good morning from row 12, economy plus, 35000 feet. don’t ask me how we ended up in economy plus (doesn’t matter one little bit…and don’t mention it to the n.c. guys or ken hubbell because they somehow ended up in back with the a rabble). (you have no idea what a difference a couple of extra inches of legroom can make.) (carla, by the way, is in the back of the plane standing. flying is not her thing. and she REALLY doesn’t like my family’s tradition of wishing people a good, safe flight by saying “hope the plane don’t crash!”)
obviously we made our very tight connections in houston. (stephanie is reading over my shoulder. i have already been censored once in the previous paragraph and admonished with, “this is a CHURCH trip, you know.”) it’s only a 2 hour 45 minute flight from houston, so by the time i’m done typing this on a really tiny keyboard, we should be in managua. 13 of us hit kci at 4:15 or so this morning (except for kevin who toddled in a little before 5 or so). 3 started out in n.c. (see previous post minus mike who we hope will make it next year — but mike, more room on the bus dude, thanks) and ken hopped a puddle-jumper from dallas. nancy and cindy flew thursday (see a previous post that nancy sent) and we’ll hook up graham forman (she’s telling me how to write this again — and just declined to write it herself) today in managua after he motors in from costa rica.
random trivia: many nicaraguans are seasonal workers in the hospitality industry in costa rica. in fact, last year’s clinic was held in the home of a family that had gone there to work.
here’s what oughta happen when we get on the ground: we’ll do the customs and immigration thing, harold and the cepad crew will meet us, we will load up the truck and bus and head back to the cepad compound where we stay in managua. there will likely be a tour of the city for anyone who wants to take it, and some of us will probably head up the street to a little bakery for some galletas (cookies). and lunch will probably be thrown in there too.
more to come once we land and more stuff happens. until then, god bless. and…hope the plane don’t crash.
about the author: e.j. becker — me — is on his third mission trip to nicaragua. it’s the first time his wife stephanie is going, although she’s been on this trip something like 8 or 9 times. he rarely uses caps, starts sentences with numbers, uses apostrophes and subsequent contractions liberally and may, at his discretion, shorten words as if texting, lol. if you see something and it doesn’t make sense, try reading it out loud (in a crowded space if possible). everything else, we’ll figure out as we go.
