Airline Debacle

This is just dumb...

5:25 am: Morgan drops me at the airport and prays for me... 

5"30 am: I walk into the airport... first of all, this is WAY TOO EARLY and the que (line) wraps around half the airport and my flight leaves at 650. Oh Crap! I start to wait in line...

6:00 am: I am still waiting in line

6:15 am: I get to the front. There is something wrong with my ticket so they send me to another desk.. with a line that is longer than the first! Luckily Jacques came by to see me off and we are talking and it is encouraging because our conversation is keeping me from freaking out!

6:30 am: We get to the front of the line and the lady realizes my mistake! I booked the ticket online for April 26th... Not March 26th! Oh man!

6:45 am: 350 Rand later, I have missed my flight and I have a standby ticket... Ok, this can't turn out too bad!

7:30 am: Jacques leaves to go to work! Thanks for chillin Jacques! Right when he leaves, an announcement comes on that says, there is a problem with flight number 408 to Joburg has been cancelled due to an aircraft failure. The flight will be delayed for 6 hours! There are at least 150 pissed off Afrikaaners (big white people speaking a dialect of dutch) trying to get to Joburg for whatever. I realize that I am SOL (as my sister would say) for getting on standby! Oh geez.. 6 hours of sitting at the Cape Town airport is going to suck!

8:00 am: I go to the counter to ask if there is any chance of getting on a flight... The ticketer tells me it is hopeless! Great!

8:15 am: By the Grace of God, the plane is fixed! Everyone is happy once again and the world can continue and I have a slight chance of actually getting on a plane to Joburg! 

8:20 am: I go to the counter... again... I ask if there is a chance... He looks up and smiles and says come back in an hour and a half! 

9:30 am: I go to the counter... Again!... He hands me a ticket! WOOHOO! 

9:40 am: I am on the plane sitting next to a great German couple (who actually stole my seat.. but I dont care cuz I made the plane!) 

11:17 am: I am in the air... relaxing... thinking about all my time spent in Cape Town. I need to throw out a thanks to all of you who have been praying and supporting me! You have no idea how much I appreciate it and need it! Thank you! It has been a wild... wild... extreme ride!

Cape Town Chronicles 1

Well before I get to the airport story, I need to write about some of the things I have been able to do while in Cape Town and some of the people I have been blessed to meet. I have been involved with a church named Church On Main which is in Newlands/Claremont area. It is a rad church that is very outgoing and is always looking to follow where the Spirit leads! It is normally a younger crowd because UCT (University of Cape Town) is right up on the mountain about a 10 minute walk away. To those of you who have gone to Rock Harbor in Newport Beach in California, it is very similar to that! I met a guy named Jacques (Jack for the layman). He is a great guy with a huge heart for people. He sort of took me under his wing one night when I went to a friends house for a braai and to watch rugby. It was a Friday night and he asked me what I was doing the next morning. I told him I had nothing going on. He asked me if I liked to run. I told him no... (haha for those of you who know me, running is the strongest part of my game. I have a very strong stamina and fast recovery system but in all honesty, running is not my favorite thing to do! But aside from this fact, I have run 2 marathons just to say I could do it!)(Actually, the first marathon I ran was quite a story. I have a friend at APU named Tex. Tex calls me up one friday night and asks me for a favor. I thought he was going to ask to borrow my truck or something like that... I asked him what it was and he said that I had to commit to it before he told me. I said sure! I am in! Why not? He then proceeded to tell me that we were running the LA marathon in 2 days! SHO!) Back to Jacques, he told me that they were running a 15k the next morning and I must come and help him run. I said sure because he is a great guy to be around and a good friend to have! We did the 15K in about an hour and 13 minutes or so... it was great fun! or Lakka Lakka as Jacques would say! About 2 weeks later, Jacques calls me up and asks me if I want to do the Cape Argus. I tell him "Sure... what is it?" He then tells me that it is a 109 Kilometer bike race and one of his friends dropped out and I can fill that spot if I want it... I thought to myself, "Why not? I have been training a lot for soccer and it can't be too bad! Most people finish in 3-4 hours. Let's do it!" So I do it... I made it about 40 K's without stopping and I just about fell off my bike and passed out! Biking fitness is much different than running fitness! The best part of the whole race was being able to go from one ocean to the other ocean and along the Garden Route which is very similar and, in my opinion, more beautiful than the Pacific Coast Highway. The worst part of the race was when I saw a sign, after 2 hours of cycling, that said 60 K's left! EISH! I finished at about 5 hours! I think I am pretty sure I sat on the couch or my bed for the next 3 days. In fact, I have never missed a training session for soccer in my life and I skipped one on purpose because I couldn't get out of bed! Then the even worse part is, I went to church and I was talking to this girl who did the Argus in 3 1/2 hours! (Oh man!) Then the story gets even better! Jacques calls me a couple weeks later again and says that I "must" come with him to do the Two Oceans Marathon! Which is an ultra marathon (56 K's.. you do the math)... Ok it was the half but still 15 MILES is still a long way to run! We finish in an hour and 40 minutes which is respectable! We tore up the first 6 miles and then ran into a wall and had to will our way through the rest! But it was a gorgeous run in amazing weather all in the shadow on the west side of Table Mountain! On a fitness level, I have officially left Cape town the most fit I think I have ever been! 

Moving on... Yesterday was a great day full of doing touristy stuff and taking pictures and getting souvenirs for friends and family. I got to explore different parts of the city that I had yet to see. I got some really cool raw African stuff. I got to say goodbye to all my friends that I have made. It was actually really hard to say goodbye because I have developed many great relationships that I will not ever forget! I know that my time here was well spent and God's people have been loved! I need to throw out an extra big thank you to Morgan and Cari (Bauer) Cathey! They blessed me so much with their hospitality and never ending grace! Thank you guys! I love you! It has been great but it is time to move on and finish what has been started... Joburg here I come!