The Light in the Darkness

*Fair warning to the squeamish, this post has contains several stories of throwing up because the power of the story wouldn't be present if they were left out. So i apologize, but i am putting it in!



Ah travel day...

For anyone that doesn't know...i am a horrible flyer!!! In order to not get super sick i need to have medication in me and a relief bracelet on sending shocks into my arm. But yesterday...i had neither of those things.  During my goodbyes at the airport i took the medicine, but my stomach couldn't hold it down so i ended up throwing it up 10 seconds after i took it.  I was really nervous.  After many tearful goodbyes, we got through security with only 2 minor problems and got to our gate.  The dream team kids waited with me until the very end to get on the plane because they could see how sick i was. They are so sweet!!!  We got on the plane and i began putting on my relief bracelet...only to find out it wasn't working!!! For the 10 minutes we taxied around getting ready to take off i was frantically changing batteries, pushing buttons, and panicking...but to no avail.

At that moment i was praying with all my heart, "Lord' i am trusting you completely now...because i have nothing." And that is when it hit me like a ton of bricks!!! God was showing me that i needed to trust HIM with my discomfort of travel rather than relief bracelets and medicine.  I had been saying that i was trusting him, but in all honesty i was trusting man-made thins that i thought were god-given to me.  I needed to put my trust ENTIRELY in him!!!  That prayer, and many others apologizing for my lack of faith were running through my head the entire fight.  I still threw up twice, but i felt the presence of God around me and actually smiled as i was doing it.  The flight attendant who was really nice to me, Rob, thought i was crazy because i was smiling.

We got in to the Dallas airport after a VERY bumpy landing and had a 4 hour layover there.  I read letters people had given me and cried with and talked to one of the students while all the rest went to get food.  When all the kids got back, we talked, played games, and listened to music.  Suddenly a man was behind us asking, "What city are all of you flying to?" We all smiled and said, "Morelia!" Then he said, "well you better hurry because they just did a final boarding call for that flight!!"  We ran so fast i forgot one of my bags and one of the kids had to grab it for me.  We all got on the plane though!  But as soon as i stepped in, the fear set in like nothing i have ever felt!!! I realized we were riding an airbus (a plane where there is 1 seat on one side of the aisle, and 2 on the other, in other words, you feel every little bump)!!!  My mind raced back to the last time i was on an airbus...i was on that plane for 45 minutes and threw up 8 times.  When i found out our flight was 2 hours and 15 minutes, it was all i could do not to burst into tears!!! And when the captain announced that the last hour of the flight was going to be really bumpy, i did shed a few tears.

But as i was, i felt the presence of God around me.  I have NEVER had a more comfortable take off!!! I could feel God's hand under the plane.  God also blessed me with the ability to fill out the necessary forms for my visa (i can't read in anything that is moving or i will get sick) and he allowed me to feel well enough to get up and go to the bathroom! I was praising him through the entire flight!!!  When the turbulence hit, my prayers were flying faster than the plane, but then i saw the light, the light amidst the dark clouds that were causing all the turbulence.  I saw out my window the most BEAUTIFUL sunset i have ever seen!!! God was showing me that everything was going to be alright, and i burst into tears!!  When i was able to see the city, lit beautifully in the dark, i started to cry again.  We got to the ground in a very bumpy landing, but i barely felt it because i was too busy feeling God hold me tighter than i have ever felt him hold before.  Thanks to God and his mercy and power, i made it through the flight without throwing up!  When we got off the plane, the kids were asking me if i was okay because they claimed the plane had practically been vertical at one point! And i said yes because i had barely felt anything!!! It was incredible!!!!!

We got into the airport and through the line to get our visas very quickly.  I was even awake enough to speak entirely in spanish to the guy who was giving it to me!!! My next prayer was that when i turned the corner i would see all my luggage...AND I DID!!! Both pieces were there and didn't have a scratch on them!!! Another praise!!! The next prayer was that i would get through with a green button so they wouldn't have to search through every inch of my very carefully packed bags. I saw everyone waiting for me...and i got completely distracted. The guy had to tell me three times to push the button because i was too busy being shocked at the number of people that were there to greet us! In the excitement i also made the mistake of telling him i was "solo" instead of "con grupo" that had already made it through.  But i pushed the button and it....WAS GREEN!!! I got through, and spent the next 30 minutes in a blurr of hugs and greetings!!!!  All those smiling faces were my light at the end of a day of darkness.  Their smiles and words of welcome made everything horrible that had just happened to me melt away in an instant!!!  None of them will ever be able to comprehend how much that meant to me!

I got to my house, unpacked despite torrential rain and a thunderstorm that caused blackouts throughout the evening.  God's power illustrated through the skies once again!


I am feeling really overwhelmed right now.I left home yesterday morning and many people that i love, but also came home to many people i love last night!  It will take a while to process, but God is good and will help me do it in his time!