Up In the Air

DAY 2 / THE NORTH PACIFIC - The end to the second day of our team’s mission to Thailand comes somewhere over the northern rim of the Pacific Ocean. The Aleutian Islands of Alaska are somewhere behind us. The Kamchatka Peninsula and the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok are somewhere ahead. Beyond that lie Japan, Korea and China.

Our altitude is about 12,300 m, and our speed is about 830 kph. Air temperature outside our cabin is about -55º C. We are expected to arrive in Bangkok at about 6:30 a.m. (local time) after 17-18 hours in the air ….. a LONG journey, even by West Texas standards!

But the flight is comfortable, and the departure was right on schedule. The aircraft we’re in is larger than those used in domestic flights, and the service of our Thai Airways crew is spoiling, to say the least. At meal time, we had our choice of western or Thai dishes. And there are plenty of soft drinks, fruit juices and bottled water throughout the flight, which helps keep passengers hydrated and reduces the effect of extended air travel. Exercise also helps with that, and team members are walking the aisles and flexing their limbs when they can.

We are also taking advantage of the fact that nearly the entire flight is at night, and we’re getting plenty of sleep ….. but we’re able to time that sleep to help our bodies adjust to the dramatic change in time zones we face when we arrive in Bangkok.

We’d also like to mention the in-flight entertainment. Many of us brought books to help us get through the long hours of the flight ….. but some of us haven’t even cracked open the cover. You can watch movies for example, current hits and old classics, western and Thai. You can start with George Clooney and “Michael Clayton,” move on to “Lady and the Tramp,” then finish with “Twipop, The Siam Rennaisance,” in which Florence Vanida plays Maneejan, a modern-day Thai scholar who warps back in time to the Bangkok of 100 years ago. There are also news, sports and weather reports. And there is music which, again, features western and Thai favorites ….. the latter includes a “Musical Self-Portrait” composed by His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.

Although this leg of our journey was delayed by 24 hours (due to multiple problems with domestic flights and connections), it is running right on schedule. And that is encouraging to our team members who are eager to arrive in Thailand, link-up with the mission partners in-country, and get to work.

Please keep our mission and team members in your prayers, and be sure to include a prayer of thanks for those at the ticket counter and in the aircraft that are helping us reach our destination at long last. And please, don’t forget the families and loved-ones back home.

By the way, if you have any questions you would like to ask the members of our mission team, please e-mail your question to missioner@fpcmid.org