Travel day, Terminals, and God’s Timing

An hour drive to the Atlanta Airport, 7 hours waiting for our 9-hour flight, 3-hour layover in Paris, France, 3-hour flight to Bucharest, Romania, an hour going through customs, and a 4-hour drive to Craiova. Roughly 36 hours of jet lag, exhaustion, and turbulence have landed me in this lovely house in Craiova. Amid the chaotic travel day, I found beauty even as I was sleepwalking from terminal to terminal. 

They allowed visitors to come to say bye before we left the country in the Atlanta airport. I got to see my best friend David before leaving, and what a sweet reunion it was! Sushi is our favorite meal, so we were disappointed to find out that the sushi restaurant we wanted to eat at had no tables left.

Lack of time led us to go into the closest restaurant we found, T.G.I Fridays. We sat down and spent our quick lunch so deep into conversation that we missed the woman with the kind eyes sitting alone at the table next to us who was apparently intrigued by our discussions. When the check came, our waiter informed us that this woman had paid for our meal, and we sat confused, asking him to repeat what he said. Surely a woman we do not know and exchanged no words with did not pay for our meal. But he repeated himself and sure enough, our meal was paid for. We turned and asked her if he was joking and when it was evident on her face he was not, we started thanking her and asking her about her travels. When I asked if I could pray for her, she seemed reluctant and undeserving. I insisted, and she told me I could. 

She seemed immensely thankful and close to tears after I said amen. We left that restaurant so grateful for God’s timing; thank goodness there were no tables left at the sushi place or I would not have been able to pray for someone who needed it. People always want to do big things for the Lord, but few are willing to do small things. Doing small things for His name is something that I have been working on, such as praying for people I will never see again just because it could plant a seed that someone could reap years later.

My mission started the day I was born, not just when I stepped foot into a new country. I am excited to begin ministering to the Romanians but equally so to those sitting alone at the airport or even people in the grocery store back home.