Five new missions will be created in three South American countries in July, the First Presidency has announced.
The new missions will be Brazil Porto Alegre North, Brazil Sao Paulo East, Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos, Ecuador Guayaquil North and Venezuela Caracas West. Each of the areas reflects promising growth rates.With the creation of the missions, South America will have 48 missions. Brazil will have 15, which, outside the United States, is second only to Mexico which has 17.
And with the two new missions in what is probably the world's largest metropolis, Sao Paulo will have four missions.
The new missions, to be created in "areas of strength," will bring the Churchwide total to 261. According to mission presidents, the missions will search out converts in areas compact in size and close to meetinghouses. This allows the Church to grow from the center outward, they said.
Two challenges of the Church in developing areas are transportation of the members to meetinghouses and administration of branches distant from district or stake headquarters. Working in compact areas lessens both challenges, say leaders.
Brazil Sao Paulo East, Interlagos
The Sao Paulo North and Sao Paulo South missions will be divided and the East and Interlagos missions will be created. Each of the new and realigned missions will have roughly 12,000 members in five stakes, and a non-member population from 4 to 5 million people.
According to Pres. Stanley D. Neeleman of the Sao Paulo South mission, the Church in Sao Paulo is well-established. The new missions include the plateau where the center of the city lies and in adjacent coastal areas.
"Sao Paulo is a great mixing pot, a great cosmopolitan center that attracts people from all over Brazil and from outside Brazil," he said. "The population is very diverse, which makes for a vibrance and energy that is unusual. It also creates a diversity of work opportunity for people - from laborers to professionals. Sao Paulo is also the financial capital of Brazil."
He said leaders have correlated missionary work with the wards and stakes. "Each zone corresponds exactly with a stake.
"We generally get excellent support from the members. They provide us with temporal support, with meals every day. For the most part, we are well-supplied with referrals, leaving missionaries with more teaching opportunities and less need to find their own contacts."
Local leaders are missionary-minded and strong stake mission presidents lead out in supporting missionary work. "The Church has been in Sao Paulo since the beginning [of work in South America]. We have a lot of second-generation members."
Missionary work in Brazil began in 1927-28. The Brazilian Mission headquarters were established in Sao Paulo in 1935, at that time inhabited by some 4 million people. Translation of the Book of Mormon into Portuguese in 1940 moved the work more rapidly. The mission continued until 1959 when it was divided and the Brazil South mission created. In 1962, membership reached 6,747, paving the way for creation of the Sao Paulo Stake in 1966. In 1978, the Sao Paulo Temple was dedicated.
The Sao Paulo North and Sao Paulo South missions were created from the Brazil Central Mission in 1972, and are the parent stakes of the new Sao Paulo East and Sao Paulo Interlagos missions.
During the time the Church has been involved in Sao Paulo, the city grew from 2 million in 1929 to some 18 million today.
Brazil Porto Alegre North
The Brazil Porto Alegre Mission will be divided to create the Brazil Porto Alegre North and the Brazil Porto Alegre South missions. The new Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission will have some 12,000 members in three stakes and a district, and 7 million people. The realigned Brazil Porto Alegre South Mission will have about 18,000 members in three stakes and four districts, and a non-member population of some 5 million people.
Pres. Larry S. Christensen of the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission said the north mission has minor mountain ranges with small farms while the south is fairly flat like "a big green pasture."
"The members are very enthusiastic and we have a lot of support from the priesthood," he said. "They are always planning different programs and doing their own knocking on doors to give us referrals.
"We try particularly to work from centers of strength close to where future stakes can be established," he said. "We try to concentrate where we can have compact stakes. The new mission, he said, "will be a great thing. We have looked forward to it for many years."
Missionary work in the Porto Alegre area was carried on by the Brazilian South Mission, created in 1959. The first meetinghouse in Porto Alegre was started in the fall of 1960. In 1974, the Brazil South Mission was re-named the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission. The Porto Alegre Brazil Stake was created in 1973.
Ecuador Guayaquil North
The Ecuador Guayaquil Mission will be divided to create the Ecuador Guayaquil North and the Ecuador Guayaquil South missions. The new Ecuador Guayaquil North Mission will have 16,345 members living in four stakes and two districts, and a total population of 3.8 million.
The realigned Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission will have 14,956 members in three stakes and two districts, and a population of 1.5 million. The realigned Ecuador Quito Mission will have 14,851 members in three stakes and four districts in a population of 3 million.
According to Pres. Walter F. Gonzalez of the Ecuador Guayaquil Mission, work continues to progress well in Ecuador. "The people are receptive to the message of the Book of Mormon," he said. "The great key for members is the Book of Mormon.
"The members are outstanding in helping us with referrals. Not only that, but the stake missions are well-organized in teaching the discussions for the new members."
He said the new mission will include tropical coastal areas of Guayaquil where commerce and shipping are prevalent. The new mission will also include interior mountainous areas where agriculture is the primary means of livelihood.
Missionaries arrived in Ecuador in 1965, a short time after a visit by then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Council of the Twelve. Membership in the second smallest country in South America grew to about 1,000 members by 1970 when the Ecuador mission was organized. Early branches were organized in Otavalo among Quichua-speaking Indians. In December 1981, the first all-Lamanite stake was organized among these people.
Membership grew to 3,226 in 1975 and a second mission was organized in 1978. At the time, Ecuador had some 19,000 members. A temple was announced for Guayaquil by President Gordon B. Hinckley on March 31, 1982, and it is awaiting groundbreaking. Membership in 1986 was 43,000. Today, Ecuador has more than 70,000 members.
Venezuela Caracas West
The Venezuela Caracas Mission will be divided to create the Venezuela Caracas West and the Venezuela Caracas East missions. The new Venezuela Caracas West Mission will have 12,392 members in three stakes and a district, and a non-member population of 9.1 million. The realigned Caracas East mission will have 18,823 members in three stakes and three districts, and a total population of 4.6 million. The realigned Maracaibo mission will have 14,943 members in two stakes and three districts, and a population of 4.6 million.
Western Venezuela is made up of a plains area where many people work on farms, as opposed to the metropolitan areas where factories and oil refineries are major employers. Elder Michael Lyon of Lancaster, Calif., a member of the office staff in the Venezuela Maracaibo Mission, said members in the area "are very warm toward us. They really appreciate what we are trying to do, and they understand us and help us.
"Many of our investigators come through referrals," he said, explaining that missionaries spend only about one-third of their time in finding investigators. In developed areas fellowshipping is strong. "One woman who had attended several other churches said that when she came `to the Mormon Church, it was like one big happy family.' "
He said missionaries are working to enthuse stake missionaries and build up the number who can work with the missionaries. He noted that a new stake was recently created in Maracaibo and that the Church is strong in the city.
Missionary work began in Venezuela when the Caracas Branch, made up mostly of American expatriates, was organized in 1966. Four missionaries began work in the city about the same time, but work progressed very slowly at first.
The missionaries, under the direction of Pres. Ted E. Brewerton, now of the Seventy and president of the Central America Area, sought converts with leadership ability and successfully introduced the Church and its family home evening program through the media. In 1968 the Colombia-Venezuela Mission was created and small branches began to be organized in some of the major cities.
The Venezuela Mission was created in 1971 with 1,259 members. Emphasis was placed on bringing in entire families, which strengthened branches. In 1979 the Maracaibo mission was created and by 1986, membership soared to 23,000. Growth continued as membership more than doubled in the next four years.
