E a Rt H qU aK e - How My Parents Got Home

The following is a testimony of the Works of God. Only our Eternal, Sovereign, and Loving God could orchestrate the numerous events in order to make it possible for my parents to arrive back in MN in time for my grandmother's funeral.

All was normal as we went to bed on that Friday night, Feb 27th. We were anticipating one last full day with my parents before they flew back to Santiago and then home to the States. During the middle of the night (3:34 am), the Lord allowed a MAJOR earthquake here in Chile.
In the following days, we realized that my parents quick return home would be impossible. The Santiago airport suffered major damage. Flights were canceled. Runways were closed. How could my parents get home? They had many things to accomplish back in MN before my grandmother's funeral on Sat. March 6th.

We started listing options:

Option #1 - Inquire about when they could find a flight to Santiago.
Answer: Not until Tues. March 8th. This would get them home after the funeral.

Option #2 - Bus them up to Santiago in order to get a flight out of Santiago.
Answer: The main highway going to Santiago was cut in eight places. Buses were not running due to the earthquake.

Option #3 - Buy a flight from the Temuco airport to Buenos Aires, Argentina
Answer: The Temuco airport is NOT an international airport, thus it couldn't provide that flight.

Option #4 - Buy a flight from Temuco to another Chilean airport to fly to Buenos Aires.
Answer: The Santiago airport (apparently) is the only international airport in Chile.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

At this point, we all were a bit discouraged. Many hours were spent online trying to figure out ways to get my parents home. Skype calls were made to let people know that it didn't look good for my parents to make it back home for the funeral. My dad was supposed to speak at the funeral, and my mom was nervous that many "Plan B's" would have to be put in motion.

I was chatting with Kristi's mom on Skype, when she mentioned that we should look online for a flight out of Bariloche, Argentina to Buenos Aires, which would be a better airport for them to get a flight back to the States. We didn't realize that there was an airport in Bariloche. We found out that there were flights available. Great, but how do we get them to Bariloche?

Option #1 - I drive them to Bariloche.
Answer: Too complicated. Buying gas was near impossible, due to shortages from the earthquake.

Option #2 - Buy them bus tickets to Bariloche.
Answer: No direct tickets available from Temuco to Bariloche.

Option #3 - Buy bus tickets from Temuco to Osorno. Then buy bus tickets from Osorno to Bariloche.
Answer: No buses from Temuco would get to Osorno in time to catch the bus to Bariloche.

Option #4 - I drive them to Osorno very early in the morning and personally put them on the bus for Bariloche.
Answer: BINGO! That's just what we did.

On Tuesday night, my parents said their final goodbyes to our children, since we were going to leave extremely early the next morning to drive to Osorno.

On Wed. morning, we left Temuco by 5:45 am and drove to Osorno in a dense fog. The main highway didn't have any major damage from the earthquake. It helped that we were driving south (away from the epicenter and affected areas). The trip to Osorno went quicker than expected, but we didn't want to take a chance at missing the bus. We arrived in Osorno two hours before my parent's bus was scheduled to leave. We parked in the underground mall parking lot and slept for an hour in the van.

After a quick nap, we walked two blocks to the bus station with plenty of time to spare. We waited and waited until the scheduled time of departure. I couldn't find the bus. It was late. Oh, well...it's normal, especially since the bus terminal was a zoo of people trying to get back to their family members after such a major earthquake.I happened to overhear a man inquiring (in Spanish) about the same bus as my parent's. I asked him (in Spanish) if he was going to Bariloche. Yes, he was. We continued talking a while in Spanish. I told him I was concerned about my parents getting through the Chilean and Argentine border, since they don't know Spanish. He asked me where I was from and if I was German (there are many second and third generation Germans in Chile). I told him that I lived in Temuco, but was originally from the US. He then told me, "Well, why don't we just talk in English? I'm from Montana. My name is Ralph."Ralph and his wife were traveling to Bariloche for a getaway. He knew Spanish really well, since he was a university professor in Columbia for many years. I asked him if he would help my parents get through the border. He said he would be glad to do it.
Above: Ralph (in the red and white polo) talking with my dad. My mom is in the top left chatting with Ralph's wife.So, after a quick goodbye and "thanks for coming to Chile" discussion, my parents hopped on the bus headed for Bariloche, Argentina.

I waited until their bus left the terminal, and then I headed back to my van to drive back home to Temuco. I was able to buy $15 dollars worth of gas on the way home.

My parent's bus trip over the Andes Mountains was impressive. They sent me several pictures of the views they had from their seat in the bus. The road to Bariloche is very pretty and that area looks a lot like the Alps.

There was another issue I haven't told you about...it's that my parents had to spend one night in Bariloche, since their plane ticket was on Thurs. March 4th. What were they going to do? How were they going to get around the town? How were they going to exchange money?

Answer: There is a young Chilean pastor that is planting a church in Bariloche. Above: Pastor Saul and Claudia Pailahueque. Kristi and I contacted them, and asked if they could house my parents for one night at their small apartment. They were excited to help and host my parents. There was only one problem...they didn't know English, and my parents didn't know Spanish!

It all worked out just fine, amidst the humorous attempts at hand gestures and mispronounced vocabulary.

The next morning (Thurs), Pastor Saul got my parents to the airport and on their plane to Buenos Aires. My parents would be arriving at the old Buenos Aires airport, but needed to get to the new airport in order to check in at the American Airlines desk.

That's where yet another guardian angel stepped in to help my parents. Colby Holmes (a GMSA missionary colleague in Argentina) lives just outside of Buenos Aires, and was willing to pick up my parents and drive them to the new airport.

My parents arrived at the airport and looked around for Colby. They waited...and waited...and waited. One hour went by and Colby was not there! What should they do? They needed to get to the other airport ASAP in order to check in, since they had stand by tickets. Since Colby wasn't there, my parents attempted to ask around to buy a bus ticket to the other airport. Come to find out that bus would take forever to get them there. Next, they tried to look for tickets on a small van (called a transfer) to get them to the airport. They found one, and bought two tickets. Just after they bought the tickets, Colby walks by! Where was Colby? Well, he WAS at the airport, but for some reason my parent's flight was divided into two separate baggage claim numbers. Colby was at one end, while my parents were on the other side. Sigh!

Colby asked the transfer desk if my parents could get a refund for their tickets since they no longer needed them. Of course, the answer was NO, they are non-refundable, but good for a whole year. Well, that wasn't going to help my parents, so they gave them to Colby for use in the coming year.

On to the other airport...

Colby dropped my parents off at the airport, only to encounter a ZOO of people trying to get back to the States on one of three Thurs. evening flights. Above: the long lines for checking in at the American Airlines counter. After a long wait, my parents were able to check in. This was a very good thing, since there is an important "wild card" dynamic that you don't know about yet. A relative of a friend of my parents, works for American Airlines. She got my parents first class standby tickets for their trip down to Chile. They also had those same tickets to fly back to the States. Well, the earthquake changed everything...but...BUT...Julie, still could "pull some strings" from her Dallas office desk, if my parents could just check into the system.

Once checked in, Julie tried to "pull as many strings" as her tenure and authority allowed. My parents were told wait in the "standby" area until someone would read names off of a list. Forty minutes went by...an AA agent gave out eight standby tickets, but their names were not called. Another forty minutes went by...the agent handed out another eight standby tickets, but their names were not on the list. Another thirty minutes went by...the agent read off another list, and my parents were the final two names called!!

They made it on the 9:30 pm flight to Miami. They didn't get first class seats, but coach seats. At this point in their adventure, they would have traveled cargo. Julie (the AA worker) later told me that she could NOT believe what had happened in order for my parents to make it on that flight. Fifty people, for some reason, did not show up for that first flight! She told me that RARELY happens. Fifty people!

My parents arrived in Miami around 4:30 am, and waited two and a half hours for their connecting flight to Chicago.

The flight to Chicago was on time, and they had another short layover until their connecting flight to Minneapolis.

But wait, there's more...

Upon arriving in Minneapolis, they were picked up by a church member and brought back to their house in Brooklyn Park. Quickly unpacking and repacking, they prepared to drive yet another three hours north to Grand Rapids, MN in order to crash for the night. The funeral was the next day.

My dad was able to speak at my grandma's funeral.

And my extended family were so happy that my parents were able to join what had turned into a small family reunion.

So looking back at this whole experience, I ask myself several questions:


*Who is the only One that could have perfectly orchestrated all of the small and big events, bus trips, flights, and 50 people not showing up? Answer: Our Sovereign God


*Who is the only One that could have answered the many prayers of God's people in getting my parents home in time for the funeral? Answer: Our Loving God


My parents (and many others) will never forget this trip to Chile. What I hope we all remember the most is that God made it all POSSIBLE.