First assignment...Framingham, MA !!!!

Dear Family,

How are you all? Its my first Pday in Boston. Funny thing is that I'm neither in Brockton or Cambridge! Turns out there's like 5 or 6 Portuguese areas. I'm in Framingham. Our area is more Hispanic/Brasileiro but it's remnants of a former Portuguese Branch that no longer exists. If I remember there's Marlborough, Framingham, Cambridge/Boston, Brockton and Bedford that are Portuguese and definitely more but idr.    Anyways, my companion is Elder Ponce. He's really cool, he goes home in April/May. He was born in Brazil but left when he was 9 and has lived in Houston Texas for 12 years.

His Last Email from the Missionary Training Center

Dear family, how are you? I’m well. I received your letters and that Christmas card, I really loved that card it was so cute lol. So I sent that one package early last week and then about Friday or Saturday I sent a letter with some pictures, I’ll send some more soon after I get to Boston with my memory card and my new address of my first area.

Grr… I just dripped my chocolate milk on my white turtle neck, which I can’t very well wash because I leave at 6 o’clock Wednesday morning and today is the only day to wash clothes grr

Anyway, so I got a letter from Aunt Donna this week thru “dear elder”, that was cool, it was nice to know she was thinking of me.

Last night was really kool, instead of a normal SED they set up more chairs and in an unusual way, that had everyone facing a corner with some temporary risers, no pulpit at all. For our devotional we had the BYU men's choir perform for us, it was crazy, apparently they are the world's largest men's collegiate choir with, if I remember right, 200 people. But they were very good, and they performed a special song that every year they only sing to the mtc at Christmas time.

So, I’m really super excited, this week we had in-field orientation all day on Friday, which got me really excited for the field. It was funny because at the end of the day the instructors split us into groups to performed a sort of play. It was all about the first few days of being in the field about meeting your ward mission leader and the bishop and going to Ward council and PEC and some of the basic things we'll be doing. Well in the play, the ward mission leader (phones) the bishop and calls the two missionaries studs, because they’re doing really well.... well, in the row behind myself and Elder Stradley was that sister from Scotland. It was so funny because she didn’t totally understand American slang, so I could hear her in her Scottish accent talking to her companion trying to understand what he meant because she thought he was calling them Hot, like how a girl would refer to a guy, rotfl. Seriously, the funniest thing this week.

Also on Saturday was really kool, when we had class with bro. Paulich he had us do a certain activity where one person would sit in the middle of the room, then we all went around taking turns telling that person what we liked best or learned most from them. Then that person would say what they got out of their experience at the mtc or with our district... we all had a turn in the middle doing that including bro Paulich. Then that night we had sister Ririe sit and we did the same to her. And we plan to do it to sis chamberlain as well today.

Anyhow, I really loved my experience here. By far one of the best I’ve ever had. I would say the best, but I know the best is yet to come lol.

So I’ve done something to my shoulder and I have no clue what. I haven’t fallen down stairs, got in a fight, or anything, but early last week I started having pains in my right shoulder right by the blade. I don’t think it’s something to worry. If dad can get better so can I lol.

So I’m excited to hear from you all soon! A few more days and i'll be in the field wherever, doing whatever it is I need to do... turns out part of the new system of things is that all new missionaries are trained for 12 weeks not 6 anymore. I already knew about the extra hour of study though. So with any luck I’ll have one trainer and just skyrocket with my effectiveness to the follow the spirit. With any luck, I’ll never be a missionary who starts relying more on technique than the spirit.

Anyways I love you all I want a family Christmas photo so make sure to send one! I’ll send a Christmas one when I get in the field. I love you all and I'll be calling at the airport on Wednesday.

Love Aric

Going to the Mission Field - Departing 12-14-11

Just as a reminder, Aric asks that you start mailing letters to the Massachusetts Boston Mission office until he get his first area assignment. He leaves the MTC the morning of 12-14-11. If letters are received at the MTC after that date, it will take weeks to get to Aric. The new address is :
Elder Aric Alexander Mullins
Massachusetts Boston Mission
182 W. Central St
Ste 203
Natick, MA 01760

Send him some love!

One last week at the MTC - Email from Aric 12/05/11

Ola,

How are you all?  I'm great! This past week I got my travel plans for the 14th. My plane leaves at like 7 or 8   idr lol but it’s a one way flight to Boston I’ll get there about 5 in the afternoon. There’s going to be like 15 people in my travel group.  Anyways today I’m going to send a package with books and things I don’t need as well as the letters I wrote this past week. 

So I did get to see the Christmas devotional. We watched it the hour after it showed bc 7 o clock is when we have our SED's but it aired live at 6.  Anyways afterwards I and most of our district went to see for the movie night part, a talk Elder Bednar gave about following the spirit which was really super awesome. Seriously, I know there are really awesome apostles, each has their own focus and ways of teaching or whatever, but Elder Bednar is my favorite, IDK why but there's something special about him.