Early in the morning on February 22nd, I got a ride from Winkler to the Winnipeg airport to catch an airplane to Chicago & then to Nashville where I would meet Albert who is on a Mennonite Disaster Service assignment. Albert has been at Lyles, Tennessee since January 29. The plane was about an hour and a half late leaving Wpg. but I did make it in time to catch my connecting flight to Nashville. As I was walking (running) to meet Albert who was meeting me in Nashville, I had to make a difficult decision. There was a Starbucks coffee just before I went down the escalator where I was meeting Albert & I had to decide if I would stop to get a coffee first or meet Albert.. Hmmm - I really like Starbucks coffee but ---- I chose Albert!
So we went to get my luggage. I was so proud that I had very carefully packed frozen Farmer Sausage in the middle of my suitcase & had declared it at US Customs I wasn't asked to unpack my suitcase by the nice Customs officer. So we waited & waited for my suitcase & soon the turntable was empty of suitcases. Well, Albert knew exactly what to do & where to go as the airline had lost his suitcase too! It was delivered to him the next day. We went to the office to report it lost & there was one lady ahead of me also looking for her baggage & she was very rude to the agent behind the desk who very politely recorded the details from the Very Rude Lady. I very politely asked about my luggage & she scanned my baggage ticket & said my suitcase was sitting in Chicago & it could arrive later that evening on the 6 or 8 o'clock flight & it would be delivered to me. Long story short, I had packed a change of clothes & some necessities in my carry-on & stopped at Walmart to purchase a few more things & I knew I could make it through the night.
So then Albert took me to Cracker Barrel for a birthday supper. It was an eventful birthday & it wasn't over yet. So then we drove out to Camp Cedarcrest which is a 15 minutes drive from Dixon. The MDS camp is situated at a Bible camp in a beautiful setting surrounded by lots of trees & a lake of which I have not be able to enjoy due to my orientation to my duties here.
At the camp I was greeted by the MDS volunteers singing "Happy Birthday" & a birthday cake. No chance to sneak in quietly.
My suitcase was delivered after 10 PM after I had gone to bed as it was a long day & it was sitting outside my bedroom the next the morning and guess what - the Farmer Sausage was still partially frozen! I plan to cook Klieke & Farmer Sausage this coming weekend when the MDS cooks aren't on duty. And that's the story of Day 1 in Lyles, Tennessee.