I was blessed to have the opportunity to speak at The Ladies Prime Time event at Beloit First Christian Church in Beloit Kansas this past Saturday and had a fabulous time with the women there! I just love these ladies to pieces and if I lived in Kansas I could totally see myself hanging out with them as much as possible!
God's presence was definitely palpable as we spent the morning praising Him and studying His Word. He worked in so many ways, I wrote down three pages of praises! Here are some of the highlights:
- The eight hours of travel (2 flights + a 2-1/2 hour car ride courtesy of Barry and Donna) took their toll - giving me both the beginnings of a migraine and pain in my back and hip - but God took care of both! Once I started speaking I no longer noticed the pain! Thank You Lord!!!
- I had so much fun giving the messages, which both flowed smoothly! (It's amazing what a difference it makes without a radio on, three TV's blaring and me gasping for air - not to mention people staring at the crazy woman talking to herself at the gym!)
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| Dude and Bubba were given nicknames for this very reason: they're my illustration! |
- There were no technical glitches thanks to the tremendously talented Doug, who even recorded the messages for me and played this closing video right on cue!
- I ate a delicious brunch while catching up with my dear friend Mary. I wasn't sure if she was going to be there since she had family in from out of town, but she brought them all to the event with her!
- Kay did a wonderful job organizing the event and really paid attention to detail, including creating the fantastic centerpieces and placing these cute notepads with the title of my message on them at each place setting. (I was really happy with how my bookmarks turned out too!)
- Afterwards, 11 women signed up to join me in reading through the Bible!
- Comedian Ken Davis said that "Love Offerings" are usually more love than offering, but that certainly wasn't true in this case! Not only were the women very generous, but the offering was given to help support OpeN Christian Center, our school in Kenya!
- I had a pleasant trip back to the airport with Kay and her husband J.R. She left me a care package of snacks which was a godsend since I wasn't able to purchase dinner in the airport.
PLUS on the way home I met the flight attendant of my dreams! (Truthfully, I couldn't have even imagined one so incredible!)
Justin was courteous, respectful, and fun; he even made the announcements in such a way that I actually wanted to listen. For instance, rather than going on about a problem with the air exchanger he said, "You people need to quit talkin' 'cause y'all are heatin' up my plane!" He also went to the back of the plane and introduced us to the man seated in front of the restroom, informing us that we needed to give him a break and make sure we close the door all the way. (It was a weird door - I've never seen one like it.)
Then he did something that no one in my experience has EVER done before - he called EVERYONE by name when serving the beverages. And no first names, but Mr. or Mrs. fill-in-the-blank.
For those of you who haven't flown in a while, that's all you get on a 2 hour flight at dinner time - 4 ounces of the beverage of your choice. After all that speaking and driving I was parched. As a result, my glass of water was empty before he made the trek back up the aisle. The look on the faces of most flight attendants discourage even asking for refills, but not Justin, so I asked and he gave me 2 MORE glasses of water. As I was explaining about my water bottle (which was empty because I couldn't find a drinking fountain to fill it in the airport) he asked me for it and FILLED THAT TOO!
Normally I don't mention companies by name, but I'm going to make an exception since United was smart enough to hire Justin. So United, if you're out there, I have a few suggestions for you:
- Give this guy a raise! Whatever you're paying him, trust me, it's not enough. You don't want to lose this one.
- Clone this guy! Seriously, you need a Justin on every flight. If you could guarantee me one, I would fly with you on every trip. (Right now, the airline with the lowest fare wins my business.)
- OK, since that last one's not humanly possible, at least put him in charge of training flight attendants. If I was an undercover boss (which unfortunately I'm not) that's what I'd do. That, and give him a million dollar bonus. He's worth every penny.
- Assign him to international flights; specifically one's going to Nairobi this summer. (OK, so that's a personal request.) Now that I've experienced a flight with Justin, I don't know how I'm going to make it 8 hours in a plane without him!
Seriously, Justin, I hope you stopped by to read this. (I'd love it if you'd let me know in the comments!) You rock, my man! Well done! You have a great future ahead of you and I wish you the best! I also wish you would be on every flight I ever take for the rest of my life!
Lord, thank you for looking after every last detail and making this trip fabulous from beginning to end! There's nothing I'd rather do more than meeting great people and telling them about YOU! I can't wait to do it again and see where You'll take me next!
Lisa
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WOW how lovely to be guest speaker with a wonderful group of listeners. Your trip home sounded like fun too. Thank you for sharing with us here at "Tell Me a Story."
I'm glad that headache left! So glad you shared details; I was one of your prayer warriors last Saturday believing in faith that everything was flowing! I'm sure your presentation inspired many hearts. Glad for the favor with Justin, too!
Bless you!
Mary
I am breathless Ms. Koster this is Justin. I try to deliver a spot on service and to be recognized in this capacity is something to behold. I do wish I could be your Flight Attendant to Nairobi. We would be laughing all the way there. But from the bottom of my heart this was a tear jerker seriously. I can't honestly say that I am not totally overwhelmed but I am. Thanks so much for expressing my service and me as a individual and my devotion to give a outstanding service to you. This has truly been a blessing to hear and see what I do on a daily basis put in such warm hearted fashion on the internet and to be posted were you share the gospel and speak the word of the Lord. I am truly humble. Thank Ms. Koster. Come back Soon.
What an entertaining gratitude list, Lisa! And your story about Justin was delightful--as was your pitch to United Airlines. You had me laughing.
Glad the Lord worked so many miracles for you. I'm visiting from Hazel Moon's Tell Me a True Story.
I'm also having a Giveaway of Jennifer Dukes Lee's book, "Love Idol." Leave a comment on my blog and you will be entered for a chance to win: http://heartfilledmoments.com.
United read this post and asked for my flight number! Praying good things will happen for you my friend! Keep me posted!
Very cool, Lisa! It sounds like there were plenty of blessings to go around. God is so good!
Hugs!
Woo hoo! A wonderful report. Don't we wish every speaking engagement went so well? And Justin, as a well seasoned traveler myself, I heartily agree "You rock!" Also, cool that you stopped by to read this post;) Well done, Lisa. See you soon.
Justin, you sound like a real gem. To take the time and extra effort to call people by name is pretty extraordinary.
That you had such a blessed trip. God is definitely in the details of our lives as much as in the big picture.
That's awesome! What a blessing to Justin that you took time to praise him. I bet he keeps up the good work!
This is a good lesson to the rest of us to also praise people who serve us well.
I have to admit, the penguins got me here! But I enjoyed reading about your adventure. Sounds like God's ministering angels were with you all the way! It's a blessing and an encouragement when we go back and share how God is working in our lives - and you certainly blessed that young man with your gracious comments, Well done!
This is such a cool story! it's awesome when God put those kind of people in our path to encourage us! <3
Thank you for your entry at “Tell Me a Story.” I have been off line due to computer failure and virus problems, but my husband gave me a different computer so I am back on line – just lost a bunch of stuff including my e-mail addresses..
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Sounds like an amazing weekend. So glad your event went so well. And oh my! I travel quite often these days and would LOVE to have Justin as my flight attendant. What a wonderful way to praise him. So cool that he stopped by too and left you that touching comment. Just super cool!! Thank you for sharing with TWW.
hey Ms. Koster I just wanted to share some news after having you on my flight I was selected to attend Training session for New Flight Attendants this week in Houston. Its a program to tailor customer service and I am surely going to Rock it. And I was awarded the Wonderful Outstanding Worker WOW award from the Vice President of United Express. Thus selected for a special assignment for this month to help in the Recruiting Department and I have hired my first class to start training this Friday. Thanks to you spear heading me and letting my company see and hear what I have done has open doors. Thanks for your followers prays and yours. See ya soon in the Friendly Skies.
Thank you for the update Justin. I'm so excited for you, and I'm glad I was able to help your superiors take notice of what a wonderful employee they have! I'd love to keep in contact with you, so if you could send me a private message through "contact Lisa" that would be great! Oh, and I'm still looking for an awesome flight attendant to go to Nairobi with me :)