Anotha Day Anotha Dolla

Hey guys!!

Transfers happened and finally I'm staying in the same place! I got a new comp named Elder Dos Santos. He's from the south of Brazil. Most of my comps have been from the northeast so it's cool now I'll get to learn a little more about the culture there.

Some fun stuff that's happened in the last couple weeks:

One day me and my comp were in a pretty sketchy neighborhood at night when we ran into a guy holding a gun while we were going up a dark staircase. But luckily I had already talked to him before so I greeted him and he called his buddy to let us pass by. Felt pretty cool. 

But before you guys start worrying about me the kid was 9 and he was holding a nerf gun so I wasn't in any real danger haha.

There was a day where we were out knocking doors and I suddenly remembered this teenage member named miguel who had recently brought a friend to church and felt that we should go visit him. But we were way far away from his house and I had no idea if he was home but we decided to take a leap of faith so we said a prayer and walked over to his house. It worked out and we were able to visit Miguel's family and then visited his friend together. The next day they showed up at church and they were super distraught. I don't know all the details but something had happened the night before and they were really needing a visit when we showed up. They were super thankful for the visit and it was cool to see how we answered someone's prayer.

We visited an old lady who was baptized a long long time ago and hasn't been back for a while. We found her just by looking at the old records of members in a specific neighborhood and I felt that we had to go visit her. She was a little apprehensive at first to let us in but at the end said she didn't want us to leave and said we could visit her anytime. She actually cried when we were leaving. Really sad.

There's a recent convert here named Luiza, she's an older woman who treats us like her own children. Last Sunday we visited her and taught her grandchildren, played some games and she taught us how to make a common Brazilian snack called cigarettes. It's ham and cheese in some fried dough and it's very good.

I've been studying about prayer recently and I liked this quote from President Nelson that's in the new preach my gospel. He talks about when we feel that our prayers are going unanswered:

“I know that feeling! I know the fears and tears of such moments. But I also know that our prayers are never ignored. Our faith is never unappreciated. I know that an all-wise Heavenly Father’s perspective is much broader than is ours. While we know of our mortal problems and pain, He knows of our immortal progress and potential. If we pray to know His will and submit ourselves to it with patience and courage, heavenly healing can take place in His own way and time”

I find it really interesting that even prophets can feel that their prayers aren't being answered. It's necessary that we learn to submit to God's will and accept his timing but I've found from my time here on the mission that more often than not our prayers are answered, just not in the way we expect! I testify that He listens and loves us!

Tchau!

Elder Keeler