Getting There

Written by Julie and Diana

Ty, Joi, the three children, Diana and Julie all left Blacksburg on

January 10th with a very full minivan and a trailer behind loaded with

8 large shipping containers, 1 bicycle and 7 suitcases headed for

Dulles International Airport. After the 5 hour drive we stopped at the

National Air and Space Museum (right next to the airport) to stretch

our legs and let the kids run around.

We got to the airport where we met up with Nancy. Nancy is 19 and is

spending the next few months helping out at City of Hope, especially

with the Hopkins kids. (She will introduce herself a bit more soon!)

It was quite a process to get 8 people checked in and 17 pieces of

luggage checked! But we finally made it to our gate and to our first

flight to Paris, which thankfully was an uneventful 8-hour flight!

Then came Paris…

Paris was not as uneventful! For whatever reason, we were not able to

get our boarding passes for the flight from Paris to Nairobi when we

were in DC. One very important lesson: you can’t go anywhere in an

airport without a boarding pass! We were concerned that if we couldn’t

get the boarding passes in time we would miss our flight, which

would’ve caused a multiple-day delay. After getting sent in different

directions by at least 4 different airport attendants, going up

escalators, down hallways, on one tram and a bus, we finally made it

to the international transfer desk  and made it to our gate with just

minutes to spare. (Along with many other people which we found out

were in the same boat!) Joi was deeply disappointed to miss her chance

to eat a bona fide Parisian croissant.

Then once we were on the plane, we had to wait for a passenger coming

from a delayed flight and sat for an hour and a half before taking

off! Diana really enjoyed having a spiritual conversation during the

flight with an African Catholic nun sitting by her. So after another

long flight we landed in Nairobi much later than anticipated.

Thankfully, the immigration line was shorter than Ty and Joi had ever

seen it, and we were able to get through very quickly!

However, we were some of the last people to leave baggage claim

because of how long it took to get our 17 pieces of luggage, one of

which (the baby stroller) never showed up! The drivers who picked us

up performed a miracle getting all of our luggage into a small van and

a car! So, the flight landed at 11pm, and we didn’t leave the airport

until 1:20am! Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we

got to the guesthouse and everybody ended up getting almost 10 hours

of sleep!

We spent Sunday resting and re-packing while Ty ran some errands in

the city, and we leave for Tanzania on a charter flight Monday

morning!

“Now to Him who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that

is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do

superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think

[infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or

dreams]—To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout

all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).” Ephesians 3:20-21

(Amplified)

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Julie is spending the next three months in Tanzania with the Hopkins

as a mission intern. She is 23 and lives in Radford Virginia, working

as a server at Olive Garden. She is taking the next three months to

work at City of Hope with the Hopkins, seeking the Lord and some

clarity for what the future holds for her. She recently graduated with

a degree in Women’s Ministry and is excited to see what opportunities

she will have to use it.

Diana is Joi’s mom and a 63 year old mother of 3 and grandmother of 7.

She is at City of Hope to help out in whatever way she can. She is

praying that God will soften her heart to other cultures and their

other ways of life, and wants to develop more of a heart of compassion

for third world cultures. She is excited to see how God will transform her heart through this experience.