I Missed My Flight...

I did something that I haven't done, ever, in my 54 years on this earth: I missed my originating flight.

I don't recommend doing that in Mongolia.

Ever since I left Seattle I've had it in my head that my return flight was leaving UB at 6:30 PM Saturday night, arriving in Seattle at 11:30 AM Saturday morning. The second half was correct.

It's 8:00 AM Saturday morning and we're having a relaxed time getting ready to go when I glance at my itinerary. Then I glance a little longer. My flight leaves UB in thirty minutes and I'm in Darkhan, 220 kilometers away. Ain't goin' to make it.

I tell Hetee and Melanie and they look at me with disbelief. I am the king of triple checking everything, especially flight details. Mel had this impish look like now she had one up on me. Hetee just look stunned.

I had to think quick. I couldn't imagine trying to make all the flight changes at the airport so I got my laptop and Skyped the US office of Korean Air. After three disconnections I finally found a ticket agent who didn't freak out at my situation. Even so, I had to pray that my connection held until we finalized all the details. (The details included changing my flight, originally from Seoul to Seattle, to Seoul to San Francisco to Seattle arriving a day and a half later.) This was the best I could do. Then...

I tried to give the ticket agent my American Express card info and he said I had to FAX it to him, along with picture ID and a letter authorizing them to charge my card. If you're an American reading this you're probably thinking, "No big deal". If you're an American in Darkhan, Mongolia, you're thinking, "Are you out of your mind?!".

My mind was racing... he wouldn't finalize all the changes without payment. How on earth am I going to pull this off. Then I remembered I had a scanned copy of my passport available (I won't tell you how) and I had a fax account online. As fast as I can I'm creating a Word.doc, then I log in to my online fax account and then I realized there is a fifteen hour time difference. Would my fax service wait fifteen hours to send it or would they send it right away. I sent it off and then had to leave for UB without knowing if it actually made it.

We're not done yet. My ticket from UB to Seoul is still not taken care of. We get to UB and it took four hours to get this fixed. I must say, though, that I literally had an angel sitting behind the Miat Airlines desk because she would not stop until she solved my problem. We all agreed this was so extraordinary it had to be the hand of God. But, even so, when I left her office I still didn't have a ticket. I was assured everything would be OK at the airport and I had to believe her.

(I'm now sitting at the gate on Sunday morning, typing this on my laptop and sending it via free internet, and everything is A-OK, praise be to the one true God in heaven!)

Hetee and Melanie had taken me to UB so because of all these delays and difficulties we had time together and we made the best of it. We went to find a guest house to spend the night but none were available. Finally we got a decent hotel. Then we went to the State Department store to get her the blender she needed and I found an ATM for some cash. Then we were off to the Silk Road Pub & Grill to finally meet Dustin and Mary Baker and their son for dinner. They had arrived earlier that morning from the countryside and had their own adventure to tell. In the middle of the night, traveling about 80 kph, they sideswiped a horse on the road. They survived with a crumpled fender but they were alive and that's all that mattered. That's not normally the case.

We had a fabulous steak dinner (Mel had chicken tacos) then we finished with cheesecake. It's not Cheesecake Factory, but this is Mongolia and it was great. We took a couple of pictures and said our goodbyes. Even though we had spoken via Skype we all had never met before. This budding relationship has great promise.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped for some quick groceries and then had a quick chat at the hotel. We all needed to get some sleep before the 5:00 AM wake up nudge from our cell phones.

I'm just stepping out of the shower when I hear Hetee coming into my hotel room. Apparently I didn't lock the door or the door doesn't lock (whatever) and I'm standing there toweling off. (At least Mel wasn't with him!) I finish getting ready to go and as we step outside I think to myself, "Man, it's chillier than normal." It dawns on me that it's November and I'm in Mongolia. Another lightbulb moment.

I'm at home here. I have dear friends here. I don't feel like I'm on the other side of the planet. God's Spirit is here. What else do I need.

I need my family, and that's why I'm on my way back. I miss my wife and kids and grandkids and parent's and church family on it goes. We are a family and I have my extended family in Mongolia. Now it's time for immediate family.

Please pray me back home. Once I'm in Seoul it should be a smooth ride home but your prayers are always appreciated. Keep praying.

And, because of this mess I've created I won't be at church so a BIG thanks to all for pitching in and making it happen. God bless you all.