Our mamouth journey

So then lovely people, let me tell you a little story, all about our adventures on the way to Brazil.

So we started out in Toronto and right from the word go we had change. Our original flight with American Airlines was canceled and so to get to Miami we were re-routed via Montreal. So that was fine, we hopped on a plane to Montreal. It was Otis's first flight – very exciting for him. Not so exciting for Amber who wasn't feeling great. Now Montreal is a rather strange airport where you have to pick up your bags and re check them for connecting flights. We had been told about this so we naturally went to baggage collection when we got off the plane. No one had mentioned that our bags would go somewhere else though :S so we ran back up stairs, well we got the lift, but we were willing it to go faster. Then had to go through US customs. I had managed to fill in my Visa Waver on one side only so then had to go fill it in and jump back in the queue. I was by this point more than a little flustered. Then we ran for the gate. I was the last one to go through so was feeling even more pressured (because of course in my head I thought that if we missed the plane it would have been because I hadn't filled in both sides of the form!). Amazingly though the flight had been delayed and so we were in plenty of time. So we were off to Miami – plane number 2.

On the flight I watched Spiderwick, which was pretty good and then chatted to the lady next to me. She was a francophone, but spoke perfect English as well. She was asking about the t-shirts we were all wearing, so I told her all about the school and what we were doing. Then we got into a deep conversation about what it was to know God and have a relationship with him. It was so cool. She was from a Muslim background which made it really interesting.

Once at Miami airport we were due to take our connection with TAM airlines. However because of the extra connection we only had about 40 mins to get the plane and by the time we got the the check in desk the entire airport was all but deserted. There was no one there. Eventually someone wandered up asking what we were doing and he explained that the check in had closed quite a while before and that we would not be able to get the flight. So then he went off to see if he could get us on another flight later on. So we waited and amused ourselves by weighing various things on the check in scales and pushing each other round on the luggage trolleys. After an age of walking from counter to counter and some fantastic negotiation and arrangements by our amazing leaders we had a new plan. The new plan involved a revised flight time of 8, in the evening, the next day. So now here we were having to stay in Miami for another 24 hours, being put up in a hotel, having all our meals provided- I mean how rubbish is that! ;-P

The hotel was lovely and once we had all sorted which rooms we were in the girls headed down to the pool. Now the only draw back of our little stay in Miami is that we only had our carry on luggage. Our main luggage was going to make it's way to Porto Alegre and we would see it there. So with no swimming costumes, the only way of going swimming was to go in with what we were wearing and hope that it all dried over night! Lol. So I can officially say that I have had a midnight swim in Miami!

Thankfully all my clothes had dried by the next morning, so with a late start we grabbed breakfast/lunch at the airport and headed down to Miami Beach (which as I found out is a separate city to Miami itself!). The first place we went was to the beach- golden white sands, beautiful blue sea and clear skies. Now tell me, could you have resisted going in the water? Every single one of us (bar Cindy) succumbed and removed as many clothes as would keep us acceptably dressed and then trusted that the hot Miami sun would dry the rest. The water was beautifully warm and again for Otis it was a first – the first time in the sea ever! He remarked that it did taste slightly funny! Eventually it was time to head back into shore, and try to dry out a bit. None of us had a change of clothes or a towel so there were quite a few pairs of under pants making soggy patches on jeans as we wandered along Ocean Drive. We saw coconuts growing in the trees, wild green parrots, beautiful cars and a lot of very tanned people. We even got a free ice cream from a van giving out samplers. It was the best afternoon. God is so good- giving us a Miami holiday right before outreach. He made what could have been a nightmare event into a huge blessing.

Our transition onto our plane at Miami was simple and straightforward and the 8 hour flight passed without incident. On arriving in Sao Paulo we checked up on where our luggage was, to see if we had to pick it up and re-check it. Turns out that our luggage hadn't made it out of Miami! So we spent another half hour or so making arrangements for our bags (when I say we I of course mean Johnny and Cindy, the rest of us lounged on the floor). Then we rushed through customs and tried to find our check in. With the huge queues and the delay due to the luggage problem we managed to miss our connection – again. The funny thing is that by this point we were all so tired and so used to missing flights that no one even cared. We were laughing and joking and all planning what we would put in our hand luggage on the way back. Once check in Johnny and Cindy went to call our contact at the church to let him know what was going on. The rest of the team collapsed in a heap and almost everyone else fell asleep. I however had a good book so was content to stay awake and keep half an eye on the luggage. My good book wasn't good enough to keep me awake once we got through to the gate and like everyone else I decided that the floor looked comfortable enough and had a bit of a kip.

It was a two and a bit hour flight to Porto Alegre, until finally we landed. Each of us let out a sigh of relief as we realised that we had no more flying to do for a whole 3 weeks!

In Porto Alegre we were met by the church youth pastors, who took us to the church to drop off our bags, then to the house of some of the church members who fed us up good (Junior wasn't joking when he said we would have the best food ever!). Then back to the church for a short rest before the evening service started. The worship was good, even though we couldn't understand it all God was clearly there. After worship we were all introduced to the church- just name, where you are from, and age (well except for Joe who decided he would rather tell the church how long he had been wearing his t-shirt!). After that though we all deserted the service and headed to bed. I think the boys went to sleep fairly quickly, though the girls of course stayed up for a while chatting. However it was still lights out at 10 for us.

No one in our room stirred for a good 12 hours. Then after 10ish we started the queue for the shower. Now Cindy managed to get some hot water, none of the rest of us were so lucky (and Cindy only got about 3 mins of hot water). So after a very cold shower we had to go and put on the very same clothes that we had left Toronto in – eeeewwww. A couple of us had brought one change of clothes, but only one. So when the news came at 12 that our bags had arrived, you can imagine just how excited we were. So now, 74 hours after leaving the school in Toronto, we are all safely in Brazil, with all our luggage safely in our rooms, with clean knickers on. We are very happy and contented monkeys.