Yolanda's punch much more devastating than first thought

This morning President Schmutz called us together in the office, including the assistants, and talked to us about the typhoon, Yolanda.

He spoke of total devastation in Tacloban City on the island of Leyte. Here are some of the things he shared with us:
     There are more than 200 missionaries serving in the Tacloban Mission.
     Approximately 65 missionaries are still unaccounted for in that mission. That does not necessarily mean they are dead or injured, it just means that communications are nonexistent in many areas, and they have not been heard from yet.
     One huge miracle and tender mercy - a 29 year-old Bishop there asked the members of the stake to go to the LDS chapel during the typhoon. He organized the building into sleeping area, dressing area, and food preparation, and gave out assignments to all the leaders, to assure for proper accounting of the members following the storm. That church was one of the very few buildings left standing, with virtually no damage other than on some aluminum fascia.
     We will likely have 20-50 missionaries from the Tacloban Mission transferred to our mission for their own safety. We have been asked to survey our mission apartments and estimate how many missionaries we can absorb comfortably, and then in an emergency setting. They will return to their own mission when they can to help there.
     The Tacloban Mission home is under 10 feet of water.
     Some Tacloban missionaries will come to us, and some to Manilla. Most of these missionaries speak Cebuano, so it is a natural fit for them to come here.
     The members of the area presidency flew to Cebu this morning, and arranged for a helicopter to take them to Leyte to arrange for support, and determine the needs.

 

Tonight we helped put together food bags to be taken to Tacloban. 3000 humanitarian food kits will be finished tonight for delivery. Rice, sugar, canned milk, sardines, chocolate milk packets, cans of corn, cans of meat are some of the items that we saw. Hygiene kits have already been sent. 

On Sunday we had been invited to a FHE with the temple missionaries to say goodbye to the directors of the temple patron housing. We had responded that we would love to join them for that get-together. The Elder and Sister going home are Filipino, and they brought a roast pig for the meal. 

The little woven packages hold onion rice.

This is the Elder going home. He is cutting up the pig. They love to eat the crispy skin too.

We almost felt guilty going to the dinner, knowing that so many are in such distress. Elder Sommerfeldt actually stood up and passed on what our president had shared with us. They invited us to help with the putting together of the Humanitarian packages - which of course we did after the dinner.