Mission status updates?

[Rain]

Reports from 3 missionaries/companionships in India. All are locked down.  One had covid in December.  Another is currently sick.  The last says nearly everyone in their complex has covid.  

If they feel well enough they are doing lots of online work, much on facebook with many people asking about the church. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Rain

[Hamba Tuhan]

Tough times. I checked on my mate in Bangalore last week. He hadn’t been outside in days. 

I know that things are improving in some nations, but it’s important to remember that globally we’ve had more confirmed new cases of COVID in the past week than in the first five months of the pandemic, and no one believes the figures from India are even remotely accurate. 😕 

 

[Bernard Gui]

On 12/13/2020 at 8:19 AM, OGHoosier said:

My sister was called to the Netherlands but she's been reassigned to Washington for the time being. Not sure when she'll get to go. 

“I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord.......” 🙂

[Bernard Gui]

1 hour ago, Rain said:

Reports from 3 missionaries/companionships in India. All are locked down.  One had covid in December.  Another is currently sick.  The last says nearly everyone in their complex has covid.  

If they feel well enough they are doing lots of online work, much on facebook with many people asking about the church. 

I would venture to say that on any given day in my Central American Mission at least five missionaries would be down with the dreaded gambu, the bad burps, amoebas, the squirts, or fungus problems. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Bernard Gui

[Rain]

3 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

I would venture to say that on any given day in my Central American Mission at least five missionaries would be down with the dreaded gambu, the bad burps, amoebas, the squirts, or fungus problems. 

Have you heard what is going on in India?  I am not reporting that only 3 are going through this.  I am reporting about the only 3 I know about.  And it is only in response to the heart breaking things happening there now.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Rain

[Rain]

I wonder if there will be another quick missionary evacuation again.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Rain

[rongo]

1 hour ago, Rain said:

I wonder if there will be another quick missionary evacuation again.

I wonder how many non-native missionaries are currently in India? I know there historically have been some, but the only ones I personally know are Indian. We have a brother in our ward who served in the New Delhi Mission (he's a native Tamil speaker, but like most Indians, speaks many languages). 

I would guess that no new ones have been sent from other countries over the last year and a half. 

 

[Bernard Gui]

2 hours ago, Rain said:

Have you heard what is going on in India?  I am not reporting that only 3 are going through this.  I am reporting about the only 3 I know about.  And it is only in response to the heart breaking things happening there now.

My daughter Bellalindissima almost died while visiting India. (Not from COVID. She ate an unwashed apple). 

[Rain]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

I wonder how many non-native missionaries are currently in India? I know there historically have been some, but the only ones I personally know are Indian. We have a brother in our ward who served in the New Delhi Mission (he's a native Tamil speaker, but like most Indians, speaks many languages). 

I would guess that no new ones have been sent from other countries over the last year and a half. 

 

Two of the three I talked about are non native.  The third is a friend of the missionary moms so I would assume he is non native, but I don't know.

[Rain]

13 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

My daughter Bellalindissima almost died while visiting India. (Not from COVID. She ate an unwashed apple). 

I am trying to understand your meaning now.  Are you saying what is going on with covid there now is no big deal compared to normal stuff?

[Bernard Gui]

21 minutes ago, Rain said:

I am trying to understand your meaning now.  Are you saying what is going on with covid there now is no big deal compared to normal stuff?

Not at all. Just making conversation. It is a horrible tragedy. Consider that India has almost a billion and a half people. It’s going to get worse.
 

My daughter got sick on the flight home from India after eating an unwashed apple from a market. She was in intensive care in Belgium for two weeks. They are still paying off the bill. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Bernard Gui

[Rain]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

I wonder how many non-native missionaries are currently in India? I know there historically have been some, but the only ones I personally know are Indian. We have a brother in our ward who served in the New Delhi Mission (he's a native Tamil speaker, but like most Indians, speaks many languages). 

I would guess that no new ones have been sent from other countries over the last year and a half. 

 

Looks like a group of 7, a group of 6 and maybe a group of 3 at least.  It's hard to tell sometimes if they are different groups and I don't have info on if there are more than these are not.  One thing they did say is that it is only missionaries with current visas as no new ones were being given out since covid. It also seems to be only elders, but I don't have all the info so who knows.

[rongo]

A boy who used to be in my ward received his call yesterday. Ghana Accra, reporting August 26. He shattered his foot in a motorcycle accident, and is undergoing surgeries, rehab, and healing. We're really hopeful that he will be able to make it (assuming he goes to Africa on schedule). The missionary department told his parents that if he can walk five miles, he can go. That seems pretty doable, nearly four months out. They are a hardy lot!

I know nobody has insider info, but I'm interested in people's thoughts on when MTCs might finally be opened again for the MTC experience (not home MTC/Zoom). Especially with the new vaccine requirement for missions (I'm hearing anecdotally that some stateside missions are requiring them, even though the Church said if you don't get the Covid vaccine, you will be assigned stateside). 

[Rain]

15 minutes ago, rongo said:

A boy who used to be in my ward received his call yesterday. Ghana Accra, reporting August 26. He shattered his foot in a motorcycle accident, and is undergoing surgeries, rehab, and healing. We're really hopeful that he will be able to make it (assuming he goes to Africa on schedule). The missionary department told his parents that if he can walk five miles, he can go. That seems pretty doable, nearly four months out. They are a hardy lot!

I know nobody has insider info, but I'm interested in people's thoughts on when MTCs might finally be opened again for the MTC experience (not home MTC/Zoom). Especially with the new vaccine requirement for missions (I'm hearing anecdotally that some stateside missions are requiring them, even though the Church said if you don't get the Covid vaccine, you will be assigned stateside). 

One of the things I have seen over and over again on the missionary moms group are moms talking about the requirement of getting vaccinated.  Then after much discussion it comes out that it isn't a requirement for stateside.  Some of that was poor communication.  So there may be some requiring it, but I would bet that for nearly all, if not all the missions that what you are hearing is a misunderstanding possibly due to poor communication on the church's, MP and parents parts in some way.

The threads got so bad that covid vaccination  threads are no longer allowed in the group.

[Calm]

36 minutes ago, Rain said:

One of the things I have seen over and over again on the missionary moms group are moms talking about the requirement of getting vaccinated.  Then after much discussion it comes out that it isn't a requirement for stateside.  Some of that was poor communication.  So there may be some requiring it, but I would bet that for nearly all, if not all the missions that what you are hearing is a misunderstanding possibly due to poor communication on the church's, MP and parents parts in some way.

The threads got so bad that covid vaccination  threads are no longer allowed in the group.

I can see missions that have places/zones that require it easily, where medical care may be more difficult to get to than the usual. Not so much for the missionaries, but to ensure they aren’t passing it along to investigators and others who then can’t or won’t get decent health care. 

[Rain]

3 hours ago, Calm said:

I can see missions that have places/zones that require it easily, where medical care may be more difficult to get to than the usual. Not so much for the missionaries, but to ensure they aren’t passing it along to investigators and others who then can’t or won’t get decent health care. 

If they are and they are in the US they are going against what the church has stated, but it wouldn't be the first time a MP added his own rules. 

[Amulek]

1 hour ago, Rain said:

If they are and they are in the US they are going against what the church has stated, but it wouldn't be the first time a MP added his own rules. 

Is there any evidence that stateside mission presidents are requiring COVID-19 (or any other) vaccinations? I'm not sure how that would work even if there were some who wanted to.

 

[Calm]

2 hours ago, Rain said:

If they are and they are in the US they are going against what the church has stated, but it wouldn't be the first time a MP added his own rules. 

Why would requiring a vaccination to serve on a reservation (I remember reading a medical article about the difficulties Covid had caused for many on a particular reservation) or in areas where the missionaries work frequently with homeless or elderly or other vulnerable populations be a problem if there were other areas in the mission they could have the unvaccinated work in?  Is the language ‘there will be no discrimination’ or is it more ‘they won’t be stopped from serving missions in the States’?

To me it would be a callous disregard for those we are supposed to be serving to send unvaccinated among those who are vulnerable.  
 

And certain places may require it. Assisted living places may refuse unvaccinated volunteers, for example. If missionaries were assigned to help hold Sunday services or to teach investigators there, the MP would have to assign vaccinated missionaries.  

Edited May 5, 2021 by Calm

[Rain]

1 hour ago, Amulek said:

Is there any evidence that stateside mission presidents are requiring COVID-19 (or any other) vaccinations? I'm not sure how that would work even if there were some who wanted to.

 

See, that's the thing.  I personally haven't seen evidence of it.  I only know some moms would get on and say they were and then others would show that's really not the case.  Some of it come from the missionary portal showing required vax listed with covid, but if you go a little further it shows where you can opt out.  It seems like that was corrected fir better communication, but since I don't have a missionary soon to be going out I can't tell for sure.  

Other times the missionaries will call home and say that the MP said it was required, but like in my son's mission they pretty much only communicate with parents by facebook so if the MP corrects that misunderstanding in a place the parent will see the parent may never know.  And still other times I have seen where a parent will read things wrong.

That's why I don't think it is being required in nearly all, if not all, US missions, but only being misunderstood.  I just haven't personally talked to every MP to know for sure.

[Rain]

12 minutes ago, Calm said:

Why would requiring a vaccination to serve on a reservation (I remember reading a medical article about the difficulties Covid had caused for many on a particular reservation) or in areas where the missionaries work frequently with homeless or elderly or other vulnerable populations be a problem if there were other areas in the mission they could have the unvaccinated work in?  Is the language ‘there will be no discrimination’ or is it more ‘they won’t be stopped from serving missions in the States’?

To me it would be a callous disregard for those we are supposed to be serving to send unvaccinated among those who are vulnerable. 

This is what it says:

Quote

Young missionaries in the United States who will travel to a mission outside their home country on or after August 1, 2021, should be vaccinated before traveling. Senior missionaries may travel to their assigned mission, where visa and travel conditions permit, after they have been vaccinated.

Missionaries who have begun a COVID-19 vaccination series should complete it before traveling.

Missionaries who choose not to receive the required immunizations, which will now include the COVID-19 vaccination, will be assigned to a mission in their home country in accordance with long-standing existing Church policies. As the COVID-19 vaccination becomes more widely available in other countries, these missionaries will be asked to be vaccinated before leaving their home country.  

vaccine

So you are right that certain areas could possibly require it within a mission.  I think the missionary portal worded it a little different, but I don't have access to pre mission stuff right now and I honestly don't want to go search for a copy and paste of it because I don't remember it giving any contrary info to what I have given. I feel for any MP and their staff that might require it for an area though after hearing many of these moms who are strongly against it.  

Edited May 5, 2021 by Rain

[Calm]

14 minutes ago, Rain said:

So you are right that certain areas could possibly require it within a mission. 

That could be where confusion is arising in some cases.  
 

I assume the MP has access to medical records?  Immunizations would be in a missionary’s file, so an MP wouldn’t have to ask. Or are they considered confidential?

Edited May 5, 2021 by Calm

[Hamba Tuhan]

2 hours ago, Calm said:

Why would requiring a vaccination to serve on a reservation (I remember reading a medical article about the difficulties Covid had caused for many on a particular reservation) or in areas where the missionaries work frequently with homeless or elderly or other vulnerable populations be a problem if there were other areas in the mission they could have the unvaccinated work in? ...

To me it would be a callous disregard for those we are supposed to be serving to send unvaccinated among those who are vulnerable.  

A few weeks ago, I spoke online with a friend who lives on a Native American reservation. At that time, she had lost ten members of her family to COVID. If I were the mission president, I think it would be borderline criminal to send vaccine-resistant missionaries to labour in such a place.

[Hamba Tuhan]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

I assume the MP has access to medical records?  Immunizations would be in a missionary’s file, so an MP wouldn’t have to ask. Or are they considered confidential?

When I served in the mission office, the MP had access to medical records.

[Calm]

On 5/5/2021 at 6:58 PM, Hamba Tuhan said:

A few weeks ago, I spoke online with a friend who lives on a Native American reservation. At that time, she had lost ten members of her family to COVID. If I were the mission president, I think it would be borderline criminal to send vaccine-resistant missionaries to labour in such a place.

The article I read described some pretty horrendous situations.  Iirc, it was describing the Navajos Nation.

Quote

In the Navajo Nation, the second biggest tribe in North America, there are 13 grocery stores and 12 medical facilities scattered across more 27 000 square miles of land. One in three inhabitants do not have access to electricity and one in three do not have access to running water. The tribe has an unemployment rate of 40%. Internet coverage is patchy, making it tricky to obtain information on COVID-19 or to manage virtual healthcare appointments.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00083-9/fulltext

For size comparison, West Virginia is 24,230 sq miles.  Can you imagine only 12 doctor clinics in the entire state?  Or 13 grocery stores?  Of course settlement is clustered, but there are obviously many who are outside the major settlements if they don’t have running water or electricity.

I would have major doubts about an MP who didn’t take such into account for hard hit or vulnerable communities at this point.  I wonder if SL questions MPs about their views on vaccinations.  

Edited May 27, 2021 by Calm

[Hamba Tuhan]

29 minutes ago, Calm said:

The article I read described some pretty horrendous situations.  Iirc, it was describing the Navajos Nation. 

Yep, my friend is a Navajo. She said they still haven't been able to go back to church yet because things are so bad. Miraculously, her 99-year-old mother has avoided infection and is still with them.

Quote

I wonder if SL questions MPs about their views on vaccinations.

I doubt it. I've encountered a few nutty mission presidents in my time. When I was a missionary myself, our MP was actually asked to take a missionary from a Texas mission because he couldn't get along with the MP there. It turned out that my MP had gone to school with the Texas MP when they were both growing up in SLC, and my MP said, 'Anyone who can't get along with that guy will be an asset to our mission', and he was!