Part 2: A hard lesson learned

ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT! I learned that lesson the hard way. In 2000, another opportunity to visit Indonesia came about. Dave Bonney, Dave Syer (a parishioner of DB), Nathan Bonney, Dave's 17-year-old son and I, were to travel to Pontianak as members of a CBM sponsored short-term mission team. Part of our preparation included a meeting with Frank and Jayne Byrne (CBM Far-East Co-ordinators) for an orientation session. At the end of that meeting, Frank presented us with a package of additional information for us to review before our departure. The two Daves were scheduled to leave for Indonesia mid-March and Nathan and I would follow at the end of the month. And so, on the afternoon of March 28th, Nathan and I caught a flight out of Detroit Airport bound for Los Angeles. There we would board a China Air 747 for a midnight LAX to Jakarta departure.

We arrived in LA and waited for the China Airline counter to open. We eventually were able to check in and we were issued boarding passes. At 11:30 the boarding call was put out and we, and about 300 other passengers, began the boarding process. Our seat numbers placed us in the front section of the plane and we were the last group to be processed. The boarding passes were fed into the scanner - Nathan's passed through but mine didn't. The check-in clerk tried twice more to scan but to no avail. I was then asked to show my Passport. Suddenly, bedlam broke out. I was quickly surrounded by several highly agitated China Air staff all trying to make sure I did not get on the plane. At that moment I was at a complete loss as to why I wasn't being allowed to board. My check-in luggage was quickly located and returned to me. While all of this was going on, Nathan had started down the gangway but turned back when he realised I wasn't following. The staff were beckoning Nathan to get aboard as the plane was ready to taxi out. I was trying desperately to make myself understood to the staff that I still had Nathan's passport and return tickets in my carry-on bag. Tempers were becoming frayed all round but I was determined that I wouldn't be forced to leave the area until I had made sure that my young nephew had all the documents he needed to be able to enter Indonesia - and get home again.

Eventually, things began to calm down and I was directed back to the check-in counter where I would receive a voucher for a night's lodging at one of the local hotels. And - I finally received an explanation for not being permitted to board the plane.

The Indonesian government require that all passports be valid for a minimum of six months beyond the date of entry into the country. With the midnight departure and the loss of a day crossing the International Date Line, the flight would arrive in Jakarta on March 30th. Thus my passport needed to be valid until September 30th. It's expiry date, unfortunately, was September 10th. I had lost the opportunity of a second trip due to a 20 day discrepancy. I had missed seeing this vital piece of information in the review package that Frank had handed out.

I got to my hotel room around 1:30 am. and tried to think clearly what my options were. First of all I needed to inform my wife what had happened. She would then contact Dave's wife, Janet, who would then contact Dave in Pontianak. 1:30 am in Los Angeles is 4:30 a.m in Ontario and so I waited until it would be 6:00 am. in Ontario at which time wife would be starting her day. I was concerned a little that I might fall asleep and miss that 6:00 am window but with the adrenalin flowing to the extent that it was I had no trouble staying awake.

I made the phone call on time generating a flurry of activity including numerous phone calls to and from Pontianak between Dave and Janet. My main anxiety was for Nathan. He spoke no Indonesian and I wondered how he would cope once he arrived in Jakarta. Because this flight would arrive in Jakarta too late in the day to get a connecting flight to Pontianak that same day, we had previously booked a room at the Jakarta Airport Hotel and would catch the plane to Pontianak the following morning.

I spent most of the early morning hours in my hotel room praying that God would protect and guide Nathan. Those prayers were answered. Seated next to Nathan on the LA to Jakarta flight was an Indonesian man who spoke excellent English. This gentlemen also was very familiar with the Jakarta Airport and accompanied Nathan to the Hotel Lobby and made sure that the reservation had been confirmed. Meanwhile Dave B. had learned that a colleague from STK was in Jakarta who made arrangements to meet up with Nathan the following morning to ensure that he would make the connecting flight to Pontianak.

All this was occurring without my knowing any of it. All I knew was that a teenager was travelling half way around the world alone which made for a very anxious day for me. After checking out of my Hotel, I took a taxi to the British Consulate (I was travelling on a British Passport at that time) but they were unable to extend my passport validity. I also took a 50 minute bus ride along Wiltshire Ave to the Indonesian Embassy but I received no help there either. All that was left for me to do was to lick my emotional wounds and limp home very disappointed that I had missed the opportunity to return to Indonesia.

I arrived back in Ontario to find out that Nathan had been well looked after. I also began to question how this situation had arisen. Certainly, I was at fault since my passport was invalid as far as the Indonesian government was concerned, but the one question that screamed out was how had the boarding pass even been issued when the information embedded on the reader strip showed the invalid status of my passport. All four of us had submitted our pertinent passport information to CBM and onto China Airlines a month previously. Why I was not alerted at that time was confusing to say the least.

The next opportunity to visit Indonesia would not be until 2004.