All foreign missionaries coming home?


mikbone
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49 minutes ago, mikbone said:

There was an update yesterday(?) that essentially if you're new and assigned to a place where travel is not currently available, you'll be temporarily re-assigned to a place that is available.  

Also that some abroad and nearly done missionaries could be coming home a few months early.

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On 3/21/2020 at 10:58 PM, askandanswer said:

My wife saw something on facebook this morning about the church chartering planes in parts of the Philippines to pick up foreign missionaries and bring them to Manila prior to returning home. 

All foreign missionaries in the Philippines are sent home.  Some places in South America are sent home, some are not.  Some places in Africa are sent home.  Some missions in Asia are sent home, some are not.  All foreign missionaries in the EU are sent home.  Different plans in different places.

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My son should arrive home tonight.  His release date is October 2020.  All missionaries with release dates before October are to be formally released.   Our stake president is recommending wait and see at this point.   

From what I gather all USA missionaries in Cambodia will be transferring home within the week.  The mission president’s wife has already gone back to the states but the Mission President is planning to stay for the duration.

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24 minutes ago, mikbone said:

 The mission president’s wife has already gone back to the states but the Mission President is planning to stay for the duration.

Oh,  :( that sounds awful.  I feel dor them. Glad your son is coming home safely.

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It's amazing how fast the Church can move...

March 16:  President Duterte declares the Philippines in quarantine (ports closed to incoming traffic except for supply chain and medical).  Duterte issues advisory for all foreigners to exit the country to reduce impact on healthcare burden.

March 17:  Tacloban mission got the order to move all foreign missionaries home.

March 18:  All foreign missionaries in the Tacloban mission got housed in a Pension House ready to leave at a moment's notice.  Travel restrictions dropped over all the Philippine provinces as each governor put their provinces on quarantine preventing missionaries from leaving.

March 19 late night (daytime in the USA):  Senator Sinema of Arizona calls Philippine officials causing all travel bans against charter planes carrying LDS missionaries in the Philippines be lifted and allowed to land in Manila.

March 20:  Tacloban Missionaries held a prayer meeting at the chapel and went straight to the airport bound for Manila.

March 21:  Jumbo jets that were planned to go through Hawaii then to SLC were waiting at Manila airport but information came out of Hawaii making the lay-over risky, plan changed to go through Tokyo instead.

March 22:  Tacloban Missionaries arrive in SLC, connecting flights were arranged for those not exiting SLC.  My Stake President received information about what would have been my son's connecting flight info, ETA in Florida, and mission reassignment... except my son did not go on the jumbo jets because of last minute change in Manila.

All this happened for over 1600 missionaries from the Philippines.  3 missionaries from the Tacloban Mission were reassigned to my home mission area.  The pattern seems to be that if you're from a Philippine Mission you're getting reassigned in the southern regions of the USA.  Meanwhile, a ward member family who is traveling as tourists in the Philippines are still stuck in the Philippines today trying to maneuver their way out of quarantines.  This is a pretty major organization challenge and it is crrrraaazzyy how an organization as large as the Church can accomplish this task worldwide.

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4 hours ago, anatess2 said:

It's amazing how fast the Church can move...

March 16:  President Duterte declares the Philippines in quarantine (ports closed to incoming traffic except for supply chain and medical).  Duterte issues advisory for all foreigners to exit the country to reduce impact on healthcare burden.

March 17:  Tacloban mission got the order to move all foreign missionaries home.

March 18:  All foreign missionaries in the Tacloban mission got housed in a Pension House ready to leave at a moment's notice.  Travel restrictions dropped over all the Philippine provinces as each governor put their provinces on quarantine preventing missionaries from leaving.

March 19 late night (daytime in the USA):  Senator Sinema of Arizona calls Philippine officials causing all travel bans against charter planes carrying LDS missionaries in the Philippines be lifted and allowed to land in Manila.

March 20:  Tacloban Missionaries held a prayer meeting at the chapel and went straight to the airport bound for Manila.

March 21:  Jumbo jets that were planned to go through Hawaii then to SLC were waiting at Manila airport but information came out of Hawaii making the lay-over risky, plan changed to go through Tokyo instead.

March 22:  Tacloban Missionaries arrive in SLC, connecting flights were arranged for those not exiting SLC.  My Stake President received information about what would have been my son's connecting flight info, ETA in Florida, and mission reassignment... except my son did not go on the jumbo jets because of last minute change in Manila.

All this happened for over 1600 missionaries from the Philippines.  3 missionaries from the Tacloban Mission were reassigned to my home mission area.  The pattern seems to be that if you're from a Philippine Mission you're getting reassigned in the southern regions of the USA.  Meanwhile, a ward member family who is traveling as tourists in the Philippines are still stuck in the Philippines today trying to maneuver their way out of quarantines.  This is a pretty major organization challenge and it is crrrraaazzyy how an organization as large as the Church can accomplish this task worldwide.

Thanks for sharing. It puts a unique perspective on "when there is a will there is a way" and the Lord will provide.

Edited by NeedleinA
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15 minutes ago, mrmarket said:

And for those of you picking up your missionary who is inbound early don’t be like these folks. Too bad we get persecuted enough and now we hand them ammo to do it with

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2020/3/23/21191288/missionaries-airport-mormon-lds-latter-day-saint-leaders-coronavirus-covid19

You know nothing Jon Snow.  

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22 minutes ago, mrmarket said:

What?

I quote from a TV show I'm sure you haven't seen - Game of Thrones.

It means - things are not what you perceive it as.  Or in other words, Church Leadership response is a measured balancing of Church activities with Politik Posturing.  I posted about it in another thread, can't remember which one now... I'll tag on it.

Edit:  Here ya go - 

 

Edited by anatess2
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47 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

I quote from a TV show I'm sure you haven't seen - Game of Thrones.

It means - things are not what you perceive it as.  Or in other words, Church Leadership response is a measured balancing of Church activities with Politik Posturing.  I posted about it in another thread, can't remember which one now... I'll tag on it.

Edit:  Here ya go - 

 

Yea I don’t watch that show- from what I heard it pretty much is soft porn.

 

as for the rest of it sounds like the church didn’t keep folks in the loop in a timely manner? Am I reading that right?

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44 minutes ago, mrmarket said:

as for the rest of it sounds like the church didn’t keep folks in the loop in a timely manner? Am I reading that right?

No.  They did - with the logistical nightmare.  We're talking 1600+ missionaries arriving at the same time in the same place with less than 24-hour notice on their itinerary having to reach parents who have spent the past week going through the wringer, receiving conflicting information from their mission presidents, stake presidents, social media, and others (information was changing every second and it's not that easy to get information from the mission field in a 3rd World country especially with a pandemic), trying to make sense of everything.  The Church put out the directive before the plane landed.  Not all 1600+ parents checked on all their communication routes to receive the directive.  It is what it is.  I received an itinerary for my son.  So I thought he's on the plane.  He wasn't.  I didn't found out about the change until my son himself called me Sunday morning.  My friend in Washington got her missionary's itinerary from her Stake Pres stating she's gonna be there at 9AM Monday.  She went to the airport to pick her up, she wasn't on the plane.  Another communication was sent to the Stake Pres changing the itinerary to the afternoon, the Stake Pres did not check his communications that morning.  Imagine the nightmare of expecting your missionary to have made it home only to wait and wait not knowing what's happening!  Communication is VERY DIFFICULT with all these things we've been through.

You don't need anti-Mormons criticizing missionary families and the Church... you have plenty of LDS members, Romney included, doing it for them.

Edited by anatess2
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51 minutes ago, mrmarket said:

as for the rest of it sounds like the church didn’t keep folks in the loop in a timely manner? Am I reading that right?

With things changing super fast all over the world, communication is constantly messed up lately. 

Such is the upside down pandemic world.  

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15 minutes ago, mrmarket said:

Agreed. Probably completely impossible to control this

I very rarely say this about anyone.  But I have said it today and I have not regretted it yet.  I hate Mitt Romney.  He did not even do ANYTHING to help us.

Krysten Sinema - who I believed was a poor choice against McSally - was the Senator that helped us.  Imagine that.  An Arizona Senator, uninvolved in the process was the one that lifted her finger to help us.  Mitt Romney who is the Senator of UTAH - the State where the planes from the Philippines are headed - did NOTHING.  And then he dared criticize missionary parents after all the things they've been through.  If you vote that dimwit into office again, I will take it personally (ok, ok, like that makes a difference, but still...)

Edited by anatess2
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9 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

I very rarely say this about anyone.  But I have said it today and I have not regretted it yet.  I hate Mitt Romney.  He did not even do ANYTHING to help us.

Krysten Sinema - who I believed was a poor choice against McSally - was the Senator that helped us.  Imagine that.  An Arizona Senator, uninvolved in the process was the one that lifted her finger to help us.  Mitt Romney who is the Senator of UTAH - the State where the planes from the Philippines are headed - did NOTHING.  And then he dared criticize missionary parents after all the things they've been through.  If you vote that dimwit into office again, I will take it personally (ok, ok, like that makes a difference, but still...)

You make it sound like Arizona has nothing to do with the Church.  I was born and raised there and the Area that Krysten Sinema represents has a large number of Church Members (We call it little Utah).  While she might not consider herself a member anymore, she clearly understands us.  And her actions are going to play very well for her.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

I very rarely say this about anyone.  But I have said it today and I have not regretted it yet.  I hate Mitt Romney.  He did not even do ANYTHING to help us.

Krysten Sinema - who I believed was a poor choice against McSally - was the Senator that helped us.  Imagine that.  An Arizona Senator, uninvolved in the process was the one that lifted her finger to help us.  Mitt Romney who is the Senator of UTAH - the State where the planes from the Philippines are headed - did NOTHING.  And then he dared criticize missionary parents after all the things they've been through.  If you vote that dimwit into office again, I will take it personally (ok, ok, like that makes a difference, but still...)

So Sinema isn’t such a terrible person even if she is an open bisexual exmormon I guess

as for voting for Romney???? I didn’t vote for him why did you fling that comment at me?

 In defense of Romney though, what was he supposed to do? You know if he tried to help or influence the church at all he would be accused of politicking for Mormons or interfering with the churches operations. I’m most sure either case would have happened.

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