In transit

Shannon and I looked at each other across the aisle on the plane as we prepared for takeoff: “Hey, this is familiar. We’ve been here before.”

12 years ago we left America to move to Europe as missionaries for the first time. Our children were not quite 3 and not quite 1 and our destination was Geneva. Just like this trip, we flew out of JFK in New York.

Yes, we’ve been here before – but with a few notable differences.

1992: We left our Newport News house after 10pm and made a last stops at Chip and Peggy Watson’s house and Burger King. We were driving to Washington, D.C., where we would meet my mother and sister in a hotel room in order to get to Dulles early the next morning for our flight.

We’re not sure what it was – we blamed the Whopper – but Shannon became violently sick. She threw up all the way to D.C. We were met by my family at the hotel and fell into bed at 2am.

We had to wake up just a few hours later to get to the airport in time. Brittany and I had been in the same bed and she hadn’t slept even one minute. She did, however, drink one of my sisters’ contact lenses.

Somehow, my mother walked us all the way to our plane, handing us gifts along the way. Our final goodbye hugs were in seats 23A, B, and C. Try that one today!

Our travel agent had not left us enough time to make our connection in New York, we realized as we landed. We would have to run. But this would be difficult. Shannon was still feeling very weak. Parker wasn’t walking yet. We had a lot of carry-on bags.

Picture this: we are racing down the corridors of JFK airport. Shannon is being pushed in a wheelchair. Two-year old Brittany is pushing Parker in a stroller. And I am opulently adorned with 8 carry-ons.

We had to cut in front of dozens of unsympathetic travelers in order to be the last ones on our flight. The airline had given our seats away, so we were spread all over the plane. Brittany was in the smoking section. We managed to swap seats to move closer together, but some passengers refused to move, so Shannon and Parker were still several rows behind Brittany and I. Until Shannon passed out, that is.

Shannon’s last prayer was this: “Lord, please help Carlton turn around RIGHT NOW!” Which I did, just in time to see her faint. It was exactly like the safety demonstration: the oxygen mask dropped and they put the strap around her head and the mask over her nose and mouth. You would have been amazed how quickly people changed their minds about switching seats.

It turns out Shannon had a stomach bug, which we all got during our first week in Europe. But we were staying with Shannon’s parents in England, who took good care of us. We left the stomach bug with them.

2004: We left Dick and Verna McCrillis’ house in Norfolk around 8am with our interns, Kristen McCrillis and Jon Hayden. We stopped to pick up Kenny, Theresa, and Daniel Bryant on the way to the airport.

We were met by dozens of good friends, many of whom we have only gotten to know during the last two years. We prayed together and re-committed ourselves to each other. We imagined our friends at the airport to be representative of many others whose hearts are with us.

We received gifts as we left. One friend said “Here, hold this for me” and handed us money for expenses along the way. The tickets we were holding in our hands had been free, which meant we would be flying stand-by all the way – but we made every flight.

Our first stop was Atlanta, where we enjoyed beautiful concourse E, complete with Starbucks, comfortable seating, and a food court. Tempting fate, our kids ate lunch at Burger King.

Our next stop was JFK. But this time we had four hours between flights. And rather than racing through the airport, we got to spend time with Marcus, Kitty, and Sarah Hulse, friends from Geneva who now live in New Jersey. They drove up to see us and prayed with us before we left.

And that’s what Shannon and I were thinking about on the plane when we realized we had been here before. Except this time no one was sick and we were all seated together – in business class! We had been upgraded and were traveling in style. The seats didn’t matter, though – what mattered was the contrast.

We are giving God thanks for His extravagant blessings, which include stories of traveling mercies and friends with whom we can share them.