It's 5 o'clock (AM!) somewhere...

It's 5 o'clock AM here in Johannesburg, South Africa and we are wide awake. It's going to take some time for our bodies to adjust to the time change and we have another time change to navigate tomorrow since South Africa is 6 hours ahead of our normal Eastern Standard Time and Madagascar is 8 hours ahead. Anyway, we've been watching movies and eating snacks, not sure exactly how to handle the sleep schedule with Waverly.
We've been on this journey for about 3 days now (6 hours of which are just lost in thin air because of the time difference) and it has already been more adventurous than we had hoped for. Thursday morning started off fairly positively, except that we were over-charged for our extra luggage and found out we wouldn't be able to check our bags all the way to Madagascar like we had been told previously when we called the airline. Bummer. But all of our luggage weighed exactly as we planned, we gate checked our two carry ons and stroller, and boarded the flight to Chicago! We arrived in Chicago on time with time to find our gate, each lunch, and relax for a short time.
When they began boarding the plane, we decided we would board last of our group, which ended up being one of the last ones anyway. We didn't want to hold anyone up as we broke the stroller down and just organized ourselves before boarding. As we reached the agent at the gate, there was some confusion with our tickets, so Chandler went to the counter to work that out and I stayed at the gate with our things and Waverly. This is when things got hairy.
The lady at the gate informed me that we would have to check our rolling carry ons because there wasn't room in the plane for us to store them. She asked our final destination, I told her South Africa, and next thing I know, our carry ons with clothes, toiletries, and electronics were slated to be checked in baggage and picked up in South Africa. WHAT???? I called for Chandler to abandon his post and help me get this worked out.
Things got a little heated. We pulled the: We're-MOVING-to-Africa card and surely there was someone on the plane who wasn't going international who would be willing to check their bags so we could carry ours, but they were all less than helpful, somewhat rude, and rushing us through the gate. The supervisor was even more less than helpful and was actually kind of offensive (and I really don't get offended easily). Chandler told him of our fear of stuff being taken out of our bags when they arrived in Africa. His reply, "Oh, you'll see it again." Then Chandler asked, "Have you ever BEEN to Africa??" "No," he said, "but I hear it's beautiful." Jerk. At that point, I wanted to slap him.
I digress. So we grabbed what we could out of those bags to get us through to South Africa, with MUCH grumbling, and lugged it all on the plane. That was a long 1 1/2 hour flight, especially when we realized our computer was still in the carry on and could potentially be stolen since it was lying right on top of everything else.
We prayed. A lot. And when we got on the plane in DC, I texted family and asked THEM to pray that all of our luggage would make it to South Africa along with EVERYTHING inside. Then, all we could do was relax (as much as we could) and make it through.
On top of all of this drama, Waverly had not had a nap and melted down most of the way from Chicago to DC. That was stressful and I'll admit, I wasn't a very nice person or mother. And I didn't get any nicer when we landed in DC, met the requested supervisor at the counter and were told that there was nothing we could do except track the luggage when we reached our gate. I was ready to punch someone. But I didn't. Hear me, I didn't. I did, however, call it the "worst day of my life" and asked Chandler, "Can this day get any worse?" He replied, "Yep. My watch just quit." Our only dependable method of keeping track of the changing time. Awesome.
But let me tell you this, God heard our prayers. Waverly was AMAZING on the 17 hour flight; no crying, no fits. She was perfect. He gave us rest and revived our spirits. Then, about 16 hours into the flight, our already wracked and exhausted brains somehow remembered that the last time we were in Africa, our bags did not go through customs without us, so as long as they all made it to Africa, they would not be picked through because we would be there! Rejuvenated, we hurried off of the plane, through passport check and to the baggage carousel, where all 9 bags, plus our two carry ons showed up!! We were ELATED! God would still be good if all of our bags didn't make it. He would still be good if our computer had been stolen (Thanks to encryption!). But He showed Himself gracious, victorious and good by getting us through the longest few days...ever and protecting our belongings.
I think had He not answered our prayers like He did, I would have lost my mind when Waverly, playing on the swingset of the guest house, hit her head on the metal bar, cutting it open, and (practically) bleeding out. Great way to start our new life. Haha. But we went on to have a great meal with our bosses and are all ready to fly to Madagascar in the morning!
God is so good. All the time. I have never lived on "blind faith" until now. I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but I am learning that He does and nothing that happens is a surprise to Him. And we are careful to give praise and glory to Him who holds it all together (Col. 1:17).