By Rosie Korfant
(Part Five)
This is week five in my series about all the “Missionary Moments” I experienced in a recent trip to India, representing my church, The Family Church at Christian Retreat in Bradenton.
Having left the Miracle Children’s Home behind in Kadali, we reversed our trip and flew back to Hyderabad for our short hop back to Mumbai and on our long flight to the U.S. Arriving in Hyderabad in plenty of time for what we expected to be a leisurely dinner at the airport, we were met with the shock of our traveling lives — a missed flight! With over 40 years of worldwide travel under my belt and the hundreds of trips Pearl has made to her homeland, neither of us had ever experienced an agent telling us: “Sorry, you missed your flight!”
Standing at the ticket counter open-mouthed in utter amazement, we questioned the agent on “her mistake.” She gaped at us in an attempt at pity, but without mercy, said: “Oh, yes, your flight was at 8:00 a.m. NOT 8:00 p.m.!” Pearl and I scampered off, whimpering in dismay.
A nearby kindly gentleman told us to hurry over to the Indigo flight ticketing agent to see if that airline had any last-minute cancellations, which, upon investigation, they did — ONE ticket! Another dilemma to our debacle — one ticket, two people. Further cajoling landed us a “saved” ticket at Indigo Airlines with us scurrying off to the nearby tour group ticket booth to again find one more ticket! Praise God, we were back in business!
MUMBAI
Having finally arrived in Mumbai, we relaxed in the pool of the Novotel Hotel — the final stop before the tiring 25-hour flight through Frankfurt and on to the good ol’ USA. At the pool I met up with a security guard who had been on the job for five years and was hoping to move up for his family’s welfare. Not surprisingly, the guard, Rajeev Jenna, believed in many gods, but after I gave him the scripture Jeremiah 29:11, he had lots more to think about and told me so.
FRANKFURT
Pearl and I parted ways in Mumbai with her off to Dubai to visit a friend, while I finally boarded the plane from Mumbai to Frankfurt. I thanked the good Lord that my flight landed a full half hour early because I had only one hour to switch planes. Pearl had the foresight to sign me up as either “feeble or lame,” thus I had a riding transport waiting to deliver me from gate AA to gate ZZ, which I thought would be only a simple matter of travel from one end of the long terminal to the other. However, if you have never been to the Frankfurt airport, it is the size of a rather large city. My riding transport had to be changed twice, and on and off an elevator twice, as well. I had to traverse two different levels and at each point a passport and boarding pass had to be shown again. Nearing the ZZ gate, my companion, Benedict, realized my predicament and he, too, got anxious, which put me in a real tizzy! He grabbed a nearby wheelchair, gently shoved me into it and dashed the final stretch, all the while telling me of his dilemma with the “former love of his life” — a girlfriend of five years who had recently broken off their engagement. I prayed with him while he made the fifty-yard dash in record breaking time. He finally dropped me at the waiting plane to find that I was the last one to board the plane. Benedict left with a smile because he now realized that Jeremiah 29:11 would be at work in his life for a faithful mate in his future.
USA
After nine hours of a non-sleep flight, seated in the middle seat in the last row directly in front of the lavatories, scrunched between two giant sized youthful men, my feet finally touched American soil in Chicago.
Next adventure? Getting my luggage and myself to an Amtrak train station to Lansing, Michigan. Problem? Nawww, not if you consider calling an Uber to drive me from the Chicago airport to the train station with mountainous stairs to climb in both directions and two suitcases in hand a problem!
Finally, seeing the familiar faces of two long-time friends, Don and Shirley, who were at the Lansing train station to pick me up for a long rest at their home while awaiting my husband’s arrival from Trinidad, put a song in my heart.
Endearment for one’s own country — the USA — is intrinsic. However, a unique affinity for another country is spirit-led, as is mine for India.
Rev. Rosie Korfant is an ordained minister under Gospel Crusade International and is currently the Marketing/Hospitality Co-Director of The Family Church at Christian Retreat in Bradenton, Florida. For seven years she was the activities coordinator of Davita Medical Group in Sun City Center.