Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles traveled to the Guatemala National Palace in Guatemala City for a historic meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, who took office in January.
Me reuní con Ulisses Soares y miembros de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días, conversamos sobre las iniciativas humanitarias que tiene esta iglesia para implementar en nuestro país por el bienestar de los guatemaltecos. pic.twitter.com/ZtXfwZM3AA
— Alejandro Giammattei (@DrGiammattei) February 11, 2020
President Giammattei’s tweet roughly translates to: I met with Ulisses Soares and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we talked about the humanitarian initiatives that this church has to implement in our country for the welfare of Guatemalans.
“We spent 30 minutes together talking about his initiatives, his projects, his ideas about humanitarian projects, nutrition of the children in this country,” said the apostle. “I think he has a great future, and people are very confident that he can do something. And we as a church, we want to join him on these initiatives as we are doing here in this country already.”
Elder Soares, a native of Brazil, is traveling with his wife, Rosana. On Sunday, February 9, 2020, they ministered to Latter-day Saints and missionaries in Guatemala City.
“They are sweet and dear people and they want to do what the Lord wants them to do,” said the apostle, who participated in a special Family Home Evening broadcast to the homes of Central America Area members on Sunday evening.
“We knew that we would be only a few places in Central America, so that idea [for the broadcast] came to our hearts that we would love to see and talk with everybody,” he explained.
Elder Soares shared his impressions of his visit to Guatemala on social media.
“Rosana and I have arrived in the beautiful country of Guatemala,” Elder Soares wrote. “I have loved meeting and visiting with our members here, and we look forward to meeting many more. As I contemplated what to say to our members in Guatemala, I felt impressed to address how we can live in this world, facing challenges every day, and yet still come closer to Christ.”
During his visit to Central America, Elder Soares will also travel to Costa Rica and El Salvador for meetings with government, interfaith leaders and media.
Elder Soares and his wife return to Salt Lake City on Sunday, following special meetings with local Church leaders and Latter-day Saints in El Salvador.
This news release was provided by the Church Newsroom.
Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. She now works full time as a marketing and product manager, writer, and editor. She currently hosts the podcast “Single to the Glory” about singlehood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aleah served a mission in California and loves baking, Lang Leav poetry, Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, and Bollywood movies.
