Parque Este Connections Trip 09: From Chaos Comes Order

Days 1 & 2

Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This applies, as we found out, to not just physics but all aspects of life.

Our journey to Sevilla started off very carefree. We all met at the airport with 3 hours till departure and were fortunate enough (thanks to Ben, Justin & Amaris) to enjoy some downtime at the Delta Airlines Sky Club Lounge in the International terminal. We enjoyed some tasty food and drinks while we waited to board our flight.

We boarded our plane around 5 PM and began our almost 10 hour flight to Barcelona. We were all mainly seated together and were fortunate enough to be on a plane that had individual screens for each passenger. I personally enjoyed watching the various sitcoms and films they had available although I wasn’t too thrilled with “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Sorry to all of you who like that movie. Anyways, we finally arrived in Barcelona around 8:30 AM local time and proceeded to find our way to our connection flight to Sevilla.

We weren’t sure about our checked luggage because we couldn’t remember if Patricia, the Delta representative that helped us in Atlanta, told us that the luggage would go directly to Sevilla or if we needed to pick them up in Barcelona. Consequently, Dave went to baggage claim and waited for them but did not see our luggage. We proceeded to go on a somewhat convoluted bus route to our terminal. We arrived just in time to board our flight to Sevilla.

It was a short 1.5 hour flight to Sevilla and we were delighted to see Pepe and Mari, the head pastor and his wife of our partner church Parque Este, waiting for us at the airport when we arrived around noon. Things were really going well for us. We only had minor complaints of lack of sleep and uncomfortable seats. Everything else had been smooth sailing.

Now this is the part where Newton’s Third Law of Motion comes into effect. As you can see, things were going a little too well. So inevitably, something had to happen to counter act this tranquility and ease.

We sent Julie, Amaris, Justin, and Ben to go meet Pepe y Mari and talk while Kevin, Dave & I picked up our luggage at baggage claim. We waited and waited and waited but did not see our luggage. Julie had tied bright orange ribbons on all of our luggage to easily identify them but as we watched various suitcases make the rounds one by one on the baggage claim belt, we didn’t spot a speck of orange ribbon on any of them.

We summoned Julie over and went to talk to the representatives at Spanair Airlines. After much talking, translating, and paper work, we found out that our luggage would probably be on a flight that would arrive from Barcelona at 7 PM. We had an hour and half drive to a town called Aracena up in the mountains and knew we couldn’t hold up the group and agenda so we sighed, said silent prayers to God, crossed our fingers and got into our vehicle that we lovingly call Jumper.

We stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant called Sloppy Joes and enjoyed great introductory fellowship with Pepe and Mari. After lunch, we hopped on Jumper and began our trek to Aracena.

The drive was very windy and sometimes bumpy because we were going up the mountains to our hotel. We arrived a little after about an hour and half drive and were very happy to see what our accommodations would be for the next few days.

The location of the hotel allowed us to see the town and the surrounding area. The scenery took my breath away! On top of the beautiful scenery, the hotel was ranked a 4-star hotel and thus had wonderful amenities. We checked in and decided to meet at 8 PM for dinner. We were all pretty tired and jet lagged and wanted some time to unwind, and relax. However this was a challenge for half of our group because half of us did not have our luggage and therefore could not change or use our own personal toiletries. We felt bad that fellow guests at the hotel would think we were the smelly Americans.

But we made the best of the situation and tried to work with what we had. After all, although we did not have our luggage or belongings, we were still blessed to be in Aracena with our brothers and sisters of Parque Este Church.

We eventually made contact with Spainair and found out that our luggage would be arriving at 7 PM. We asked if the airline could send somebody to deliver our luggage but they informed us that if we were to have somebody deliver them, we would have to wait till noon the next day. This presented a dilemma because we did not want having to wait for luggage cause any more disruptions to our trip. Thus, we decided that we needed to get our luggage tonight. However, Dave and Julie who were exhausted from lack of sleep and stressing/planning were not in the best condition to make the 3 hour round trip back to the airport to retrieve our luggage. Consequently, we needed other people to get the luggage and Ben and Justin valiantly stepped up to the plate and volunteered to carry out the task.

I felt bad that they were going to retrieve luggage that wasn’t theirs (they smartly put all their belongings on carry-ons) so I told them I would go with them. This also made Dave and Julie feel better because they knew that I was sufficient at Spanish and could communicate with people should a problem arise. So Ben, Justin and I got into Jumper and started our trek back to the airport.

We obviously weren’t familiar with the area being that this was all 3 of our first time in Sevilla or Aracena, but we had a map, motivation, and each other so we figured we’d get there in one way or another. Although we were carrying out a somewhat inconvenient task, for me, it was actually a great blessing in disguise because I got to spend some quality time with two of my team members in a more intimate setting. I mean I suppose 3 people all sitting in the front of Jumper really can’t help but get to know each other better but that’s besides the point. I actually had a great time talking to Ben and Justin and listening to them tell anecdotes about their lives and their friendship with one another.

We arrived at the airport with 3 minutes to spare to retrieve our luggage. We raced across the lines, got honked at by numerous buses and taxis, yelled at by airport officials, and finally made it upstairs to the Spainair kiosk. When we got there, Justin and I spotted the orange ribbon and made a leap for the luggage because we knew it was ours. I really don’t think I’ve ever been that happy to see orange ribbon in my life! We retrieved our luggage and started back on the hour and half drive to the hotel in Aracena.

When we walked through the doors of the hotel, we were met with hugs and gratitude from our team mates who looked so relieved and happy to see their luggage. Unfortunately, Ben, Justin and I, the luggage SEALS as I like to call us, got to the hotel 10 minutes after the main restaurant closed so we ate at the Irish pub in the hotel. While we ate our meals of mixed garden salad, jamon y queso (that’s ham and cheese sandwiches, a staple in Spain), and a yummy cheese cake, we chatted with Pepe and Mari as well as Nono and Maribel, other leaders from Parque Este who had arrived.

We enjoyed our late dinners and then debriefed with the group to plan for tomorrow. Afterwards, we all exhaustedly went to bed.

Whew! I felt so happy that we were able to take the entropy surrounding our lost luggage and turn it into something positive. The situation reinforced a couple lessons to me:

1) Luggage is just materials and losing them is not the end of the world. Although it was inconvenient to not have clean underwear and clothes, there was nothing in the luggage that none of us could not buy back or borrow. We all still had our health, each other, and this incredible opportunity to spread God’s love and will with our brothers and sisters in a beautiful setting. It seemed kind of silly to be so caught up in luggage and this thought helped keep things in perspective for me.

2) It is wonderful to have friends who are willing to go out of their way to help you. Both Ben and Justin did not have to drive 3 hours to help Dave, Julie, Kevin, and I get our luggage back. But they were both willing to lend a hand. Not only were they both willing, but they were both willing to do so with a loving and gracious heart. I felt very blessed and fortunate to have these great guys on my team.

3) Sometimes the best things can happen when you don’t plan for them. I honestly was not looking forward to driving all the way to the airport, but I can also honestly say that I enjoyed talking to Ben and Justin and spending some quality time with them in the car. As I mentioned before, perhaps this whole situation was meant to happen for the 3 of us to have this fellowship.

4) Challenges keep us from becoming too comfortable and satisfied with the status quo. They force us to depend on God and follow His lead. Without trust in God, it can be very frightening and arduous, but with God, it can be a great adventure. In 2 Samuel 22:30 (NLT) it states “in your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.” This whole luggage fiasco conveyed this message to me and reinforced the thought that our real strength and perseverance comes from God and from others who also rely on the Lord.

5) And last but not least, Ben is an EXCELLENT driver! Although we were going up and down mountains and Jumper did not exactly have the greatest clutch, the entire 3 hour ordeal was smooth. None of us suffered from any type of motion sickness. The only time I felt any pain in my stomach was when I was laughing at some funny quips or anecdotes from Justin and/or Ben.

So I suppose saying that our first two days of our trip was chaotic is pretty accurate. However, from chaos, God created order and allowed us to make the best of the situation and remedy our problems. Thus, to me, this trip is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for us!

Besos,

Hannah

P.S. Sorry this entry is SO long but it was for 2 days and as you can see, it was quite eventful!