Email on Brett's arrival

We received an email with details on Brett's arrival and a few pictures!  One with his companion, and the other with the mission president and his wife!  He looks SO good, and SO happy! 

Dear families of missionaries in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission,

We are thrilled to have welcomed your missionary to our mission!  We received 13 new missionaries so it has been a very exciting time!

After they all arrived on Monday we took them to the mission home for dinner, interviews with President Cotterell, a testimony meeting and dessert.  After that everyone was ready for bed.  They elders all slept in the basement, here at the mission home.

After breakfast on Tuesday morning, all of the missionaries were taken to the mission office to meet the office staff and to be oriented in some of the things they need to know to be a missionary.  From there everyone traveled to the Raleigh Stake Center to meet their trainers.  This is a wonderful experience for them to meet the missionary who has been specially picked to train them and to set the course for them to have a successful mission.   Everyone had pictures taken with President Cotterell and I, and then with their trainer.  They learned about the new 12 week training for new missionaries and then I fed them lunch. 

Our transfer meeting was also held at the Stake Center.  At this meeting all of the missionaries in the mission who are being transferred (about 1/4 of the mission this time) come to find out where they are going.  They then leave for their new areas.  Many of our new missionaries asked me what they would be doing when they got to their area on Tuesday night.  I assured them that they would get right to work with either teaching appointments or contacting.

It is a pleasure to serve with your missionary.  We felt a great strength from each one of them and we look forward to get to know them individually, working and learning with them.  

These are the missionaries, their companions and the area they are assigned to:

Elder Adams is serving with Elder Ratto of Hansen, CA in Wallace

Elder Alaguretnam is serving with Elder Wilding of Denver CO in Lumberton

Elder Alleman is serving with Elder Peck of Highland, UT in Greenville

Elder Balaich is serving with Elder Christiansen of Orem UT in Durham

Elder Benson is serving with Elder Schank of Kaysville UT in Fayetteville

Elder Blackwell is serving with Elder Rider of St. George UT in Leland

Elder Burham is serving with Elder Carlisle of Logan UT in Cary

Elder Eastin is serving with Elder Humble of Monterrey CA in Raleigh

Elder Fogle is serving with Elder Morrison of Las Vegas NV in Hope Mills

Elder Goodrich is serving with Elder Jenkins of Lynnwood WA in Hope Mills

Elder Mayberry is serving with Elder Dalrymple of Centerville UT in Cameron/Sanford

Elder Miller is serving with Elder Cartwright of Kimberly ID in Cary

Elder Perkins is serving with Elder Haws of Lehi UT in Durham

Your missionary will fill in more details in their next email to you.  Our preparation days are on Monday.  They will look forward to an email from you at that time.  They will use the same "myldsmail.net" address that they used in the MTC.  Emailing privileges are for family only.  Missionaries have a limited time to read and respond to emails.  Be aware that most use computers at the public libraries.  On holidays those libraries are usually closed so the missionaries aren’t able to email until later in the week.  We encourage you to write uplifting and positive letters that will help them to keep focused on the important work they are doing here.

All other mail should come through the US Postal system and be mailed to the mission office using this address:  

Missionary’s Full Name  (we have several with the same last name)

North Carolina Raleigh Mission

6508 Falls of Neuse

Suite 100

Raleigh, NC 27615

The day the mail is received it is forwarded on to your missionary.  This can only be done if the mail is sent by First Class, Priority or Express mail.  If you choose to use UPS, Federal Express or parcel post mail it cannot be forwarded.  Those items will get to your missionary, but they must wait at the office until someone travels to your missionary, which could be 3-6 weeks.

Once again, it is a pleasure serving the Lord in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission with your missionary.