Judge taking a break from the bench for Brazil mission

By Randy Bell

It’s 4,549 miles from Clinton to Joao Pessoa, Brazil. And that’s where Municipal Court Judge Steven Boone and his wife Brandie will be living – and sharing their faith – for three years. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they’re preparing to pull up stakes in Clinton, selling their home and cars, to work as unpaid volunteers training young missionaries in the Brazilian city on the country’s easternmost edge.

“It is a really, really beautiful country,” Boone says, “but the best part of Brazil is the people.” Serving as mission president, he’ll be responsible for 180 to 200 men and women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six from Brazil, other South American countries and the U.S.

Boone is no stranger to that part of the world. He’s fluent in Brazil’s official language, Portuguese, having spent two years on a church mission in Sao Paulo some thirty years ago – an experience that changed his life.

“It made me think less about myself and more about others. It made me want to help others and become a productive citizen, instead of just worrying about myself.”

Boone is being allowed to take a leave of absence from the bench, saying City leaders have been “very kind and accommodating” as he steps down temporarily from the job that he enjoys. His last day as judge will be May 31. He and his wife will head to Provo, Utah, for training in June and will report to Brazil July 1.

At their February 1 meeting, the Board of Aldermen named City Attorney Will Purdie as Boone’s replacement. He’ll serve as municipal court judge pro tem until June 1, when he’ll take over the job full-time, while continuing his role as City Attorney.

And for Judge Steven Boone, as he and his wife get ready to say goodbye to Clinton for three years, “A saying goes in our church that when you’re in the service of your fellow man, you’re in the service of our Savior. And we love our Savior and want to follow his example.”