Missionary

By: Angela King

              Since my teenage years, I have had a desire to become a missionary.  After many years of inquiries, conferences and applications, the opportunity finally presented itself in August of 2011 and I was off to Managua, Nicaragua, the second poorest nation in the World.

             Then, in January of 2012, my second missionary trip was to Carrefour, Haiti -- only two years after it had experienced one of the most devastating earthquakes in history. 
              Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world, even after two years, had the look of a place which had just been affected by the earthquake.  We were housed in an earthquake affected facility which overlooked one of the larger “Tent Villages” there.   Our mission was to complete two two-bed room family residences which would eventually house a minimum of six people each.  We visited places of worship as well as a home for young girls and another one for young boys, most of whom had lost their parents in the earthquake.  There were many disheartening stories of death from the earthquake. The daily exposure to the level of poverty and the conditions in which humans exist was very traumatic for me and makes me more appreciative of what I have.

            My name is Angela King. I reside in Plainfield, New Jersey but I am from the island of Jamaica.

           This is the story of my most recent missionary trip to Nicaragua.  It is August 2012 and the time is fast approaching for my departure on the 17^th.  I had accumulated quite a few items from donations for the children of Nicaragua.  I spent the night of the 16^th packing until 2am, taping and labeling four storage totes with these donations.

             I was off to the airport at 3:00pm with the four totes, one carry case of art pencils and crayons, one piece of personal luggage, my laptop and my pocket book.  My flight departure time was 4:59pm.

             I arrived at the airport, unloaded my luggage, said goodbye to Reverend Jennings who transported me and waited for a Red Cap. Due to a luggage issue with a passenger ahead of me, my wait on line for the one agent on duty was approximately forty minutes.  It’s now 4:20pm.

             I gave the agent my documentation and showed her my luggage.  It is at this time she informs me that there is an embargo in Nicaragua and I am only allowed two pieces of checked luggage.  After much protest to no avail, and because nothing can be disposed of at the airport, I inquired of changing my flight so I can take the items back home.  I was given a cost of over one thousand dollars.  “Are you people crazy?” was the only thing I could say.  She informs me that I must check my two pieces or I cannot check anything.

            So here I am at 4:35pm, flight boarding and almost in tears.  I grabbed my personal bag and one tote, gave them to her and paid the fee which she told me would be the total cost to Nicaragua.  With my head still spinning, I remembered that my girlfriend LaWana works just outside the airport but it’s Friday and she is not usually at work that late.  I took a chance and called.  No answer.  In total panic I called her husband Samad who got a hold of her. She is still at work!

             She races to the terminal as I hear the final boarding call for my flight.  I see her coming.  I leave the totes on the curb, grab my laptop, pocket book and the carry case of crayons and head for the security checkpoint, still hearing the final boarding call.

            The line is snaked around several rows.  I find a TSA agent and let her know that my flight is completing its boarding.  She tells me I am only allowed two pieces of carry-on luggage and I have three.  “What?” I inquired as to where I can dispose of the case of crayons.  “You cannot,” she advises.  Not at the airport. She says I have to get my laptop into my pocket book and with the case of crayons that will be two pieces. Get my laptop (which is in a case) into my pocketbook?  Either all these folks have lost their minds or I am in a really bad episode of “The Twilight Zone.”

             I still believe God got that laptop into my pocket book.  She put me at the front of the line with my two pieces of carry-on. By now they are calling my name to board the flight. The other agent is still checking my boarding pass and passport.   I yelled, “that is my name they are calling” and another passenger put me in front of her.  I unloaded all the items I just stuffed into my pocket book for security screening.  I ran through the x-ray machine (still being paged), I grabbed everything and with pants falling down, stuffed everything under my arm and ran for gate C34 while yelling “out of my way” all the way there.

              The agent asks “who are you?” I could only stab at the paper he was holding.  “Ok you made it,” he says.  “Are my pants down?” I inquired of a fellow passenger, “no they are still up,” she said.  It sure didn’t feel like it. I thanked her and sat down for the first leg of my flight.

              I arrived in Miami and decided to double check with an agent about the fee I paid in Newark which should have taken my luggage to Nicaragua the next day.  She took one look at my receipt and said “they did it wrong.” “Wrong?” I inquired.  “Yes, they booked you with Miami as your final destination.”

              Seeing the look of utter disbelief on my face, she said, “bring your receipt in the morning and tell the agent what you just told me, maybe they will be able to do something for you.”

              I was tired and just could not deal with anything else at this point so I found a hotel for my overnight stay and got picked up by the shuttle.  After grabbing a bite to eat, I finally got to my room. Lying down never felt so good!

             The next day, I dressed, packed and went to the hotel lobby to await the airport shuttle.  A few minutes later, I received a call from the airline that my flight was being delayed one hour.  I decided to go ahead and take the shuttle and wait at the airport.   As I entered the terminal an agent asked where I was going.  I told him Nicaragua.  He said “you can’t take that.”  “Can’t take what?” I inquired.  “The tote,” he said. “There is an embargo and it is considered a box.”  “You have got to be kidding. Why was I not told that in New Jersey so I could have sent everything back home?”  A shrug of the shoulder was all I got.

            “So what can I do with it?” “You can purchase a bag, put the items in it and dispose of the tub,” he advised.  “Where can I get a bag?”  “There is a store around the corner.”

          I found the store and relayed my story to the clerk who thoroughly enjoyed my dilemma thus far.  I found a large bag which was on sale (I could not have afforded one otherwise) and still frustrated, stuffed the entire tote in it along with the case of crayons.  I now had two pieces of luggage.

          I walked back to the airline counter, found an agent, who took my bags after I told her my story without any additional charges.

          Our flight arrived in Nicaragua without incident. We cleared customs.  When the buses arrived most of our luggage had to be loaded on the roof racks and yes you guessed it; it rained so we arrived at The Villa Esperanza with soaked luggage.

          The Villa Esperanza (Village of Hope) is the realized vision of Gloria and Wilbert Sequeira. Along with Forward Edge International, The Villa houses at-risk girls who are rescued from a life of prostitution and are given the chance to grow up and live a normal life.  The Villa also hosts visiting missionaries who help the young girls mature through adulthood.

          Along with our mission to spread the word of God, our purpose on this trip was to complete the multi-purpose center in Christo Rey and build homes for the needy. 

          Christo Rey (Christ Came) was named by the villagers after they were put on this undeveloped land and left to make it on their own.  The missions to Christo Rey are usually geared towards building homes for the Villagers whose shelter is normally constructed of plastic, cardboard and posts made from locally harvested trees. 

          We worked in Christo Rey for five days and accomplished all we had planned for this Mission.  Four homes were completed, the multi-use center along with a kitchen and bathroom were 95% completed. 

           And so after our time of fun with the girls at The Villa, it was time to return home.  Because our flight was early on Sunday morning, we left The Villa on Saturday to stay at the hotel directly across from the airport.  Upon arriving at the hotel, we were given the news that all flights to Miami were cancelled until further notice due to the onset of hurricane Isaac.

           The men returned with news from the airline that the earliest flight we could get out of Nicaragua was on Tuesday and it was not going to Miami.  The flight was scheduled for Guatemala, where we would get another flight to Houston, Texas, then another flight to Washington, D.C. our final stop! But we are going to New York, how will we get there?  We will rent vehicles and drive up, was the answer.  The men had already booked us out on the Tuesday flight.

            So we hung out at the hotel, each enjoying a mini vacation. Personally I needed the rest. On Tuesday we began our journey home from Nicaragua to Guatemala to Houston to DC. Rented two passenger vans and drove home. I was dropped off at Newark Airport at 3am on Wednesday. I got Reverend Jennings out of bed to come and take me home.

            I will be returning to Nicaragua in December ….. you gotta love this mission work!