Public Notice: Changes made to the Scheduled Flights
This is just to tell you all that I've made some rather dramatic changes to my January travel plans. I had originally intended to fly out this Friday for Athens and a two and a half week visit to Greece, but as my fortnight here in Ethiopia began drawing to a close I felt wrong about leaving and looked into changing my flights to allow me to stay in Ethiopia until 22 January, when I have to leave (wherever I am in this part of the world) to catch my flight to Detroit on 23 January. My hope to be able to change my tickets seems to have been blessed, because I've been able to get fairly good refunds on the tickets I've been changing and was also able to get a new flight to Frankfurt (where I'm connecting with my flight back to the USA) instead of to Greece.
God is merciful. I asked Him to bless the change if it was right, and so far everything has worked out. I spent most of the day and last night thinking through and praying and working on this (with the help of my dad, God bless him), and all that's left to take care of is my Ethiopian Airlines flight to Cairo, which I need to have changed from this Friday to 22 January. Your prayers for that, but I've already received verbal assurances that the change is possible. (I'm going to one of their offices tomorrow to finalize the change.)
I am not ready to go to St. Nektarios and Mount Athos, and God knows if I ever will be. I think I'm most sad about not going to see St. Nektarios, both for myself and because I'd meant to bring gifts from his monastery back to dear ones at my church in Michigan. May God grant this later, but it's as he wills. As for the Mountain, they get enough visitors. They have no need for one who would come just for the heck (or heaven) of it.
So, I will be in Addis until 22 January, which is good. I will have to find something to do with my time though :-). Just being with my parents will be nice though. God knows what will happen to all of us after this academic year ends. I will have to work somewhere, and I don't know how free I will be in the future to come here to this beautiful city and country.
Your prayers, as always. And to my Orthodox friends I must recommend "Island" again - I watched it with English subtitles earlier today and it's simple but good.
God is merciful. I asked Him to bless the change if it was right, and so far everything has worked out. I spent most of the day and last night thinking through and praying and working on this (with the help of my dad, God bless him), and all that's left to take care of is my Ethiopian Airlines flight to Cairo, which I need to have changed from this Friday to 22 January. Your prayers for that, but I've already received verbal assurances that the change is possible. (I'm going to one of their offices tomorrow to finalize the change.)
I am not ready to go to St. Nektarios and Mount Athos, and God knows if I ever will be. I think I'm most sad about not going to see St. Nektarios, both for myself and because I'd meant to bring gifts from his monastery back to dear ones at my church in Michigan. May God grant this later, but it's as he wills. As for the Mountain, they get enough visitors. They have no need for one who would come just for the heck (or heaven) of it.
So, I will be in Addis until 22 January, which is good. I will have to find something to do with my time though :-). Just being with my parents will be nice though. God knows what will happen to all of us after this academic year ends. I will have to work somewhere, and I don't know how free I will be in the future to come here to this beautiful city and country.
Your prayers, as always. And to my Orthodox friends I must recommend "Island" again - I watched it with English subtitles earlier today and it's simple but good.