Stories from Africa: God Moment #2

It was Sunday night and I'd just spent a relaxing 24h in Kigali, Rwanda with some FH friends, and was now ready to fly onto Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I went through security and then in line to check-in (they do things in reverse there). Once I was at the ticket counter I was told that the flight could not accommodate me, that I needed to stand off to the side with some other disgruntled fliers, and if I wanted more information I could talk to "the tall man over there" who was the manager. So I waited for a bit with the disgruntled, and when the manager walked over I asked him politely about the situation. He explained that the flight was overbooked and a smaller plane than requested had been sent, which meant that a handful of people would not be able to fly to Addis that night. But, we would be compensated for the inconvenience.

So me and the disgruntled waited for the next 3 hours for the small Ethiopian Airline staff to finish loading the flying passengers and come back to settle matters with those who had to stay behind. While I waited, things to worry about went through my mind - would I get on Monday's flight? How do I get a hold of my contacts in Ethiopia to let them know I would not be arriving tonight? I'd already spent my Rwandan francs, how will I get more for the taxi rides I'll need to take the next day? etc. In the meantime, whenever a Ethiopian Airline staff member appeared, one of the bumped customers would go over and yell and argue, trying to manipulate their way onto the flight. After 3 hours, the manager finally came back and explained to us that the airline would put us up at a hotel that night, and if we came to the airline office downtown the next morning we could receive our compensation (which ended up being $100 cash, SWEET!) And that they guaranteed 110% that we would get on the Monday night flight.

The manager explained this to the crowd in French and Amharic, and then came up to me to explain the situation in English. The first thing he said to me was that I was the only passenger that didn't yell or complain at him, and who accepted his explanation from the start. He wanted to know why. The only answer that came to my mind, which I spoke out loud was..."because of Jesus." The manager's face lit up - maybe he was a believer because then he said that he and I both knew there were more important things than missing a flight, like SALVATION! And, who knows, maybe I wasn't supposed to be on the flight - God is the only one who knows the future for sure. As I walked away to find the taxi that would take me to the hotel, I remembered my one Amharic word, "Amasayganaloo" (meaning Thank You). The manager smiled back.

My good attitude brightened his stressful evening!