Thursday, 11 September 2014

                                                                                                                               

Dear Brother and Sister Karl Shurts,

 We are happy to report that Sister Michaela Ann Shurts arrived safely today.  Sister Stoddard and I met all the new missionaries at the Frankfurt airport, and your daughter 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 were transported to the Frankfurt Stake Center, where they completed paperwork so they could register and obtain their Visas to stay in Germany.  They also received their debit cards. This allows them to access their missionary support funds.  They also learned about mission transportation and apartments.   Later, Sister Stoddard and I both spent some time getting acquainted with your daughter.  I also took a few minutes to conduct a brief interview with her.  She is a wonderful young woman; and, we are so grateful to have her here.  After a light meal, the missionaries were taken to a nearby hotel for the night.  On Thursday, Sister Shurts will spend the morning in a meeting with the other new missionaries, where they will be introduced to their new companions.  They will have some more training and then head off to their first areas of assignment.

There is a blogspot at http://frankfurtmission.blogspot.de Shortly, photos will be posted and updated periodically.  Please refer to it throughout the mission and feel free to distribute it to family and friends.  A map of the mission, so you can see where your daughter will be serving, can also be located on the blog.

The mission office address is up above in the header.  Please send ALL packages to the mission office address; and, please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.  When sending Christmas packages, post them before Thanksgiving.  For special packages to arrive in a timely manner, please allow 4-6 weeks.

Letter mail can be sent to the address where your missionary is serving.  However, we recommend that you send 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 that you 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.

Sister Shurts entered this mission at an especially important time. We pledge to do all we can to insure that she  has a chance to grow spiritually and develop a strong testimony.  We feel confident that she 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 daughter with us.  We will keep her constantly in our prayers; and, we promise to do all we can to help her fulfill a successful mission.

Sincerely,

 President Ronald A. Stoddard

Germany Frankfurt Mission President