News from the Spain Barcelona Mission

Dear family and friends of the Spain Barcelona Mission,

We have now been in Spain four months and are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity of serving with the dedicated, hardworking, faithful Barcelona Spain missionaries. We are inspired by their commitment to share the Gospel and bring others to Christ. We see miracles daily and feel it a privilege to be a part of this wonderful work.

We wanted to share some information we felt would be helpful to you and also ask for your support in a new policy that will take effect this week.

ESPAÑA BARCELONA BLOG- We are pleased to inform you of the availability of our mission blog starting July 1st of 2015. It will contain mission news, photos, new developments, the vision of the mission, our weekly newsletter, arrivals and farewells of our missionaries, helpful information for newly called missionaries, and other newsworthy items. The URL for the blog is:

www.espanabarcelonamission.blogspot.com.es

We invite you to visit this site and would love any feedback or helpful suggestions to make this a blog you will enjoy visiting.

E-MAIL COMMUNICATION WITH SPAIN BARCELONA MISSIONARIES—The Mission President’s Handbook states, “As an alternative to regular mail, missionaries may communicate with their family on PREPARATION DAY by email” according to the guidelines established by the mission president. Similarly, the Missionary Handbook states, “USE EMAIL ONLY ON PREPARATION DAY.”

We are asking family and friends to SEND E-MAILS ONLY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AFTER 3:30 PM MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME  UP TO MONDAY 11:00 AM MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME (Spain is eight hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time). We are going to allow our missionaries an additional half hour (2 hours instead of 1 ½ hours) to respond to e-mails each preparation day.  E-mails sent during the regular week are a significant distractor for the missionaries as they are then tempted to stop where there is WiFi at a computer café, church building, or member's home multiple times to read emails. We would ask you not to send e-mails during the week. We will be asking all missionaries not to open e-mails during the week so they can remain focused on the all important work they are doing in bringing others to Christ.

SHIPPING PACKAGES TO THE SPAIN BARCELONA MISSION—We have found that packages sent by regular mail to the U.S. Postal Service are often held up in customs for extended periods of time. The cost to retrieve the package is very often much more than the value of the items being sent. If you plan to send something small, under 4 lbs, we have found that the padded flat rate packages available from the U.S. Postal Service make it and usually cost around $25 to send. If your items are larger, you can use UPS, Fedex, or DHL using a credit card in case they are stopped at customs.

Another option is through mymissionaryshipping.com which uses DHL.  To use this service, go to the website and register for an account.  Then go to the International tab and fill out the form to get a rate quote.  This is a service that is cheaper and faster than UPS or Fedex.  On the package, write "Missionary Supplies-not for resale." If the value says less than $20, customs normally does not look at it.  It is highly recommended that you call DHL prior to sending your package.  You can describe each item in the package, and they will let you know if it will pass through customs.  We have found it takes three or four business days from Arizona or Utah for a package to be delivered in Spain.

Many families have informed us that they purchase larger items on Amazon.es.  These items usually arrive in less than a week, they avoid having to pass through customs and it is more likely that they will receive the items sent. We would encourage you to send packages directly to your missionary´s apartment and state (fill in) that the package should arrive before 11 AM.  Our next transfer is on Tuesday December 8th so your missionary will have their new address on that day if you are sending a Christmas package.  If you plan to purchase scriptures, church books, or garments, we suggest you buy them from store.lds.org.  Items ship directly from Germany and always arrive safely.  Many families put additional money on their missionaries’ bank card and let them go out and purchase the needed item.

We feel so privileged for the opportunity to serve in the Spain Barcelona mission. We are inspired daily by the missionaries who valiantly serve in this wonderful location. Thank you for your assistance in helping our missionaries stay focused and productive. We feel most grateful for the love and support you offer them.

Sincerely,

Presidente and Hermana Dayton