Elder Keato's Address

Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos S.U.D.
Caixa Postal 18404
Luanda, Angola

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

I love this work.

Well, it was another great week here in Luanda. The Lord continues day after day, week after week to teach and humble me. I love my mission and most of all I love these people. This week was district conference here in Luanda so I got to see a lot of the the people from the past branches that I've served in. It was awesome. Now, I want to tell of an experience that I had yesterday that rocked my world and reminded me of the Love that our Heavenly Father has for his children. So, as we were greeting everyone as they walked into the convention center I shook a familiar hand. I took the hand of a certain man and gave him a good morning and then it hit me and I realized that this man was Kifika from my first area! The drunk man that read the whole Book of Mormon on his own and quit drinking. He had disappeared and no one knew where he was. The missionaries hadn't been in contact with him for over a year. After I left the area the missionaries kept working with him but then he disappeared and no one knew where he went because he has no family. I honestly never thought that I would see this man again! Below is a picture of the last time that I saw him, about a year and half ago, he was going crazy on the roof trying to get his cousin out of his house. The other picture is a picture of him and I from yesterday, he is freshly shaven and looking good. We're not super sure on how he made it to the conference or how he even knew about it. But what's important is that he is back in contact with the missionaries and the church. I love this man with all my heart and I am so grateful for the fact that God has been watching out for him, and that He prepared away for him to come back. 
That was definitely the best highlight of the conference, but it wasn't the only one. Edson and Denise both showed up! They are progressing so well, I haven't seen such desire in an investigator for a long time. Guilherme, the America lover, also came! We're going to hopefully start sitting with his family this week. There were almost 800 people at conference yesterday! We're seeing growth, which is so satisfying. There wasn't a single spare seat in the room. 
We're going to Huambo tomorrow morning until Friday so it's going to be a tight work week, but hopefully we'll still be able to help our investigators to keep progressing. 
I love this work. I love these people. And I love my mission. The church is SO true! 
Thank you all for your prayers and love! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Hyde

2 comments: