“One Must Set an Example”

When José Eduardo Álvarez Molina arrived in Chuy, Uruguay, in 1988 for work, he thought it strange that no branch or ward was organized there. Chuy was a religiously diverse city with an economy centered on commercial tourism.

José did not want to stop attending worship services. Determined, he took the bus to Rocha, a city 130 kilometers (81 miles) away, and introduced himself to the bishop of the ward there. The bishop gave José permission to hold informal meetings in Chuy with a couple other member families who lived there.

Later that year, missionaries arrived in the city, and the Chuy Branch was created. “I am grateful that the Lord permitted me to come by bus to this city and, in some form, participate and help bring the missionaries and establish a branch,” José said.

In 1987, a classmate invited Sandra Carina García de los Ángeles to attend Church activities in Melo, Uruguay. She was baptized soon after and met José, who had recently returned from his mission. She stayed in Melo while José began his new job in Chuy. In 1991, the couple married and were sealed in the São Paulo Brazil Temple. Sandra joined José in Chuy.

The branch in Chuy grew quickly, moving from a residential meeting place to a chapel. One of the difficulties for the branch was that members had to travel regularly to meetings outside their city.

When the Montevideo Uruguay Temple was dedicated in 2001, Chuy branch members traveled by bus with their families to attend the dedication. All the adult members in the party wanted to attend the session where Church President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke; no one wanted to stay behind and watch all the little children. Sandra remembered how her husband, serving as branch president at the time, led by example and volunteered to stay with the children, saying that he was the father of many of the children, and he would watch them and the others.

José said, “Someone had to stay, and when no one wanted to, I said, alright, but without a doubt, that was an opportunity to meet President Hinckley, something that excited me. It did not hurt me; however, one of the sisters wanted to meet the prophet, but there was this problem of the children who could not attend. As a leader, one must set an example.” Later, José saw President Hinckley at a different meeting, which he felt was compensation for his missed opportunity.

Sandra and José felt the Lord’s hand in their lives. “If we are weak, the Lord assists us; if we are sick, He helps cure us; if we have doubts, He helps clear them up. It’s enough that we trust in Him and set our hands to the work,” Sandra said.