A few days after the burial of my late husband sometime in July 2004, I travelled with Love (my daughter) to Thailand, to ease my feeling of loneliness. My daughter together with his family has been living in Thailand for many years now. It was my second time to be in that country. I thank God that my travel has somehow helped me grieved for my loss and at the same time encouraged me to go on with my life.
I was very confident during the travel because I was with my daughter but in going back to the Philippines, I had to go alone because Love had to stay with her family in Thailand. It was my first time to travel all by myself. I felt very uncomfortable and I just depend on God’s presence and protection during that travel.
Since my ticket had a connecting flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, Love's family accompanied me by car until Penang only. After Penang, I will be on my own. I had to board a domestic airline from Penang International Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport then to the Philippines. While inside the car, I had mixed feelings of anxieties, apprehensions and tensions. Imagine, for the first time I have to travel alone, considering my age, in a foreign country and a huge airport which is considered as one of the biggest airport in Asia. But anyway, my family, Jesu's family and my friends prayed for me, even the pastor of Jesu (my son in-law) in Penang prayed for me at the airport before my boarding time. Truly! Prayers change everything. I was so calm boarding the plane with a little bit heavier luggage which I had to hand carry for having exceeded the check in limits.
When my domestic plane landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, I asked help from one of my seat mate to get my luggage at the compartment. He was a not so friendly young guy but he helped me anyway. I rushed right away to go inside the airport and remembered the instructions of Jesu and Love which is to look for blue uniformed airport employees so that I can ask which way to go and also to always follow the arrows of my flight number which I did. After an inspection with the Immigration Officer, I noticed I was left alone. Everyone went on their own way, and there I saw my flight arrow. Just as I was about to go up the escalator, I saw the young man who helped me in my domestic flight who was also alone and about to ride in the elevator. I ran after him and asked him to assist me to look for my boarding area. Thank God! He gladly helped me and told me where I was bound for. That was it, we went together from one place to another, and I was observing always my flight arrow until we stopped in a certain floor level and told me we had to part ways because that floor level was the location of his boarding area and that it was almost time for check in for his flight. By the way, his travel destination is at Korea. I looked at where he go, but it happened to fast that he just disappeared just a split of a second. But anyways, he instructed me which way to go and told me that a train will be available going to my boarding area. Oh! I started to be nervous because I was thinking I was not yet halfway to reach my boarding area. When I arrived at the designated place, I was expecting for a train but there was none. All I saw was a big closed area and there were lots of people standing by. Fear engulfed me, it seems I was lost. I prayed "Please God helped me." After a few minutes, an area opened and a train stopped right in front of us, and all the people there boarded. “Thank God!” I muttered.
When the train stopped at the designated area, I had a long way again to go up and down either from the escalator and walkcalator just following my flight arrows... At last! I arrived in my departure area for the Philippines. But somehow I have to verify to make sure that I’m on the right track. Thanks to an American guy who's married to a Filipina from Cebu who had the same flight with me. I felt secured at that moment.
Anyways, I arrived at Cebu and boarded a vessel bound for Cagayan de Oro. I felt relaxed and just wondered how I survived in that great ordeal.
Yes! God answered my prayers. I believed the man who was my guide to and fro at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was my guardian angel. How about you? What do you think?
