It's A Small World

When we went to bed last night, we were anticipating a phone call from Haley in the middle of the night because that's when she was due to arrive in Paris, France, but the phone call never came, which kind of surprised (and disappointed) me. I was just as surprised by the fact that I woke up to a couple Facebook greetings from her instead! I was one of those nervous moms who bucked the Facebook concept for a long time but finally gave in when Heath was in college and some fellow moms talked me into it, and my kids have never let me live it down. The chat feature on it is one I rarely use, but for whatever reason this morning, I decided to see who else was on, and it was fun to strike up a conversation with my sister. We could have covered way more ground in way less time if we had just picked up the phone, which is what drives me crazy about "chatting," but it was fun nevertheless.

Then all of a sudden, Haley's friend Beth, who is traveling with her, popped on!! We were able to have a quick conversation in which I learned that plans had changed AGAIN, and now instead of going to the Eiffel Tower, which would involve too many risks (time? safety?), they were hanging out for the 15-hour layover in the airport instead. They were all dead tired because they hadn't slept on their flight to Paris, and yet they were encouraged to not sleep in the airport either because now they're on Africa time, which is 7 hours ahead of us, and they need to get used to that schedule. The idea is that they will sleep tonight while they're making their 10-hour flight to South Africa and then be ready for the day when they arrive there in the morning. Somehow the leaders must have caved a little bit because when I asked what Haley was doing, Beth said that she was passed out on the airport floor for their allotted 45-minute nap. I doubt the leaders had a clue how hard it would be to wake her up!

I was kind of surprised that they wouldn't let them sleep more of their layover time away, but when I asked Beth if everyone was okay with that or if there was grumbling amongst them, she said that they were not allowed to complain and that they were there to serve. They were supposed to keep each other in check. As a mom who's been grumbling a little over all the packing issues we've had, that was kind of hard to swallow, but what I quickly came to realize was how much training they are really putting these kids through already. I had already learned too that the reason the kids aren't calling home more is because they are being discouraged not to do so. They want to focus them on the Lord and not let them get sidetracked with relationships back home. Many lessons are being learned both ways.

Anyway, it was a really bizarre feeling for me this morning when I thought about the fact that Haley was sleeping in the airport in Paris, and our foreign exchange student from France, Charlene (pronounced Shar-LEN), was sleeping in our basement! She came Tuesday evening, and as we've been introducing her to the American culture, I keep thinking about her parents and how they must be wondering about their daughter. I'll have to post a picture later because I don't have any on my camera yet, but she's just the sweetest, cutest, and soft-spoken girl you could ever meet. When she speaks English, it's very identifiable, but when we speak to her, you can see the blank look in her eyes at times. Because Kelsey has taken some French, they get along a little better with their communication skills, but once again, I have to give kudos to Facebook because through it they connected for a few weeks before she ever even came. They spent as much time as they could chatting with each other, so they formed a bond before she even arrived, which is pretty cool when you think about it.

Right after Beth and I chatted this morning, then Haley's small group leader who just moved to Texas popped on too and told me that she had prayed for Haley this morning. What a blessing that was for me to hear! Her college-aged daughter is in Thailand all summer, and that was news to me. We're definitely raising a generation of kids who go far more places than we ever did!

And then to top it all off, I just have to share one more piece of trivia. I have a cousin who has lived in Des Moines most of her life, but she has been dating a guy originally from right here in Bettendorf for the last 10 years. Just in the last month or two, they announced they were getting married. You can imagine my surprise when she announced that they were getting married in ... drum roll, please ... South Africa!!! And guess when? Tomorrow -- the same day that Haley arrives in South Africa!!! How wild is that?

I guess I'll just get on with my life tonight in Bettendorf and figure out what to next feed our French girl. Wonder what Haley will eat tomorrow morning in Africa?