Off to the MTC with Elder Nicolas Lockhart
This has been a wonderful week with the Lockharts here. Tuesday Sue, Clint, Nick and I went up to Salt Lake to the Draper Temple Open House. Nick has wanted to go in to as many temples as he could before he leaves on his mission, so we took in that one as well. It is a beautiful building, of course. Most notable was the chandelier in the celestial room. Wow!
We called Mom to tell her we were on our way to pick her up, but she was back to sleep and still in bed. She was up and ready quickly and we hurried to the Salt Lake Temple for the 2:00 session. Here's a little something to remember, Mom doesn't need to go to the temple anymore. She couldn't remember any names, even hers. All she managed to pay attention to was Nick. "Oh, there's that cute Nick. He's such a great young man." True enough, but she kept saying it over and over, and over and over. She paid absolutely no attention to the session at all. She wasn't even bothered by not being able to remember. She was just having a great time admiring Nick from across the room.
I wasn't sure what to expect on Wed at the MTC. I didn't know how Sue would act. I could only imagine how I might be when Cameron leaves on a mission. But it was just a perfect day. I got to put the finishing touches on Nick's suitcase. The first time I got a little teary was when Nick was reading a letter from his friend Kevin. Kevin, who is Nick's friend from high school, joined the church just 2 years ago. He is currently in the Guatemala mission. He was giving Nick all the insights into how to be successful in the MTC. It wasn't so much the information he gave, but you could feel his spirit and love for Nick and desire for Nick to be a successful missionary. Very touching.
After Clint gave Nick a beautiful father's blessing, we headed out for one last meal at Cafe Rio. We weren't the only ones there that appeared to be heading to the MTC. Nick walked right up to one family to ask where their missionary was going, and was a little surprised to find it was the oldest sister, on her way to Norway. I caught a glimpse of how easy Nick is with people. He really does just love people.
We had to make a quick stop at the Missionary Mall to get the last of Nick's pants, and to the distribution center to get temple slippers. It was fun because everyone was asking where we were from and where our missionary was going. I was just playing the proud mom part right along with Sue. What a great sister to let me share all of this day with them.
If you have never been to the MTC to drop off a missionary it's hard to imagine the spirit that is there. It's very exciting. Missionaries just flowing in with family and friends. One group moves in while another moves on and out. I didn't see any tears in our group, except from Grandma who was going to miss her "handsome, sweet grandson." But I was very impressed with Sue and Clint. And Nick. Some missionaries were just bawling and falling apart. I just felt excited for the experiences and growth that Nick is going to have. Everyone says this, but in our case it is true, Nick is a remarkable young man. He was just so ready to go and so the going was easy. I couldn't help but think about what he was doing the remainder of that day. It was just the best couple of days I've had in a long time.
We called Mom to tell her we were on our way to pick her up, but she was back to sleep and still in bed. She was up and ready quickly and we hurried to the Salt Lake Temple for the 2:00 session. Here's a little something to remember, Mom doesn't need to go to the temple anymore. She couldn't remember any names, even hers. All she managed to pay attention to was Nick. "Oh, there's that cute Nick. He's such a great young man." True enough, but she kept saying it over and over, and over and over. She paid absolutely no attention to the session at all. She wasn't even bothered by not being able to remember. She was just having a great time admiring Nick from across the room.
I wasn't sure what to expect on Wed at the MTC. I didn't know how Sue would act. I could only imagine how I might be when Cameron leaves on a mission. But it was just a perfect day. I got to put the finishing touches on Nick's suitcase. The first time I got a little teary was when Nick was reading a letter from his friend Kevin. Kevin, who is Nick's friend from high school, joined the church just 2 years ago. He is currently in the Guatemala mission. He was giving Nick all the insights into how to be successful in the MTC. It wasn't so much the information he gave, but you could feel his spirit and love for Nick and desire for Nick to be a successful missionary. Very touching.
After Clint gave Nick a beautiful father's blessing, we headed out for one last meal at Cafe Rio. We weren't the only ones there that appeared to be heading to the MTC. Nick walked right up to one family to ask where their missionary was going, and was a little surprised to find it was the oldest sister, on her way to Norway. I caught a glimpse of how easy Nick is with people. He really does just love people.
We had to make a quick stop at the Missionary Mall to get the last of Nick's pants, and to the distribution center to get temple slippers. It was fun because everyone was asking where we were from and where our missionary was going. I was just playing the proud mom part right along with Sue. What a great sister to let me share all of this day with them.
If you have never been to the MTC to drop off a missionary it's hard to imagine the spirit that is there. It's very exciting. Missionaries just flowing in with family and friends. One group moves in while another moves on and out. I didn't see any tears in our group, except from Grandma who was going to miss her "handsome, sweet grandson." But I was very impressed with Sue and Clint. And Nick. Some missionaries were just bawling and falling apart. I just felt excited for the experiences and growth that Nick is going to have. Everyone says this, but in our case it is true, Nick is a remarkable young man. He was just so ready to go and so the going was easy. I couldn't help but think about what he was doing the remainder of that day. It was just the best couple of days I've had in a long time.
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