Letter from President & Mission Blog Pictures

[WE RECEIVED THIS LETTER THIS WEEK FROM THE MISSION PRESIDENT BY EMAIL, AND THEY INCLUDED A LINK TO A MISSION BLOG--included below--WHICH HAD THESE NEW PICTURES ON IT! I'M ASSUMING THE FIRST ONE OF MARK & OTHERS MIGHT BE FROM THE FRANKFURT AIRPORT. APPARENTLY IN ALL, THEY GOT 37 NEW MISSIONARIES ON MARCH 20, 2013!]:

Dear Family, 

We are happy to report that Elder Mark Hunter Standring arrived safely last Wednesday.  Sister Schwartz and I met all the new missionaries at the Frankfurt airport and your son looked good and was happy to be here.  We are always grateful to have new missionaries come into the field as they bring a sense of excitement and a spirit of great faith.  It inspires and energizes the whole mission.   

After their arrival in Frankfurt, the missionaries visited the Frankfurt Stake Center where they completed paperwork so they could obtain their Visas to stay in Germany.  They also received their debit cards so they can access their missionary support funds and learned about mission transportation and apartments.   Sister Schwartz and I both spent some time getting acquainted with your son.  I also took a few minutes to conduct a brief interview with him.   He is a wonderful young man and we are so grateful to have him here.  After a light meal, the missionaries were taken to a nearby hotel for the night.  On Thursday, Elder Standring spent the morning in a meeting with the other new missionaries where they were introduced to their new companions.  The Spirit was strong and enthusiasm and excitement filled the room.  They had some more training and then headed off to their first areas of assignment.   

We are attaching a group picture.  There is a blogspot at http://frankfurtmission.blogspot.de Shortly photos will be posted and updated frequently.  Please refer to it frequently during the mission and feel free to distribute it to family and friends.   

The address where Elder Standring lives is: 

 Elder Mark Hunter Standring 

Kirche Jesu Christi 

Luxemburger Str. 124-136, Nr 912 

50939 Köln 

Germany 

The mission office address is up above.  Please send ALL packages to the mission office address and allow 2-4 weeks delivery.  When sending Christmas packages, post before Thanksgiving. 

Letter mail can be sent to the address where your missionary is serving.  However, we recommend that you send letters and packages to the mission office and we will deliver them as soon as possible.  It is easier for the mailman to deliver packages to the office because there is always someone there to receive the mail.  The missionaries email their families on their Preparation Day which is Monday in our mission. Make sure when addressing envelopes or packages to your missionary to include “Elder” or “Sister”, their first name, and their last name, because sometimes we have multiple missionaries with the same last name. There are a lot of these at this time. 

Elder Standring entered this mission at an especially important time.  We pledge to do all we can to insure that he has a chance to grow spiritually and develop a strong testimony.  We feel confident that he will be effective in this important work of teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have been prepared by our Father in Heaven.  We know that your family will be richly blessed for your sacrifice (D & C 31:3-7).  Thank you for sharing your son with us.  We will keep him constantly in our prayers and we promise to do all we can to help him fulfill a successful mission.
    ---President Lehi K. Schwartz   March 26, 2013