Just 5 more days until the phone call!!!

Was very excited to have a great email from Sean today. Was quite anxious to hear from him - last week wasn't the best week for him, so was anxiously awaiting this weeks email - and it was a great one. Here is what's going on in Sean's World....

Hola! so whats up. We werent in many homes last week and not many things were happening. But just before we got here at the library we picked up a new investigator and we even commited him to baptism which was cool. He had a dog that took over elder stricklands attention unfortunatly so i had to take control. I now know that i could handle taking over in these stuations which is good news. Tomorrow we're also probably going to pick up at least one more investigator. Its a part member family who are trying to get back into the church and the wife said im not officially a member YET.... KEY WORD!!! So were definitly going to pick her up as an investigator tomorrow which is great. Meaning things will finally start happening in the area again. After Jones leaving things kinda slowed down. Ive gotten the package from Aunt Sherlye, its hiding at the owens until christmas day where we will open it. For the christmas call. I will probably call at around 12 or 1 our time. Ill probably send your phone a text that day just to let you know when. This week has been a little different. Monday was a half pday and i went on exchanges with the Zls which was fun. Pday is still the same day just cant always email cause the library is closed on monday. Also district meeting was cancelled which usually happened on tuesday from 10:30 to 12. Then we have what is called christmas run on friday where we and another zone get together at 9 in the morning and hang out and do christmas things and so on. Saturday is a normal day however it will be hard to do work with it being christmas eve. Sunday is a full pday, however its sunday so we will still be dressed up and all. Hang out with the owens most of the day. We have dinner at the trumbells which will be a big meal. Thats mostly our week so a lot to look forward to. Thats pretty awesome to hear that about haidan. I miss the little guys. Look forward to hearing from them thats for sure. Everything is just very exciting right now. Cant wait to hear from you guys.!!!!

It is always so exciting to get an email or letter from Sean. Yes, its true on Monday's I wait for the email to chime! And - this week, I am on major countdown for Christmas Day ..... yes, excited for Christmas, but more excited to talk to SEAN! Wahooo, I cannot wait! Now, if I can only make sure I don't cry while talking to him....but if I do, I will make sure he knows that its because I am so excited to talk to him!!

We Survived the First Holiday .....

We made it through the first Holiday with Sean away from home....okay, maybe I should re-phrase that.... I made it through the first holiday with Sean away from home...although we really missed having him here - and the house was quiet with just 4 of us - we all survived. Sean spent his Thanksgiving with a few families in his current ward and sounds like he had a nice time. Thought I would add some excerpts on the past few emails we've received from him:

Nov 29, 2011
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun for us. We ate at the trumbells for thanksgiving which was a ton of food and then hung out at the owens for the rest of the evening. Kevin will not be getting baptised the 17th, his kids however will be baptised the 16th. TWO weeks away!!! very exciting, whats also very cool is i was asked to do the baptism so thatll be a first. btw yes i have recieved the letters and the package. Thank you so much for that!! .... So i dont really know how the call home works but as soon as i know ill let you know. Im pretty sure it will be happening at the owens though so you may get to talk to them as well.

Yes.... very soon we get to talk to Sean... I CANNOT WAIT!! I am the Mom that has always talked to him everyday, texted a million times, etc.... and it has been so hard not having that instant communication with him... but I am learning!

Nov 22, 2011
....So transfers happened so its now official, me and strickland are companions in the van maren ward. For thanksgiving were going to the owens and the trumbelss. Were basically going to be at the owens all day and were going to the trumbells at 5. So that will be fun. I really dont know what i want for christmas....pictures of you guys ofcourse. A tie or two. Not skinny though just a regular tie. I really enjoy the stocking stuffers you know that, I dont want you guys to go all out though. Foucus on the boys and use what you would put into me on getting the boys ... Church movies and sountracks to them would be nice. Like the best tw years sountrack i would like. Anyways love you guys and miss you a ton as always !!!!!!

Nov 7, 2011

Yes i cant explain how bad last night sucked. thats when jones left. like it really stunk. but yes im with elder strickland now who is from kissimee florida. yes i get along with him very well so the next 2 weeks will be fun. elder roley who was his comp got et'd to rockland because some other missionaries got moved around as well. hahaaha, haidan cracks me up. he definitly knows what to say..... lol. yes its weird, ive been saying i have little brothers who are 7 and 9 but soon it will change lol. it must be very exciting for him. its a pretty big deal. [he is referencing an email conversation we had on Haidan's upcoming baptism] keep me posted on how everything goes. its really hectic right now, all our investigators are either not wanting to visit right now or just simply wont read the book of mormon, but they are slowly getting closer. the youth here are pretty cool. the stake youth actually just put on a play called savior of the world fri sat and sun. we werent sure how good it was gonna be but it actually was really good. a lot of talent and great singers from our ward alone.

We love hearing from Sean - and hearing about his mission. I've put a request out for more pictures, so hopefully he will send some again soon!

And of course..... if you are wanting to write him a letter or mail a Christmas message to him, please do so! He would love to hear from you! His address is listed on the right side of the blog.

Pictures!

Yea! We received some pictures from Sean this week. He is doing great - and is having some good experiences. My favorite was his email home requesting that I send his work boots to him - he had done a service project a few days earlier and cleaned out a black widow infested shed, and wanted boots for the next time he had such a project.... can you say EWWW.... needless to say, when I sent the boots, I did put some of the halloween spiders that I found at the dollar store inside the boots. He said it was "really funny Mom, NOT".... hee hee....This week has been a bit of a frustrating week, his comp has been having some health issues and when I last heard from him, they were waiting for his comp to go to a doc appointment to find out if he will need surgery - and if so, his comp will need to go home. Hopefully all will work out the best for Jones. And.... Sean said, he would love some mail..... so, be sure to check out his address on the right side and drop him a note sometime. I know he would really appreciate it!

Sean & part of the MTC Crew pointing out that they're going to Roseville!

Sean putting stuff in the ceiling at the MTC for future Elders.

In the ceiling.... 

Part of the crew arriving at Sacramento Airport. Mission Pres there to greet them.

New group of missionaries who all arrived in Roseville the same day. Sean said there were 17 missionaries on the plane that day. WOW.  Some are English speaking, some Hmong speaking and some Spanish speaking.

And now, some of his apartment.... I think he should really appreciate this apartment, looks way nicer than some mission apartments I've seen pictures of or heard about.

Amazed at the clean kitchen!

And an organized closet.... hmm, should I wear a white shirt today, or um, a white shirt?

so the desk, not as clean as the kitchen.

Living room...

i love that there appears to be a bowl of cereal or oatmeal... and a  Resolve bottle on the table...
.....uh....don't mix your  food and chemicals, please....

There is Sean in the mirror in his room! Hi Sean!

Sean and his comp and some other Elders. When he said that his Comp was really tall - he was not joking.  

Sean and a few Elders on transfer day... Sean stayed  in Citrus Heights. These two went to other locations.

 

Some P-Day fun with the elders in his district. 

Really not sure whats going on here. Playing with monopoly money & houses....
maybe learning good budgeting skills??? LOLOLO

10.10.2011 News From Sean....

Received my weekly email yesterday.... Elder Simmons is doing well - he did not get transferred this time around. Here are some tidbits from his week (and again, ignore the run-on sentences, lack of capital letters, sentence/thought transition):

Its been pretty great. we got a coupe of lessons planned but were gonna try to get 20 total this week. thats our goal. Our transfers finally came in today and i didnt get transfered, neither did jones. since this is my first area i will probably be here quite some time if all goes as it usually does. but every other companionship in our zone is getting transfered. so each person will get a new companion. Our apartment is pretty good i guess, actually its really nice i'd say. 2 bedroom 2 baths which is nice so we each get our own bathroom. the neighborhood is nice i guess, nice neighbors when you do see them. we live on the second floor. were also in a car right now but that always can change if jones gets transferred. i do use my bike when we go on exchanges which is quite often. it is a great bike, very relaxing. the weather has cooled down which is so nice i love it. its sooooo rainy today though, getting some good use out of my raincoat. it got here just in time. today were gonna go to walmart and get some stuff and then head to the church for the pday activity. it is transfers week however so we will probably be taking pictures and junk like that. maybe a little bit of soccer. Elder menacho wants to play that today. we havnt met with deloris yet, but we will friday. jamal still is pretty strong we just have to wait and see. i forgot my cable but next time im at the owens ill get you some pictures. 


So.... hopefully he will remember his camera cable next Monday so that he can download some pictures and send them to us!

News from Citrus Heights.....

As you all know, Monday is my new favorite day... that is as long as it is Sean's p-day. I look forward to the Monday email from him - I've copied some of today's email below - please note, it seems that in typing emails, Sean has forgotten capital letters and punctuation... but that is okay with me - I'll read it anyway - and I won't send it back to him corrected. He also answers questions I ask - but it seems he just randomly answers them mid-thought... cute... yes, I know, he is my son, so I will allow this haphazard way of communicating with me! Glad I know what he is talking about.

So here it is....

i have been getting mail so i guess its all going through now [this is in response to a question I asked him about receiving mail - when we got home on Sunday, we found that a letter we had mailed him had been returned, so of course I worried that he wasn't getting mail]. we have disrict meetings every tuesday, zone meetings every transfer, 6 weeks is a transfer.

[Now a few comments about people he is teaching]

it still looks like hes planning on it we just got to get him the interview with elder rast. [he is referring to an investigator named Jamal who is getting baptized in early October] me and jones are doing pretty great, we may have 2 new people, right now theyre potentials. we tracted into a kid named blake whos grandma is mormon so that helps us, and a lady named lisa that weve visited twice but havnt gotten in the front door yet. yes were watching it at church [referring to General Conference this weekend], and were getting pizza before the pristhood metting so that wil be nice. actually the lady, delores i may have talked about at one point in time was going to be baptized just was going to wait till she moved to colarado to do it. now shes not moving there and me and jones picked her up as an investigator. as we were talking she says she watches a lot of the byu tv station and always watches conference. so me and jones were surprised at that. hopefully we can get others to watch. ... and thats funny that haidan read three chapters so that you would have to catch up. [he is referring to Haidan reading the Book of Mormon. While at the MTC, Sean challenged us all to read at least 5 verses a day and that by the time he comes home from his mission, we will have read the entire Book of Mormon] 

thats good to hear rhat ill be getting a package this week. just be careful on all the snacks you send. i dont want to get to fat out here. average gain for the mission is 30 lbs, so im gonna try to stay away from that. oh! i got my patriarchal blessing sunday after church, pretty great! jones and brother owens got to sit in on it. patriarch warren is one of the longest running patriarchs in the church to that is pretty cool. today looks to be pretty fun, basketball and scatter ball. thats pretty much every man for himself dodgeball. other than that i look forward to hearing from you guys and getting that package!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love and miss you guys!

Always so good to hear from him! Have a great week.... hopefully I'll update with some new pictures soon.  At least I requested new pictures in my email to him today - so hopefully he will send some soon!

News from California

I love sitting at the computer, surfing the internet, and then I hear the email chime sound and see that I have an email from Sean.

He is settled in his first area in California. He is currently in Citrus Heights - and in the Van Maren Ward. His new address is listed on the right hand side - but here it is as well - said he loves mail! So, if anyone feels like writing an old fashion, in the mail, postage stamp letter - here is his address:

Elder Sean Simmons
6430 Verner Ave #240
Citrus Heights, CA 95841

So far he has enjoyed his new area. His companion is from Heber City UT and says he is really cool, they get along well and he also mentioned that his comp is 6' 6". He said his ward mission leader "is great - well awesome" So I think he must have a really good ward mission leader. Right now they are teaching a few people and have a baptism scheduled. Says that in all of the members homes that he has been to, they have all been amazing. He especially liked a dinner appointment that he had earlier this week - the family took him and his comp to Chipolte - which is one of Sean's favorite places to eat!

Earlier in the week while we were enjoying our Labor Day holiday and at a picnic, Sean said that he and his Comp and a ward member were playing golf - so I'm sure, that he LOVED his first p-day in California. Monday's will now be my favorite day to wait patiently by my email to hear from him!

After the mix up with the damaged Jeep bike - Sean received the replacement - and said he loves, loves. loves it! Which is good to hear - because it sounds like he will be on a bike for most of his mission. Lucky Guy - that is if you love bike riding - which I do! So, hopefully, he will enjoy it too. He also loves the weather. Said it has been hot, but not humid hot - so he said it is great. Yes, he has carried on with the positive adjectives: way cool, great, amazing, awesome. Yep, he is a missionary.

Oh... and we also received a picture of him in the mail from his Mission President - but I haven't had a chance to scan it, so I'll add it to the next blog update.

Have a great week all! And yep, I am a geek, but I get so excited to hear from him... for me, one of the hardest parts of him being on a mission is to have to wait for an email or a letter and not have instant communication. Ah... it is so hard having patience!

Pictures!

Sean sent us his memory card today to download his pictures from the MTC... I won't post them all (even though I am a photo freak), here are a few of his past three weeks. It was fun having this in the mail today!

In a letter Sean sent home, he said they found these items in the ceiling of their room. 

Provo Temple on P-day

a Chalk-Board in class - and I quite agree, Elder Simmons = The Best Missionary Ever!

Another drawing.... Elder Healey is one of the Elders in his District.

Smiley Sean and Sleepy comp?
(I don't know if this is a comp or not, but  he is one of the Elders in  Sean's room - there are four of them in the room.

Chow Time

Sean's District

Goofy Pic

Elder-Mafia? 

To add to the items they found in the ceiling, his district made  some "Golden Plates"
to  put back in the ceiling for the next group of missions that have that room.

Class-Room.... of course, these aren't of Sean, since he took all the pics instead of being in them.

Going somewhere???

On the wall in Sean's room.

Sean's Desk with his ELDER SIMMONS tag... so cute... 

The Excitement.... of a phone call.... and the other excitement of another phone call.....

Yesterday morning, Sean was scheduled to leave from SLC to Sacramento at 8:40 am.... (MST). At 8:40 am (CST) I received a call from an 801 area code!! I was psyched! I knew it had to be him... and yes it was, he was calling from the airport to talk for a few minutes before his flight. I was so excited to talk to him and hear about his last 3 weeks. And, I did hog the call... I didn't share with any family.... but that was because I was already at the office and so I didn't have to share with anyone....hahahah. Yes, at times, I can be evil and selfish! So far so good, he really enjoyed his time at the MTC, but he was also very excited to leave the MTC and head to California. He was also excited to see life outside of the MTC as well! Then yesterday afternoon, I received a quick email from him saying that he was at the mission home and that he was waiting to meet his trainer and find out where he would be for the next 3 months (approximately). So all is great.... So happy to talk to him, and so happy to know that he had made it to his destination okay...

Then tonight... I had a 916 area code on my cell (Yes, that is the area code of the mission home) and instantly got all excited, thinking, wow, he got to call me again, but no, it was a Sister Kolditz calling to tell me that Sean had arrived safely yesterday and that he was such a nice young man.... and to tell me that the mountain bike I ordered for him was damaged.... HUH>>>>ARGHHH>.... really not a big deal... but, I had ordered a SWEEET Jeep Renegade mountain bike (see below, pretty sweet huh?), and I had not told him what kind of bike I ordered. He loved his Jeep Wrangler, so I thought he should continue the Jeep tradition with a Jeep Bike. So for the past three weeks, I've teased him in every letter about the sweet bike that would be waiting for him at the mission home... only for him to get there and find a damaged sweet bike.... But all is okay.... I called and the company I ordered from (Amazon) will be sending UPS to pick up the old bike and will be delivering a new bike on Friday of this week. Now, lets all keep our fingers crossed that the new bike will arrive with no damage!!

Mail Call.... yep, love it when the mail-lady delivers a letter from Sean!

We received a letter from Sean today - Yea Letter No 2. And earlier in the week, was able to "chat" with him on email for a few minutes.

He is doing great. Sounds like he is very busy. He listed his daily schedule which is so jammed packed. It is great hearing from him - and hearing him sound so excited. Hard to believe he has already been at the MTC for 10 days. He will leave for California on August 30th.

Said he is going to send his picture memory card home as soon as he receives the other one I sent him so that I can download some of his pictures from the MTC.

Now, I will look forward to Tuesday which is his P-day so that I can get email from him!

The First Letter!

The wait for the first letter has been a loooooonnnnnnnggggg few days. Yes, I know that he only went into the MTC last Wednesday afternoon - but the time between then and now has just been long. I didn't really start looking for a letter until Saturday - thinking if he sent a letter out Thursday morning, that maybe it would be here on Saturday, but no letter. Then I started fearing that when he teased me that he wouldn't write me, that maybe he really meant it, but tis not so....he did write -  our first letter arrived today. (And, yes, I am neurotic!)

In just the few short days that Sean has been at the MTC, his three most frequently used words in a two page letter are "way", "cool" and "awesome". So here is a quick synopsis of his first few days:

1 - His companion is way cool. He's like from Sandy UT and he is way cool. [so I think this means he is getting  along well with his comp]
2 - On day one and two, he already started mock teaching pretend investigators - and yes, this too, was way cool. And on day two, he did way better than day one.
3 - The food is good - but you really pay for it afterwards... hmmmmm.....
4 - He went to bed on time and was way tired the next day. [yes, anyone who knows Sean, knows that going to bed early is not in his schedule - so this will take some getting use to]
5 - Two requests for stuff - pens that don't splatter out so much ink and more letters. [This does surprise me - I thought he would request junk food, but no, he would like pens. So, being a good Mom, I'll send him some good pens tomorrow]

We were so excited to hear from him and know that all is going "way cool". Looking forward to when he has his first p-day so that I can hear from him through the email as well.

It's Official...

So, I said yesterday was the Big Day, Part 1 - today was even Bigger Day, Part II. After having a great night and morning with his cousins, Eric and Kristen & kiddo's accompanied Sean to the MTC. Eric informs me that I am probably very glad I was not there - because it literally was a Drop and Run. Meaning - once they drove in to the drop off section of the MTC, they were greeted by two "Host" missionaries, who took Sean's luggage and then accompanied him inside...... but wait..... Kristen was able to get a few pictures of our missionary before he disappeared into the MTC..... and I am so thankful to Kristen and Eric - and little Miss Cami and Mr Luke for spending time with Sean last night and this morning. I am sure that he loved it! 

And yes.... now it is time for the pictures!

 

Eric being Mr. Chauffeur Man - instead of driving Miss Daisy - we have driving Elder Simmons....

The "Host" Missionaries there to accompany Sean to his first moments inside the MTC... And I'm gonna have to say, wow... they look like vultures, just waiting...... da da da da (insert Jaws music here...)

 At this point, Kristen said this is when they (the vultures, um, I mean Host Missionaries) were pretty much like, "Alright Elder, let's go" and Kristen had to say, "can I take some pictures first!" 

Cousins - hugs goodbye....Awwww,,,,

Ok, let's get serious now... better hugs...

And, now it is the time.... Look out MTC and California Roseville - you are getting a great one! I know, because, he is our son! (Yep, we are soooo proud).

Today was flight day!

Well.... today was the big day, Part I. Sean left for Utah today. He is going to be spending tonight with his cousin Eric and his wife Kristen and the kiddos. Tomorrow will be the big day, Part II - checking into the MTC.

We started this blog to share Sean's mission experience with family and friends. Hope you enjoy.

Today, was a great day.... a lot of tears were shed - both for being sad at knowing we will miss him, but also joy - because he will be on his mission. A goal that he has had for a long time.

Here are a few pictures from the airport....

 Checking in... the moment has finally arrived for him.

Good-bye's to family & friends.

The missionary flashing his smile and sparkly eyes...

This is a Mom and brother sad face...

 
And hugs from the little brothers.

Our final view of him heading to the gate... of which he said he barely made it, they were closing the gate door as he got there!

This pic shows how much Collin does really love his brother...

We are so excited and proud of Sean. This is going to be a great experience for him. (and us too!)