Life Changing Words Ministry

Missionary Journal

October 11, 2005

On the plane I was thinking that embarking on this trip has been considerably peaceful and noticeably calmer than the past trips I have prepared for. I still wonder if I have forgotten anything. (I did, my toothbrush.)

Bill drove me to the airport on the 4th. While riding to the airport, I sensed a slight agitation that manifested when we were almost in a rear-end accident, stopping an angel-width from the vehicle in front. Is this an indication of the devil letting me know that he will continue to try to trip me up and steal my peace? By the grace of God, no.

I felt my adrenaline settle and peacefulness restored. At the same time I felt an emptiness because Bill was not going with me. He had elected to come later because of Dan’s health condition.

We found out that as of September 1st the weight limit for all baggage is now 50 lbs a piece of luggage both domestic and international. Because we had our tickets before that date, we were still ok under the old 70 lb limit. How disappointing, yet clearly times are changing. We must determine new priorities on what to take next time. Bill saw me off through the security before he left.

I’m just wondering if the reality of age is catching up with me. The airport systems are really changing drastically since the last six months. In Los Angeles I noticed all the automated check-in booths and no human in sight. In Portland we at least had some help to get us acclimated to the procedures. Yes, it was easier to be automated…a lot of change in a short time. Are we becoming more “unencumbered”?

I walked down to Terminal 4 from Terminal 7. It felt good to stretch my legs and walk the distance. Neither Pastor Fern nor I knew exactly how we would connect in LAX. We had said that she would wait for me at the “neck” of the terminal, but unfortunately the map in the airline magazine did not specify that the terminals were independent of one another and I would not be able to access where she was supposed to be. I paged Pastor Fern Lancaster and waited for her on the lower level at the ticketing area. It was so nice to have our luggage checked to the destination. We walked over to the International Terminal and got our boarding passes. We had aisle seats across from each other to Hong Kong. It doesn’t matter how long or short a flight is there is never time to get adequate sleep. The guy sitting next to me coughed a croupy cough. I wondered if I would be affected.

We stayed on the plane in Bangkok and arrived on time in Mumbai on the 6th. It took the usual hour to get through immigration, customs and currency exchange for the prepaid taxi. Pastor Paul Joseph was cheerfully waiting for us. We would be staying with Didi Padmini just as before.

Overall, the trip seems to have been quite tiresome…age showing? So when we did get to Mumbai, we were ready for some rest. But we didn’t rest. With no clothes to wear, we just had to go shopping for our clothes for Sunday.

By Sunday evening, my wondering was non-existent. I had the full attack of congestion gathering in my chest. I was praying for strength to climb the stairs through the slum to Wadli Pada house church. Neither of us shared so that Pastor Paul could continue on his series for those who will be baptized. Yet when we prayed for people afterward, the power of God was so strong it was amazing…prophetic word, healing, infilling of the Holy Spirit. The sicker I felt, the stronger the Lord moved.

We were on our backs for the next week being very weak and eating only light and easy on the stomachs. Praising and rejoicing with each cough we persevered together encouraging one another knowing that it was the enemy, especially since four of us together have the same thing.

Mrs. Pastor Florie joined Pastor Paul in fasting to break the power over us weaker ones. We rejoice in the God who hears and heals.