9:35 AM - Portland Airport
Our flight departed at 8:55 and things have gone pretty smoothly. I'm not so nervous about flying as I was before, and leaving my family was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Samantha couldn't be there because she had school, but Addie, my mom, and my dad (surprisingly) were there and even all together - yes together! - drove me to the airport. It was funny standing in line with them waiting to be checked into the gate because when it came that I had to go on by myself, a woman in front of me saw me waving at Addie (who had become crying a little) and said "Your little sister?" to which I replied "In some ways, yes." It was hard not to look back and keep from choking up a little. It was only going to be two weeks, but at the same time I was going to miss them so much.The only thing that really went wrong with anything today was when we were all checked in, that is everyone except Brooke. Jim Thwing, our leader, informed us that she had forgotten her passport. I don't know how someone could forget their passport, but I remember checking, re-checking, and checking again the night before and this morning, so I don't blame her for being stressed. We all prayed that she would make it here safely and because we have a God who looks out for us, she made it on time and we left for Dallas at 8:55 AM.
11:34 AM - 25,000 feet above Dallas, Texas
We are nearly done with our first flight and will be landing in Dallas Airport sometime soon. There has been SO much turbulence, it was really scary, literally the whole plane was rocking. And not just slightly, I mean from side to side! The seat belt sign just went on again and I can feel us shaking so I'm going to stop writing for now, but we're landing soon!
8:12 PM - Somewhere above the East Coast
We have about seven hours until we reach London, England. The airport in Dallas was ENORMOUS. But everything was very overpriced compared to how things are here back at home. The nice thing about Dallas was I was able to call my mom and my family for the last time before I would be out of range. Right now, currently it's only about an hour into our flight and already I've dumped my drink into my lap somehow, it's awful how crowded planes get. Luckily though, the woman next to me was nice enough to give me her extra blanket. What's weird is I am hardly worried about Uganda, and things at home are what's on my mind.
(I continue to ramble for a couple pages, yes pages, on stupid things that are bothering me like family stuff, school, what my friends are doing, and a boy that I liked. I'll spare you those details and continue on with the other stuff.)
9:06 PM - Somewhere over Boston
Currently we are flying over Boston. I'm fighting to stay awake, I do not want jet lag. I've watched about two movies, and everyone around me is asleep. I went to the back of the plane where the super nice, gay, flight attendant was reading a Cosmo, and he gave me a couple Coca Colas. After I came back again, he just gave me some coffee. And it was BLACK. I drank the whole thing even though I really hate coffee. It's still hard to stay awake. I'll just think about the hard things going on back home, yeah. That will keep me awake for a while.
Midnight - Kampala, Uganda
I didn't write much about London Heathrow Airport because there wasn't much to write about. A lot of people describe London as bleak and I don't blame them. But the airport did enjoy the color purple. Everything there was black, silver, white, and purple. We arrived here in Kampala, Uganda around midnight. I thought I lost my bag, but really it was Glenna and Verlene that had lost their bags somehow. They had to fill out papers so they could get them back if they were found. We were greeted by Hannah, Pastor Ozborn, Moses, and Ezheikel. They were all very friendly, and we exchanged hugs, and a special handshake and hug that Ugandans use to greet each other with. You hug each side of a person, it's hard to explain. We just reached the hotel kind of compound we are staying in, and I'm beat so I'm gonna get some rest. We're finally here!!!
