Email from the Brazil MTC

Dear Parents,
We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.
They now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.
The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.
Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.
Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”
Please accept our love,
President Donald L Clark and Sister Zaza Clark

ADDITIONAL information . . .

DO not send packages to the Brazil Missionary Training Center. All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving not the MTC. If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package cannot be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you. The only other option is for us to open the package and forward the letters and photographs, giving the rest of the content of the package to the missionaries that are here.
WE Strongly eNCOURAGE sENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS. Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, please DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers. The cost to get this type of correspondence is exorbitant.

Missionary Coundown Banner

I made this banner today to countdown the months until my son returns home from his church mission.  Today is his first official day, so on the 27th of each month I'm going to cut off a pennant.  There are 24 pennants as he will be gone for 2 years. 

He is in Brazil so I put a Brazilian flag on every pennant except the last one, I put a US flag because he will be coming home that month.

It is pretty long and I haven't quite decided where I want to hang it yet, but I can't wait for it to get smaller and smaller! 

Elder McBarron is on his Way to Brazil



Jim (Dad), Megan (Sister), Renae (Mom) & Adam





Adam, Christina & Carlie



 Before we left for the church to have Adam set apart as a missionary we took a bunch of pictures as a family and with his friends. 






Elder Bateman, President Rodarte, Elder McBarron



Adam was set apart last night as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He officially put on his missionary tag.  He and Brodi Bateman were set apart at the same time and it was a really neat experience.  President Rodarte started with Brodi and he and his dad set him apart.  Next it was Adam's turn so Jim and President Rodarte set him apart and gave him a wonderful blessing. 

Elder Bateman & Elder McBarron

No more hugs, only hand shakes for the next 2 years 







Jim & Adam



Carlie, Christina, Renae, Megan & Adam



After Adam was set apart, we went to dinner.  It was Adam, me, his dad, sister, and friends Christina and Carlie.  We ate at Mazatlan in Enumclaw and we were the only ones there.  They were so kind to seat us and feed us so late.  It was perfect.

We were up late last night finalizing everything and getting all the bags packed.  We got up around 6:00 am this morning and had family prayer, lots of hugs, kisses, good wishes and tears before he and his dad left for the airport.  Adam met up with another half-dozen of missionaries at the airport (several of them going to the Vitoria Mission as well).  He called us from Texas to let us know that the flight went well and to check in one last time.  He was a little sad, but said he was having a really good time with all of the other missionaries. 

Elder McBarron

He is now on his way to Brazil and will arrive in the morning at 7:40 am where he and all the missionaries will be picked up by the Missionary Training Center in Sao Paulo and the work begins.  Elder McBarron, we love you, are so proud of you and miss you terribly!



Adam's Farewell Talk

Adam gave his farewell talk this last Sunday.  The first speaker was Brodi Bateman who is also leaving for a mission to Brazil the same day as Adam.  The last speaker was Elder Bussy of the Seventy.  He is the Area President for the Northwest of the United States.  It's kind of crazy that the Area President would be speaking on the same day and in Buckley of all places.  He was a great speaker and during his talk he said that Adam and Brodi were going to a great place and they did a knuckle bump and smiled.  Then Elder Bussy said that after their missions they would come home, find sweethearts and get married.  That produced even bigger smiles and another knuckle bump between Adam and Brodi.  They all talked about the power of the Priesthood.  It was a great meeting.  Adam had been sick and was loosing his voice so he was talking quietly, but the spirit was so strong as he spoke.  He hadn't prepared anything and spoke directly from the heart.  The chapel was so quiet as he spoke, I had several people after the meeting comment on how quiet it was during his talk.  As his mother, it was an amazing thing to see and hear.  After the meeting we heard from so many people about how good his talk was, one in particular was very touching.  She said that Adam reminded her of the missionary that converted her.  It was a wonderful day.

Visa Received

Adam received his visa, passport and itinerary in the mail today.  He is officially going straight to Brazil!  He has two weeks left before he leaves for Brazil on April 26th. 

Last Saturday we went to the Seattle Temple and Adam was able to go through for the first time.  What a wonderful day!  The Gamblins came too, they were so sweet to support Adam like that.  He is speaking in our ward on Sunday and then in the Young Single Adult Ward the next Sunday.  Now just packing left!

3 Weeks to Go

Time is moving so fast, Adam has 3 weeks left before he leaves on his mission.  This morning when we checked on the Brazil Visa Status website it said that his visa had been authorized.  We were so excited!  Yesterday, a young man in our ward called because he had just received his travel package which had his visa to Brazil in it, he was extremely excited.  He and Adam leave the same day for the Missionary Training Center in Brazil.  There have been so many problems with visas to Brazil for many months, that this is truly incredible that they will be going directly to Brazil.  So many missionaries have had to go to the Missionary Training Center in Utah first while waiting for their visas.  Some missionaries have even been temporarily reassigned to missions in the United States while waiting for their visas.  Something has happened in the last few weeks as visas have finally been coming through with hundreds of missionaries finally getting their visas to Brazil.  It is amazing that Adam will be able to go directly to Brazil.  We are so grateful!