“Dave, it’s okay if you die. I’ll make sure the kids are proud of you.”
Well, that escalated quickly!
These were the parting words from my beloved bride before heading off to Egypt. Strangely, I immediately received them as words of comfort. The Apostle Paul says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). The reality is that for those who belong to Jesus, “it’s okay if you die” is a truth we need to hold onto each day. While death is always grievous, the death of the Christian takes place in light of the certain hope of resurrection life that is ours through Jesus’ resurrection.
Sunday night. 9pm flight from Brisbane International Airport. I bumped into a friend at the airport and let her know where I was going. She assured me of her prayers for the trip. I love reminders like this that God is with me, and what a gift to have people praying as I embark on this epic Egyptian journey.
I arrived in Dubai half a day ahead of the rest of our team, flying in from different locations. It meant I had a casual 18 hours to kill while in Dubai. The length of this layover filled me with dread, and I had flashbacks to the 2004 movie ‘The Terminal’, where Tom Hanks’ character ended up living in the airport for nine months. Let’s hope it goes quickly.
Here’s how I filled the time:
1/ I circumnavigated the terminal about 15 times, discerning the best coffee available. For this Aussie-coffee-loving-snob, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of GET YOUR FIX. I’ve been to a bunch of airports around the world, and while I don’t want to overstate this, I can honestly say this was the best airport coffee of my life. #TravelHacksWithDave
2/ I walked 20,827 steps / 16.6km. That’s a lot of steps to take in an airport; maybe some type of record?
3/ I devoured my favourite burger of 2022 at Shake Shack. I had low expectations, but it was better than NYC’s original Shake Shack burgers! Maybe nine months at this airport ain’t so bad?
4/ I finally finished reading ‘God’s Smuggler’ by Brother Andrew (BA), the founder of Open Doors International. What a breathtaking story! It outlines the early days of BA smuggling bibles to Christians across closed borders way back in 1955. While smuggling bibles wasn’t the purpose of our imminent journey to Egypt, the book certainly put fire in my belly with a greater appreciation for the long-term mission of Open Doors.
One of the big takeaways from God’s Smuggler was BA’s dependence on God for his every need. Whether that’s blinding the eyes of border security from seeing the Bibles he was carrying, trusting in God to provide the financial resources for his ministry, or trusting in God’s timing in his life.
Honestly, this year has already been filled with innumerable opportunities to depend upon God with everything in my life. Learning to trust God is humbling and, at times, painful. But he is good. And he is trustworthy. As my long layover draws closer to an end, I resolve to trust in God more deeply during this trip and with whatever God has for me in the future.
Well, I’ve already obliterated my desired word count for this post, but know that I can’t finish just yet.
Three more things happened to close out this crazy long day:
We ate. After the rest of my travel companions arrived in Dubai, we had enough time to cram like sardines into the train and head downtown for dinner beneath the 828-metre shadow of the Burj Khalifa.
We flew. It’s about 3.5 hours from Dubai to Cairo – long enough for a quality nap. However, there was no time to sleep, as the English Premier League was streaming. In the air. On the plane. Oh my. Science! Unfortunately, Liverpool was held to a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Mohamed Salah: no goals; no assists.
We arrived. They say New York is ‘the city that never sleeps’. Let’s give Cairo that moniker too. It was well after midnight on Tuesday morning when we got through customs and out of the airport. And yet, avoiding the heat of the day, it was peak hour at the tennis courts; people were congregating; children were playing; even the cute cats of Cairo were out purring and meowing along the city streets.
Time. To. Sleep.
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Read the rest of the series here.