How is it that no matter how hard I try, I always end up staying up WAY too late on the eve of a trip out of the country? I shifted and juggled things around over and over, trying to make the best possible use of the space and weight I could. I set my alarm for 3:30am and hit the sack around 12:30am. I suppose 3 hr is better than none. When I checked in at the Delta desk in Richmond, one suitcase weighed 50.7 lb and the other 50.0 lb. The lady let me through even though she is supposed to charge me extra ($150) if a suitcase is over 50.5 lb. What she didn't know was that my carry on weighed 42 lb! plus I had my computer bag! I'm very serious when I tell you that I prayed that the security staff would not open my carry on; I knew there was no way I'd ever get everything back in it and zipped closed again. My prayer was answered and my bag was not opened, however I did draw the lucky number that awarded me a full body x-ray in some strange stand-up tube that made me feel like I was in a time machine. I wanted to see the x-rays, but that wasn't allowed.
I was very glad that plane was only 1/2 full and I had room to stretch out and take cat naps all the way to Atlanta. On the next connection I sat beside a 50 yr old who was on her way to pick up her 18 month old adopted son in Guatemala. Better her than me!
I was thrilled that all my heavy luggage came through w/o any problem and I zipped through customs and immigration. Ginny and another friend met me at the airport in the friend’s car (since we don't have a vehicle). The 3 of us and 2 large duffle bags, and large carry on and my suitcase somehow all fit in his old VW Beatle.
The ministry office and our home are one in the same, and is only about 30 min from the airport. It's in zone 7, the same as our previous home, but in an obviously much better neighborhood. I was greeted very warmly by Kevin and the rest of the Guatemalan team when they returned from a long day in Amatitlan. I unpacked, set up my air bed, and went to bed by 9pm. Guatemala is in the Central Time Zone and only 1 hr behind the time in Virginia, but I was exhausted yet very glad to be back in
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