mt_mck7
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Posts posted by mt_mck7
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I'm currently writing to a missionary who's been out in the field for about 10 months now, and I've run out of words of encouragement to say. I always keep the e-mails positive and uplifting and I always try to end it with a recent spiritual experience if I can. I'm also in a group e-mail, and I receive his mission updates every so often, so I leave a comment or say something about that and leave encouraging things with that, but I always end up saying the same words of encouragement at the end which are "stay safe and keep up the good work." At first it would end with "Hope all is well," and then I changed it to stay safe.
In e-mails and letters before I've expressed how I'm really glad he's chosen to go on a mission, and I want to say other encouraging words along those lines, but I don't want to wear it out or say it too much. What other words of encouragement could I use?
I'm thinking about writing in my next letter something like this: I don't want to say this too much because I feel like it'd lose it's meaning. Just remember this with this letter and all the letters I have written and all the letters I've yet to write.
(and then I'd put in that I'm seriously proud of him for serving a mission and I'm really happy he's serving a mission and wants to serve a mission) but I don't want to seem too romantic with it. Does it seem romantic?
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I've been friends with this one guy for almost 4 years now. He and I have been dating off and on for about 2 years, and we're both the same age. Last February, I took him to my school's winter formal, and when I dropped him off at his house, he told me how he felt about me, and I could tell he has a big crush. I didn't know how to respond though I am crushing on him big time, (have been since I've known him just about) but I had his mission in mind so I didn't really take action or tell him that I felt the same way.
Between that night and now, he has gotten his mission call, and he's going on his mission in June, so about 2 to 3 months from now, and I wanna sit down with him and tell him my feelings and that I feel the same way, but I don't know if 2 to 3 months before his mission would be the right call. I don't wanna make any promises with him about dating in the future or anything, just tell him how I feel cause it's gonna bother me until I tell him.
What would be the right thing to do?
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Backstory: this guy (Elder) who I have a crush on is currently on his mission. He's finally out in the field now after a month of being the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and I can send him care packages now. When he was in the MTC, he was in the MTC in Mexico City, and I didn't think it would get to him on time if I sent him a care package.
Elder is serving in the U.S. and I have looked up on Pinterest for ideas of care packages to send. I have written a question about this before, but this is a more direct question because most of the care packages contain chocolate, and cookies, and Elder is lactose intolerant. I have come up with a few ideas of food to send him which are:
Beef Jerky
Dehydrated Fruit
Clif bars (maybe?)
Snickerdoodles (He likes snickerdoodles)
And Chocolate Fudge Pop Tarts (his favorite flavor)
Before I send him any food, I might check with his family to see what would be okay to send. I wanna send him some food, but maybe some useful things that could help him while he's on his mission (unless food is the only thing that Missionaries prefer).
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So, there's these neuro drinks that have a bunch of different flavors. There's the sonic (that gives you energy), bliss, and I think sleep is one of them too. I've had them every so often, and I usually have the sonics because that gives me more energy and I'm able to be more focused. I don't have them everyday, but I just got one of them from the grocery store this morning, and it wasn't until now that I looked at the ingredients. One of the ingredients it L-Theanine (L-TeaActive), so I looked it up. It said that L-Theanine is an ingredient in tea that comes from the tea-leaf, and I was wondering that since that's in it, it might be against the word of wisdom (the word of wisdom is where members of the LDS church are encouraged not to drink tea, coffee, beer, or anything that can take away our free agency). Are the Neuro drinks against the word of wisdom?
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3 minutes ago, Eowyn said:
@mt_mck7, this thread is over 2 years old, so the missionary in OP would be home by now. :)
Shoot. Sorry. I thought it was recent.
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I'm currently experiencing this right now. I've been born into the church and I'm 17. I was at my last Girls' Camp, and I anonymously wrote a spiritual question to the Stake Presidents (like they do every year, but this time I actually had a question) and I decided to take that chance to write a question asking what one should do if they are starting to crush on someone who is preparing to go on their mission. They said that you shouldn't prevent him from going on his mission, because if he has a desire to go, you should let him go. You definitely don't want to write "i miss you" or "wish you were here" at the end of the letters because that will make him miss home, and will make it harder for his mission. The Stake President that answered this invited his wife, and his wife actually waited for him when he went on his mission! They met each other about 2-4 months before he went on his mission, they wrote back and forth, and they ended up getting married once he finished his 2 years.
My missionary has been out for barely a month, and I've kind of gotten a grasp on some things. E-mail is much faster and efficient if he's out of the US. With hand-written letters, there's a 50/50 chance he'll get it. There's a reason why it's called "snail mail" because it takes really long to get there. It might take your missionary a while to read it, and his P-day is probably chalked full of stuff he needs to get done, and activities. One of the answers that I got from a past question was that if a missionary has free time, the high priority is to sleep, and not read a letter from home. I've also found with writing letters, you don't want to be romanticy~it's better to be supportive and encouraging. I also found this talk about writing to missionaries called "Missionary Mail" that helped me out a LOT: https://www.lds.org/new-era/2007/03/missionary-mail?lang=eng. Best of luck to you! Hope this helps! :)
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Short story- there's a guy I really like who's currently on his mission (a mission is where a young man at the age of 18 who has already graduated high school devotes 2 years of his life to preaching and teaching the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. All young men in the LDS church are expected to go on a mission if they are worthy and choose to do so). He's only been on his mission for barely a month now.
I wrote him a letter a few days after he got to the Mexico City MTC (Missionary Training Center except in Mexico City, it's called CCM). I just wrote some encouraging words, and left him with an inspiring scripture that applied to serving a mission. I paid for the stamp that was needed to send the letter, and I sent it, but I'm not sure if he's gotten it yet because he hasn't written me back. I've talked to my parents about this, and they said to not worry about him sending me a letter back because each day for him at the MTC until he goes into the field is completely filled from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed. My parents also said to continue sending him encouraging words, and scriptures I find that will keep his morale up.
His parents also had a piece of paper at his mission farewell before he went on his mission that people could put their e-mails on and get weekly updates about his mission, and I put my e-mail on that list, so I know I shouldn't worry about a direct response from him, but I was wondering if missionaries usually write back to those who write them first whether it be by paper or by e-mail. Do missionaries usually reply to paper letters after they leave the MTC and are in the field, and they've gotten used to the routine? Would it be better if I e-mailed him instead of writing letters? Thanks!
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On 7/28/2016 at 4:11 PM, NightSG said:
An upcoming mission is no excuse for a no-call-no-show on a date, nor cancelling at the last minute with "something came up" unless it's because he's heading to the MTC earlier than he thought. Are you really interested in having a boyfriend who thinks it's OK to flake out whenever it's convenient?
I'm going to agree on foregoing the groin kick, but there are a number of mildly painful joint locks that are good for showing him just how much explaining he needs to do.
I wish I could call him my boyfriend. If he were my boyfriend, I would totally bring it up with him. He said he doesn't want to call anyone his girlfriend until after his mission, but the way he acts around me makes it seem like we're boyfriend and girlfriend. Plus with the mission, he doesn't turn 18 until this August, and he's still got senior year to deal with.
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On 7/28/2016 at 11:05 AM, omegaseamaster75 said:
What's this?
Modest Prom is an annual church dance that my stake holds. It's usually held around the same time as Prom in most schools, and it's there for those who can't go to prom or don't want to go to their school prom.
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First off, I'm sorry, but this has a lot of backstory:
There's this guy who I have known since freshmen year (for those who have seen my past questions, this guy is not the same one that is on his mission). He is a huge baseball fan (and he plays baseball at his school), and he is LDS, and super sweet. If there was one word I could describe him, it would be a goofball. He and I are going into our Senior year. The first date that he and I went on was the very first date that I'd ever been on (I waited till I was 16 to date (for those who don't know, the youth in the LDS church are encouraged to wait to date until they are 16 or older)). He took me to his house after getting food through the drive-thru, we watched Sixth Sense, and went to his friends Halloween party (the date was on Halloween). After that first date, he and I went on 2 other dates. I had him over to my house to watch a movie, and then the next one, we went to Dave & Buster's and then he took me to the New Year's Eve Stake Dance.
After these first few dates, I felt like everything was going really well between him and I, but then he started acting a little flaky. I had texted him and invited him to come to my house on MLK day in January, and I was hoping to ask him to my school's Winter Semi-formal dance. I didn't tell him that I would be asking him if he'd be able to come to my house for me to ask him to the dance, so I told him we'd watch a movie or something. He said, "Yeah. That sounds like fun!", but when the day came, the plans changed, and I texted him asking if he'd want to see Star Wars Episode 7 at this really nice theatre at noon, but he didn't respond. He didn't bother to text me or say why he couldn't respond. He went MIA until the day before Modest Prom when he messaged me over snapchat. One of the cute things he does is begin a conversation with me by responding to my snapchat story, so that's what he did the day before Modest Prom. I thought he'd be asking me to Modest Prom last minute, but that didn't happen. When I got to Modest Prom, I noticed him from time to time in the crowded hallway, and he'd tap my shoulder, and when I turned around, he would keep walking down the hallway. It was that the whole night, and then he and I slow-danced for one song.
Some time went by, and he texted me asking about the Nauvoo trip that my stake had gotten back from. (I had posted a photo collage on Instagram and he saw it and liked it). That same day he talked to me, there was a stake dance in Norman that I thought there was no way he'd be there, but he was there! He wasn't there by himself though, he was there with a few of his church friends (none of them were girls though). We quietly made eye contact the whole night, and we danced for a song. After I'd gotten home from the dance, he texted me saying that he had a fun time and wanted to go on a date with me before he went to California for work for the rest of the summer. I said I'd be up for it, and we had plans to go on a double date the week before he left for California. I was excited to go with him, but then the day before, he texted me and said "something came up" and he couldn't do the double date. He apologized a lot, too.
Before we even went out on our first date, he told me that he doesn't want to call anyone his girlfriend until he gets home from his mission (for those who don't know, a mission is when an 18-year old boy devotes 2 years of his life to teaching and preaching the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). I have this fact about him memorized, but I don't want to hang out with him if he's going to constantly be canceling plans with me, and getting my hopes up, and then hurting my feelings again in the end. How do I nicely confront him about this? Or should I confront him about this? Should I just leave it to his mission to get him into committing to others? (if that makes sense?) I'm not looking into turning to this guy now that Elder is on his mission, but I have this strange feeling he's going to want to hang out with me more this next year, and I'm not entirely sure of what to do.
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4 minutes ago, LeSellers said:
None of these parentheses is directed to an LDS audience:
My question to you was not about C.A.R.E.* packages. It was about who you were writing this to. We all know what these things are. Your message (not the first I've seen here using this same type of wording) looks as if you wrote it to a group who wouldn't know what missionaries were or how they're called or how they're trained.
* BTW, C.A.R.E. was originally an acronym for "Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe", now "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere". It is a private organization whose goal was to help starving Europeans after WWII.So, who did you write this to first?
Lehi
P.S. Yes, my antennae are up and flashing warning signals. LSOne of the policies on this website is to explain doctrine that Non-LDS Members might not understand. I wrote it for both people who are members and aren't members.
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25 minutes ago, LeSellers said:
Who are you talking to?
Your audience here is primarily LDS, and any others understand what missionaries do and the process of their callings and settings apart.
So, again, I ask, who are you talking to? And why do we get the carbon copy?
Lehi
I'm asking those who have already been on a mission what things they received that they enjoyed receiving from home, and just how to send a care package because I'm only 17, and I've never sent a care package before.
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So, the guy who I have had a crush on for a while (for internet safety, let's call him Elder since missionaries are always called "Elder (Insert last name)") is going to be going to the MTC on July 19th. I left him with two short and sweet notes (one of them was a letter I wrote before today that said "it was great getting to know him the past few years, serve valiantly" and "I'm gonna write you, you should write back". The other note was "I've enjoyed getting to know you and I can't wait to get to know the Elder you through letters and e-mails"). He hasn't been set apart yet, and thankfully~ I got one last hug from him before he was set apart. ((To be set apart is to be officially designated as a missionary.))
Anyways, I'm hoping to send him a care package once he's out of the MTC, and he's in the mission field (Mission Training Center--It's where missionaries go before they officially go out into the area they've been called to to learn the language of the land, the rules of the area they've been called to, etc). The place where Elder is going to is California (Modesto, California I believe), and so far I have two gifts that I think he might enjoy or need:
- A big Nalgene water bottle (A whopping total of 32 ounces)
- A card game like Phase 10 or something similar to that (or even a simple deck of cards to play if him and his companion have down time, and are completely prepared for all the lessons that they need to give, and appointments they have assigned)
I've done some research so far as what to put in a care package, and one of the things that stood out to me was that whatever you give your missionary, you should give to your missionary's companion(s) because you don't know the circumstances of your missionary's companion. As said by Deseret News, "Sending a package with items for both missionaries will do great things for companionship morale and for your missionary’s figure" (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700040500/What-to-send-your-missionary-in-a-package.html?pg=all).
So, what do you all think? Would buying Elder and his companion a big Nalgene water bottle and a deck of cards be good to send him? What others things could I send him to help him be a good missionary? What things do missionaries enjoy receiving from home in care packages?
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2 hours ago, Carborendum said:
The law is a bit gray on this issue. If it is known that she is a "regular driver" for this car, then it is illegal. If she is an "incidental" driver for that car, it is legal. Proving either in a court is difficult.
This may be the gateway for you to start asserting yourself.
MT: I'm sorry, I can't let you drive my car anymore. I found out it's illegal since you're not insured on it.
Vampire: What? Well, can't you put me on your policy?
MT: I can't afford that.
V: Sure you can (blah blah).
MT: No, I really can't.
V: Well, then just tell people I was just borrowing it.
MT: Yes, but that only goes so far. And you've been using it a LOT.
V: So just tell anyone that it was my first time borrowing it.
MT: But it isn't.
V: You can still tell people that.
MT: So, you want me to lie for you?
V: Sure, I'm your friend, right?
MT: I thought you were until you started asking me to lie for you. Friends don't do that
! (be sure to do the frown and furrowed brow with the exclamation).
You may even further emphasize the point by walking away at this point -- and don't turn back if she calls to you.
I no longer let her borrow my car. It was only during Sophomore year, but once I found out she wasn't using it to get paint anymore, I put a stop to her borrowing my car.
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I have had this "friend" for the past few years of high school. This friendship didn't actually start until I was a Sophomore. During my Freshman year, this girl who was in the grade above me would immediately go to me once she entered the high school before school started. I would be there earlier because of seminary (seminary is a class that is completely optional, but highly encouraged for high schoolers. Seminary is held as early as 5:30 and as late as 6:15). She and I kind of talked during my Freshman year, but we didn't really do anything. I did go to her house maybe once or twice before a big football game. Sophomore year, I could feel like she was trying to really use me. I felt like her slave in a way. I got my license Sophomore year after March, and she was constantly trying to take MY car out to lunch (my school let's us take our cars out to lunch, but the Sophomores can't take our cars. It's something that only the upperclassmen can do). Her excuse was that she had to get paint for a retirement home that the service club needed, and I found out that she was actually getting just lunch after the 2nd or 3rd time that she went out. My dad eventually found out because he was putting my next year's enrollment into my car, but my car wasn't there, so after freaking out thinking that he'd take away my license, I told my dad about it, and he told me simply to not lend my car out to other people.
Junior year, I was truly her slave. I constantly with her whenever there was a break, and whenever lunch was. In September, she broke her left calf playing softball, so she had to ride on a scooter the entire time, and I ended up being the one to get doors for her, and carry her bags for her (sometimes). She was also in the fall school musical, and she'd been working on it during the summer. Our drama teacher who is in charge of the musical productions at my school kicked her out of the musical (and she's not even looking into music after high school! She wants to go into criminal investigation) and she started crying like someone broke her other leg. I can see why our drama teacher kicked her out though- the past musicals she's auditioned for, she either dropped out because she didn't get the role she wanted, or because she said empty threats of dropping out, but she just sucked it up and stayed in her small part. Towards the end of this past school year, she started to try and tell me the "phrases that guys use and what they mean" as a way to keep me protected. while she's in college. I kindly told her I don't want to know about that kind of stuff because I'm a Mormon and I always will be a Mormon, but she was insistent.
Whenever she drove in my car, she always took the aux cord and played the dirtiest music on her playlist with the windows rolled down, and everytime, I was about to say "I have a BYU sticker on the back of my car right now, and I probably look like a hypocrite to other people who know what BYU means" but i didn't say it. When I was going to go to Prom, I told her I might not go because the guy I was going to take went to Jerusalem to see his older sister who is studying abroad there, and she started freaking out and said "Come for the pictures!" I ended up taking a Sophomore girl since the Sophomores aren't able to go by themselves and they need an upperclassmen to ask them in order to go, but I would not have gone if it weren't for my "friend" constantly pushing me about it. And when I told her that my guy was in Jerusalem, so I didn't want to go, she exploded pretty much saying "You need to date other guys" "You can't have your heart set on one guy", and when I told her that I'm only dating LDS guys, she didn't agree with that. She said all of this 5 minutes before Chorus started (we're both in chorus) and I started bawling, so she and I stepped out and she had to explain herself a little more.
Currently, she just got back from a 3 month cruise, and she's going back to me again, and talking to me again. I really don't want to hang out with her anymore because she's not helping me grow at all, and I actually felt better when she wasn't with me. I've been able to grow stronger, and stand a little taller without her, and I know that the friendship between her and I can't continue under these circumstances. She needs to accept the fact that I'm a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and there are certain rules and standards that I want to live by. How do I get my point across to her that our friendship can't go on if she's doing these kind of things?
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3 hours ago, Carborendum said:
I guess I read into your statement about him being in Utah with his family.
He's visiting Utah right now. His house is roughly 10 minutes from my house.
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4 hours ago, Carborendum said:
Anna,
The fact he's going on a mission should have nothing to do with you wanting or not wanting a hug. Do whatever you'd normally do if you really want that hug. You mentioned a "long way" from where he is. How far is that? You've got to ask yourself, is that something a sane rational person would do? Go all that distance to get a hug?
As for the dream, as Lehi said, maybe something, maybe nothing. I don't see anything about it that would mean that you need to act on anything even if it did mean something. Just keep it in your heart for now. If it fades, it fades.
If you still feel the same way in two years, go visit him for his homecoming. Then have a heart-to-heart. If marriage is in mind for both of you pursue it then, not now. Right now, he's got to lock his heart up. You can lock him into yours if you wish. But based on statistics alone, you'll probably find someone else in those two years.
Where was it mentioned " a long way " from where he is?
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Hello. My name is Anna. I'm 17 years old, and I'm a Mormon.
So, there's this guy who I have had a crush on for some time and he is currently set to go on a mission in July. (Whenever a guy turns 18 (it used to be 19, but the rules have changed since then), they are given the option to submit their missionary application to Salt Lake City where the three people who are the head of the church and SEVeral other people prayerfully decide where this person is to go to in the world. They can go anywhere except for a few places in the world, and they devote 2 years of their life to preaching and teaching the Gospel.) I've been doing my best not to push him into anything that would prevent him from going on his mission, but he and I have been getting along well. I always catch him smiling and glancing at me whenever I'm around him. ♥️ I'm also planning on writing to him while he's on his mission.
Yesterday, I ran into my crush at church. He and I used to be in the same ward, but after the ward boundary changes, he and I are in different wards, but I've been able to see him through the different church activities. This past year at seminary though, he would always sit next to me, and I really liked sitting next to him. I took him to my school's semi-formal for our first date, and he has 3 jobs now, so he can't set up another date with me. He got me a rose after the semi-formal too as a way to thank me for taking him to the dance. He and I also text from time to time, but our conversations are fairly short. He's a bit of a shy guy too.
So anyways, last night I had this weird dream. And I know dreams are pretty boring to talk about, but I feel like this was a sign of some kind. I dreamt that my crush had gotten home from his mission, and he randomly shows up. There wasn't a big "Welcome Home!" party or anything. He just came to me. He gives me this long, close hug for what felt like 5 minutes, and it didn't feel awkward at all. It felt like a real hug too, like he was actually there hugging me. He and I talked for a while, and then he had to go do something, but he accidentally left his wallet there. His wallet was made of brown leather, and it was the size of an open pocket wallet (like the kind that you have to fold open so maybe 5 or 6 inches long). I opened it up to see whose wallet it was, and on the inside of the flap, I saw a small beige heart cut out of the wallet, and my first name was written in the small beige heart. I opened the wallet up a little more to try and find some ID or something like that, and I found my crush's full name engraved into the wallet. The last thing I remember doing was sending a picture of the wallet, and asking him if it was his, and then I woke up after that.
Once I got home today from running errands, I started to crave my crush's hug, but I couldn't call him up and get a hug because as of right now, my crush is in Utah with his family, and he won't be back until roughly 2 weeks before he leaves for his mission. (Plus that would feel awkward to meet up with someone just for a hug). I'm not craving a 5 minute hug from him as mentioned in the dream either. Just a 10 or 15 second hug from him, but I'm not entirely sure how to go about it without seeming awkward. And I know this is an awkward question and all, but what does this dream mean?
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There's this guy who I go to church with, and I brought him to my school's semi-formal back in February. We've started to develop a bit of a relationship, and I've really taken a liking to him. I've realized though that it's not a good time to tell him anything or try to have a deeper connection with him because he's going on a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (AKA: Mormons or LDS).
For those who don't know, when a guy goes on a 2 year mission for the LDS church, they devote 2 years of their life to teaching and preaching the Gospel. Once they sign their missionary papers, they send them to Salt Lake City where the President of the Church and his two counselors prayerfully decide where this missionary will go. Once the President and his counselors have the missionary papers, that missionary can go in any area in the world except for a few places, but I can't recall them right now. Thankfully, my guy is going to be staying in the United States, and will be Spanish-speaking. I've figured from this that it would be easier for him while he's on his mission to share the gospel, and his testimony if he wasn't constantly thinking about me who he had to leave at home 24/7. So I've decided to help him by not getting too close, and I've been trying to follow my own words of advice, but I have a crush on him. He's super nice to everyone, he works 2 jobs, and knows how to budget money. He's also been saving money for his mission, but I'm not saying that I'm into him only because he has money. If anything, I think he's really smart for saving up money for his mission.
While I've been trying to follow my own words of advice by not getting too close to him, I have written a song or two about him. Songwriting has turned into my outlet through all of this.
As I've said before, I haven't even told this guy that I like him, or anything as well because I don't want him to get side tracked and talk him out of going on his mission. I've heard that if you don't want to tell him that you like him to just send him a letter about a week or two before he comes home and explain to him that you really liked him, and that you still like him (that is if you want to continue the relationship with him). I've considered doing that, and I've written the letter already, but I wanted to get some more ideas. What should I do now that I'm crushing on this guy who's about to go on his mission?
Another thing I forgot to add was that during the **seminary graduation, he had to give a talk, and when he said "Seminary has changed my life" he accidentally said "wife". He obviously corrected it, but I had a feeling he was referring to me for some reason. (I also caught him staring at me before that)
**Seminary is an early morning class for those in high school. Seminary is only held on weekdays (Mon-Fri) and it usually starts as early as 5:30 am and as late as 6:15 am.
Good things to include in a letter to a missionary who's celebrating a year of being in the field?
in Missionary Work
Posted
Hello! I have been writing a missionary who has been out in the field for a little over 11 months now. He will be a year long missionary this next July, and I've been trying to come up with some encouraging quotes and notes to send to him since it will be his one year mark. I'm not exactly sure what to say. I have a lot of general conference quotes, and some scriptures, but I can't think of anything for me to say. Each letter, I always end it the same with "Stay safe and keep up the good work!" and I'm trying to add more encouraging things to say in this letter. What would be some good things to include?