Favor in Leaving Levittown, Pennsylvania & Flying to Oaxaca, Mexico
Because of the events of my life in the past 2 days, I was looking up verses this afternoon about God’s favor. This one in particular, I think really applies to my current situation.
“On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”
2 Corinthians 1:10b & 11
In June, I was invited back to Oaxaca, Mexico to help teach the children of missionaries. The ONLY way I was going to be able to accept that invitation, was IF God raised up a team of His people that would support me. It was going to take a miracle, to accomplish that goal in such a short period of time. I spent much of my summer prayerfully building a Prayer Support Team & a Financial Support Team. But, God was faithful & His people were obedient in listening to His still, small voice telling them to get involved.
I’m so grateful for these precious brothers & sisters in Christ, who have chosen to stand up & get involved in my ministry. So, I believe that now, just as that verse says, I am being granted God’s gracious favor, in answer to the prayers of many!
Here are just a couple of examples of God’s favor from Wednesday, the day I left Levittown & flew to Oaxaca, Mexico:
1. When I was packing last minute things the night before, God planted the idea in my brain to put an empty backpack in my carry-on luggage. In the morning, my parents drove me to the Philadelphia international airport. When the ticket agent weighed my suitcases, 2 were overweight. FORTUNATELY, I had that empty backpack!! So, my mom filled my backpack with 10 pounds of clothes. Then, they re-weighed all 4 suitcases & every single one said exactly 50.5 pounds! Anyone who remembers learning about decimal points knows you’re supposed to round up…but, they accepted them!
2. Before I got to the TSA security screening line, I bent down to untie my sneaks. A security agent came up to me & said, “Let me just stop you right there, hon. You’re allowed 2 carry-ons & you’ve got 4.” I straighted up & calmly said, “The lady who checked me in downstairs said for me to tell you that I bought 2 tickets.” She looked at them, nodded, & walked with me up to the security line. She got the attention of the agent there & said, “This young lady is fine with all her luggage, I checked her paperwork.” I stood in line, marveling at what God had just done! You see, the ladies at the ticket counter had read to me from their computer screen the official policy, that even when a person buys 2 tickets, their carry on allowance does not double. They told me that IF I could get through security, that I’d be fine. They said, “Just show them your 2 tickets and see what they do.”
3. Before boarding the plane in Philadelphia, there was an announcement that I’ve heard before when flying. They said that it was a full plane today & they were looking for people who would “gate check” their larger carry-ons. I considered it, because I knew it would be challenging for me to lift my 40 pound bag into the overhead compartment, while holding my other 3 bags. BUT, I didn’t want to pay another $30 to check another bag or maybe even the $150 fee for checking a 3rd bag on a ticket. Here, it turns out that there is no fee for checking bags at the gate! So, I had them check mine. What a blessing it was ~ #1 = I didn’t have to pay & #2 = I also didn’t have to carry that bag through the Houston airport, as here they checked it all the way through to Oaxaca!
4. On my 2nd flight (the one from Houston to Oaxaca) I was concerned & confused for quite awhile about the immigration form & the customs declaration form. I kept reading the forms, looking at my Mexican FM3, looking at my US Passport, & asking the flight attendant questions that she didn’t know the answers to! Finally, I got up the nerve to walk several rows up & introduce myself to a couple that I thought MIGHT be the missionaries I was told would be on the same flight as me. It WAS them & although they weren’t sure of the right answers for me to put on the form either, they were very friendly & helpful & it put me at peace, just chatting with them!
5. When I walked up to the Spanish-speaking immigration agent at the Oaxaca airport, I stumbled over saying “Buenos noches”, smiled, & handed him my documents. For several minutes, he looked at his computer screen & typed things & looked back at my documents…I just stood there, praying. Finally, he handed me back my stamped documents! I got through!
6. It took me a few minutes to gather all my luggage & put it in front of the conveyor belt to be screened at Customs. The Customs agent helped me to load it onto the belt. Then, he had me push the button & it turned green! (IF it turns red, you need to have your luggage hand-checked.) So, I made it through Customs too!
So, to my Prayer Support Team = THANK YOU!! There were so many things that could have possibly gone wrong during that long day of travel. But, the prayers of many resulted in God’s favor being poured out on me, all day long!
Please, keep praying!
“…the prayer of a godly person is powerful. It makes things happen.” James 5:16b
