HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-11-08, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012.
By Pastor Mark Royall
Huron Chapel Evangelical
Missionary Church, Auburn
Recently my very good pastor
friend Dave from Alberta and I spent
a week in beautiful Cape Breton. I
met up with him at the Toronto
airport where we would take a two
hour flight to Sydney. The flight was
routine. It was rainy and there was
lots of low cloud cover as the plane
descended in preparation for
landing. I was sitting there
anticipating the thud of the wheels
hitting the runway when all of a
sudden the nose of the plane pulled
up and the engines revved back to
full power. We gained altitude, flew
a pattern around the airport and then
began to descend for another try at
landing the plane. Once again we
drew closer to the ground and once
again the pilot aborted the landing
and launched back up into the sky.
This time we didn’t turn back
towards Sydney.
Ten minutes later the pilot told us
he couldn’t see the runaway at
Sydney due to the weather and that
we would be landing in Stephenville,
Newfoundland. I learned later there
used to be an American air force
base in Stephenville where people
like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra,
Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe had
either visited or performed for the
troops who were there during the
Cold War.
Legally we were not supposed to
land a Boeing 737 at this old airbase
but we couldn't land anywhere else
and we were needing fuel. The idea
was that once we refueled the plane
we would try again to land back in
Sydney. However this isn’t what
happened. What was to be a short
refueling stop turned into an
overnight adventure.
We landed in Stephenville. Grass
was growing up through the cracks
of the runway. There was no crew in
vests with orange cones in hand to
guide us in to a gate. There was no
gate. However a worker in a pick-up
truck did come out to greet us after
we came to a halt.
This was when the pilot informed
us that we had hit birds when we
came in for our landing. There was
enough damage that we could not
use this plane to get back to Sydney.
As the pilot checked out his options
with the airline, passengers waited
either in the plane or in a small
lounge in the fueling station. For
security reasons we were not
allowed to go anywhere else.
We had left Toronto at 9:30 a.m.
that morning. Nine hours had gone
by. We had no food. We missed
lunch. We missed supper. As each
hour passed by it was becoming
evident that people were not happy.
We found out later that the airline
could not fly another plane into
Stephenville to pick us up because a
Boeing 737 could not legally land
here. Now the crew were trying to
find enough rooms for 140 people in
a town that is not equipped put 140
people up overnight.
Eventually they got our bags off
the plane and people lined up to get
to hotel room for the night.
Unfortunately the only
transportation Stephenville had to
get us to our hotels were cabs and
there weren’t many of them. Getting
140 to their motels would take some
time. People outwardly expressed
their displeasure as they tried to get
in line so they could be among the
first to get a room. At this point my
friend Dave and I decided we would
be last. We sat down and waited.
After a fair amount of time went by
we got up and took our place at the
end of the line. We joked to each
other quoting a Bible verse we have
preached on many times, “So the last
will be first, and the first will be last”
(Matthew 20:16). However, we
shouldn’t have laughed for in many
ways this is what exactly was about
to happen to us.
Dave and I stood in line with the
one and only security guard that
worked at the airport standing
behind us. Makes you wonder what
they do if he ever gets sick? This
security guard told us that more
people had come through the airport
this day with our plane than what
they had all summer. Eventually
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.
How do I know that God is real?
How do I know the Bible is true?
What happens to me when I die?
Don't all paths lead to God?
Beginning Sunday
10:30am @
Huron Chapel
in Auburn
www.huronchapel.org
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
NOVEMBER 11th ~ Please Come and Honour our Vets
at the Memorial Hall at 10:45
NOVEMBER 18TH ~ The Best of “Bruce of Almighty”
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743
www.blythcrc.ca
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9017
11:15 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, November 11
Brussels Business & Cultural Centre
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and
preschoolers during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
Evangelical Missionary Church
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
Wingham Bible Study - Tuesdays 7:30 pm
Youth Group - Tuesdays 7:30 pm (at CRC)
Women At The Well - 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm
NO service at LWCF;
joint Remembrance Day
service at Memorial Hall
at 308 Blyth Rd. (former Church of God)
November 11
Fri., Nov. 16:
“To Save A Life”
FREE MOVIE
7:30 p.m.
at Mem. Hall, PG-13
BRUSSELS
Sandra Cable, Pastor
Church Office 519-887-6259
E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com
SUNDAY SERVICE 11:00 am
Sunday School
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
United Church
250 Princess St., Brussels
519-887-6388
www.bmfchurch.com
Interim Pastor Jim Whitehead
Guests Welcome
Jesus Is Lord!
Brussels
Mennonite
Fellowship
Worship Service 10:00 am
Sunday School 11:15 am
From the Minister’s StudyPatience can often pay off says Royall
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