Christmas is coming!

 

 

We know you will want to do all you can to help your missionary have a wonderful Christmas.

One great way to help your missionary celebrate Christmas is to add money to his/her personal credit cards so he/ she can buy can buy his/her own presents.  This would save the cost of shipping and the fee that must be paid once the package arrives.

  If you do choose to send packages it is important to add money to your missionary's personal credit card so they can pay for the fee when they receive their  package. The fee is half of the value of the package! 

We also advise you to mail your packages soon!

 Last year there were quite a few packages that did not reach our missionaries until after Christmas.  If you live in the USA it would be good to  plan for at least two to three weeks for a package to arrive here in Argentina and then another week for it to be sent to your missionary's area.  I am not sure of the time it will take from other countries but please plan for enough time for them to arrive.

A parent recently asked about the possibility of sending bubble packages.  Elder Ehmke responded as follows:

Large envelopes frequently get opened.  The middle and small sized more often make it through the mail system without the involvement of customs officials.  However, there is no guarantee that even the smaller padded envelopes are not going to be opened.  One thing nice about the customs process is that I am there every time a package is officially opened.  I have not found other packages that were opened prior to my presence.  Some packages and envelopes apparently tear in the process of being handled by postal employees.  These come opened but wrapped in tape which the employees apply.   

I have also found that if the package/envelope is easily identified as a birthday present with colourful wrapping, we frequently do not have to unwrap them.  I would suggest that if the envelope has extra space, use a few pieces of individually wrapped candies as padding.  When we receive packages from home, I use two or three of these pieces as a “sample” to the customs agents.  This is not a bribe, but just a bit of generosity on our part.  It is also a good idea to place on top of the contents of the package or envelop the sales receipt for the items.  This lets the agents know the value of the contents. 

Here is one of the favorite things our family sent to us last Christmas.  It is a wonderful way to have a Christmas tree and enjoy seeing loved ones!

 

 

There is more information about mailing packages on blog under:

 

http://lovellsinargentina.blogspot.com.ar/p/letters-packages.html 

 

If you still have questions you can e-mail Elder Ehmke at: 

2012693@ldschurch.org

 

Leadership Council

 

 We always enjoy meeting with the Zone Leaders and Sister Leader Trainers of the mission.  It was held during the first week of October.

 

 

 

It was more fun than usual this month because one of the things we did was introducing the new program the church has put out for missionaries called “Adjusting to Missionary Life”. 

 One of the things it talks about is the different kinds of stress that missionaries face.  We had some good discussions and some fun activities! 

 

During President Lovell's presentation I found out that 20 of our visa waiters would be coming with the other 28 missionaries that we were already planning on for this transfer.  I walked up and shared it with President Lovell! 

 

 

One of the activities we did was to each cross the room in a creative way…a way that no one else had used!  It showed that we can accomplish things in many different ways AND it was a lot of fun!

 

Dr. Smith, our new area doctor, came to part of the council to introduce himself and train the mission leaders about caring for the missionaries.

 

His wife shared about the importance of caring for our food and how to clean our fruits and vegetables.

 

We learned about the importance of exercise.

 

 

We have great leaders!

A Happy Reunion!

We have been anticipating this day with extreme excitement!   Our daughter Erica was returning from serving a mission in the Italy Rome Mission!

 

We arrived at the airport early and waited for her airplane to arrive.

 

 

 

We were ready to welcome her to Argentina!

After a delay it finally arrived!

We have watched for missionaries many times. It was exciting to see if we could see our Sorella Lovell among all of the passengers.  There she was...right in the middle of them all!

 

A very happy reunion!

 

 

 

It was fun for her to connect with her sisters and their families

 

It is a joy to be with her and hear more of her experiences, to see photos and just enjoy all of the things parents and missionaries love to do!