Leaving On a Jet Plane! Not the Midnight Train to Georgia, But a Six-Thirty a.m. Airplane to Atlanta!

The home MTC came to an end and there were still two weeks before Sam was to leave for Atlanta, Georgia. He thought it would drag by, but that wasn't the case. There were plenty of things to get ready in addition to celebrating Thanksgiving.

Home MTC

Thanksgiving 2020

The two weeks were soon gone and it was time to fly to Atlanta. Sam's flight was scheduled to leave from Idaho Falls, Idaho at 6:35 a.m. on Tuesday morning December first. 

We were up late getting his bags packed and then up by 4 a.m. to make sure we made it to the airport on time. We will all miss Sam while he is gone. Max and Emma were especially sad to have their big brother leaving for two years.

Early morning December 2nd in the Idaho Falls Airport

We arrived before 5:30 a.m. and there were only a few people at the airport. We had time to get Sam checked in and then take a few pictures before he had to head off to go through security and to the boarding gate.

Flying out of Idaho Falls is a great choice. There are far fewer passengers, the airport employees are usually very nice, and going through security isn't nearly as stressful as it is in larger airports.

We snagged a few photos and videos through the window as he went through the usual security check of taking off half your clothes and then putting them back on again while holding onto your driver's license and boarding pass with white-knuckled fingers.

We got home and took an exhausted nap. In the meantime, we looked up Sam's flight and discovered the Idaho Falls to Salt Lake leg was delayed about 30 minutes. That might not seem like much, but he only had about 40 minutes of layover time in Salt Lake before his flight left for Atlanta. 

As fate would have it, the flight for Atlanta left two minutes after Sam landed. Needless to say, he didn't make the connection. Fortunately, he was booked on a flight about an hour later that had around 40 missionaries on board. 

He arrived in Atlanta to find that he was one of 30 new missionaries assigned to the Georgia Atlanta Mission. He met with the mission president briefly and then they went to a local church building to eat. The elders were going to be put up in a hotel for the night and the sisters got to stay in the mission home in Peachtree. 

President and Sister Needs

Sam was a bit distraught with the culture shock of driving through downtown Atlanta. He was also a bit disappointed to find out that the mission is in a stage of lockdown because of the Coronavirus. There will be no street contacting or door-to-door. We'll find out more of the restrictions and what he can and can't do after he meets for training meetings on Wednesday. 

He will also receive his first assignment of an area and a companion. We are praying for a perfect fit!