Teenagers and duffel bags were piled
high like sardines in our cars; we were finally headed for
"Challenge"...Kansas City, here we come! For those of
you wondering what in the world "Challenge" is... it is a church
youth convention that gathers youth together from all over the United States.
This convention always includes special speakers, concerts, group time with
your own youth group and community service projects....ON VERY LITTLE SLEEP. So
long story short...THIS TRIP IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!
So off we went...promising our kids
we would be as
"hip and cool" as we could
possibly be at the age of 38!
When it comes to traveling with
drama, we do aim to please. Let me set the stage....we (our entire family and
the entire youth group) started our trip with a "red-eye" lay-over
flight from Portland to Detroit....arriving in Detroit around 6:30AM... YES,
AM... WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. Lets just say, our 4th of July was not starting off
with fireworks! We still had to catch another flight shortly after landing,
which would take us to Kansas City. One thing was for sure.. traveling
with cranky young children is a piece of cake compared to traveling with a
"high tech" wheelchair! NO JOKE....
Lesson #1: No red-eye flights with
young children!
Lesson #2: $150 saved because of 1
layover is not worth it with YOUNG CHILDREN AND A CHILD IN A WHEELCHAIR... I
would have paid $200 and my left leg THAT NIGHT to stay on a plane going
STRAIGHT to Kansas City!
We are getting ready to catch our
last leg to Kansas City. Jacoby had
been transferred into the plane chair (not an easy feet, as many of you know)
and her own wheelchair had been broken down to the smallest size it would
go....and then we waited....and waited....and waited. Everyone had been seated
for quite awhile when the airline stewardess came on the intercom and told us
they were having trouble loading a "precious piece of cargo". We
looked out the window and saw several men trying to load Jacoby's wheelchair into the small loading
chamber. Before we knew what was happening, we were de-boarding
the plane because her chair had scratched the engine while being loaded and the
plane was not to be flown. R WE HAVING FUN YET?! Not to mention the sweet
comments coming out of people's mouths about the "stupid cargo" that
made them have to deboard and get on a new plane. It was here
that I wished I wasn't traveling with the youth. I really wanted to say a few
"choice words" to these people, but I was supposed to be a good
example...so.... I did the right thing and put my "momma claws" back
in their paws.
Delta Airlines was awesome had
another plane waiting to accommodate everyone; there was only one catch....it
was the exact same model we had just deboarded. We said goodbye to the youth group
and half of our children and Jason, I, Jacoby , JJ and Vincie waited
to catch the next available flight out. Lord, WE NEED A JUMBO JET!
As always, God knows EXACTLY what
He's doing; His ways are higher, His thoughts are higher. They weren't able to
get us to Kansas City that day, but they did put us on the 1st flight out the
next day... IN FIRST CLASS...WITH $2,000 IN FLYING VOUCHERS! And to be
completely honest, that wasn't even the best part. We ended up sitting right
next to Rick Sutcliffe on
the plane. We had no idea he was a an ESPN announcer who had played as a
successful major league pitcher for 18 years. He DID know who Jacoby was because his buddy, Jaime Moyer (also
a major league pitcher for the Mariners) had told him about us. We had sat by
the Moyer family
on the way to stem cell treatment for Jacoby. Rick told us they were praying for Jacoby and then took some time to personally
talk with her. He knelt in front of her and said
"Jacoby, I understand the mind of an athlete.
I know to play in the big leagues you have to be gifted from the neck
down....but to be SUCCESSFUL, you have to be gifted from the neck up...you ARE, Jacoby.
Don't be afraid to speak of your story; I know public speaking isn't your
favorite thing to do, but God will give u the strength you need."
He had no idea that the Challenge
board had asked her to be willing to share her story for a video clipping when
she arrived in Kansas City. Let's just say when we arrived in Kansas City, she
was ready to share her story and CONFIDENT she had flown in right on time.
We provided the video clip on the
link below...
" Now to Him Who is able to do
IMMEASURABLY more than we could ever ask or imagine, according to His
power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory......" Ephesians
3:20
