Sunday, May 12, 2013

Dear Friends and Family: In Generous' words "God has the perfect plan for your travel and arrival in Uganda". She sent this reassurance to us when we MISSED OUR FLIGHT and were delayed for two days. Dave and I were confidently proceeding to the airport but when we arrived we discovered we were not leaving at 7:40 p.m. as we expected, but at 6:00 p.m.  Even though we had arrived by 5 p.m. we were not allowed to go. Due to a back up at the JFK airport there were no seats available until Monday. We were so discouraged and disheartened. We headed for home suddenly understanding the feeling of frustration when a trip is ruined due to trouble with a flight. We realized that we couldn't even inform our friends in Uganda since it was in the middle of the night for them when we learned our fate. So Sunday morning we got up early and started trying to call Generous, our director, Christopher, our driver, and Tom, our hotel manager,  finding out that none of the phones in our house could call international long distance. We then drove over to Dave's mother's to place the calls, also fielding questions from Dave's various brothers and sisters who expected us to be far, far away. They, of course, had stopped by to wish Dave's Mom "Happy Mothers Day". Anyway, to make a long story shorter, after some further planning and a few tears we figured out a new plan. Meanwhile, the rest of the team scurried around to leave together for the airport. Kelsey had driven all the way from Memphis the night before, arriving home in Midland at 3:15 a.m. Dave Neithamer, her Dad, drove the Memorial  Presbyterian Church van with team members, Elizabeth, Kelsey, John and Michelle to the airport. Dave and Karen drove to Brighton to hand over the cell phones and other necessities integral to their first day in Kampala. Already, the plan has changed from the two of us making the preparations to the four of them handling those details. The good news is that Kelsey, Elizabeth, Michelle, and John had a flawless check in at the Detroit airport and are in the air even as I write this! I want to let all our friends who made pillowcase dresses know what happened with them! We all stuffed them into our luggage as poundage permitted but still had over 100 dresses left. On the way to the airport today, the team discovered there was an extra piece of luggage- another misunderstanding- so they filled it with the dresses Sue had brought to give to me to mail and checked it in for an extra $200.00. Tomorrow Dave and Karen will mail the remaining forty nine dresses and compare the postage to the airline charge! Best of all, the dresses will all be on their way. Our next post might not occur until Tuesday or even Wednesday since we HOPE to be in the air, landing Michigan time on Tuesday around 3:15 p.m. Know that the first four members of the team will arrive in Entebbe about 3:15 p.m. on Monday. They will spend Tuesday visiting the market in Kampala at the National Theatre, having an agricultural meeting, setting up cell phones, exchanging money, and purchasing a TV and DVD player for the village. Don't be alarmed if we don't post every day as power outages are so common in Uganda. We will try our best to keep you informed! Love you all- thanks for your prayers! Karen

3 comments:

  1. Oh No. I am sorry your trip started off so rough. God has a plan though and your are right in trusting your friend Generous. You mission is very important and the other four in your party will get everything set up perfectly for you.

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  2. Dear Karen and Dave--I'm so sorry to hear about your delay. That had to be really hard on you. Prayers are with you for a safe journey (I hope starting today.) Please know I'm loving your posts and look forward to reading and learning from them each day. Please give Innocent a big, big huge and kiss from Tom and I. Thanks for everything, God's blessings on all of you!
    PS I'm not sure if I'm replying correctly--I might need some lessons on this whole thing :)

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  3. If there is one thing I have learned about the Vieles, it's that they can creatively and masterfully handle whatever gets thrown their way. There's a reason why God called you to this mission! The FPC-Holt prayers are with you all.

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