Internet Cafe 5'x5' Elder Montgomery, Stewart, Garcia, Hannay
80 Weeks in
Angola Feb. 24, 2014
Ola minha
familia!!!!!!
This week
was wonderful and awesome and amazing and all the other good things you can
imagine. Besides hot. This was the hottest week of my mission by far!!!!
So me and Elder
Garcia are doing work. We have 8 or 9 baptismal dates, and one of them is this
Saturday!!! His name is Luis. He is a married father of two and just a champ. He
is the one who found the elders while he went looking for toothpaste. he is
awesome
Me and elder
Garcia are loving our area. We’re having a lot of success and literally turning
it into a new area. We have a goal of 6 baptisms before I leave and are way
above that in our planning stages so far. It’s gonna be awesome.
I have been
able to focus on the work and studying so much this week it is amazing. When I
put aside distractions like the heat, hard living conditions and all that, I
have really gained some awesome study habits and I’m loving the learning.
Sorry this letter is way short, but my time is almost up because my computer is
broken and scrolls up and down on its own, so I can’t even read your emails, or
know if I’m typing right . I love Angola, so much. I mean that seriously not
sarcastically. This country is truly my home, and I am so excited that I still have
time left here to work with elder Garcia. This next transfer is gonna be
the best of my mission. I love being a missionary. Hope this letter finds you
all happy healthy and serving the lord.
Quote from a
prophet this week, I think David O. McKay "The Kingdom of God or Nothing.
" that’s my motto, I give the people here the opportunity to have the
kingdom of god, or I’m doing nothing. That’s the way I felt when I read it. Love
you all! Have a good week.
com amor, Elder Montgomery
**Hey mom
this is from Sister Merrill, and whoever wants to send packages( like for my
birthday ) if you could just forward it
to them. But I don’t need anything so tell anyone who would send stuff save the
money and give me the cash when I get home! haha joking of course.
February 23, 2014
Dear Parents, Relatives, friends, ward members and anyone else!!
We have a bit of a problem here with the receiving of mail and of packages. I
am asking for your help in this area. We have two methods of receiving letters
and packages from home. First let me begin by explaining the problem and then I
hope I can offer some solutions pertaining to each method.
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS FOR LETTERS AND SMALL PACKAGES
We recently had an incident with a new postal worker who demanded a receipt for
the contents of a small package. Inside the package the sender had emptied a
bag of candy. The Elders were accused of trying to hide the contents with the
candy. They were accused of lying and being thieves.
May I suggest that if you have anything of value, please include the receipt.
Also please leave any candy in the bag. This will prevent any distrust.
Please remember that any small package does have a cost to retrieve it.
Sometimes a small fee of $1 to $3. Only two missionaries have the
responsibility and authorization to retrieve any small package. They sometimes
are tight for money when it comes time to pay for each package. Please put a
small not in your package reminding your Elder to pay back the fee for his
package. A dollar isn’t much until it is multiplied by 40 and every week!!!!!
PROBLEMS AND PROCESS IN RECEIVING LARGER PACKAGES
--When a package is sent that weighs more than 2 pounds it goes to a central
Post Office.
--Only a few people are authorized to receive any packages that are there
because they are addressed to the church (as they should be).
--This office is in a downtown area that is congested and difficult to get to.
The wait to receive the packages has been up to 6 hours—without counting the
2-3 hour trip to get to the Post Office.
--Each package is opened and inspected for contents in our presence. Then a duty
or custom fee is imposed. We recently received one package that cost more than
$50 to retrieve. The missionary that receives the package must pay the fees
back to the mission out of his personal funds. We are also charged a fee for
the length of time they sit at the Post Office before retrieval. The retrieval
fees can be quite ridiculous. Unfortunately, it is sometimes impossible to find
someone who has an 8 hour day to retrieve a package.
SOME SOLUTIONS THAT WE WOULD SUGGEST
--Any package weighing less than 2 lbs must be mailed as a letter NOT AS A
PACKAGE. Example: My daughter sent some things that we needed. The US Post
Office convinced her to send it in a flat rate box. The box did not weigh more
than 2 lbs. However, because it was in a box, it was considered a package and
the USPO labeled it as such. It cost her $27 to mail it and was going to cost
me $25 to retrieve it!!!!!!!!! Solution –The problem was not the flat rate box.
The problem was that the USPO labeled it as a package. If you use a flat rate
box, please send it “registered” and there will be no problems. It will come to
the regular mail system.
--We have had the best success with the regular padded envelopes. These come
with no problem and you can send several. Please follow the suggestions above
for small packages.
--If for some reason you need to send a package weighing more than 2 lbs,
please label it as follows.
Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos S.U.D.
Caixa Postal 18404
Luanda, Angola Telefone 926617677
Please do not put the Elder’s name in the address box.
Include the telephone #. If we add the telephone # they will call us as soon as
the package arrives and this will save us some extra fees. You may put the name
in the return address and also inside the package if you wish. Every package
must be opened in our presence so there is no fear of things being taken out.
OTHER OPTIONS
We receive DHL and Fed Ex at our home and at the office. I do not know their
restrictions or the cost.
OUR DEEPEST LOVE FOR YOUR SONS
May we remind you that we love your sons dearly and we would do anything we can
to help them have a good experience on their mission. We love them and worry
about them as we do our own children. We pray for their safety and success
daily.
As a mother I know how it feels to want to send your loved ones a token of love
from home. We are not asking that you quit sending packages and gifts to your
sons. We are only asking you to follow these instructions. Please be sure that
your “receiver” is aware that he must pay for the imposed fees on a timely
basis.
We are in a third world country with all the challenges of mail delivery. We
love the Angolan people and their efforts to do better. It is our hope that we
follow the laws of this land and appreciate their efforts.
Thank you for your help in this matter. Please remind others who may want to
send a package of love. Sometimes the Elders are just as happy with emails from
friends and ward members.
Thank you again for all your love and support,
President and Sister Merrill
