Release Letter

We received this email today from Joseph's mission President. Subject line was "Release Letter", so it looks like Joseph will be returning to the US in the upcoming weeks or months.
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March 22, 2020

Dear Parents and Family:

We are so grateful for your wonderful sons and daughters serving the Lord in Guatemala.  Thank you for your love and support of these amazing young men and women.

Many of you have read about a recent letter from the First Presidency which states, in part:
“In the coming weeks, based upon world conditions, substantial numbers of missionaries will likely need to be returned to their home nations to continue their service. This will be done in a systematic way based on the urgency of travel restrictions, level of COVID-19 concern, and other considerations.”

The Presidency of the Central America Area, in consultation with other General Authorities, has determined that it is advisable that all missionaries currently serving in Guatemala return to their home nations.  It is anticipated that this will take place over the next weeks or, in some cases, perhaps months.  The order of return for the missionaries will be:

1. Those who have any health condition.
2. Senior missionaries.
3. The remainder of the missionaries.

Where feasible, all three groups will return at the same time.

There are many countries which have closed their borders and will not currently allow the return of their citizens.  Others, such as Guatemala, will not allow anyone to leave the country.  It is hoped that the Guatemalan travel restriction will end on April 1, 2020.  Even if the travel restriction ends on April 1, it could take weeks or months to arrange travel for all missionaries.  In the meantime, the Area Presidency is working to arrange travel for missionaries who are not from Guatemala.  Upon their return, it is anticipated that all missionaries will be required to be quarantined for a period determined by their home nations.  After this period of quarantine, missionaries with sufficient time remaining in their period of mission service will be reassigned to serve in their home nations.  As soon as we have any additional information, we will immediately contact you.

In his General Conference address of April, 2017, Elder David A. Bednar said:
"In the culture of the Church, we often talk of being called to serve in a country such as Argentina, Poland, Korea, or the United States. But a missionary is not called to a place; rather, he or she is called to serve. As the Lord declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1829, “If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.” “Each mission call and assignment, or a later reassignment, is the result of revelation through the Lord’s servants.” Each of your sons and daughters has been called by the Lord to serve a mission.  How exciting it is that they will now be reassigned by that same revelation to serve in another area."

We love these wonderful missionaries and will miss serving with them.  We expect that after a period of quarantine, native Guatemalan missionaries who will be returning to Guatemala from other countries will be reassigned to take the place of your sons and daughters.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our missionaries, parents and families during this challenging time.  We invite each of you to join with us in fasting and praying that the borders of the nations will open and that the way will be prepared for each of our missionaries to safely return to their homes.

With love,
President and Sister Barney
Guatemala Antigua Mission