General
Parents always have concerns with having a son or daughter 8000 miles
away. Although the missionaries themselves usually have no problem with
this, here is some information for those left at home.
Mail
There will always be a lag time in a letter response from your missionary.
It will take a little getting used to. Questions from you that need
to be answered should be thought of well ahead of time. It will take
from 2-5 weeks to receive the response. Since there is a lag time,
do not react too strongly to things your missionary writes because it happened
at least two weeks ago and by the time they receive your response, it will
have been at least a month and the issue will probably have been resolved.
Contact
Mail and package information and addresses can be found
here!
Your missionary will only be allowed to contact you by telephone when
allowed by his/her president. Each president has different policies. Do
not encourage your missionary to break the mission rules. It is possible
that your missionary will never be allowed to call home.
If you need to contact your missionary immediately for some reason (death
in the family, etc...), you may call the mission home. The number should
have been provided in the literature from mission president.
Safety
Generally, your missionary is in a safe environment.
Your missionary will run into people from all walks of life
in his/her pursuit to teach the gospel. Interaction with drunks, homeless,
transients, angry people, crazy people, etc. is common and inevitable.
Missionaries are targets of theives at times, but generally they are property
thefts, not personal thefts.
Remember, your child is being watched over and will be protected. In
Doctrine and Covenants, section 88, verse 88, it reads: "I will be
on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts,
and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
Health
The water from the tap is sanitary
in most areas of the mission. Unlike other areas of Central and
South America, rarely does a missionary return home with any
sort of illness. Missionaries are given detailed
medical instructions for home treatment of common illnesses and injuries. A certified MD is the mission doctor and pharmacies are
available throughout the mission.
Money
The money that your missionary is given each month is enough for his/her
sustenance. In most circumstances, they will not need any further assistance.
Sometimes a special need will arise in which extra funds would be desired
(new suit, broken camera, etc.), but generally funds are sufficient. If
you would like to send extra money to your missionary, they will love you
for it. You should send personal checks through the pouch. Checks are then
signed by the missionary and "cashed" at the mission office.
The Argentine currency has been fixed to the U.S. Dollar, so the money
sent to your missionary is not at risk of extreme inflation. This does
not mean, however, that the product values are the same. Electronics and
technological devices cost about twice as much as in the U.S. Other items
are comparable.
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