God's Sovereignty: The Stranded Frenchman

As I begin to tell the stories of the trip to Kenya, it only seems right to begin with the most exciting if not devastating portion of our travels to Kenya. Our flight connections went as follows: DFW to Newark, NJ - NJ to London - London to Nairobi - Nairobi to Mombasa. So after 3 hours on a plane we arrive in the Newark airport a little late due to weather and Continental Airlines. We still had a few hours to kill before our next flight and for some reason it did not click with either myself or Shanda that we have not passed security yet for an international flight. On top of that Virgin Atlantic closes their gates 30 minutes before departure. Well, by the time we got to the gate and security check-in, it was already past 30 minutes and they wouldn't let us in. After much shock and then deliberation with the Virgin Atlantic counter, we accepted the fact that we missed our flight and hoped / prayed that we wouldn't miss any more. We then went to Continental because we hoped they might be able to book us on another airline. This didn't work, but they did give us a hotel for the night in NJ as well as Meal Vouchers for the morning. Since Virgin only flies out of London to Nairobi once a day, it was now our plan to spend 23 hours at London, Heathrow. This was obviously a little test in patience and flexibility for my whole team, but they did a wonderful job in rolling with it and simply accepting the loss of a day in Kenya. We focused on the fact that we were still going to Kenya even if we'd be a day late.

Now, the blessing of God's confirmation that our mistake was really His sovereignty came in the form of a stranded Frenchman named Jeff. Jeff was also stranded in New Jersey for the night, but because he didn't come in on Continental, they were unable to give him a hotel room. Shanda and I realized that we had 4 hotel rooms which allowed for me to share a room with Jeff so we quickly offered him a place to stay for the night. Jeff seemed very grateful and followed us around hanging out with the team until Shanda and I finished tying up all the loose ends for our flight in the morning. I ended up having a substantial amount of time with Jeff traveling to the Hotel Shuttle area and then waiting for our van to the Radisson to come. God obviously had His hand in the entire thing because my conversation with Jeff was one of great openness about Christ. I pray that after our conversation He was able to understand the gospel and message of Christianity with much more clarity and know exactly what he must to do be saved whenever the Lord would call him to that faith.

It was about 12:30 am by the time we got to the hotel and we needed to be back at the airport by 5 am. I couldn't sleep for the life of me because of all the thoughts of what I should have done differently rolling around in my head. It was 2:30 and I resolved to just soak in the bath if I wasn't asleep by 3. As I was wishing I had not made the mistake that I did and failed my team as I did, I remembered that God calls all of His servants to simply be AVAILABLE for His use but not because of our ABILITY. So I began to cry thanking God for His goodness and love for me. Then I began to laugh silently as not to wake Jeff. Then the thought of waking Jeff, a Frenchman who I shared the gospel with and Continental hooked up with a hotel room for the night in Newark, New Jersey at 2:30 in the morning, just made me laugh all the more. Why was I laughing? One because it was an experience I am sure to never have again, and two, because often times OUR MISTAKES SHOW GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY.

The blessings that came from our mistake are numerous. Jeff in New Jersey; our team being forced into flexibility on the front end of our trip; staying in two cramped hotel rooms in London (one bed, 5 girls; one bed, 3 guys) and having the team sneak into the hotel unsuspiciously so we wouldn't be forced to get more rooms at outrageous prices brought a great deal of humility to the team; Amadala, the girl I sat next to on the plane to Nairobi - a Kenyan living in London who found out that she has nothing holding her back from praying to receive Christ in her life and knows that she can pray to God at anytime to be cleansed of her sins.

God used this "mistake" to prepare my team greatly and to bless two to five different people's lives through our unique circumstances.