First letter!

We received our first letter (email) from Hermana Breanna on her P-day, Monday, November 23. P-day stands for "Preparation day". A day for missionaries to take care of personal chores such as shopping and laundry.

Hola mi padres (my parents)

I am at the MTC and it is amazing! These last few days have been super busy and hard and it’s been so difficult to stay awake but they've been glorious! There were 12 people in my district but then one of the Hna.s and one of the Elders moved up to intermediate Spanish so that left us with 7 Elders and 3 Hermanas, so I was originally in a regular companionship but now am in a trio. My first companion is Hna. Stout and she is from Idaho and is super amazing and really, really funny. We decided that we're going to make an MTC musical and it will be spectacular. My other companion is Hna. Karl and she is also from Idaho. She's really quiet but is cool and smart.

The Elders in my district are funny and really weird but whatcha gunna do? they make our classes more fun and life crazier. One of them knows Stephanie Rhodes which is really crazy. Oh, and I found out that Hna. Stout's great-great-great-grandfather was a body guard for Joseph Smith so we decided that our great-great-great-grandfathers were friends.

Our Sacrament meeting is super amazing. Everyone has to write a 5 minute talk in Spanish and then the Branch Pres will pick two people to give their talks. We pray, sing and say the sacrament prayers in Spanish. We've already learned how to pray and how to bear our testimony en Espanol.

So, when I got my card that tells the estimated departure it said Dec. 7, and everyone keeps telling the Hna.s that we're leaving in three weeks, so I don't know when we're leaving. So we're planning on hopping over to the travel office some time to see if they know when we're leaving.

I love you all soooo much, and can't wait to hear from you!
Love, Hna. Wells

I used Babelfish on-line translation service to translate our response to Breanna's letter into Spanish. Then I sent both the Spanish and English versions via Dear Elder. hee-hee. She'll love it!

Incidentally, the day of Brea's first letter was her great-grandmother's birthday. She turned 97! She worked in the garden for exercise in the morning. Those pesky crows are after her pecans. She went to lunch with my cousin and her husband. Then in the afternoon, she worked in the yard again. She had a great day. We're planning her 100th birthday celebration. Brea will be home in time for that.

Quick ways to write to Hermana Breanna

There a couple of internet based ways to write to missionaries and save a little cash as well. One way is dearelder.com. First choose the mission. Since Hermana Wells is in the MTC, choose "Provo MTC" from the drop down. Once she is in El Salvador, choose "El Salvador San Salvador East" from the drop down.

Then fill in your return address. Next, choose "Hermana" from the title drop down. The MTC box is 334. The mission code is ELS-SANE and the estimated MTC departure date is 0119. Enter your email address. Then write to your heart's content. One neat aspect of this is that the letter isn't held up by the Postal Service as it transits the country. Hermana Breanna will be reading your letter the same day or next day. As we say in the business PDQ. Another neat aspect is that you'll receive an email copy of your letter. This allows you to keep a copy for yourself or your missionary's scrapbook. A third neat aspect is that they claim that their service is also available in El Salvador. Just choose "El Salvador San Salvador East" from the drop down. I guess we'll see once she's finally in country.

I sent Hermana Wells this quote via dearelder.com. Seems appropriate for a missionary. I found it at Quoty.org.

Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons.

Author: David A. Bednar, Source: CES Fireside for Young Adults • May 3, 2009 • Brigham Young University–Idaho

The other free letter service is from called2serve.com. This service only delivers letters Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But it does allow you to attach Word or PDF documents. I sent Brea a picture as a PDF. It's the picture in the first posting. We'll see how it turned out.

Be advised that one cannot send both an attached file and a written message at the same time. I know, I tried, and failed. They require that you click a link in a confirmation email before the letter is released to be sent to the missionary.

Happy writing! Remember that missionaries love receiving letters.

Hermana Breanna is in the MTC!!

Hermana Breanna arrived at the MTC yesterday (November 18). Her sisters, Melanie and Jessica, and her former roommate, Stephanie, dropped her off. The rules are that missionaries are just to be dropped off at curbside. Although other groups were getting out of their cars and hugging the missionaries before they entered the MTC, Breanna asked them to stay in the car and not get out as per the rules. She told them, "Drive away, drive away!"

We received an email dated 11/18 11:34 pm. It reads:

Dear family of Breanna Lea Wells,

We are pleased to inform you that your missionary has been safely checked in at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. We thank you for supporting your missionary and know that your family will be blessed as a result.

Your missionary's mailing address while at the MTC is:
Breanna Lea Wells
MTC Mailbox # 334
ELS-SANE 0119
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Please note the following items:

1. Your missionary's service began today. Please do not arrange or request visits with your missionary, including meetings at the temple or in proximity to the MTC.

2. All missionary mail must come through the US Mail or commercial delivery services. Hand delivered items will NOT be accepted. Do not send pizzas, fast foods, ice-cream, or any items that will spoil if they are not refrigerated within 24 hours. Missionaries are not called out of class to receive packages, nor do they have access to a refrigerator.

3. Communicate with your missionary weekly through letters sent to the above address or through the email account that the missionary will set up within the first two weeks. This account is to be used by immediate family only. Telephone calls for missionaries cannot be accepted. Your missionary will correspond with you on his/her first preparation day.

4. Families and friends should not plan to visit missionaries departing to their field of labor at the airport or MTC.

Should you need to communicate with the MTC call 801-422-XXXX (I redacted the last part of the number). Do not reply to this email.

Sincerely,

Provo MTC Presidency

She's in the MTC!! We're so excited for her!!

Set apart November 13, 2009

Is it my imagination or are missionaries getting younger every year?
1992- Sister Missionaries with (l to r) Jessica, Melanie, and Breanna. Notice that Breanna has on a missionary name tag.

Breanna Lea Wells was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints November 13, 2009 to serve in the El Salvador San Salvador East mission. President/Bishop DeVries set her apart. Let me explain his unique title. He was called as stake president in stake conference a couple of weeks ago, but a new bishop has not yet been called. So, he is concurrently serving as both bishop and stake president. President DeVries previously served as the president of the Oakland California mission.

Before President DeVries set her apart, he gave her counsel. She was counselled to be an obedient missionary. Those missionaries who are obedient are more open to the guidance of the spirit. He told her to go the extra mile. He gave an example of how a missionary might walk home at a normal pace and be in the apartment on time, but if the missionary walked quickly, she might be able to make three more contacts. He said that the last contact would be golden.

I (Padre Wells) was honored to be allowed to stand in when she was set apart. The Stake President counselled her to love her companion. Also to love and serve the people.

Madre Wells, Melanie, and Andra were at the setting apart too. We also invited Dan DeVries to the setting apart. Dan will be sending in his mission papers soon and we wanted him to feel the spirit during Sister Wells' setting apart. He will be a great missionary.

Breanna will be a wonderful missionary. She has the spirit of the Lord with her and will love the El Salvadorians. She will be a MISSIONARY. The kind that brings the spirit with her. The kind that teaches with the spirit. The kind of missionary that changes hearts and lives. If the Sons of Mosiah had a sister, she would have been like Breanna.