Missed Flights, School Things, and the Midwest.
During Science class, the third graders were going over the seven continents. Since the student was struggling, the teacher asked what she thought was an easy question. “What country do a lot of missionaries go to?” The student pondered it for a bit. “Antarctica?” Teacher tried her very best to hold in her giggles.
Report cards. The thought of them scared me deeply. After dismissing at noon on Wednesday, the Sugar Creek trio headed to Wichita. Chick-fil-A was the first order of business. After consuming chicken, we headed to our favorite coffee shop, Coffee Daze. We sat on the high bar by the window. The sun was streaming in the large glass panes and the prayers were prayed and soon we were busily filling out report cards. I don’t know how you could ever fill out report cards without the One on high guiding the hand. I am thankful for a Friend like Him.
“Miss Miller, what kind of waffles does a witch eat?” said Student 1.
“Hmm. I’m not sure! said Miss Miller. “What kind?”
“Boo-berry!” said Student 1, giggling.
“What kind of fruit does a vampire like?” said Student 2.
“What kind?” said Miss Miller.
“A blood orange!” said Student 2 with enthusiasm.
“Have you ever had a blood orange?” asked Miss Miller.
“No, but our mom has some.” said Student 2.
“Miss Miller, I love blood oranges!” said Student 1 with great vigor. “I ate a whole half of one, one time!”
School meeting was upon us. The South-Central district meeting was held at the Inman congregation and it was very nice to be able to come home and sleep in your own bed after a long day of lectures. We did some fun singing and had a little too much fun scribbling in each other’s notebooks. This teacher came home with some new things to try and so far it has been going well.
It’s not the easiest to hop back into a school week after a long vacation. After a school day that didn’t quite have the teacher feeling like she did amazing, many prayers were sent upward for a good day the next day. The next morning dawned beautifully. The sun shone through the windows like glowing slices of light. The day went better than it should have considering the amount of things that went off kilter. “God is so good. God is so good. God is so good; He’s so good to me.”
“I’ve recently got into eating wicker furniture.” Holds up a box of triscuit crackers. Not going to lie, that gave me the serotonin boost I needed right then.
During Bible Pictionary, the artist was drawing Adam and Eve in the garden. One guess was Laura and Mary. The student very quickly discovered that Laura and Mary were not in the Bible!
A calm afternoon was spent at a coffee shop. The Sugar Creek teachers had the day off because of parent teacher meeting. We had gotten our things done at the house and drove the 45 minutes to an adorable coffee shop that had been recommended. There were different denominations of Mennonites working there and there were buggies driving past on the street. It made my heart feel like I was back in my Ohio home. The air in the place felt homey and comfortable and it was just what we needed.
Living far in the Midwest, I have learned many new things. One of the most recents is sales which means the youth serves breakfast and lunch on an auction day. On a Thursday evening, the youth got together and prepped food. There were people making hamburger patties and people making chili and people wrapping silverware, and packing cheese in containers, and three girls crying over onions. It was quite the experience. Friday, they served chili and cinnamon rolls. Saturday dawned with clouds and rain. The precipitation continued all day, but as someone said, it added to the vibe of the day. It was quite cozy to serve people and watch the rain falling softly outside. For a while it was pie cutting duty for me. Somehow the lists got mixed around of who does what and I spent the rest of the day cashiering. I came to realize that I am terrible at mental math when the customer is standing in front of you with their wallet. Thankfully, I was not sole money person and the other person at the money box did most of the math while I figured up what all they had ordered. All in all, I don’t know that I was a huge help, but we had a good time. There were many antique things and the Mennonites showed up in force to buy the goods. Aside from feeling a tad damp and a tad tired, it was a successful day, we throughly enjoyed ourselves, and some extra furniture was added to our house. A win for all!
“Don’t let the vibes make you. You make the vibes!” Wise words from a youth man.
The weather outside is starting to feel like fall. The gray clouds hide the face of the sun and the wind feels like I have always imagined Kansas wind to feel. It is not pleasant to be startled awake by the sound of tree branches screeching across your window and the farmers bemoan the fact that they can’t finish harvest because of the constant rain. I am told that this much rain is not normal for our area. Maybe I brought Ohio weather with me when I moved!
The tickets were booked and the day finally arrived. I was going back to my Ohio home for a friend’s wedding and for the first time since I had moved! It was a wild dash to complete the school things and load into the car for the fiftyish minutes to Wichita. Five minutes from the house, my phone buzzed. Your flight has been delayed an hour. Well, that was okay. That meant I would spend less time in Chicago which didn’t matter to me. I was delivered safely to the airport and suddenly mid Chick-fil-A, I get another message. Your flight has been delayed another hour. Now, it did not seem ideal. As we touched down in Wichita, I watched from my phone as the final boarding call was made for my flight to Cleveland. I grabbed my bag and ran for approximately five seconds when my phone alerted me that my flight had left without me. After many phone calls and many tense and stressful moments, I was booked on a flight for 10:55 am the next day. It was nearly 10:55 pm. Well, I have twelve hours to explore the Chicago airport and get my first experience sleeping in an airport. My siblings kept me entertained for as long as they could but soon they too needed their sleep. I marched around the almost deserted airport and ate supper from a vending machine. The floor didn’t sleep the greatest and eventually I found some wide, high-backed chairs that I could curl up perfectly on. A solid night’s sleep happened in two hours. The airport came back to life, with flights leaving at 6:00 am. Although it had been entirely fun to run around an empty airport, it was nice to see the hustle and bustle of other humans. At least Chicago O’Hare isn’t a boring airport to be stuck in! Lord willing and the creek doesn’t rise, I will finally be home for my friend’s wedding at 1:14 pm which is thirteen hours later that expected! At least I’m not missing school or anything important like that! As my dad said, “In some ways you can turn disappointments into adventure memories!”
I made it safely to the wedding and managed to survive the day on a scant three hours of sleep. It was worth the problems to see my family for the 27 hours I saw them. I got delayed on my flight going out but still managed to land in Wichita around 10:45. It was pure excitement and relief that burst out of me when I saw my co teachers running up to hug me and saw the Expedition trunk door open and heard the familiar chatter of the guys in the vehicle.
While I sat in a not so calm state by myself in an almost empty airport, a small indistinct brown bird hopped over and chirped. For the following thirteen hours I was at the airport, the little bird was my constant companion, showing up when I switched gates and seats. Just maybe he was my little guardian angel and just what I needed in that moment.
From the airplane, the buildings seem like tiny toy blocks in a child’s playroom. The small cars zoom along the 1/2 inch ribbon of blacktop. Is this what it looks like when God looks down on the world? How can He care for each of the billions of people so much when we are so insignificant? It seems that every problem we have would not even show up on His radar, and yet He is so throughly interested in all of our little problems and worries. Therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. Psalm 63:7