The Canadian Chronicles, part 1

My first solo international flight... I waited excitedly at my gate for my connecting flight to Chicago. Then it was off to Montreal!

Sarah and I had "met" online through blogging. We immediately hit it off through e-mailing and phone calls and before I knew it, her family extended an invitation to me to stay with them for a week. It took a little coaxing to convince my mom that it would be fine, and in May I purchased my airline tickets to Montreal for the first week of August. Little did I know that week would be life-altering.

01 August 2006

An excrutiatingly long lay-over in Chicago was spent eating Chinese food and people watching. I kept a list in my journal:

Hassidic Jews: 1
Orthodox Jews: 2
People with a limp: 8
Indian people: 3
Non-military people wearing camo: 8
People with wacky hair: 2

Five minutes before my flight was to leave, I discovered I was at the wrong gate (the flight was leaving for Nebraska). In a surge of panic, I called my mom to look online for my proper gate and then bolted towards my correct gate. Fortunately for me, a flight attendant went AWOL and delayed the flight half an hour while the airline acquired a replacement.

I got an entire row to myself and stretched across with a book my mother had given me: A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot. As I read of Amy Carmichael's constant surrender to the Lord, I was convicted that there were areas in my life that I had not surrendered to the Lord. I wanted to live in a constant state of surrender like Amy did and asked the Lord for forgiveness. Right there, in mid-air, I surrendered everything -- all of my plans -- to the Lord. I wrote in my journal:

This is a turning point -- no returns, no regrets. This was my problem -- I was not living surrender. Now I think I shall begin to see the Lord work in mighty ways... and I want more than anything for Him to use me.

There is such a great difference between experiencing moments of surrender and actually living surrender itself. Just what that difference is, I have yet to discover, but I do not think my life will ever be the same after this moment. What changes will I see, I wonder?

Looking back, I can say: many changes. If only I had known what I was praying for!

I went through customs without any trouble (a rare event for me) and found my way to baggage claim. It took a while to find the right baggage claim, but once I did there was no trouble spotting my loud lime green luggage (I did that on purpose). I looked up at the signs for guidance to the exit. It was all in French.

Then the thought occurred to me for the first time: I am in a country I've never been to before where I can't speak their language, looking for people I've never met before and trusting they'll be here to pick me up to stay with them for an entire week. Am I crazy? I dismissed the thought and headed for the exit (best way to find the exit in a foreign country is to follow the crowds).