"I saw the light!"

Travel days are always the most exhausting and yet exciting days! You are so ready to get to your destination but you feel like it will never end. I definitely had my fill of both today, as I know our team did. Satan has already tried to set up roadblocks for our team but God is ever present to just bulldoze them down.

Yesterday in particular, there were some minor hang ups at the airport in Little Rock. When you have a large medical team with personal and supply suitcases... those little things are bound to happen. We anticipate them. As a member of our team, you check your own suitcase and then you are assigned one medical suitcase to check as well. So, being one of the dental crew, I was in charge on a portable dental light to check. It is in a large box with a handle that encloses the light in its original bag. The box was duct taped with razorback duct tape, of course! On a side note: Dr. Joel and Mrs. Beth had the portable light and a portable dental chair donated to their mission trips. It is such a blessing to have this year because our last visit the dental chair consisted of stacked lawn chairs and energizer head lamps or sunlight... SERIOUSLY. So, I have this light which lets face it, the Delta lady had not laid eyes on that before! Without going to long, the light eventually went through and God provided the right amount of baggage funds to pass our team and our crazy equipment through.

As usual, I didn't sleep for the longest leg but found myself unable to stay awake for our last 3 hour flight from Amsterdam to Bucharest. God knew I needed that 3 hour nap badly for what was about to ensue. As we made our way to the baggage claim in Bucharest, one after the other, our bags made their way out unscathed by customs and the TSA. I was checking off the bags in my head one by one.  "There's mine.... There's the chair... There's.... Where is the light?!" We waited. And waited. We knew it would come out soon. Then the carousel stops and no light in its razorback duct taped box appears. "Oh, no. Maybe it's something I did?! What if it is lost?," I began to worry. Beth and I made our way around being passed to a couple counters before we made contact with the nice lady at the Bucharest airport in charge of lost baggage. We find out our light didn't leave out of Little Rock when we did. It was left but made it on another flight. Our lucky light went a totally different route... Little Rock to Atlanta to Paris to Bucharest but it was in en route at that moment between Paris and Bucharest. It couldn't be delivered to the house we are staying at because it was a medical device. I felt tired and boy, I did feel defeated. I definitely wasn't seeing the light... literally and figuratively. Again, Satan had put up a roadblock. I stayed behind along with Sandy, practically my second mother, Toben and one of our translators, Florene. The rest of our team began the last leg of their journey to our "home." The four of us were stuck at the Airport with specific instructions for the next 2 hours. We caught up and talked to Florene and talked about how Satan keeps trying so hard to make this trip fail on many fronts but we know God will come back with twice the force.

The two hours passed quick and I made my way following the instructions to reenter the airport to retrieve this light. I walked in alone leaving Sandy on the other side of the exit sliding doors. To my surprise, another girl about my age was missing her luggage as well and we waited together. We struck up a conversation quickly and I learned she was finishing up college but had spent her summer working in the travel agency business in the US. Her name was Adalina. Beautiful name, huh? She began to ask about our trip and why were here. I told her. She then asked what things would we do on the side here. I mentioned that we would go to church in the morning, which I was so excited about. Without skipping one beat, she asked me what kind of church I went to. It hit me, God turned Satan's roadblock into a stepping stone. It all made sense... The worry was gone and I beamed with joy. I explained that I am a Christian and what that meant to me. I shared about God's ultimate sacrifice but His victory to overwhelm the grave so that I may live forever. Again, without missing a beat, Adalina said, "You know, I have started to look into God and the Christian faith more since I lived in the states. I want to learn and research more." I let her know that I believe God meant for us to meet in that moment and encouraged her to see what God had waiting for her. She agreed. I saw the light in that moment...literally and figuratively. I grabbed my razorback duct taped cardboard box with many stares to behold such a sight. Adalina and I said goodbye and I met Sandy on the other side of the  sliding doors. I told her what happened and she simply said, we know why we were meant to lose that light today. Florene in his straight forward ways simply said, "I would have waited another two hours to have that happen again." Me too... A thousand times over.

We are too blessed to be stressed right? Pray that our team continues to see the light that God has placed before us to guide us to do His will but also to teach us His grace. We head to Feldioara for church in the morning and to set up clinic for the week. Pray that we are welcomed with open arms and that word will travel quick about our clinic for the upcoming week! Thank you for your prayers thus far... They are working!

By the way.... It's below freezing and we have snow on the ground. Pray for our team as on our level of the house we have no heat. A lot of blankets for this group!

Live. Laugh. And see the light.

Melissa