Wednesday, April 1, 2020
We found out today that the church was able to get all of the North American missionaries who are in Bolivia on the Embassy flight tomorrow afternoon. They’ll let us know tomorrow morning what time he’ll get into Phoenix. He gets into Miami tomorrow night at 10pm and will stay in a hotel. We talked to him for 20 minutes. He gets to take two suitcases and a carry-on and a personal item so it won’t be too hard for him to pack but he will have to leave some stuff behind. We told him he would just have to use his best judgment. I’m sure he’ll figure it out. I think he’s getting over the sadness of leaving early and getting excited to come home. I know we’re excited for him to be here! We got an email from the church office in Peru after midnight that had Nathaniel’s itinerary. He leaves Miami at noon and changes planes in Detroit and arrives in Phoenix at 7:01pm.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
A little after noon, I decided to go on Delta.com so that I could sign up for flight alerts tomorrow, and the Miami to Detroit flight was cancelled! I replied to the guy who emailed me the itinerary and also emailed President Stanford. He told me I should call the travel office so I did. The lady was very nice and she helped me look up his flight information with his confirmation code. They had already put him on a different flight leaving Miami at 2:30pm and going through Atlanta and arriving in Phoenix at 6:47pm. Yay! Crisis averted! I was concerned about him being told about the change but President Stanford said that someone would be in Miami to tell him. I found out later that President Stanford was actually able to tell him at the airport in Santa Cruz before he left. There was another missionary from his mission going to Phoenix so they both knew about the flight change.
At the church offices, getting ready to leave
Santa Cruz airport
Elder May with President and Sister Stanford
Someone posted a video on Facebook of all the North American missionaries leaving Santa Cruz. I was so happy I cried. I couldn’t find Nathaniel in the crowd but Michael spotted him right away. Nathaniel later said that the video was on the news and there were reporters there interviewing the missionaries.
Their flight was supposed to leave at 3pm but it didn’t leave until after 7pm. They won’t get in until almost 3am. One of the parents on our Bolivia Santa Cruz Missionary parents Facebook page posted some info from the mission president for the Santa Cruz North mission. He said, “Heaven and earth were actually moved and the North Americans took off around 7pm. There were no problems other than fatigue and hunger after many hours standing in line at the airport while two airport officials wrote boarding passes one by one, by hand, for 400 passengers! About three hundred other lucky folks got to travel with the missionaries on a flight chartered by the church. Imagine the influence your noble children are having along the way!” I kept my phone on all night in case Nathaniel called but he wasn't able to.
Friday, April 3, 2020
I was thinking Nathaniel might call us from Miami but he didn’t. I’m sure there were a lot of missionaries so it would be hard to find someone to let him use a phone since there are more missionaries than other travelers. I had a long list of tasks to get done and I got it all done. We all got ready to go and left the house at 4:45pm. We made it to the airport by 5:30pm. Everything was super empty there.
We easily parked in the closest spot to the door. We hung out there for an hour waiting for him. Once the plane landed it took a little time for him to get to us. We had our tripod ready and our signs. Daniel was in charge of pressing record and he did a good job. Elder May was one of the first ones off of his flight and we spotted him right away and waved. He smiled when he saw us. As soon as he passed the Do Not Enter and came out, I ran over and gave him a hug. I was in tears, I was so happy! So were Michael and Emily. Michael gave him a big hug and then all of the kids. He looked a little shell-shocked but I know he was glad to see us.
We took some pictures and then went down to get his bags which we were able to do very quickly because they were already there. I took a couple more individual pictures with Nathaniel and the kids and me and Michael.
The kids had fun talking and laughing with him on the way home. I told him the next thing he needed to do was decide what he wanted to eat for dinner. I had even put “Whatever Nathaniel Wants” on the Mom, What’s for Dinner board.
He was having a hard time so I started suggesting places and he said he wanted to go to Panda Express. I ordered the food so that we could pick it up on the way home. As we drove home, he tried to re-familiarize himself with where everything is. He remembered quite a bit. I told him it’s hard for us to remember what is new since he left. We stopped at McDonald’s for Jonathan and Daniel since they don't like Panda Express. While we waited at the window for our food, Michael said something funny and Nathaniel started laughing that laugh that he does and it made me so happy because I really missed that laugh. Then we went to pick up the Panda Express order.
When we got home, Andrew put Maggie out back. Nathaniel changed into some jeans and took off his suit coat and went out to greet her. I thought she was going to freak out but she was shockingly calm. It took her a minute to figure out who he was and then she kept kissing him and hugging him.
Then we went inside to eat our dinner. Nathaniel changed from his shirt and tie into a more casual polo shirt, but he still had his name tag on it. Michael asked him to say the blessing and he said it in Spanish. After dinner, we cleaned up and read Doctrine and Covenants section 135. That was Nathaniel’s suggestion. He talked about how he often used that in his teaching, that Joseph Smith has done more for this world save Jesus Christ than anybody else who has ever lived. Then we had a family prayer.
The kids really wanted to play Jenga so they did that for a few minutes and then everybody got ready for bed.
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Apparently, Nathaniel woke up at 5am. I guess he still on Bolivian time. He said he studied his scriptures. We all enjoyed the conference sessions this morning. There were so many great things said. President Nelson said that as important as food, water, supplies, and savings are, even more important is our spiritual preparation.I especially loved when Sister Joy Jones spoke about what President Nelson said to a group of children. One little girl asked if it’s hard to be the prophet and he said it was. He said, “The Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.”
After the session, we sent the kids upstairs so that Nathaniel could have some quiet and privacy downstairs when he talked to President Cardon on FaceTime. Nathaniel went up to change into his shirt and tie. President Cardon called at 11:15am. It's so strange that Elder May was released as a missionary over FaceTime. I know it was hard for him to say goodbye to his life as a missionary, especially since it ended too soon. I know he was a good missionary and that he will continue to be one in his everyday life as he serves and teaches others. We hugged him and I could tell that it was pretty surreal for him. I know he was a good missionary. And he still can be.
Jonathan has to sit wherever Nathaniel is sitting, haha! He's his new little "companion." These are a couple of pictures taken while we watched General Conference today. Daniel wanted to sit by him, too!
We gave Nathaniel his new phone this afternoon. He hasn't held a Smartphone or video game controller in almost two years!
We love you so much, Nathaniel, and we are thrilled to have you home with us!
