December Departure

What a great group of missionaries. They will be missed in a big way. They served as zone leaders, district leaders, assistants, and trainers. This group always delivered on their responsabilities. Elders Gabriel, Coslett, Tenney, Romm, Coltrin, Pres. and Sister Cordon

Christmas Conference, Ponta Grossa, 2011

Our mission has grown significantly since last year which resulted in the need to hold two Christmas conferences, one in Curitiba and the other in Ponta Grossa. Our Ponta Grossa Conference included our two zones in Ponta Grossa and our Guarapuava zone. We had a wonderful time.

The Cast is Ready!!

In keeping with the Spirit of Christmas, we reenacted the Nativity story in our two conferences. Here are the missionaries in Ponta Grossa on stage and ready!

The Audience Is Also More Than Ready!

Here we all are waiting for the Nativity Story to begin. It was a great day with Awesome missionaries.

Christmas Conference, Curitiba, 2011

Mais uma foto da Conferência de Natal!

Christmas Conference Dinner, Curitiba, 2011

Elders enjoining Christmas dinner made by Irma Burnedette from Ponta Grossa. Look at those happy faces and look at the size of that Christmas Cake in the background.

The Curitiba Cast!!

Sister Cordon had them all ready for our Nativity. It was a cast of many. We had angels and shepherds, kings and wisemen.

In Loving Memory of Elder Marcos Prieto

Elder Marcos Prieto, a great leader of the Church here in Brasil and a dear friend, passed away this month. This picture of Elder Prieto (on the left with his two brothers who are currently serving as mission presidents in Goiania and Riberao Preto) was taken at the beginning of November in Sao Paulo at the Mission President's Seminar. He will be missed dearly. He has patterned his life after the Savior's and dedicated it to serving others. Until we meet again our dear friend.

Oh Joy! Cordons are doing apartment checks!

Elder Veiga and Elder Reeves were surprised this morning with an unexpected visit from Sister Cordon and I. We found them up, dressed and ready for the day. We were only a minor detour from their normal morning studies.

Christmas Party with the Stake Presidents and Their Wives

We had our annual Christmas dinner with the Stake Presidents and their wives. We love these dedicated servants of the Lord who sacrifice so much of their personal time and resources to help this sacred work move forward. We learn so much from them and their examples. They are like Moroni, "if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever."

Pres. and Sister Tavares of the Portao Stake, Pres. and Sister do Carmo of Campos Gerais Stake and Pres. and Sister Furusho of Boa Vista.

Pres. and Sister Santos of the Curitiba Iguacu Stake. He is Dallin's stake president.

Presidente and Sister Ogebowsky of the Sao Jose dos Pinhais Stake and Presidente Benvindo Michelisa of the Boqueirao Stake. The juice Pres. Benvindo is stirring is made from the husk of the pineapple. It is awesome. These are great people who really help the work move forward.

Pres. and Sister Pires of the Pinhais Stake; my counselor Pres. Miled Mechaileh and his wife Marli; Pres. and Sister Costa of the Sao Lourenco Stake.

December Zone Leader Council

It is such a pleasure to work with such wonderful young men and the best companion ever!!

Leadership Training Meeting - Portao

Elders and Sisters at the Leadership Training Session in Portao.

Poderosas!!

Sisters Roy and Francesca getting ready to head out after the Leadership training.

And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever! Mosiah 15:17

A Wonderful New Group of Missionaries Arrive!!

A wonderful group of new missionaries arrived today. Many of them were taught in the MTC by one of our former missionaries, Elder Costa. In this powerful group was what I believe is the first missionary from Germany to serve here in the Curitiba Mission if not all of Brazil, Elder Schmidt. We now have missionaries from Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Germany and the United States. It is truly an international mission!! Front Row, l to r: Sisters Miranda da Silva, Barbosa da Silva, Horkley, Hass, Cordon.

Back Row, l to r: Elder Melo, Presidente Cordon, Elders Sant'Anna, Romm, Guimaraes, Schmidt, Barkdull, Rodrigues, Hobbs, Reeves, Trevisanut, Twitchell, and Hugo.

Our new group arrives in the mission home. They are filled with hope and faith. What miracles they will do!!

November, 2011 Departure Meeting

This departure group really pulled at our heart strings. First we had the Carters leaving. They were our first missionary couple to arrive just days after we did. They served a wonderful mission, initially helping out in the mission office and then spending 10 fantastic months helping in the Prudentopolis branch leadership. They will be missed. Sister Jacinto was a powerful Sister who taught with the spirit. She is leaving to get her knees fixed. She has the faith of Job. Elders Tavares returns to Manaus having learned so much here that he will now use to help others there in the Amazon. Elder Lemos, our giant Brazilian, touched the hearts of so many people here. He had the blessing of having his parents pick him up and tour the mission with him. Last but not least are Elders Simper and Smith. They asked if they could extend one transfer in order to train and train they did. We love them all and will miss them everyday. Parents say goodbye to your missionaries one time, we have to say goodbye to missionaries every 6 weeks and it is really tough.

Bonsucesso Branch Presidency

Branch Presidency together after the dedication of the new chapel and the branch conference. Presidente Paulo Correa is third from the left and leads the church there.

Bonsucesso Guarapuava Chapel Dedication

We dedicated the new chapel in Guarapuava today. The district is so excited and the members of the Bonsucesso branch were super anxious to use this beautiful new house of the Lord. During the week the members held an open house each night. More than 300 neighbors and friends passed through the building prior to the dedication. Saturday night the chapel was dedicated by Presidente Derek L. Cordon, president of the Brasil Curitiba Mission in a full meeting. Present at the meeting was the presidency of the district of Guarapuava, several of the branch presidents, members and friends. Following the dedication, 5 baptisms were performed in the new baptismal font. Sunday, the 20th of November, the Bonsucesso Branch held their annual branch conference with over 110 in attendance.

Bonsucesso Branch members at the dedication. What a wonderful weekend!

First Baptisms in the New Chapel in Guarapuava

After the dedication of the building the branch held a baptismal service in the new font. It was great to see the excitement and commitment of our wonderful members there.

Xaxim Apartment Checks

Sister Cordon and I made a quick visit down to the Boqueirao Stake this morning and did an apartment check for Elders Menezes and Smith. Nice job Elders!! Their apartment was neat and clean as were they. They had the Spirit with them and were ready for a day of miracles.

Looking good Elders!! Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Elder Crook Trades Wisconsin Fall for Curitiba Spring!

Elder Crook arrived here in Curitiba after a long 20+ hours of travel from Wisconsin. He was greeted with a great Brazilian dinner at the mission home afterwhich he met his two new companions, Elders Simper and Fuchs. He will be working in Jardim do Sol.

Christmas Season arrives in Curitiba!

Christmas season has arrived here in Curitiba and Elders Simper and Fuchs arrived at the mission home just in time Wednesday evening to help get the decorations on the mission tree. We love this season of the year when the world reflects on the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Conselho dos Lideres de Zona-A Greater Vision

We took our zone leaders to the top of the highest building in Curitiba during our zone leader council meeting to receive a more complete view of this great city. Thanks to President Geurtner, president of the Brazil Brazilia Mission and his son Guilherme for allowing us to visit this wonderful site.

Elder Lima Santos enjoying the Conselho dos Lideres de Zona.

Zone Conference: Ponta Grossa, Campos Gerais & Guarapuava

Elder and Sister Davis Arrive in the City of Araucarias!!

Elder and Sister Davis arrived today after waiting forever for visas!! They are definitely not in Kansas anymore. They have been assigned to work in the Vila Bela Branch in Guarapuava. We are so excited to have them here and to utilize their experience and knowledge. The missionaries and members can't wait to meet them and work with them. (l to r: Elder Melo, Pres. Cordon, Elder and Sister Davis, Sister Cordon, Elder Romm)

Dia Da Patria!! 7 De Setembro!!

Presidential Haircut on P-Day!!!

Elderes Vincent and Lima came over this morning on P-day to do some service. Elder Vincent gave the president a haircut and they were rewarded with pancakes for breakfast and a quick tour of Parque Barigui where we saw some Capivara.

Conferencia de Zonas Ponta Grossa e Campos Gerais

Zone Conference in Ponta Grossa. Can you tell what might have been one of the central themes? Kneeling, l to r: Sisters Andrade and Roy; Front row, l to r: Sisters Enszer, Brandao, Pres. & Sister Cordon, Sisters Castellano, Correa; Second row, l to r: Elderes Lima Santos, Lott, Coslett, Bons, Cardoso, L. Pereira, Soares, Rogers; Third row, l to r: Clift, Barbosa, Stevenson, Dow, Lyon, Black; Fourth row, l to r: Patton, Maia, de Jesus, Cruz, Keaton, Smith.

Zone Conference with the "Frozen Chosen"

We got up very early this morning and drove to Guarapuava. We watched the thermometer on the car slowly drop as we approached our beloved district. The temperature ended up in the upper 30s with a steady drizzle all day. The Guarapuava chapel was freezing and Sister Cordon never took off her wool overcoat. OK, I didn't either. Front row, l to r: Elderes Sardinha, J. Santos, Pres. & Sister Cordon, Elderes Finato, Palacio; Second row, l to r: Elderes L. Oliveira, Constante, I. Silva, Tenney, De Oliviera, Evans, Cannon, Gabriel, Thorpe, Andrade.

Conferencias das Zonas Boqueirao e Jardim do Sol

Zone Conference for the Sao Boqueirao e Jardim do Sol Zones held in Portao. Front row, l to r: Simplicio, Lemos, Almeida, J. Lopes, S. Almeida, Lima, Aparecido, Palmer (behind), Camargo, Andrade (behind), Deivid, Teles, Askins, Costa; Second row, l to r: Nacimento, Youngberg, Flynn, Karren, Justino, Croskrey, Suan, Harper, Brino, Alexandre, L. Santos, Barrios; Back row, l to r: Borges, Vincent, Piper, Pres. Cordon, Nascimento, Sister Cordon, Smith, Marx, Medeiros, Viega.

Heading Out After Zone Conference

Elderes Elias, Pereira, Braga, Davies, and Holliday leaving to work after the Taruma and Luz Zone Conferences. Sister Cordon tried to get a photo of everyone but by the time the camera came out, the missionaries had dispersed to work.

Zone Conference for Novo Portao and Curitiba Iguazu

We started our new round of zone conferences today with the Novo Portao and Curitiba Iguazu zones. It was great to have all of the missionaries together for instruction and practice. They are awesome. It was great to have Elder and Sister Biehn join us for the first time. They are a wonderful addition to the mission. The spirit was strong and we learned a lot together this day.

Front row, l to r: Sister Smith, Rivera, Leandro, Prado, Pres. Cordon, Elder Nogueira, Christensen, Nash, Windous, Berkle; Second row, l to r: Sister Aragao, de Araujo, Elder Roberts, Barreto, Howard, Smith, Hartley, Pinheiro, Viana, Reynoso; Third row, l to r: Van Horn, Fuchs, B. Santos, Diamond, Pires, Bezerra, Weston; Back row, l to r: Elder and Sister Biehn, Andrade, Pinho, Hugo, Gill, Simper, Shaw, Noschang, Hann

Mission Tour with Elder and Sister Tobias

Elder Tobias, Area 70 and his wife visited our mission speaking with the missionaries in Curitiba and Ponta Grossa. It was wonderful to have them with us and feel of their spirit. Pres. & Sister Cordon, Elder & Sister Tobias, Elder & Sister Biehn. Curitiba Mission Tour.

Elder Barbosa joins the Best Mission in the Whole World!

OK, maybe that title is a little biased but we are so glad to have Elder Barbosa with us. He is already a great missionary and willing to serve with all of his heart, might, mind and strength.

More Missionaries with Visas!!

Today we received 7 missionaries who have been waiting in the mission field in the United States for their visas. They have been waiting anywhere from two weeks to three months. It is so exciting to see new areas opening and feel the excitement in the mission. We have now received 40+ new missionaries in the past 42 days. Half of our missionaries are either training or being trained. The Lord has truly blessed our mission. Now we have a huge work to do. (left to right: Elder Keaton, Elder Palmer, Sister Enszer, Pres. Cordon, Sister Cordon, Sister Roy, Elder Dow, Elder Vincent, and Elder Windous)