The dream is here

Tuesday August 17th
We are running around the house getting things ready for Bill. The past two nights have been spent in deep cleaning (resulting in runny noses accompanied by sneezing). He is scheduled to arrive in Philly at 8pm. His flight from Bogota to Atlanta was supposed to leave at 9:30am. So around noon, my dad decides to check his flight status to see where he is. And that's when my dad reads:
Flight status: departure from Bogota, 3:30pm

WHAT?!!?

My dad calls Delta to see what the heck is up--why is Bill's flight leaving six hours late?! Around this time, Bill calls the house to update us: since his flight was pushed back, he won't be arriving into Atlanta until around 9:30pm. Delta gave him and his companion (flying back to UT) a free room for the night and seats on the first flight out of ATL to PHI the next morning. Whew. No one told Bill why the flight was delayed, but the delay allowed Bill and his companion to go to the Bogota Colombia temple. Awesome!

Wednesday, Aug. 18
We arrive in Philly with plenty of time to spare and minimal traffic, thank goodness. We find his terminal to discover his plane is arriving fifteen minutes early. Sweet! The suspense is already killing us. We hold up our signs at the ready.

Okay, so in the Philly airport, the doors that open into the terminal are translucent, nearly opaque, which makes it very difficult to see who is coming out of the doors.

Every time the doors opened to admit a person into the terminal, we'd run over to see through the doors--to see if we could see Bill approaching. The doors automatically shut after a minute or two, so we must have looked pretty funny trying to glimpse the people approaching the doors.

But then, the doors opened and we finally saw him:


I can't describe how wonderful it is to have him home, returned with honor!


He speaks English with a Spanish accent. He sometimes has to think about the English verb he wants to use. He reads the family's Spanish scriptures during family scripture study because it's easier to read in Spanish for the time being. He still teases us Jett sisters mercilessly; as I retort, he laughs at me for being so gullible. He plays Guitar Hero like he did during his freshman year. He never lets anything bother him. Nothing has changed but yet everything has.
Having a brother who honorably served the Lord for two years has been a blessing for my family. We have read his emails--we have felt the love he has for the Colombian people and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a true joy to have him home, safe and sound, and it is a true joy to know him and to call him my brother.




Welcome Home, Elder Jett!