Since my last entry, I've flown to Germany and back. Via Delta I flew from Florence to Atlanta, via Lufthansa from Atlanta to Frankfurt, then via bus from Frankfurt to Mosbach where the January GO (Global Orientation) Conference of Operation Mobilisation was taking place. It took over 24 hours start to finish, with only a few short naps on the plane. That was a looooong day!Ten days and several adventures later, especially about my sprained ankle and torn ligament caused from falling down several steps my first day in Mosbach (I'll write about that separately), I traveled one full day via bus from Mosbach to Kiel with the new OM Ships mission recruits, an enthusiastic, lively group, where I spent six days aboard the Logos Hope.
Arriving after dark and leaving before daylight, I really didn't get to see this gorgeous view of the ship from the outside. But I can tell you one thing,it is BIG. B-I-G!! The gangplank looked a mile high to me, and it did enter deck five so it was pretty tall. Helpful hands in front and in back got me up (and down on departure day), thank goodness.I had more adventures there! After touring four decks my first day and having more aches and pains in my foot, the ship doctor said the sprained ankle was now infected and wanted to put me on antibiotics, five days of bed rest, no walking much, no more touring the ship, no ship stairs, and at first she said no flying! (I'm thankful for the tiny ship elevator, stuck door and all - I had an escort up and down because of that.) After explaining I was only there for a week, she relented to half-day bed rest, keeping my foot elevated the rest of the time, and flying home at the end of the week.
The Lord provided me excellent care by way of one of the ship project workers, Geri Weirich, who took it upon herself to assist me every day until I left. I would have been "up the creek without a paddle" without her help. Truly.Then via car to Hamburg, via Lufthansa airlines to Frankfurt. Bad weather resulted in a missed connection to Atlanta, so Lufthansa paid for me to stay overnight in the posh Sheraton Hotel adjacent to the airport, complete with wheelchair and attendant. It would have been a mite more enjoyable without the achy foot and with clean clothes, but the room and the food were super first-class.
The next day, Lufthansa left on-time to Atlanta without any further delays or problems. I can't tell you what a relief it was to have Lufthansa personnel look after me, making all the necessary arrangements to take care of me. Wonderful wheelchair and attendants everywhere got me where I needed to go every time and I am so grateful to the ship personnel for making those arrangements.
Lufthansa couldn't control the weather and they didn't cause the delay, but they tried every way possible to make up for the inconvenience. Vouchers for meals (which I ordered by room service, feeling too grungy to appear in the nice restaurant), big screen television complete with old English murder mysteries, etc., etc. made my stay a lot more pleasant than the last overnight delay caused by Delta and paid for by me, myself and I. Here's a photo I took through the airplane window as we ascended over Frankfurt on sunny Sunday morning.Finally, after three gate changes, Delta took me home from Atlanta to Florence, minus one important piece of luggage containing my prescription medicines, which was delivered to me only 24 hours later. I was fortunate. Some folks' luggage didn't arrive at all in Florence, none of it. All those gate changes... par for the (Delta) course.
Prayer is a must when traveling as I know very well, confirmed and emphasized and stressed quite a few times on this trip. I'm tired of airlines, airports, delays, lost luggage, just plain tired physically and mentally and emotionally. But the Lord encouraged me and enabled me to do most things, I saw a lot of beautiful German countryside, met a lot of great people, did a lot of good interviews, took lots of photographs, and now I'm ready to start writing stories.
As I traveled, I kept thinking how much better it would have been with Tim along. But the Lord kept reminding me that Tim can see everything I see now, he enjoys witnessing my travels and adventures right along with me, and we are still partners though in different stages of our lives. What a wonderful thought.
