Before leaving for Michigan I prayed a ton about the people who would be on the planes with Evie and I. Our travel to the States included a several hour flight, a ten hour layover in Paris and another several hour flight. Our travel home to Senegal was a short flight then an overnight from JFK to Dakar. Needless to say, this was daunting to anticipate, especially for someone who had never flown alone before. Throw in an 11 month old who’s teething and you just don’t know what you’re going to get.
God was so gracious to answer my prayers with amazing flight attendants who were exceptionally kind and helpful, particularly on my first flight out of Dakar, as well as neighbors who were understanding, sweet with Evie and patient with the, sometimes frequent, crying. In fact I can’t think of a single person who even side-eyed us or grimaced when Evie was struggling. That being said, it was still a grueling experience as anyone who has small children and has flown can attest to. The layover in particular felt a bit like a time warp where I just sought new positions and places that might lead to Evie napping without my back being wrecked.
There is something to be said for the energy that is produced out of excitement though. Despite the difficulty of travelling and the lack of sleep I felt very motivated to keep going and press through because I knew that, on my way to Michigan, family and friends I hadn’t seen in over two years were waiting and, on my way back to Senegal, Adam and the kids were waiting (this was the longest I had been apart from any of them).
One story in particular is worth sharing. Let me preface by saying that before I left Mia kept saying that she was praying for me to be able to share about Jesus with the people next to me on the planes. After our first flight I felt like that was going to be a long shot. I wasn’t talking to my seat mates, I was just surviving and trying desperately to prevent Evie from kicking them or chucking toys at them.
However, on our final flight which was the seven hour overnight from JFK to Dakar I had just that opportunity.
Unlike all our previous flights in which we sat in rows with three or four seats this final flight was just us and one other seat (Evie was on my lap for the flights). As each person boarded and came our way I wondered if they might be our neighbor for this trip, the unlucky person to be trapped against the window by a mom and her baby.
A young woman around my age approached with a kind smile and slid in beside us. We shared some small talk before settling in for the flight. It was quickly apparent that she was a very laid back and kind woman, interacting easily with Evie and chatting freely with me. She asked how Evie did flying and I shared about the exhausting journey we had had to get to Michigan two weeks prior. I told her about how Adam and I had travelled with two young kids before but it was easier because, even with more kids, you always had a second person to help. To that she replied, “Let me be your second person for this flight.”
And she was. Anything I needed she was happy to help with from keeping my meal and coffee on her tray since I couldn’t unfold mine with Evie sleeping on me (something that had caused me to skip the meals on previous flights) to helping me collect all my luggage after we had gotten off our flight (for reference: I had two bins, two suitcases, a car seat and a stroller to collect on top of all of the things I had with me on the plane which included a diaper bag, a laptop bag, a carry-on suitcase and Evie in a carrier).
After eating Evie passed out and stayed that way for several hours which was no small miracle and I found out our kind neighbor wasn’t able to sleep on planes and was open to chatting so we got to talking about our lives.
I found out she is from Israel and was headed to Dakar for a work trip. She’s married to a man from Africa, but they are living in New York City, a dream of hers. I shared about our life in Senegal and why we were there. We spent a long time talking about faith. She is a secular Jew, but vividly remembered meeting Christians for the first time on a short term trip to Haiti and her husband is actually a Christian. We talked about the hurt and brokenness in the world, so clearly apparent in places like Haiti and her homeland right now. I shared about the hope I have in Jesus, for this life and for eternity. We talked until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. It was such a sweet time and so unexpected. I’m staying in contact with this awesome lady and hope she continues to ask questions about the gospel and that one day she might know Jesus personally as her Savior.
God provides in the coolest ways!
– Selina
