Trial or Blessing ?

I was so excited when I received a call from the Philippines. I knew it was Jim, and I knew he must have something very important to tell me because it was expensive to make those long-distance calls. First of all he told me that he had received the papers for his next assignment. We would be going to Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan for his last year of duty. In spite of his telling me how cold it would be in the winter, I was excited. It sounded like a fun adventure to me because the farthest away from home I had ever been was to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Oscoda was right on the shore of Lake Huron, so I knew it had to be a beautiful place.

Then Jim dropped the bombshell...at least it seemed that way to me. He had found out that it might be possible for him to fly home on a military plane if one heading for the states was scheduled to stop there at Clark AFB at the right time and if there was space available. This sounded really good to him after having experienced the long three week trip on a navy boat going to the Philippines. So many had gotten seasick on that trip that he had slept out on the deck many nights to avoid getting sick himself from the smell. It wasn't a fun trip and he wasn't too thrilled at the thought of going through that again. And I didn't blame him. BUT he felt that since it was uncertain as to if and when a plane would be available we should postpone the wedding for at least a week to allow some extra time. I tried hard not to cry until after I hung up. The date of our wedding was changed to the thirteenth of May. Fortunately the invitations had not been printed. My dad was doing that at no cost since he was a printer and his father owned the printing shop. But all the other plans and arrangements had to be changed.

The first call I made was to Elder LeGrande Richards who was scheduled to marry us. And wouldn't you know he had an assignment that weekend and would not be available. GREAT! He said he would try to find a substitute and he did...Apostle Harold B. Lee. How could I be disapointed about that???? Calls to the bakery, florist, photographer, and to make the necessary changes yielded no problems. I was relieved. I actually began to think that maybe this was a good thing because if a plane became available soon Jim could get home a whole month before the wedding instead of just two weeks.

The ship left Manila the first week of April without Jim aboard. His only way home was now by plane and the "if" and "when" was uncertain. We crossed out fingers and waited.