TYPHOON MANGKHUT

September 14, 2018 

Dear Parents and Priesthood Leaders,

As you may have seen in recent weather reports pertaining to Hong Kong and Macau, Typhoon Mangkhut is on a projected path toward our mission. Please be assured that we are taking all necessary precautions to provide for the safety and well-being of our wonderful missionaries.  We are also in close communication with the Area Presidency of the Church, Area Seventies, and local Church leaders and members to ensure that proper procedures and safeguards are in place.

 We will closely monitor these serious weather conditions and communicate with you as necessary. Brother and sisters, I have a firm and tender testimony of the Lord's awareness of and love for those who serve Him in the great missionary effort of the Church. He has heard our prayers and has answered our concerns. We are grateful for your prayers and we are grateful for the absolutely wonderful missionaries we have been blessed to associate with and work beside. We love them!  Please contact me with any concerns you may have regarding this or other matters pertaining to the mission. Thank you for your support. Sincerely,

President and Sister Phillips

September 15, 2018

Dear Parents and Priesthood Leaders,

We wanted to update you on our situation. The storm level has now been raised to 8 and is forecast to continue for several hours. We have been in contact with all missionaries late on Saturday evening. They are all safely home and prepared for the storm. They will be staying in all day as church services in the mission have been cancelled.

We appreciate your prayers on behalf of the members and missionaries and join you in that effort. We will update you as the situation changes.

Sincerely,

President and Sister Phillips

September 15, 2018 

Dear Parents and Priesthood Leaders,

It is now 9PM Sunday evening.  The storm has passed and the level was lowered from 10 to 8 one and a half hours ago. While there was significant damage in Hong Kong and Macau, all missionaries are accounted for and fine. We have asked all missionaries to remain at home on Monday, their preparation day, as schools and many businesses will be closed. We will give the local leaders a chance to determine what we can do to help in the clean-up but want the missionaries to remain safely in apartments at least for tomorrow. I have asked them to contact you with a short email message. They will have a chance later in the week to write a more substantial communication.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts on our behalf.

President and Sister Phillips

From CNN:

 As Mangkhut marched toward the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong was also buffeted by fierce winds that tore off roofs, downed trees and caused cranes perched atop half-built skyscrapers to swing ominously.  Hong Kong's weather observatory issued its highest storm warning alert -- a signal T10 -- and the normally bustling city was all but shut down as transport was suspended and torrential rain flooded roads and buildings.Winds of 173 kilometers per hour (107 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 223 kph (138 mph) were reported, stronger than Hurricane Florence that hit North Carolina over the weekend. There were no reported deaths in Hong Kong, a city well prepared for tropical cyclones.

Airports in Shenzhen, a technology hub across the border from Hong Kong, and on the resort island of Hainan also canceled all flights, according to Chinese state media.  Mangkhut is now expected to move inland of western Guangdong. While the storm has weakened, a T8 warning was still in place into Sunday evening -- meaning that winds with speeds of about 63 kph were expected.