Transferred AGAIN!

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a minute and a lot of stuff has happened but I don't really want to write it all haha. 

Back in Bairú our friend Livian got baptized! She is super elect and was super ready to accept the gospel. On our first visit, she said she wanted to feel closer to God and she accepted our invitations to read the Book of Mormon, pray to know if it's true, come to church and be baptized almost immediately! 

But transfers happened a week early and I got transferred for the 4th time in a row haha. I was pretty sad to leave my companion Elder Bonoso because he is one of the nicest dudes I've met. He has such a genuine desire to serve others. Generally, as missionaries, the members of the wards invite us to eat lunch with them but due to some people's circumstances it doesn't always work out. So whenever that happened Elder Bonoso made food for us. Also he is from Argentina but his family moved to San Bernadino California so I'm definitely gonna meet up with him post mish. 

Although I spent little time in Bairú I'm thankful for the time I spent there and I feel that I did what the Lord prepared for me to do.  So, I'm at peace.

Now I'm here in the heart of Juiz de Fora! I'm currently living in the same house as the APs and secretaries so I'm in on all the news happening in the mish, which is fun. Also what's dope is I'm living in the same house as my MTC comps Elder Jones and Elder Bowers! My current comp is Elder Oliveira from Piaui in the northeast of Brazil. He's my second comp from the northeast, where people have a very different accent, but luckily this time with 15 months in Brazil it is much easier to understand haha. He's a fun dude and likes to joke around so I'll be having a lot of fun this transfer. 

The area that I'm serving in is pretty humble. We gotta climb some pretty big hills and are currently teaching some people that have to overcome some serious opposition to be ready for baptism.  But they have such sincere desires to change and to be forgiven of sin, so we're doing our best to help them! 

A couple weeks ago the church dropped the new edition of Preach my Gospel and let me tell you when I saw that I almost cried from pure joy. Preach my gospel is literally a guide book written by the Prophet and apostles on how to be a disciple and missionary of Jesus Christ. It lays out so well all of the basic doctrine and principles of the gospel and I invite all of you guys to read it! It says very clearly in the beginning that it is to be used by everyone, not just missionaries! I invite you guys to read chapter 3 that teaches the basic principles of the lessons that we missionaries teach to prepare people for baptism. Studying and teaching these principles repeatedly over the last 15 months have made them incredibly real to me.  I know that they are God's teachings that explain where we come from, why we're here and what we need to do to return to live in His presence again and forever. Reading this chapter will increase your understanding of the gospel and you're capacity to apply and share it in normal everyday situations.

I love you guys and I love this gospel!

Elder Keeler - Owen