This is a look back at Austin’s trip to Uganda in February, 2013.
“Austin, my flight has been cancelled. I’m driving to Chicago to try and catch the plane there.”
Those were Lynn’s words to me as I drove to Detroit Metro Airport to catch my own flight to Chicago. Chicago wasn’t my ultimate destination, you see; Lynn Corker and I had planned on taking separate flights to the Windy City, hopping on the same plane to London Heathrow, then connecting there with a bunch of strangers from Texas and flying to Uganda together for a one-week mission.
A convoluted plan, at best, made worse by the unwelcome surprise of a cancelled flight. I wasn’t too worried, though. If God meant for us to be on this mission, He wouldn’t allow anything to stop us from getting there. Romans 8:31 kept going through my head: “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
I sat in the terminal at Detroit Metro, the screen showing yet another delay for flight BA1797 to O’Hare. Would I make my connection in Chicago? The weather was set against us–my delayed flight was due to the same snowstorm that was slowing down Lynn’s overland progress. Romans 8:31 kept going through my head: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
After landing in Chicago two hours late, I sprinted through the airport, bags swinging behind me, to catch my plane. I made it to the gate just in time, one of the last passengers to board. I breathed a sigh of relief, but too soon.
My phone buzzed with a text from Lynn: “Does not look promising that I will make the flight. Just plan to meet me at the hostel at 2pm tomorrow.” As I boarded the plane alone, Romans 8:31 kept going through my head: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Sitting in a crowded lounge in London nearly 13 hours later, I caught sight of Lynn across the room. She had finally made it. We got back to Heathrow, met up with Pastor Tim and the Texas crew, and flew to Entebbe, Uganda without any further drama. I stood on the tarmac and watched the rest of the team deplane.
Snowstorms, frantic multi-state car trips, Chicago rush hour traffic, delayed flights, cancelled flights. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things?” How insignificant they all seemed as we stood together as a team on the tarmac in Uganda. “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Indeed.
