Thursday, September 23, 2010

Dear Elder

While our son was in the MTC, he kept writing about a service called DearElder.com. I had no idea what he was talking about. Finally I checked it out, and I must say that it's absolutely fabulous.

DearElder.com is a fantastic way to write your LDS missionary while they're serving in any LDS mission worldwide. The online service allows you to type in a letter which is then printed off and sent to either the MTC, a mission home, or through pouch mail if your missionary is serving in an area where regular mail service is not reliable.

If your missionary is in the Provo MTC, you can type in a letter by noon MST Monday-Friday at DearElder.com, and they will receive a hard copy of your letter that very day for free!

While in the MTC, our missionary's prep day was Friday. We found that if we sent a DearElder letter by Thursday at noon MST, he could read it Thursday night and respond to it on Friday when he sent his weekly email. That way he did not have to try to read all our messages and then reply during the short time he had to access to a computer. It was also a great, easy way for my husband and our younger children to correspond with their brother.

Now that our missionary is on the field, we send our DearElder letters to his mission's office (which is the procedure recommended by his Mission President) for the cost of a domestic stamp. At DearElder, you can check the recommended mailing procedure for your missioanry's mission by searching here.

If your missionary is serving in an area that ulitizes pouch mail, you can find out more about how their free pouch service works here or in their FAQ section.

DearElder also offers some very creative care packages that are available to send to either the MTC, a domestic or an intermational mission. Our son received the chips and queso in the Spice of Life package from a friend while he was in the MTC. His birthday is coming up in October, and both the birthday package and the complete birthday cake package look like fun options and are reasonably priced.

DearElder accepts donations which help cover their many free services. 

Wish I'd known about DearElder.com before our son entered the MTC, but now that I do, I am a regular.

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