Yes…the FBI was involved

There was no doubt that we were all excited for Kevin. We could not believe that he was actually going to be in South American for the next two years of his life!

On April 28^th 2015 Kevin got his mission call, and on the 5th of May he sent his acceptance letter notifying The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that he had accepted his mission call. A week later, he received instructions from the church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah on what he had to do to request his visa from Brazil. He had until July 15^th 2015 to accomplish this, which meant that he was not allowed to submit the electronic visa to the church headquarters until after the date the church provided for him. The church is very specific on when things were to be turned in. The lord’s church is one of order, which is why it is set up in this way. Anyhow we started the process right away.

Documents that were requested to get a visa to Brazil

• A Current Passport
• FBI Clearance
• Pictures of the person requesting the visa
• Birth Certificate

The following documents needed to be notarized

• Proof of Jurisdiction
• F.U.A.N.I Letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Seminary Transcripts
• Priesthood Ordinance
• Copy of his passport (all pages)

After all the documents, letters, pictures, and clearances were processed there was still more that needed to be done. All the documents that were notarized also needed to be authenticated by a government agency to ensure that all the documents were true and correct.

The hardest part was getting the FBI clearance done. We had originally sent in our FBI clearance request May 13th, but it was taking a very long time to get cleared. The estimated time of when it would get done was the middle of August. Luckily, on July 20^th we received an e-mail providing another way to get the FBI clearance done faster. We scrambled to get it done right away, and got the clearance two days later. It was a miracle!

On the 23^rd of July the application was sent to Salt Lake City, UT. From there, the documents were passed on to the Brazil Embassy. Currently, we are waiting for the visa. We hope it comes before Kevin reports to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 16^th of September. Overall, it was a very tough process to get through, but we know that this experience will be unlike any other. We could not be any happier that he has decided to serve the people of Brazil. Helping him get everything he needs for this experience is the least we could do for a young man aspiring to share his love for his religious beliefs.

What is Seminary? Take a look! http://seminary.lds.org/about?lang=eng

What is the Priesthood? Take a look! https://www.lds.org/topics/priesthood?lang=eng

What is the MTC? Take a look! http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/missionary-training-centers 

For the next two years “Oi!” will be “Hello!”

Being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, gave our family the opportunity to hear young men and women during our church meetings thrillingly say, “Ghana! Chile! Madagascar! California! Canada!” These were all locations of where our friends were going on their mission for the next 18 or 24 months. For those of you who are not entirely sure as to what an LDS mission is can check out this awesome website: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/missionary-program. As of July 1, 2015 there are 418 missions of the LDS Church, and we were about to find out where Kevin would soon be going. It could be anywhere in the world!

Of course the name of this blog clearly states where he has been called to serve, but nonetheless we were all enthusiastically excited to find out, and let me tell you…it was one day we all will never forget. 

Most families like to invite people over to their homes as their son or daughter open the envelope that holds the location to their future, and post it on social media for all friends and family to see. I (his sister) decided to take it one step further and make a video of him opening his mission call since we did not invite anyone to our home. We were out of state when he opened his mission call. 

For the next two years Kevin will be saying, “Oi!” as we all continue to say “Hello”, but as he goes out and shares what he loves the most about his life…we (his family) will be “making a record of [his] proceedings (1 Nephi:1:1) so that we can all look back and see all he has done to bless the people of Belém, Brazil. 

(1 Nephi 1:1) "The Book of Mormon." The First Book of Nephi. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Web. <https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1?lang=eng>.