Superstorm Sandy

Hello everyone and especially the parents and loved ones of our missionaries. ALL OF OUR MISSIONARIES ARE FINE. Everyone weathered the storm well and except for a few "pads" (apartments) everyone has power (except the mission home, haha!).

The biggest problem we are facing today is the lack of gasoline for our cars. If we were dealing with lesser mortals, this would not be such a big problem but these missionaries WANT TO WORK AND AID THEIR FELLOWMEN and in many cases they are thwarted by lack of transportation. Word on the street is that most power and gas shortages will be addressed by this weekend so hopefully we will be back on track.

In many of our zones there was little or no effects from the storm other than downed trees. Two of our zones were badly, badly wounded: Zone 1 (Staten Island) and Zone 7 (Far Rockaway, Broad Channel, Freeport, Long Beach and Lynbrook). In the days and weeks and even months to come, we will be sending all of our manpower into these areas to help families remove water from their homes, repair damages and rebuild. Our work there has already started and our missionaries are wearing themselves out in service to their fellowmen and therefore to our Lord. Attached are pictures and some web links to give you an idea of how they are spending their time. They are doing much good.

 After Sandy

 After NYNYS Sisters

Many of you want to know what you can do to help. First, pray fervently for our missionaries, members, investigators and all the people of this area. Pray especially for those who lost loved ones in this storm. There are some heartbreaking losses and people need to feel the love of Heavenly Father. Pray for hearts to be softened and for people to recognize the good work our missionaries are doing and desire to know what motivates them. Right now we are hoping our actions speak louder than words but we can use everyone's faith to move our MISSIONARY efforts along. Second, it is logistically impossible for us to make sure each missionary has warm clothes for the outside work they will be doing. Please work with your missionary to make sure they have appropriate shoes, coats, hats, rain gear and layers of clothes to keep them warm and healthy. Third, Sister Shepherd in the mission office is coordinating donation efforts from parents and others who are calling to offer assistance to OUR MISSIONARIES. Donations to disaster relief can be made through your home wards under humanitarian aid.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865565759/500-LDS-missionaries-helping-neighbors-in-Sandys-wake.html

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=22782346&nid=148&title=lds-missionaries-help-clear-debris-from-sandy&s_cid=queue-12

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/hurricane-sandy-cleanup