The Terminals

Way back in early January, my friend Tirzah commented that she was going to count the number of times she visited an airport in 2024. That sounds fun, I thought to myself; I'll make that my 2025 "gimmick" (in 2021, I counted how many beds I slept in, and in 2022, I made a 1SE video).

But it truly was early January. As in, I could list all of my airport visits from memory. 

It's now late December, and all of my airport visits are meticulously recorded in a spreadsheet with the following columns:

• Date
• Airport
• Purpose (departure, layover, arrival, pickup, or drop-off)
• Designation (work, personal)

It has been fun! I think I go to the airport more than the average person?! You tell me after you peruse the following stats, concluding with the final tally. 

I made the most airport visits (13) in May and the fewest (5) in March & December. 

Eighty percent of my travel was work-related; 20% was personal. 

I departed & arrived 25 times (glad those 2 numbers match!) with 17 layovers. 

I did 21 airport pickup runs and made 15 drop-offs. 

My travels took me to 22 unique airports, from BOG to STL. 

Topping out at 29 visits, my most common airport was, unsurprisingly, STI (Santiago). 

My second most common airport (11 visits)? SDQ (Santo Domingo)!

And when all was said and done...I was in (or at) an airport 98 times* in 2024. 

Rounding out the tally by welcoming a team from Memorial Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, SD, to Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. 

Thanks be to God for safe travel, joyous reunions, and many, many opportunities to preach "repentance for the forgiveness of sins...in [Christ's] name to all nations," (Luke 24:47). 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!

*Is that normal? High? Low? I might just have to repeat the exercise in 2025 to see...