Holler! Elder Eckel has landed!

Hello everyone,

Elder Eckel has arrived!! We did not get to talk to him like we thought on his layover in New York City – but he did call at 2:00 a.m. this morning from Vienna, Austria. He sounded great and his flight to Albania was only going to be another hour. He has already done street contacting and seemed to have some success. Enjoy the picture and the letter from his Mission President!



Dear Brother and Sister Eckel,

As you can see from the attached photograph, Elder Eckel arrived safely here in Tirana. In this photo, he’s with Sister Neil and me in front of our bookcase in the mission home. He is a bit tired, wrinkled and overwhelmed by the cultural shock of landing here. But other than that he is excited to get to work and to be assigned to his new companion. He has already been out meeting and contacting people (with great success!). We will assign him tomorrow afternoon to his trainer, a special dedicated missionary called to that important position. But rather than wait until then to let you know he arrived safely, we thought you might be anxious to know that he didn’t get lost in transit and that he did arrive and that all is well. Earlier today, I had a wonderful interview with him and we got him registered with the American Embassy. We just had dinner, and he and his companions are off to get some rest. We will send you another short note tomorrow with contact information, the name of his companion and his first assignment, and any other information that will hopefully make you comfortable about his status.

Please also know that we already love your son and are concerned for his well being. We will do all in our power to make sure that he is safe and that he has a wonderful experience serving as a missionary. We can say without question that he has come to one of the finest missions in the world. The people are kind, the members are so loving of the missionaries, and the other missionaries are the finest young men and women in the church.

Thank you for sharing your son with the people of this country. We know that your family will be blessed as you share in his experiences.

Warmest Regards,


President & Sister Neil
Albania Tirana Mission