Dear Missionary,
Sister Needs and I are excited and grateful that you will be
joining us as a missionary in the Georgia Atlanta Mission. Georgia is a beautiful place with friendly people,
and it is an exciting time to be serving a mission here, which will bless your
life in many ways.
One of the greatest joys in life is this time when you will be set
apart and consecrated in your efforts in the work of the Lord. Working with individuals and families,
teaching them the gospel, seeing them accept gospel principles, and helping
them make changes in their life, is a sacred and most humbling experience which
will bring great joy into your life. You
and your family will be greatly blessed as a result of your service.
The time before you enter the Mission Training Center is an
important time of preparation for you. I
encourage you to take full advantage of it.
The key areas upon which I would like you to focus are:
· The
scriptures (particularly the Book of Mormon and New Testament),
· Preach
My Gospel
· The
Missionary Handbook
These are the three key tools we use in the mission and I cannot
stress how important it is to become as familiar as possible with these
tools.
Here are a few suggestions to help you further prepare:
· Attend
the temple as often as your circumstances permit
· Learn
about family history, which can be a powerful tool in finding people to teach
(including completing My Family)
· Study
your call packet and the items on the missionary portal, including visiting
missionaryclothing.lds.org which outlines general rules and guidelines for
missionary dress and grooming. Please
carefully follow this direction in deciding what to bring.
While you are serving in the Georgia Atlanta
Mission you will have the opportunity to attend the temple to participate in baptisms
with recent converts as well as when converts go to receive their own
endowments and sealings. Accordingly, we
ask that you bring your own temple clothing.
We invite you to visit our mission Facebook
page (Georgia Atlanta Mission – President and Sister Needs) and see highlights
of what we are doing as a mission. Please
invite your family and friends to join the page as this tool is also used to efficiently
provide information to families, particularly in times of severe storms and
other similar events of concern.
Lastly, let us share a few words about health insurance.
We hope that your parents and leaders previously verified that your family
health insurance covers you outside your home state. (There may be
specific forms that your insurance company can provide to help you facilitate
this process.) Your personal health insurance is always the primary insurance
while serving your mission. For missionaries coming with prescriptions
that will need refills, we recommend transferring them to a pharmacy with
nationwide access, such as Walmart, CVS or Walgreen’s.
We hope you will enjoy this time of preparation. Thank you for your willingness, worthiness,
and dedication to be a representative and ambassador of Jesus Christ. Sister Needs and I are looking forward
to serving with you and helping to support you in your missionary efforts.
With love and best wishes,
President and Sister Needs
Georgia Atlanta Mission
Important Information
1. You
need to purchase and bring
your own UNLOCKED GSM phone. Specifications
below.
2. We
suggest you bring your own twin sheets or budget money to buy them when you get
here. The mission will provide a pillow. We can see that you get to a store on
transfer day. We have many blankets you
can use, or you can buy your own.
3. A
lightweight winter coat or a raincoat with a warm liner is usually adequate. We definitely get rain, but snow is very
rare. You will need gloves and an
umbrella but don’t buy one yet – most apartments are well stocked with
umbrellas that have been left behind. If
you find you need one just buy it here.
4. We
have first aid kits, bug spray and plenty of hangars in all the apartments so
please disregard the call instructions asking you to bring these items
5. There
are many styles of bags for carrying teaching materials. Church policy precludes
backpacks for your own safety. Messenger style bags with long shoulder straps work
best as you could be riding a bike.
6.
If you are interested in bringing a musical
instrument, please call first. We have a
limited list of approved instruments missionaries are allowed to have.
7. US
missionaries may need their Social Security number. We do not recommend you
bring your original card, but you should have a copy of your Social Security
card and/or have the number memorized.
Thank you
for being willing to serve the Lord.
Sister Moss
Mission Secretary
Phone: 770-486-9191
email:
2013207@ChurchofJesusChrist.org
The Georgia
Atlanta Mission uses cars, bicycles and public transportation to
preach the gospel. You (or your family) do not need to keep personal car
insurance while you are serving your mission.
Cars
If
you are interested in having the opportunity to drive a mission vehicle during
your mission, you will need to bring the following information:
ü You must bring your driver’s license.
ü You must provide a driving history record
from your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
ü You must provide a copy of the Church
Personal Driving Record form (attached to this email).
Whether you choose to drive or not,
it is important to have a Real ID
compliant current driver’s license
throughout your mission. It is required as identification for the airlines in
order to fly home. If your
license will expire prior to your return, please renew it before you leave.
Bicycles
Many
of our missionaries are assigned to ride bikes as a regular part of their
missionary service. We often have bikes
available in the mission and recommend you do not purchase one prior to arriving in
the field. You may be able to use one of
the bikes we have or choose to purchase a bike with your own funds upon arrival
in the mission field. We have several
local shops that offer a modest discount (10-15%) to our missionaries for
bicycle purchases.
Items
to bring with you or purchase in the field:
·
Required Safety items: Helmet, bright front and back lights, lock
and reflective arm/leg bands.
·
Optional Equipment: Tire Repair kit
If
you have any questions, please call me at 520-560-3469 or the mission office at
770-486-9191.
Sister
Linda Dick, Vehicle Coordinator
Georgia
Atlanta Mission
2013207-vc@ChurchofJesusChrist.org
We are so excited to have you join us here in Georgia. Our mission is an online proselyting mission
and we use smart phones to do much of our work.
Prior to going to the MTC you will need to purchase:
·
An UNLOCKED
Samsung J, A, S or Note Series smart phone on the GSM carrier
network.
(Ex: Amazon, retail stores, or through this website: Insight.com/missionarysmartphone)
·
Cell phone service will be provided by the
mission. If you arrive in the mission
with an active personal SIM card it will need to remain in the mission office
until you return home. Any phone or
phones you bring to the mission will need to have MaaS360 software installed.
·
Lost or damaged phones are your responsibility
to replace/repair. The mission may
provide a short-term loaner phone while yours is being repaired.
·
You should purchase a protective case for our
phone such as an Otterbox.
·
Knox version: 2.8 or above. Verify that your
phone model has Knox version 2.8 or above here.
o Note: Your phone’s model number can be verified in the
product description or in the “About phone” section of the phone
settings. On the website link above, the Knox version is listed next to
the model code (also known as the model number). If the exact model is not
listed, then that phone is not approved. Phones with a Knox version listed as
2.7.1 or below, “N/A (One UI Core device),” or “N/A (Android Go device)” are
not approved. Additionally, Samsung model A10s and model A20s as well as
SM-107M and SM-207M are specifically not approved at this time.
·
Operating system: Android 8, 9, or 10. “Rooted or jailbroken” devices
cannot be used.
·
Internal storage: Minimum 32 GB.
·
Safeguards for Using
Technology. Please complete this section on the missionary portal prior to
arriving in the mission.
If you have questions, please call me at the
mission office at 770-486-9191 or email me at
2013207-fin@churchofjesuschrist.org.
Elder Moss
Finance Secretary
Georgia Atlanta Mission
IMPORTANT: FOR U.S. CITIZENS ONLY
Although this date has been delayed
due to COVID 19 we need to be prepared for the eventual requirement when the
federal government will require your driver license or identification card to
be REAL ID compliant
REAL ID = your ID has a Star in the upper righthand corner.
You will need a REAL ID to
fly, enter a military base or a federal building. ... A REAL
ID will be required by the federal government on October 1, 2020,
unless you have an alternate federal ID, such as a
United States passport. You do not need a REAL ID to
drive or receive federal benefits.
If your driver’s license doesn’t
have a star in the upper corner of the card, then your license is not Real ID compliant. And if you are planning to take a
domestic commercial flight any time after Oct 1, 2020, you will need to be
prepared.
