THE ADVENTURES OF A MISSION PRESIDENTS WIFE IN THE CAMPINAS, BRAZIL MISSION!
We left our home and flew into Salt Lake City on Tuesday. The next day we went to the church office building where we were escorted to the Elder Christopherson's office. We had a nice visit with Elder Christopherson(one of the 12 apostles) and Elder Arnold(in the presidency of the Seventy). Before the "setting apart"( a blessing of help and strength) they asked Bruce if he wanted any thing said in the blessing...he said "to be able to run and not be weary"....they both chuckled at this...and we noted that we both weren't blessed with that :) ...I think they know it was going to be one of the hardest but BEST things we have ever done in our lives.... we just might be weary but happy each day. We were promise other beautiful blessing though. One thing that was promised in my blessing was something no one knew about ...not even Bruce. It was something I worried deeply about. This concern was mentioned in my blessing....it was just another testimony to me of how God knows us individually and loves us and how he strives to help us if we allow Him to.
Then we drove to Provo for our....4 day seminar for all the new Mission Presidents and wives at the MTC (Mission Training Center). It was a spiritual feast....there was no nibbling there. We had all the 1st presidency, all the 12 apostles (except Elder Scott and Pres. Packer who were sick), all of the 7 presidents of the seventy, and all the members of the missionary department and general authorities and their wives were there. The only word to describe the feeling there is the word "HOLY". It was great to rub shoulders with all the other 120 mission presidents and their wives too. We saw how much that others were sacrificing and realized how lucky we had it. A lot of couples were taking young children to the mission. The youngest Mission President is 38 and the oldest Mission President is 67? He are some interesting stats for this set of mission presidents.....39 presidents are converts and 50 wives are converts. The youngest child going is just one years old and the oldest child is 43. One of the couples was going to such a dangerous area that their grown children won't be able to visit. Some of the mission presidents families homes were in compounds where the electricity goes off at dark and you had to stay inside for safety. They had a missionary choir that sang at the conference...they sang like angels. There wasn't a dry eye after each song. It was like being in the temple for 4 days straight...I never wanted to leave. We learned, visited and ate with all of the wonderful leaders in the church and all the mission presidents and their wives. We learned so much and we received so much strength from them. They did a lot of team teaching together. I loved watching them interact with each other. They would joke, and tease one another ....but you could feel the deep love they had for the gospel and for each other. Elder and sister Hales did a interactive lesson with us talking about their time as Mission president and wife. They also had all the auxiliary leaders (from the primary, young womens, and relief society organization) in a panel discussion sharing their insights when they were in the mission field. One went with 5 small children, one had teenagers in the field, and one was a teenager when her parents were called. They shared the top 10 things they learned on their missions.....it was hilarious :)
My favorite part was sacrament meeting on the Sunday morning. Our prophet President Monson presided and was the speaker in the meeting. It was the quietest most reverent sacrament meeting I have ever been to.
I also have a FACEBOOK page for anyone that is interested @
(Brazil Campinas Mission 2015-2018)
We left our home and flew into Salt Lake City on Tuesday. The next day we went to the church office building where we were escorted to the Elder Christopherson's office. We had a nice visit with Elder Christopherson(one of the 12 apostles) and Elder Arnold(in the presidency of the Seventy). Before the "setting apart"( a blessing of help and strength) they asked Bruce if he wanted any thing said in the blessing...he said "to be able to run and not be weary"....they both chuckled at this...and we noted that we both weren't blessed with that :) ...I think they know it was going to be one of the hardest but BEST things we have ever done in our lives.... we just might be weary but happy each day. We were promise other beautiful blessing though. One thing that was promised in my blessing was something no one knew about ...not even Bruce. It was something I worried deeply about. This concern was mentioned in my blessing....it was just another testimony to me of how God knows us individually and loves us and how he strives to help us if we allow Him to.
Then we drove to Provo for our....4 day seminar for all the new Mission Presidents and wives at the MTC (Mission Training Center). It was a spiritual feast....there was no nibbling there. We had all the 1st presidency, all the 12 apostles (except Elder Scott and Pres. Packer who were sick), all of the 7 presidents of the seventy, and all the members of the missionary department and general authorities and their wives were there. The only word to describe the feeling there is the word "HOLY". It was great to rub shoulders with all the other 120 mission presidents and their wives too. We saw how much that others were sacrificing and realized how lucky we had it. A lot of couples were taking young children to the mission. The youngest Mission President is 38 and the oldest Mission President is 67? He are some interesting stats for this set of mission presidents.....39 presidents are converts and 50 wives are converts. The youngest child going is just one years old and the oldest child is 43. One of the couples was going to such a dangerous area that their grown children won't be able to visit. Some of the mission presidents families homes were in compounds where the electricity goes off at dark and you had to stay inside for safety. They had a missionary choir that sang at the conference...they sang like angels. There wasn't a dry eye after each song. It was like being in the temple for 4 days straight...I never wanted to leave. We learned, visited and ate with all of the wonderful leaders in the church and all the mission presidents and their wives. We learned so much and we received so much strength from them. They did a lot of team teaching together. I loved watching them interact with each other. They would joke, and tease one another ....but you could feel the deep love they had for the gospel and for each other. Elder and sister Hales did a interactive lesson with us talking about their time as Mission president and wife. They also had all the auxiliary leaders (from the primary, young womens, and relief society organization) in a panel discussion sharing their insights when they were in the mission field. One went with 5 small children, one had teenagers in the field, and one was a teenager when her parents were called. They shared the top 10 things they learned on their missions.....it was hilarious :)
My favorite part was sacrament meeting on the Sunday morning. Our prophet President Monson presided and was the speaker in the meeting. It was the quietest most reverent sacrament meeting I have ever been to.
This was my 1st day wearing my name tag. It looks great with every outfit :)
They had the fanciest food at the MTC. We had our own chef. It was food fit for a king! The desserts were so fancy! We got to eat dinner with Elder Christopherson and many of the other general authorities throughout the 4 days.
These are the missionaries that were training at the MTC when we were at the seminar.
We spent a hour with them. They are really sharp missionaries. Three of them got their visas and will be in the mission this coming transfer.
We have 176 missionaries and we have 10 more coming at the end of the month.I also have a FACEBOOK page for anyone that is interested @
(Brazil Campinas Mission 2015-2018)
The Brazil, Campinas Temple sits on a hill over looking the city of a million people. It is only 5 minutes from our "casa" house. We get to go to the temple every week :) If you want to learn more about why Mormon's build temples ...go to the site below ....it's a short little 3 minute video clip but it is really good!
https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/why-mormons-build-temples-2
Campinas is a beautiful city with parks laced through out. In the center of he city the roads and sidewalks are made of cobblestone which makes for a bumpy ride in a car or makes for some twisted ankles in high sandals.
They have the BEST bakeries "padarias" in Brazil. Their fruits are so sweet and juicy. It's like eating candy. Their meats are tender and lean. We have gone to some churruscarias here. It's like a buffet of the best food you have ever tasted. They have this little figure that is red on one end and green on the other end. If you put the figure green side up they keep coming around with meat on a stick (pork, beef, chicken etc.)for you to eat. If you put it red side up they stop coming around. By the end of the meal we were rolling out the door...it's amazing food!
This is our nightly view from our home......stunning! I wake up everyday and say "it's another day in paradise"...it truly is!
Our home is BEAUTIFUL! These pictures don't do it justice. It's huge with granite and marble everywhere. It has 5 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms with balconies attached to each. We have 2 offices and 3 huge living room/family rooms. The pool area is beautiful too. The best part of the home is the Leanora! She is the sweetest lady (she only speaks portuguese though) that takes care of the house and us. She has worked there for 20 years. She does everything, windows, laundry, dishes, makes lunch and supper, dusting, vacuuming.... seriously everything!! I'm getting spoilt and lazy! The church wants us to focus on the missionaries...and that's why we have Leanora. I don't think I can come home unless she comes with us.
This is what our room looks when we come home late at night. All the laundry clean, ironed and folded....this is heaven :) She irons everything...socks, sheets pjs etc!
Our pool in the back yard...
One of the living rooms...
The home has a beautiful wood and marble staircase...
This is the mission office...
This is my sweet heart working hard at the mission office...
These are the missionaries who work in the office. They are incredible! They work in the office all day and then do missionary work at night.
Some of our wonderful Sister Missionaries!
Celebrating birthdays at Multi Zone Conference
This was during a break at the Multi Zone Conference. We had 4 days of Zone conferences last week. We got to know each of the missionaries and we shared a video presentation about us and our family so they could get to know us better.
Everyone is asking me how I like Brazil. Another question I get asked a lot is "what is the hardest thing about being a mission presidents wife. The 3rd most popular question is "what is the best thing about the mission".
Question #1: I love Brazil ...if my family lived here I think I would stay! The weather is warm, the country is fabulous and beautiful, the people are friendly and kind, the food is amazing, and I love the missionaries.
Question #2: The hardest thing about the mission is the language. I love people and I love getting to know them. I love being helpful and the language is a big barrier. I am working hard at it and am continually stepping out of my comfort zone and trying to say things. I bore my testimony in Portuguese the very first Sunday. I had it all written out and practiced a million times. The only problem was that I wasn't counting on crying :) when I got up there. I couldn't see the words very well so I'm not quite sure what I said. People here are so nice that they told me that they understood every word. The people here are so excited and excepting when you try to speak their language....they are so encouraging and not one speck judgmental. The gift of tongues is real....for almost every meeting I have been able to understand about 1/2 of what is being said...that is amazing because I only know about 50 words. To me is has been a miraculous as the parting of the Red Sea was for the Israelites. I have be truly blessed. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for his love and help.
Question #3: What's the best part of being a mission president's wife.....the missionaries of course! They have such faith and enthusiasm. Their testimonies are strong and they are hard working. Right up there with the missionaries is being with Bruce 24/7...we have so much fun together. We love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We love sharing what makes us happy.
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