A little update on what Conner has been up to in the past year .....
After he came home from Japan on March 26 due to COVID, he (along with all missionaries that were sent home from international assignments) was temporarily released from missionary service on April 1, 2020. He was then given two options and a deadline of April 30th to choose:
After much prayer, he chose Option B - Return to service within 12-18 months (with a new end date).
And so, he spent a year attending Brigham Young University
In January 2021 he began the process of being reinstated to missionary service.
On January 25 he received a short letter signed by President Russell M. Nelson, confirming that he has been reinstated as a full-time missionary and has been assigned to the Japan Sapporo Mission. Through our Stake President we learned that he would be part of the transfer group on June 1st.
At that point he began the application process for a new Visa to Japan. He was hopeful about his ability to return to Japan as several missionaries he has previously served with were able to return to Sapporo in December 2020. He even received communication from the mission home in March, excited about his arrival and needing to gather some information to prepare for him to come.
As May approached we still didn't know if he was actually going to Japan. We began to hear rumors that Japan wasn't letting missionaries in any longer due to a rapid and sharp increase in the number of COVID cases in the country.
On May 17th, Conner received the following communication from the Missionary Department along with travel plans
"I am writing to inform you that Japan is still closed to non-citizens at this time. Elder Brown has received a temporary assignment from the Apostles. He has been temporarily assigned to labor in the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission. His report date is June 2nd, 2021."
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple -- Announced April 2020
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