July 15, 2008

The day to leave for our mission trip to Jamaica arrived soon enough. And as far as we knew, we had everything packed and ready to go ahead of time. We even already had the cat at my parents' house for them to watch, so that we didn't have to transport her along with all our luggage on the morning we were to leave.

We got up early, hoping to give ourselves plenty of time and do all the last minute things that we might think of. As it turns out, we were ready almost an hour early! That extra hour of sleep sure would have been good. But it was also nice not to have to rush to get ready to leave.

Since we were ready early, we decided to go ahead and leave a bit early. We drove to my parents' house, which is where Jaylin would be staying for the week. And we would be leaving our car there, too, instead of paying for it to sit at the airport for a week. We got Jaylin's stuff unloaded and then sat around for a while before leaving to go to the airport.

The drive to the airport was rather uneventful. Being a Saturday morning, there wasn't much traffic on the road, as there would be on a work day. So we got there rather quickly.

And even though we were there before the 11:30 meeting time, we were far from the first ones there. I wanted to go ahead and check in, but Laura said we should wait, since several wanted to check in as a group. I also wanted to go get something to eat, even though I wasn't hungry yet, but Laura suggested that we wait until we were checked in for that.

Sohn, our group leader, was the last to arrive, and once he got there we got in line to check in and get our baggage checked. Laura and I ended up at the front of the line. And when the lady ran our passports through, she said there was a problem. It turns out that the name of someone in our group (we never did find out who) matched a name on the watch list. And since all our tickets were purchased together, they had to run all our passports through at the same time and get the whole group cleared before we could start checking in. Sounded simple enough, but it wasn't that easy. She eventually had to call somewhere and get some special clearance to let us through.

By that time, there really wasn't time to get anything to eat as far as a meal. So Laura and I got a bag of Doritos to split between us. And Jaylin got a few chips as well. Then we said our goodbyes and went through the security check to get to our gate.

The flight from Memphis to Miami was on a smaller plane, an American Eagle flight. And our group of 19 people made up about a third of the passengers on the plane, which was rather nice. Several of us were together in the back, which made for a nice flight. And the stewardess was friendly, too. And in Miami, the American Eagle flights land out on the runway, and then you board a bus to get to the terminal. Fun!

Once in Miami, we all had some time to get something to eat. Most everyone chose Pizza Hut, which was close to the gate for our next plane. Soon enough, we boarded that plane to Montego Bay, which was a much bigger plane than our last one. But as it turns out, we shouldn't have been in much of a hurry.

Once we had been on the plane for a while, the captain came over the speaker and said that there was a mechanical issue with the plane that they were looking at. So we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Turns out that they had to add some hydraulic fluid to the plane. Which slowed us down by over an hour. But we eventually were in the air and on our way to Jamaica.

Once we got going, the flight itself was good. And the hydraulics held up during the landing, so that was good, too.

Going through immigration and customs didn't cause too much trouble for anyone, and we were all delighted to find that all our luggage was there waiting for us.

We then went out to wait for the vans that would take us up the hill to the Hotel Montego, where we would be spending the week. It took a few trips to get everyone and their luggage there. And then a few more minutes to unload, get our room keys, and get everything situated.

The hotel staff had held dinner for us, even though it was after their 10:00pm quitting time, which was nice of them. And we started meeting the group from Chattanooga that we would be working with. Turns out their flight from Atlanta was delayed, also because of a hydraulic problem. Coincidence?

It was good to be there, and an interesting feeling to be in another country. The birds and night animals sounded different than back home. But our hotel room did have air conditioning, even if the hotel restaurant and lobby didn't. That would make sleeping a little easier.

Laura said that it took us 13 hours from the time we first left home until the time we got to the hotel in Jamaica. A long day of travel. But we made it safely and without too many problems. Which was something to be thankful for.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. - Matthew 28:20.

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