Planes, Trains, Automobiles, a Bus............and Miracles

*For those of you who follow both the Johnson blogs, you will see a repeat here.
Just warning you.

One bus from Vigo to the train station.

One night train fromVigo to Madrid.
One spectacular last day in Madrid!
One car from the mission home  to the Madrid Airport.

One flight from Madrid to New York that was harassed by a storm
 so it was first diverted to Bangor, ME,

then diverted to Goose Bay in Labrador,

then diverted to Gander in Newfoundland,

then landed in New York,
 but sat on the tarmac for 90 minutes waiting for a plowed gate to disembark.
(We didn't know that part until way later.)

One family car ride in the 10-passenger-van to the Boston airport to meet our missionary!!
We knew there were only 20 hours for our entire family to be together and we were excited to use them all!

One flight from New York to Boston.
One excited family (and friend to take pictures) waiting for the missionary.
And the missionary didn't get off the plane.

This is where the panic set in.
Where was our missionary?
Had he even started out from Madrid?
Did he have a way to contact us?

We called missionary travel.
They hadn't heard from him and his plane had landed in New York hours earlier.

We tried to get information from the airline.
Was he on the plane?
Did he get to the USA?
Was he coming in on a later flight?
Anything????

It appears that it not policy to give any information out about a person over 18.
We were so frustrated.
One agent asked his name, then turned away from us.
She gave us an 800 number to call for airline information.

We called and found there was a 2 hour hold time.
Several thousand flights had been cancelled or changed due to the storm.
Should we wait for him to come in later?
Should we go home?
Where was he?

Then we heard that the last flight had arrived from New York and the airport was shut down again.
We were packing up our signs and cameras and reunion energy to go home when the first miracle happened.

The ticketing agent had finished her shift and quietly came up to us.
"I could get in trouble for this," she told us.
"He was on the flight from Madrid and landed in New York.
He didn't make it to his next flight, so he is still there.
I don't see him booked on any other flights, so I reserved him the last spot out of New York to Boston tomorrow.
If he wants it, he has to get to a ticket counter and tell them."

Oh, thank you!

We now knew where he was, but couldn't figure out why he didn't get on his plane.
We drove home, still a little worried and disappointed.

We talked to missionary travel again.
They could see his reserved ticket in the system, but hadn't heard from him.

At 10pm we finally got a call!
It was from England?!
Why was he in England?
A nice English couple were also stuck in the NYC airport and lent their phone.
We found out that he hadn't stepped off his plane in New York until 25 minutes before his next flight left and he still had to clear customs, re-check his baggage, go through security and board his plane.
Didn't happen.

He couldn't call because all the phones had huge lines.
He had chosen to stand in the re-ticketing line instead.
(Smart move.)

We told him there was a ticket waiting for him if he stayed in the line!!

After 5 hours of him standing, he called back.
All the other people wanting to get to Boston had to wait 2-3 days since the flights were full.
He was coming in the morning!!
The ticket agent on our end had worked a miracle at her own risk.

The hotels were full, so our missionary slept alone in the airport,
but bright and early the next morning he was on his way again!
And so were we.

The reunion was wonderful!!!

We found out more to the story when we arrived home.
There was a call at our home from Elder Johnson's mission president trying to make sure he was home.
The other USA missionaries who left Madrid the same day were sent on a different airline.
They also didn't make their connecting flights in NYC and had spent the night in the airport.
(We were sad to hear that because Elder J could have been with them instead of alone.)
Most of them were stuck there and were being picked up by the NY mission president.
Our son could have been there with them.

We celebrated our 5 1/2 hours together as a family with a sweet spirit of thanks.
We had Christmas, and family pictures and a victory/farewell lunch.
If it hadn't been for a mix-up that put our son on a different airline,
and a generous ticket agent at the desk,
we wouldn't have had those moments at all.

Heavenly Father is in the details and sometimes gives us the desires of our heart,
even if they aren't hugely important.

After our third trip to the airport in 24 hours
(to drop off another son)
we took Elder J to be released.

We drove home for him to get some sleep.
With all his adventures and time change he had only slept 5 hours in the last 43.

Then,
he put his tag away,
and finished the story of Elder Johnson.

(Pictures in the next post.)

Leaving Vigo

 

 (Pictures courtesy of M)

Elder Johnson left Vigo, Spain on Wednesday night.

He said goodbye to so many faithful members and great missionaries who have all made his experience unforgettable.

He took the bus, then the night train into Madrid where he got to spend his last full day in the country he now loves.

 

As I write this, he is making his way back to the United States where we plan to see him tonight!!

(The weather might try to thwart us a bit, but we are hoping otherwise.)

Regresa con Honor, Elder Johnson!

30 December 2013 - The Last Letter

Well,

This past week has been pretty good, the members held the farewell for me on Friday and we had a pretty decent week. We have some awesome investigators that should be getting baptized this next month, and we also have some potential investigators that should be good. It has been pretty cool.

Well, it looks like C was my last baptism. He is awesome and is learning and growing a ton. It has been really cool to have been able to be here to teach him. He is super spiritual, and he really likes to learn about the gospel. It has been an inspiring experience to be with him.

Well, I am not really sure of what else to say. We will be talking a lot about everything this Friday. However, I forgot to mention before, but in the packet to return home it mentions that I should get a tuberculosis test to make sure that I haven´t picked it up on my mission.

I haven´t gotten the package yet...  (*This is the Christmas package we sent to him in November.  Luckily, it didn't have any expensive gifts, just fun things for the elders to enjoy during the holidays.) If the delivery man doesn´t need to see my identification then the other elders can get the package. If they can´t pick it up then they can tell the person that I don´t live there anymore, and hopefully it will get sent back to the states, if not then it might get destroyed....

Thanks for the phone numbers, I am sure that they will come in handy. (*We gave him our new home number so he can contact us if necessary during his travels home.)

Thanks for arranging the release. I couldn't have picked a better time than on the way back from the airport. I was actually hoping that that is when we could do it because I would have felt kind of awkward still being a missionary without missionary things to do.

So far with the suitcases I am doing well. I only have one filled up, and pretty much the only things left that I have are my clothes. So as for weight, I highly doubt that I will go over, and as for space, I am thinking that I will be good. However, we will see what happens as I finish up.

Well, today we visited Santiago as a district. It was really cool and we were able to see a special and unique celebration that they had there. 

Well, I think that that is all for now. Thanks for everything and see you soon!

Elder Johnson

Despedida en Vigo

The Vigo branch held a farewell celebration for Elder Johnson

on Friday, December 27th.

He has been serving there since the beginning of June, so they have had time to get to know each other well.

Here are a few of the pictures sent to us by some of the wonderful members there.

 

 

 

 Thank you, Vigo, for welcoming and supporting our missionary!

25 December 2013

 (That is one fine looking young man!  In my unprejudiced mother opinion, of course.

Even the lady in the background thinks so.)

Today's message comes from me, the Mom.

On Christmas Day we got to Skype with our fabulous Elder Johnson.

At first, there were technical difficulties so he had to switch to a new computer.

Then, the camera didn't work well.

But we saw enough of his face to have a good conversation with him and get even more excited for our reunion in such a short time!

 

This week I have been able to receive several pictures of Elder Johnson from various sources.

Here are just a few:

 

 

(This picture looks very Norman Rockwell to me.)

 

 

 He told us all about his Christmas events and meals and his plans for the last ten days as a missionary.

He wants to finish strong a leave some good work for Elder Dougher.

He also doesn't really believe it's coming to an end.

He only has one more p-day in Spain.

Hoping for the best week ever for him!!

16 December 2013

 

It was Elder Johnson's birthday this week.

A family in Vigo kindly provided him with a birthday cake!

Thank you, Carmen!

Hello- 

So this week was pretty cool, we had the baptism of C, and today for p-day we went to a place called A Guardia, which is on the very tip of Galicia, right on the Atlantic Coast, and also right across the river from Portugal. It was really cool, there are some ruins from an ancient Celtic city there and we also ate with the branch president that lives there as well. The ruins are on a mountain, so we also went to the top of the mountain, which had a fabulous view of everything around it. It was really cool, and surprisingly close by, I actually thought that it would have been farther away.

The Vigo Elders
(Thank you Elder D for the picture.)

I did get all of your cards, during 3 different days, and then Breanna´s card got to me today. But it was cool, thank you. I have not received the package yet.

You have my flight itinerary, right?   In the newsletter they said that there are some parents who haven´t gotten their itineraries yet, so they asked us all to make sure, and then I just wanted to see if I was going to end up on the plane by myself since everyone else will probably be going to Atlanta and then to Utah.  (*Note from Mom: I hadn't received my itinerary, so I contacted the missionary department myself.  I couldn't wait to find out!!)

We will Skype on Christmas - probably at 5:00ish my time, so about 11:00ish your time...

Well, I honestly find myself with few words today, I don´t know of what else to say right now. This week we are going to spend a lot of time looking and finding new people to teach, quite a few of those that we are currently teaching are going to be gone for the upcoming holidays.

I am looking forward to some good upcoming weeks.

Until next time,

Elder Johnson

(Check back here tomorrow for pictures from his p-day trip.  I am working on converting them, but have to finish later.)

9 December 2013

Hello,

 (Eating at M's house)

So thanks for the happy birthday wishes. C is in fact getting baptized on the fourteenth, and it is super exciting to be able to be here helping him. He has been really prepared by the Lord and he is super receptive of the Gospel.

 

(To the temple!)

 

So M´s story is actually really cool. It was a Saturday, and every Saturday we teach English classes at 12:00. When the Hermanas were leaving their piso that morning they prayed to have an opportunity to do service that day. On their way to the Chapel, they met a Venezuelan couple in the street that was visiting for the day, that were also members. The members were leaving to Madrid in a few hours, but the Hermanas left them the address to the church just in case. It turns out that as the couple tried to purchase the tickets to go to Madrid, that the ATM ate their card. Which left them stuck in Vigo without money. So they then went to the chapel where we had just finished English classes. When they got there Elder Miner and I talked to them and we then called the branch president to see if there was someone nearby that could help them out. The branch president gave us the number of the hostel of M. After they had spoken we went to the hostel and contacted M while we were there. M was baptized one month later...

So I would love to room with Elder Wilson! Do you know if he ever got the email that I sent him?

So C is from Ghana, and he is doing very well right now. He is good friends with another member from Ghana in the branch. He doesn´t speak Spanish very well, so I translate for him every week at the Sunday meetings. We found him in the streets (*Note from Mom - meaning contacted him on the street, not that he was a homeless person in the street) about five weeks ago, and he has been awesome ever since.

Well, we have an exciting week ahead of us, we are hoping to find at least one family this week as well as other people that are ready for the truth. The mission has been exploding lately we have had about 60 baptisms in the last few months. Which actually broke the mission record from before. The mission is really starting to grow and change. It has been awesome to be able to see all of that happen.

Well, I think that is it for now, I still have to write to Papa and I only have ten more minutes.

Thanks for everything, until next week,

Elder Johnson