Leaving on a Jet Plane

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Tuesday –Wednesday February 17-18

We made three trips to the airport saying good-bye to all 12 Elders. 8 of them left together to head back home to the United States. Unfortunately, their flight was diverted to San Juan Puerto Rico and then delayed into Atlanta and Utah.  We hope they are home by now and will look forward to connecting with them soon. 

Here Elder Dalton, Pedersen and Johnson show the myriad of emotions about leaving! (they have a good sense of humor also:)Below, we got a chance to pose with Elder Stephens, Elder Carpenter, Elder Perez, Elder Pedersen and Elder Johnson. At least, we got a group shot with everyone.

Elders Carpenter, Dalton, Johnson, Lucking, Pedersen, Perez, Stephens and Taylor all headed out of Tuesday night. They have a long flight ahead of them.

On Wednesday morning, we headed once again with Elders Otieno, Kewuti and Mthembu. They all are flying on African airlines. We deal with a lot of packing, re-packing, weighing and checking bags. It is a tender time with each and every elder, saying good-bye. We actually hate saying good-bye, but love knowing it is merely a hand off to the loving arms of their family on the other side. It is so great to have been on the other side of things and know what awaits Elders with their family so eagerly welcoming them home. It is so tender and meaningful on both ends.

Elder Otieno from Kenya is ready to leave. We will miss him and his big, booming spirit and voice!

Elders Kewuti and Mthembu and Otieno all flying back to home in Africa.

Elder Kewuti is one stylish guy. He had to unpack some of his bags to get to his weight limits, but made it in the end. I was impressed to see how many church study manuals he wanted to take home with him.  We will share his study materials with other Elders.  We will miss these great Elders.

The final flight time came and we were forced to take Elder Reed to catch his flight home to Australia.  What a great Elder he is and contributor to the mission. Just like each and every Elder pictured, they have each made such a meaningful contribution with their mission and their devotion. We are so honored to have them with us for the past 8 months. We feel so close to these Elders, as we were able to serve for 1/3 of their 24 months.

Elder Reed flanked by our Assistants, Elder Malapula and Elder Menendez!

Good-bye Elder Reed. Come visit us and plan to stay awhile in your second home in Alpine, Utah. We will serve you some popcorn....and maybe you can even visit this companion!