Crazy Adventures and Heavy Sorrow…

ADVENTURES IN FLYING…

What a CRAZY journey we had flying home! We flew from Lexington to Charlotte and had a 1 hour layover. Our plane was delayed so we had to run to the gate.

We made it on the plane and it took off at 6pm. We were scheduled to arrive in Miami at 8:15pm. There were storms in Miami, so they said we were gonna fly south and approach the airport from that direction. Before we knew it, we were flying over the Bahamas!

We began to run out of fuel  – so the plane ended up flying to Ft Myers for us to fill-up.  We spent 30 minutes there on the tarmac before the Miami airport opened back. We finally landed in Miami at 12:35am. We were on that plane for an extra 4 hours!

Our flight to PAP was supposed to be at 10am so we stayed at the airport. The PAP flight was also delayed until 11:30, then 12:45, and lastly 1:20pm. It’s the only AA flight for the day.

We had booked Russ’s little plane to fly us to the Mole yesterday afternoon. By the time we landed and made it to the little airport it was 4:30pm.

Thankfully….Russ was still able to make one flight to the Mole as planned. We needed 2 in order to bring our luggage with us.

SO – Malaya and I arrived in the Mole last night at 6pm. Jose & Levi arrived here this morning.

***

SAD NEWS ON ARRIVAL…

While in PAP, we heard the news that Momma Gigi had lost her mom.  We arrived at 6pm and her mom had passed away around 12:30pm.

Her mom started feeling bad two days ago. Momma Gigi’s sister works as a nurse at the St. Louis Campus. She had given her mom IV’s and she seemed to be doing much better. Momma Gigi and her sister, Elirose, made plans to go to St. Louis after we arrived home. They didn’t feel any sense of urgency because their mom seemed to be improving. For them – on this day – her death was sudden and completely unexpected.

***

Everyone on campus was crying including our own kids – even little Fabi. In fact, when the kids went to meet us at the airstrip, all of their eyes were blood-shot red.  

Momma Gigi had sobbed so hard she fell to the ground several times. Gabe and Asher both said that she wailed so loud – they ran out of the house assuming she had fallen.

They said her wailing sounded like physical pain. (The entire campus could hear her cries throughout the entire night. ALL OF US were moved to tears as we felt the sorrow engulf us).

We told Doumy to use our truck and take everyone who needed to go. Both Elirose and Momma Gigi have about 8-10 people related to them living on campus. The other St. Louis staff know her mom well. The truck was fully-packed at 7am this morning for a 5-6 hour drive.

***

We gifted Momma Gigi with $2000.00 so she could make all the preparations for the funeral without worrying about the funding needed to pull it off. HER family relies heavily on her generosity and sacrificial giving – especially for any tragedies they experience.

Everything is so expensive right now in general. Their family is large and will be forced to stay with various relatives  – – family who already can’t feed themselves. So this is a heavy situation in all ways.

Though we don’t have the funds personally – I just can’t let Momma Gigi carry this burden alone. She is family… and we love her like family… and we have to step-in like family.

She sang at Lori’s Celebration of Life Service – It Is Well. I pray she can feel those words in the depths of her soul –  and that she will find rest and an all-consuming peace.  

If you feel led to help shoulder this burden alongside us – we would greatly appreciate it.

Donations can be made online: click here

Or Mailed to the mission office:

NWHCM    7984 West State Rd 32.   Lebanon, IN 46052

**PLEASE  INCLUDE A NOTE/MEMO WITH THE WORD: FUNERAL