Welcome
the new Missionary blog for Trevor Lloyd Broadbent. Wondering about the title
of this blog, “Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Nein, ich spreche Spanisch!” ? It says " Do you speak German? No, I speak
Spanish! It is in German of course because Trevor speaks German. He has taken
German all through high school and even concurrent enrollment College level
German. Of course, we always though he would serve a German speaking mission.
Makes sense right? Well we are not in charge, Heavenly Father is. He knows what
we need to do and where we need to do it. So, Trevor was called to the Spain
Madrid Mission. We were all surprised at first, Spain wasn’t even on our radar
but Trevor is excited to be going to Europe and teach the Gospel.
So,
Monday, March 2 was the big day to go to the airport and fly away to Spain.
Trevor reported directly to the MTC in Madrid so he bypassed the usual Provo
route, (usual for us in Utah). We (Trevor, Mom, Dad, Merlin, TJ, Logan, Mady
and Evie) arrived at Salt Lake International Airport at 12 noon to be ready for
the flight that was to leave at 2:54 pm. This first flight would take him to
Denver, transfer to another flight to Frankfurt Germany, and then another
transfer to a flight to Madrid Spain. Flight time was expected to be about 14
hours plus the transfer time.
There
were 6 missionaries that were to fly together. Well, after he checked in, we
just sat around the airport. Trevor and Mady drew pictures, we talked and
played with the kids and just had family time. Trevor was ready to get going
and the plane started boarding at 2:29, so we said our goodbyes and cried our
tears, and watched our boy walk away from his family, through security, and on
to Spain. We thought that was the last time we would see him for two years. Ha,
Ha.
The
family left the airport and went to eat together in Salt Lake. We said goodbye
to TJ and his family and Tom, me and Merlin headed back home, about 1 ½ hours
away. I downloaded an app for my phone so I could track my baby boy on his
adventure cause moms think they have to be in control. Well, the flight that
was supposed to pick them up in SLC and fly to Denver was delayed. We thought
ok 45 minutes, no big deal they kind of plan for things like this, and kept
driving home. Well, I kept checking and it was getting more and more delayed. I
even called the Church Travel Office to find out if they knew anything. They
were working on it.
Soon
it became apparent that there was no way they were going to catch the
connecting flight in Denver. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought, “We
need to go back to the airport and see what is going on.” Remember, I think I
need to be in control of everything. I said to myself, stop, it will be ok, and
you are just being a freak-out mom. So we kept driving, and I kept letting
everyone in the car know how delayed the flight was. I think Tom and Merlin
were getting sick of it. Tom said stop worrying, it will be ok. They will work
it out. So I stopped talking about it. On the way, I got a text from Trevor,
(Thank you to the very nice and wonderful lady that let him use her phone). It
said, “Delayed but still determined. We
called the travel office and will be spending the night in Denver and flying on
tomorrow.”
About
the time we hit North Ogden, it was starting to snow, and the flight was still
delayed. Going over Sardine was quite an adventure but we made it into Logan.
Right as we pulled into Merlin’s driveway in Logan, I got a call from the
Church Travel Office saying that they had decided that the best thing to do
under the circumstances was to have the families come back to the airport and
get their missionaries, take them home and then come back tomorrow for another
flight. Well, what do you say? Of course we will come back!
We
headed back to SLC and hit at walloping blizzard. So we were a little slow but
2 hours later, Tom and I were back at the airport. We found Trevor, he was
sitting and waiting by himself, but he said he had only been alone for about 20
minutes. I was so happy to see him! He was disappointed he told me, “Trust in
the Lord, Mom.”
Got
back in the car and headed home, through the blizzard, I jabbered all the way
because I was happy I still had my Trevor for one more day, and safely arrived
in Logan. We decided that we should really get new wiper blade and Trevor
realized that he hadn’t eaten anything all day so he was pretty hungry, and it
might be a good idea to have a watch. (He was going to buy one when he got to
Spain)
Went
to Walmart to get all the stuff we needed. Trevor decided that he wanted a can
of soup, crackers and English muffins, (Ya, he’s a weird kid but I love him).
We also got him a watch. When we got home it was probably about 8:30 and it had
been a really long day. Checked the email for any news about the next day
flights and found it was the same schedule as before, ate soup and went to bed.
Trevor’s eyes were red and itchy but we thought it might just be tired or
allergies
In
the morning when we got up, Trev’s left eye was really bad. When he is
stressed, he get a cold sore, like many people do, only he gets his in his
eyes. We went straight into the eye dr. (thank you Dr. Hammond) and got
medicine drops for his eyes. Both antiviral and antibiotic since we were on a
tight schedule and wouldn’t be able to make a follow-up appointment.
Then,
since it was Trevor’s Grandma Kaye’s birthday, we thought we would give her the
biggest surprise. No one but me, Tom, Trevor, Merlin and our bishop knew about
the airport fiasco. When we went to Grandma’s house, Trevor hid around the
corner so she couldn’t see him, and then he came out and she was so amazed! She
said it was just like magic. Grandma and Grandpa were both so happy to see him
one last time. We didn’t stay long because we had another trip down to the
airport to make and a plane to catch.
There were reasons for the delay, we just weren’t looking for them at
the time. We had blessings falling down on us all over the place!
The
weather was WONDERFUL! Blue skies and awesome snow on the side of the roads. We
got to the airport and checked in. Then found a place to sit and watch for the
other missionaries. The whole group wasn’t able to get a flight all together so
they were taking two different flights and meeting back up in Denver. The storm
we had the night before had moved to Denver so there was the possibility that
they may still stay in Denver but the missionaries needed to move on. So, three
missionaries met up and said goodbye to their families again but there weren’t
as many tears this time. Off they went through security. This time Trevor got
to be one of the lucky ones who had to go through the camera booth. If it’s not one thing it’s another but he lived. We hung out at the airport for a bit just
in case there was an issue, there wasn’t, not at SLC.
The
got to Denver on schedule but the storm there delayed them a bit. We were
starting to wonder if they would be able to continue or have to wait another
day. Then the storm cleared enough for their flight to Frankfurt to take off
and they were on their way. 9 ½ hours later they were in Germany. Then they
boarded the final leg of the journey, the flight to Madrid.
I
watched the little plane on my app land in Madrid and I felt happy that he had
gotten to his destination. Then, the freak-out mom in me got control and I emailed
the Spain MTC. Here is the conversation:
To:
Spain Missionary Training Center President
Subject:
Elder Trevor Lloyd Broadbent 9:10 AM
Hi,
After all the problems with flights and such this week, I
really need a confirmation that my son made it to the MTC in Madrid, along with
all the other missionaries in his group. Mom's worry. I am sure you never heard
that before. ☺
Thanks,
Monica Broadbent
Spain
Mission Training Center 9:16 AM
We don´t have him yet, but there is a group on their way
from the airport. I just don´t know who
is in it.
But I will let you know.
Monica
9:18 AM
Sweet! Thank you so much☺
Spain
Mission Training Center 10:57 AM
Your son was not in this group, but is at the airport with
another Elder in Frankfurt. We expect
them on a later flight this evening. I
don´t know what happened, but they are well and will be on a later flight.
Monica
(In Freak-out-Mom mode) 11:01 AM
Do you know what flight he is on? Did his luggage stay with
him or is it at the MTC? Is it always this hard? Do you know which elder is
with him?
Spain
Mission Training Center 11:05 AM
I don't know the flight and he is with Elder Campozano. I
will let you know.
Monica
11:10 AM (with tears flowing freely while sitting at my desk at work. Good
thing I sit in the corner and have cubicle walls.)
Thank you, I appreciate it
Spain
Mission Training Center 11:43 AM
He's here in Madrid. While you are sleeping tonight he will
be in the Temple.
All is well.
Monica
11:47 AM
Thank you so much! What happened?
Spain
Mission Training Center 11:51 AM
I'm not with them so I don't know. Had something to do with
boarding passes.
Monica
11:57 AM
As long as he is where he should be. Thanks again so much.
Spain
Mission Training Center 11:54 AM
He will email you shortly to confirm his arrival.
Monica
11:59
Thank you for watching over our missionaries.
Trevor
12:47 PM (YEAH FINALLY)
Hi, I’m in the Spain MTC now, just letting you know.
And
that was it. So then I cried more
because I was relieved, and sad and still concerned. (So dehydrated) One more
thing you should know is that Spain is 8 hours ahead of Utah so it was almost
9PM for Trevor when he was able to email me.
So
now all is well in the land of Madrid Spain. They have received awesome
missionaries today who have fought through trials and are ready to get the
training they need to serve the Lord and spread the Gospel. Keep them in your
prayers. Remind me to “Trust in the Lord” like Trevor says.
I
will try and keep you posted of Trevor on his mission. Hopefully he will be
able to relate experiences to me that I can share.
Have
a great day.
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