On a whim, I took this picture as we were walking over the sky-bridge at the Portland airport. I had no idea it would be our last photo of Jacob. What a crazy morning it turned out to be.
The plan was to leave at 4am. But by the time we were ready and had prayed, it was 4:15. We got there before 5 and thought we had plenty of time, as his flight was not until 6. As we walked into the airport, we noticed super long lines to check in and it was dark. We soon discovered there was flooding in Delta’s electrical room – and yes, Jacob was to fly Delta. All the computers were down and people were standing in long lines in the dark - waiting to check their luggage at some counters farther down. Jacob had expressed that he was feeling nervous on Monday, and then especially that morning – so I was a little stressed for him as we saw the long lines. Well, we got in line and kept shuffling along as the clock ticked on. Then Mitchell mentioned that when Jacob got picked up, that the new missionaries luggage would be taken and they would only have their carry-on until the next day. Jacob and I were shocked. What was he supposed to sleep in and what about toiletries? Jacob had fit everything into his 2 big suit cases, so he just had a small carry-on with scriptures and pens and things. So now we were opening up luggage and laying it out on the ground. Luggage that was very well packed to keep the suits and shirts and dress pants from wrinkling – with the casual clothes in the center. Ugh! Finally, with the help of a flashlight, we were able to find and dig out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt he could sleep in and a tooth brush. (I guess he gets to wear his clothes 2 days in a row.)
Just then, this friendly lady introduced herself and said she was farther up in line with her son who was also a new missionary. We were a bit distracted, as we were trying to reclose the suitcases and keep moving along in line, but it was nice to meet her. Later, at about 5:35, she came back again and said we could go up in line by them, so Jacob didn’t miss his flight. Well, I didn’t want to cut in line, as I was sure most of the people around us were also booked on the 6:00 flight, but Mitchell, Ethan, Rog and Jacob followed her until they were closer to the front of the line. I made my way closer, but still back a ways. When her son, Elder Phelps, went up to check in and get his boarding pass, he talked to the ticket agent and then turned around and said in surprise, “Jacob Cluff, come up here. You are on my boarding pass!” What? So I came up with his suitcase and sure enough, Jacob’s info was on his phone. Jacob laughed and said, “When you checked in on-line last night, did you click on my name? I saw other names, but just clicked on my own.” Elder Phelps said, “Yea, I guess I did.” What a tender mercy!! Not only were we able to check in much sooner, but now they were able to be together.
After luggage was tagged, we all walked as quickly as we could to security. Jacob turned around and gave us each the quickest “I gotta go” hug and he was off. There was no time to get sad. He was running! Elder Phelps’ mom said good-bye to her son and he ran after Jacob. We watched as they wound their way quickly through the line and were able to get through security by 5:50 or a bit after. Then we couldn’t see them anymore. We were so grateful they were with each other. Elder Phelps was called to Peru, but is also going to the Orem mission to wait for his visa. It was troubling to know they had phones that didn’t have sim cards or were not hooked up yet, to call us if they didn’t make it, but we had to assume they would either make it, or get on another flight later.
-Mom
