Colney appeared and sat opposite me as I peered into the remains of my cold tea. "I had some feedback from the conference." Yes," I replied. "I think we did very well, making the best use of the shortened time." "You know, there were some very important people there. There was the Secretary of the State Assembly, and two past Moderators of the Presbyterian synod." I didn't, and wondered how I may have performed if I had!
"Did you know that Peter, with the tattooed arms?" I asked. "Was he from Mizoram? I thought he was a Jesus Army boy!" Colney looked surprised. "He'd been to London to do an MBA, but dropped out, and now has to work hard to get back on his feet," I'd discovered.
"I've enjoyed getting to know your wife." I began. He replied, "She is from a very influential Presbyterian family. They run the big hospital here. Some said she would never leave that to live here with me, but she has made the sacrifice."
Sam and Nathan both slept on well into the morning, and would be giving out loads of energy preparing for tomorrow's public event. I repacked for a difficult set of three flights, putting enough stuff in my hand luggage to survive 24 hours if I got stranded or parted from my other case. After all, already Daniel's flight had been cancelled on Saturday, and we'd missed our Aizawl connection.
Silas arrived with the micro-MPV, and after a quick lunch we all said our farewells. Soon, at a junction leading to the city centre, a thick rope stretched across the road. Groups of men sat about, somewhat threateningly. One, wearing an official identity tag, grunted at Silas. The get-out-of-jail-free passes did the trick. After five more similar roadblocks, we hit NH54, the main road to Lengpui airport. As we twisted down many hundreds of feet, the air was noticeably warmer than the mountain-top freshness of the Mission Home. We passed recent landslips from two nights of heavy rain. Silas and I had a great conversation. He pastors the the Jesus Army Center (in the middle of town), having been trained by Colney. The distant view of Aizawl faded.
"You wait here." Silas pointed, and strode into an office in the terminal building. He returned and asked for a business card, then disappeared again. "I have sorted out your luggage. There will be no excess charge. I know the manager here!" The road had been completely clear of traffic, so we had time on our hands. The check-in lady gave me a row 1 seat again - where there's leg room. As two days before, the Bay of Bengal was lost in the haze, but a chatted to the flight attendant about the onward service to Bangkok. "Oh, it's a strange flight," he offered. "Nobody wants to sleep; they all want to party. You'll see."
As soon as I landed at Kolkata, I got a phone signal and a terse message from Steve: "Send Yangon hotel address". I sank. Had he and Daniel not succeeded in confirming anything? I rang him with no success. Then I rang Mary. She shouted and spoke slowly, and I heard Zebedee's giggles in the background. With seven hours' wait on my hands, I found a phone charge point and set up my laptop. The EE connection was too slow to satisfactorily load emails. First I got an Orange 10mb data warning, then a 20mb one. What's the point of an average 30mb per day, when you can only get a connection two times in a week?!
Steve rang me. "You'll have to shout and speak slowly. My hearing aid's bust!" He and Daniel were travelling to Kochin airport. He relayed their happenings in Thrissur, and plans for arrival at Yangon. At 10.00pm, Daniel rang on the same number. "Is Colney there? They won't let me leave India for Myanmar unless I have a letter of invitation. Can you get John (Biak) to fax it to me, and I can leave first thing tomorrow?" I had to press him to contact Colney directly, explaining I'd had no success making mobile calls. Like me, Steve would now be making the journey alone. He's described this trip as "pressing through open doors". I considered if I should wait for him once at Yangon airport. But that was a decision for later.
Perversely, the check-in challenge went smoothly. Daniel texted his revised arrangements. The flight to Bangkok wasn't rowdy, and the brunch of chicken with lemon - at some uncalculable hour of the morning - was very welcome. (To the three hour flight add a further one and a half hours for the time zone difference, followed by a reversal of half an hour back into Myanmar - follow me?)
As I walked into the smart new Suvarnbhumi International airport, I suddenly realised that Lizzie and Col had been here last November. Thanks to the airport free connections, I rang her by Viber. It was 7.00pm Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale and 6.00am Wednesday here, and midnight at home. Strange world.
"Did you know that Peter, with the tattooed arms?" I asked. "Was he from Mizoram? I thought he was a Jesus Army boy!" Colney looked surprised. "He'd been to London to do an MBA, but dropped out, and now has to work hard to get back on his feet," I'd discovered."I've enjoyed getting to know your wife." I began. He replied, "She is from a very influential Presbyterian family. They run the big hospital here. Some said she would never leave that to live here with me, but she has made the sacrifice."
Sam and Nathan both slept on well into the morning, and would be giving out loads of energy preparing for tomorrow's public event. I repacked for a difficult set of three flights, putting enough stuff in my hand luggage to survive 24 hours if I got stranded or parted from my other case. After all, already Daniel's flight had been cancelled on Saturday, and we'd missed our Aizawl connection.
"You wait here." Silas pointed, and strode into an office in the terminal building. He returned and asked for a business card, then disappeared again. "I have sorted out your luggage. There will be no excess charge. I know the manager here!" The road had been completely clear of traffic, so we had time on our hands. The check-in lady gave me a row 1 seat again - where there's leg room. As two days before, the Bay of Bengal was lost in the haze, but a chatted to the flight attendant about the onward service to Bangkok. "Oh, it's a strange flight," he offered. "Nobody wants to sleep; they all want to party. You'll see."
As soon as I landed at Kolkata, I got a phone signal and a terse message from Steve: "Send Yangon hotel address". I sank. Had he and Daniel not succeeded in confirming anything? I rang him with no success. Then I rang Mary. She shouted and spoke slowly, and I heard Zebedee's giggles in the background. With seven hours' wait on my hands, I found a phone charge point and set up my laptop. The EE connection was too slow to satisfactorily load emails. First I got an Orange 10mb data warning, then a 20mb one. What's the point of an average 30mb per day, when you can only get a connection two times in a week?!
Steve rang me. "You'll have to shout and speak slowly. My hearing aid's bust!" He and Daniel were travelling to Kochin airport. He relayed their happenings in Thrissur, and plans for arrival at Yangon. At 10.00pm, Daniel rang on the same number. "Is Colney there? They won't let me leave India for Myanmar unless I have a letter of invitation. Can you get John (Biak) to fax it to me, and I can leave first thing tomorrow?" I had to press him to contact Colney directly, explaining I'd had no success making mobile calls. Like me, Steve would now be making the journey alone. He's described this trip as "pressing through open doors". I considered if I should wait for him once at Yangon airport. But that was a decision for later.
Perversely, the check-in challenge went smoothly. Daniel texted his revised arrangements. The flight to Bangkok wasn't rowdy, and the brunch of chicken with lemon - at some uncalculable hour of the morning - was very welcome. (To the three hour flight add a further one and a half hours for the time zone difference, followed by a reversal of half an hour back into Myanmar - follow me?)
As I walked into the smart new Suvarnbhumi International airport, I suddenly realised that Lizzie and Col had been here last November. Thanks to the airport free connections, I rang her by Viber. It was 7.00pm Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale and 6.00am Wednesday here, and midnight at home. Strange world.
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