So what happened after that conversation with David Pryor?
Well, I went back home to get ready for my campus visit to UCSB. That Sunday, I got an email from one of my professors telling me that he thought I should check out the Christian campus scene when I went to California. He knew that I was a Christian, and he thought that it would be a big part of my social life for those 5-7 years. I thought that sounded reasonable, so I began searching the web. I clicked on several links, but all of them went to "The page cannot be displayed". So, I scrolled down. I found a small ministry called the Graduate Christian Fellowship. A few of the pictures had girls wearing dresses from the 90s, and there were only about 20 people in the group photos. There was also a calendar of events from October with no year on it. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned that the group didn't even exist anymore, but I decided to email them anyway--hoping that by some chance someone would reply .
Monday night I took the train to St. Louis to my brother's house before flying out Tuesday morning. Much to my surprise at 12:30a.m. I got a text message from Stephen from GCF wanting to know if I wanted to get lunch with them the next day. (Turns out--he was the only one who had gotten my email on Sunday, but the Bible study meets on Monday nights. So, they talked it over that night and decided to get lunch with me! Yay!) I drowsily texted back and ended up speaking with him on the telephone to confirm the plans. (I'm sure that was an interesting conversation for him...).
With those plans set, I woke up at 4:30 the next morning to catch my flight at 7:00a.m. Unfortunately, there had been a snow storm overnight in St. Louis, and I sat on the plane for over an hour waiting for them to de-ice the wings.
To make matters more unfortunate, my layover in Phoenix was only an hour and fifteen minutes. You know what that means...I arrived at 11:05 for an 11:18 flight. 13 minutes. Perfect. I consulted with the flight attendants in the air to make sure I knew what gate to go to, and as soon as the seat belt sign was off, I bolted to the front of the plane to be the first one off the plane. Once they opened the doors, I started running (wearing my long winter coat, a pencil skirt, my hair down, my backpack full, and my laptop bag whacking my rear end with every step).
I arrived at Gate B7 only to find a line of people waiting for BURMINGHAM, ALABAMA. Apparently, there was an unprecedented snow storm happening there too. The man in line told me he didn't think he would make his flight, but I didn't care about his flight at that moment. This was supposed to be my flight and my gate! He then proceeded to explain that they had been changing gates all morning because the BSC Bowl Championship football game had been in Phoenix the night before. There were 50,000 football fans filling the airport, spending hours in security, and missing their flights left and right. He told me to check the screen for the new gate. I asked him the time. 11:10. 8 minutes. Good. The screen? It said, "B17 Santa Barbara". All rational thought would have led to the idea that B17 was in the same concourse as B7, but no. Phoenix is not rational. Luckily, however, a woman walked by in that moment and said to someone else, "Oh, B17 and above are in a different concourse." (Never underestimate the benefit and power of eavesdropping...). I quickly started running. Did I mention that the moving sidewalks were under construction??? Either way, I was making a scene. One man even pointed at me as I ran past and said, "You're gonna see a lot of that today!" Nice.
I got to gate B17 only see this:
Emptiness. Complete emptiness.
BUT, I remembered a time years ago that my mom had missed a flight, and a flight attendant in the airport told her to bang on the gate door and if someone was there, they would open it for her. So, that's what I did. I ran up to that door, and I beat, and I beat, and I beat. But, no one came. Well, except for one older couple. They came up ever so kindly and said, "Sweetie, it's okay. We missed the flight too. We'll just go stand over there in that line and get a new flight."
No way! I was not about to do that! Had they seen the line? It was 4 hours long! And, I needed to make this flight! I had lunch plans with people I didn't know after all! So, I frantically kept searching for options. Then, I looked out the window. The pilot was right there in the cockpit. So, I looked at the window to see if it was tinted. Could he see me? I don't know, but it's worth a shot! I threw my hands up in the air and began flailing them for help. And, you know what he did? He smiled and waved. NOOOOO! I need your help!!!!!! PLEASE!!! I began motioning for him to come. And, you know what he did? He got up! He got up out of his seat! I told the older couple. And, they said, "He's just getting ready for the flight." But, then! He came back. And he gave me an "okay" sign. And his co-pilot gave me a thumbs up! The older couple then said, "They were probably talking to each other." No way. Not in the same cockpit! No one does that! (Giving an "okay" sign.) "All systems a go!" (Giving a thumbs up.) "Turn on the engines!" No. Absolutely not.
But, then, we all saw it with our own eyes. The gate had been detached from the plane. It was over, the plane was leaving. But, no! A flight attendant leaned out the door into the open air and gave a "hang on" sign. BAM! The older couple could not deny it! They had seen, and they had believed! 10 seconds later, the doors opened and a female flight attendant came out and said, "The pilot has stopped the course of action for this flight for you to get on." I said, "I just have a question..." And, she said, "Ma'am, GET ON THE PLANE." Sheesh...I just wanted to know if my bags were gonna make it. Regardless, four of us ended up making that flight! The couple and another man who had walked up in the meantime got on with me!
As we ran down the hallway to the plane, a male flight attendant's voice rang out, "STOP! STOP! STOP! We have to move the gate closer to the plane so you don't have to jump!" (There just happened to be a four-foot gap between plane and the gate.) So, he inched us closer. And, we got on. I, with my heart racing, and my hair disheveled thanked the flight attendant for letting us on. He said, "Don't thank me, thank the captain." So, I did. I leaned in the cockpit, out of breath, and said, "Th-th-thank you! Thank you!" And, he calmly and unemotionally replied, "Not a problem..." And, that was it. I was the plane. I made my way back to the back of the plane with glaring eyes of passengers staring me down. So, I thanked them too. One by one with a little wave and a warm smile. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." And, I whispered apologies as I went. "Sorry, sorry, thank you, sorry, thank you."
When I made it to my seat, I set my stuff down and took off my coat only to find that my pencil skirt was completely turned around with the slit in the front and my slip poking out the bottom. The male flight attendant in the aisle just shook his head and said, "It's okay. You made the flight."
While I on the flight, I wrote a thank you note to "The Captain of US Airways Flight 2719 Phoenix to Santa Barbara" on January 11, 2011. By the way, if you know him or have connections, let me know. I wanna invite him to the wedding!
When I got to California, the older couple was astonished. They turned around to me and said, "How? How did you do that? You don't understand. We've been flying for decades. That doesn't happen." All that had happened in the last two hours hadn't really sunk in, so, I said,"Uhhh--I don't know...desperate times call for desperate measures?" The older couple didn't care so much about my answer, they were just grateful to make the flight. So grateful in fact that the man told me, "I don't know what I owe you, but take this." (It was a $1 tip.) :)
Once at the baggage claim, I got picked up by a UCSB student and made my way to the hotel where I got a call from Stephen. He was on his way to pick me up! I stood anxiously on the curb waiting for an unknown man in Santa Barbara to come pick me up in a car I'd never seen and then take me to a place I'd never been. Somehow I started thinking that this might not have been the best idea. I'm pretty sure I looked bewildered because the next thing I knew, a car pulled up and a man got out and said, "Are you Kelsey?" So, I did what any rational woman would do. I got in his car. And, you know what? There was a woman in the front seat! Whew! It was safe. :) Stephen and his wife Courtney then led the way to the restaurant where he said that we would meet up with two other students from the ministry. One of them was even a student in the Linguistics Department!
Once we got there, I met Don and Caleb. Soon after the introductions, we all walked to the window to order, and Don offered to buy my lunch. I hesitantly agreed. As we waited for the others, Don asked what I was interested in. I said, "Well, I've done some research in grammaticalization, but I really want to go into Bible translation in the Pacific Rim." I said, "I talked with David Pryor last week, and I would really like to intern with Martha Wade sometime. What about you?" He said, "Well, I'm interested in historical linguistics, Papuan linguistics. I spent this past summer working with Martha Wade in the Pacific Rim, and I am using a grammar sketch of David Pryor's in a paper I'm writing right now. And, I've wanted to go into Bible translation since I was a sophomore in high school." Huh. That's weird. Really? He must be such a player. "So, what's Martha Wade like?" And, when he began to talk, I knew it! He was telling the truth! He actually DID know her!
So, we all ate lunch together. It was great. We had a fun time talking and laughing, and they were the first people to hear my plane story! :) It was awesome! Then, about halfway through, Stephen and Courtney said that they were leaving. Naturally, I stood up to go too because they had brought me. But, they said, "No, no, Don can take you." Really? Did he give you "the wink"? How did this happen? Alright, I'll just play it cool. "Oh, okay. Sounds good."
So, Don, Caleb, and I stuck around to talk for another 30 minutes or so until they needed to head back to campus. As we got in Don's car, he said, "Hey, I'm going to a Bible study tonight, do you wanna come?"
I'm pretty sure I said, "Well, my options are sit in a hotel room by myself or go to a Bible study with you. I think I'll choose the Bible study." Ouch. But, luckily, he then responded with, "Well, Stephen didn't give me your number." So, we exchanged phone numbers, and he dropped me off at my hotel. I went back and showered, worked on an abstract, and called my mom. She wanted to talk about how my flight had been, but the first words out of my mouth were, "Mom, I think I just met my future husband."
And, just in that moment, Don called me, and I said, "Mom! He's calling! I gotta go!" I hung up as she was shouting, "Wait! Who is this guy?! I need phone numbers! Who is Stephen?!" It turns out that Don was calling to see if I wanted to get dinner before Bible study. Ahhh! I calmly agreed and hung up then excitedly called my mom back. I told her he was coming in 30 minutes, and I need to put make-up on, so I put her on speaker phone and multi-tasked. I explained how compatible we were and how it had to be meant to be while my dad shouted in the background, "You're awfully trusting! A Bible study? Is that what they call it these days?!"
They've come an awfully long way. Three weeks ago, they told him that he could marry me. And, the rest is history. :)
Awesome Kelsey!!
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