Left Behind...Almost
We just received Dan Frost back from the dead, so to speak. When we arrived at the airport from our jaunt to the city, Dan cleaned his passport pouch. When he did, he tore up his ticket on the next flight thinking it was a receipt of some sorts. Thank the Lord that he did not throw it away but he littered! When we were called to the plane 2 hours later, he could not find his ticket. We actually got to the point that we agreed he would have to purchase another ticket for tomorrow morning and sleep and the hotel at the airport.
But God had other plans.
He gave us favor with everyone but the head flight control lady. The security people quickly let Dan out and back in with very little hassle. He then proceeded to ask the ladies to tape it together so the could see the numbers. All the while, the head flight lady was accusing him of making a mockery of their airline, Lufthansa. We, on the plane knew none of this. We thought he was staying, so when the stewardess announced that we were waiting for a missing passenger I told her he was not coming. At that point, she informed me of the ripped ticket and that he was coming! Praise the Lord! Dan was greeted to the plane by a round of applause from our Latvia team!
Day One (or something...)
The flight went very well with very little waiting! Everyone did well on the flight and I actually slept! When we arrived in Frankfurt it took us some time to figure out how to store our luggage. Everyone was excited about the opportunity to see another country during our layover. Frank acquired information from a stewardess and that helped us get to downtown Frankfurt.
While we were there—1.5 hours—we split into two groups and saw quite bit of the city. We were located in more of the "State Street" district, so it was very beautiful. As we were meeting to leave, I was approached by a man who wanted money and I followed my protocol and said "No." God humbled me, though, by letting me watch Brad see the situation from another angle. He purposed in his heart to witness to him and he did it well. It was such a blessing to see the transaction; however, the man did no pray to receive Christ. Now we are waiting in the Frankfurt airport to board our plane to Riga. This has been a great day!
Almost there!
Oh, it was so good to get off the plane! My backside was sooo sore. As I've never been out of the country, I've never been in such a small place for such a long time. Praise God that was the only "difficulty" on the flight! There was only a little turbulence; in fact, I think our flight plan changed because of weather conditions. We got in to Frankfurt about 20 minutes later than we expected.
Since we had a seven-and-a-half hour layover, we decided we'd run around Frankfurt for a while. We left our carry-on luggage at a baggage check and took the train into the city. Curtis, Cara, and I walked around a shopping district, peering into shops with names both familiar and unfamiliar. Part of the area seemed like Rodeo Drive, with Cartier, Armani, and Versace stores; a block over were Main Street-type shops. We stopped for some bratwurst (it's Germany, right? Eric went to McDonald's. Sheesh!) and also got some German chocolate. The locals were very patient with us.
As we were touring, we came across the Opera House, the
old Opera House, that is.
Wheels Up!
We left the ground at 7:05, just about fifteen minutes behind schedule. With a ten-and-a-half hour flight ahead of us, I suppose a few extra minutes doesn't matter.
The information on the in-flight screens shows we are traveling at 504mph at an altitude of 38000 feet. It's -45°F outside.
Getting to LAX was uneventful but, while going through security, Brad and Dan got singled out to have their carry-on luggage searched. Even so, it didn't take long, and we were sitting down at the gate at 4:25pm. Wow! No real problems and no stress.
We spent the next two hours hanging out, waiting for a 6:25 boarding time. We actually started boarding at 6:05...and here we are.
Boy, these seats are close together! It's going to be a long flight. Typing on my laptop is slightly uncomfortable, but I won't be doing much of that, considering I just found out—contrary to the information on Lufthansa's website—that there is no Internet access in economy class. So I won't be able to post this until at least 3:00pm in Frankfurt (6am in Highland).
[Actually, I had to post this after we got to Riga, since access in Frankfurt wasn't available that I could easily find.]
