Joseph's brother, Ethan, opened his mission call tonight. He is assigned to the Santiago Dominican Republic Mission. We were thinking we would be telling Joseph tomorrow of Ethan's assignment, but Joseph is going to be quarantined in their apartment for two weeks and will not have internet access, so it looks like we might have to wait until April 1st. But I did write the mission office to tell them of Ethan's assignment to see if they could call Joseph to let him know. We are also hoping that maybe Joseph will decide to maybe not extend until July 15th and come home June 2nd instead, because Ethan will be entering the Mexico MTC on July 14th - they might miss each other by a day if Joseph extends. So we'll see what happens. Things are changing rapidly day by day, so who knows but we're praying that they'll be able to see each other.
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Dear families of missionaries,
How grateful we are to serve with your sons and daughters in the Lord’s cause. We love these young women and young men as our own. Please know that with the coronavirus, or COVID-19, affecting people here and around the world, our highest priority right now continues to be your missionary’s personal health and safety.
In response to the COVID-19 virus, the government of Guatemala has imposed a 15 day quarantine. This means that all of our missionaries have been asked to stay in their apartments until March 31, 2020.
We anticipated this might happen, and so, several days ago, we provided each missionary with additional money, a shopping list of food items sufficient for 15 days, and had them all purchase the food items they need to sustain them for 15 days. All missionaries currently have this food in their apartments.
Because our missionaries do not have access to the internet, or to telephones that can make international calls in their apartments, during this quarantine period the missionaries will be unable to communicate with you, in any form, including telephone calls, chats, video calls or email, until April 1, 2020.
Should any emergencies arise that require you to contact your missionary during this quarantine period, please contact our mission office at 2131757@
In the case of an emergency, we will be able to set up a three way call using office telephones, to enable you to communicate with your missionary. Additionally, we have an Antigua Mission Facebook page. You may submit any questions you may have either to the email address listed above, or to the Facebook page. The link to the Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/
To help ensure the missionaries’ continued physical and spiritual well-being, we are following the inspired and well-informed direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, our Area Presidency, and the Missionary Department. We also are instructing the missionaries in following local and national government guidelines and precautions, reminding them to:
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with household cleaning spray or wipes.
• Wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (which should always be done if their hands are visibly dirty), and, if soap and water are not readily available, to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
We are asking your missionary to contact us immediately if they feel sick so that we can involve health care professionals and our area medical advisers. If your missionary has chronic or critical health issues that we need to be aware of, we also invite you to reply to this email to make sure that we address any concerns. We understand very well that the current situation may be stressful and cause concerns for some of our missionaries and their families, but we will watch over your missionary carefully and will communicate with them often.
These are challenging times and circumstances, but to us this is also an opportunity to continue sharing the gospel. Our missionaries will continue to focus on their missionary purpose by teaching by local telephone in their apartments, studying the scriptures and Preach My Gospel, language learning, family history, and other activities as needed. This is also a significant opportunity for missionaries to work closely with local Church leaders to reach out to new and returning members, families where some individuals are not yet members, and members with special ministering needs. All of these activities will help them continue the Lord’s work, grow spiritually, and bless those in the communities they serve.
Going forward, we will continue to send updates to you as mission circumstances evolve. Please be assured that we are completely dedicated to keeping your missionary healthy and safe. And we are most grateful for our loving Heavenly Father’s supporting hand in caring for them. May He continue to abundantly bless you and your family, each and every missionary, and the people we have been called to serve.
With our greatest love and appreciation,
President and Sister Barney
Guatemala Antigua Mission
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