Most of us don't think about the actual demands of educating mission presidents' children in foreign countries. In other countries in the world there are sometimes limitations on educating non-residents children. We take for granted the U.S. education systems who even let illegal immigrants be schooled for free. It can be a challenging thing to have mission presidents' children receive almost equal education in other countries in the world let alone shoulder the cost.

Recently I was interviewed by Solbridge International School of Business in Daejeon, Korea for the job as university librarian and head of IT. The salary and free housing were attractive and paid around $100,000 U.S. tax-free a year. As we neared the end of the video conference the vice president of academic affairs discussed my taking the job he said oh by the way since your children don't speak Korean they will have to go to an international school. I was told that the cost would be around $20,000 U.S. per child at an American school. I would have cleared $40,000 tax-free dollars after paying the $60,000 tuition and book fees for my three children left at home. Having lived in Saudi Arabia I would also have had to incur transportation costs of getting them to and from school which could run a thousand dollars in gas. We take for granted school busing in the U.S. which is a major economic advantage from other countries. In other countries they might charge you a couple of thousand dollars per child to pick them up in a shuttle bus. I was currently making around $80,000 and taking home about $70,000 so I had to decline their offer since that would have negated any financial gains.

My daughter who served a mission until March 2008 in the Korea Daejon mission said I should have contacted a member there who sometimes waives tuition for members. I don't know if that member was running the school back when President Rife served or not so maybe the church didn't have to pay or paid a reduced rate. I didn't really know who the member was so I didn't pursue the possibility.

As I was reading the call of Richard Rife from his journal it brought this subject to my mind for discussion since most Americans don't realize the educational challenges when working in other countries.

When Brother Rife met with President Thomas S. Monson then a counselor in the first presidency he was told that the Church would pay for his children's education:

December 22, 2000 (Friday)

It was great fun being with President Monson in his office for about 35 minutes. He could not have been friendlier or more cordial. He did most of the talking, telling us about his experiences as a mission president in Canada. About halfway through our meeting, he said “By the way, we’re calling you to be president of a Korean speaking mission, and I assume your answer is yes?” We indicated that it was, and he continued on with his stories, all of which were instructive and delightful.

President Monson urged us to attempt to save all the missionaries, if at all possible. He suggested that we try everything in our power to keep them out there with us in the mission field. And he told us to be gentle with them.

At least twice during our interview, he told not to worry, that the Church would pay for our three younger children to attend private American school in Korea.

President Monson said that this year the Church is calling 112 mission presidents and that, in their First Presidency Meeting, Brother Hinckley (as President Monson referred to him) said: “I know two of the future mission presidents; I’ll call them. Would you and Brother Faust call the other 110?” President Monson said “I took 55 and Brother Faust took 55, and you’re number 42 on my list, so I’m making good progress.”

He told us that he knew we were up in the air about the possibility of a mission president calling and that, therefore, he had asked his staff to get us in to his office before Christmas so that the uncertainty would not spoil our Christmas. I considered that to be very thoughtful on his part.

After a thoroughly delightful 35 minutes, he bade us farewell, and we left his office and headed for the elevator in the Church Administration Building. Before the elevator arrived, he burst out of his office door and said “Did I tell you that the Church will pay for your children’s education in Korea?” He said “I didn’t want you to have a bad Christmas worrying about how you were going to pay for private school in Korea.”

It really makes sense that the Church would take care of the matter. I'm not sure that all mission presidents need to take advantage of it since some have economic resources. But unfortunately some do and it is not unreasonable for families that give three years of their lives in service to be provided this since it is a benefit that even companies and universities give to employees. Putting it in to economic perspective the mission president and his family are simply earning nothing more than the price of their children's education while giving up three years of earning a salary with the potential of putting away about forty or fifty percent of their income and the loss of retirement benefits. I don't consider it a unrealistic expense of my tithing.

In Saudi Arabia I was given around $20,000 for tuition and books for my four children. Of course they had to go to an Egyptian school unlike other ex-pats where one kid received as much as my four children combined. I unfortunately was working for the Crown Prince's personal university as Dean of Library Affairs. I am sure even some mission presidents in an attempt to guard the funds of the church might put their children in a school like the one mine went to.

It actually is a good investment in the future of the children of mission presidents. One they learn to live for three years in a country where they will pick up the language skills and cultural nuances in varying degrees. My younger children learned French, Arabic and English in their Future Windows' school as the faculty were all Middle-Easterners primarily Egyptian, Syrian, and Lebanese. If I had stayed for three years my thirteen year old son who was conversational after only one year would have been almost fluent. He was required to take Islamic Studies (Koran) which was taught in Arabic and was akin to being taught the Book of Mormon. One night we watched a Arabic soap opera and he translated for the whole family. Can you imagine the value of a young man to the Church who went to school with the elite people of the country of Saudi Arabia's children or any other countries?

I don't think it is surprising that mission presidents' children grow up to be future mission presidents and leaders in the church with their international experience. Not to mention they are building relations that will help the church in years to come. I think it is money well spent in raising up a generation of future leaders.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

From the Horse's Mouth: A Former Mission President Tells All

Have you wanted to know what a mission president does from the horse's mouth then have I found a great source for you. I want to give exposure to a generous person who wants to get out the word. Richard Rife, former mission president in the Daejeon Korea from 2001-2004, has put together a very insightful account of what it was like to be a mission president in his "mission president's journal." I fell upon this blog when reading the Greg Jones Blog who also gave him a plug. I had tackled what a mission president does myself from reading current mission presidents blogs but not extensively as Brother Rife.

Brother Rife says "The journal was originally 530 pages of 11-point type. I have edited it to omit redundancies and to make it a readable 254 pages. It is overwhelmingly positive and edifying, but I have retained enough “negative” experiences and “challenges” to give the reader the full flavor of what it’s like to be a mission president. However, my editing has made it impossible to identify any missionary about whom a negative incident occurred."

His motivation for writing it is explained nobly:

I said that I don’t want money for my book, and that’s true. My mission president experience is too sacred to me to be shared for money. But I do have a two-part request of you, the reader:
First, if you enjoy this book about mission president life, please donate $10 (or more, if you’re so inclined) to the ward or general missionary fund and use the comment feature of my website to let me know. You don’t know how good it will make me feel if you enjoyed this book enough to “buy” it by making a tax deductible donation to help the missionary work of the Church (If you hate the book, please keep it to yourself; there’s no reason to ruin my day).
Second, please tell a friend about this book. Maybe they will like it—and maybe they will donate to the missionary fund.
Serving as a mission president was an exciting and life-altering experience. I hope you will enjoy reading this book, and I hope you will find it edifying and will feel a sense of what it is like to be a mission president.

You can download the book here.

In addition Rife was an early blogger and his Daejeon Korea experiences are on his own generated website Richard Rife.Com. In addition to his recent blogging thoughts in his The Switch blog. It is a clearly organized site with easy navigation. I guess he takes a no-nonsense approach being a former trial lawyer.

Brother Rife describes his site as:

This website:
Hosts my blog, entitled "The Switch," flipping back and forth, depending on the day, from spiritual/inspirational to humorous
Contains a web page dedicated to the missionaries who served in the Korea Daejeon Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2001-2004
Offers a free download of a book entitled "A Mission President's Journal," an edited and redacted look at my three years as president of the LDS Church's Korea Daejeon Mission.
I hope you will enjoy this website and will return to it often.

It also makes for good field research to compare his blog with current mission president's Alan G. Perriton's Anyanghasaeyo:News of the Korea Daejeon Mission blog. It really is good to see different mission president styles and see if there is any commonality between what mission presidents face even in the same mission. I think you can learn a lot by the experiences of both men. I wish I had found Rife's blog sooner when my oldest daughter was serving in the same mission it would have helped me culturally understand what she faced by serving there.

I think future mission presidents and current ones interested in learning about what a mission president really does should check out this site. Even if you just are curious check out his musings. I did and want to share the wisdom I found. You will learn what challenges and joys a mission president faces.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Brazil Ribeirao Preto Mission

Brazil Ribeirao Preto Mission

Mission Website(s)

LDS Mission Network (Daniel Gibby)

Blog(s)

Elder Scott McClellan 2010-2012

Elder Jared Romney 2010-2012

Sister Melanie Monroe 2006-2007

Christian Dance

Articles

"Country Information: Brazil," Church News [Saturday, 25 January 2010].

"New Temple Presidents," (former mission counselor Izaias Pivato Nogueira called as president Campinas Brazil Temple) Church News [Saturday, 25 August 2007].

“Thirteen New Missions Created,” (The Brazil Goiania Mission is created from a division of the Brazil Belo Horizonte, Brazil Brasilia, and Brazil Ribeirão Prêto Missions.) Ensign, Apr. 1998, 76

"New missions created; total now 331," (The new Goiania mission will be created in the heartland of Brazil from a division of the Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Ribeirao Preto missions, and will have 4.5 million residents of whom 13,000 are members who reside in the Anapolis, Goiania, Goiania East and Uberlandia stakes.) Church News [Saturday, 10 January 1998].

"Ricks athletes win national titles," (former missionary Justin Garner claimed the decathlon championship) Church News [Saturday, 8 July 1995].

R. Scott Lloyd, "1993 - the year in review: temples were focus of Church events," (March 6: Eight new missions were announced: Guatemala Guatemala City Central, Brazil Ribeirao Preto, Brazil Rio de Janeiro North, Peru Chiclayo, Romania Bucharest, Latvia Riga, Russia Samara and Ukraine Donetsk.) Church News [Saturday, 25 December 1993].

“Seventeen New Missions Created,” (Brazil Ribeirao Preto Mission, created from the Brazil Campinas Mission, opened February 1 and includes four stakes and 9,693 members.) Ensign, May 1993, 104

Stories

LDS Mission Network

Irene Coimbra, “How Could I Sustain Him?,” Ensign, June 2004, 67–68

Irene Coimbra, “How Could I Sustain Him?,” Liahona, June 2004, 42–43

Irene Coimbra de Oliveira Cláudio, “A Special Witness of Jesus Christ,” Liahona, Feb. 2003, 42–43

M. Russell Ballard Foretold Dramatic Growth in West Indies Mission that Brings About New Stake

This weekend will be a momentous occasion for the West Indies Mission. During the past two years the West Indies Mission has had dramatic growth under current mission president Reid Robision baptizing over three thousand members. This growth has put them in line for the creation of the first Trinidad stake on 1 March 2009.

The earliest records about Trinidad indicated that missionaries from the Venezuela Caracas Mission came to take care of a few referrals in March 1975 and November 1976 and finally January 1977. The first two missionaries actually stay in Trinidad came at the request of Liz Rogers Dopson to then President Spencer W. Kimball from the Venezuela Caracas Mission. In November 1976 a set of missionaries came but were deported. Then in January 1977 Elders K. Don Bigalow and La Mae Olds came and got started as full-time missionaries on site staying a few months at a time. Interestingly the first baptism on 22 June 1977 Lucy Josphine Payne, an Afro-Caribbean member, was confirmed by Hartman Rector's son Daniel Rector, a missionary in the Caracas Mission.

In 1983 the West Indies Mission was created and included Jamaica, the Bahamas, part of Haiti, the Lesser Antilles, Barbados, Trinidad, and Tobago with headquarters in Barbados. In 1991 the West Indies Mission was realigned with headquarters in Trinidad. The West Indies Mission includes the remaining islands in the Lesser Antilles and the neighboring South American countries of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

In 2007 the Ensign reported the mission would revert to the Trinidad and Tobago Mission but it was decided to retain the name West Indies Mission in the end.

The current West Indies Mission will remain headquartered in Trinidad and will be renamed the Trinidad and Tobago Mission. It will cover French- and Dutch-speaking countries and islands in the Caribbean Area and will continue to oversee English-speaking Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.

The French-speaking areas are Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and St. Martin. The Dutch-speaking areas include Suriname and the northern islands of the Netherlands Antilles, including St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba.

In 1980 a missionary couple Elder and Sister Richardson came and lived to try to get official recognition for the church but were unsuccessful. It almost a decade to get official recognition and entailed the efforts of many men.

The first chapel in Trinidad was built in 1995 in the Port of Spain Branch on the very spot of the dedication. It is interesting to note that M. Russell Ballard dedicated the region for the preaching of the gospel on 22 February 1990 and later in 2005 as executive director of the missionary committee called President Robison from Ontario, Canada the very mission Elder Ballard presided over as mission president. So there is a Toronto Canada Mission connection at work in the Caribbean. The people of the region are very deserving of to have a stake in their midst.

In the Ensign in 1990 recorded the events of the dedication by Elder M. Russell Ballard at Port of Spain, Trinidad:

Late in February, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve dedicated Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago for the preaching of the gospel. The first three countries are on the north coast of South America, and the two-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago is located just off the north coast of the continent.

Elder Ballard was accompanied by Elder Charles Didier of the Seventy, President of the South America North Area.

Trinidad and Tobago was dedicated February 22 at the proposed site of a meetinghouse in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Guyana was dedicated February 23 in Georgetown. Suriname was dedicated February 24 in the city of Paramaribo. French Guiana was dedicated on February 27 at a spot about five miles from Kourou; Elder Didier translated Elder Ballard’s prayer into French for the members present.

In the dedicatory prayers he offered, Elder Ballard asked the Lord to bless the leaders of governments in the countries involved. Members were promised that the Church would grow steadily, that there would be wards and stakes presided over by local leaders in their areas, and that their countries would help in the work of the Lord by sending missionaries to other nations. The Church has been established for less than two years in each of the four countries.

Noting that his grandfather, Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, had dedicated South America for the preaching of the gospel sixty-five years earlier—in 1925—Elder Ballard commented that it was a “warm and beautiful experience” to take part in the four dedications.

The actual words of Elder Ballard's prayer are recorded here:

Our beloved Heavenly Father, we thy children, meet here in the name of thy Beloved Son Jesus Christ, and humbly present ourselves before thee for the purpose of dedicating the land of Trinidad and Tobago to the building of the kingdom of God among these good people, thy sons and daughters. We count it a great privilege, Holy Father, to be assigned by the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles, to fulfill such a sacred responsiblity.

In the name of thy Beloved Son, we ask thee to stay the influence of the evil one, that he may not have power over the honest in heart that dwell here upon this land. Bless thy children as they come in contact with the missionaries and the members of the Church, that they may be nurtured and cradled by the spirit as they are taught the saving doctrines and receive the ordinances of thy church and kingdom here upon the earth.

We pray, Heavenly Father, for a blessing to be poured out upon the heads of the national leaders, those who preside in important offices in this country, that thy spirit might touch their hearts and enlighten their minds, that they may know that we come in the name of thy Son and that this is thy Church as it has been restored to the earth in these latter days. We pray for the Prime Minister and for the parliament and for others who have responsibility at local levels, any who make decisions for permits or clearances that thy church may require. May they be blessed to give governmental approvals. We ask thee to walk before the face of those who have responsibility within the Church that they may be inspired to know what to say and what to do to bring about the legal recognition to carry on the affairs of thy church and kingdom.

We invoke, Heavenly Father, a blessing upon the people, the fathers and the mothers, the children, the boys and girls. Wherever they may be living in Trinidad and Tobago, may they be blessed with a desire kindled in their hearts to know the truth. May the missionaries, particularly, be inspired and enlightened of thee to know how to approach them and teach them so that the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost may abide in the teaching process and truth might be transferred by those who are blessed to hold it to those who are seeking to know the truth.

We pray, Heavenly Father, for the local leadership of the Church. We ask thee to watch over the branch presidencies, the leaders in the branch, the mission presidency, and particularly President Jeffs and his wife. We invoke a special blessing upon them of protection as they travel among these islands for which they are responsible.

Now, Holy Father, in the name of thy Beloved Son, and by the power of the Holy Apostleship vested in me, I turn the key and unlock the door and open this land to an increased outpouring of thy spirit for the enhancement and development of the church and kingdom, that by thy spirit, Holy Father, the work will progress. We ask thee to watch over these lands, keep them safe from untoward natural disaster, calm the winds, calm the storms, give them what they need, Holy Father, in the way of rain to raise their crops, but stay anything that would devastate the land or harm the land. Bless the people, Holy Father, as we have asked, with every blessing they desire in righteousness. Cause thy spirit to fall upon thousands of thy sons and daughters who are honest in heart and seek to know the truth. Open up opportunities, Holy Father, for exposure of those who are honest in heart to the members of the church and the missionaries.

Now, we are grateful for the priesthood that we bear, that has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and we acknowledge, Heavenly Father, that this priesthood has the power to perform miracles in these lands. Bless the leaders and the missionaries that they will raise up local men, that they will teach them, and magnify them to honorably and powerfully use their priesthood to the blessings of thy sons and daughters. Bless them that they may heal the sick, that they may grant blessings of health and strength, of counsel, of direction, in the lives of they sons and daughters.

This is our prayer, Heavenly Father, as we dedicate this land unto thee, placing a priesthood blessing upon the land at the direction of the President of thy Church, the Prophet of God. We do this in deep gratitude and in humility and all in the sacred and beloved name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

The words of Elder Ballard have realized prophetic fulfillment after a nineteen year period as the four countries membership has grown steadily particularly the last five years. It is fascinating that he predicted thousands would have their hearts open to the gospel.

The first President to visit Trinidad was Gordon B. Hinckley who stopped over in May 2002 after dedicating temples in Brazil and Paraguay when he met with the prime minister Patrick Manning.

On Saturday, 14 February 2009 Dr. Diane Robison, wife of the mission president wrote:

Conference for the Creation of the Trinidad Stake

That is so nice to type!

Here are the details on the creation of the first stake in Trinidad (and in the entire West Indies Mission):

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Presidency of the Seventy will create the stake on March 1, 2009 in Port of Spain Trinidad. He will be accompanied by Elder Francisco J. Vinas, second counselor in the Area Presidency.

There will be a Priesthood meeting from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and an adult general session from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28. The Sunday session will be from 10:00-12:00 a.m. on March 1. The meetings will be held in the chapel in Port of Spain.

We are looking forward to that momentous weekend.

It approximately nineteen years since the country was dedicated and brings to fruition the first stake in the mission. Her husband Reid Robison is ecstatic when the announcement was first made to him on 12 February 2009 as his missionaries realized a goal of 2008 baptisms in 2008 which gives them the necessary members and leadership to support a stake. Just as Elder Ballard predicted thousands of people have been blessed at the hands of the missionaries with the creation of this new stake this weekend.

Missionary Email: What is that?

Monday, February 23, 2009 6:25 PM

Why is it that when I do the whole family business thing first, nobody ever tells me the answers. I still don't have aunt Allison's address or Michael or Stuart's emails. I was going to add them to the list. I've decided against buying another battery charger, I'll wait to get to Taiwan, they have the two pronged outlets there the weird European ones, so I'll have to buy a converter for my straightener. Mom, can you check on my bank account and tell me how much I withdrew to come here so I can withdraw the rest? I didn't want to withdraw the 500 and I forgot how much I took out, so I need to know. Also let me know how much is in my bank account. My alarm clock already died so I'll buy a new one at the book store today. So I'll probably spend some money there buying an alarm clock and sending you guys some things. I decided to just get a CD. So I could delete my memory card, so those pictures last time were pointless to scan almost because now I'll send them on CD...haha...but don't get mad, I just barely figured out how to do that.

Hey by the way, I haven't gotten mail in 2 weeks. Just 2 emails. So write to me people! I know you guys are teenagers and stuff, you have to have drama to tell me about. :) I have tons of drama. And if you know people that love me, have them write too. But i won't lie, i boycotted letters last week and took a nap instead, so that might be part of the reason i didn't get anything...haha. I think i might do that more often. I'm sooo tired right now. I probably should have napped today. But all the older missionaries leave today and tomorrow, so no chance. AWWW so sad. In 1 hour we are meeting up with them to take some pictures. That will be the last time I see them in 2 years because they are all going to Kaohshung...and the Netherlands, and Paris. Pretty much I didn't make friends with the older Elders going to Taipei. I'll probably have a chance to get to know them there though, so no big.

Nothing really happened this week. Yeah dad, Elder Ballard came and spoke. They played a movie after, so I didn't get to shake his hand or anything. But I can send you a copy of my notes. I'll go to the copy center and send that with the CD I have and stuff. I probably won't have time to check my email again today, so you can just send me letters on Dear Elder if you want.

Mom I did see Elder Burstall and that's a funny story. I was sick and they sent me home...so the teachers were with me and he saw me and wanted to stop and talk, but my teachers were there, I wasn't going to stop and talk to an Elder...so we walked away...Well he RAN after me and a few seconds later there he is while we are like a couple feet from our building...he had tracked me back down. My companion was flustered and told him now was NOT a good time. Poor boy. He thought I was just being rude to him, but I just am careful about how people see me talking to Elders. That's something they have talked to us in our zone about is being careful about Elder/Sister relationships, so we are pretty good about it, at least in my opinion.

I still have 15 minutes left, which is rare and unusual, but I just don't have much to say. This is the first week I didn't feel too positive about our teaching appointment. But that might be a good thing because since we got some feedback now we have things to improve. Before we had mostly positive feedback so I didn't know what to change. Plan of Salvation, especially the Atonement, is kind of hard to teach simply...at least for me. I guess everyone has their struggles.

This coming Saturday is going to be our first Saturday that we teach all in Chinese, so who knows what situations will come up now that we have to teach in Chinese. I think it will be a lot different than English. This week was quite a struggle. I won't lie, sometimes I just want to give up. Especially when it feels like the girls in our room don't get along, but I think if I just have faith the Lord will help take care of things and everything will solve itself in due time. My teachers are really amazing and they are helping me out a lot. I really believe Song Laoshi and Han Laoshi are amazing at teaching to meet needs. They show me how important it is to do it, because it helps our class so much that they have changed so much because of how we change.

We get new missionaries a week from Wednesday. At least 2 sisters. I'm excited for new people to meet, and also the opportunity to not have the older people here for awhile, so we will all be at the same level. I think that SYL will change and we'll do it more. I can see such improvement in my companion's language. She's definitely at the same level as me, if not higher. She probably wouldn't believe me if I told her though. I'm going to try to focus this week though. Now that people are at and above my level, I need to work more diligently to use that to my advantage to become better by practicing with the missionaries around me. The gospel language is a lot different than every day language and it comes to me slower. But it also sticks pretty good when I focus. It's great. I'm excited to actually go to Taiwan. My teachers say nobody really comes home fluent, so I can't wait to at least immerse myself in it. It's such a crazy, but beautiful language.

Sorry this email is boring. But to be honest I'm a little boring today. I can't help it. I'm tired.

I guess a funny story I can think of that happened is that there is this Elder from Guatemala...he's just ridiculously funny. He struggles a little with English, so I can't imagine what it's like trying to learn Chinese through English...but anyways...one elder in district a made Sun Jiemei and I book covers for our three-column Chinese/English/pinyin /book of Mormon because they get so trashed fast...well Zhang Zhanglao wanted a cover and he didn't know how to make one...so he cut a tissue box open and tried to shove his book inside, even though the tissue box was like 3 times smaller than the book and you could tell. Maybe that's not funny to tell, but I was cracking up a lot. He wants my book cover a lot, but no dice. I love that thing. Elder Wilson is a nice guy to make them for so many people in our zone. I think he's made at least like 20. Too bad he's leaving today and Zhang zhanglao didn't ask him earlier. Maybe I'll take a picture to show you what it looks like. He made it out of cardboard...then he put pictures we gave him in, so I have cool ones of the temple and savior...then he taped it all up and our book fits in there....

Yeah...I can tell you wanted to hear that...hahahah. Okay 3 minutes left so no time left! latah!~...well and we have places to go :)

Write next week...and I'll send that CD .