Destination: Lima, Peru

Let me start off by saying, God is good, all the time. Remind yourself of this while you read, as I will be doing the same while I type.  My dad and I arrived at Tampa International Airport with excitement, anxious to begin our adventure to Lima, Peru in 2 short hours. As we begin to check in, we ran into some unexpected baggage charges, but our excitement motivated us to oversight the annoying $30 fee. Having researched the airlines height and weight limit the night before, I was proud of my preparations, only to find out that the said weight limit online was incorrect and I now had two very overweight bags on my hands. After quickly going over our options, we had to purchase another bag from the airline: $40. As I unpacked and repacked at the counter, my dad was checking in. Once, twice…five times later his reservation was not found. Long story short- there was no reservation for him. The anxiety was quickly rising and the excitement was beginning to dwindle. The hustle and bustle began to pick up as more passengers were checking in and the airline representatives were struggling to keep up with the increase in traffic. Multiple attempts were made to find the flight confirmation or at least purchase a new ticket. We came up empty handed every time. A call to customer service could only provide a $2000 trip the next day. Meanwhile, my mom and sister are waiting curbside because their car had conveniently died amidst the chaos of those being dropped off for departing flights. Time was vanishing quickly and take off was approaching faster than I’d like. We eventually came to grips with reality and my dad reluctantly told me I was going alone. We had to check the extra baggage he was taking for me- that’ll be $200.  So $270 later I walked to my gate, alone, just in time to walk straight onto the plane before departure. Leaving my family with sad hearts, it wasn’t anything like I’d imagined. As they waited for a tow truck, I waited for my flight to take off. Let me remind you again, God is good, all the time. Skip ahead to the 6 hour flight into Lima. I sat by a hilarious Peruvian lady who briefed me on the do's and don'ts of living in Peru. Her lighthearted nature put me at ease and she kept me laughing most of the trip. Once we arrived she helped me through immigration, customs and baggage claim. God was definitely looking out for me. We parted ways and I found the Andersons in a sea of people waiting to take me to my new home. Safe and sound in a cozy apartment, I thanked God for his provision, his sovereignty and his amazing grace that has given me this opportunity to start the next chapter of my life in Lima, Peru.