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| Naran-Erdene and his parents and grandparents |
As I woke up last Thursday morning, a verse immediately
popped into my mind. From Psalm 46:1 “God
is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Usually when I wake up I have a worship song
on my mind, but that day, it was this verse.
I went about my normal morning routines and headed to the office, not
knowing exactly what the Lord had in store for the day. As soon as I got in, I got a facebook message
to call Mary Beth, our Children’s Heart Project travel coordinator. I gave Mary Beth a call and found out our
transport nurse coming from the US to pick up 10 month old Naran-Erdene, his
mom, and interpreter for heart surgery was stuck in Beijing. You see spring time in Mongolia brings unbelievable
wind and sand storms. Just the Sunday
before, you could barely see 200 yards from all the blowing dust. It was windy and snowing that morning and her
flight was delayed at least 12 hours.
The transport nurse was only to be in Mongolia about 20 hours, so a 12
hour delay concerned us. And what
happens if the flight is again delayed, which is a strong likelihood for spring
in Mongolia. One thing I have learned
about living and working in Mongolia is you have to be a master problem solver,
because plans always change.
So I
sprung into action and we started working on a plan. You see I love traveling and my favorite show
is Amazing Race. So off a national staff
member and I went to several travel agencies.
They all said the same thing; there are no flights available to switch
things around. The transporter was in
Beijing, but the group was to go out through Seoul. We tried to get the transporter to Seoul and
I would travel with the group there, but nothing was available. I was trying all tangible things I could, but
I needed to take it to prayer. So we surrendered
it and knew the Lord would work it out.
We had another visitor here from Operation Christmas Child, so after our
efforts proved to be ineffective, we went to the countryside in the afternoon
to enjoy God’s amazing creation at a national park.
Evening
came and the IHQ staff went to work and again we started to try to figure out what
to do. The transporters flight ended up
departing Beijing around 10 pm, so we thought it would all work out for the
group to leave at 6:45 am the next morning, although the transporter would not
have much rest, but as nurses, sometimes we are used to that. My driver and I went to meet the flight and
we heard a low plane, but not one landing.
We waited, and waited, and then the flight disappeared from the screen because
it turned around to go back to Beijing unable to land with the winds. So again, time to problem solve. Through the Mongolian night Mary Beth, our
travel coordinator and travel agent worked to figure out what to do. They rebooked the group and our OCC visitor
would take them to Beijing to meet the nurse that morning. I took them to the airport and said my
goodbyes, only to get a call just before we got back to the office that the
flight was again cancelled for at least 12 hours. And I say it again, now we are looking for a
new plan. I called local travel agencies
and there are no flights available until Monday for 4 people, the child, mother,
interpreter, and transporter. The team
was supposed to meet the nurse in Beijing and travel to the US together, but
the nurse could not continue waiting for them without a Chinese visa, so she
loaded the plane for the States.
I
realized that nothing could be done with no flights available, so I rested a
bit since the last night I only got 3 hours of sleep as we worked to figure out
a new plan. Now I knew why the Lord had
that verse on my mind the morning before.
The Lord was going to help me in my times of trouble. He would be my strength when I am tired and
out of options. I called the interpreter
and asked her to keep her phone on at all times as we worked to figure out how
to get the boy to the US in time for his appointments on Monday, 2 days later. I talked to our travel coordinator before I
went to bed Friday evening and said call me if anything is urgent, otherwise I
will check my email when I wake up and we will see what the new plan is. 15 minutes later I got a call and the travel
agent had explained the situation to the airline and found us seats on the
flight leaving in 7 hours with me as the transport nurse. I called the interpreter who called the
mother, and our driver was available, so it was feasible. I went to the office in the middle of the
night to get the passports and print the documents. I felt like I was in my own version of CHP
Amazing Race. After getting my backpack
packed and rested for about 2 hours and away we went.
It was
a very smooth trip. The winds were calm,
so we could take off, we found some nice lounge chairs to sleep several hours
during our layover in Seoul, got a bulk head seat with a basinet for our long
flight, and we made it to Austin, Texas, just a day after what was originally
scheduled. The host family, along with
representatives from Heart Gift who we are partnering with, were waiting for
this precious group with open arms. And
I said in my heart, “Thank you Lord for allowing me to be apart of this!” The highlight for me was, as we were enjoying
some good old French fries and milkshakes in the San Francisco airport,
Naran-Erdene’s mom Tugsoo shared how she wanted to read the entire Bible to
learn about God, who would care so much about her son to allow him to go to
America for surgery. Naran-Erdene was
chosen from over 60 children on our waiting list to receive open heart surgery. She recognized God cared for her and her
son. I pray she comes to know the Jesus as
her personal Lord and Saviour. Please
pray for that. His surgery is scheduled
for next week. As always God proved
faithful to carry me through a long trip across the world and back. He is my refuge and strength.
Blessings,
Emily
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