Well, today I finally arrived in Zambia. 7:30 am in Lusaka and I wondered to myself if all my bags made it and if I am going to be able to lug them all over to Profight to board my little puddle jumper. Praise God all my luggage made it and 2 young men helped me with my bags, for a tip of course. J As I make it over to preflight I realize I have lost my confirmation print out. I am hoping they can just pull it up in their system but I am not very confident this will happen. After about 45 minutes they inform me that the only record they show in the system is for a future flight in July of 2011. That is funny, I have no idea what they are talking about but instead of buying a whole new ticket at full price I get them to change that flight for today and still have to pay but it is only $50. I hand them my visa debit card and it doesn’t work. I had major problems in London because my card did not have a chip of some sort so I was unable to withdrawal money. I normally carry a good amount of cash when tra velling but was nervous to do so this time around. Live and learn I guess. Anyways, back to my current dilemma. They told me to try the ATM and I thought to myself, “here we go again”. I walked out of the office and I very easily could have had a melt down. I was operating on 2 or 3 hours of sleep in a 48 hour time frame and my mind was starting to wander as I wondered what I would do if this didn’t work. My cell battery was almost completely dead; I had maybe $5 cash on me and a visa that had failed me time and time again. I was close to tears and then I did what I needed to do most- PRAY! As I attempted to push 2 trolleys worth of luggage, over 200 lbs worth I prayed. I reached the ATM and saw the visa symbol. I was amazed because I was told that in Zambia only a MasterCard works. I said ok Lord, thank you for this now please help it to actually work. I punched in my code and the withdrawal amount, and then listed for seemed like an eternity as the machine processed my request with a loud wooring sound. Then my heart sunk, the screen said please take your card. Before I had time to think about what I would do next a new message appeared on the screen, Please take your cash. Please take your cash?!?!?!? Oh my goodness, what a relief. Thank you God!! I took out what I could which amounted to about $140. I walked back to Proflight with a little skip in my step so thankful for how God had provided for me again in my time of need. I paid the $50 for my new ticket and sat waiting for boarding. I paid the $8 airport tax then took my bags to check them in and put them up on the scale one at a time. The lady behind the counter informed me that I would need to pay for my baggage because it was beyond the weight allowance. I mentioned that the website said if I was transferring directly from another international flight no charges would be incurred. She said that is only up to a certain weight and I must pay. I said a quick prayer then asked how much. In US dollars it came out to $85. As I counted out the Kwacha (Zambia’s currency) I almost started laughing. After paying for the new ticket, airport tax and now the baggage fee I had exactly $1 left. God is so good! I am so thankful that I serve a God that is so intimately involved in the details of my life. Lord, may I always keep these moments on my mind and when I am discouraged may they encourage my heart.
I am glad to hear you made it safely despite the difficulty of withdrawing cash. God is so good. He knows exactly how much we need.
ReplyDeleteIt is so good to write these things down. Not only has God given us His precious Word to remind us but also these unique, personal experiences to remind us of His love and abiding presence with us. My heart is encouraged to read of how God is revealing Himself to you.
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