(Final report on December 9, 2010 at 12:15 a.m. London time --in the Heathrow Airport Waiting Room--Thursday)
Dear Family and Friends:
Our plane got to London last night at 6 and our flight home doesn’t start until 10 a.m. So we had a decision to make. We inquired about hotels nearby and how to get to them and decided to sit it out at the Heathrow waiting room rather than spend maybe $300 to get a doubtful night’s sleep and back in time to fly home as per schedule. $300 would buy 3 sewing machines in India and help a lot of people to earn a livelihood for some time into the future. There are some other “brave” (or broke) souls here too toughing it out on the benches. Some even stretch out on them for a while until the bones rebel. Glenn did that for more than an hour and Mary Alice followed.
We feared that we could not use the time wisely with computer work because the battery was low and it costs 1 Lb. for 10 minutes to plug into the Internet nearby. After getting a few things we have only 1 Lb left and don’t want to change more $ for Lb if we don’t have to. Then we discovered an electric outlet within a few feet of our sitting area. The custodian told us we are welcome to use it to recharge the computer and I-Pod for use on the flight home. And we can be productive during this waiting time. So blessings come in many ways.
Just before we left Aizawl for Calcutta we did get some video of Biaka and his wife Nettie singing, but then both of them were hoarse and it ended. We hope it will come through well into the computer. Initial efforts to put all the video of the trip into the computer failed. There is some problem with it not wanting to import MPEG files. So there will need to be some research and corrective action. Otherwise we will put them onto the desktop at home, but that will not be until after January 1.
On the way to the Aizawl airport we saw the landslide areas that the road crews are still trying to straighten out. In Aizawl itself there is a lot of digging into the mountain with big front-end loaders trying to get more space to build houses and other buildings. We wonder if they will undermine the foundation of the houses above and cause even more losses. A big earthquake there would take down the whole town because of the precarious foundations of most of the buildings. They are not allowed to build anything higher than 7 stories since the earth is not solid enough to support it.
Biaka and Zosiama and wife came to the airport with us and were helpful in getting our luggage checked in. The bananas came in good for us all to have a light lunch while waiting. The plane was an hour late and some wondered if the flight would be cancelled because of the cloud cover hanging over some of the mountains. It cleared and we reached Calcutta at about 5 p.m. because of the repeated delays in flying from Aizawl.
The most dangerous part of our trip was the infamous taxi ride from the Calcutta airport to the SDA School where we stay. The 24 year-old driver plans to marry in another 4 years but must first find a girl friend and save enough money. It will be a wonder if he survives another four years as taxi driver there. He would drive at freeway speeds to get into an open space two car lengths ahead and then jam on the brakes to stop a half inch before crashing into the car he thus caught up to. This is repeated every few seconds, jerking and jolting our way for an hour and twenty minutes. All this is accompanied by the cacophony of the horns blaring all around with no perceivable purpose other than making some kind of electronic statement. Glenn gave him a good tip even though he didn’t ask for it. Maybe it was a rerouted thank offering to the Lord for surviving yet another taxi ride in Calcutta. It was too dark to video and you wouldn’t have believed it anyhow, probably.
There had been a “change” in our room reservation. The Division Secretary had come and they let him have our room. It turned out to be a blessing because we saved RS 400 and had a larger room for repacking the suitcases. The only thing missing was the bathroom and we had access to a common facility just down the hall. There were few other guests so we nearly had a private bath at that.
We really needed that free day in Calcutta to rest up and repack before the homeward stretch. Glenn got a lot of computer work done while Mary Alice rearranged the contents of our luggage. Even with the gifts given us we had more space than when we came so there was no hassle about overweight. We still have enough food from home left to make our meal this morning at the airport. Once on the plane our meals will be provided.
The taxi ride back to the Calcutta airport from the school was in complete contrast to the previous one. Since our flight was to be at 6:15 a.m. we left the school at 3:30. There was very little traffic and the driver got us there in less than half an hour. Glenn tipped him well. He drove carefully at 60 Km per hour on the open road. At that early hour we were not bothered with all the “helpers” who usually try to take over your luggage and expect a hefty tip. We easily got our things where they needed to be and there were no long lines either. So we had leisure time before boarding the plane to Delhi.
Food was available for purchase on the plane from Calcutta to Delhi, but we had bought a really good vegeberger each with some banana chips at the airport at reasonable prices and dined before getting on. There was spice heat in the sandwiches but we had some apple rings from home that “detoxed” and soothed.
From Delhi to London we were on a Boeing 777 with really comfortable seats and good food. We could sleep some and listen to a lot of good things on I-Pod with earphones and hope for a similar experience from London to Chicago.
London is cold and we were glad for the jackets and sweater that we packed at home. It is also cold here in the waiting room, so we made good use of some of the cloth gifts we received in India packed in our hand luggage. It sure is good to have the two check-ons out of our way clear to Chicago.
All the airports in India that we are acquainted with have been seriously upgraded. The one in Delhi is almost new and very clean. They built special for the International games recently and we reaped the benefits. If you can believe what they say about the one in Delhi, it is now #1 in the world.
Saying good-bye is always hard. They were all telling us how much they miss us and how lonely they will be without our being among them. It is good to leave with that feeling rather than to discern that we had worn out our welcome by overstaying.
Here at Heathrow Airport in London, there is still a lot to be done to bring it into the convenience enjoyed in so many places elsewhere. We are just glad we have what we really need and can afford.
We will complete this in Chicago and get it on its way. Glenn Paul suggested that Glenn take the sermon in his church this Sabbath and so this extra waiting time gives a head start on that. Also we have an added Vesper service in Glen Bernie the following weekend. With the unexpectedly available electricity here now we can do some preparation.
With love, in His love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Glenn and Mary Alice
P.S. (Friday) Our flight was great to Chicago. Some of the attendants on the plane were amazed that we didn’t get sick again this time in India. They say that most of the airline crew does get sick when they spend any time there. Once again we are thankful for the caution we follow in food and drink and for the extra help from our brothers and sisters and of course, from the Lord. He has been faithful in every way. Glenn Paul picked us up at the airport and you can be sure we are relishing the food we enjoy most and the real showers rather than the makeshift “pour jobs”, not to mention the absence of rats and mice crawling around on our bed when we are asleep. Was it worth the effort, time and money to go once more to India? Yes indeed! The abundant Gospel fruit and rich personal experiences with friends new and old made the “sacrifices” more than worthwhile. It was even enjoyable helping Glenn Paul shovel new snow this morning in the frigid air of Chicago.