This is the trip that never got off the ground. We were packed and ready to leave the next morning when we received a call from Tanya, our travel contact in Moldova. She had some disturbing news.

The Moldovans had voted in a communist government the previous year and this meant either nationalizing various businesses or else establishing state-operated companies. In an effort to eliminate any competition with its state-run airlines, the Moldovan government had forbidden all other competing airlines access into Moldovan air space. A medical mission team had just been diverted to Romania and was not being permitted to fly into the country because their business had not been with the communist-sponsored airlines.

We thereupon called the Moldovan embassy and the only thing they could tell us was that we ought to have visas for either Romania, Ukraine or some other country to which we might get diverted.

We met with the Senior Pastor of our church and, since both our visas as well as our available time were time-specific, it was decided to cancel this trip and to try again at a later date.