Overcoming Obstacles

by Karina, Molly, Rachelle, and Ariel

So we made it safely to Guatemala with plenty of bumps along the road. The first bump came as a shock. We were informed at the airline check-in desk in LAX that all the minors were required to have a notarized letter from the parents to leave the country. This was the exact opposite of the information Katherine had received from the State Department that said such letters were not necessary for students 16 and over with their own passport.

Thankfully, God provided us with a woman named Monica, the airline’s front desk attendant, who made it possible for us to slide through the sketchy set of rules. However, when she checked our tickets, she told us that without our luggage stickers there was no guarantee that our luggage would switch to the correct airline and make it Guatemala. After a few phone calls they were able to get the baggage numbers allowing us to not have to pick up our baggage from the domestic terminal and bring it all they way back to the international terminal to get checked in. We were so thankful for Monica´s help, we made her a quick gift, a page out of Ariel´s coloring book.

After a long layover in LAX we were finally ready to board our last flight when another set of problems occurred. Bryan Vale, who brought his guitar along, was told he would have to check in his guitar and pay an additional $100 fee. Molly luckily had enough room in her backpack to carry Bryan’s backpack inside to avoid the fee.

Everybody was finally in the boarding dock and had given their tickets to the ticket attendants when Karina was stopped and told she had not given her official ticket to the ticket attendant. She knew she had given the man everything she needed, but the woman at the counter was convinced that she had lost her ticket. Gary stayed with Karina as the rest of us boarded the plane, arguing with airline staff and trying to get things straightened out. Finally, God pulled us through and the airline lady found Karina’s ticket.

But through all the figurative and literal bumps in the road, God smoothed everything out, showing once again, He is faithful and is always in control.