When Things Do Not Go As Planned

As I sat at the desk to have my biometrics captured for my passport renewal, I was relieved that the process had not taken too long to get to my turn. I had arrived in Atlanta by the first flight out of Des Moines and was planning to head out by the evening flight. Then the officer at the desk said something like “Your passport record was not found, you would have to stay in Atlanta till tomorrow”. In my mind, I was like this officer must be kidding me, no way I can afford to stay in Atlanta till the next day. I did not have any plans to stay over. The money I used for my flight was borrowed from a wonderful friend and I had no plans of borrowing any more money for my trip.

I sat at the desk explaining to the officer that I could not really afford to spend the night as I had not much left on me to book a hotel, change my flight date, and do some other things to get me through the night. The officer was kind enough to explain that the issue had to be resolved back home in Nigeria and the time difference between Atlanta and Nigeria meant that the issue would have to be resolved the next day and transmitted back before I could have my details captured.

I began thinking God why? I did all I was supposed to do, I came here and now this. As it began to become clear to me that the issue would not be resolved that same day, I decided to think of the next thing to do. While sitting and thinking, a lady came in and we started talking and I explained my situation to her. She felt really bad for me and prayed something happens to help resolve my issue so I could get back to school. A few moments later, her husband comes in and she explains what the problem was. The lady and her husband had also flown all the way from Texas to Atlanta for a passport issue. They had to leave in a few minutes, and one of the most wonderful things happen. The husband says to me, take this $40, hope that helps get you something. I was at that point happy, grateful and just sincerely appreciative of the gesture this man extended towards me. But he also said something I would not forget, remember to pay this forward. Help somebody someday. Keep the generosity going. I took the money and that was the beginning of many more wonderful things to happen to me on my trip to Atlanta.

I finally decided it was time to go find a hotel and sleep for the night. The officer at the embassy explained that the issue should most likely be fixed the next day, so I could come back early tomorrow to have the issue fixed. As I was about to step out, I politely asked the officer if there was a place I could pray as a Muslim. It was the Nigerian consulate so I believed there would be at least one Muslim in there who has a place he/she normally prays. The officer was kind enough that he took me to a Muslim brother, and then the second part of the whole day begins.

I met a wonderful and nice man who quickly showered me in, showed me where to perform ablution and pray. As a Muslim, you have to pray at certain times and not finding a place to say your prayers is not a good thing any Muslim wants to come across. So I was very happy that I found a place to say my prayers. After that, we started talking with the Muslim brother about life and so many things in general. I explained the issue I had and well since nothing could be done that day, he also suggested and prayed that hopefully, the issue would be resolved the next day. During my visit to the Muslim brother’s office, he also introduced me to another Muslim brother and before I left the consulate that day, I felt like I knew these Muslim brothers for a very long time. We spoke and became friends in no time. My network of people had grown. From coming into the consulate knowing no one, and leaving that day, knowing some very important people in the consulate.

But well, the major problem was still ahead. I had to find a place to sleep, call my American Airline and change my flight for tomorrow. All these cost money, and I needed to use Uber since I had to find a way to move within the wonderful city of Atlanta. Before calling my ride, I looked up the cheapest hotel I could find and I found the Comfort Inn. It was moderately priced at around $70 and was not too far from the consulate. Then I called my ride and was at the hotel in no time. The room was indeed comfortable matching the name of the hotel. But well, I was not in Atlanta to sleep, so I still had more issues to deal with. Changing my flight.

I looked up some information online. Then I called the airline. When I finally reached the customer care representative, I explained my situation to her and she explained that I would need to pay $200 to change my flight. I shouted 200 what. Well, she could not do much to help at that point I suppose. I look at my account and all I had was $200.79. I had no choice. I told the agent to go on with changing the ticket. Then the next miraculous thing happens. She goes and comes back in less than a minute and explains that there was a mistake and that to change my ticket would be free. I was like what, FREE. She said yes. I was so happy. Thanks very much, American Airlines. I deeply appreciate.

Many miracles for a day when I thought things were not going my way. I got my ticket changed at no cost and I got the email confirmation in no time. For me, this is probably one of the reasons why I might choose to continue flying American Airlines. This experience was nothing short of a miracle. So the next major issue is conquered and resolved. All praise is due to Allah. There you have it, the miracles of my first night in Atlanta. What would the next day bring? I pray Allah makes it wonderful.

Then the next day comes. I was at the consulate around 9:30 AM awaiting the officer to check if my issue had been resolved. He came in shortly and we went to his office to check. No response yet, he said. I was like, what do we do? We wait, he said. Shortly after, one of the Muslim brothers I was with yesterday came in and asked what the status was, the officer responded, no response yet. And then the miracle of the day starts, the Muslim brother takes up my issue as if it was his and started to make some effort to see what can be done. He asks the second Muslim brother to make the call to Nigeria to see if the office was still open. In a few minutes, the call was made, and my issue was resolved. My biometrics was taken and I had the issue resolved. The easiest thing at the point was for me to leave, and then expect my passport in a few weeks or days.

But the next major miracle happens again. Let us get your passport ready today, they say. Since my flight was till 6 PM and was done about 12 PM, the next step of getting my passport ready was well underway. It is a very hard process to get your passport the same day you get your biometrics done, it happens but very rarely happens for a lot of people. In less than 3 hours, my passport was ready. I did not have to go back and await my passport, I would be flying back with my passport. And all it took was just one extra day of waiting.

Even if I was told to wait till the next day to have my passport fully ready, I might not really believe that or I might have to pay an extra payment to make that happen. But I never paid any extra fee, and all I did was to get a comfortable hotel room, sleep and relax and come back the next day. I could not believe it when I finally signed and had my passport with me.

And many people might say, well it was just a passport. I say no, it was Allah giving you something even when you never expected it. It was Allah making you see that no one can bring happiness or hardship towards you unless what Allah makes happen. As I look at my passport, I realized all did not go as I planned yesterday because Allah had a different plan. As such, I learned a new lesson about life. When things do not go as planned, be patient, continue to put in the work and seek Allah. When the time is right, it would happen. Nothing happens except what Allah has willed.

I am deeply grateful to the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta (@ngcatlanta) for the wonderful team of staff they have. They have really been wonderful to me and I deeply appreciate. Baffa, Umar, Mr. Pius, I deeply appreciate all your wonderful help and support. I deeply appreciate the customer support representative of American Airline (@AmericanAir) for the wonderful help and support. To my wonderful friend and doctor, Dr. Bashir, I deeply appreciate your help and support. To my wonderful economist, Mohamed, I say May Allah reward you abundantly and to everyone who helped in one way or another. To AJ, I deeply appreciate you and your family.

The essence of writing this long epistle is not to bore you, but to share my experience that when things are not going as we planned, we have to deeply believe that something better is arranged for us. As I sat in the desk the first day asking why I had to wait till the next day, Allah already had everything planned and all He wants us to do is to believe and be patient. I also write this to appreciate the Nigerian Consulate in Atlanta, it’s not that they do not make mistakes. But we should appreciate one another when we do something commendable. They have really done a wonderful thing here and they should be commended for it.

If you have read this story all the way to the end, my message for you is to push for what you want with faith, but when things do not go as planned, be grateful and keep pushing. It is easy for me to say that since I might not know what you are going through, but one thing is certain if we keep pushing with faith in Allah and hard work, whatever we seek would surely come to pass. Thanks for taking the time to read and God bless.