The Outrageous Voyage to Guatemala

3-3-2024

Here it is, yet another travel day (s) blog. It begins at 2:30am in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa when I rise from my bed after a solid one hour of sleep.

You may ask, why did I have one hour of sleep? This is because I was going to pull an all-nighter, but realizing that I don’t normally sleep on planes and should start with some sleep, I fell asleep at 1:30am.

Getting our breakfast, and then heading to the Port Elizabeth Airport with all our personal belongings marked the end of a beautiful time of growth during our season of ministry and life in Africa.

The hour drive ended and as we headed in and checked our bags, and we said the unescapable goodbyes to just a few of the people who had loved us so well and so deeply.

We boarded our short flight to Johannesburg, and I remember praying beforehand, “Lord, I kind of want to sleep on this flight if possible. If it is your will either give me a window seat, or someone I know to lean my head against. But if you do not want me to sleep, give me strength.”

Another thing I pray daily is that the Lord would prepare my heart and be willing to speak to anyone He places on my path. On this particular morning, I knew He had prepared my heart because I’d been having dreams about who I would sit by.

Fairly accurate to my dream, I ended up sitting to this man who is probably around my dad’s age. We hit it off right away, and had a good conversation about what true faith is, as he was also a follower of Jesus.

I have to add in here that sometimes in the US it seems like we don’t truly attach ourselves to a deeply personal faith with the Father, or even any faith at all. Several people I’ve had the blessing to talk to lately, including this man, have had their minds blown by the fact that if you are raised in a Christian household you wouldn’t claim that faith as your own. #literallymindblown. That’s definitely something to think about. Anyways, back to my story.

It truly is a blessing to hear testimonies of other believers and how God has worked so powrlerfully in their lives. And you know what else happened on that flight that was a blessing? I got a glorious 30 minutes of sleep, leaning on the window of my window seat.

We then trekked through the Johannesburg Airport, and X Squad was reunited for the first time in a month. The boys did look a little worse for the wear, but it was good to see them…..I guess.

After finding some coffee, we embarked on the next leg of our journey: an 8-hour flight to Qatar. It was fairly enjoyable except for the fact that I was sitting next to the Canadian who kept jarring me awake. But after watching all 3 hours of the 1985 Anne of Green Gables, sleep came swiftly to me and I managed to sleep about half of the flight.

Getting off the plane, we sped through the airport due to the fact that we had a 45-minute layover. Our 3rd flight was 16 hours long, and although not altogether unenjoyable, I was certainly glad to get off that plane and stretch my legs.

But then my biggest culture shock of the race so far happened: we landed in Miami, Florida for an 8 hour layover. Of course, this native patriot of the U.S. of A. was back in her homeland, but after 6 months it felt like a foreign land.

Once we got through customs, security, and all that good stuff, we rushed to Chick-fil-A. It certainly was a funny sight to see 40ish racers in line for the Lord’s chicken.

After getting American snacks, and being surprised by our “mantor” who was also on the same flight, we took off on our 4th and final flight to Guatemala City.

I spent most of that flight conked put, as did the Canadian who was sitting next to me yet again. Then we landed in Guatemala City, and you could just feel this uniqueness and sweetness of this country we have the privilege to be in for the next 2 months.

After gathering all our belongings yet again, we embarked on two chicken bases to find some food yet again as it was about 10pm at night and although I wasn’t spiritually starving after some wonderful time with the Lord on the plane, I was definitely ready for some food.

After finding food, we finally made it to our home in Parramos. Although it was about midnight and we were all dead-tired, you could already tell it was going to be a special place, and I’m thrilled to be able to serve the Lord here in Guatemala. Thanks for tuning in to yet another travel day blog.

Blessings in Christ,

Gracie Yoder