Namaste!

It’s currently 3 in the morning here and I am listening to Hunter snore away as he’s been sleeping non stop after arriving a few hours ago. We left on Wednesday morning around 8 to drive to the Dallas International Airport. I should also mention that my momma heart was a mess because while we are driving Ben took Finn, Greyson and Asher to the doctor and they ALL had terrible strep! Nooooo! Probably the BEST SURPRISE on the trip was Steph texting me that someone had just called her that morning to bless Owen to come as well! You see… earlier this month I texted Steph that I really thought Owen was supposed to come but we weren’t sure how because we were all pinching pennies already. She said Gods done wild things before and provided unexpectedly so we will have to see… obviously seeing as it was the day of us leaving I thought our team was set but God had different plans and I am so grateful!Welcome aboard Owen! After 5 hours of driving and getting all checked in to the airport we should have only had a 1 hour wait for our plane… but after MULTIPLE DELAYS due to weather we finally left over 4 hours later. They even loaded us in the plane and before we even taxid we had all watched an entire movie. Thank goodness for in flight entertainment right!?

The flight To Doha, Qatar was LOOOOONG. I knew it would be but goodness. I’ve lost track of time but I believe we were in the plane a little over 17 hours. What!!!? And we were not even there yet! We flew up from Dallas to Canada, Greenland and then right on over to Doha, Qatar. It’s called “The Polar Route.”

It was mostly uneventful…until it wasent! The flight attendant accidentally spilled a whole sprite on Hunter and he, his seat, and his clothes were SOAKED. Luckily and seriously at the last minute I threw a change of clothes in from Hunters kindergarten bag. I literally changed him in the seat because the line to the bathrooms was so long! We sat next to a lovely lady that was headed to India and Hunter and I really enjoyed her company. We talked all about her life, Jesus, and her plans in India. She played games with Hunter, and even gave me some advice about our churches. Mrs. Brown, you are a treasure!

When we arrived in to Doha, Qatar and unfortunately missed our flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline was AMAZING. They had new boarding passes ready, hotel vouchers printed and we were told to rest up to catch the plane the following day….at 3 AM. We got through customs and headed that way! Hunter and I were both so excited to get another stamp on our passport.

Perhaps the most exciting part so far was not trekking in an unintended country but just locating and getting to our bags! After a little over a four hour flight we had finally made it! We filled out our Visas and got separated from the group…no big deal right? Except when we came down the stairs we came down to this…. again…in the moment I couldn’t take pictures. I was honestly trying to do my best darn job keeping myself and Hunter collected with our carry ons and emotionally because Hunter was a nervous wreck.

Above is exactly how close we were…can you imagine being waist level in this and your mom pushing you through it? Me neither! Hunter was not impressed! He cried a lot. It was terrible, but there was nothing that I could do except try to scurry him with the crowd and tell him it’s going to be ok. What I will say is the other travelers/locals were so nice and kept yelling “give them some room” or protecting Hunter from the shoving. For that I am grateful!

Somehow I got and FOUND ALL 4 Full size bags in this mess (we only packed our stuff in one but I have 3 for the orphanage). I was soo happy!

Finally- we made it!

We have rested the rest of the day here (while you were sleeping last night) and it’s night time now…(3:13 am specifically). In the morning we are driving a couple hours to stay at Songa, the orphanage. This is where we will have no amenities. No heat, or anything. This will be our rude awakening. Please pray for our bodies to overcome THEIR NORMAL (which will no doubt be the most heartbreaking part) so that we can be the shining light they need to see. Until next time!

Xoxo- please excuse typos! It’s hard to do this from my phone!