August 27, 2019th Year of Our Lord

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

All day Monday was reserved for travel.  I arose at 6:00 A.M. and Daryl Johnson took me to the Rockhampton airport to start the journey.  The first flight took me to Brisbane.  With only a few minutes to catch the connecting flight, I moved on to Sydney where the real fun began.

I had to get in line to wait for a bus to transfer from the domestic terminal to the international terminal.  When I got in line, my plane to Manila started boarding at the other terminal!  My heart sank because it did not seem possible to make the 10-12 minute bus ride, then pass through immigration and the security check, without missing the flight.

After I jumped through all the hoops, I gave it my best 100 yard dash through the terminal and someone from Qantas Airlines near the goal post saw me zipping along and called out to ask my name – he said turn right at the next corner and board the plane!  By then most of the overhead storage bins were filled, but an attendant found space for my briefcase and my laptop case about ten seats away.  I plopped down in my seat sweating from stress and olympic exertion.  There was no applause in the stands, but I certainly was a prize winner – or at least a very thankful traveler.  There was only one bumpy segment during our flight.  Though I did not get any work done, I was rewarded with some delightful dozing.

After arriving in Manila at 6:30 P.M. and searching for my suitcase, I was informed it was still enjoying its visit in Sydney – it seems its legs were not as fast as mine.  Oh well, another page added to the adventure.

Lest I should pity myself, it occurred to me that at least I did not spend a day and a night floating in the ocean like Paul after his ship wrecked and sank – we did not have to make a “water landing,” the hilarious euphemism airlines use when explaining where our inflatable life jackets are stowed under the seat!

Thankfully, Tuesday was a little slower pace while I caught up on some email, studied for the upcoming days, and waited for the next Qantas plane to arrive from Sydney.  Just so today would not be boring, I had to look for a dentist to file off a sharp pin hanging down from a tooth where a large filling had broken in half.  Fortunately, the hotel made an appointment for me just a couple of blocks away.  The sharp pin is gone, and Donna has already notified my local dentist that the tooth he predicted might need a crown if that filling failed to hold is ready to be crowned.  Is that kind of like getting a gold metal for my airport olympic race in Sydney?

The suitcase finally limped in here at 9:00 P.M., so I will finally get some much needed exercise at the exercise room and be ready to start the next leg of the trip tomorrow by going to Mindanao.

Stay tuned – but let’s hope the rest of the story is much less exciting.

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.truthbooks.com