We almost missed the plane. After a three hour delay in San Diego, we arrived at the LAX airport, took a shuttle from the commuter terminal to the International Terminal, received assistance from an airport official who phoned the pilot and his crew to ask them to wait for two more passengers, presented our boarding passes to security (which Johanna had printed the previous evening), were given special and preferred treatment in the security line (even though a TSA employee had Johanna open her luggage for inspection), and ran to the departure gate (the most distant one of all the gates) to catch the plane to Germany. We had just about ten minutes to reach the gate after entering the International Terminal, and after boarding, the plane took off immediately.
We were initially told that if we had missed that flight, we could have taken a later flight that same night, but as it turned out, the Frankfurt airport closed down the next morning due to a snowstorm, so that we would not have been able to depart LAX or land in Frankfurt. We would have been stuck for at least a day, if not longer, and our prearranged meetings would have had to be cancelled. That would have not been a big deal, you might say, but these meetings included speaking to our German attorney about church registration, looking for a feast site and counseling with prospective church members. Obviously, someone did not want us to depart on time, and he would have been successful, if Johanna had not been inspired the previous night to print the boarding passes and if we had not received necessary help at the LAX airport.
We were almost not able to leave Colorado! The Church conference ended Tuesday morning, and we had planned to depart for California on Wednesday. However, an unexpected snowstorm was announced, so we decided to leave Tuesday afternoon with our two vans, using a southern instead of a western route to avoid a snow-covered pass. After our departure, the snowstorm hit, and more and more snow fell for days in Denver and Fort Collins. Using the window of opportunity, we were able to leave Colorado and arrive in California unhindered. Well, almost.
Because on our trip, the Messiers’ van had a flat tire. Being stranded on the freeway, a crew-cab pickup truck stopped, and a friendly middle-aged man assisted us by replacing the tire with our temporary spare, while a young lady remained sitting in the truck. The man told us that we should use an exit in six miles and drive to a local town to get a new tire. He then took off. When entering the town, we could not find the repair shop. Suddenly, the truck showed up again, and the friendly man told us where to go and that he had already informed the owner not to close the shop as some customers would still arrive who needed help. The shop usually closed early and it was already 6:00 PM by the time we got there. As it turned out, the shop owner waited for us, but he could not repair the tire. He had no new tires of a size suitable for the van, but just one used tire which was exactly what we needed. There was no other repair shop around for at least 100 miles or so.
Delia Messier had asked the friendly man what his name and occupation were, when he changed the tire on the freeway, and he said his name was Douglas and he managed a ranch. After having arrived in California, I called the repair shop owner and asked him about the helpful individual, as we wanted to send him a thank-you note. He said he did not know who he was, where he lived or what his name was, but that he had been seen from time to time in town.
Obviously, someone wanted to make life difficult for us, and he would have been successful, if the friendly person had not shown up to help us and guide us to the only repair shop around for a hundred miles, which provided us with the only available used tire.
Before both trips, we prayed for God’s protection; that we would arrive safely at our places of destination; and that His angels would watch over us to help us in times of need. We are convinced that God heard and answered our prayers, and He will do the same for you if you place your trust and confidence in Him.
