Senior Missionary Opportunity

You don’t need to be a farmer to serve this mission. You don’t need to go to China to teach English—you can do it in Brazil. Housing and a vehicle are provided to the missionary couple and living expenses are minimal. The couple may be Brazilian.

Sister Dibble and I direct the senior couple missionaries who provide support services on the farms and ranches of the Church worldwide. We currently have a couple who are serving on the farm in the State of Minas Gerais. Their mission with Farmland Reserve ends this July. We are in desperate need of a couple to replace them. Most members of the Church are not aware that the Church has many investment farms and ranches located in various parts of the world. In addition to owning productive agricultural lands, as an investment, the Brethren have also directed that many of these properties be operated as for-profit, tax-paying entities to maximize the investment, and to prepare for the day when these farms and ranches will be needed to support the people with life-saving commodities. These are separate from the Church’s welfare system, but some of the profits are used for humanitarian purposes as needed. The official company is called AgReserves, Inc. The operation in Brazil is called: AgroReservas do Brasil, and is located in the state of Minas Gerais, about two and a half hours travel Southeast of Brasilia. There is a small rural town called Cabeceiras that is about 30 minutes travel from the farm headquarters, with basic food and limited services. On the farm, they produce corn, sorghum, soybeans, and feijão carioca (pinto beans). It is about 70,000 acres in size, of which approx. 20,000 acres are maintained as natural preserve area for wildlife and native plant species. Our senior missionary couple lives in a very comfortable, modern home close to the farm headquarters. Their service in the area consists of maintaining a Learning Center at headquarters, where they teach English to farm workers; they also teach computer skills, and generally raise the literacy level of the employees by providing reading materials to them and their families. They visit the families, teach English in the homes to the spouses and children of the employees and other interested community members; they volunteer at an elementary school to teach English; they serve in the local branch and bless the lives of the people in every way possible. Though they are not there to actively proselyte, they do help fellowship members, and assist the full-time missionaries from time to time. The missionary housing is provided by the farm, as well as a vehicle for couples while they serve. The only expenses they would have are personal living expenses of food, clothing, etc. The policy of AgroReservas is to employ local people and bless their lives. Our American missionaries serve in a range from 12 to 23 months at the Learning Center, depending on personal circumstances. We do prefer the longer time commitments if possible, given the difficulty of getting people in place with visas. We are looking for couples where at least one speak Portuguese, and where both have a love of the people and the culture, and desire to teach English, computer skills, and love of learning to the local residents. We look forward to hearing from several couples and finding whom the Lord would have serve at this time. We would love it if there were a native Brazilian couple, temple worthy, who would desire to serve. This would allow us to get them in place hopefully by July, without the difficulty of visa issues. Since the area is so remote, it is imperative that both husband and wife be in relatively good health. The response time in case of a medical emergency is just too great to safely have individuals or couples serving there who would need constant check-ups or medical services. Consequently, a maximum age range of low to mid seventies would be required. These calls do not come from the Missionary Department, but rather through the Presiding Bishopric, facilitated by Sister Dibble and I as Directors. We really do need to get this information out there as soon as possible. We are already behind where we need to be in order to process visas for a couple to be there in July or August this year. Interested members may contact us directly at the email or phone numbers. Thank you Elder Cleve M. Dibble Director, Farmland Reserve Missionaries

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