Can God work through airlines?
Anyone who has ever used the airlines to travel knows how tough it can be to try to get changes within the confines of airline bureaucracy. The problem is even greater if you are traveling internationally, and trying to change things just a couple weeks in advance! But God can come through even in those situations, as He has shown me in the past couple of days.
Our medical team will be leaving for Thailand three weeks from today, on June 22. We'll be overseas for 10 days, doing medical work for the kids in Freedom House. Over the past couple of days, though, there have been a few changes to our team.
I first found out that one prospective team member had made some exciting future plans, but plans that required him to miss the trip. Aside from being disappointed he wasn't going to be able to come, I was very worried that we might lose the price of his ticket–airline policies being what they are. My fears were confirmed when I talked to United's international booking and was told there was no way that we could transfer the ticket or get a refund. The best they could do would be a credit which, under its terms, would have been almost useless.
But a few people started praying, and I decided to try one more time. Amazingly, with no problem whatsoever, the next ticket agent issued a refund for almost the entire ticket price!
I was amazed then, but God wasn't finished. This morning, I heard the exciting news that a photographer–someone we have been praying for–would be able to come with us. Ticket prices, though, became a huge problem. Multiple ticket agents told me that there was no way to get a decent price for those flights. We prepared to try to ramp up fundraising efforts to compensate–and we started praying.
As a last resort, I called a ticket agent that we have used in the past, just to see if she could pull some strings with United to get us a decent fare. Within hours, she had done what multiple ticket agents told me was impossible–found the same flights for a good fare.
It would be hard not to be excited about the doors God is opening for us on this trip. With all that He is doing in preparation, imagine what he has in store for us overseas!