Returned missionaries continue their work and ensure self-reliance in Ecuador

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By Mary Richards, News from the Church

As soon as the young missionaries from Ecuador return from their full-time service, they immediately attend a two-day workshop hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The workshop classes teach skills that help missionaries successfully integrate into life after their mission.

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The “Programa de Inmersión a la Autosuficiencia” or “Self-Reliance Immersion Program” focuses on three areas in particular:

1. Education through career counseling, access to affordable educational resources, and preparation for entrance exams to educational programs such as BYU–Pathway Worldwide.
2. Employment by learning personal marketing, resume writing, interview skills, and transferring missionary skills to the corporate world.
3. Entrepreneurship by facilitating the development of business projects through initiatives such as Business in a Box and the Academy for Business Creation.

The program, which began in Ecuador in June, has successfully helped missionaries maintain their momentum after returning home.

Dillan Torres of the Guayaquil Ecuador El Cisne Stake served in the Cochabamba Bolivia Mission before it was split off in July. He said the program helped him think more seriously about his future after being released from full-time missionary service.

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“Before I came back, I had a plan, but here I have many opportunities and a clearer idea of ​​what I should do,” he said. “Now I can see more clearly what steps I need to take to become a better person. Thanks to the mission and the [Self-Reliance Immersion Program]I have solidified my plans and seen more clearly what the Lord wants from me in this phase of my life.”

Workshops are held every few weeks when the missionaries return home. This program is being conducted not only in Ecuador, but also in Colombia after a successful start in Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela. (Venezuela is now in the Church's Caribbean area, while the other countries are in the South American Northwest area.)

Representatives of the Church's Welfare and Self-Reliance Services, business people, and corporate representatives from Ecuador attended the first workshops in June and worked with the 15 returned missionaries who attended.

The missionaries interviewed, developed their skills, learned how to improve their abilities, and discovered their talents. Several received job offers at the end of the workshop—and since that first workshop, more missionaries are better prepared to return home and develop their full potential.

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Fiba Simarron Añampa, a Chachi citizen of the Esmeraldas Ecuador Stake, served in the Bogota South Mission in Colombia and learned English but wanted to improve her English when she returned home. “Thanks to the [program]I return with a clear purpose and intentions for my life as a returned missionary.”

Marina Valencia of the Babahoyo Ecuador Stake served in the Ecuador Quito North and Colombia Bogota South Missions and joined the program after completing her full-time mission.

“It was a wonderful thing because it helped me see from a different perspective how everything we learned applies to my life. I believe it is more than an opportunity to know how the blessings the Lord promises are being realized,” she said.

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