locked in an airplane lavatory

in february, i was flying from oklahoma city to chicago on an american airlines flight. after having one too many diet cokes, i walked the green mile to the back of the plane to, well, take care of business.

much to my surprise (and dismay, and fear), i was locked in. the sliding latch that moves the “unoccupied” to “occupied” was stuck. surely there was no oxygen coming in. i was going to die a lonely death in the bathroom on an airplane. fortunately, my certain death did not come, and five minutes later i was back in my seat drinking more diet coke.

now, in chicago, i’d meet up with fifteen almost-strangers and together we’d travel to uganda for a week on behalf of compassion international.

we’d laugh together. we’d play with kids together. we’d run from bats together. and ultimately, we’d fight poverty together. you can read about those adventures – the good, bad, and challenging – here.

yesterday, another group of blogging strangers departed from around the country to meet at an airport in miami before heading down to the dominican republic. from what i can tell, nobody was locked in an airplane lavatory and they arrived safely.

today was their first day in the dominican. i imagine they’re probably at a project now, meeting a pastor and learning how compassion is releasing children from poverty. they’re learning about what some of the local children want to do when they grow up. and they’re probably starting to ask a lot of questions.

i encourage you to follow them on their trip this week. you can read more about it here, or subscribe to their group RSS feed here.

and while you’re thinking about it, do more than just read along. sponsor a child by clicking here.