"Elder Juan A. Uceda," Ensign, May 2010, 141
When Elder Juan Alberto Uceda Andrade began courting Maria Isabel Bendezu-the woman he would eventually marry-he knew she was someone special. Both had converted to the Church as youth, and both had served missions in their native country, Peru.
Sister Uceda's conviction to marry in the temple had a great influence upon him. The nearest temple was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. "It took seven days just to get there, using every means of transportation available," Elder Uceda explains. "We traveled by bus, car, boat, horse and carriage, train, truck, and even plane. When we reached the temple, we reached out our hands to touch the walls just to make sure it was not a dream. It was a foundational experience for both of us."
The couple were married in the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple on April 13, 1979. They are the parents of five children.
Elder Uceda was born in July 1953 in Lima, Peru, to Juan Jose Uceda Perez and Ines Andrade Uceda. After joining the Church in 1972, Elder Uceda studied accounting and public relations at Jose Carlos Mariategui Institute in Lima. He also studied business administration at the Centro Andino de G.E. Institute and earned a bachelor's degree in public relations from San Luis Gonzaga University.
Elder Uceda has worked in the Church Educational System as area director for Peru and Bolivia. In 2003 he moved from Peru to New Jersey, USA, to help his father develop an educational and language training business.
In addition to his missionary service, Elder Uceda has served as a high councilor, bishop, stake president, president of the Lima Peru North Mission, and Area Seventy. He now serves in the First Quorum of the Seventy.
"I have a strong testimony of the power of personal revelation from the Holy Spirit," says Elder Uceda. "That testimony is continually confirmed by blessings that come from obedience."
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