Auto Pilot.

Last night I was manifested on a Military Air flight, C130, out of Kandahar to Shindand. As I have described in the past there is what they call a "Show Time" and then a later flight time. The 'Show Time" is just that, the time you are expected to show up and check in for the flight. Generally the exact flight time is held seceret for security reasons.

So last night I showed up at Kilo Ramp, Military Names for things, at 1230 in the morning for a 0115 Show Time. This required a bus ride at 1210 which was the closest one I could catch, maybe even the only one, to get me there on time. Nothing is designed for comfort in the Military so from 1230 until 0115 we all sat outside the front door on hard metal bus station type seating until they come out and call the flight.

At 0115 out comes an Air Force man calling for passengers to Shindand, they take your ID, pasport or CAC card and two LOA's (Letter of Authorizations) which is the US Governments Document that is like a Visa for us while in country. This is so the y can run a manifest and check everybody out before you board. When they do this everybody jumps up and hurries to get their information to them quickly because this is how you ultimately get on the flight. If you are not on the top of this list you could get bumped if the flight is full.

At this climatic moment you are now close to getting on the flight but you wait for the reassurance when they come back out and call role call. That is when you know for sure if you have made the cut. Fortunately on this flight we all made it and proceeded now into the Terminal. This reminds me of the old Union Movies when workers would line up at the gates and hope to be called for some work. "I got five spots today. You. You. You. You and you." We gather our stuff and go to check in.

Yes Kilo Ramp has a regular passenger security screening process. Here, unlike most PAX Terminals they check for contraband leaving the base. It is funny because soldiers will place rifle cases and full battle gear through the machines, but they are looking for items such as knives and illegal wepons. Right after this we place all of our belongings onto an Air Craft Pallet and then proceed upstairs to wait some more. Again on hard metal seating.

I don't know how long it was as I layed down, in a very awckward position and tried to sleep, but a Female Airman came in a stated that the flight to Shindand had been cancelled. Along with that the next flight was in two days. When asked she stated that the Auto Pilot on the Aircraft was not functioning and therefore the plane was not going to stop in Shindand and proceed directly to Bagram for repairs. Apperently the pilots do not fly to Shindand without Auto Pilot. At this point someone commented that Kandahar was like a pit that you just can't get out of.

So we go and collect our bags and exit the Terminal, now about 0215. Nobody answering the phones and no buses we decide to walk. It is at least a mile and the three men that are with me all have all of their belongings with them. Thankfully, some of the soldiers who were to be on the plane with us recognized us and picked us up. taking the burdon of this walk from us.

So as I laid in bed trying to fall asleep over the very obtrusive snores of my roommate I thought about this Auto Pilot that was broke. It seemed to me that there was no back up plan, that the piolets relyed solely on this instrument to guide them to one location, but not the other. They could fly to Bagram but not to Shindand. Shindand must be more difficult, maybe a smaller spot on the map and herder to find. The pilets relyed on this in one instance and not the other.

I related this back to our walk with the Lord. How we tend to rely on the Lord for the hard things in our life but we would fly with out Him for the easy things. The Lord for most of us becomes our Auto Pilot. We set Him, by prayer or crying out, only when we need to be guided into a tight spot, a small spot on the map. Like these Pilots, we are comfortable doing the easy things on our own and we forget about the Lord, but when times get tough we choose Him, like the Auto Pilet on this plane.

The Lord wil guide us in all things. We need to rely on that truth in every instance in our lives. We can not look at Him as only an instrument to be used when times are tough. We must know Him and allow Him to show us the way in every instance in our lives.