Curitiba Pioneers established spiritual foundation
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Whenever a new temple is announced, there is a feeling of joy and excitement experienced by those close to the region — a feeling mixed with a sense of gratitude for the blessings which are in store.
For members living in Curitiba, capital of Parana, Brazil, where one of the two newest temples announced for Brazil will be built, the deepest sense of joy and gratitude is felt by those who have witnessed the Church grow from its humble beginnings in that part of the world.
Missionary work in Brazil was quite different in the 1930s from what it is today. American missionaries struggled to find converts among a population of post-World War I emigrants from Europe and parts of Asia, some who could barely speak Portuguese.
Yet missionaries soon found many of those who had been prepared to receive the gospel.
On a cloudy Sunday morning, Frederico and Maria Helena Stadler were on their way to church with their five daughters when they were caught in a rainstorm. They sought shelter at a home.
A nearby house had been rented out as an LDS meeting house. As they waited for the storm to dissipate, they heard voices singing "Israel, Israel, God Is Calling." They felt a desire to follow the voices. They immediately joined the congregation in singing and never turned back.
In those days, it was common for missionaries to hold meetings in German. A table would serve as a pulpit with a dozen chairs gathered around the room. Hymns were sung in German, with missionaries accompanying on the violin, acoustic guitar, harmonica, accordion or even a saxophone.
Sister Mathilde Felber and others in her family had been attending Church since the first meeting was held in Curitiba on April 22, 1938, in the house of an American family, gracious enough to open their home for services although not members of the Church themselves. Mathilde's father disapproved of their new religion and had not allowed the family to be baptized. One day, in 1941, he noticed that occasionally the family would not join him for two meals.
When he asked why, they explained they were fasting for him to grant them permission to be baptized. He immediately said they could eat again and that they had his permission to be baptized.
Sisters Ernestina Dedo and Aline Siegrist were some of the first members in Curitiba, baptized in the Bacacheri River. Sister Dedo answered a knock at the door by an Elder James E. Faust, then a young full-time missionary. The young man didn't speak Portuguese very well and she didn't speak any English, but they soon found they could communicate in German. The young missionary and his companion taught Sister Dedo in her native tongue and eventually the entire family joined the Church.
As a result of World War II, much of the leadership in Brazil was handed over to the members in 1941 when American missionaries were called home.
Many who suddenly found themselves in leadership positions had had no previous experience and depended heavily on instruction from the Missionary Department.
A 12-week course on gospel doctrine and principles was established. Tests were administered and certificates of course completion were handed out in sacrament meetings.
Future bishops, missionaries, district and stake presidents all took part in these primitive institute and seminary courses.
"Members would regularly hold six to eight callings at a time and devote a great amount of their week to serving in the Church," said Brother Alexandre Glock Sobrinho, who has carefully kept a record of the history of the Church in Curitiba.
To be able to afford new chapels, members not only contributed tithing but labor as well. "We dedicated all the free time we had during the morning, afternoon or at night," said Getulio Walter Cordeiro e Silva. "Sometimes we couldn't stop because the cement wouldn't be ready until we'd finished up the whole structure of the roof."
Realizing the importance of sharing the gospel, notwithstanding the shortage in missionaries, Church members developed other ways to make the Church visible in their state of Parana. "We used to present a traveling talent show that would go from here to the neighboring city of Ponta Grossa," said Brother Glock.
When the Curitiba District of the mission was established in the early 1960s, members took to the streets in pairs and taught the gospel using missionary tools such as "A Systematic Plan for Teaching Investigators."
Brazilian Latter-day Saints worked hard to build up the Church and help members receive all the blessings of the gospel, yet without a temple in all of Central or South America in the 1960s, temple sealings and other ordinances were, for the time being, only a distant dream.
Shortly after joining the Church in 1967, Teofilo Rebicki had a near-death experience, which left him certain that nothing in this life mattered more than to live the gospel and have his family sealed to him. The Rebickis sold the home they struggled to build and traveled to the United States to be sealed in the Provo Utah Temple. "I first wanted to obtain (our) celestial mansion, and then I would take care of the rest," said Brother Rebicki.
As the years pass and new members continue to join the ranks of wards and stakes in Curitiba, those who know of the sacrifice it took to get where they are today will do all they can to remember the examples of those who came before.
Brother Marcelo Villela de Lucca, who helped compile the history of the Church in Curitiba which will be placed in the cornerstone of the temple, said, "Many of us have no idea about the men and women that attend our wards and stakes who did so much to build the Church in Curitiba.
"We owe so much to them; our respect for their sacrifices, for their determination and the legacy of faith that transformed the course in the lives of many families for all eternity."
E-mail to: cmorales@desnews.com
