Elder Danny Spencer served in the Naga Philippines Mission from July 2013 to July 2015.
He was a great missionary, happily sharing his love and his strong testimony with the people of the Philippines.
It was a wonderful blessing to have our son Danny serve a mission, and were happy to see him learn and grow as he served, but we eagerly anticipated his return home. At last the day came, and we prepared to meet him at the Salt Lake City airport that afternoon, July 2nd.
But that morning we got some unexpected news when we received this e-mail from Danny:
"Hey Mom and Dad, I have some bad news. We're here in Hong Kong and our flight got delayed. The church hooked us up with a hotel, so we're going to stay the night here. We fly off tomorrow afternoon. I think this will delay my arrival by about 24 hours, but I don't know the exact arrival time. We're still working on get our flights worked out, but we'll be fine. I think the mission will send you guys the new flight plans when they get them."
What?
An hour later we got this rather alarming e-mail from the mission secretary:"EMERGENCY: Hello Brothers and Sisters we want to inform you that Elder Lilliputian¹ is detained at the Hong Kong airport because he has a Taser and he’s with Elder Spencer to be his companion but they are fine , Elder Lilliputian needs to attend a court hearing tomorrow. Our Church employees are helping them to settle the problems. They are expected to fly on that same day after the court hearing. We will keep you posted."
Huh?
Not long after that, I picked the phone and heard a woman identify herself as an agent in the LDS Church Travel Department. She confirmed that our son was in Hong Kong, and that they were quite sure that they could get him out the next day. I was grateful for her kindness and understanding.
I couldn't stand to sit and wait, doing nothing, so I sent an e-mail to Danny's missionary address.
"Elder Danny ─
I don't know if you will ever see this, but I thought I'd try to contact you. We got a letter from your mission and a call from Church Travel. It looks like you will be coming into Salt Lake pretty late, so we think we will go Grandma and Grandpa Spencer's for the night and then to Grandma and Grandpa Measom's for a party, I know you will be exhausted and overwhelmed but I hope this will work okay. We talked to the Stake President and he gave his permission (with some conditions).
We are praying for you and for your flight companion, but we know things will be great.
Love you ─ Mom"
I was a little surprised ─ but very happy ─ to receive this reply from him:
"Ah, shoot, I was hoping to surprise you all with the story of him getting arrested. It was actually no big deal. (Elder Lilliputian was the third one that day, and it was only noon.)
The Lord wanted us to get held up in Hong Kong. We had some things to do. I'll tell you our stories when I get home We're waiting for our flight out of Hong Kong right now. See you in . . . what, like a day?"
Later that afternoon, we spoke to President Reeder, who called us twice from the Philippines. He was compassionate and comforting, and passed along an apology from the parents of the missionary who had inadvertently caused the delay.²
We spent the evening and most of the next day nervously waiting until it was time to leave for the airport to pick Danny up.
He was definitely worth the wait.
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| The whole Spencer family, together for the first time in two years! |
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| Hannah and Danny were both missionaries in the Philippines at the same time. but they never saw each other there. |
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| Danny with his grandparents, Dan and Louise Spencer |
We went from the airport to the Spencer's house, where Danny told us the details of his accidental visit to Hong Kong. The whole thing was much more innocent than we had expected and – as Danny told the story –very funny.
The next morning we gathered at the Measom home in Indianola. (Yes, that's in Utah.)
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| (Because Danny had not been released, he wore his missionary name badge most of the day.)
We had a great time celebrating The Fourth of July holiday.
And I think that for Danny, it was Independence Day in more ways than one.
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²At the airport, we met the the family of the missionary Danny was traveling with. They were delightful people, very apologetic about the delay, and we are very glad we got to meet them!
To read Summer of the Swans: Part One, click here.
To read Summer of the Swans: Part One, click here.
