Approximately ten hours following my post on August 7, I arrived in Dublin, Ireland. I was hoping to see part of the country since I’d never been to Ireland before but my flight arrived before dawn so I couldn’t see anything when we landed. With just one more flight to catch, I was anxious for the long journey to be over and to meet up with the Lee’s in Bristol, England, where we planned to tour the city before heading back to Swansea, Wales.

First signs of trouble

As I approached the immigration officer at the booth I had my passport ready, weary from travel and ready to be on my way to Bristol. She took my passport and began asking questions: was I traveling alone, where was I headed, how long would I be there, what would I be doing, etc. Upon discovering that I intended to stay for four months she asked how I planned to support myself financially while in the UK. I had earlier transferred most of my money into the Lee’s bank account since it was the cheapest way to get my money into Wales, but since I could not provide proof of this transaction and since I had very little money with me and in my bank account, after drilling me with a few more questions she told me to take a seat. Stunned and confused, I took a seat and waited. So many thoughts began going through my mind… What was going on? Was this really happening? Did I say something wrong? Would I miss my flight to Bristol? Would immigration let me go? I wanted to text people to have them pray, but having been told not to use my phone I instead began quietly singing the song, “I Am Not Alone” by Kari Jobe, which a friend had reminded me of a few days before I left North Carolina to begin this whole adventure. I knew God was with me, but no idea what would happen next. After about half an hour, a second immigration officer arrived to take over duty and questioned me again, this time writing everything down in order to call UK Immigration and give them my information to ask their advice on whether or not to let me into the country. After many more long minutes of waiting and more questions his decision was made: the UK would not grant me entry, finding me unqualified based on my financial situation and lack of traveler’s insurance. The officer then took my phone from me and escorted me to the police where I was allowed to use their phone to call Erin Lee to let her know that the UK would not let me in. She said she would be praying and to keep her posted, which was somewhat difficult to do since my phone had been taken away.

Praying for a miracle

For the next four hours I waited mostly alone in a room by the police, without my phone or passport, while they worked on getting me a flight back to the States. They were relatively kind, offering me food (I was too upset to want any) and a glass of water. It was also quite interesting to hear them talk, because of their Irish accents. 😉 At first I cried a lot and kept praying for a miracle, but the Lord reminded me of a text I had received from a friend two days before I left, warning me about discouragement so I would be prepared if it happened and to remember that the joy of the Lord is my strength (Neh 8:10). This comforted me because I knew that God was aware of what was going on, even though I didn’t understand. I tried to sleep a little but it was difficult since I wanted to be aware of what was going on around me, and the police kept going in and out since they had to go through the room where I was in order to get to their office. At one point they brought in a girl from Africa who was also trying to get to the UK to visit friends; it was her first time out of her country and she was afraid the police were going to put her in jail, so we talked for a while. It was good to have some company.

Finally it was time. An officer escorted me to my departure gate, at which point my phone was returned to me and I was able to send a few quick texts asking for prayer and to let everyone know what was going on. When it was time to board the officer walked me down the jet bridge and put me onto the plane before the other passengers boarded, giving my passport and second boarding pass to the captain for me to retrieve when we arrived in Chicago. At this point in the adventure I was thinking that there was no way I would try this again and risk getting sent back; it was just too hard, especially being treated like I had done something wrong even though they assured me that it was just a mistake. And at one point on the plane I almost panicked, realizing that I had to get all the way back to Charlotte, including changing planes in Chicago, by myself; I was already exhausted and knew I probably wouldn’t sleep at all on the way back, either. At that point I shut down emotionally, knowing that I had no choice but to do this alone.

A change of heart

On my way back to the States I tried not to think too much and instead focus on just getting home, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing…I couldn’t help but wonder why this was happening. I remembered all the ways God had confirmed this trip, the things people had prayed and sensed from the Lord, and what God had promised me about my internship in Wales. At that point I decided that I had no choice but to try again. Either fifty people including myself had all heard God wrong, or there was something else going on that I could not yet see or understand.

By the time I arrived safely in Charlotte I knew that at least two things had already happened as a result of this adventure. First, I had at least three specific encounters with people (and possibly others of which I was completely unaware) that I believe were God-appointments. Second, I had just faced one of my biggest fears about international travel and survived. Now exhausted after approximately forty hours of travel and very little sleep I was finally back in my own bed, unsure of what the next days and weeks would hold.