What A Journey

When I left the Denver airport last Saturday, I thought the hardest part of getting to Tacloban would be the 16 hour flight from LA to Manila. However, I was wrong. Even though we had a 3 hour layover and sat next to a pilot on our flight from Denver to LA who explained the airport to us, we still would never have made it to our flight in time if we hadn't met a crazy couple who were moving to New Zealand who got us to the front of the security line. When we arrived in LA we had to get our bags, take a bus to another building, check into our new flight, reorganize our luggage because you're only allowed one carry-on, take our bags to be loaded, go back to the ticket counter to get Mackenzie's ticket for our connecting flight because it wouldn't print, and find security. By the time we found the extremely long security line, I was crying because I didn't think we were going to make it. This probably doesn't even begin to tell how overwhelmed I felt at this point. I was even questioning whether or not I should be going. That's when God stepped in.
He sent us this crazy couple who wanted to move to New Zealand for a year so they decided to pack some bags and go. The guy's name was Joe and I realized too late that I didn't even ask the girl her name. All I know is that she had as much energy as my nephew (which is saying something) and she had a matching nose ring, scarf, shirt, earrings and shoes. Overall, she was just one of those people you can't forget easily. Anyways, they were getting on an airplane and their only plan was to go to a hostel when they got there and then get a car and eventually find a place to live. WHAT?!?! I couldn't believe it. And they were incredibly excited about our trip. In the 10 minutes we spent with them, she asked a million questions and worked really hard to ensure me that it was going to be amazing. I'm not sure if I believed her, but at the pace she was going, I couldn't turn back. They were also very late for their flight and managed to get all of us to the front of the security line. We waved goodbye to them as we ran different directions to our gates. It was only after I sat down on the airplane that I realized what a blessing they had been. Just when I couldn't handle everything anymore, God sent me someone who not only distracted me from my worries, but got me where I needed to go. Someday I'll learn to just trust Him from the beginning, but I'm glad he's still willing to step in and fix things when I fall apart.
After that, things calmed down. I slept for most of the 16 hour flight, we had no problems in the Manila airport and Eugene, the volunteer coordinator in Tacloban, met us at the airport. From there he took us straight to our homestay where we met Nanay Pipay (Pee-Pie) our host mom; mama, the grandmother in our house, and Nanay Lucy, mama's other daughter. Probably the best part of the greeting was when mama walked straight up to me, hugged me, and said "I love you. You are my daughter and I will take care of you and love you." It was so simple and so genuine. To her, I am her daughter now and she has proven already that she will take care of me. Today it rained and she wouldn't even let me out of the house without my umbrella. Since then, I have met the 4th member of our household (and probably my favorite), Chabel, Nanay Lucy's 11 year old daughter. I have also realized just how lucky I am to be in this household. Not only do we have an adorable child to play with all the time who adores us, but we also have a host mom who gets up before 5 to make us breakfast, goes to the market every day to get us fresh food, and cooks the most amazing meals the probably cost a ton just because she wants us to feel at home. So that's my journey here. From there, the story doesn't slow down, (Mackenzie and I are already teaching 2nd grade alone) but it doesn't feel so new and crazy anymore and I'm loving every minute of it.