Churchwide Assembly: Lost Luggage

My last adventure of the Churchwide Assembly came after it was all over. On Sunday morning, Goodsoil participants who were still in Chicago went to worship at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. Pastor Erik had given us directions during our loooooong evening of stories and thank yous.

I decided to bring my luggage with me. I had checked out of the hotel and was going to stay at a friend's that evening. So I followed someone who was sure he knew where the subway was. Well, we walked for a long time, me dragging my luggage behind me. When we finally found the blue line, that station was closed. At that point, we decided that a cab would be a better option. So we stopped a cab. Five of us all climbed in, and I put my stuff in the trunk.

The first problem was that we didn't have the address for the church. All we knew was Logan Square. This presented a problem. Eventually, we made our way to the neighborhood. He dropped us off between two churches...neither of which were St. Luke's. We realized this, but knew that the church was just around the block. Then someone said, "Hey, your luggage!" By that point, the cab was a block away. I started to run, hoping that he would be stopped at a light or a stop sign for a long time. It was not the case. He turned and drove off. After sprinting three blocks, I realized it was hopeless.

We went into the church and started trying to look up the cab company in the phone book. I was very fortunate to have friends who could remember not only the cab company, but also the number of the cab. However, I wasn't getting anywhere with the cab company on the phone. On Sunday, they are a lot less staffed and not prepared to deal with lost luggage. Eventually, I joined the worship service, already in progress.

After worship, we ate some lunch while my friend drove over to pick me up. He got there and we drove back to his place. He very graciously offered me some more casual (and cooler) clothes to wear for the rest of the day. I spent a lot of time on the phone trying to reach someone about my luggage. I realized that I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone until Monday morning. We went out briefly in the early evening, but spent most of the evening watching Miss Congeniality and Mean Girls on TBS. Exciting, I know.

The next morning, I asked my friend to drop me off at the cab company headquarters. I sat in there, waiting for employees to show up. When I finally got to meet with someone, I was told that once the driver logs back in, then they could contact him. At that point, I began to head to the airport, facing the prospect of flying home without any clothes, or my laptop (this was the really big deal).

At the airport, I was exhausted. Even though we had gone to bed at 9:30 the night before, I was so worn out from the week that I fell asleep while waiting for the plane. I then felt my phone vibrate. The cab driver was calling me to find out where I was! I told him I was at Midway Airport and thanked him about 50 times. I only had one hour before my flight left, but he said he could get to me in 20 minutes. I waited for him outside and he pulled up. It was a joyful moment for me!

I dashed back inside just as the plane was boarding. The rest of the trip was uneventful, but I learned my lesson about putting a laptop in the trunk of a cab. Even if the car is really full (5 passengers), I'll still hold it on my lap.