As I arrived at the Blantyre airport in Malawi, I was not in the best of moods. When I started this journey, when I checked my bags, things started going downhill. I had so many necessities to bring to the Malawian children – clothes, shoes, underwear, crayons, pencils, etc, so I brought 2 extra, important bags. Obviously there would be an additional fee but I felt it would be worth it. I was wrong! The airlines charged me an exorbitant price, 4 or 5 times what they charged me in the past. I was dumbstruck and extremely upset! I tried to reason with the supervisor but to no avail. All the passengers trudged onto the completely booked aircraft, fastened seat belts then proceeded to wait an hour while a switch was fixed in the cockpit.

In Johannesburg I was charged again (not nearly as much) because the airlines had made a mistake on my ‘excess baggage’ receipt. The receipt stated that Johannesburg was my final destination, which was inaccurate so I was forced to pay again, for the last leg of the journey. The passengers boarded the plane and waited. The pilot announced over the loudspeaker that the luggage had not been loaded because of an airline strike in South Africa. He did not know how long the delay would be. I read a book during the 2 hour wait. Finally the baggage was loaded and the passengers cheered.

After finding a luggage trolley I waited for my bags to appear on the belt in the Blantyre airport. One bag was missing and flights from Johannesburg to Blantyre only fly on Wednesday and Saturday. I would have to wait 3 days and pray the missing bag would arrive. I was very disheartened. As I pushed the trolley out of the terminal, my thoughts were not positive. Then I noticed a small sign: ‘If you only have one breath left, use it to say thank you.’ I took a minute to contemplate the words on the sign. Yes, it’s very true that the start of my journey had not turned out as I had planned. It had cost me precious money that should have been used on the project, not for airline fees, yet there were things to be thankful for. I had arrived safely. Even though my first flight was late departing, I did not miss my next connection. I had aisle seats on all my flights and was not stuck in middle seats, and my other bags had not been lost. “Thank you God for the positive things. No matter how bad things seem there is always something positive. I can’t wait to see what You have in store for me in Malawi!”