Well, we made it! What a whirlwind! After 4 days of frantic packing, we left for Charlotte on Monday afternoon. 2 of Brendon's precious friends, Justin and Maddie, helped drive us there. On the way, we went through a torrential thunderstorm and our luggage got pretty wet, but it mostly dried out before we flew.
We got up at 4am to catch the 4.30 shuttle to the airport. Groggy after just a few hours sleep, we checked in with no trouble. We boarded and took off just after 6.00am. At 8.30 we arrived in Newark, and had to pick up our luggage as we were changing airports. We grabbed something to eat and then made the big trek to the area where the bus would collect us. It was hilarious, because there were 3 of us pulling 6 big bags and 3 carry on bags. We did it in shifts (carts are EXPENSIVE!!!!). We JUST made it to the bus and were hustled on by a very impatient driver. Our drive in to town took about 1 1/2 hours. When we got there, we had to get off the bus with all our luggage, and wait for another bus. The driver of that bus was amazing, and helped us with all our luggage. We arrived at JFK and got in line to wait to check in to our international flight. We were about 45 minutes early but it was good to take a breath!
After we checked through our luggage, we went and had something to eat before boarding. Our flight left at 4.30pm,so it was a fairly long day, but we were excited. The flight was wonderful. The stewards on board Aerolineus Argentinas were so friendly and helpful (food wasn't amazing, but we weren't starving anyway).
We arrived in Argentina at 3am and had 3 or so hours to wait. So we found a cute little coffee shop (managed to interpret the menu for the coffee we wanted) and sat and waited while Zane slept on the bench for about 2 hours.
After our final flight, we landed in Asuncion, Paraguay and went through customs. Such a wonderful experience! The people were friendly and smiling, and it was so casual. No screening, no stress.....God was there! And, most importantly, no questioning Zane's passport which expires in September (I was told it may not be easy to get in as most countries require 6 months on the passport). As we walked through, we saw the wonderful, smiling faces of our hosts, the General Director of the school and his wife (who have been amazing, and are also from South Africa!). They helped with luggage and whisked us out of there. The drive was interesting, to say the least. Traffic is hectic, people are walking all over, there are motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic.....it's just like Africa!
When we got to the school, we were taken to our apartment. SO adorable. Beds were ready, and we had all the basics that we needed. There was even food in the fridge and on the counter for us.
I have so much more to write, but am going to end here for today. I am just so thankful at the way God has provided and been there for us. You know, we often say the words, "He'll be there for you", "He'll provide for you", "He will make your paths straight", but until those words get into your heart, they cannot come true. His Word has the power to do all He promises, but you REALLY have to believe it, deep down. You can say the words over and over, but nothing is going to happen until you let go, and 100% give it to Him. This is what we have experienced in the last week. When we finally said, "Ok God, this has to be all you, we cannot do anything," He smiled and took over and everything fell into place. It was our stubborn hearts that were making us hope for something else.
So now, we will take each day as a blessing, and see where God wants to use us. I will continue to update as we go along, and I pray that through this blog, you can see how good our God is. He's not just a big man/magician/ being/mystery out there somewhere. He's real. He's our Father, and He loves us and will take care of us.
Be blessed, as we have been. This is a great place to be.
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