Pictured here is Dan Cramer, the pastor of Zion Christian Church of Pittsburgh, PA, and his wife Charlene. Dan often encourages me with his Sunday messages. The Sunday before I left for India (July 24), Dan commented that often when we go to God in prayer, we come with our list of grievances. Better, Dan said, that we make our supplications with Thanksgiving.
On Friday, this word encouraged my heart. My travel to India got off to a bad start and I had a few grievances on my mind.
I was scheduled to leave Pittsburgh Friday afternoon at 3:36 pm and after a 3 hour layover in Newark, to continue on to Mumbai in the long-haul, 15 hour Continental flight. Due to tornado warnings, my flight was postponed. I figured, no problem. I have a 3 hour layover in Newark. We were actually loaded onto the plane and told we were 3rd for takeoff, but then Newark refused permission for us to take off and we returned to the terminal. I would be comfortable physically, but I was getting anxious. When my delay hit the 2 hour mark, I started calling my travel agent to find out what to do. She determined that the flight out of Newark was showing on time so I would probably miss it. I had a non-cancelable ticket, so I needed to wait and be told by Continental what to do. If they did cancel my flight and refund my ticket, I would need to rebook all over again, probably at a higher price. I may not get to India for a week or more.
I could not face waiting in a long line where each person took 10 minutes to resolve, so I waited for 2 or 3 hours nearby. Two other flights to Newark were canceled. Mine still lingered. Finally after 5 hours, we were told to board. I butted in line finally and asked what would happen if I went to Newark. I was offered to have my bags taken off, but they couldn't guarantee me a flight out of Newark until Monday. Some others were in the same situation and had decided to take a chance. I took a chance too and took off for Newark. After all, Continental didn't want me there on their doorstep. They would want to move me along.
When I landed, I was faced with another two hour line for rebooking. I couldn't face that, and I knew that the first flight out the next day was late afternoon, so I went to the Holiday Inn to claim the reservation that my travel agent made for me. (It was a good thing I had a reservation - many other refugees were being refused a room at that point).
I didn't sleep that night because I was anxious about whether I had made the right decision and why didn't I wait in the terminal? As I tried to sleep, I kept thanking God for how He was going to work this together for good.
After a sleepless night, I went back to the terminal to find long lines snaking every where. I didn't know what line to get in. I kept remembering Pastor Dan's exhortation and as I prayed, I thanked God for what He was going to do to straighten out this mess for me.
I waited through a line for 40 minutes and found a very good agent who worked for about 15 minutes and found me a flight through Frankfort on Lufthansa that evening. But now, I couldn't get back in the secure area because the flight didn't take off for several hours. The Lufthansa desk was not yet open, so I had breakfast at food court.
By now, I realized that I had a priority ticket so I asked the first class agent if I could get into the pharmacy to get some prescription medication. He wrote a pass to get me in to the secure area. I soon found that the pharmacy did not have a pharmacist and I could not fill my prescription. But since I was already inside the security boundary, I went to the Continental Presidents Club and the lady there was really terrific. She found me a better connection through Frankfort on Continental and arranged to have my luggage pulled out so I could get my pills and razor. The receptionist at the club mentioned that Newark is the most delayed airport in the country.
The President's Club was a wonderful place to hang out. Free cheese and crackers, Internet, etc. They even had a shower so I could freshen up. This took all the pain out of my delay. In fact, it rather broke up the trip and I arrived in Mumbai late Sunday night and enjoyed a couple nights in the Hyatt Regency there.
I could say more, but I have already rambled on too much. In spite of my anxiety, all my decisions turned out to be right.
The obvious conclusion is that Dan Cramer's advice was sound. I called upon God with the right attitude and God responded with so many blessings that my cup just ran over!
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