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November 21
I woke up in time to look down on the lights of the coast of England. Judging by the map and the terrain, I was pretty sure I was looking down at Bridlington and Scarborough. It was a really great thought to remember Alyssa and I out on that coast together a decade ago. The flight into Frankfurt, Germany was uneventful and aside from a little difficulty confirming which gate I needed to get to for my Addis Ababa flight there was really no issue with the connection. God stepped in again and had me sitting next to a German missionary on his way to Sudan for peace talks with the churches and communities outside of Khartoum. He was really interested to hear about my upcoming work and shared that he had been a missionary to Africa for most of his career. He was very encouraging. As we pulled into Khartoum he told me not to worry that Jinja and Entebbe were much nicer places than this. The airplane followed the NileRiver down through the desert. There was nothing for miles and miles in every direction. Life sort of started to spring up as soon as the Nile came into site. Primitive buildings were further out, then houses, then bigger buildings and bridges. Everything was the color of dirt. It was hard to distinguish the buildings from the ground and nothing was green accept what was clearly cultivated fields of crops. I thought about Israel coming up out of Egypt through that sort of terrain and it certainly put the issues into perspective. There is no doubt that it took significant faith to get through that desert land and on up to Canaan. I said farewell and blessings to my new German missionary friend and the plane took off for Addis Ababa a few minutes later. We passed a long row of UN aircraft on the way out – it looked like they were prepared for a mass exodus if such a thing were needed. The staff at BolesInternationalAirport in Addis Ababa were very helpful. It was confusing to figure out how to get my bags, get them re-checked for Entebbe and find my way to the transit lounge but I had plenty of time and the staff were very helpful and kind. My bags have made it this far and they spend the night behind the scenes waiting for the flight to Entebbe. They are tagged and should be on their way with me this morning – AND with no additional fees for weight or number of items. I was very tired by the time I found the lounge and so thankful for a quiet place to sleep.
Blessings to you ~ Steadman
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