Update from Myanmar

Below is my report that covers the last two days of our trip. I will make one more report tomorrow with some thoughts on the experience that we had on our trip.

Blessings!

Fred

Wednesday, January 29, 2014.

Our last day in Myanmar. Lazarus picked us up at 8 am this morning and we drove over to the Yangon Christian College campus (also where Lazarus and his family live). Lazarus asked us to speak to the students and share with them some of the insights that we had from our trip to Myitkyina and the conference where we spoke. Each of us talked for about 15 minutes and told them how much we enjoyed our time in Myitkyina and how encouraged we were to find such Godly men and women.

We then visited with Lazarus' family and got an update about Acha, Lazarus' wife, who was badly injured in an auto accident last spring. Thank The Lord, she has mostly recovered but does still have some issues with one of her legs that will require additional surgery. After talking with us for a while, Acha then prepared a nice lunch for us. The highlight was her egg rolls! They are probably the best egg rolls that I have ever had!!

After lunch, Lazarus took us sightseeing in Yangon and then to the market for some shopping for souvenirs. We then went back to the college and rested some before taking Lazarus' family out for dinner. We wanted to buy their dinner as a way to say thank you for all that Lazarus had done to make our trip such a great success.

For dinner we took them to the Golden Duck restaurant (I ate at this restaurant on my previous trip to Myanmar last year). The food was great! Of course, we had to have roasted duck.

After dinner, Lazarus and his family took us to the airport and we said our goodbyes. It was 8 pm and we had to wait until 9:30 pm to check-in for our flight to Seoul. So, we waited in the airport terminal and was able to get on the internet, check our email, Facebook, etc., and get updated on the news and sports from back in the US.

Our flight left Yangon at 11:55 pm for Seoul, South Korea. The plane was not full so we were able to spread out and get some rest. During the six hour flight, I must have slept for at least four hours or so.


Thursday, January 30, 2014.

We arrived in Seoul at 7:30 am. It was really foggy and on our descent into the airport we had somewhat of a scare. The altitude of the plane had been dropping for some time and the pilot had already put down the landing gear when all of a sudden he put the airplane's nose up and hit the gas. He then put the wheels back up and we made a big loop around the airport and then landed without any problem. I'm not sure what happened? The pilot never came on the intercom to tell us so we were not sure why he did what he did. I can tell you one thing. I was sure glad to get off that plane!

We had about two hours layover time before our next flight. We first had to go through a security check before going to the gate. After we did this, we started off to find our gate and then spotted a Burger King. After eating rice for 10 days, we just had to hit the "King". I ordered a whopper and a sprite. I think Dale had a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. The whopper sure tasted good!

I was not looking forward to our next flight and having to sit on an airplane for 14 hours. My plan was to get on the plane, take a Tylenol PM, and go to sleep.

Our flight departed right on schedule which meant that we would arrive in Atlanta at about 10 am. This was a Korea Air flight and was on an Airbus A380-800 aircraft. They call this type of plane a "super jumbo jet" because it can hold up to 555 passengers and is much bigger than a Boeing 747. The plane actually has two floors! We had a very good flight and I was able to sleep about 7-8 hours as well as do some reading.

We arrived about 30 minutes ahead of schedule so we did have to wait a few minutes before going to the gate. I finally noticed all the snow that was around the Atlanta area and was even still on parts of the runways and taxi ways. Later, while waiting for our next flight, I was able to read a USA Today newspaper and find out just how badly Atlanta had been hit by the winter storm.

Once we deboarded the plane we had to go through customs. This time, unlike my last experience coming back from Jamaica, we had no problems whatsoever and zipped through without a hitch. I would estimate that it only took us 30 minutes to get our bags, clear customs, recheck our bags for the Lexington flight, and go through the TSA security check. I think that this was a record!

After this, Dale and I went to find our gate for the final leg of our journey. On the way, we stopped and got a sandwich from a burger place. I had a hot dog and some french fries. It was sure good not to have to eat rice!

Our flight to Lexington was about 15 minutes late leaving the gate but we were still able to arrive in Lexington a few minutes ahead of schedule. I had previously texted Michelle on our departure from Atlanta and she was waiting outside the baggage claim area to pick us up. Dale and I got our bags, loaded them into the back of the car, and then headed home. It was good to be back in the USA, even if it was a lot cooler here in Lexington than it was in Myanmar.

Dale and I had traveled 18,850 miles since leaving Lexington on January 19th. We had an incredible journey that neither of us will ever forget. Thank you Lord for allowing us to the honor and privilege of visiting with the Lisu Christians in Myitkyina, Myanmar and sharing with them the message of Lead Like Jesus. What an experience!



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