Woke up at 2 am on Sunday morning to finish packing before heading for the airport at 3:30 am. As we all stumbled in to the lobby with all of our luggage, it was obvious that we were going to miss our morning cup of joe as even the Dunkin' Donuts was not open upon passing it in route to our flight. We arrived at the airport by 4 am and we began our check in process. First was our luggage check and then we headed to the exit fee line. They charged us $40.80 to leave the country of Ecuador, and it became mighty tempting for many of us to claim no money to have to stay behind. On our way up the escalator we encountered an open coffee shop, so we ordered 12 ounces of glorious caffeine and made our way to the immigration line. Once we got our passports stamped it was time to head to the terminal. We promptly began boarding our plane at 6 am and pushed away from the hangar at our designated 6:35 am flight time. After ten minutes of inching along the runway the captain announced over the intercom that one of the engines did not pass the check and that we were going back for maintenance to come look at it. For the next hour we sat on the plane wondering when we would be back in business and could head home, but then the next announcement was made that for our comfort we were going to disembark and return to the terminal so it wouldn't be so uncomfortable. After sitting in the terminal for another couple of hours the announcement finally was made that the flight had been cancelled and to return to the ticket line to receive vouchers for a hotel and food. All 200 of the passengers traipsed back to the ticket line to begin our next four hours of standing/sitting in line to find out what was in store for us next. After much debate and arguing we were all able to check in to the Marriott hotel and finally arrived there at 3 pm (without luggage as we were told that it was too difficult to get our baggage). The weather was perfect, so Rachel, Ruth Ann, and myself headed across the street to the large park and strolled through the booths and just enjoy a nice walk. I finally stopped at one of the vendors and bought a t-shirt so that I didn't have to wear the same shirt the next day that I had worn all day. Around 8, we headed to dinner and as I started to fall asleep at the table, I headed back to the room to get some rest so that we could return to the airport the next morning by 5:30.
The next morning, we hopped in to a cab and headed to the airport. 6:30 came, 7:00 passed, and soon it was approaching 8 am and we still had no word when we would be departing. The announcement was finally made that a maintenance crew had been flown in the night before and they had spent all night attempting to fix our airplane and that we should be able to leave by 10. At 9, we finally learned that our airplane was still not fixed and that we would be taking over the 9:30 flight out and the people who were scheduled for that flight would need to wait for our original plane to be fixed. We finally flew out of Quito aroun 10 and arrived in Miami at 5. We were told that while in flight that all of our tickets would be adjusted since most of us would miss our connections. So, when I got to the counter in Miami I was sorely disappointed to find that I was not going to get home that evening and would need to spend the night in Miami. I asked, how far can you get me, and she said either Dallas or Chicago, so I asked to fly me to Dallas and put me on stand-by for Kansas City. Three hours later we landed in Dallas and as we stepped off the plane those in our group who had not been able to connect to KC stopped at the closest ticket booth and the best agent in the world overfilled the plane to get many of us seats!! At 11:15 pm, we descended in to Kansas City and I had the biggest smile on my face. I was home and I was going to get to see my girls, even if they were sleeping and didn't know I was there.
Mike drove me to Cerner so that I could catch a ride with Stephen since he didn't get off till midnight. As I was waiting for him to get off, he got involved in a call and we didn't leave there till 1 am. By 1:30 in the morning I was finally headed to bed and get some much needed rest. I slept in some the next morning, but was at work by 9 am to start getting caught up on everything that had been piling up in my abscence.
Although it was a struggle to get home, I still treasure this trip forever. Many invaluable lessons were learned and much love and appreciation were gained throughout. I will never forget the time that I shared with 21 loving and giving individuals (my MMF team) and cannot wait for the next opportunity that I may have to serve in this capacity again.
Now begins the next step in my life. Thank you to all who have checked in often to read of our adventures and for all of the well wishes and prayers.
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