Dad, and I went to Magnolia Pancake Haus to get breakfast and went to the car dealersip (Dad's idea) and then went home for an hour and a half. Brielle, Brant, and Brock were all very surprised to see me!
Soon enough, though, we had to leave. As I was hugging my dad goodbye, I almost started to cry, but Brielle and I didn't have such a grievous parting as last year. I also nearly cried when I hugged my mom at security, and couldn't talk for a few seconds without my voice quivering.
But even with all of my grief at leaving loved ones, I am filled with excitement and love for those I am about to serve. Only God could bring about the amount of peace I am feeling. He is my comfort and my strength, and my Father even when my parents are not physically there.
God, please give me the strength, energy, and love I need for these next two weeks. Knit us together as a family, for a family we are in You. Bind Satan over any part of this trip or our lives.
In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
In Christ,
Brittany N. Goodrich
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