The first day of travel was very interesting, to say the least! Left Saskatoon no problem, but the trouble came once the plane arrived close to Toronto. WE COULD NOT LAND. There was too much fog, so we circled over Waterloo for 40 minutes waiting for weather to clear up. We were then diverted to Syracuse, NY to refuel but could not enter the airport. We were now in the USA and needed to clear customs from a flight where many people were not prepared to clear customs. And the Syracuse authorities did not want us to try! I could have gotten off at Syracuse, caught a quick flight to JFK and then make my flight from New York to London for 8:30pm. I asked the flight attendant and she checked with customs at the airport and they said ABSOLUTELY NOT.
We sat at Syracuse, NY in the plane for 4 hours. They were thinking to send us to Ottawa or Montreal. Then they were going to get us off the plane into a secure room. Then we found out that Toronto had now cleared and we were ready to go! We made the 35 minute flight and arrived in Toronto to a chorus of cheers. During this time I chatted with many great people. The lady beside me was going to Toronto to spend time with a sister that was not well. The five hour flight extension was not good for anyone. I met another guy that worked in the oil field and was coming home after 90 days to spend 10 days with his wife. He was not too impressed. Another lady was in Toronto for a couple days and then heading home to visit her family in India for a month. I was also able to tell a few people about the ministry of the Youth Farm Bible Camp and what many of our programs were about.
So I arrived at Toronto to find out that JFK was not taking flights, and my next flight was cancelled. I received a voicemail saying that I now have a direct flight from Toronto to London with British Airways. Great news. I went to check in and found out that all the computers in Pearson Airport were down. It took 2 hours to get through and received a handwritten boarding pass. Went straight to the plane and was one of the first who boarded by accident. After in the air for an hour, they fed us a pasta supper with Caesar Salad, a roll and a Naniamo Bar. I also slept for a few hours and arrived in London at 7:00am local time.
I am now on the "Tube" going to downtown London since my next flight. Talking to a couple people about the weather in London. They have frost today, and I guess that is something hard for them to deal with.
Well I am glad to be in the United Kingdom for the first time in my life, going to check out Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, River Thames, and more.
As I go on a pilgrimage to Israel, I hope to continue to share my life with some interesting people, spend a time praying and reading the Bible as I ready myself to be immersed in the land my Saviour walked, talked, died and rose again. Special moments.
I am currently reading through the Gospels during time in Israel. I was reading Mark 4 where Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Although not life threatening, yesterday had a few storms in my life trying to get into and out of Toronto. It helps to invite Jesus into our situations and allow him to calm the storms that surround us in our everyday life.
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