To Calgary and Back

  Last week at this time I was talking to my family from Calgary, in Canada, via Andrew and my iPods.  I was a bit homesick, to be honest, but also wonderfully excited to be able to take Module 9 of the BodyTalk system.  Indeed, I was in very good hands as you will soon see.  I'll do my best to capture the delights of the trip and, seeing as it was ALL delightful, I am hoping that this post will delight you as well.

 I got up at 5:00 on Friday the 9th of December.  Actually I had slept very well with my BETAR sleep unit not yet packed.  As soon as the sleep was out of my eyes, I packed it in my suitcase as I knew better than try to sleep without it.  Being Robert went out and started the car for me, it was easy to grab an energy bar; my suitcase; check my purse for my passport and boarding passes, and head out into the frigid morning air.

I arrived at the airport around 7:30 to an empty terminal.  Just as I arrived, this awesome couple came who were such a blessing to me later on.  We went through security together which was easier than I had anticipated.  I wasn't sure when I would go through customs, so I had been nervous about that, but it didn't happen until I arrived in Calgary hours later.

We visited about our destinations and then I got something for breakfast.  I have learned that my digestive system takes being on airplanes better when there is something in it.  It was nice to relax for a bit and then I got the itch to take a walk.  Wouldn't you know it that when I was on the far side of the gate from where the Minneapolis jet would leave, I heard announced, "Would Dawn Bornemann please come to the Minneapolis desk." 

  That was a bit disconcerting but they only had to scan my passport because I hadn't been able to get the scanner to do it downstairs.  The couple who had adopted me said that sometimes it hadn't scanned theirs too.  Slowly the airport filled up and I was shocked to see one young man with SHORTS on as the temperature was 13 degrees BELOW zero when I had left home. 

  I also bought a small gift for my host and hostess from the airport shop in appreciation for letting me stay with them.  It was a refrigerator note pad with this guy sticking his tongue to a sign.  There was a thermometer with the state's "Motto" on the bottom.  It reads, 40 below, IT KEEPS OUT THE RIFF RAFF!  I'll tell you more about this later.  Maybe you can see BISMARCK and FARGO on the post.

The small jet was CRAMMED full of people and I sat with a young man named Tom who was a Captain in the National Guard.  Tom was telling me about flying into Iraq and how nothing can even compare to the "Excitement" of being in a plane that is dodging bullets and then suddenly drops out of the sky--BOOM.  Another interesting story he shared is what the Missouri looked like from the air this Spring when it was flooding and also about helping in Minot with that flooding situation.

That hour was quickly over and we found ourselves in the Minneapolis airport.  Here's a picture out the window of our jet.

I was so thankful for the awesome couple that I'd met, Neil and Beth, as we had to wait 20 minutes for them to bring a loading gate to our plane.  This left me about 45 minutes to find my plane for Calgary and I don't know my way around that monstrous building.  Their flight for Florida wasn't leaving until 3:00 so they took me over to my gate.  It had to be at least half a mile that we walked but it was fun to walk on the floor escalators (or whatever they're called) and it felt good to stretch my legs.

I was none to soon as, by the time I got to my gate, they were starting to board the first class passengers which I was not amongst.  I just had time to dig out my boarding pass when we could board and soon I was on my way to Calgary. 

This was a HUGE jet with only about 50 people so I had the whole row to myself.  I had fun looking out and watching the pilot control the ailerons.  It was super cool when he used the flaps to land.  This was a pleasant trip and I listened part of the time to my Chinese Energetics course that Andrew put on my iPod for me and slept the rest of the way.  I was surprised that I could relax enough to sleep but I told myself, "I sleep all the time in the car, when someone else is driving, so what's the difference?"

The landings usually make me the most nervous but I had great pilots the whole trip.  Everything was so smooth that it made me wonder why I have worried about this all of my life.  HMMMMMMMMM

Now, customs is certainly something I have never heard anyone even talk about, except Elizabeth.  One of her experiences was a little nerve racking, so that made me a bit nervous.  However the stewardess handed out the form on the plane that we needed to fill out to go through customs so I felt a bit prepared.

When we got off the plane, there were large arrows pointing towards customs which I followed along with the rest of the folks on that flight.  After going down and around and around and around and through and around, we came to a very large room. 



"My" customs officer was a man of Asian descent and was friendly enough when he asked me why I was in Canada.  I handed him the letter from Vilnis (the instructor's husband) and said, "I'm here to take a class."

I told him that I came from a farm but was not going to a farm.  There was a question on the form about coming from a farm and going to a farm. He asked in a concerned voice, "You have come from a farm?"  I told him again that, although I had come from my own farm, I was NOT going to a farm.  He smiled then and said something that I couldn't understand.  I smiled and said, "Pardon."  He spoke more slowly then and said, "NO WORRIES," and gestured for me to move on towards the baggage area.  That was when I realized that I had just been admitted into Canada and I thanked him.

A few moments later, I found myself warmly welcomed to Canada by an elderly gentleman who reminded me of someone from back home.  Vilnis had asked me to wait for him at the International gate, so I asked the gentleman if I was now at the International Gate.  He said, "Yes, maam, and you may find your ride over by those comfortable chairs." 

After I thanked him I headed in the direction that he had pointed.  I didn't see anyone who looked like the picture that Vilnis had sent to me so I went to exploring and found this.........  It was a remarkable statue of a group of about 10 horses and it was just stunning.  I tried to find someone to take my picture in front of it, but everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere.



Then I found the comfortable chairs right in front of a row of Christmas trees.  Although we don't keep Christmas anymore, it sure does make the world bright and cheerful.  I decided to take my own picture in front of these lovely specimens.

I went back to studying CHINESE ENERGETICS for about an hour.  Then I called the number that Vilnis had given me and got Sylvia instead.  She said, "Are you by the horses?"  I said, "Yes" and then she added, "Just sit tight, Vilnis was a little bit late heading for the airport but he'll be there soon."

About 20 minutes later, Vilnis himself stood in front of me and welcomed me to Canada.  He had picked up John at a different gate and we were waiting for Joyce.  John I recognized at once as we had both taken, "BodyTalk for Animals" in Missoula this past Summer.

Soon Joyce's plane emptied out and I met her too.  We all headed for the grocery store.  I was so thankful to be able to buy the things that I needed to stay on the GAPS diet and soon I found myself in Sylvia's kitchen.  Here she is.

Vilnis and I had both bought a roasted chicken, which was tantalizing to us hungry travelers, so we cut them up.  We put our veggies together into a tasty salad and hungrily ate our first meal together.  Here is Vilnis in the red shirt; John by his laptop; and Joyce.  John and Joyce were fellow students of Sylvia's and Vilnis, as her manager, was an absolutely wonderful host. 

After we cleared away the remains of our supper, Sylvia took us downstairs to their incredible TV room.  WOW--you're talking fancy!  She offered us our choice of movies and then left to go to finish things up for class.  It was so warm and comfortable and I was very much at home with my fellow BodyTalkers. 

Early the next morning, we had our individual breakfasts and headed over to the hotel where our class would be held.  Isn't Sylvia beautiful?  It was a spacious room with the massage tables around the outside of the room and the class tables in the middle.  My only regret at that point was that I had forgotten to take along a box of my favorite tea but there were lots of others to choose from. 

There were 22 of us in the class--21 students and one fantastic instructor.  We had come from all over Canada; 2 from Colorado; myself from North Dakota; and one special woman from Texas.  It didn't take long for Gabi to worm her way into my heart as Robert would say. 

  Joyce, who had taken Module 9 before, sat in the second row to leave room up front for us newbies.  I sat beside John right up front center and I recorded the whole class.  The energies in the room were fantastic as many healers joined together to learn more to better help our clients. 

This is the lobby of the hotel.  I thought that the wood was so lovely.

On Saturday for lunch, many of us walked to a restaurant which was called Y2K.  The food was wonderful but it cost me $13 so the second day I packed a lunch of my leftover veggies and chicken which was great.  Many of my classmates had also packed lunches and some had picked up food nearby.  At any rate, we all found ourselves gathered together around these tables which is just below our classroom which you can see the doors too up above.  The group had pushed together about 6 tables and we were all of one accord as we shared ideas of how to better help others to regain their health.

This lovely fireplace was glowing warmly all throughout the class time,

and these cute snowmen greeted us as we came and went from the hotel.

John, Joyce, and I helped Vilnis and Sylvia to pack up their many massage tables, Sylvia's teaching materials; and the snack supplies.  It was less than an hour until we were down in the lobby with everything and loading it into their vehicles.  My Grandma Elizabeth used to say, "Many hands make light work," and she was right.

When we got back to the house that night after class was over, the bushes outside were covered with snow.  It had snowed all day and I was trying not to get nervous about our flights the next morning.  We had a wonderful supper together, though, and I relaxed.  Vilnis then helped me to print my boarding passes which really calmed me down so, after talking to my family, I watched a movie with everyone.  It ended at 1:00 AM and by that time, I was too tired to be nervous about customs, flights..

We all slept as long as possible and had our last meal together.  I asked Sylvia for a picture with her for the local newspaper and she complied.  Here we are in their lovely home in front of the steps I used to get to their "Sparest of spare rooms".  :)  It really was a lovely room filled with books but I was either too tired; in too much of a hurry; or talking to my family to get a picture of it.  Silly me.

After hugging Sylvia for about the 3rd time, we left with Vilnis who was once again our chauffeur.  I was so thankful for Joyce as she led me through the steps of going through customs the other way around.  There is a big table where everyone fills out the form for passing through borders and I just had to ask John if he was over the $10,000 limit.  He said, and I chuckle as I recall it, "UM, I'll have to check."

This room was very similar to the customs room entering Canada.  Vilnis had said that there are 3 cities large enough in Canada to have American customs agents right at the airport and one of them is Calgary.  Did I mention that 1.2 MILLION people live in Calgary which is MORE THAN THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA! 

These customs agents were also in bullet-proof cubicles which amazed me.  Who would want to shoot at them?  There were only a few questions here that I answered to their satisfaction and then the officer smiled at me and said, "Welcome home."  Those words were so wonderful although I knew that I still was 1,600 miles from home.  Still, it was so nice to be able to put customs behind me.

Joyce and I found our gates, with just a little help from an airport official.  Joyce seemed surprised that he was willing to help me find mine but I seem to have a way of looking pathetic at just the right moment.  Perhaps it's because I really AM terrified at those moments?

After that, I realized that my breakfast had been very skimpy and that I wouldn't get anything to eat until 4:00 if I didn't grab some lunch there.  Joyce sat with me until her flight was ready to board.  She was such a wonderful "Mother" figure for me and I rejoiced that the Lord had provided her for me.

After I saw her off, I headed over to my gate and saw the most enormous Christmas tree that I have ever seen.  I mean it's diameter had to have been at least 15 feet and it towered up at least 20 feet.  I headed over to my gate to let them know that I was there and commented about the tree to the gate attendant.  He said that there are 2 of them that size in the Calgary airport and that it takes 4 days to put them up.  I then quickly went back to take a picture of it and returned to my gate just as boarding had begun.

The takeoff was great and soon I saw this out of my window.  This flight was just glorious as the Rockies towered along the edges of Calgary and the sun shone warmly on my face.  "My goodness, your world is a lovely place," I contentedly prayed.

This photo can't begin to capture that glorious moment, but those are the clouds.  AAAAH

I arrived safely in the Minneapolis airport and asked for directions.  The woman said in broken English, "You go down that hallway; take a left; take a right at .......... then take the tram to............  then ..........  then make a left at.................  My head was spinning.

OR you can catch a ride most of the way in that golf cart over there.  "How much does that cost?" I asked. 

"Nothing," she replied, and I was off.  I would have to spend a LOT of time there before I would ever know my way around.  However, my driver knew and he got me within about 2 city blocks of my gate and the rest was no problem.  PRAISE THE LORD.

I was early this time so I called home and got the grocery list from Cora.  I called Robert to tell him that I was doing fine and I called Elizabeth but learned that she had just made a "Quick trip to Canada." 

I was relaxing a bit when this lady came and sat beside me.  Now who do you think she reminded me of?  Yes, she talked and moved her head just like you, Kimberly!  I learned that the man in her life is named, "Robert" and then we talked like old friends. 

I was so happy when we got off the plane at Bismarck, that her Robert had come with his parents to pick her up as she had told me that she had a 4 hour drive home yet that night.  I really came to quickly enjoy this lady named Faith.

When I got back to my car, I needed to add a little air to my tire and then it was out the toll booth.  After picking up those groceries, I was on my way home.  The trip was over in a blink as I relived all of the wonderful times together up in Calgary with other BodyTalkers who are at my level. 

  Cora was at work but the guys greeted me warmly and helped me carry all of my trip things and the groceries into the house.  As I ate my supper, I told the guys all about my trip and I kept getting sleepier and sleepier.  Soon I could hardly keep my eyes open anymore, which I'm sorry to say, was a bit of a disappointment to Cora when she returned just as I was heading to bed.

HOWEVER, the following morning I was able to see her "Project" that she told me that she was working on when I was sitting in the Minneapolis airport.  If you follow her blog, you already know how the wonderful girl painted my wretchedly ugly hydrotherapy room.  Here are some pictures of the remarkable transformation. 

She even washed the curtains,

and bought a new rug,

and painted the trim around the window.  What a remarkable daughter I have!!!

Here she is!

On closer inspection, I saw that she had hung these lovely little stars all around the house.  There's 2 by the stove,



 3 by my herbs, and 3 on the mantel.  It's amazing how something so little can brighten the spirits.

 This marvelous idea is so simple that it's embarrassing that I didn't think of it sooner.  Instead of the table sitting there with everything scattered all over the world, she set it up providing another layer for our grains and veggies.  Pretty cool, Cora!

Well, was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!  As I recall, every session that I did last week had at least one matrix issue involved in it.  I just did a session for Cora that had 2 and it is so exciting to see how the shifts are much larger when group dynamics are taken into account.

As mentioned, I have a new friend named Gabi, since class.  We worked on each other a week ago and WOW--the results have been awesome.  Her marriage is better already and she formed an energetic bond from my father to me and one to me from my father.  I have never felt this before in my entire life and I am eager to see what will come of it!

It seemed like the whole class was geared to encouraging me to consider having a relationship with my father should he ever decide that he wants one.  The session that John did on me was geared at helping me with men too, so I am excited about the healing that came my way during class!  God is so incredible to bring people together who can help each other in ways that nobody else can at JUST THE RIGHT TIME!

Speaking of time, I need to go do another session, but I thank each one of you who read through this entire narrative.  I pray that you were blessed in some way to seek your healing in the areas that God leads you to--even BodyTalk if that holds the answers that you are seeking at this time.

Have a great week everybody!

Love always,

Dawn 

Day 1/Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

After almost 3 hours on the Boeing 737 (I just asked Jacob what kind of plane it was and he knew), we landed in the Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Our friend, Frank, was such a blessing as I simply could not find my receipt slip for our checked bag although we searched through everything as the people in front of us were leaving the plane. He reassured us that it wasn't needed unless our bag didn't arrive. Later on I found the receipt hiding behind the receipt that I had in my billfold for my $10 sandwich.

Frank gave us both hugs as he was headed to Florida somewhere. He blessed us with his big grin and pointed us in the direction of the checked bag area. He made it sound as though it was just around the corner but that's just because Frank is a seasoned traveler. We learned soon that "Baggage Claim" was NOT just around the corner. Actually it was about an hour's foot journey away but sometimes, "Ignorance is bliss."

I actually lost track of how many signs with big arrows we followed that said, "Checked bags." Jacob had a blast on these horizontal escalators, or whatever they're called. It was such a relief not to have to lug all of our stuff on foot all the way. He liked to go ahead of me and then walk towards me with a big grin which said, "Come along now, Mother. Don't you realize that this is all just one, big adventure?" Once again I apologize for the blurry pictures which were caused by someone turning the flash off on my camera. This is one of the good ones. :)

Well, to make a long story short, our ignorance cost us some time and lots of steps. You see, all of those big arrows for "Baggage Claim" kept pointing to a place where people were always gathered. There was lots of noise so it was hard to figure out what was going on. I noticed that there was a subway which kept coming and going and people kept getting on it but nobody ever got off when it came back.

As we walked along, there were more of these little alcoves where people were gathered and there were numbers which meant nothing to me so we kept walking. Finally, after about half a mile of this, we came to a wall and there were no more big arrows pointing to "Baggage Claim." This was when I realized that it was time to sit down and defer to male logic even if it was YOUNGER than I was.

"OK Jacob. I don't get it. What do you think we did wrong?"

Puzzled, Jacob studied the situation and, going back to the little alcove that we had just passed, my son figured out what I had missed. He said, "Oh Mom, look at all of those arrows. They all point to the subway. I think that we have to get on it and it will TAKE US TO BAGGAGE CLAIM." DAH!!!!!!!!!!

He was thrilled and I, being a little bit on the claustrophobic side, got the willies. Never the less, the next time the subway returned, we got on it and I SAT DOWN!!! The sign said that the bench was only for handicapped people; pregnant women; or small children. I added one, "People who have been up since 4:30 AM and have just walked half a mile for nothing." There was hardly anyone on the subway anyway, so I actually took a few moments to relax.

It didn't take long and we were in the huge room where all of the luggage was that had just come in from the planes. We were discouraged when we waiting for all of the luggage to go around on the Delta luggage carousel. However, just then Jacob looked up and saw that there were no less than 7 Delta carousels. When we took the time to check for our flight number, we found the carousel with our checked bag on it--YIPEE!!! That was when we realized that, had we checked the flight numbers as we went walking along, we would have been delivered right to the exact spot where our checked bag was at. WOW--that place is massive but it sure is well planned out. Jacob calls it, "Streamlined," and I think that this is a good word for it.

Well, we found our big suitcase and, after it came around the second time, Jacob got it pulled off of the moving conveyor. Then we were set, except where to go. Frank had told us that the checked baggage department and the rental car center are always right next to each other. We kept looking and looking for something that said, "Rental Car Center" but finally had to ask someone.

"You go through those doors; across the walkway; into the transportation building; and catch the sky train." JACOB WAS ECSTATIC WITH EXCITEMENT--A SUBWAY AND A SKY TRAIN ALL IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Following the directions, we ended up in the transportation building looking at another loooooong escalator. The only trouble was that now we had our huge suitcase and we could not figure out a way to get that big thing onto the escalator. We were pondering all our different options when a wonderful man came along and said to us, "Right around the corner is an elevator." I swear that he got the biggest grins that anyone has ever gotten and I even blessed him--not the first person that I blessed on my journey.

Once we got into the elevator, it was a quick ride to the top and we found ourselves in a HUGE room with glass windows everywhere. There were only a few people there at the moment but we made our way towards them. Just as we arrived beside the group; the sky train opened up and let out it's passengers. Then we "Hopped" into the sky train and off we went to the rental car center.

The sky train was almost empty so we both got to sit down and take a rest from lugging all of our stuff around all day. On our return trip, this car was so packed with people that we both had to stand and hang on to the handrails but this time we rode in style. :)

Jacob resting a bit as he tried to grasp all of the new things all around him.

Well, the sky train deposited us at the Rental Car Center which was another mammoth building. After the necessary paperwork was signed, the lady told us that we could go through, "Those glass doors" to space #787 and we would find our car.

By this time I was very tired but I felt it best to look for the restrooms as we had a 2 hour drive yet to Tiger. This meant that we had to drag all of our things, including the huge suitcase on wheels, to the other end of the center. Don't ask me why they didn't put the bathrooms on the end of the building where the sky train dropped people off.

It had to be done, so we slowly made our way to the restrooms and rested a little bit while watching the stuff so the other one could use the restrooms. They had said in the airport that we were in ORANGE alert which meant that you must never leave your things unattended unless you didn't mind if they weren't there the next time that you turned around.

After we had recuperated a little, Jacob urged me to "Let's get going, Mom." He knew that I was dreading the drive through Atlanta up to Tiger but putting it off would only make it worse as that would mean trying to find the Inn in the dark.

We made our way back to "Those glass doors" and walked through them. I had hoped that #787 would be close by but, if you were numbering a bunch of spaces, would you put #1 closest to the door or would you put #787 closest to the door? That's right--it was another football field distance further along on our journey until we found IT!!!

Not only did we drag ourselves over to #787, but we drug ourselves over to what would be our wheels for the next week--a 2010 silver-colored Nisson Versa. Never have I been so glad to see a car in all my life and I took a liking to it right away!!!

The first thing that we needed to do was walk around the car and make note of any dents or scratches in the paint, which we did. There were a few on the front side but it was in pretty good shape.

I, on the other hand, was NOT in good shape with 2 hours of driving ahead of me. I asked Jacob to take my picture so that I could remember this moment years from now and so that you all could laugh at me as he did when he snapped this one.

This is what Jacob looked like. Wouldn't it be nice to be young again with a STRONG sense of adventure?

"Well," I said, "we might as well put all of this stuff in the car. It's our wheels now, you know." And so we did--big stuff in the trunk...

and little stuff in the back seat....

And that was when I'd had enough. I crawled in behind the wheel and did cortices. THEN I CALLED ROBERT!!! Of course, I didn't get him but it made me feel better just to know that he was still somewhere on the planet. He was grateful, he told me later, for the update as one does get a little bit edgy when a loved one is flying on an airplane.

I was pretty nervous as I left the parking ramp and began my descent to the road. Jacob helped me watch constantly for where to turn and soon we were at the checkout point to leave the airport. The woman there was an old grump, which didn't help anything, so when she said in a business-like voice, "Have a nice stay in Atlanta," I very coldly said, "We're TRYING to." Jacob chuckled softly, said calmly, "Take a right, Mom," and we were off in search of I 85.

Being I needed Jacob to help me watch constantly for lane changes, I don't have any pictures of this part of our journey. I would like to say, though that I have never driven in such polite company. There were 6 lanes of traffic going one way, in down-town Atlanta, but not once did I feel overwhelmed. Jacob and I were constantly amazed how the drivers would let other drivers switch lanes when necessary. I said to Jacob, "I'm not sure if it's because Southern people really are more laid back than Northern people, or the Lord is just making them all be nice to me today, but this is such a relief." He smiled and relaxed.

Two hours later we arrived at the Tiger Creek Falls Inn in safe condition. Actually, we only got lost once and that was within walking distance of the Inn. At another time I'll explain how the "Off ramps" are built in those forested areas, but when we did the necessary U-turn into oncoming traffic (something I never did get comfortable with) I headed straight into the driveway at hand.

The Inn had a big lighted sign there after all, but when I got to the bottom of the hill, I could see
that I was NOT in the right place. Very calmly I called Gloria at the Inn and she explained how theirs was the next exit to the right. Turning around then, and climbing the huge hill out of the gorgeous estate, we soon were driving into the place that would be our home for the next 6 days.

In under a minute we were entering the REAL entrance to the Inn and we both fell in love with it immediately. As I pulled into space #8, which I knew was our number cabin, we both took a HUGE sigh of relief and I called HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still Day 1--Minneapolis to Atlanta

I really HAVE been trying to write here but my computer would not let me in to post for the past 4 days. I used to get upset about things like that, but I figure that the Lord knows best when I need to post and when I need to keep my nose to the grindstone. It's been a LOT of grindstone this week, but that's good too. I started this post a few days ago, so some of this is old news, but it does give you an idea of a few things that I've been up to.

Anyway, these are STILL pictures from July 30th--the first day of our trip to Tiger, Georgia. Today I have limited time to write as Cora and I picked chokecherries and we are processing them PLUS applesauce PLUS we're going through dozens of eggs that she found in the barn. Did you know that, if an egg bounces when you put it in water, you know that they are dog/cat food?
Well, we finally made it to the Minneapolis airport just a little bit late. We came in gate F1 and just had to walk down this very crowded hallway to gate F7. We were a little bit early and had to wait until they boarded another flight which left that gate before us. When they all cleared out, I went up to the desk and asked if we had to go through security or anything. The very kind man asked, "Did you just come in on another plane?" I said, "Yes," and then he said, "No--you're good to go then." WOW--THAT WAS A RELIEF. Can you tell that I know absolutely nothing about flying by air? Well, I guess that is no longer true anymore, but it was then. Once again I apologize for the fuzzy pictures but they do get better once we hit day 2 or 3 of our journey. :)

Jacob and I went and bought a $10 sandwich then. It was a pretty big sandwich but still, $10 for a sandwich????????? We shared it and then went back to the waiting area and waited.

I took these pictures while we were waiting. This is a map of the Minneapolis airport.

You can see our plane through the big window here.

I had asked Jacob to wear his bright, yellow shirt so that I could spot him in the crowd if we would get separated. Even with these bad shots, I'm sure that you can see him. :)

It didn't take long until we heard the woman announce that they were boarding all handicapped people on our flight. Shortly after that she announced that the FIRST CLASS passengers could board. Then she said, "Zone 1 passengers may now board the plane." A few minutes later, "Zone 2..." and finally she called out, "Zone 3 passengers may now board the plane." That was us.

She kept announcing that the federal inspectors were there to inspect everyone and that we should be prepared to step out of line if they needed more information about us. I guess we must have looked honest as the federal inspector just waved us by after looking at my driver's license.

The lady who scanned the boarding passes was rude enough to make up for the pleasant federal inspector. Later a smiling face at Sam's Club told me that, "It's a requirement that people be grumps if they work at airports." :) Most weren't, but that one sure sticks in my mind as she pushed Jacob forward towards the plane as if he WERE a cow.

This was a bigger jet with over 200 passengers and it was FULL. Once again Jacob and I lugged our small suitcase; my book bag; my purse; and Andrew's laptop down a long, narrow aisle looking for our number. I can say it now, because it's behind us, but what made us the most nervous was the fact that we were carrying over $800 in those bags. We each had to pay $350 in cash to our instructor so we were both edgy until we safely put that money in the right hands.

You may recall that my first flight didn't go so well. If I wasn't totally committed to helping Jacob get the information that he needs to start his business, I'm not sure if I would have BOARDED this jet. Now I'm very glad that I did.

The Lord had a special treat in mind for Jacob and I and it came in the form of this man who sat next to me. It didn't take long to see that Frank (not his real name) truly loved the Lord. I told him that our first flight was pretty awful and he listened sympathetically. He was a wise traveler and he shared some thoughts on how to keep your ears from building up pressure; how to keep from getting airsickness; and how to look at life as if it's one big adventure--which it is. It didn't take long until he had my spirits a LITTLE bit lighter.

However, when we were moving towards the runway, I looked at the window and saw that that huge tail fin was shaking terribly. I tried not to look at it, but I was glued to it, and had a sinking feeling in my already queasy stomach. I said to Jacob, "Doesn't that thing look as though it's going to fall off?" He and Frank had a good laugh at my expense. Jacob told me later, when I was finally relaxing at the Inn, that this was happening because we were turning and it's hard to get both of the engines to turn perfectly in time. With the plane being so large, this led to lots of vibration in the wings and that huge fin showed it the best. It made me decide not to ever fly on airplanes with big fins like that ever again. Go ahead and laugh all you like--I am serious!

On the contrary, Jacob was fascinated with this plane because it had little computers on the back of the seats ahead of us. We could watch the trip on a little map on this screen so we got a little geography lesson as we whizzed along at 575 miles per hour!!!

I guess it didn't fall off after all and as soon as we got turned onto the runway, it quit wobbling.

Soon we were up in the air again and on our way to Atlanta, Georgia. Good job, God, for sending Frank to me to help me get my mind off of the fact that I was zooming along VERY quickly.

We had an unforgettable conversation about life. That seems rather vague, I know, but things take on a different perspective when you're in an airplane. I wasn't the only one who was fearful as I saw lots of people with their heads bowed asking for a safe flight--especially on our first flight. All I can say for sure is that every time Jacob asked me to look out of the windows, my stomach started churning TERRIBLY. I kept trying but then I gave up and concentrated on my discussion with Frank about God and what it means to be a Christian in our world.

Frank told me that he belongs to a church which has a healing ministry. Now THAT really got me interested and I asked him to tell me some stories about folks who have been healed--events that he, himself, has seen. Now that was an interesting hour as Frank shared stories about his own ankle injury and other healings that he had witnessed. He told me that his church has a website called, "Spirituality.com." Now that's so easy to remember that it's still in my memory 2 weeks later and I didn't even write it down.

Frank is the kind of person who is easy to talk to so I shared about MY healing ministry and gave him my business card. I encouraged him to come to my blog to read about our time together but, if he did come, he probably got tired of waiting for me to get this far. Anyway, thanks ___, for being there for me that day and sharing that ALL of life is merely what we perceive it to be. After all, as Christ said to His disciples right before He raised the little girl from the dead, "She isn't dead." See I haven't forgotten! :) I may write a separate post about your philosophy later as it truly was life-changing for me, Frank! May God bless you richly for being there for me that day!!!!!!!

So, after nearly 3 hours visiting with this man of God, we safely landed in Atlanta, Georgia. It's the busiest airport in the world and my heart was filled with trepidation at the thought of having to drive out of there into a city of 5 million people. However, the lesson that Frank had taught me over and over had sunk in and I un-boarded (what is that called anyway?) the plane a new person. If God said that I could do it, I COULD DO IT, AND I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But that's the post for another day.

Well, my guys are home for supper. Cora is decorating a cake so it's up to me to serve my hungry fellows some of our wonderful organic beef with carrots and a goat's milk shake. Want to come over for supper?

Blessings to all who take the time to listen to the quavering voices around them and speak peace into their trembling hearts,

Dawn

Day 1 continued/flight to Minneapolis

In case you, like me before last week, have never been on a commercial airline, this is what they look like on the inside. There is VERY little room between the seats and the seats are VERY close together. Above the seats there is a small amount of room for your carry-on bags. You also have space underneath your seat for small items, but our big suitcase had to be checked. This means that I had to pay $23 to have it be handled by the airline's people with the hopes that it would end up in Atlanta. Just in case you're wondering: Yes, it did arrive just fine!


This pretty lady was my very first stewardess. This isn't a very good picture of her, as she was very pleasant and had a gorgeous smile--not like a couple of grumps that we got later on during our journey. She made sure that everyone found their way to their seats and had their possessions in the right location above or beneat the seats. Then she closed the storage compartments above the seats to prepare for the flight and ran through the safety precautions of what to do if there should happen to be a crash. YIPES!

This is how I looked before the plane left the ground. I was so excited for Jacob to be getting his dream-come-true trip that I was sure that everything would work out fine. I took this myself so it looks kind of goofy. I would have preferred Jacob to take it, but he was off on Cloud Nine!

Once again I need to mention that my camera wasn't working very well because some how or other the flash got turned off. Most of the pictures that I took on the first day had to be deleted because when we were moving they were totally fuzzed. I couldn't stand deleting ALL of them, though, so you'll just need to put up with the blurr.

Anyway the point that I was making here is that, as the flight progressed, my smile disappeared. I have been told many times since then, as I related the story of this flight, that other travelers have never once been on a flight when almost a dozen people lost their breakfasts. There was a LOT of turbulence!!! I am fully convinced that, had I not brought along the bottle of water with the few drops of lemon essential oil, I WOULD HAVE JOINED THEM! I cannot recommend too much getting in the habit of taking along lemon essential oil on any trip that you may take as it has many useful purposes of which I will relate as we go along.

Suffice it to say, I did NOT look out the window at the pretty clouds as Jacob so frequently requested me to do. I sat quietly, sipping my water, and kept doing cortices whenever my stomach got REALLY upset. At one point I thought, "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?" I even told myself that I'd have to rent a car in the Cities and drive myself home as I simply could NOT imagine myself EVER going on another airplane in my entire life.

More than one person told me since then that I can rejoice because now I have had the very worst flight of my life and that dreaded event is already behind me! From the perspective now of having had 4 whole flights on our trip, THAT so far is indeed the case. In fact, on the way home from Minneapolis I asked Jacob to let me have the window seat for a few moments so that I could take some pictures of the beautiful cloud formations. Those pictures, though, will have to wait about a week to show up here.

Jacob is one cool cucumber. His enthusiasm carried me through the whole trip! One time on this flight, though, I was a little worried about him when he closed his shade and turned towards me for a swallow of my lemon water. It didn't take him long, though, and he was back to cloud gazing--from the top down. This whole thing was a dream come true for my 14 year old son!

FINALLY we felt the wheels of our plane touch ground about an hour and a half later. This is a picture of the part of the Minneapolis airport where we landed. As you can see, there was a light mist on the windows which didn't exactly match with the sunny forecast for the Minneapolis area that they were displaying in the Bismarck airport.

Once we were on the ground, I suddenly felt MUCH better. Things began happening as soon as the planed was parked in the right spot. We were encouraged to pick up all of our things and leave the plane as quickly as possible. We had a little over an hour to get to our next plane and I was VERY nervous about finding the way, but that is the subject of my next post.

Did I say that the pilot greeted us from the cockpit as we left the plane? This was truly exciting for Jacob as he STILL has dreams of being a pilot someday.

More later,

Dawn

PS. Today was a lovely, quiet family day at home which I soaked up in preparation for another wildly, busy week of alfalfa and wheat harvest; BT sessions; canning garden produce; and apples, apples, apples...............