New Mission Presidents Receive Assignments

Accepting assignments from the First Presidency, 108 new mission presidents will begin service on or around July 1, 2006.

The new presidents and their wives are humbled by the calls to serve in this capacity, each in an individual way.

For John Douglas Whisenant, serving in Brazil is going “home.” The president of the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission served in this same mission as a young missionary.

“I was here when the first stake was organized in São Paulo in 1966,” he said. “When we talk about the growth of the Church in a short time, I think of those days and look at the Church in Brazil today. There are now 26 missions and about 200 stakes—incredible.”

David B. Iwaasa is also returning home—to his heritage. Both he and his wife, Jane Kadonaga, are third-generation Japanese Canadians and are heading the Japan Fukuoka Mission.

“Jane and I have a deep love for the Japanese people and want to share the joy of the gospel with them,” Brother Iwaasa said. He feels, just as in 1 Nephi 3:7, that the Lord has prepared a way for them to accomplish this calling, as he has been privileged to serve in Canada as a bishop of a Japanese-speaking ward and in a stake presidency of a Japanese stake. Sister Iwaasa has also served in a Japanese-speaking ward and stake.

“As a consequence, I feel that we can understand many of the challenges facing those who become members of the Church in Japan,” Brother Iwaasa said.

Peter Leonard Joyce expressed his feelings over different challenges as he prepares to preside over the Utah Ogden Mission: “I don’t know of many areas in the Church with 144 stakes and about 1,500 wards and branches,” he said. Yet adapting to this mission environment is a challenge he looks forward to. The location is special to his wife, Sheena, since the missionary who taught her the gospel 42 years ago resides within the mission. “It’s not a small world,” she said. “It’s a big Church.”

The missions and their respective new presidents are:

Argentina Bahía Blanca	Raúl H. Spitale
Argentina Neuquén	Carl L. Cook
Australia Adelaide	Robert E. Quinn
Australia Sydney South	Brent W. McMaster
Belgium Brussels/Netherlands	Paul R. Woodland
Brazil Belém	Roger D. Hoggan
Brazil Belo Horizonte East	P. Randy Johnson
Brazil Belo Horizonte	Daniel K. Frei
Brazil Porto Alegre North	J. Douglas Whisenant
Brazil Porto Alegre South	Ren S. Johnson
Brazil Salvador South	Getúlio W. J. Silva
Brazil São Paulo East	Craig D. Wilkins
Bulgaria Sofia	Blair S. Bennett
California Oakland	James C. Beck
California San Fernando	Robert L. Goodrich
California San Francisco	W. James Keller
California Santa Rosa	Charles C. Stoddard
Cambodia Phnom Penh	Robert W. Winegar
Canada Calgary	Gene F. Priday
Canada Halifax	S. Gardner Jacobsen
Canada Winnipeg	Judd D. Morgan
Cape Verde Praia	Ronald C. Tolman
Chile Concepción South	Jorge F. Zeballos
Chile Santiago East	Sofocles E. Morán
Chile Viña del Mar	Gerardo J. Wilhelm
China Hong Kong	Lee H. Van Dam
Colombia Bogotá North	Hernando Camargo
Colombia Bogotá South	Rene Arturo Martinez
Costa Rica San José	Luis Ricardo Arbizú
Dominican Republic Santiago	Richard W. Thomas
England Birmingham	Richard W. Moffat
England London South	Jeffrey C. Swinton
England London	Clayton F. Foulger
Florida Tampa	Clark A. Davis
Georgia Atlanta	H. Warren Mathusek
Germany Berlin	K. Günter Borcherding
Greece Athens	John Galanos
Haiti Port-Au-Prince	Fouchard Pierre-Nau
Honduras Comayaguela	Sergio A. Gómez
Hungary Budapest	G. Walter Gasser
Idaho Pocatello	K. Brent Somers
Illinois Chicago North	William H. Stoddard
Jamaica Kingston	David W. Gingery
Japan Fukuoka	David B. Iwaasa
Japan Tokyo North	Allen F. Hill
Korea Seoul	Man Goo Cho
Madagascar Antananarivo	Ricardo V. Gaya
Maryland Baltimore	T. Dean Moody
Massachusetts Boston	Edward C. England
Mexico Cuernavaca	Wayne L. Gardner
Mexico Guadalajara South	Ross J. Davidson
Mexico Hermosillo	Omar Villalobos
Mexico Mexico City South	Gary B. Doxey
Mexico Monterrey West	Ernesto R. Toris
Mexico Tampico	Brian H. Moss
Micronesia Guam	Gary L. Marshall
Mississippi Jackson	Parker J. Fuhriman
Montana Billings	Craig G. Fisher
Mozambique Maputo	Blair J. Packard
Nebraska Omaha	Jan E. Newman
Nevada Las Vegas West	Douglas M. Andrus Jr.
New York New York North	Richard M. Searle
New York New York South	Steven D. Bennion
New York Utica	Jay W. Eckersley
Nigeria Enugu	W. Blair Garff
Nigeria Ibadan	Steven G. Dyreng
Nigeria Lagos	Chad L. Evans
Nigeria Uyo	J. Wayne Brockbank
North Carolina Charlotte	Brad R. Hobbs
North Carolina Raleigh	W. Budge Wallis
Norway Oslo	Lynn J. Poulsen
Ohio Cleveland	Kenneth V. Peterson
Oklahoma Tulsa	Kent M. Seal
Papua New Guinea Port Moresby	Tevita Funaki
Paraguay Asunción	Matthew G. Bradley
Pennsylvania Harrisburg	Donald E. Pugh
Peru Lima Central	Jeffrey C. Elmer
Peru Lima South	Francisco W. Fierro
Peru Piura	Carlos A. Solís
Philippines Bacolod	Dany T. Daquioag
Philippines Baguio	Eleazer S. Collado
Philippines Laoag	Mark L. Lewis
Portugal Lisbon	Craig B. Terry
Portugal Porto	James F. Henry
Russia Moscow South	Philip L. Collins
Russia Rostov-na-Donu	Michael A. Harrison
Scotland Edinburgh	Lynn L. Summerhays
Singapore	Bryan Skelton
South Dakota Rapid City	Joseph S. Cannon
Spain Barcelona	W. Christopher Waddell
Spain Bilbao	Kenneth L. DuVall
Spain Madrid	Brad W. Farnsworth
Switzerland Geneva	Paul T. Peterson
Taiwan Kaohsiung	William S. Hsu
Taiwan Taipei	Norman S. Nielson
Texas Houston South	Calvin W. Allred
Thailand Bangkok	Karl L. Dodge
Uruguay Montevideo West	Lewis C. Bankhead
Uruguay Montevideo	Frederick H. Ashby
Utah Ogden	Peter L. Joyce
Utah Provo	Harold C. Brown
Venezuela Barcelona	Alexander Mestre
Venezuela Maracaibo	Fidel Alberto Coello
Venezuela Valencia	Abraham E. Quero
Washington D.C. South	B. Jackson Wixom Jr.
Washington Spokane	David R. Clark
West Indies	Reid A. Robison
Zimbabwe Harare	Andre Bester