John spent Monday morning arranging the logistics of the transfer which spans Tuesday through Thursday: who would be driving to the airport (3 trips), the train station, the temple, Migrationsverket, how many passengers in each car, when we need to pick up the bag-van, etc. A half an hour before leaving for our office meeting, an email came in from Salt Lake: "Your two missionaries will not be arriving tomorrow. Their flight has been cancelled and they are rebooked for the same flight tomorrow, arriving on Wednesday." Ok...a new logistic plan made during office meeting....scratch Tuesday and compress everything for two days into one day--Wednesday. A quick call to the Norin family to let them know that their son, who is to be one of new missionaries this week, would need to wait one more day before they bring him to us. (Sister Norin said, "Oh good! We can keep him one more day--his birthday!") (Usually missionaries go to the MTC before going on their missions, but this elder is a special case--our third one since we've been here, who serves locally as a missionary for two transfers before receiving his call and going to the MTC.)
Tuesday morning felt relaxing. It was good to have a little extra time because this week is usually so busy. John kept checking the mailbox every half hour, maybe, just maybe the rest of the visas will come. At 2:15 the mail arrived and there were the missing visas! Two for our visa-waiters who had already spent 6 weeks in the Salt Lake South Mission and one for the new sister who had be assigned to wait in Arkansas. Since our expected missionaries were not leaving until that evening, I thought, maybe, just maybe we can those 3 on the same flight. As soon as Mission Travel was open, I got hold of our agent. "I will see what I can do....That flight is fully booked, but I can get them to you on Thursday at 2:50." Hurray! We will finally have ALL of our missionaries! That evening about 7:00 we met our new couple at the airport, the Borgs, as they arrived. After a nice dinner together, we helped get them settled in their apartment. While I took Sister Borg shopping at the little grocery store next door, Sisters Anderson and Clouse went inside to make the bed (which they had forgotten to do the day before when they readied the apartment for arrival). To their chagrin, they discovered there were no bed linens in the apartment--oops! Off they went, back to the Mission Office, about 30 minutes away, to get some sheets and pillow cases. Meanwhile the exhausted Borgs were trying to get settled in their stifling apartment. It was about 94 degrees and no breeze!
Wednesday morning the Norin family arrived at the Mission Office with their son, excited and ready to join us. After the good-byes,we all headed to the airport for our arrivals due in a 8:55. At 9:10, they walked through the doors! The President and his wife hadn't even arrived yet! Usually it takes at least a half an hour to get luggage from touchdown before we see them, but these missionaries were ready to go! TĂ€by chapel for interviews, training, meeting their trainers, and everything else done in two days rolled into about 3 hours! Meanwhile, John had gone to pick up the bag-van--a cargo van used to carry luggage for the missionaries when it won't fit into our vehicles. With 9 departing missionaries to pick up at the train station the van was needed! He has rented a bag van at the same place virtually every six weeks since we came to Stockholm. "May I see your driver's license?" John produced his license as he has done for each rental. "I can't take this. It is not plastic-enough (bending the license)." "Not plastic enough? What do you mean? It is the license I have used for the past year." "I'm sorry." Elder Clouse, who just arrived 4 days before took out his wallet. "Oh, I can take this one. It is plastic. (Showing that the license does not bend.) What is your personnummer?" "I just got here 4 days ago. I don't have a personnummer yet." "I can't rent the van to you either." Sweating, with time running out, John somehow persuaded the cashier to rent them the van. Next stop they picked up the catered lunch and arrived just in time to set it out and begin eating. Whew!
After lunch, we presented our orientation to the new missionaries while the Andersons and the Youngbergs left for T-Central to pick up the departing missionaries and go to the temple. Then we took the missionaries and Clouses to Migration to get their residency cards. When we arrived security was tighter than ever. Four armed guards stood at the inside door and demanded to see our reservations--scary! (If you will remember, it has been very difficult to get Migration appointments lately, so when I get a date that works for us, I book appointments for all our expected missionaries, hoping they will arrive. Since 3 of them were arriving the next day, I had a couple extra time slots, and I was able to get the Clouses in on other missionaries' appointments.) Whew, again!
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| After dinner at the mission home, we enjoyed a few minutes with the sisters were were in the MTC when we were...Sister DeMordaunt and Sister Hall. |
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| The Mission Home...inside reminds me of our home in Queensbury đ (Elder Bringhurst welcoming us to the house.) |
Thursday morning we left at 6:45 to take the departing missionaries to the airport. (Third trip this week.) One elder's flight had been changed so he was to leave 2 hours later than everyone else. (On his original itinerary, he would have arrived in SLC and have to spend the night before going to Cedar City the next day. His mother, anxious to have him home, objected to that and arrangements were made for him to arrive home that evening by going on different airlines. Unfortunately, he had to make the whole trip alone, and that evening we got a call from him. "My flight out of London has been delayed and I cannot make my connection in Phoenix to get home tonight." He ended up staying the night in Phoenix and arriving home the next morning at 10 a.m.---our first mishap like that! (We also later learned that one elder flying into Phoenix was delayed 6 hours while a dust storm ran through the city!)
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| Hauling in all the baggage. (I like this picture because everyone in the middle is laughing. I can almost hear John! |
That afternoon at 2:50 we were back at the airport (trip #4) to pick up the incoming-visa-waiting missionaries. About an hour later they finally came through security without their bags. A tight connection in Chicago prevented their bags from making the flight.
Friday morning we drove to the airport (#5) at 11:00 to pick up the delayed baggage. Five of the six bags arrived. After retrieving those, we made arrangements or the 6th bag to be delivered to where the new missionary would be living....about 7 hours away. The sisters, who had been scheduled to leave by train that morning, were rebooked on a flight to Malmö later in the afternoon, since most of their luggage arrived and they could take it with them. We helped the sisters get checked in for their flight which was scheduled to depart about 3 hours later, then we enjoyed lunch with them and said good-bye. A few hours later the POEs got a call. "Our flight has been cancelled. They want to rebooked us on a flight to Copenhagen, and from there we will take the train back to Malmö. There are no other available flights out of Stockholm for 2 days." The President said "No, they can't leave the mission. Try to book them on a flight out of the other airport (Bromma)." He later told us that part of his decision was based on our experience coming back into Sweden when the border security almost kicked us off the train. He said he just couldn't risk that happening to those missionaries.) "Ask for your luggage." "It is too late, it is already on the flight to Copenhagen and they can't get it off." So, it was another trip to the airport, by the POEs and Assistants this time, to transport the missionaries sans luggage to Bromma. They arrived in Malmö too late to get the train and had stay at the Malmö sisters' apartment.
Saturday we finally had time to start preparing our apartment for the Baileys to move in. We spent the day deep cleaning until 3:30 when it was time for our 6th and final trip to the airport this week...to pick up the Youngbergs, returning from Norrland interviews. As we rehashed the week's activities, we called the sisters--they were safe in their apartments but without any luggage. (Most of it arrived today, though.)
I'm tired just from writing all this! I'll bet you are tired of reading it, too! Needless to say, it has been a stressful week, but I am glad that this craziness happened while we were here rather than to the new couple.
Through all this chaos, calm reigned. I am so impressed with John, the POEs and Assistants, the President and his wife and the missionaries who are living without their luggage. Kindness, patience and positive attitudes prevailed. As President Hinckley used to say, "Things will work out." And they did!
Two weeks to go!
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