I haven't posted on this blog for a month. It's been pretty rough as I miss John so much and I have literally been in a funk! I have suffered some depression and well, January is the worst month of the year for me. I will be back soon with stories and pictures :) 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

First area

John is in the mission field. His first area is Ashland, Kentucky! 

I have been told he is 'VERY happy'. These pictures prove it. 

My Mama heart strings are tugging, especially as this will be his first Christmas away from home BUT the fact he is testifying of the divinity of the ONE whose birth we will be celebrating, makes my heart full of joy! I love you, my son! 💙

"We love you Elder Conrad"

West Virginia bound

The day is here!  After a week of 'Home MTC' and 2 weeks at the Provo MTC, it is time to head to the mission field.  John had to be up bright and early this morning for his flight to West Virginia. 

He has thoroughly enjoyed the MTC and has met some amazing young men and women. He has had a great experience and made some lifelong friends. 

He survived the food! :) He loved the chocolate milk and even had 2 days where he fasted for 36 hours.  His District Leaders were sick and he wanted to fast for their well being. 

I received word that he arrived safe and sound and would be staying at the mission home for the night.

Very excited to hear what's next! 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

Angels on earth

I am a firm believer that we have angels who surround us here on earth and ones who have passed on from this earth. 

This is the first of hopefully many situations where someone takes a picture of my son and sends it to me. 

The text message read: 
"Hi this is Mary Kae Nielson, look who we saw in the MTC"

When I saw the picture and read the text, my eyes welled and I smiled so big. It was such a wonderful surprise.  It was a week ago that we dropped John off at the MTC and so today was a little hard.  My spirits were really lifted looking at this picture. It truly was perfect timing. 

He looks so HAPPY!! I mean, just look at that smile! I am sure he was thrilled it was 'Pizza day' but still - he doesn't fake happiness. He exudes happiness.

One more week and he heads to the West Virginia Charleston Mission! 

 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

One week has passed

It's been one week since we saw our son/brother/uncle. To me it feels like a month! I still haven't gone into his room. The door has been shut. I think I will plan to open the door and walk in soon. I just know it will bring a FLOOD of tears and I don't think I am ready for that just yet :) I will try to focus on the fact that being a missionary is a wonderful thing and he is doing GREAT things. 

If you are not following John Conrad on Facebook, I encourage you to do so. He will be sharing some amazing messages on there. I was very happy to see he had posted his first one since he has been at the Provo MTC. 

He wrote: 

What a great quote! I haven't thought of it like that before.

How can you serve others? One way I've been serving others in the MTC is I open any doors I can for others.

Comment below some ways you serve others. #service

My response:

I can just imagine you opening the doors and standing quite a while as you do so 

 I saw you do this so many times and was always grateful for you doing this. Your Grandfather lived a life of service. He was always doing things for others and was at his happiest when he was doing so. One of the simple ways I serve others is by texting people to let them know I am thinking of them and asking if there is anything I can do to help them. Lately, I have been reminded that I need to ACT on this. I not only should ask people if there is anything I can do for them....I need to think of things they may need and just do it! Keep up the good work, son. You were born to do amazing things. I love you! 

I am looking forward to seeing more of these wonderful posts!

"We love you Elder Conrad"

Wonderful day!

What a wonderful change it was to allow missionaries to call weekly. 

It has been just over 48 hours since I saw my son and it feels like 48 days - like seriously!!! 

I can't even imagine only hearing his voice 4 times like it used to be. To see his face and hear his voice is JUST what I needed. 

It was great to hear how he has settled. He admitted his first day/night was hard. Not keen on the food but he assured me the chocolate milk is delicious! 

I will go to sleep much better this evening! 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

See you later, my dear son!!!

Can someone tell me when a Mom stops crying once she has dropped off her missionary at the MTC? 

Today's post is just a bunch of pictures from yesterday without words.....for obvious reasons ;)

"We love you Elder Conrad"

The time is getting closer

I wonder if Elder Conrad knows how much we are all going to miss him in general, but especially at Christmas. For the last 19 years, he has been a huge part of our Christmas. This one will be very different without him BUT I am truly grateful that he will be teaching and serving on the east coast at the very time we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

He flies to West Virginia on Dec 14th. That date has stuck in my mind.  My son will be leaving all he has ever known just 11 days before Christmas. The closer the time has got to this date, my soul has been calmed. It hasn't taken away the thought of how much I am going to miss him, or even cry but I have been reassured that it is the best time to go - when so many minds are on the true reason for the season. 

I took this picture after he had finished 'Home MTC' for the day. He has had a wonderful day and as we had put up the tree, I couldn't think of a better place to take his picture. I have felt pretty emotional today and actually cried at the thought of not seeing him for two years - at the thought of him not being in our home for two years. I honestly don't know how I will get through it, but I am reminding myself of ' ONE DAY AT A TIME' ;) 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

Today is Thanksgiving Day! It will be the last one we get to celebrate with our son/brother/uncle for a couple of years. 

We got to spend the full day/evening with him due to their being no classes. He did have personal study and companionship study. It was so great to eat delicious food and share what we are thankful for. I am thankful for many things but at this time, I am truly thankful that my son has worked so hard to be prepared for what lies ahead. Thanksgiving has always been a favorite of mine. We have so much to be thankful for. This year, I am so thankful to have a full time missionary son and am very thankful for Home MTC. 

Elder Conrad's favorite pie - is 'Apple'. He loves it and when it came time to eat dessert - I passed him a pie, all for himself. I had seen a picture earlier today of some missionaries in the West Virginia Charleston Mission, eating their own pie so it gave me an idea. My son declined to eat the pie to himself ;)

I wanted to get to his level........

"We love you Elder Conrad"

Elder Conrad had special visitors! His nieces came over during his dinner break. Lindsay will be 2 years old when he comes back and his other niece, Laura will be almost 5. 

He is a wonderful uncle and has really enjoyed being around these lovely little girls. 

Elder Conrad is thoroughly enjoying his Home MTC experience. He is learning a lot and enjoying getting to know his companion.  They are studying well together. Elder Lowder is giving his farewell talk this coming Sunday and has asked Elder Conrad if he would like to join the Zoom to listen to it. 

We have one week left before we will drop off Elder Conrad at the Provo MTC.

"We love you Elder Conrad"

 

Elder Conrad is enjoying 'Home MTC'. I hung around a little this morning before heading out to work so I could see him, give him a hug and let him know I loved him. 6:30am his alarm went off and he was right out of bed. He has always been good at getting out of bed. I have heard stories from various Moms who have had tried every trick in the book to get their kids out of bed. I have never had to do that with any of my children.  Their alarms go off and they are up and moving. 

The missionaries have found out about his love for ties. He was asked how many he has - over 100! He has a love for ties as his Mom has for shoes :) This is a collection of ties he purchased or was given while we were on European trip in 2019. The 'greenish' one on the bottom left side was my Dad's. It was his 'rugby league' tie and my Mum was delighted to give it to her grandson, knowing he would take good care of it. The one on the top left was my junior high school tie, or maybe it was my sister's or brother's? ;)

Elder Conrad had a nice break in between dinner. I asked if he would like to go for a walk in the neighborhood to get some fresh air and move around. He happily accepted the invitation.  We walked over to our dear friends home - Weston Butler. We had a great chat with him and he gave my son some wonderful advice. His wife Wendy, made some delicious brownies for the open house this past Sunday and they were absolutely delicious. Among other gifts, they gave Elder Conrad a 'TIE'. 

I am sure he will be teaching many missionaries and others all the different ways to 'tie a tie' :)

Choice of dinner: Chick-fil-A

Finishing the evening with a devotional and study! 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

And so it begins!

Elder Conrad's home MTC started Monday, November 21st. 

We decided the best place for our son to have the best experience as possible would be in the basement, away from the every day distraction of 'family life'. He realized right away what a blessing this would be as many of the other missionaries were in their bedrooms and some even in the 'family room' of their homes. 

Can I tell you hard it is to have the 2022 World Cup start and not have my son with me to watch the games? Also, how hard it is to remember not to be loud as I cheer on my country! If you didn't know, England beat Iran 6-2 in the beginning round and Messi/Argentina lost - to Saudi Arabia. Yes....Saudi Arabia!! 

I am learning that the Home MTC is pretty wonderful. Every now and again, I hear little snippets and I am so happy to have this experience as a 'Mom'. Elder Conrad is learning a lot and teaching well. His MTC companion is Elder Lowder from Pocatello, ID. He is getting to know his companion and the missionaries in his district. What a wonderful opportunity to get to know 'each other' before entering the MTC in Provo, next Wednesday! 

"We love you Elder Conrad"

John Conrad is now Elder Conrad

Today was a very special day. John gave a wonderful talk in church which many of our family members and friends came to listen to and show support. Our Bishop didn't tell us that a member of the area presidency and his wife would be visiting. It was an incredible meeting. John was really worrying about his talk and 'then' he saw the amount of people in the audience ;) He was assigned to speak on the topic of 'Testimony'. It is incredible to me, as his Mom how much his own testimony has grown. 

From left to right: 
Mike Young, Jared Sims, Jeannie Bott, Maxine Conrad, Judi Gubler, Earl Gubler

Mike Young: A very dear friend of the Sims family. Mike went to Hull, England as Elder Young in 1973. My Dad, John Sims was the ward mission leader at the time. When Mike left to come home to Salt Lake City, UT in 1975, my Dad was the Bishop of the Hull 2nd ward. Bishop Sims flew to SLC, for General Conference and he stayed with the Youngs. This friendship lasted my Dad's lifetime and will go on through the eternities. I cannot express how grateful I was to see Mike. I was teary as I looked him in the eyes and thanked him for being with us on this special day. 

Jared Sims: My brother! Love him dearly and feel blessed to have him living close by with Marisol and Vivian. 

Jeannie Bott: Jeannie is the sister of the missionary, Jerry Bott who baptized my Dad. I was beyond thrilled to see her and was so grateful she was with us. I know Jerry would have been there if he could and I believe he was sat right next to my parents in a beautiful place, watching over us. Jeannie is so incredibly special to my family and I. 

Judi & Earl Gubler: What a beautiful couple. I was so grateful to see them in the congregation. I met these dear friends through John Holt, a good friend of mine from my home town in England. John asked us to get in touch with this couple. Elder Gubler baptized John and his family back in the mid sixties and didn't know my parents as Jerry Bott and Ben Tolley had yet to go and 'knock on their door' :) 

HONORARY MENTION: Craig Brewster and Ben Tolley.  

Craig had a hospital procedure and couldn't come to the meeting, however he joined us on Zoom. He was a missionary in 1969 and has been an amazing friend of the Sims family ever since. We love him even more because of his beautiful bride, Laurie who has always been so sweet to us and cooks the most delicious food :) 

Ben was visiting his family in Canada and couldn't make it to the meeting. He baptized my dear Mum. He has the greatest humor and I love chatting with him often. We owe Ben and Jerry (Yep Ben and Jerry -  for you ice cream lovers) so much! 

After the meeting we had an Open House where we all gathered together and shared memories, chatted among friends and ate delicious food. It was great to be gathered with such wonderful people. 

In the late afternoon, we went to the church where we met with our Bishop and Stake President.  John was asked to share his testimony with us, his family and Bishop Erickson and President O'Hara. He touched my heart. He was rather emotional as he shared his feelings about his family and our Savior, Jesus Christ. After he had done this, he was set apart as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

I was asked if I had any questions, and my only question was "How do I get through these 2 years?" President O' Hara asked Bishop Erickson if he would like to answer this. His response was "One day at a time". I LOVED that advice. I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since. It truly was just what I needed to hear.  This will be my motto and this is what I decided to call this blog. What a wise man to give such astounding advice! 

"We love you Elder Conrad"