Terrible .. or Fortunate Experience?

The story started two days ago - Tuesday, December 27th.
I got ready to leave Lafayette, all in a rush, about 2.5 hours before my flight at 3 pm. Driving from Lafayette to the Indy airport around that time was not as promising as I thought - I arrived at 2 pm. And yes, that was only 1 hour before my plane took off. The check-in queue was not that long, maybe about 15 people? But the waiting time was unbelievable. I had to bring myself in front -- sorry for the people I passed -- and mentioned that I had a flight in 30 minutes. Oh, and don't forget all the checking done prior getting to the gate: took out my laptop, jacket, and shoes, and recollecting them again afterwards. Ok though, so far so good.
So then I arrived at my gate, not long before I realized that my ticket did not have a seat number yet. I queued to the counter, just like a few other people, but the lady was busy .. busy calling and checking something. The clock then showed 20 mins to 3. No, it's not boarding yet. The lady then announced, "... we are offering 400 dollars for three volunteers who are willing to give their seats for later flights ... ." My flight was overbooked, and worse, I did not have a seat!
I never expected this before, but anyway, not a few people offered their tickets. The officer even had to reject some people. Seems like a real lot of money for only a-couple-hour of delay yah.
Finally, a call for boarding was made. It was 2.50 pm. I got a bit worried since I did not have a seat yet.. but finally I did :). Here I come, Dallas.
From Dallas, same thing happened again. This time the officer was offering 250 dollars for every volunteer. Gosh, now I started to question, "What's up with you, American Airlines?" The seats in the plane was not at all seat-able, if I may say so. I had to stuff a pillow, a blanket, and my jacket onto my back to at least have a proper seating. And not only these two flights I took, got delayed, but also my parent's flight were delayed. Worse.. follow on.

I was flying from Indy to Dallas, then Dallas to LA. My parents were supposed to fly from Indy to Chicago, then Chicago to LA. From LA, we would fly together to Hong Kong. Too bad, our flights to LA were both delayed. From my sister, I knew my parents would arrive in LA around 11:30 pm, good enough to catch our 12:15 am flight to HK. So I waited for them at the gate, until .. call for seating 1, seating 2, ..., seating 6, and the final call was made. From the last checkpoint with them, we agreed that if my parents could not arrive on time, then I should still continue my flight to HK, while my parents would catch the next flight - whenever that would be - and we would meet in HK. Sounds simple enough .. yet it made me concerned because my parents know so little English, and I wasn't sure where they were at that time. I talked to the flight attendants, and after some communication, they were sorry to say that we were going to depart without my parents. Oh .. imagine ..

Now here came the 15-hour flight, no mom, no dad, no information whatsoever where they were, and no assurance I would see them soon after I arrived the next day. I asked God why this should happen, but He is also my only hope, so I prayed for Him to look after my parents and to guide them to the destination. Then I slept.

It was several hours to arrival. I could not sleep anymore, since I slept so much in the previous flights. I was thinking of what to do after I arrived in HK. Should I continue to the baggage claim, and wait for my parents there.. or should I wait around the gate areas until I meet my parents, then proceed to the baggage claim? But how if they would not come immediately? What about immigration? So much not easy questions for someone like me. I had faith though, that God will not forget His children, anytime anywhere, and I was so assured, God would hold my hand all the way. So let it be.

I walked out of the gate. It was full of people, many in groups for those continuing to Vietnam, Malaysia, Denpasar, and other places. I stopped to ask an officer about my parents' flight, and well.. she told me to follow the path for Arrival. (Oh, huh, then what?) Then I stopped at a Cathay check-in-like counter and asked if they could check which flight my parents were in at the time, hoping to find out the gate and their time of arriva, too. Another similar answer I heard, "I don't see any record for your parents here. They should not have taken any flight to Hong Kong today. So the closest flight they possibly take will arrive tomorrow, but I can not check for that, since they are not checked in yet." Oh greaaaat.. I didn't know where my parents were, I didn't know whether they were still in LA or above the clouds, and I guessed I had to stay overnight in the airport. And my phone card simply did not work in Hong Kong, cause I only had the 800 number for calls from the US.. *sigh*
I was pissed off, didn't even have an idea where to go to pick up my luggages. But as I followed some people to the train, I met the flight attendant I talked to earlier in my flight. Yeah, she cared enough in the beginning to help checking my parents' whereabouts, and to console me about the issue. Now she asked again, whether I've had any information about my parents.

"No, the people at the Cathay check-in counter said that they could not locate my parents, and I haven't been in touch with my sister at all. But since the next earliest flight from LA to Hong Kong will only arrive tomorrow morning, I guess I will just stay around and wait for my parents in the airport," I explained to her.

"Where are you going to stay tonight?" she asked concernedly.

"I'll just stay here .. in the airport," I answered, wondering why that's important.

"Oh no, you should get a hotel to stay. You can't stay in the airport, it's not good."

"Oh, why not? But it will just be one night, and I'm not sure where to go anyway."

"Oh this is so bad. Now that your parents aren't here yet, you should get a room in a hotel, give yourself a rest, something to eat, and come back tomorrow morning. Just follow me."

She walked with me all the way through the doors and paths to the immigration and the baggage claim area. Then she said, "You know what, I am checking a room in a hotel for you. It's the Cathay hotel, only Cathay crews can stay there. But I can book a room under my name for you. It should be cheaper than other places, besides, it is very close to the airport, so you can come back easily for food and for checking your parents' flight."

"Oh, ok," I said, so much impressed and grateful of her kindness, seems like too much for this issue.

"You go get your luggages, then wait here. I will get back to you again," she said as she walked away to make a phone call.

(to be continued ...)

I remember..

I slept "too early" last nite (due to stomachace, ouch!).. so this morning I woke up at 5.30 am, feeling quite awake, and in a moment.. I started studying. Internet was bad at home, and my laptop just got kicked by a virus (yah, blame me for leaving it on with network connection for a long time), so it ran terribly slow :(. So I decided to head to my beloved CS G56 lab..
Reading this math thing made me a little sleepy, well, very sleepy actually. So I logged into Friendster and looked around, just to get myself awake. I browsed through my old friends' pages, pictures, stories, and.. oh geez I miss those times.
I miss those times ..
when all my good friends were around..
when we played cards in class :D
when we always met during class breaks..
when we played piano, organs, and sang together..
when we played badminton in the weekends..
when you taught me how to hit the shuttlecocks but I just couldn't do it :D
when you called me over and over, everyday, until my ears got tired :p
when you asked me homework and exams, then I asked you back and you said "I still don't understand".. (oops hahaha)
when we went to Bali together, and walked along the beach sides bare-footed..
when we held hands and said "What are we doing??" :D
when . . .
when we -- the gang -- cheered one another and shared our times together..

I cherish those times, and I wish - more than anything - to experience that.. again.

Learning to hear the Voice of God

These have always been questions from God's children..
"How do we know that what we think comes from God?",
"How can I tell that I've chosen what God wants me to?",
"What makes you think - that is what God tells you to do?",
. . .
all of which refers to correctly hearing the voice of God.
I always remember what Linda (my care group leader) says.. "If something is truly from God, it will keep coming to you, eventhough you keep ignoring it. The Holy spirit will remind you on and on.. until you get it."

I was terribly busy and frustated with classes the past few weeks. The issues of getting good grades, graduating, and traveling -- alltogether make a good combination of burning me out. As you can tell, I miss my times with God, praying or reading His words.
Tomorrow is a big day. Final presentation for my research is due.. at 4 PM. After that, my life will be different.. I hope, since I want so much letting this research go. It's 9:45 PM now, and I haven't written my presentation at all. I have no idea what to write actually. Stronger than usual, God is calling me.. and so I decide to go to dailybread.com (or something alike) and read something. But then I was tempted to change my desktop wallpaper, so I turned to crossmap.com. After choosing a new wallpaper, I was going to close the browser, when I read a section on the right corner of the page: Sponsors. That one link got me - Compassion (compassion.com). I was surprised.. for another time God reminds me of this.. thing -- that I've been desiring for about two years now.
I want to adopt a child :)
I want to adopt a child :)

I was sure even from before, that God calls me for this. But I am never as sure as now. Though I don't know how, and am not sure what will come, one thing I know for sure - God takes control and I am walking with Him.
Thank you Jesus for your true and everlasting love. I want to keep learning to listen to You and be a good child. And I will do what You ask me to.

Have you heard God's calling on you today? ^_^