Monday, August 21, 2006

All you ever wanted to know about Cranes

This past weekend, I took a short trip out to visit my brother, sister-in-law and nephew in DC. Let me just share a rather humerous story about the plane ride...

On my way out to DC, I had my photo album of pictures from Africa. I decided that I was going to carry it on the plane so that I could finish writing in the captions. It was my hope that I would be able to have some good conversations with my brother and sister in law about the trip. Well, like any flight where I am flying by myself, I did the normal scope of the waiting area to see who was getting on the plane. Yes, lame and desperate as it may sound, I totally had one of those prayerful moments where I just hoped that God would have "Mr Perfect" end up in the seat next to me. What I instead learned was that God really does have a sense of humor. I sat down in my seat and after a while of thinking nobody was going to be next to me, this gentleman shows up just as were getting ready to take off. I had the photo album on my lap and was writing in the spaces and I could tell that he was glancing over at the pictures. Not a big deal, didn't see him as a "Mr. Perfect" but thought it might lead into a good conversation about the trip and maybe even a chance to plant a seed...

Well, he asked some questions and then proceeded to tell me about his job as some type of crane saver. That's right, this man gets the DNA from cranes so that they can clone them so they don't become extinct. He told me that there were a ton of cranes in Africa and he filled me in with about 45 minutes worth of knowledge about each one. In fact, he then pulled out his camera and showed me all 300 pictures of the cranes that he saw during his time in the United States. At this point, we were about 40 minutes from landing and honestly didn't mind seeing the pictures but a little overwhelmed with the information on each bird. If that wasn't enough, he then proceeded to tell me that I should go to India with him. He assured me I would love it there. I could take so many wonderful photos and he was certain I would never want to come back. He warned me about the kidnappers and the robbers but promised that he would keep me safe... after all, he has been there for over 10 years and has never been threatened. The guy across the isle knew I was in over my head and I caught him laughing at the predicament that I was in. After all, was this man seriously inviting me to move to India with him? I told him that I wasn't interested and explained that I was a teacher and needed to stay here. Although he thought he could find me a job in India, he settled with giving me his business card just in case I changed my mind. I wish I could see God at that moment because I am pretty sure that he was laughing. I pray for "mr perfect" to be sitting next to me and all I get is an offer to runaway with some man to India... good one God.

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