Wonder how to keep in touch with Elder Stockton?
All missionaries love to receive mail!
Andrew is no different! He often tells us how much he enjoys hearing from family and friends. He loves to know we are thinking about him and wishing him well.
Here are some ways to keep in touch:
Dear Elder Letter Service
Letters can be sent free of charge through DearElder.com.Just click on the "Select Mission" drop-down menu on the right side of the website, and choose "Argentina Buenos Aires West." Click the "Write a Letter" button underneath the drop-down menu. Type your letter, then submit it. Your letter will be sent by Pouch Mail.
Note: You may set up an account if you wish, but it is not necessary.
FYI: The Pouch Department only sends one package per week to each mission. The deadline on the DearElder website to submit a pouch letter is midnight each Sunday. The letter will be printed, processed, and delivered to the Pouch Mail center in SLC on Monday. The pouch heading for Argentina will be mailed on Tuesday.
Pouch Address
If you want to send your own letter for the cost of a US stamp, use:
Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission
50 E North Temple
P.O. Box 30150
Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0150
**Pouch Mail will only accept one single piece of paper written only on one side. Fold the paper in thirds and tape it shut with one or two pieces of tape on the long end. Do not tape the sides closed. Address it, place a stamp in the corner and send it off.
To send letters and packages directly to Argentina:
Check with the US Postal Service for correct postage and restrictions: Argentina - Conditions for Mailing
Sister Carter, from the mission, gives some package-mailing tips:
DO NOT SEND PACKAGES BY PRIORITY MAIL!
Think of it this way…you want your package to come into the country getting the least amount of attention as possible. That way, the package goes directly where it is addressed. However, if there is:
A Sticker
Tape or a
Box
that says Priority Mail. It is like putting a flashing neon sign on your box that says, SEND ME TO THE ADUANA. The Aduana is the customs house. There they will look at the box and even open the box to decide how much money they are going to charge for that box when someone comes to collect it. We have even had things stolen out of the box at this point. Below are pictures of boxes that have made the trip to the Aduana.
They charge various amounts like 60 pesos, which is about $15. The mission also gets charged about $150 to have the packages picked up. We pass that charge on to the missionaries that receive packages so they usually end up paying another $15 or so, based on how many people receive packages. You may also notice there is a Dear Elder package in the group above. Just so you know, those packages also go to the Aduana…not the letters, just the packages.
So, to be clear:
1. It takes much longer for a package to arrive at the offices, if it is sent priority mail because it has to make a trip to the Aduana first, and we only collect packages there about once a month.
2. The missionary is going to have to pay money for that package…like another $30.
It is conceivable that you could follow all the rules and your package could still go to the Aduana, but after a years worth of experience, I am passing along what has worked the very best. My daughter sent me a package. I received it in 12 days. She looked up a picture of the Virgin of Lujan on the internet as well as several other pictures and printed them off. Then she taped the pictures to the package. She mailed it---regular mail. This is a picture of the front of the package.
Do not let the post office personnel talk you into anything different. Below are a couple of photos of packages that we have received that have gone straight to the offices. I don’t want to show the address labels, but trust me the front looks just like the back, with the exception of an address.
BROWN PAPER PACKAGES work best. They seem to come through faster if they have religious symbols or stickers on them. But they still take about a month to get here from the United States.
If you know that grandparents, siblings, other relatives, friends or the ward is going to send a package to your missionary, please let them know that there is a tab at the top of the mission blog that says “Contact Information.” http://buenosaireswest.blogspot.com/p/contact-information_04.html It is always available, or obviously, you could print it off for them. Anyway, there, anyone can find all the information they will need about sending packages to Argentina.
DO NOT SEND PACKAGES BY PRIORITY MAIL!
Think of it this way…you want your package to come into the country getting the least amount of attention as possible. That way, the package goes directly where it is addressed. However, if there is:
A Sticker
Tape or a
Box
that says Priority Mail. It is like putting a flashing neon sign on your box that says, SEND ME TO THE ADUANA. The Aduana is the customs house. There they will look at the box and even open the box to decide how much money they are going to charge for that box when someone comes to collect it. We have even had things stolen out of the box at this point. Below are pictures of boxes that have made the trip to the Aduana.
They charge various amounts like 60 pesos, which is about $15. The mission also gets charged about $150 to have the packages picked up. We pass that charge on to the missionaries that receive packages so they usually end up paying another $15 or so, based on how many people receive packages. You may also notice there is a Dear Elder package in the group above. Just so you know, those packages also go to the Aduana…not the letters, just the packages.
So, to be clear:
1. It takes much longer for a package to arrive at the offices, if it is sent priority mail because it has to make a trip to the Aduana first, and we only collect packages there about once a month.
2. The missionary is going to have to pay money for that package…like another $30.
It is conceivable that you could follow all the rules and your package could still go to the Aduana, but after a years worth of experience, I am passing along what has worked the very best. My daughter sent me a package. I received it in 12 days. She looked up a picture of the Virgin of Lujan on the internet as well as several other pictures and printed them off. Then she taped the pictures to the package. She mailed it---regular mail. This is a picture of the front of the package.
Do not let the post office personnel talk you into anything different. Below are a couple of photos of packages that we have received that have gone straight to the offices. I don’t want to show the address labels, but trust me the front looks just like the back, with the exception of an address.
BROWN PAPER PACKAGES work best. They seem to come through faster if they have religious symbols or stickers on them. But they still take about a month to get here from the United States.
If you know that grandparents, siblings, other relatives, friends or the ward is going to send a package to your missionary, please let them know that there is a tab at the top of the mission blog that says “Contact Information.” http://buenosaireswest.blogspot.com/p/contact-information_04.html It is always available, or obviously, you could print it off for them. Anyway, there, anyone can find all the information they will need about sending packages to Argentina.
Please use the following address:
Name of Missionary
La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias
C.C. No. 92
1702 Ciudadela
Buenos Aires, Argentina
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