You know you have arrived when...

Well, we are here.

We are in Puerto Ordaz.

And we could not be happier.

Our flights from Chicago to Houston and from Houston to Caracas went quite smoothly.

From Chicago to Houston we were seated in the very last row of the aircraft,

which has proven not the greatest spot before.

But this time, we had the entire back row to ourselves.

All 6 seats (3 on each side)!

So, the kids were able to play and lay and do whatever they wanted, basically.

Samuel fell asleep during the landing of that flight and then went on to sleep throughout the layover in Houston and did not wake up until we arrived in Caracas.

Katrina was WIDE awake when we boarded the plane in Houston

and stayed awake for about an hour.

I looked over after an hour and she was totally konked out, doing her best to sleep sitting up.

Poor thing.

On that flight the kids and I were in a row of 3 and Pancho was seated two rows behind us.

We were thankful for a seat for Samuel so he could lay down and like I mentioned,

he slept until we landed in Caracas.

We landed 15 minutes earlier than expected and zoomed through immigration.

All, let me repeat that, all of our suitcases were waiting for us on the turntable and I was praising the Lord for the smoothest trip to Venezuela in our family's history.

Fast forward five minutes...

You know you have arrived in Venezuela when ...

... there is a line but no one seems to follow the rules about what it means to wait your turn, etc.

... flights are cancelled or "closed" without notifying the passengers.

... you wish you could yell really well in Spanish.

... when you think things cannot get any worse and then they do.

We walked to the national terminal and got in line to get our boarding passes for our flight from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz.

There was a long line, but nothing we have not seen before.

And, for those of you not familiar with Venezuelan line-making rules...

You make the line and then send one person from your party to the front to ask the ticket counter person a question that you probably should wait to ask until it is your turn.

So, in typical Venezuelan custom, Pancho went to ask if our flight was still on schedule, etc.

He was told our flight was cancelled but to get back in line.

Then I went to ask a different ticket counter person and I was told that the flight was not cancelled but that it was "closed" and no one else could get on

(even though it was not time yet, etc.) and to get back in line that he would help me get onto the 11:30 AM flight.

Note to self: it was 6:45 AM and we had been traveling since 11:00 AM yesterday.

So we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

I was really bummed thinking about having to wait to get on our last leg until 11:30 AM.

(remember: you know you have arrived when you think things cannot get any worse...)

Finally it was our turn and the ticket counter person was a young lady.

She proceeded to explain that we missed our flight

(even though we were there in line when they supposedly made a final call for all those in the line going to Puerto Ordaz at 7:20)

and that we could get on the 11:30 flight.

Then, the news got worse.

The 11:30 flight was full.

FULL-full.

And the next one was leaving at 6:00.

OK, again, for those that are not familiar with Venezuelan airlines, if you miss your flight they do not work with other airlines to help you get on the next available flight.

You are basically at their mercy to get you on their next flight, if they have availability.

Suddenly the 11:30 flight didn't seem so bad.

Oh, but what's worse?

The 6:00 flight was also full.

FULL-full.

Here is where the yelling in Spanish comes in.

For as long as I have been able to speak Spanish well, and I am told by many that I can hold my own in the Spanish language, I have not been able to yell well in Spanish.

This has worked out wonderfully for Pancho because whenever we have been in a disagreement and we are speaking Spanish I have to maintain my cool in order to speak well.

When I get worked up, I feel very inadequate in terms of my Spanish-speaking abilities.

So, here we are and I am wanting so (I mean so, so, so) badly to yell at this woman but I really cannot if I want to sound intelligible.

Well, to make a SUPER long story a tiny bit shorter, this is what went down...

They found me and Samuel a spot on the 11:30 flight (he was on my lap anyway).

Pancho and Katrina were told to come back at 11:00 to see if they had a seat.

We waited there that whole time because like I mentioned, it is not like we were on a waiting list and things work in an orderly fashion here.

It's more like my dad always says, "First man there gets there first."

The first person to hand the ticket counter person his/her passport when he says, "Puerto Ordaz" will get the seat on the plane.

We wanted to be that "first man."

God saw fit for something else to happen.

At 11:15 we were told that Pancho and Katrina were not going to get seats on that flight.

Pancho was so fed up with everything (as were we all) that he said I should go with Samuel and he and Katrina would purchase tickets with another airline and try to get to Puerto Ordaz ASAP.

I was not the least bit excited about traveling alone (even though it was only a 50 minute flight) with Samuel but there were not really any other options.

So, at 11:20 I quickly said, "Katrina, Samuel and Mama are going this way. You go with Papa."

And I walked back into the terminal with Samuel and the stroller and my carry-on and hers.

(Pancho had one of our checked suitcases to check when he got their tickets as well as his carry-on and her to handle, so I felt it was the least I could do)

I was bawling, which I know is really hard for most of you to imagine at this point, but I was!

HA!

Samuel and I got through security and frantically found our gate.

We had to wait there for a while for our group to board a bus which would take us to the plane.

I was still crying off and on thinking about all the possibilities.

Will they get on a flight today?

What if Katrina has to go to the bathroom?

What if Pancho has to go to the bathroom?

(no such thing as "family bathrooms" here)

How am I going to get in touch with Pancho Sr. and the rest of the Duran's once Samuel and I arrive in Puerto Ordaz?

(my cell phone does not work here)

What if either of these flights crashes?

I didn't even say good-bye to Katrina.

(for good reason: I figured that she would be inconsolable if I told her the plan and I could not bear to leave her like that, or Pancho for that matter!)

Well, Samuel and I finally boarded after some difficulty with all of our things and I cried in the seat again.

He fell asleep as the plane took-off and I did too (I didn't sleep a wink on the way to Caracas).

I constantly woke up in a panic, thinking of all the things I just listed.

And all that time and again on the plane I told myself outloud,

"Perfect love casts out fear."

"Perfect love casts out fear."

"Perfect love casts out fear."

We were about to arrive and I had figured out a plan.

No use in bawling any more.

I had to get off the plane, find our luggage and track down Pancho's family, somehow.

So, I wiped my tears and started up the gate to the terminal.

The more I walked the more confident I became, considering that God knew this was all going to happen and He allowed it for our good and for His glory.

I began to get excited to see Pancho's family, once again.

And then, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life...

At the bottom (or top, but it was a hill going down) of the gate I thought I heard Pancho's voice.

How could it be?

There is no way he got on the next flight out and got to Puerto Ordaz before me...

Well, in Venezuela wonders never cease.

There was Katrina and Pancho and he was saying to her,

"There's Mama, Katrina. There's Mama."

WATERWORKS!!!!

I started bawling again and started to run, holding Samuel, my carry-on and Katrina's carry-on in my arms.

Katrina came running towards me and the look on her face was priceless.

Even though she really didn't know what had happened, she knew we were separated for about 2 hours and that reunion was so sweet.

By this time Samuel recognized Pancho and wanted to get down.

I put him down on the ground and he ran to Pancho just the way Katrina was running to me.

It would have been an incredible Kodak moment for a very memorable commercial had someone had a camera.

So, we all hugged and kissed and laughed and cried.

Pancho and Katrina were able to get on the very next flight out of the airport with another airline and that flight actually left before mine and Samuel's flight (which left about 1 hour late).

They experienced their own rigamorol.

Pancho ran to the airline with Katrina riding on the suitcase.

He ran to the front of the line (now you know this is totally acceptable here and basically the only way things get accomplished) and explained that he wanted to get on the 12:05 flight to Puerto Ordaz.

Without hesitation they booked their seats and called the gate to tell them to wait.

They ran to the gate (they were told the wrong gate and then ran to the right one) and saw the bus pulling out of the parking spot.

Pancho said, "That's my flight. I have two seats on that flight."

The guy graciously (and I use that word with a lot of emphasis) texted the bus to come back to get them.

From our calculations at that exact same time Samuel and I were getting on a bus two or three busses away to board our plane to Puerto Ordaz.

Pancho had very similar thoughts to mine while he boarded their plane with Katrina.

So when we saw one another in the Puerto Ordaz airport...

Well, there are not words for our emotions at that point.

We no longer cared if our luggage was there.

We didn't even care if his family wasn't there to pick us up.

We were all together and we were at our final destination.

Well, leave it to God to go above and beyond.

All of our luggage, even the green suitcase that Pancho checked at the very last minute made it to Puerto Ordaz.

And Pancho's entire family was there at the door waiting for us, waving like crazy.

So, we are here and we could not be happier.

As I type, Samuel is sleeping in the pack-n-play at the end of the bed and Pancho is quietly snoring at my side.

Katrina is with Vero (her cousin), enjoying time together before bed.

We had a leisurely afternoon and then Pancho's mom prepared a delicious birthday meal for me (I turned 33 on Thursday).

It was a very, very special time all of us together around one big table praising the Lord for His goodness in bringing us together once again.

Not under circumstances we would have chosen, but together nonetheless,

and for that we are choosing to be grateful.

Please keep praying for our time together.

Like I said, so far it has been wonderful to just be together.

I hope to post pictures tomorrow but now, I have to get some sleep.

Love to you all!