Cap and I arrived safely today in the land I never dreamed I’d go back to.

My obedient husband woke up at 2:00 this morning to prepare for our 8:00 flight. We arrived at NAIA 3.5 hours before our flight but we stood in line at Singapore Airlines check-in for over 40 minutes. Their staff were late.

We were the first in our line though. Yey for internet check-in!

It was a very early morning goodbye to my mom, Leo and Joy. I thank God for having them there to help me pack, unpack, repack, weigh and re-weigh.

We went through immigration like a blur. The immigration officer studied our papers for a minute then said,

”Congratulations.”

He then dropped a few couple jokes, making Sam and I laugh like we were in a comedy show. It was the most effortless immigration encounter I ever had.

God truly knows how to ease an anxious heart.

It was my very first plane ride as a married person. I always wondered how it felt like to have a travel buddy-husband especially for me who always encounters mishaps in the airport and shivers like crazy inside an airconditioned plane.

My kind husband wrapped a blanket around me and made sure my toes and hands aren’t freezing.

This is what he did while I slept soundly.

A quick pose at Changi Airport before our connecting flight to the desert.

Arrived finally! He missed this place. I felt his eagerness to get behind his car and drive. I guess he missed being in control of things happening around him. Understandable.

This is me after I stood for almost an hour in the immigration line because Arab women behind me kept on cutting the line like I was invisible. People from this world have major disability in understanding the principle of standing in line.

Sadly, no one could complain. It’s like their black ”ninja” dress is immunity for breaking rules.

Day 1 and all the things I dislike about the people here are all rushing in. I still have to psyche myself that I’m coming back a different person now.

And I have my very own 6-foot tall immunity.

Today, I arrived in the country I vowed I will not return to. But God brought me back for a reason and a wife’s lesson.

Sacrifice.

Lord, yet again, I pray for one set of footprints in the sand.