A lot has happened in my life since I wrote my last blog.
I got put on a new ministry team. Team Tidal Wave!
I was asked to be a team leader.
I left half of my clothing in a hostel in Nicaragua.
I left Central America.
AND I had the best worst travel day ever.
Getting to Africa was harder than I thought it would be. I applied for a visa for the Ivory Coast at the same time as my squad mates did. They all received email responses within a couple of days with their e-visas attached to them.
But I didn’t.
I received one email from the Ivory Coast that had nothing to do with my visa.
I emailed them almost every hour for almost 3 days. Tried calling. Got nothing in response to any of my desperate pleas for my visa.
My leadership team and logistics coordinators assured me everything would be fine and it would work itself out. But in the back of my mind I knew something wasn’t right.
We boarded our flight from Nicaragua to Miami, FL as a squad. Everyone was so excited to be back in the states for just a few hours before we boarded our flight to Portugal.
We checked our bags in and when it came time for me to check mine in, they asked to see my visa. I still didn’t have it. I gave them a printed copy of the email I received from the Ivory Coast.
No go.
They informed me that I wouldn’t be able to board the flight with my squad because of the visa issue. A few days before this, I asked the Lord for more peace and more patience, knowing that to receive that I would have to be in situations where I’d have to choose peace and patience.
In my mind I was saying, ”God, this is not what I meant when I asked for that.” He seems to be answering a lot of my prayers recently in ways I wouldn’t have chosen myself!
My squad left on their flight to Portugal and my squad leader, Allison, and I searched for a hotel to stay in. We were informed that our rearranged flight would leave the next day for Portugal and I could board as long as I had my visa.
We found a great hotel and I got to sleep in the comfiest bed! I got a hot shower and felt clean for the first time in months. We had a yummy dinner and I even got to chat with a few friends I hadn’t heard from in a while! It ended up being a super restful night for the both of us, who were exhausted from traveling all day.
Here’s a picture of my giant comfy hotel bed! What a treat.
We we woke up the next morning in full ”Get Abby to Africa” mode. We emailed every email contact we possobly could, called every number we could find and even attempted to speak to people in French (total fail.) It seemed like Africa just didn’t want me.
Allison and I went over the “worst case scenario” and my hopes weren’t high for receiving my visa on time.
We prayed a lot. A lot. Allison encouraged me to embrace peace. Dang it was hard.
AND THEN!
I got an email from Ivory Coast with my e-visa!!! We did a high five, screamed a little, jumped on the hotel bed, and made a few good boomerangs and Instagram stories. Africa did want me!!!
We we packed our stuff up, got an uber to Chick fil a, my truest food love, and then got another Uber to the Miami airport.
We looked like hitchhikers with all of our luggage outside of chick fil a while we ate in the parking lot. No shame.
We we’re some of the first in line to check our bags because we were pretty eager to get to Africa with our squad mates.
The lady who greeted us at the counter informed us that our flight was moved until the next day. She said, “Just go to the beach.” In a sassy Portuguese accent.
Umm, ma’am, I’m a missionary without a car and I’m on a budget.
My jaw dropped.
AGAIN. We got bumped off ANOTHER flight. And now we had to search for a place to stay all over again.
“Embrace peace” kept running through mind as we sat on the floor of the Miami airport.
Thankfully a staffer at Adventures was from Miami and his parents lived about 10 minutes from the airport. They agreed to host us!
Shout out to you, John Frank!!! You saved me and my bank account.
We got an Uber from the airport to our host’s home. They were originally from Cuba! We were able to speak Spanish with them, which was surprisingly comforting since we had been in Central America for the past 4 months. They were extremely hospitable- Offering us showers, the softest bed I’ve ever slept in, and lots and lots of Cuban pastries and carbs. “No” is not an acceptable answer when you are offered food in a host home, FYI
when
When travel day gets the best of you^^^^
Allison and I got the chance to go to Walmart and TJMaxx (hallelujah!) We were able to grab a few snacks we had been missing and a few goodies for our squad mates on the field.
Africa might not want us…
The next day, we got to the airport like 3 hours early and were the FIRST people in line to check our bags.
We got to the counter and the lady looks at us and says, “You don’t have tickets, sorry.”
We immediately pointed out the sassy Portuguese woman who had booked our tickets for us and said, “SHE KNOWS US TALK TO HER!!”
I was terrified and about to cry if we didn’t have a flight. I stared at this woman who held my future in her hands and she looked over at us and gave us a firm nod that was surprisingly reassuring and comforting. The woman walked back over to us and said that we did in fact have tickets and printed off our boarding passes! We even got to pick our seats for free. Woop!!!
We checked our bags, after 3 days of trying, and headed to the airport lounge that Allison just so happened to have passes for.
Free mimosas and comfy chairs- YES LORD!
We FINALLY boarded our flight to Portugal where we would have a 17 hour layover. I can’t say that I wasn’t pumped to have 17 hours to do whatever I wanted to do in Europe!
We flew through the night and arrived in Portugal at 5am. It was FREEZING. 3 degrees Celsius, to be exact. After 4 months in blazing hot Central America, I was not prepared for the cold European weather.
Freezing our butts off on the airport shuttle.
I put on layers of whatever was in my daypack which included 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts. Also socks with sandals definitely happened. And I took an airline blanket to use as a scarf… I have no regrets.
We went through security and headed to another airport lounge in the Lisbon airport.
Let me tell you people.
THIS PLACE WAS SO NICE. So nice in fact, that it had a business casual dress code.
Allison and I looked at each other as we rode the escalator up to the lounge in the same clothes that we had been wearing for 3 days and said, “Let’s try not to look too dirty so we can get in.” World Race dress code is light on the business, heavy on the casual.
They let us in despite our chacos and sweat pants and we explored the lounge a bit before coming upon sleeping pods.
YES. Sleeping pods. Little rooms specifically made for sleeping with little beds in them. Ugh it was incredible. We slept for a couple of hours before we walked out to eat all the free lounge food we could for breakfast because let’s face it, Portugal is bougie and nobody has money to spend on an expensive meal.
Here’s my weird little bed!
Free espresso and croissants were included. Yes and amen to free food!
We left the airport and got metro passes- a first for me! I had never been on a subway so it was a pretty exciting experience for this Kentucky gal.
We went to a little town outside of Lisbon called Sintra. We walked around for a little bit and ended up asking a local what she suggested we do because we only had a few hours in Sintra. She suggested a garden and told us it was one of the most important places to visit in Sintra.
We walked for 10 minutes and eventually came to this “garden.”
Garden was not the correct term. This place was magical! It had castles and old churches and wells and waterfalls and smelled like life and pine trees. Beautiful flowers and scenery greeted us at every turn. We even got to explore some underground tunnels!
The excitement was so real. Allison couldn’t stop smiling all day and neither could I. We were able to walk around and explore this beautiful place. It was so restful for the both of us and brought so much peace to my mind and heart after days of stress and worry.
Our squad mentor, Jeremy, sent Allison a Venmo with the memo “You and Abby get yourself a nice meal in Portugal!”
JEREMY YOU ROCK AND WE LOVE YOU!!!
We had an amazing meal in the garden restaurant. Sitting in the sun, eating crepes, and taking in all the scenery around us was such a blessing.
We left the garden after hours of exploring and headed back to Lisbon. We went back to the airport lounge for showers and rest before our 11 pm flight.
SHOWERS!! This lounge had everything you could possibly want. We may or may not have used my airline blanket as a towel and then ditched it in the bathroom trash can. No shame.
We had great food and rest and conversation that night. I left Lisbon feeling full and encouraged. I had almost forgotten how stressful my past few days had been and how exhausted I was from jet lag.
We boarded our flight to Côte d’Ivoire and flew through the night. We arrived and got in with no problems!! Praise God!
We are now safe and sound with our squad mates in a comfy little apartment in the city of Abidjan.
SHOOT.
I had a 5 day long travel day. It could have been the worst. Some crappy things did happen. Some anxiety was felt and some tears were shed. I’m still recovering from jet lag and the exhaustion that travel days bring.
BUT.
My worst travel day ended up being one of the biggest blessings I’ve ever received from the Lord.
I got some real intentional time alone with my incredible squad leader and friend, Allison. She’s doing this whole squad leading thing solo, so it’s tough to get one on one time with her. But dang did she disciple me and encourage me and love me so well in those 5 days.
I got to wrap my mind around being a team leader and what that meant for me. And I got to pray about that a lot.
I got to eat at my favorite place!
I got to meet 2 sweet Cuban Americans and be welcomed into their home for a night.
I got to explore Portugal for a whole day. And it was beautiful!
I got to sleep in so many comfy beds AND take 3 hot showers.
I got to spend much needed time with The Lord and find some rest in the word.
Jesus is so cool to use the things that could be seen as the worst and turn them into the best thing possible. I couldn’t have asked for a better time of travel.
God really does answer prayers. Especially the ones we are scared to pray. And even though He might not answer them the way we wanted Him to, He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.
And that travel day was definitely used for my good and for His glory.
