News Item: All Missionaries return to Sendai Mission
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In conjunction with a transfer that occurred on 24 May 2011: - All the remaining approximately 50 Sendai Missionaries who have been serving in the Sapporo Mission since mid-March returned to the Sendai Mission, joining the 22 Niigata and Aomori Zone missionaries who had already returned earlier in the month
- Five new missionaries arrived from the MTC, the first since the earthquake
- An all-mission conference was held in Sendai with Elder Michael T Ringwood of the First Quorum of the Seventy, who, effective 01 Aug 2011, will be the new first counselor in the Asia North Area Presidency headquartered in Tokyo
- All missionaries participated in a day of service to clean mud out of homes that have been destroyed by the tsunami. (From President Tateoka: "Many of the people’s hearts are softening as the church is providing millions of dollars of goods and thousands of volunteer service days")
- After the all-mission conference and service day, missionaries transferred to their assigned areas, doubling up in many apartments until more affected areas are considered safe. Newly reopened areas: Morioka Zone: Morioka, Akita, Kitakami; Sendai Stake: Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Furukawa, Honbu
- We understand certain mission cities such as Iwaki, Fukushima, Koriyama and Aizuwakamatsu will not yet have missionaries due to radiation concerns
- Many (former) missionary apartments now temporarily house displaced members and volunteers
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I'm sure you can join me in breathing a sigh of relief at this news, as well as smile at the thought of President Tateoka being able to have his missionaries all back "home" for the last full month of his and Sister Tateoka's three-year assignment.
On a separate note, I was able to travel to Tohoku 22 Apr-02 May. The "ganbarou" slogans are everywhere, including pasted to the side of Tohoku Shinkansen lead cars (see picture at right). All Shinkansen service was restored on 29 Apr, and except for the coastal small-town tsunami devastation areas, I was surprised how normal everything seemed.
Many other Sendai RMs have also returned to Tohoku, many assisting in disaster-struck areas. RMs who served in Iwaki may be interested in reading 1973-75 RM Rob Carlson's posting of his recent visit there, as well as his visit to a Koriyama district member conference . Iwaki is the mission city closest to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and has been somewhat isolated as a result.
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