Write to Me!!!

Hi friends!

So I know the big question that you've all been considering....how can I talk to Alysha while she's gone for 18 months?!?!? Actually its more me asking, How can I make sure my friends don't forget about me while I'm gone?!?! This post will tell you all the ins and outs of contacting a missionary.

First off: I will have no phone. I will have no facebook. And I will not even have access to this blog. So, all the normal routes are out of the question. Never fear! There are still two options: emails and letters :)

From July 31st until September 10th, I will be living at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, UT. Basically its a six-week crash course in Portuguese, with lots of prayer thrown in and a dash of homesickness. So I would REALLY love you all if you could especially send me a bit of mail during those 6 weeks.

The best way is through DearElder - its a free system that someone very clever set up. I'll walk you through it
(1) Create an account. Don't worry, they won't spam you. And its free.
(2) There's a drop down menu labeled "Select Mission." Click on the Provo MTC (not the Provo West, or whatever else they have. Just Provo MTC)
(3)It will ask you to put in some information
           Unit Number: 285; Mission Code: BRA-NAT and Estimated Departure Date: SEP10
(3a) You remember to put your return address. Because I need to be able to write you back!
(4) You write me a letter, the computer sends it to the MTC, the secretaries print out letters EVERY DAY and deliver it to my dorm room.
(5) I get a big happy smile on my face that will stick around the rest of the day. Like this :D

If you want to send me a package while I'm in the MTC, post on my fb wall. My mom will notice and send you my address in a private facebook message.


AFTER September 10th, all bets are off for getting ahold of me. DearElder will no longer be a viable option. In theory, I will be headed straight to Brazil, address to be determined. However, because of visa complications, I may be reassigned to live somewhere in the United States for a couple months. Who knows? Such is the life of a missionary :) Very exciting to not know where I'll be living a couple months from now. But I'll keep you all posted on my travel plans and contact information :D

Another way to contact me is by email: alysha.carroll@myldsmail.net
*PLEASE NOTE* I have a very limited amount of time on my email account each week. While I am in the MTC, I would like to ask you guys to NOT send emails and just send DearElders. Its basically the same thing on your end. But for me, it means that I can take what little time I have to send a long email to my family (which will in turn be placed on this blog), instead of reading and responding to emails from friends. Not that you aren't important too :)
AFTER September 10th - send all the emails you want! I'll probably still respond to you in a hand-written letter, but I appreciate all the emails you want to send!

As you can tell, this entire post has been a shameless plea for letters and emails and news from the outside world :) So please indulge me just a little bit, and WRITE!