consider the tremendous public relations gaffe of missionaries using homeless facilities with the rest of the evacuated population or depriving people in their homeland of food so they can eat.
consider the tremendous public relations gaffe of programmed- preprogrammed verbally limited kids who only know how to start conversations and run discussion/'lessons' where they tell local people how wrong they & their heritage are- were they wandering tracting and proselying around the tsunami zone or through evacuations centers. These kids have the wrong training to be of assistance even if they wanted to. nuclear engineers with a sense of service & heroic self sacrifice who would give their life like Christ- now. not talking lesson givers.
its not just the garment thing its that they are not talented in ways that serve the community during the disaster. food relief, shelter, transportation cooperation- and getting nonessential personnel out of the way so they do not become part of the problem, another homeless person to serve when inadvertantly they came offering to serve. depending on where they were serving, their wards or branches are missing & it is very very traumatic.
the great people of the country do not need to be burdened by annoying young people telling them not to drink tea or insulting their heritage. but that is what those poor young missionaries were told to do- its probably the only Japanese anyone taught them besides words about food.
its obvious the kids have got to go they are simply the wrong volunteers however good hearted.
I'm thankful the lds. did send the boys/girls home. From what i see, which i do not know everything about mormonism, is they are not stupid. (the organization,religion itself) There probably is compassion going on, but, in the same token, what sense would it be to have them over there?