Karru, Joao Henrique (1895–1961) and Yolanda Pereira (d. 1986)
By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP
The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.
First Published: January 28, 2020
João Henrique Karrú, canvasser and pioneer, was born on July 10, 1895 in Paraibuna, Rio de Janeiro.1 He was the son of Henrique Karrú and Saturnina Maria de Jesus. He accepted the Adventist message at a young age and on May 9, 1917, was baptized at age 21.2 After his conversion he started canvassing, where he remained for 15 years. During this period, he worked in the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.3 João married Yolanda Pereira on January 3, 1924. The couple had five children: Nelly, Neide, Nilza, Nelson, and Nimsi Karrú.4 They all stood firm in the Adventist faith.5
Karrú began canvassing on June 14, 1918 in the west of Minas Gerais state. He worked in several cities, including Areado, Formiga, Divinopolis, and Varginha.6 While canvassing in Varginha, south of the state, he met Sebastião Pereira, a Presbyterian who admired the Adventist church and who would become his father-in-law. Through Karrú’s influence Pereira became a Seventh-day Adventist along with his family.7 Karrú worked in the west of Minas Gerais for almost two years, leaving the region in April 1921.8
On May of the same year Karrú migrated to the south of the state, staying there until March 28, 1928. It was there that the young canvasser gained evangelistic experience, selling literature in cities like Alfenas and Muzambinho.9 While canvassing in Minas Gerais, João was affected by Chagas disease, which forced him to rest from his work.10 In 1928, he was transferred to the state of São Paulo, and later to Rio de Janeiro.11 Shortly after, for health reasons, he had to drop the canvassing work. Karrú died on April 18, 1961, age 65, in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul.12
Yolanda Pereira Karrú was born in Machadinho, south of Minas Gerais. She was a teacher of the municipal school system of some cities in Minas Gerais. She also taught in schools of the Sao Paulo Conference and Mato Grosso Mission.13 In Minas Gerais she worked in the city of Extrema. She served as the principal of Santa Luzia Adventist School, Belo Horizonte metropolitan region. This educational institution had 32 students in 1940.14 In the Sao Paulo conference and Mato Grosso mission, she also served as treasurer. She did missionary work and developed an important role in the children's department.15 Besides being a teacher, Yolanda Karrú was also a canvasser.16 She died November 20, 1986 in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul after working for over 40 years in education.17
John and Yolanda Karrú dedicated their lives to Adventist ministry. Due to Yolanda's work, the couple moved several times, passing through various regions of Brazil. Their last move was to Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, where both collaborated to establish an Adventist church.18 The couple made significant contributions to the Adventist work, both in the spreading of Christian literature and in education.
Sources
Bainer, C. L. “A Recolta no Oeste de Minas.” Revista Mensal, January 1925.
Belz, Rodolpho. “União Sul-Brasileira.” Revista Adventista, April 1937.
Biografia de João Henrique Karrú. In: National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, Sbookcase: 02. Shelf: 06. Folder/Box: “Karrú, João.” Accessed December 4, 2019.
Biografia de Yolanda Pereira Karrú. In: National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, Sbookcase: 02. Shelf: 06. Folder/Box: “Karrú, João.” Accessed December 4, 2019.
“João Henrique Karrú.” National Center of Adventist History Network, October 7, 2013.
Karrú, João Henrique. “Há Dez Annos.” Revista Mensal, November 1928.
Margarido, Manoel. “A Pagina Impressa Préga Sempre.” Revista Mensal, February 1930.
Pereira, Yolanda. “Como aceitei a Verdade.” Revista Mensal, August 1924.
Reisig, A. J. “Die Matogrosso Mission.” Revista Adventista, September 1940.
Santos, Diomar Pereira. “Fim da Jornada.” Revista Adventista, October 1961.
Westphal, A. L. “Oeste de Minas – November, 1920.” Revista Mensal, January 1921.
Westphal, A. L. “Oeste de Minas – January de 1921.” Revista Mensal, April 1921.
Westphal, A. L. “Oeste de Minas – February, 1920.” Revista Mensal, April 1921.
Westphal, A. L.. “Oeste de Minas – May de 1921,” Revista Mensal, July 1921.
Notes
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Biografia de João Henrique Karrú, National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP.↩
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Ibid.; “João Henrique Karrú,” National Center of Adventist History Network, October 7, 2013. Accessed November 27, 2019, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Jo%C3%A3o_Henrique_Karr%C3%BA.↩
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Ibid.↩
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Ibid.↩
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“João Henrique Karrú,” National Center of Adventist History Network, October 7, 2013. Accessed November 27, 2019, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Jo%C3%A3o_Henrique_Karr%C3%BA.↩
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João Henrique Karrú, “Há Dez Annos,” Revista Mensal, November 1928, 8; A. L. Westphal, “Oeste de Minas – November, 1920,” Revista Mensal, January , 1921, 16; A. L. Westphal, “Oeste de Minas – January, 1921,” Revista Mensal, April 1921, 16; A. L. Westphal, “Oeste de Minas – February, 920,” Revista Mensal, April 1921, 16; A. L. Westphal, “Oeste de Minas – May, 1921,” Revista Mensal, July 1921, 16.↩
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“João Henrique Karrú,” National Center of Adventist History Network, October 7, 2013. Accessed November 27, 2019, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Jo%C3%A3o_Henrique_Karr%C3%BA; Yolanda Pereira, “Como aceitei a Verdade,” Revista Mensal, August 1924, 7.↩
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João Henrique Karrú, “Há Dez Annos,” Revista Mensal, November 1928, 8.↩
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Ibid; C. L. Bainer, “A Recolta no Oeste de Minas,” Revista Mensal, January 1925, 7.↩
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Biografia de João Henrique Karrú (National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩
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João Henrique Karrú, “Há Dez Annos,” Revista Mensal, November 1928, 8.↩
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“João Henrique Karrú,” National Center of Adventist History Network, October 7, 2013. Accessed November 27, 2019, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Jo%C3%A3o_Henrique_Karr%C3%BA; Diomar Pereira Santos, “Fim da Jornada,” Revista Adventista, October, 1961, 38.↩
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Biografia de Yolanda Pereira Karrú (National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP).↩
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Biografia de Yolanda Pereira Karrú (National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP); Rodolpho Belz, “União Sul-Brasileira,” Revista Adventista, April, 1937, 10-11; Reisig, A. J., “Die Matogrosso Mission,” Revista Adventista, September, 1940, 11-12.↩
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Biografia de Yolanda Pereira Karrú (National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP), 1.↩
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Manoel Margarido, “A Pagina Impressa Préga Sempre,” Revista Mensal, February 1930, 9-0.↩
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Biografia de Yolanda Pereira Karrú (National Center of Adventist History/ Ellen G. White Research Center: UNASP-EC, Engenheiro Coelho, SP), 1.↩
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Ibid.↩