COLOMBO, Brazil — An angel, they said, fell from heaven into the lives of Ozair and Rosicler Ribeiro of the Guaraituba Ward, Curitiba Boa Vista Brazil Stake, and changed their lives.

Photo courtesy Ribeiro family

Ozair and Rosicler Ribeiro, standing at rear, have three biological and 18 adoptive children. Family home evening and scripture study are held regularly.

The newspaper described it differently. Firemen, reporters said, found a tiny, premature newborn infant nearly dead from exposure in a sewage channel in bitter, freezing temperatures. One of the firemen was Ozair Ribeiro, newly converted to the Church. The story continues in the words of that baby, now an adolescent who was named William:

"I was almost dying, as I had been born prematurely, weighing only 2.3 lbs. and had been under the rain without any clothing that night."

He was placed in an incubator at a pediatric intensive care unit where he stayed for 45 days. Continued William: "That fireman, Ozair Jesus Ribeiro Filho, a paramedic, went to see me every day. He prayed for me with a lot of fervor and had given me a blessing," continued William. "After some days had passed, he adopted me as his son."

Ozair and Rosicler sang to their baby the hymn "An Angel From On High," said William. "But I think that the 'angels' are they who saved me and gave me a new hope in life." William's story was told in the national news media across Brazil.

This was the beginning of the Ribeiros' large, forever family with its mortal implications of eternal increase. They are now parents of 21 children, 18 of these adopted.

He is a retired reserve major in the civil defense, also retired chief in the fire department. A former bishop and stake president's counselor, he is active in the community in Colombo, Parana. She is an educator, and they own their own junior high-level and high schools, much populated from their own family.

In the Guaraituba Ward, where Brother Ribeiro is the first counselor in the bishopric, and Sister Ribeiro is a daily seminary teacher, most of the family also has a calling in the Church. Many are the leaders in their own organizations, with exception of Luciana, their daughter who with her husband, Rafael Santana, and son Rafael Santana Jr., are in another ward. Their son Ozair Jr. is serving a mission in Rio de Janeiro. Twelve of their children attend the seminary classes from Tuesday to Friday, where their mother teaches, and another two are attending the Missionary Preparation Course and the Institute of Religion.

"Our sons have made the effort to accomplish their goals in the "Duty to God" and our daughters are accomplishing their goals in the "Personal Progress" programs," said Sister Ribeiro. "We try to motivate them by holding interviews every week as a follow-up to their goals. Some of them have quick aptitudes, and have developed fast so they help the others."

The Ribeiros live in a large, 11-bedroom home where they practice the principles of provident living.

"The Lord has provided enough for us to live with dignity, without having to search for any kind of donations — not because of pride, but because we understand the principle of self-sufficiency," said Brother Ozair Ribeiro.

The other 20 children who followed William came with their own stories, often as filled with drama and trauma as was William's, though perhaps not as dramatic.

The Ribeiros' adventures in children started after they encountered the Church. Two missionaries came to their home in the second semester of 1990, and the couple was baptized in November of that year.

"Three years after we were converted, we adopted William, having already three biological children, Luciana, Ozair Jr. and Eloise," he said. "In due time, each one of our children was baptized. We noticed, in our hearts, that much had changed," said 48-year-old Brother Ribeiro.

The story of the meeting and adoption of William served as a motivation for them to adopt more and more children. Each succeeding adoption of an additional child was filled with turmoil and trauma, but thanks to the balm of the gospel of Jesus Christ, "such wounds of the past were healed, as each child was given the chance of a new future."

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is the source of inspiration and guidance to our family today," said Sister Ribeiro. "We know that it is impossible to maintain a family so numerous with so many differences and traumas, without guidance and help from our Master."

For that reason they follow the words of Joseph Smith as they "teach them correct principles" and let the army of children govern themselves. Such principles are not only taught regularly in the Church, but especially in their home during their regular family evening meetings, which they hold on Mondays. Their children take turns in giving the lessons. Since their baptism they began the tradition of studying the scriptures every day at 7:30 p.m., first with the family and then individually. When they finish their reading, they make comments of what they have read or bear their testimonies, opening and closing with a prayer.

When asked how they have raised so many children, when others have difficulties with only one of two children, the Ribeiros affirm that they had never planned any of the adoptions. They have only felt inspired and guided by Heavenly Father in each one of them, despite their modest financial condition. But that has never been an obstacle to their ideals.

Special are the various missionary experiences that they have because of the size of their family. They have been vigorously involved by sharing the gospel with all they know, including accompanying full-time missionaries during their discussions and having family evening meetings with those who are less active members or those who are being taught the missionary discussions.

One unforgettable experience was when the mission president of the Brazil Curitiba Mission authorized some couples to share the missionary discussions with investigators. Then Brother and Sister Ribeiro met and taught many families, some were baptized and a number of them are still active members.

"One of the houses where we knocked at the door was the Gardasz family, who accepted our visits," said Brother Ribeiro. "We had the opportunity to teach them the six missionary discussions and I had the honor to baptize them. Some time later that family's patriarch, Silvio Robert Gardasz, became our bishop. Today he and his wife live in the state of Para and they have eight children, six of whom are adopted."

"We bear our testimony that the reading of the scriptures, the seminary, family meetings, and all the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ have been fundamental in the structure and development of our family. Obedience to all the principles taught in the Church is essential to the harmony of our home," they say.

The Ribeiro family is a great example of how the gospel of Jesus Christ, when put in practice, is the foundation for success of any individual or family of one or 21 children.

Sealed for eternity in the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple, the family's greatest goal, common to all, is to be together as a family in the celestial kingdom.

E-mail to: anaclaudia@yahoo.com