42 Days and Nights

On Saturday morning I left for the airport on Kadena Air Force Base at 4:45am (approx.). I got there and marked myself present for a Space A flight. Basically this is like flying on standby. I'm still learning all of the lingo, but I felt much more confident after my name was called and I knew what was going on. I then went to the USO area and slept for about a half hour (I stayed up most of the night since I was so excited!). Around 6am they started calling the names of people that could come forward and get a ticket for the flight. If you don't respond to your name being called after two times than you get bumped to the bottom of the list. I was called after about 10-15 minutes. It was quite exciting to hear my name over that loudspeaker!! :)

It was a blessing to see a family from church also waiting for Space A on the same flight. Thankfully for them they got on the flight too! They were going to visit their wife/mother since she will be gone until November or so in Singapore for the Air Force. I was on my way to see my husband!! Such wonderful reasons to take a trip. :) We ended up on the same flight and I was right across the aisle from them. It was nice to be among friends.

At 8am I boarded the plane that I was going to take to Iwakuni, Japan. We left at 8:45am approximately and arrived on land about an hour and twenty minutes later. It wasn't that long of a flight literally, but it felt like it in other ways. I was anxious to see my husband again after being separated for 42 days. It has felt like a lifetime since I saw him last!

When I arrived in Iwakuni, I got off the plane on the tarmac and walked into the terminal. While we waited for our luggage I texted Ben to tell him that I had arrived. He said that he was just outside the terminal working, but that he would try and come in to see me. He was helping coordinate the flights for some Marines from his company to get back to Oki. He came in just as my luggage came around on the carousel. It was such a huge blessing to see his smiling face coming towards me!! We got to talk just for a few minutes, but he had to go back outside. I finished up getting my luggage and went to the seating area that I was told I could wait in. I walked in and was surprised to see it FULL of Marines (not many seats empty). I weaved myself through the aisle that was full of sleeping Marines, M-16s, and luggage until I came to the lobby area where Ben was. He said I could wait outside if I wanted to and I did! :) I didn't mind sitting in there, but being the only civilian in the room made for a lot of people staring at me. I did get to greet Ben's CO and a couple of other officers that I had met before as I headed outside. It was a beautiful day and not as humid as Okinawa, so it was a pleasure to sit outside.

I had to wait a couple of hours, but then Ben took me to a room that I could relax and take a nap in while he finished up his work for the day. Around 5pm he picked me up and we found our room for the next few days. It is very nice with a big ol' kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bath. It is older, but very clean and perfect for what we needed. I'm so thankful that I could come here to see Ben and to visit before we both head home later this week. God answered a lot of prayers this week and I'm so thankful for what He has done!

                                     My luggage with Ben's pack after arriving at Iwakuni.

Seeing my husband after 42 days of separation = priceless memories!!