The Travel Trial

What a fun surprise to answer the phone this morning and hear Kiersten Lindstrom's sweet voice. I thought about her yesterday at 3:48 when she and Elder Mecham were due to arrive in Idaho. But what a story she had to tell. I'll try to make it short and not too confusing.

Seven of our eight go-homes flew out of Baton Rouge at 7:30 am, but they were late arriving in Atlanta, and the 3 Idaho-bound missionaries missed their flight to SLC. Elder Hansen was able to get on a flight to Salt Lake with the other 4 who were going there at a later time. Don't ask me why all 7 weren't booked on the same flight, but they weren't. Sister Lindstrom and Elder Mecham went from one counter to another trying to get on stand-by, but all the flights were full. I don't know what time they actually left Atlanta, but they arrived in Salt Lake at 8:30 pm, thus missing any possible connection to Idaho.

Somehow they must've contacted their parents, because Elder M's left Idaho to pick him up in SLC, and Sister L's brother and wife, who live in Provo, picked her up with signs and balloons. They'd also contacted 2 of Kiersten's best friends to come to the airport. Then they drove her to Rexburg, arriving around 1:30 am. When she and I talked, she was on her way to the airport to pick up her luggage that had somehow managed to make all the connections and arrive in Idaho. Not exactly the homecoming that you usually hear about, but at least she's home safely!

It was pretty quiet in the office today, but Sister Carpenter and Sister Pearson the LSU Sisters, did stop by for a few minutes.