Elder Parker Hadley: The Fugitive

Mom Notes:

Elder Hadley wrote two letters (The Fugitive & Don’t Cry for Me Argentina) shortly after he returned home from Argentina and shared with us the pictures from his quartine and leaving Argentina.

Being Mom of the Year, I am just now uploading these into his Blog which is why you have received these automated emails whenever a new post is made.

Parker has not been stuck in Argentina this whole time 😂, but we wanted to make sure these great letters and pictures completed his blog! Thank you all for the support and love you have shown Elder Hadley!

¡Hola! Well I made it. It was hard but I enjoyed putting Elder Hadley in the plot of Harrison Ford’s Fugitive. It was quite an experience and I learned a lot.

I was picked up by a stranger (Member from another ward) at around 5 pm on Sunday March 29th and was told to put all my luggage in the back of this very small and old pick up. It was quite risky because of the whole police/military situation on the streets and no one could travel in pairs. We were of course pulled over by the police after a few minutes because we looked like someone was trying to escape the country with an Argentine giving a ride to a foreigner with 3 large black suitcases. We showed the police the paperwork that we had and thankfully they let us be on our way for the 1 hour drive the Stake Center.

All the North American missionaries made it to the Stake Center/Mission Offices in Adrogue and then we weighed in all our luggage. Normally it is 50 lbs. or 23 kilos but in our situation we all had to be at these limits. 22.7 Kilos ~ 48/49 lbs.… Frustrating, yes, but I made it manage. Our suitcases had to be under the limits because we needed it to be a very fast process for checking us in.

After pre-check-in we took an amazing photo with all of our suitcases, Argentina and USA Flags and all the North American missionaries from BAS.

The Police came 3 different times to the Stake Center because the neighbors kept calling and said, “There are 200 North Americans putting on a party at the church house” it was an exaggeration of 120 more missionaries, and we were trying to get out of there (Not a Party).

We had our last Devotional/Meeting as a mission with our amazing Mission President and Mission Mama. We couldn’t sing because it would be way too loud and the neighbors would call the police on us. We had a spiritual thought from President Fernandez and our last prayer together given by our Mission Mama. President Fernandez in a very spiritual thought told each of us missionaries that the Lord has accepted our service in Argentina. It was a tender moment for all of us as we knelt in prayer one last time. Sister Fernandez said the prayer and is a very sweet lady and deserved the title of Mission Mama. We all will miss them.

At 2:00 am they decided it would be best to get us on the shuttle buses and start to the airport so that we would not have to deal with the police anymore. As we had just got on the buses then the police showed up again and told us to get off.

President Fernandez had gotten a phone call from another nearby Mission President saying the Airport won’t open up and let the missionaries inside until the plane is at the airport. So, we all were “on call” until 3:30 in the morning. At around 3:30 we got back on the buses and traveled to the Airport. It was best for us to move all these missionaries in the middle of the night. Once we were at the airport we waited with six other Argentina missions outside the airport for another 3 hrs. with all of our luggage and then they started running us all through security and even more security than normal. I was not really expecting this kind of “Goodbye” to my Mission Parents, other missionaries or to Argentina but it was what the Lord had planned for me.

After waiting for them to start loading the plane my cousin Elder Tavin Dougher (who was serving in the Argentina Bahia Blanca Mission) yelled out, “Elder Hadley, Elder Hadley!!!” I turned around with my blood shot eyes and gave him a huge hug! We did not think we would see each other for 3 years and now we were on the same plane home! It was really fun to talk with him about our missions in Argentina and a huge relief to see a family member! We caught up for a while and took some pictures together.

On the plane I got the best seat in the plane, middle seat in the middle section. Jaja I sat next to Elder Yoho from Bountiful. Elder Yoho was the first missionary from my mission that I met right as the two of us were saying goodbye to our parents at the Salt Lake City Airport and we also just happened to sit by each other on the plane to the Mexico CCM. And here we were 9 months later sitting next to each other again on our way home. I was just so happy I was on that plane. It truly was a blessing from the Lord.

My CCM buddy Elder Aston was lucky enough to sit between 2 Hermanas for 13 hours just talking and talking and talking. Jaja

Before take-off we all said a prayer for safety over the plane microphone and then left Beautiful Buenos Aires.

I had not eaten in quite a while and we had an ok meal on the plane, but it was needed on a very hungry stomach jaja. I enjoyed watching the airplane map get closer and closer to Utah, it was very exciting and all of us were anxious. It was a direct flight from Buenos Aires straight to Salt Lake City. I was relieved when I saw that we were flying over Texas. On the flight it was funny to see all the missionaries watching Frozen 2 and the Live action Lion King on their TV monitors. Jaja

As we descended, I saw the snow on the mountains, and it brought peace into my mind and heart. It was the perfect scene to welcome us back home from a very hard situation. As the tires touched down and hit the runway I yelled out, “Welcome Home Boyz, we are on US Ground!!! Yahoooooo!!!” and everyone cheered and yelled!

I have never seen the Salt Lake International Airport so empty, weird but easy to get through. I put on my Red Boina (Argentine Gaucho Hat) and continued to the end.

It took a long time to get to the parking garage as I weaved through all the other missionaries and got directions of where all the families with the last name that started with “H” were. I finally found my mom and dad. They were on the second level of the parking garage in one of the farthest parking stalls from the entrance. They were instructed to not get out of their car until I came to them and so they stood on the running boards of the suburban for over an hour looking out into the parking garage for me. Jaja

I love my family and this moment I felt a huge relief and many peaceful thoughts. I gave my Mama and Dad a big bear hug even though I probably wasn’t supposed to… Jaja

My awesome sister (who was waiting back at home) wrote on our huge white suburban welcome home sayings such as, “Don’t Cry for me Argentina!” and “We love you Elder Hadley!”

As I got in the back seat of the car my Dad handed me a Mountain Dew Code Red! It had been a long journey and I was so grateful to be in Utah, in the Suburban with my parents. We made it back home and I had a total of 1 minute to give my sister, brother, and brother-in-law (who were standing on the driveway with signs) a hug and then I looked down the street and saw a car driving very slowly. I had not even walked into my house yet. I thought I needed to help push this car that was out of gas until I saw a bunch of other cars following.

I was very confused why all these cars were running out of gas until I realized the first car was Bishop Griffin and his family.

The Quail Crossing Ward, my extended family, and many amazing friends did a little parade route for Elder Hadley’s Return. My Ward had planned this parade for 7:00 to also welcome a few other missionaries that had also returned from my ward. Because my plane was late, and it took so long to get through the airport my parade started at 8:30! It was so nice that they had waited in the church parking lot until I arrived in the subdivision and now, I know why my Dad was driving so fast from the airport! I thank all of you that was a part of that, you all are awesome, and it really meant a lot to me!!!

After the parade I walked into my house. It was so nice to have carpet and a soft seat, eat some Café Rio Take-Out and to share some experiences with the family. It was really nice to be able to walk around bare foot, have flushing toilets, and toilet paper (my companion and I ran out of TP during quarantine)! We all got a wonderful nights rest knowing I was back in the USA and had a wonderful breakfast the following day.

During my first full day in Utah, I started to realize I have some pondering to do. I needed to figure out what is on the pathway for Elder Hadley or Parker Hadley. In my next email I will share with you a faith building and testimony strengthening experience. I hope all is well with you and your families.

Les amo mucho,

Elder Hadley

(Hang Loose!!!)