Construction is scheduled to begin in October for a new Brazil Area missionary training center, which will be the second largest in the Church.
Elder James E. Faust of the Council of the Twelve broke ground for the new center on Aug. 27. In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of the construction project for the growth of missionary work in Brazil, other areas of South America and other parts of the world.Construction of the seven-story facility, in the Casa Verde district in the northern part of Sao Paulo, is expected to be completed by 1995. The new center will be about 10 miles from the Sao Paulo temple, about 20 minutes by bus. The 10,800-square-feet building will include a 1,000-seat assembly room and will accommodate up to 900 missionaries.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Elder Faust, a former missionary to Brazil, was accompanied by Elder L. Aldin Porter of the Presidency of the Seventy and executive director of the Missionary Department, and Elders Harold G. Hillam, Helvecio Martins and Dallas N. Archibald of the Brazil Area presidency, all members of the Seventy.
Also in attendance were local Church leaders and government and civil authorities, including Deputy Jose Maria Eymael, a congressman from the state of Sao Paulo who serves in the Brazil House of Representatives.
The new facility was needed because of the increase in size of the Church in Brazil. It will accommodate missionaries from throughout the country.
Brazil, with a population of some 160 million, has about 442,000 members. The nation's population is about 51 percent of the population of South America.
At the present, the missionary training center in Brazil is located at the temple site and can accommodate about 200 missionaries. Peak time for the facility is during the vacation period of January and February, said Demar Stanicia, Brazil Area director of public affairs.
