Travel Day & SO MUCH MORE!!!!

 

It was a total of 8000 flight miles on 3 flights that started with me arriving at LAX at 6 pm on Monday April 1st for my 9 pm flight and ended 28 travel hours later plus a 3 hour time zone change at 1:05 am on April 3rd when I landed in Porto Velho Honestly the flights were not too bad…I slept about 5 hours on the first 8 1/2 hour flight (LAX to Lima) & was fortunate to have a window seat to sleep against & an open middle seat! I had only a 2 hour layover that went quick, and once next 6 hour flight napped an hour, watched movies & listened to podcasts en route to Sao Paulo (South Eastern part of Brazil-which is a BIG country).

In São Paulo I had a 6 hour layover but had to go thru customs (when they asked if I was here for business or pleasure I said “humanitarian-medical mission”. After she stamped my passport she said I could stay 3 mos!!! I assured her I’d be home in < 2 weeks. I then had to claim my luggage & keep it with me until it was 3 hours prior to my next flight??? I also exchanged $$$, found pizza to eat (it’s universal) rechecked  my luggage & the absolute best $30 I spent was for a 3 hour pass at the Urban Lounge!!! Not like an LAX fancy lounge but a quiet place where I relaxed a bit had several Coke Zeros & MOST IMPORTANTLY took a shower so that I was fresh & ready for the last 3 1/2 hour flight northwest to Porto Velho. 

Geography is NOT a strength of mine but this flight pattern seemed a bit crazy but “everyone’s on the same flight pattern” I am told either from São Paulo or Brasilia.

Shortly after I arrived in São Paulo, Pres. Rocha WhatsApp called me to “Welcome me to Brazil” & ask if I could join a video call from the airport at 9 pm tonight.  He does not speak English & I don’t speak Portuguese so it was interesting communicating! After my 3 hours in the lounge I had to go back thru security & to my next gate. By 9 I still didn’t have the video call appt so I text him & then it was sent. 

I was amazed & overwhelmed that Pres. Rocha had put a video meeting together with some bishops, Relief Society presidents, and a couple missionaries acting as translators to talk about the many needs in this area. PLUS there is also someone local who is LDS working with this Operation Smile Mission who said he would look for me at breakfast in the morning to meet in person! 

They are planning on connecting with me every day and working through the Relief Society sisters for the most urgent family needs. 

Clearly this is why God needed me to be on this mission and why friends have been so generous in sending me with $$$. I was both humbled and so uplifted at the same time that I have the opportunity once again to be the conduit of others goodness & generosity towards people in need that none of us know…. SO AMAZING how Gods hand is in the details of individuals lives & I believe my anxiety over coming was the adversary trying to get me to doubt going….

During my video call I got a text re. a friends needs for a grandchild going to the CHOC ED, so I was trying to text a bit during the call then able to call friends at CHOC to give them some TLC. I had stepped away from my gate for all of this & the whole time I was talking a couple was staring at me & later I saw an Op Smile tag on their backpack & they are local volunteers from Brazil on this mission team & they had come in from another state in Brazil & waited 12 hours in the São Paulo airport for this flight. She is an OR nurse & he does medical records & they were SO KIND!

Once I was seated on the plane I saw Ambra the Op Smile Champion Director who was the person who requested me as a “Champion Educator” on this mission & perhaps has no idea that she was the first “domino to be stacked” for all of these wonderful things to fall into place. Emma another Op Smile Volunteer coordinator was also with her so it was nice for the 5 of us to get our luggage & travel to the hotel together! My luggage was the last one to come out & I did have a few moments of panic & was so happy to see my bag! We got in our taxi to drive to the hotel &I got the distinct idea that stopping at red lights is optional here at least at 2 am as we rolled thru about 5 of them on the drove at a normal speed.

Once I got to the hotel my good luck ran out…they could not find my name on the rooming list, possibly because I arrived a night later than planned. Ambra helped sort it out & found where I was supposed to be so I headed there, went in the room & woke up 2 other Op Smile volunteers at 2 am who were already in the room & sleeping. Not my finest moment.   I went back down to the lobby & they placed me in another room with only one person this time but when I went back up the key didn’t work because that person had bolted the door. So I went back down & they called the room, woke my roomie up & I went back up & got in 😊 It’s 2:30 am am & I wrote this as a “note” in my phone so I wouldn’t forget & could add it to my blog today which means I will always be a day behind. I think our wake up call is 7 am. So good night from Porto Velho. My heart is bursting at the INCREDIBLE blessing it is for me to be here as a part of this Op Smile Team and impact some children’s & families lives, to train others so they can continue this work and then to see Gods hand in connecting me  with these dear church members who live & serve one another in Brazil. I am immensely grateful as I go to bed!