Friday, March 11, 2011

Earthquake and Tsunami UPDATE

A few hours ago the Tohoku region of Japan was hit by a series of very large earthquakes followed by giant Tsunami waves. All missionaries in the Japan Kobe Mission are safe and accounted for. The impact of the quakes was not felt this far away, but several areas in our mission are still under Tsunami warning. Missionaries have been notified to evacuate to safe ground. The effects of the quakes (which seems to still be occurring) and tsunami's are widespread through several areas of Japan, but the Sendai Mission area seems the hardest hit. We are trying to make contact with church leaders there but communication lines are still down.
Sister McIntyre's family is from this region and we have been able to make contact via text message and have found out they are safe. We pray for all the people in that region and others affected by this disaster.

President McIntyre

22 comments:

Sara Ellis said...

Thank you so much for this update. The blog was the first place I checked when I heard the news.

Ryan said...

Thank you for the udate

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the update. Our prayers are with the missionaries and people in the region hit by this disaster.
Diane Draper

Anonymous said...

I am so grateful that everyone is safe. Thank you so much for this update...My heart, thoughts and prayers are now for the Missionary moms in the Sendai mission.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the update. I have a friend in this mission and when I found this I was so relieved. Send my love to Elder Gau.

-Jessica

Unknown said...

Thank you President so much! This will be a great service opportunity for our missionaries!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the update President! This will be a great service opportunity for us all! Our prayers and faith are with all the people of Japan,
Cindy

glumpersnort said...

Much relief. Thank you for letting us know Kobe missionaies are safe. Hearts, faith and prayers and love to those in Sendai.

Wendy said...

Thank you for the news. I have been getting lots of concerned calls from family all night and morning. I was able to refer them to your blog page.
Our prayers are with all the missionaries and people of Japan.
Sincerely,
Elder Meyer's Family
Steve and Wendy Meyer

Sariah Kolb said...

President thank you so much for the update. We are Elder Shingo Osaka's American host family. Please update on the status of his family. Tell him they are in our prayers.
Thanks again

cortnieb said...

Thank you SO very much for the update!! Our prayers are going out to you all in the Kobe mission and especially to the people in Sendai and surrounding areas affected by the earthquake and Tsunami. Seriously SO grateful for the update!!!
Cortnie Bigelow (friend of Elder Draper)

B said...

Thank you for the update. We will pray for the people of Japan and happy to hear our missionaries are safe.

Brittney (Elder Jace McLaws' sister)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the update! It's a big relief - we're so glad everyone in the Kobe mission is all right.

Dan Juchau said...

Hello. My name is Dan Juchau - I have a son, Michael D Juchau, serving the Japan Sendai Mission. He and his companion, Elder Price are in the city of Joetsu. Is there any way someone can text / contact the local Branch President, Akano Hirohito to see if there is any news on their well-being? His local number is 025-552-1141.

Thank you.

Dan and Jill Juchau

Dan Juchau said...

This is Elder Juchau's parents again - we didn't leave our email information - dcj993tt@sbcglobal.net. Sorry. And thanks for any help you can provide.

Dan and Jill Juchau

Unknown said...

I was awake watching this occur last night at about 9:45 PM PST, and didn't sleep until 3:00 am. Luckily I have Ricky to thank for putting my mind at ease. I checked his Facebook right away to see if he had heard from you. I was so happy to hear my two missionaries, and all the other missionaries in Kobe are safe and well.

I wept as I witnessed the tsunami in Miyagi and the Sendai area. I know not all missionaries in that mission have been accounted for yet, and my prayers continue to be with them and all the people of that area.

Thank you for keeping us updated!

Sister Kokenes

Elder William Sheehan said...

Thank you for the update. We are so thankful that your family and Sister McIntyre's family are safe. Our prayers and thoughts are with people of Japan and especially those in the Sendai area. We are praying for the safe accounting of the missionaries in that area and know that Heavenly Father watches over his servants.
With Love,
Greg and Charlie Sheehan,
Elder Sheehan's parents
Layton, UT

jessicahugo said...

I am so grateful that you were so on top of everything that you thought to update the mission blog; so that we don't freak out about what is going on over there. Just reading your words has really brought comfort to my family. This is the second time missionary in our family has been in an earthquake and we can't tell you how much it means to us to be able to have constant updates. It really makes a big difference. Thank you for taking care of our boys as well.
Sincerely,
Sadie Hugo

Rebeca Price said...

Thank you for the update. I am sister of Elder Mauricio and we were all concerned, but now we are glad to hear that everything is fine with the missionaries.
Rebeca Price

LeLe said...

I am passing on this update from the Sendai Mission Alum since I do not see this information here.

http://www.mission.net/japan/sendai/

http://newsroom.lds.org/article/church-statement-on-missionaries-in-japan

Besides having friends who served their missions in Japan, I have 4 future missionaries myself...my love, prayers and respect for all of you whose family, especially your sons,daughters or parents are serving in Japan.
Sister Leah Christie from Tomball Ward, Cypress Stake, Texas

LeLe said...

"Church’s Missionaries in Japan All Safe and Accounted For"
http://newsroom.lds.org/article/churchs-missionaries-in-japan-all-accounted-for-and-safe

Thank you Father in Heaven.......how can we serve?

MOM said...

I thank our Heavenly Father that all missionaries are safe and accounted for. We are all praying for the people of Japan. I know that in the coming days of cleaning up and rebuilding, these missionaries will be such a blessing to everyone.