On Tuesday morning, workers at the cargo terminal in Ethiopia lost the original air waybill needed for collection of all goods.
By Tuesday afternoon, there was no way to get our belongings out of the customs warehouse. There was no indication that our cargo had even arrived. Officials said, "Your shipment does not exist in our system. There's nothing we can do for you."
Cargo had (possibly) arrived. Paperwork had disastrously disappeared. Such was the dilemma we faced this week in the middle of our first few days in a new place.
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We are introduced to a sovereign God very early in the Old Testament. The God who creates is the same God who sustains. There is nothing beyond His knowledge or control. This same God who bends the will of the universe cares for those He created. He is not a disinterested "clock maker" who turns the gears of the cosmos before turning back to His own affairs.
Perhaps one of the most poignant stories of these truths is found in Israel's exodus from Egypt. In the account immediately preceding their miraculous flight from slavery, we are left with little doubt that it is God Himself who saves His people. We read in Exodus 3:7-8,
The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians. (NASB)
This should cause us great joy. For we have a God who is not only all-powerful in His sovereign control, but also a God who is deeply concerned about His people. He sees. He hears. He cares. And, in reflecting on all the religions in the world in which man is summoned upward, this God is the only one who comes down. In every other faith, men strive after a god who is aloof, mysterious, or unapproachable. The efforts of man are required to reach up to god. But this God of the Bible has come down. This is a beautiful foreshadowing of the events many centuries later as Jesus "became flesh, and dwelt among us... full of grace and truth" (John 1:14 NASB).In the Exodus account, we also read of a God who moves the hearts of men. Repeatedly throughout the narrative, God hardens the heart of Pharaoh (Ex. 9:12, 10:1, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10, 14:8). Certainly this is a larger theological issue than this post intends to explain (indeed, this concept might lie beyond the boundaries of human explanation altogether - Romans 9:6-24). But let it be sufficient here to say that God inclines the hearts of men. Rulers and governments are in His hands. But what about officials in a cargo warehouse?
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| Imagine a taxi like this with 36 pieces of luggage on top! |
We arrived at the cargo terminal and God began to move the hearts of the people sitting behind the counter.
Miracle #1 - ambassador status. In line behind a sea of other people, it was going to take several hours just to be told that my document was still lost. At the information counter, I politely asked to receive courtesy because I'm working for a Christian Mission agency. He smiled and gave me a priority number. He gave me ambassador status! I walked right up to the counter with a spring in my step. And I was immediately deflated to hear familiar words, "There's nothing we can do for you."
Miracle #2 - agent on duty on a Saturday. After contacting the Kenya Airways agent in Ethiopia, who was actually at work on a Saturday, we discovered that the waybill had been collected and we uncovered the name of the person who signed for it. That person, however, was not on duty. Instead, we were able to speak with the terminal manager. We were told it would take some hours before he was available. He actually saw us within ten minutes!
Miracle #3 - the stamp. The manager would still have to believe my story without any documentation to prove its authenticity. {Side note: one thing we've learned about Africa is that the STAMP is everything. You have a stamp on your document, the waters part! No stamp, forget it!} Not only did I not have a stamp on my document... the document didn't even exist. After two minutes of explanation, the manager smiled at me and gave me a stamp allowing access into the customs warehouse. "Please find your cargo," he said. Amazing. It had only been 30 minutes and I was already in the warehouse. The stamp had been given and the waters were parting!
Miracle #4 - wow, it's really here! After a relatively brief wait in a line of plastic bucket chairs, we were called in to see the cargo. I had a feeling of disbelief when they wheeled it toward me. It was actually there... our stuff... ALL of it. And none of it was smashed, smushed, burnt, charred, discolored, disfigured, dismembered, or out of shape in any respect. Truly miraculous.
Miracle #5 - customs agents. An American face in a strange place often means money... as in, we can get good money out of this guy... as in, dishonest gain. As our journey continued, we found ourselves surrounded by a half-dozen or more customs agents. They smelled blood in the waters and began to circle! They brought box cutters, switchblades, and Swiss Army knives... all with one intent - let's get into this poor guy's stuff and see how much we can get out of him!! Boxes were cut, suitcases unzipped, and trunks opened. I stayed as calm as possible and even began to joke with the agents about what they were finding. They loved seeing the kids' toys and Amy's spices. I told them exactly what they would find in each box and exactly what each item was worth. After another 30 minutes, they started to slow down and one older agent said, "Baca... baca." (Enough... enough). They had seen enough... they could see I was being honest. They opened every item, but only to look at what was packed on top. And in the end, I was charged exactly ZERO customs fees. Nothing. Not a cent.
We cleared customs and found a taxi and left the cargo terminal. It had been less than 4 hours and I had spent less than $200 USD on everything (taxi, storage fees, etc). I had been told to expect no less than $500 in customs fees alone and, at very least, 10 long hours of painful bureaucracy. I not only experienced the 5 miracles above, but had literally, physically, felt the power of someone praying for me. I knew that God had come down and delivered me. He had bent the hearts of officials and agents and desk workers in my favor. Each had thanked me for coming by the time we pulled out!
