Uneventful Trip

 We have arrived safely in the US and thank the Lord that our trip was uneventful. Every step of the way, we experienced God's hand and His favor.  Early Sunday morning, Pastor Simi drove us and all our luggage the half hour to the airport in Cluj, Romania, we said our last goodbyes and checked in for our flights. When we presented our bags at the check-in counter, we told them that we had one more bag than our tickets allowed, knowing we would need to pay fees for the extra bag.  The agent called her manager who came over, assessed the situation and arranged for all our bags to be accepted without extra charges under the Covid rules.  Praise the Lord!  

We flew on Turkish Airlines from Cluj to Istanbul, arriving in time to try a bit of Turkish food with Turkish coffee for lunch.  We wore masks the entire time we were in the airports and airplanes, but our temperatures were taken only once, when we boarded the plane for Chicago. The flight from Istanbul to Chicago was a long ten and a half hours, but went without incident.  

In Chicago, after going through customs, we picked up all our baggage as required and took them to the United Airlines counter to be checked in for the flight to Des Moines.  There we were told that we would have to pay fees for the extra bag that Turkish Airlines had given us for free.  However, after getting all the tags for the bags and our boarding passes for the next day, we left the counter and realized we had not paid for the extra bag.  When we went back to the counter, the agent told us that she had waived that fee and she also gave us vouchers for a few dollars off food because of the inconvenience the airline caused us by changing our tickets a month before, giving us a fifteeen-hour delay in our original itinerary.  So, not only did we receive free baggage twice, but we also got free sandwiches and breakfast!  God showed us favor!

We were exhausted after our long day and so the bed and hot shower at the hotel where we stayed to wait for our flight to Des Moines was much appreciated.  Monday morning at 10:30, our final plane arrived in Des Moines.  Nancy's sister and brother-in-law, Leona and Nick Venditti, met us at the airport.  It is good to be back.

Praise God for answering our prayers for a safe and uneventul trip back to the US!  He is so good!