Vince Herrera, 19, will be leaving on Wednesday to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

Already excited to serve, he was totally surprised when he received his assignment from church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, informing him that he will be serving in the Brazil Cuiaba Mission.  He quickly got online and did some research of the area and found it to be in the middle of South America, known for its searing hot climate and renowned sports fishing.   Elder Herrera will concentrate his efforts of a different type of fishing and will be seeking out those individuals to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Before leaving for Brazil, he will complete 6 weeks of training at the missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, where he will learn the Portuguese language in order to teach the people in their own language.     

His parents are Vincente and Liz of Manteca and he and his family attend Northland Ward.  His brothers and sisters are Evan, Marie, Kim, Philip, Emily and Kristen.  Vince graduated from Manteca High in 2010.  During high school he participated in soccer and basketball but enjoyed track the most, doing a 4:20 mile and thankful for his coach, Rick Cuevas.   He was in band for four years, playing the trumpet.  Vincente also attended early morning seminary at his church for four years.  He belonged to the Boy Scouts and earned the highest rank of Eagle.  Vince is very outgoing and friendly and enjoys playing sports and hanging out with friends.  Although he will miss everyone he is extremely excited to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others and hopes to change lives for the better.

Vincente attended BYU, Hawaii after receiving a scholarship in cross country.  He worked part time in the BYU cafeteria earning money to support himself on his mission.  He also worked as a lifeguard for the city of Manteca at Lincoln pool.  Missionaries and their family typically fund their own two-year missions.  Vince is very close to his family and they enjoy doing things together, especially anything to do with sports.  The family also enjoys the outdoors and their cabin in Twain Hart.   What has been a source of inspiration for Vincente serving a mission has been the example of missionaries serving in the Manteca area, coming from other states and even other countries.  Seeing their smiling faces and how happy they are encouraged him to want to serve a mission.  He also has many friends already serving missions and others preparing to serve who have inspired him also.  Vince will be the first member of his family to serve a mission.