Home at Last

The last leg of the trip was certainly an eventful one. Our flight from Chicago to Appleton was cancelled because the plane was not able to land in O'Hare. We were sent down to the customer service desk for re-booking. At this point we knew we were not going to be able to stay together.

The group was booked on 4 different flights to get home. Orv and Eric were able to keep their original booking on a 4:30 flight into Appleton. Ray, Matt, Kevin, Roland, and Andy were booked on a 4:45 flight for Green Bay. Marty, Phil, Michael, Nathan, Jerry, and Jason were all booked on a 9:00 flight to Green Bay and had stand-by passes for the 4:45 flight. Pastor Ray was bumped to Monday morning.

Things did not look promising. Bad weather on Friday had made a mess of the airport and marginal weather on Saturday slowed airplane traffic to half its normal speed. Information changed by the minute. Orv and Eric's flight was delayed until 6p and the 4:45 to Green Bay was delayed until 6:50. Wanting to ensure that we would be home on Sunday, a group of men went to inquire about rental cars. No cars were available. At that point we called home and arranged for 3 vehicles to come pick the group up in case all our flights were cancelled. One way or another we were going to make it home on Sunday. Abby Wegner, Tiffany Anderson, Rita Schounard, Sue Gillett and Bart Mattson started for Chicago. We thank them for providing the insurance for the group. The idea of spending the night in O'Hare was unbearable.

When it was all said and done we all made it home on Sunday. Eric and Orv were able to fly to Appleton. Poor Matt originally had a booking on that flight too, but he was re-booked to come into Green Bay instead. He handled it remarkable well. Thankfully the airline put all our luggage on the Appleton flight and Orv and Eric took it to church for us. Marty, Ray, Kevin, Roland, and Matt were able to ride on the 4:45 flight for Green Bay which finally took off about 9:45. The group that was booked for the 9:00 flight to Green Bay all opted to catch a ride home in a vehicle rather than depend on the airline to get us home.

After being up for more than 24 hours and fighting through a bad case of jet lag, we are all glad to finally be home. Pastor and Debbi will be arriving in Green Bay on Tuesday, if all goes well. We look forward to giving our report to the church on Sunday night. Thank you for all your prayers. God used us to encourage a ministry this week that is making a real positive impact on the Church in Romania!

Back on American Soil

We have landed in Chicago and are ready for the last leg of our journey.  We will have to pick up our bags and go through customs before we recheck them for the flight to Appleton.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

On time and ready to go

Everything is on time for our trip back to the states so far. We will board our flight to Chicago in just a few minutes. A group of men went out to see dusseldorf early this morning and did some sightseeing around the Rhine River. It will be good to be back on American soil in 8 hours.

Arrived Safe in Deusseldorf

We arrived and have gotten settled in or rooms with meal vouchers for tonight and tomorrow. Unfortunately it took a while for us to get our luggage. Only half of us got our luggage right away. It eventually showed up for all. The picture is of the luggage losers club. We fly out tomorrow at 11:25 local time and will arrive in Appleton around 4:00pm.

Updated Flight Information

Because our plane from Timiasora to Munich was delayed, we missed the flight from Munich to Chicago. Here is our new flight information.

Munich 7:30p to Dusseldorf 10:40p LH 0846
Duesseldorf 10:50a to Chicago O'Hare 1:45pm LH0436
Chicago 3:11p to Appleton 3:59pm UA 6031

The airline is putting us up in Duesseldorf tonight and providing meals for us. We will be able to pick up our baggage tonight and will need to check it again tomorrow. I guess we will get to see a little bit more of Germany before we get home. We miss you all and look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 4pm in Appleton.

On the Move

Our Plane for Munich has arrived and we are boarding with about an hour delay.  We all agree as long as we stay together it only adds to the adventure if we delay.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Flight Questions???

Well . . . Our plane from Timiasora to munich has been delayed for mechanical problems.  So we may have to spend the night in Germany tonight because we will not be able to make our connection.  We will update the blog and facebook as soon as we find out what is happening.  Roland is mobile, but in pain and Marty is doing better.  Please remember to pray!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre