Mail, Finally!

Elder Daynes finally got mail. What could possibly go wrong now? 

(Check back next Monday to find out.)

Fulfilling Prophesy

That's probably not what Amos was talking about.

At War with the Mailman

For the sake of the sanity of the missionaries in your life: write them a letter once in a while.

Fishing for Mail

To be clear, this never happened.

Job Had It Easy

You'd probably be surprised the number of times I've wished that the Old Testament character of Job had a different name. The problem lies when I want to shorthand reference him, but because his name is spelled the same way as a job (noun, 1. a piece of work done as part of one's occupation or for a price), that sometimes gets tricky. And by the time I explain which job I mean in the gag ("You know Job like the guy in the Old Testament not the kind of thing you do for work"), the joke is often ruined. 

Fortunately, his name didn't seriously impact today's strip.

Spying on the Mailman

(I continue to record thoughts on the ancient tradition of missionary mail like this is a chapter out of Saints: Volume Four. Most of This Happened in Your Lifetime.) 

I never had any interactions with the mail carrier while I was a missionary. (Although I never hit a prolonged dry spell either.)

I could count on three of four letters a week from various family members and friends. It was fun to hear from fellow missionaries throughout the world. Occasionally, I'd get a newspaper of magazine clipping (usually about the Utah Jazz). Everything from home, though, was at least two weeks old. Which meant any article I might read was long out of date. In today's world of instant news that would drive me crazy. Back then, I loved it.

Mailbox

I've written here before how much I loved the mailbox as a missionary. There was nothing quite like the thrill of opening it up after a hard day of tracting. The moment before opening the box was the thrill of the unknown. Would there be letters, care packages, dear johns? The possibilities were endless. It was like a few seconds of Christmas morning every day. I can't believe that missionaries checking their emails weekly today experience the same rush.

Waiting for the Mailman

Checking the mail was a highlight of my day as a missionary. Missionary work has improved in so many ways over the 20 plus years since I came home. But in this one thing, I doubt it will ever get better.

Thanks to everyone who has sent in suggestions to the rebranding of this website. You've given me a lot to think about. There are enough good ideas for a half dozen websites (if only I could supply the content to justify them).

Mail Call

I've commented on all this before on this website, but I can't imagine that pulling  up your email once a week compares to the thrill of checking the mailbox every day. It was such a rush finding a letter waiting for you after a long day of missionary work that you never expected. I recognize the value in receiving instant communication that comes with email, but I can't imagine it is quite as fun as mail was back in the day.

The Start of the Curse

Early on in the creation of Elder Van Dyke and his mission I decided that he would be a mission curse in that every one of his mission companions would get "dear Johned" while serving with him. At first this seemed like a good idea. I just never anticipated how challenging it would be to come up with a dozen different ways for a missionary to get dumped.

Mail Miracle

Looks like the mail drought has finally come to an end (as well as this storyline).

Fulfilling Prophecy

At least Elder Van Dyke's companion has been able to focus on his scripture studies during his mail drought.

More Mail Drought Hijinks

Looks like it's more of the same for Elder Van Dyke and his companion.

Fishing for Mail

Today's strip is a bit more slapstick than usual. In fact, about the only other strips I can think of that were quite as absurd are the once I did while Elder Van Dyke was waiting for his mission call. (Find them here, here, here, here, and here.)

Clearly there is something about mail and missionaries that brings out the ridiculous in them.

Patience of Job

Remaining patient during a mail dry spell requires super-human strength.

And now, I ask your patience as you wait for the conference recap packet--which should be available sometime later this afternoon. In the meantime, you can review with Kevin Beckstrom's always entertaining conference notes.

Mail Woes Continued

As I mentioned in the comments' section last week, given the choice I think I'd rather send my mail via email and receive it in the mailbox. The very fact that there was a possibility of a letter waiting for me at the end of every day made checking the mailbox something to look forward to every day. Whereas missionaries today only get to check their emails once a week.

Mail Woes

Today I'm beginning a series of missionary strips dealing with an issue that missionaries by and large don't have to worry about anymore: mail dry spells. Missionaries these days with their email accounts have it so easy.

Mail Call

Yeah, mail is kind of important to missionaries.