Bumpy Beginnings

Our carrier

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International travel is not for the faint of heart.  One should always be prepared for the unforseen.  On Tuesday, July 3, Bud and Kathy were scheduled to fly out of Sky Harbor and head for Heathrow Airport in London. But someone on the British side of the pond left a suspicious package in terminal 4 alerting the already stressed-out security people.  The Heathrow terminal was evacuated and shut down to all incoming flights, including the one the Downs duo was to fly on. That meant we would lose the first day of our trip, including a reserved hotel room in Milan.  Here is where our trip insurance begins to look like a good idea.

We've been through this drill before so we weren't really surprised. In fact, it somtimes seems like "business as usual." The only problem is that I don't always react with the patience and understanding that pastors are supposed to model.  But one thing I can always count on is the  statement I normally hear from Kathy: "Maybe God has a better idea!"  Now it seems like I have uttered things like that recently in my messages but she always seems to pick up on those phrases long before I do.

Our destination

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But British Air didn't let us down. They arranged for us to leave July 4 at 6:30 AM for Chicago where we are to pick up a BA plane to Heathrow and then on to Milan. We should get into Milan about 3:00 PM on July 5--one day late, but still in one piece, and for that we will be thankful.