Bio of Melanee Anderson Sainsbury

Family: Spouse: Stanford Sainsbury. Children: We have 7 children: Rachel, age 21, leaves to the Baguio Phillipines mission in October, Amanda, age 19, Music Ed. major at BYU, Matthew, age 17, Seth, age 15, Stephen, age 13, Marissa, age 10, Anne Marie, age 8. We have lived for the last 13 years on a 54-acre farm in West Mountain by Payson, UT. We have enjoyed mostly raising children, but also some cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, horses, dogs, cats, alfalfa, barley, pumpkins, and the work it involves. My children keep busy with school, sports, and music in addition to Scouts, YW, etc. and I am happy being a full-time Mom sharing their activities. Stanford is an attorney and currently works at Orem City as Director of Development Services.

Church: I have served in all the auxiliary organizations from nursery to presidencies, I was Webelos leader for 5 years, and currently teach the Sunday School Gospel Doctrine class, am assistant Primary Activity Day leader with 8-11 yr. old girls, and am accompanist for choir and R.S. It has blessed our family to have my husband serve in several bishoprics. He is currently our Stake President.

Education: I graduated from BYU with a degree in Elementary Education, and taught 4th grade in American Fork for two years until the birth of our first child.

Hobbies: In addition to farm life, our family likes BYU sports, movies, music, and vacations. I enjoy sewing and scrapbooking when I find the time.

Community: I have helped with the PTA, volunteered at school, coached my kids on community soccer and basketball teams, and helped with fundraisers.

Comps: I had wonderful missionary companions, including Sisters B.J. Stonehocker, Vicki Spence, Patricia Condie, H. Sanchez, Barbara Young, Linda Stott, Leda Ramos, and Maritza Cordon.

Areas Served: I served in Comayaguela, La Kennedy, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, then in David and La Chorrera, Panama, and then finished in the Paso Ancho area of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Memories: I loved the food on my mission! Platano en Tentacion, Guarani, all the wonderful fruit juices, etc. One of my outstanding missionary experiences was to be in David, Panama when the Revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members was received. To watch and share in the joy of the black members in the branch whom we had grown to know and love, and who could now receive all the blessings of the priesthood, was an experience that I would never have appreciated as much had I not been there on my mission. And to hear Elder Bradford explain how it came about, at a Zone Conference soon after, was one of the most spiritual witnesses I have ever felt.

I am grateful I could serve a mission in Central America. I grew in many ways. I felt the love of the Lord in my life and saw it affect the people I served with, those I taught, and those I saw baptized. For me it was the most worthwhile thing I could have done at that time of my life, and helped set a lifelong pattern for gospel living.