I Made it!!!!

 I anxiously watched my phone and Facebook messenger for Jonah to let me know he made it.  I didn’t realize until 1 PM that he had sent me an email at 4 AM. It said:

I MADE IT!!!!!

HEY MOM! It's me! I made it safe and sound to the MTC, and so far it's been great! Just wanted to let you know I made it. I miss you guys already! I know you're definitely asleep right now, but if you have the chance to get on my phone and approve my Facebook login that would be GREAT! I'll be watching for notifications if there's anything else I need to do on my end. The notification should be there.

Tell the fam I love them! Sending lots of love and prayers

Elder Loosli

He sent this to Keith: 

Hey dad! Just wanted to reach out and let you know that everything went well and travel also went well! I am having trouble getting into my Facebook but other than that it's going amazing. I. Excited to get started! Love you guys! Miss you already

I didn’t realize until 5 PM that night that Jonah had uploaded pictures to his google album. 

I got to talk to him a little through Google chat while we figured out his Facebook login. 

I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest when I saw a picture of Jonah smiling.  The emotional goodbye at the airport was so hard. I worried about him all day and night and then I saw these pictures and I knew he was okay.  It also meant so much to me that he took pictures, he knows how much I love them!

The MTC is on the Preston Temple grounds. The temple is closed right now for renovations. 

Jonah got to England very early Tuesday morning (England time).  He said they didn’t go to bed, they just stayed up and jumped right into it.  He said he slept a little on the flights, but he was pretty tired. 

This is Elder Zeedik, from California.  Him and Jonah have clicked the most, but Jonah said he likes everyone there. 

I check Jonah’s pictures all the time and it’s so exciting when there are new ones.  

These are the ones he added in his first couple of days at the MTC. 

It was so fun to see what it looks like there. 

It looks amazing there.

The grounds look so beautiful.

He said everything is so green which is beautiful, but terrible for his allergies.

Luckily there is a lot of shade too because he said it has been so hot and they don’t have air conditioning. 

I may or may not check his photos multiple times a day! 

Jonah said sometimes it’s hard to concentrate all day in his classes, but he also really likes them. He really likes his teachers. 

Friday was his P-Day. He sent me a message on Facebook at Midnight saying he had PDay until 11 AM Utah time. I told him I was awake so he said he would call after breakfast.  It was great to see his smiling face and hear his voice.  He looked and sounded so happy! I woke up Keith and Wyatt joined us.  Jonah messaged the girls later that day. 

Jonah said he is eating good. 

Three big meals a day. 

He loves his district. He also loves that the MTC is small so he knows everybody. 

He talked to us for an hour and then he was going into town with the missionaries from his district. 

The closest town is Chorely, he said it’s about a 30 minute walk. 

He made a video showing us the Welcome to Chorley sign and to show us cars driving on the left side of the road.

Ha!  He bought some different allergy medicine and he said that is helping a lot. 

I sure miss him and his sense of humor. He could always make us laugh.

Here he is with his companion, Elder Blaylock.  He is from Texas.  Jonah said he is a great guy.  Jonah said the town was bigger than he thought it would be and they had fun exploring. 

There are six Elders that share a room.  Jonah said he grabbed a bottom bunk, he didn’t want the top. 

He said he is worried he is gaining weight because he eats three big meals a day and doesn’t exercise as much as he used to. 

Here he is with the Elders in his district. 

Jonah got to call on my birthday. It was nice because it was at the end of his day so in the afternoon for us, so we could all talk to him.  That marked a week that he had been there and he was doing great. He is so happy and positive! 

He also sent me this birthday message: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I love you so much and hope you have the best day today! We'll call tonight! Thank you being my number 1 supporter through life!❤️

I responded even though it was the middle of the night and he responded with: Go to sleep birthday ho! (we like to call each other ho’s in our family) Then he added: I put out 45 farts for your big day! Ha!  Love that boy!

See you in Two

 

Jonah's flight left at 10 AM Monday morning.  We left our house a little before 7 AM to make sure we had plenty of time. 

It was surreal knowing we would be sending him off for two years. I just can't wrap my mind around that.

We were dreading the goodbye.

I know Jonah was nervous, but he never shows it. 

I asked someone to take our picture while we were waiting to check his bags. 

The line was very short so it didn't take long.

After that we walked with Jonah to security.

We had plenty of time for pictures, which my kids were thrilled about.

I'm so proud of Jonah.  He is going to be a fantastic missionary.

And also, I didn't want to let him go.

We are all going to miss him so much. 

Keith wasn't ready to let him go either.

Jonah may be having some real concerns about if we were going to let him go at this point, ha!

Caitlyn wanted pictures.

So did Hallee.

The boys not so much.

But they did it for me anyway.

I went back for round two.

It's so hard to let him go!

We got a couple of family pictures.

Then Jonah was ready to go.  He could see some of the other missionaries go through security and I think he was ready for the goodbyes to be over. 

I cried while I watched all the kids hug goodbye.

It was tearful goodbyes for all of us.

Especially for Wyatt.  Poor Wyatt just laid in Jonah's bed and cried most of the day.

Then it was time for Keith to say goodbye.

It was emotional for both of them.  They are going to miss each other so much.

Then it was my turn. I was a hot mess by this point and had already given him multiple hugs, but knew it was time to give him one last hug.

I thought my heart might break right there.  How can you be so happy for him and proud of him and so sad at the same time?

Seeing him walk away crying was so hard.

He turned around for a minute.

He put a smile on his face and gave us one last wave.

We watched him turn the corner and then we left.  I am so proud of him.  This is such a hard thing he is doing, but he is doing it anyway.  

While we were pulling away from the airport I got this message about Jonah's Air Tag.  It was like rubbing salt in the wound, the van already felt so empty without him.  I tracked his flights all day and checked the credit card to see that he got food in New York.  He flew from  Salt Lake to New York and then from New York to Manchester.  It was over a fifteen hour travel day for him. It was an emotional weekend for all of us and we were all exhausted!