Sunday and Monday, January 19-20, 2014.
Dale Sanders and I left Lexington at 6:15 am on Sunday for Myanmar. The first stop was Chicago where we would catch a flight to Seoul, South Korea. We had about a five hour layover in Chicago. Not much was open when we arrived so we just sat, talked and waited.
The plane for Seoul departed right on schedule. It was a 13 hour 50 flight. The plane was very comfortable and had more leg room than most. Additionally, it was not a full flight and both Dale and I had an empty seat next to us so we were able to spread out. The food was really good as well. For the first meal, I had vegetables, rice, and soup (a traditional Korean dish). It was very good. I had chicken and rice for the second meal, which also was very good. It came with a small salad and chocolate cake for dessert. I was most of all impressed by the service that the very smartly dressed young flight attendants gave to us. All in all, this was a very good flight.
Before leaving on Sunday, Eloise, my mother in law, gave me a book she wanted me to read: "Exodus to a Hidden Valley" by Eugene Morse. It tells the story of the Morse family, who were missionaries to the Lisu people of Myanmar (Burma) and China, and details their trials and struggles as they ministered to the people of northern Myanmar in the Kachin state and how they dealt with persecution and ultimately deportation. What a great book! I read the entire 225+ page book during this flight. I couldn't put it down. Reading this book is especially timely in that Dale and I will be speaking at a pastor's conference in the city of Myitkyina and it is the Morse family who were responsible for planting most of the churches that these pastors represent.
We arrived in Seoul on time but it seemed like it took forever to taxi to the gate. Once they let us get up and start to deboard the airplane it was a mad dash by everyone it try to get off and catch their next flight. We had to go through security screening again and the lines were terribly long. When we made it to our gate we had just 10 minutes before they started to board our flight that would take us on to Yangon. This flight would be six hours long. By now, my hips and back were already hurting.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014.
The flight to Yangon was uneventful. I read a little while and was able to sleep probably four of the six hours. I gave Dale the book on the Morse family and he read part of it on the flight to Yangon. When we get to Yangon it will be about 10:30 pm local time and most likely after getting our bags and going through customs, it will be about midnight when we will leave the airport for the hotel. Lazarus Fish, and most likely several of his family members, will be at the airport to meet us and take us to our hotel. We should be able to get some rest because we do not fly out for Myitkyina until 1 pm tomorrow afternoon.
Our flight did not arrive until almost 11:30 pm. We were late getting out of Seoul because the plane had to be de-iced before we could take off. Once we landed in Yangon, we had no problems getting our luggage and going through the customs check. Lazarus and his three daughters and his son were there to meet us. We loaded up our bags in his new (slightly used) van and headed to the hotel. Lazarus informed me that we would be staying at the Hotel Ruby, which is the place we stayed at last year. He did not say why the change in hotels, but at midnight who really cares. Hotel Ruby is not a four star hotel but it is clean, safe, has hot water and A/C, so it works for me. Plus, it is really inexpensive.
We got checked in and went straight to bed. It was about 1 am. I woke up a couple of times during the night but overall slept pretty well for being in a new place. I got up at around 7 am and went to check on Dale to see if he was up. We decided to do breakfast at 8 am, so I went back to my room to get a shower and get ready. Breakfast was good. They give you the standard thing: two eggs (fried), two pieces of toast, butter, jelly, and apple slices. I tried last year to order my eggs scrambled but they still brought me fried eggs, so this morning I just went with the flow.
At least we do have wifi here at this hotel. I'm not sure that we will come back and stay here when we return from Myitkyina. By the way, Lazarus informed us that our flight that is scheduled to bring us back to Yangon has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 28th instead of Monday the 27th. He said that they are working on the runway and have cancelled all flights on that day. We will check with the airline to confirm that and make sure we have seats on the Tuesday flight when we get to the airport this afternoon.
Well, that is my first report from Myanmar. Lord willing, we will have some internet connectivity at the hotel in Myitkyina. I plan on posting again this evening after our flight. So, stayed tuned. More to follow from Myanmar.
Please be in prayer for us and for those who will be attending the conference that we will be speaking at starting tomorrow. I pray that God will give us the right words that we tell them what He wants them to hear.
Blessings!
Fred
Sent from my iPad
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