Dear Friends and Family of Missionaries,
It is with great excitement we welcome each of your sons into the Botswana/Namibia Mission. We met with our new missionaries for a couple of hours after the mission realignment announcement was made at the Pretoria, South Africa Stake Conference. They are a wonderful group of 37 Elders and 4 senior couples with the desire to serve the Lord where they are called to serve. We know there will be some apprehension and disruption as we make this change over. Please know we will do all we can to reassure your son is where the Lord wants him at this time of his mission. We know it was through inspiration that they were assigned to their particular District and Zone. In the 2 years we have been in Botswana it has been witnessed to us many times that the Lord is in charge of his work of salvation, and if we will be the instruments in His hands we will be able to fulfill all He asks us to do. We have learned to put our trust in the Lord and lean not to our own understanding. We are very grateful for President and Sister Dunn and the service and love they have given to these Elders and Couples. We know they will be greatly missed. We are looking forward to this new growth in our mission and know it will be a blessing not only to the missionaries but to the members as well. We will continue to see the hand of the Lord in this area of the vineyard. Please continue to encourage and help them through this transition.
Our mission includes the countries of Botswana and Namibia and the northern part of South Africa. At the present time we are located in Gaborone Botswana, but will travel to all areas of the mission each month. Botswana is located to the west of Pretoria, SA. The church has been in Botswana since 1990 and a stake was organized in 2012. There are also 4 branches which are under the direction of the Mission. The past 2 years we have faced difficulties in receiving work visas and at the present time only Botswana residents are being called to serve in Botswana. Namibia is to the west of Botswana and on the Atlantic coast. The church has been in Namibia since the 1990’s also and a District was created in March of 2015. At the present time we have 4 Elders serving in Namibia and are hoping we will be able to increase this number. Both countries are well developed and very receptive to the gospel. They are a very peaceful and loving people.
At the present time the mission office is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The following is information about mailing letters and packages. If letters have already been sent to the Johannesburg mission they will be forwarded to our mission. Letters can be sent in envelopes using appropriate international postage. Packages should be kept small, clearly marked "Missionary Supplies" and be valued less that P300 ($30) to avoid high customs fees, which will be paid by the missionary. Packages sent by surface mail take about 2 months to arrive in Botswana, whereas packages and letters sent by air take about 3-4 weeks to arrive.
Mailing address:
Elder _____
Postnet Kgale
AD 172 ADD
Gaborone, Botswana
Maintaining contact with families is important for missionaries so we urge families and missionaries to write or email an uplifting letter once a week. More frequent communication than this can take a missionary's mind away from his mission and foster homesickness. Also, unless there is a specific need modest packages should be limited to birthdays and Christmas. Most necessities can be readily purchased here. Expect the mail to take about 3-4 weeks to arrive in Gaborone. Delivery to remote areas of the mission may take additional days and sometimes weeks. E-mail is available in all parts of the mission. Missionaries are allowed to e-mail family members on preparation day which is Monday. Facebook, chatting, instant messaging and SMS is not an approved means of communication according to the Missionary Handbook.
In accordance with Church policy, phone calls by missionaries to their families are limited to Christmas and Mother's Day. Families are urged to help the missionaries keep the rules by not calling at other times.
In an emergency we can be contacted by:
Direct phone number for the Mission Office: 
00 267 393 3536
Mission email: 1922432@ldschurch.org
President Wilson 00 267 7134 0325
Sister Wilson 00 267 7130 6273
We are looking forward to getting to know each of your missionaries. We know we will come to love them as we do our own boys. If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
President and Sister Wilson
Botswana/Namibia Mission
President and Sister Wilson
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