Interview Month

Interview month is always a demanding, but at the same time, a joyful experience to get out and communicate one on one with our missionaries.  Sometimes we feel distanced from them, I guess I do more than Dad, because of the way the rotation is stretched out over three months.  With 10 zones it takes about 3 weeks, usually Tues., Wed, and Thurs, of each week, to get about 20 interviews a day done. As soon as all of the interviews are done Dad gets started on the transfers which will happen next Tuesday.

This month we have been able to pretty much attend the regular Sunday Meetings, although in a different ward each week depending on where we are needed, generally to put out fires or help missionaries.  Last week we were invited by one of our Belem Sister missionaries to attend the meetings in the morning in her ward and then have lunch with their extended family, of which another one of our missionaries is a part.  Our Sister, in the pink on the left, served at the same time as the one on the right, our Elder Itoi. They returned home about the same time and she ended up meeting and marrying his brother.  So one big happy family as you can see!

 We spent a wonderful day  reminiscing about the Belem mission etc. We topped the day off giving a fireside in one of the adjoining wards where our Elder Itoi is the counselor in the Bishopric. It was really such a special day!

The last two Sunday evenings we have given firesides focused on uniting the missionaries and members in the work of Salvation.  The Stakes and Wards  are beginning to put together their mission plans and Dad has been working closely with the Stake Presidencies in this regard.  We probably won`t be here long enough to see the results of this emphasis, but it is a great privilege to be a apart of "Hastening the Work".

Our weather has been crazy the last couple of weeks: torrential rains, hail, thunder and lightening storms, the hottest day on record in the past year in Sao Paulo, and power outages.   In spite of all that, Dad did manage to get a few minutes in the pool on his P-day.

That pretty much covers our adventures for the past 2 weeks.  Pretty hard to describe our experience today trying to find a chapel on a road that doesn`t exist in the GPS.  Such is life in Brazil.

2015

We finished the year, 2014, with two outstanding zone conferences with our missionaries, followed by time with the family via SKYPE on Christmas day, and then with our extended family in the "Christmas Miracle" activity on December 31 also via SKYPE.  It was so great to see everyone up close and personal and hear about each family.

 Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this happen.  We also had visits during the holidays from two of our former Belem missionaries (both of whom are busy Stake Presidents now) and their families.
What could be better than spending time with our loved ones, albeit via the marvels of technology in most cases.  The best part of all for us was the news that Bryce would be returning to the mission field  and  that Annie and Adit (we love him already) would  be getting married in July.  It will be close, in that we leave Brazil on the 1st, but we are planning to be at the Newport Beach temple with all who can make it July 3rd.

The New Year brought a touch of the flu which has been going through the mission and which I am just now getting out of my system  At least Dad has been preserved and is now in the midst of the round of interviews with the missionaries.  Since our last transfer we are down to 199 missionaries.

Of course, we took the time out to watch the New Years parade and the Rose Bowl, and on Saturday we were able to go to the Sao Paulo temple for a session.  The peace and quiet is always so refreshing and allows for the reception of inspiration and revelation which  we are so dependent upon. We will forever be grateful for the preparatory eleven months we had in the Recife Temple prior to this calling.

We look forward to the coming months and the special opportunities to encourage, teach and guide these special emissaries of our Lord at this very exciting time in the history of the world.  In spite of all that is wrong in the world, the Gospel shines bright as a beacon to guide us onward and upward. We are not going to "Sleep through the Restoration" (Pres. Uchtdorf) and are so happy to be a vibrant part of it all.

Our Love and wishes for a   HAPPY 2015!!! to all.

Christmas 2014

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First Zone Conferences

Here we are in the last month of the year already. After our transfers we had a few days of normalcy in the city during which I was able to get a few decorations up knowing that the rest of the month we would be traveling  again. So the house is festive and we have been out doing our first round of Zone Conferences.

We have ten zones which correspond to the ten stakes in our mission.  Previously they had divided the conferences in half, there being a little more than 100 missionaries in each conference. Since we wanted a little more intimate setting where we could be up close and more personal with the missionaries it was decided to have 5 sessions with 2 zones, about 40 missionaries in each session.  The conferences are from 9 to 3 with lunch served in the middle. We have a wonderful couple who do all the meals for us, including set up and clean-up whenever we need it.  The food is always really good and they always make literally tons of it. All of which is usually consumed.  My talk this time was on Exact Obedience as demonstrated by the 2000 stripling warriors in the book of Alma.  Dad spoke on the acceleration of the work of the Lord and acceptance of changes and other themes as prompted by the Spirit. It is such an amazing experience to prepare and then have the Spirit direct just what is needed for each group. We never gave the exact same remarks at each conference. 

The weekends were spent in Stake Conferences and giving firesides. I think we have 1 more Stake Conference before the end of the year. It is such a joy at each Stake Conference to run into our missionaries from Belem and their sweet families.

We hope that you are all taking advantage of the “He Is The Present” initiative and inviting your family, friends and neighbors to become closer to the Savior especially during this holiday season. We will be training our Zone Leaders tomorrow on how to direct this work in the field. We are surely hoping, as well as we are sure our family missionaries are hoping, that this will result in many more contacts, teaching, and in the end bringing many more to souls to a knowledge of the Savior.

A belated happy birthday to Jean, Ryan, and Tim and Happy Thanksgiving to all. We really do love you all and think of you daily as we kneel in prayer. 

Transfer Week and Leadership Counsel

My how time flies.  Didn't I just post a blog yesterday?  It seems like it anyway.  Life in the mission is a continuous fast track adventure, but wonderful.  The other day after making final preparations for the day of transfers this week, including making 4 dozen muffins for a snack for the new missionaries, I could hardly climb into bed my back was hurting so bad.  The next day one of the Elders said, "So, how are you Sister Andrew?"  I actually stopped in my tracks, thought for a moment, and realized that I was physically, totally great!  So for us with old bodies, but young spirits,  a miracle occurs each night and we awaken strengthened in every way and ready for the next adventure.

Transfer day is a very busy day.  We were at the office by 7:30 and didn't get home until about 11:00 pm.  We received 14 missionaries of which there were 3 American Sisters,who received their visas at the last minute before they were to leave the Provo MTC.  Also included in the group were two Brazilian Elders, one who had served here previously but had to return home 15 months ago because of a belated confession, and the other who will be with us for only one transfer. He also had a belated confession and a health issue in his mission in Brasilia.  We will monitor him to see if the health issue has been resolved and he can stay.  They come in all shapes and sizes and we love each one.

We said goodbye to 16 missionaries, one of whom served as an Assistant since we arrived here.  He has been a great help to us in the transition period, and we look forward to introducing him to our family when we return home as he has been accepted at BYU and will begin his studies in January.  Another interesting thing about a Sister missionary who was leaving - she had been serving a 3 month short term mission, and in the morning of her release, she received her call to serve full time,, where else?,

Our mission!  So, she will return home and then begin her "new" mission in early December, when she enters the Brazil MTC.  We'll get her back on December 16th. It was so exciting that she could open her call in front of us.   After a missionary serves a short term mission, we (being her mission president and her companions) have to send in an evaluation of her performance, health and attitude.  It appears that we gave her high marks to be able to have back with us. 

Transfer day itself was much better organized and seemed to be less chaotic.  You have to realize that we had 14 new missionaries coming in, about 140 being effected by transfers around the mission and 16 others going home.  This for us was a major transfer to move missionaries and leadership around in the mission.  So transfer day goes something like this:

7:30  The van from the MTC arrives with the new missionaries.  We greet them with open arms, take individual pictures with each one and President starts interviewing them while the office staff and I prepare a snack for them and visit with them.

10:00 The trainers of the new missionaries arrive and President gives them about an hour training on what is expected of them as trainers in this 12 week training period that they have with the new missionaries.  During this time the secretaries and I train the new missionaries on finances, health insurance and basic health issues.

11:00  The trainers and new missionaries meet one another, are given more directions by the President and they are off to their mission areas for lunch and to get settled into their apartments and new surroundings.  

2:00  All other transferees arrive with their bags, we have a meeting in the chapel where zone by zone they receive their new companions and new assignments, such as Zone Leaders, Sister leaders, District Leaders etc. and areas.  It sort of reminds me of how the Missionaries were called in the early days of the church at a General Conference.  We kept all of the assignments secret until this meeting, which hadn't been done before, so there was a great spirit of excitement and enthusiasm there.   We began the meeting by singing "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go".  It was great!!

5:00 President begins his interviews with the departing missionaries.  We have a Pizza Dinner (next time we will change to a more formal complete meal)  and then a final testimony meeting.  Our plans always are that we are finished by 930pm at the latest but it doesn't always happen that way.  Actually the majority of them don't want to leave at all.

All those going home stay with other missionaries for the night.  The Brazilians leave early the next morning and the Americans at night.  Our wonderful office staff takes care of all of the travel arrangements.  

This is I'm sure more than you wanted to know.  But at least the next time we say it is transfer week you will know what's involved.   

Friday we had Leadership Council where all of the Zone and Sister Leaders come in for training.  It is exciting to see them involved in "Counseling Together"  to resolve problems and to  share ideas and testimonies of the work.  This too is a new concept for most of them and a necessary learning experience as we look to train them for future church leadership callings. 

Who could ask for a more invigorating, challenging and inspirational life at our age.  We are so grateful for this privilege and blessing. 

Dad at his first Coordinating Council Mtg. with our area Stake Presidents

Mission Presidents Seminar Week

This past week was the semi-annual Mission Presidents Seminar.  The only vacation a mission president and his wife get.  But soooo refreshing and just what we needed.  We left Sao Paulo Monday afternoon arriving in Santos on the coast with Dr. Swensen and his wife who are the medical consultants for Brazil and whom we knew when we served in Recife in 2005-7. They, like so many of us who have become addicted to serving missions, have also served in Germany.

The Seminar was presided over by the Area Presidency, Elder Claudio Costa, Elder Mazzagardi, and Elder Aidukaitis.  We spent Tuesday, Wednesday and half a day Thursday basking in their wisdom and knowledge of Missionary work.  They always shared so many good stories from their personal experiences as Mission Presidents to illustrate the principles they were teaching us.  We came away with an added excitement over the opportunity we have to guide our missionaries and direct the work here in our little, but highly populated, part of the Lord's vineyard.  This experience has really strengthened our vision of the work and helped confirm the feelings we have had of the direction we should take.

Santos was where the ship landed that brought Dad to Brazil in 1956 and was his first proselyting area.  He served there for 3 months. We were suppose to have the afternoon free on Wednesday and had planned to walk down on the beach and take a streetcar ride but as you can see by the picture we had some rain off and on most of the day.

 We are not complaining though as that is exactly what we started praying for at the beginning of the seminar, to regulate the moisture that we need throughout the country.  Some areas are arid and some are getting more moisture than they need or want.  There will be a special fast held throughout the country on November 16 for that purpose. So, Dad spent the afternoon reading missionary letters and I walked around the shops and malls near the hotel for a while. Then we went out for ice cream at a shop recommended by President Costa who was raised in Santos.  Really yummy!  We had such a nice visit with him as he was nice enough to join us at our table one night for dinner and recommended it to us.  He, like Dad, loves ice cream, especially banana splits.

We got to go to a regular Sacrament meeting this past Sunday, which is always so nice.  We will start in with Stake Conferences again next week.  Sunday night we gave a fireside in one of the  wards.  Dad gave a great personal history of the work in Brazil and his involvement in it and the importance of member missionary work in the development of the church over the years. It is so funny!! Most of the members in the congregation weren't even born when he began his work here.
They are always so amazed.

Until next time, keep well and share this great message with everyone.
Love you all.

NEW BEGINNINGS: Sao Paulo East Mission

I think it is about time, since I do have some extra time today, to try to put together some of the experiences of the last 2 months since we were called to preside over the Sao Paulo East Mission.  I decided that if I had to wait to create a new blog it would never happen.  As you will see, as you wade through all of this,extra time is a luxury.

On Monday Sept. 1 we met with President Claudio R. M. Costa and were set apart, Don as President of the Sao Paulo East mission and me as a missionary and companion to my husband. 

  Many wonderful blessings and promises were given to us to help us to fill such a sacred and demanding calling.  Part of that blessing was the reassurance that this calling was by revelation and that in spite of the weaknesses we felt, the Lord would “go before us and be on our right hand and our left hand and angels would be round about us.”  A blessing was also given to our family at this time, which we so much appreciated, and hope that you as a family and individually are feeling it in your lives.  Upon arriving in Sao Paulo, we stayed in a temporary apartment for a couple of days in Vertentes, which is located just up the street from the temple and area offices. This was so familiar and comfortable because we had lived there on two previous missions. We then moved into our new home in Mooca, a community within Sao Paulo.

The first few days were spent getting accustomed to our surroundings and finding a place for what basic things we brought with us.  Other than clothes we did purchase a new suitcase to bring a few pans and baking supplies that we had purchased in Recife.  One of the luxuries of a Mission President is that you get your extra baggage paid for.  Our home, I would describe as large but cozy.  We have 3 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, if you count the maids quarters, an office,  utility porch, kitchen and a very large living room/dining room space. Thankfully our housekeeper comes every Tuesday and Friday to clean and do the laundry for us.   The apartment is in a nice area with many high rise apartment buildings and has grocery stores, bread and pastry stores, gas station, and restaurants within walking distance.  We live on the second level and our apartment covers the entire second floor.  As you can see we also have a sports court and a swimming pool which is looking more inviting each day it gets closer to summer.  We love our little garden spot with its orchids off of the living room.

Our primary concern at first was to get out and personally meet all 216 missionaries.  By Thursday of our first week, we were ready to begin the tour of our 10 zones with the purpose of getting acquainted with our missionaries and they with us.  

Our first visit was to the Penha zone, a city that coincidentally Dad opened when he was here as a young missionary.  No resemblance now to the dusty dirt roads that existed in 1958. 

We held our first Leadership Council on 9/4/14 .  This is a new meeting initiated with Preach My Gospel and is held monthly to train the Zone Leaders and Sister Leaders in their responsibilities to, in turn, train the District leaders and other missionaries in their Zones.  We did not have a whole lot to do or say, mostly just introduced ourselves and observed, since this was a new experience for us. 

During the week of Sept. 8-14 we continued our visits to 6 more Zones, went to the temple with one of our Sister missionaries who was going home¸ attended the Saturday and Sunday sessions of a Stake Conference and gave a fireside in one of the wards.

The following week we finished our introductory  visits and attended another Stake Conference.  The last week of the month we had transfers, which includes new missionaries entering the mission, missionaries leaving who have completed their missions, and missionaries moving around the mission and getting new companions and sometimes new leadership responsibilities.  Does it sound like a whole lot of confusion?  It definitely was.  Basically about 5 days before this occurs Dad goes into hibernation and looks at the transfer board for hours on end to get the necessary inspiration of whom to put where and with which companion.  We are at the point now of trying to understand a better way of doing this so there is not so much confusion. 

On the last day of September we started with personal interviews with each missionary, which meant that we were on the tour again for about 3 weeks.   While Dad was doing the interviews I would visit with the waiting companions and help with any of their health concerns.  I will say that in the first week in the mission I recorded in my health notebook about 30 health-related calls.  I think they were probably just checking me out.  Things have calmed down a little.   So far today, at least, there have only been 5 calls.  I think with the change in the season, we are moving rapidly through Spring and into the heat of Summer, and with the start of Daylight Savings time here in Sao Paulo, there are always more incidents of respiratory and flu problems, over-tiredness etc.  Our region has some very hilly areas and because of that, we seem to have a lot more leg, knee and ankle problems than we had in Belem. This seems to be the case especially among the Brazilian sisters who mostly come to the mission with inadequate shoes for long days of walking up and down the hills.  Thankfully I have a wonderful in-field medical adviser in Dr. Swensen.  He too is a returnee, having served in Recife as area medical advisor when we were there the first time.

We finished our interviews on the 19^th of the month and participated in two more Stake Conferences both of which were reorganizations, presided over by members of the Area Presidency.  It gave us a chance to meet our dear friends, President Massagardi and President Aidukaitis who we first met when we were in Belem.  He was in our group of mission presidents and presided over the Brasilia mission.  Dad usually is asked to give a 10 minute talk and if I am asked it is usually for a short testimony.  I must say that in all of our travels throughout the mission we have been warmly welcomed, with Brazilian hugs, by many of our previous acquaintances and our missionaries from Belem who now live in our mission area.  It is fun to see the reaction of our current missionaries as they witness the love that is shown to us by our Belem missionaries and that we show for them.  I think that it helps them to feel the love that we have for the Savior, for this work and for them.

On Saturday, the 25^th, Cheryl’s birthday, we were privileged to attend the dedication of this beautiful new chapel in Sao Jose dos Campos.  There, as always, we encountered the families of two of our former missionaries from Belem, the Sister on my left and the brother on Dad’s right and our darling Brazilian grandchildren. (Sister Moreira and Elder Itoi)  Such a Joy!  We were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to be able to attend a regular Sacrament meeting and partake of the Sacrament again with all of the Stake Conferences we have been attending.  We did so last Sunday and today

.

The last week and a half of this month I thought was going to be a catch-up week here at home but that thought was short lived as we had a Sister who had to be hospitalized for appendicitis and needed our attention for a few days.  This week was Temple week and we accompanied half of the mission to the Sao Paulo Temple on Tuesday

and the other half to the Campinas Temple on Wednesday.
There were a few of our missionaries who did work for their personal families and the rest did work for my side of the family.  During these 2 days we were able to accomplish 206 family ordinances.  The missionaries were excited to be able to do this service for us.

With the daylight savings time changes we are currently 5 hours ahead of Utah, 6 of California and this month with your change it will put us 6 and 7 hours, respectively, ahead.   Hard to find times when we can chat with each other.  We are experiencing a draught in this part of Brazil and so on the 16^th there will be a special fast held throughout the country.  We had a nice rain yesterday, but need much more to fill the reservoirs.  Some areas of the country are getting too much rain.  They say it’s because of El Nino.  More likely part of what I call the last-days syndrome.

Dad is in a Council meeting with Stake Presidents and Area 70 this afternoon so I will try to get this update on its way and hopefully will be able to follow Tynan’s perfect example and keep you posted each week.  This week we will be at the Annual Mission Presidents Seminar from Monday afternoon until Thursday afternoon.  Can’t wait to see who the visiting general authorities will be.

Love to you all!