March 27, 6:00am (NZ time)

Dear Parents, Families and Friends of our Missionaries on Vanuatu,

Unless something changes, this will be our last post on the blog. The intent of the blog was to provide some quick information on what was happening on the ground in Vanuatu. Hopefully, it was helpful. As I'm sure you realize, it will take many months and years to get things back to normal in this country. A lot of progress has already been made and it has been wonderful to see the resilience of those that live there. There will also be many changes with the missionaries concerning where they are assigned and what they will be doing. The missionaries have been a shining light to the people of Vanuatu.

To get more information, we suggest you follow this link:  Pacific Area Newsroom. Here's an article about their resilience and cooperation.

Sincerely,
Pacific Area Office

Here's a news release that will go out soon.

Latter-day Saints Grateful for Church and Government Aid Following Cyclone

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gratefully acknowledged the action taken by government and Church leaders immediately after Cyclone Pam struck. The devastating effects of Cyclone Pam were felt by everyone. Lives lost, gardens ruined, homes damaged, rivers widened, bridges broken, power poles and lines wrecked, and water supply polluted.

Whilst many around the outer islands and even Port Vila are awaiting supplies, the six branches (congregations) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around Port Vila, have received enough help to support life for at least three months.

Many Latter-day Saint families are sharing a portion of their food and other supplies with neighbours and friends, whilst awaiting further assistance. The Church continues to help Latter-day Saints and others in need with supplies of food, water and clothing which have been sent to outer islands.

600 emergency food boxes were sent from New Zealand to Port Vila this week, with another 1,400 boxes on their way in the coming weeks. The 600 boxes are being sent from Port Vila to Tanna this week, along with 100 tents, water, rice and flour. The Church is also in the process of shipping 1,000 water containers with purification filters; 3,000 litres of water; and 200 cartons of milk powder to Port Vila.

Vanuatu Latter-day Saint leaders have purchased in Port Vila food, water, tents, tarpaulins, tools and building supplies – and are distributing these to Latter-day Saints and others in need who have been sheltering in Church buildings since the cyclone.