Jesus Triumphs Over the Enemy, ALWAYS

Preparing for this trip was certainly not as easy as I was thinking it would be. It was more like running a marathon. If you don't know me well, I really don't run... ever! When the time came to board the airplane I was exhausted physically, mentally, and especially spiritually. The last 24 hours I spent in the states I was an emotional roller coaster, or better put, a hot mess! It was a day full of tests and trials, but I continually saw God's hand at work.

The first hurdle accrued when my travel agent of a mother checked us in the day before we left. Long story short, she wasn't able to check me in because I didn't have a VISA. The max amount of time one can stay in Nicaragua without a residency or VISA is three months. I was aware of this, but planned to apply for an extension when my time was up. Needless to say, Saluki Travel employee made some calls, and found out the safest route was to have proof by plane or boat that I was planning to leave the country after 3 months. So in the last hours, we bought a plane ticket.

Adding more stress to this day, as if we needed it, we still weren't packed. My procrastinating attributes sometime like to shine bright in the worst of moments. We finally finished around 5pm, only to find out every suitcase was over weight, including the extra we packed. So back to condensing and repacking for us. This chaos came to an end around 10pm. 

After this long day, we had another one ahead of us. Mom, Dad, and I arrived bright and early at the Evansville airport with hopes of checking two bags each for free. When your mom is a travel agent, she typically tries to find every traveling loop hole. We were a little nervous because on previous trips this took lots of negotiating and explanting. 

As we approached the counter, and mom explained what we hoped to do, the man agreed. No questions asked, or negotiating done. Not only did he allow each of us to check two bags for free, but he also allowed four of them to be overweight. 

With the first possible problem under our belt, next came security. As I previously explained, mothers in the travel agent business sometimes take things to the extreme. So what did Luci Maynard attempt to do next you may ask? She only tried to smuggle a T.V. in her carry on. Your next question is probably why, which is very reasonable. Well, she just wanted to bless the missionary. Remarkably, there were no questions asked, and it was smooth sailing for us. 

When we safely arrived in Atlanta, knowing we didn't have much time, we quickly grabbed dinner and made it to our gate, or what we thought was our gate. Our gate had been moved, but no one knew where to. Quite helpful, yes we thought the same thing. We had a mini panic realizing we could potentially have to run to a different terminal. After about 20 minutes of waiting in the unknown, our new gate was announced, and we made the short journey. Time was quickly approaching to board the plane, and no one wanted to miss the flight. All the panic to find out we had about a 30 minute delay. You see, not only did we make our flight, but God generously allowed us extra time. He's just pretty thoughtful like that.

We had overcome several rough patches, but still had one left. Upon arriving in Nicaragua, you must pass through customs. Where you fill out paper work as to why you're in the country, and are typically asked an ample amount of questions. Not going to lie, I was a tad scared. What would the custom man say when he found out I planned on being in the county for six months, and without a VISA? Well, he didn't say a word. He simply looked at my passport, stamped it, and collected my papers. Well, that was easy!

Yes, because the God I serve cares about his people. He doesn't lead them on journeys only to watch them be crushed by the enemy when our eyes are fixed on him. He cares so much that this day he did much more than what I'v already told you. He placed the sweetest lady next to my mother on one of our flights. She was able to bring peace to mom, and encourage me. All of our bags made it safe to Nicaragua, passed through security once agin, and so did we. 

This day was full of blessing after blessing. SO perhaps you've come to a rut in your path, just as I had MANY this day. I encourage you to keep your eyes locked on King Jesus, and he will take care of you. 

Just remember what is written in Romans 16:20,
"The God of peace will soon CRUSH Satan under your feet."