Dear Parents and Priesthood leaders,
All the Missionaries continue to do well. They are moving around to be in position to return home, or to continue the work if they are South African. We have so far received into the Mission two of the South Africans who will be joining us after leaving their original mission assignments. More will be coming soon.
In preparation for making return plane tickets we were asked today by Church Travel to compile the list of preferred airport for each missionary. We did a quick SMS and asked the Elders, but we thought we should also ask the parents and Priesthood leaders, too.
Attached to this email is the list of all the Missionaries and their home airport. Please find your Elder and let us know as soon as possible if there needs to be a correction.
This is the first step in getting tickets for everyone, so of course we do not know anyone's arrival time at home yet. Stake Presidents are most likely to get that information before everyone else and they can share it with families.
Thank you for your continued support and patience as we work through this difficult time. We know the Lord is protecting His missionaries everywhere.
Best wishes,
President Tim R. Lines
March 21, 2020
Mission Communication #5
Dear Parents, Priesthood Leaders and Missionaries,
First, we want you to know all the missionaries in the Durban Mission are safe and well. Those who were serving in Lesotho are out of that country and on their way to safer locations.
Second, we are being very cautious and asking missionaries not to email home on this Monday. Most go to internet cafes, and sharing keyboards with other unknown people is not a good idea. There are many transfers happening this week, and as things settle down we will identify safe places for missionaries to communicate with their families, such as chapels, etc. In the meantime there will be frequent communication to all families from the Mission.
Under its 20 March letter, the First Presidency announced that “substantial numbers of missionaries will likely need to be returned to their home nations to continue their service.” In the South Africa Durban Mission, we have been directed to quickly return home those missionaries who are from countries other than South Africa. Through today, acting under prior directions, we have 10 missionaries with health conditions either home or enroute home to Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Spain, Scotland, USA and Zambia.
On Tuesday, 24 March, the 52 young Elders, 9 Senior missionaries and 10 Temple missionaries who are from North America will fly from Durban to Johannesburg. There they will join with missionaries from other African missions and fly on a flight from Johannesburg to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, arriving late on Wednesday. At that point those missionaries will clear customs and then be routed on flights home, as needed. Details of arrival times and connecting flights will be sent out in the next couple of days.
The Church Travel system sends automatic itinerary emails to Stake Presidents, but not to families. Please keep good communication open between the Stake President and the family as you watch for information about Missionary travel plans.
Missionaries serving in the South Africa Durban Mission from the 11 nations other than South Africa and North America will be routed home as soon as tickets can be purchased – within the next week or two. The destinations of these 31 missionaries are: Australia (5), Austria (1), Brazil (13), Fiji (1), Jamaica (1), Kenya (1), Republic of the Congo (2), Uganda (1), United Kingdom (3), Zambia (2), Zimbabwe (1).
That will leave the Mission with 13 South African Elders, and at least 10 more who will be arriving from other missions as all missionaries are returned to their home countries. The work will go forward in the Lord’s own time.
We have felt the Lord’s sustaining influence in this process. Deep appreciation is also felt for the Church’s leaders, Missionary Department and Africa Southeast Area travel teams, our Mission office team and many others providing support in this historic time. We invite a continued interest in your prayers. We will provide additional information concerning transport of your loved ones as we come to know the details.
With gratitude,
Tim R. Lines, President
Lori Lines, Companion
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