Letter from the mission President's wife

As stated previously, my nephew, Sterling is on his mission in Concepcion. My sister Keri recieved an email from the mission president's wife. I thought it was good news as well as interesting and touching. So here it is..
Monday, March 08, 2010

Dear Families and Friends of the Missionaries of Chile Concepcion South:

We know you have all been worried perhaps beyond what you felt you could bear because of the earthquake here in Chile. Our hearts have been with you every minute. We are writing to give you more information and hopefully answer your questions so your peace will increase.

With the earthquake a week ago Concepcion and other areas in the north and coastal regions lost telephone service, electricity, running water, gas, and food in stores (from looting). The military arrived on Monday night (thank heaven), and imposed a curfew that everyone could only be out from noon until 6 pm so the looting would stop and services/clean up & repairs begin.

In the mission home we lost all of the above services for a week or more, but the mission Office sits on the one block in Concepcion that got power last Wednesday (sweet blessing that the police station is also on that block). There we could make calls and had limited internet—so we could better contact missionaries, the area presidency, local leaders, and missionaries’ families (including our own). Two Elders (Inostroza and Hong) also came with us to help make calls to families. Because of the curfew, we slept at the office two nights. We hope you were contacted during that time (Wed and Thurs evening of last week), but if not, please know we were trying. When we were out of the office, there was very limited communication—no internet, and phone service only occasionally at one spot in the city—and no calls to or from the mission home.

At the last zone conference President Swenson reviewed the emergency plan—in case of an emergency where communication was lost, each zone or zones were to go to specified chapels as quickly as possible. It worked beautifully-- everyone knew where to go and were together to support each other. The coastal towns had further to travel and the main phone antenna in the area was destroyed, so word from them was delayed -- holding up our official announcement that all missionaries were accounted for.

Once gas for the car became available, we were able to travel farther to visit missionaries and their areas and confirm that all 156 missionaries are alive and well, without a scratch. They look great. I gave each of them a huge hug and told them it was from their moms, making me cry thinking how much you want to hug them. Miraculously, their houses are all fine and despite the waters that rose up along the coast following the earthquake, no water entered their doors.

Missionaries in the north and coastal region gathered in the San Pedro chapel where dear sisters cooked for them every day. They went out for service projects but had limited time due to the curfew. We did not want them back in their homes until there was electricity, food availability without burdening the members, and safe living conditions. Now almost all services are up and running, and Sunday after church most of them returned to their areas (with cash from the ATMs that are now working), knowing they could return to the San Pedro chapel if necessary.

Areas in the center of the mission (Los Angeles, Angol, Victoria) had damage but much less and when we were in Los Angeles on Friday supermarkets and ATMs were open—a sure sign that things are getting back to normal. The services are also back in those other central areas. All of the Elders and Hermanas are now back in their own homes (sectors) doing missionary work and service projects.

Temuco and south to Loncoche all got a jolt but lost only their power—for a day. In those southern areas, missionary work goes on as usual.

Water: Normally, Chilean tap water is very safe to drink, but under the circumstances with water being cut off and possibly contaminated, we’ve told the missionaries they must either drink bottled water or boil their water until we tell them differently. Several months ago the Church started giving out water bottles with filters to a number of missions, and missionaries have been using those this week as drinking water has been distributed to the public. Now that the taps are running, we’re taking further precautions.

Food: All of the areas now have access to a grocery store, and truckloads of food have been made available from the Bishop’s Storehouse to the stakes in areas that need it. That food will continue to arrive. Wonderful sisters from the wards and branches have left their damaged homes and family concerns to cook warm meals every day for the missionaries while they have stayed in the chapels and many have cooked for the missionaries in their homes. We owe them so much.

Shelter: Almost all of the mission “dwellings” are homes, not apartments. All are saying their houses are okay. As soon as possible we’ll be making personal visits to make sure.

Aftershocks: It’s unnerving but normal, especially after a big earthquake, to have a lot of aftershocks. It’s the earth’s way of settling into its new position. They can go on for weeks or longer, but the good news is, they really seem to be slowing down--we only felt a couple of small ones today.

Missionary Work: The earthquake primarily affected only 3 of our 10 zones. In the hardest hit areas the missionaries will have lots of service opportunities, but they will still be preaching and teaching—perhaps more than ever. One Elder told me last night that he and his companion have knocked doors asking how people are doing and how can they help, and many people have burst into tears and thrown their arms around them, thanking them for coming. Hearts are soft.

We’ve asked all the missionaries to write their experience during and after the earthquake…what happened, how they felt, what protection from the Lord they received, what they learned. What they are coming to realize is that something as scary as an earthquake can actually bless their lives forever. My husband and I are convinced that after this the mission will never be the same…it’s going to be better.

We have all suffered through this, but hopefully have emerged with greater love for life and the Lord. One night I sat on my bed, the weight of the worry overwhelming me…what the families and friends must be going through...but then I remembered that all those 100s maybe 1000s of people were praying for us and these dear missionaries. We want you to know we felt those prayers every minute of this crisis. And they were answered completely. We were blessed at every turn.

A temple is coming to Concepcion. That’s not going to change. Through all of this, thinking of the temple gave us tremendous comfort. He wants His House to be on solid ground. The city will rebuild and the Lord will have a house of order. So the land will be prepared physically, and the people’s hearts spiritually. Then the temple will come.

We bear testimony that God lives, that He loves and protects us in all things. We humbly thank Him for everything.

We are so happy your sons and daughters are all safe and sound! If you have any questions or concerns, we’d love to answer them. You can contact us at this same email.

Thanks again for your prayers,

Hermana Jolene Swenson & President Joe Swenson