Dear Brother and Sister Lancaster,
Here is a picture of your son as he arrived at the mission home. We thought you might enjoy seeing him with me and my wife. We are pleased to have him here in Sierra Leone.
You can probably expect that he will experience some homesickness as he adjusts to mission life. Not only is there the normal adjustment of leaving behind family, friends, sports, etc. but here there is the adjustment of living in a developing country as well. You should also know that English is spoken differently here and often takes time to understand. Many still use their tribal language which requires an interpreter.
Your son will find the food and living conditions much different. We work diligently to keep all missionaries happy and healthy. There is a water filter in each apartment so they can drink purified water. Most of the time, an apartment will hold 4 missionaries with one companionship per room. They have single beds, a bathroom, table and chairs, and not much other furniture. Apartments meet their needs but are not what those from the U.S.A. are used to. He will, however, adjust to all of this and come to love his companion and the people as we have learned to love them!
We admire him for choosing to dedicate this time to the Lord. We know He will bless him in their great cause. We look forward to getting to know him better.
Missionaries love to hear from both families and Ward members. We encourage you to write often. It always gives the missionaries a lift to get a letter from home. It is easy to send it through the church pouch by addressing it to him at the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission. Send the letter to 50 E. N. Temple, SLC Utah, 84150. He should have informed you of the newly created procedures regarding the pouch, all letters must be an individual sheet of paper folded into thirds, taped together, and having the address written on the outside of the paper in order for the letter to be sent. If not as described they will return the letter back to you. This is due to certain restrictions put on the pouch system by the governments of the various countries to which the pouch is sent. You can send a normal letter or package directly to us by addressing it to him at the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission, P.O. Box 263, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa. We hold the mail here for them until someone goes to his area. That may not be until Zone Conference. Of course he may use email, which they are allowed to do in this mission.
Thank you for sharing him with us! We are sure he will be a great missionary! We do love our missionaries. The Lord's hand is on West Africa today. This is a special mission; we know he will come to love it.
Very Sincerely,
President Phillip L. Squires Sister Barbara Squires
That was the e-mail Seth's parents received from his mission president. I can't believe how light Seth's hair has gotten! He's got to be the best looking missionary out there!! :)
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