Praise God, praise God, praise God, my husband Ray is now safely home! And oh, what opposition there was to get him here! He was supposed to leave yesterday morning at 8 a.m. on a MAF flight. He and others were booted off that plane to make room for other persons, who had previously paid and were given preferential treatment.
He talked with a state rep, and after TWELVE hours of waiting in the Haiti airport on different planes, he winded up taking a U.S. military Air Force cargo plane with a bunch of other people to Miami, FL (no seats; he had to sit on the floor), which arrived about 1 a.m. this morning. A friend picked him up in Miami and drove him two hours to Melbourne, FL, where he was able to get a quick shower at the friend’s house and then board a plane to Charlotte, NC. He texted and called me at 6 a.m. to let me know he was in the U.S.. He had an hour layover in Charlotte, then boarded the plane to Kansas City, MO.
Meanwhile back home driving on the way to the airport, I noticed smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, and as I slowed down I saw smoke coming out in a greyish, large cloud from the engine in the front of our car! I pulled over asap and told our daughter Leah to get OUT of the car.
As I stood there, staring at the smoke and wondering how I would be able to get to the airport, a woman in a white van – one of God’s ministering angels, no doubt, by the name of Barbara – pulled up and asked if she could help us. She let Leah and me stay in her warm van until help arrived. She would not let me pay her, either, and she just called me “friend” and said she was glad to help me.
Our daughter Heather left the church office, where she was doing volunteer work today, to pick us up. Heather and our 4-year-old granddaughter Violet, our daughter Leah, and I then went to the airport to pick up Ray. His plane was right on time. It was SO good to see him at last! We greeted him with a long-stemmed, red rose and lots of happy hugs!
On the way back,we picked up the car after seeing if it would start okay and not smoke anymore, and on the exit ramp, it just died and smoke came out of the engine again. We had it towed by a shop in town, went to pick up a bite to eat, and then went home. We’re praying it won’t cost a lot to fix it.
As we pulled up in our driveway, Ray saw the “Welcome Home” banner and “Our Hero in Haiti” sign I had put out there this morning. He said it was a little embarrassing, but I think it touched him!
I also had “Welcome Home Balloons,” a box of Valentine chocolates, and the newspaper article on his work in Haiti waiting for him inside the house. When we came home, we discovered that our rent had been prepaid by someone for us for this coming month as God’s special blessing to us; and had received an unexpected check that we hope will more than cover our car repairs! Oh, God is so good!
We ate, I gave him an oil massage to relieve his stiff neck, and he is now peacefully resting in our bedroom. Our hero in Haiti is now home! Praise You, Lord Jesus! Thank you all so much for praying for his safe return. The stories he’s been sharing have been just amazin, and I can’t wait to share the pics and videoes with you!
“Let the saints be joyful in glory, Let them sing aloud on their beds, Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations.”
Leave a Reply