In France!

I love to fly! It was dark when my plane lifted off from Newark airport and, after a day of rain, the air was crystal clear and the lights of the huge city below sparkled gold and silver, laid out in varying patterns. It was fascinating to watch them slide underneath the moving airplane until we started over the deep black of the Atlantic Ocean. The next 3 hours put my love of flying to the test! Portugal, where I changed planes, is straight east of New York, and we must have flown straight into the storm that had drenched the New York area with heavy rain and high winds during the day. I’ve never before been in a plane that was buffeted so violently for so long. It almost made me dizzy. The “fasten seat belt” sign didn’t go off for 3 hours, but the cabin crew valiantly served dinner, stopping to hang onto the overhead bins when the jerking got too strong. But then, six hours later, as the first hints of dawn brushed the eastern sky, we descended over the black ocean toward the coast of Portugal. This time, on the east side of the dark water, the jewels of gold and silver lights again came into view, making interesting patterns where hills and inlets design the coastline. At six hours’ interval, similar patterns of light marked the beginning and end of the flight as we landed in Porto, Portugal, at 7:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. in New York).

The flight to Paris took 2 hours. I stayed awake until we flew over the snow-capped Pyrenee mountains, then slept the rest of the way. After surviving the confusion of Charles de Gaulle airport and recuperating my luggage (having your bag show up on the carousel always means the trip has been successful), our pastor friend picked me up and we drove around to the opposite side of Paris where the church is located. It is fun to be back to what is familiar: the little cars, the neighborhoods where everything is within walking distance (a pharmacy and bread store are about 20 steps from the church), and the simple but lovely “family French” meal last night. In spite of going on less than 3 hours of sleep, I was able to hold a decent conversation in French last evening. That is reassuring!

Last night the pastor and I went over the plan of what we need to work on this week. So, time to get to work!