New Area

This week brought lots of changes. I got a new companion and we opened a new area. We are in the largest neighborhood in Latin America. It is pretty new experience. We are sharing our apartment as well as the ward with another set of Elders. In our apartment we have 2 Brazilians, a Chilean and myself. Needless to say my portuguese is getting even better. 

This week as my companion and I, Elder Nazário, started off on our search through this urban jungle. We had been talking with lots of people, members and less active members to find more people to teach and help the ward get 150 members so they can get a new chapel. We were searching high and low for people who were ready to find the gospel. We taught a lot, but no one was ready to change their life......that is until Saturday night. 

We decided for the last hour to go to a contact that I had made. I do not know what inspired it, truly it was the spirit. When I made the contact he really did not show much interest or any desire to really change or learn about the gospel, but he gave us his address. 

We were a long way from his house when we found ourselves at the hour that we had planned for him, but we decided we had better follow our plans because there really was nothing else that came to mind. When we first entered his house, he was very skiddish he told us he was catholic and really had no intent in changing. 

As we taught about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel things started to click for him that God really truly only had only a straight and narrow path for his children to return to him. I explained about the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. He started to read the section we left for him before we even left. 

I saw a miracle as despite our exhaustion we were able to find the person in our area who truly was ready to learn that God has promises for his children today. It is amazing to see the miracles we find when we work diligently to obey God´s commandments and remember our covenants. 

Eu te amo,

Elder Cooper

This a sweet little Brazilian family that was in my last area. Needless to say The mom looks like Grandma Cooper And The daughter looks like AimeeRose Cooper. I was a little weirded out when I first saw them in my first area.