Meetings and Baptisms

Here are the last two emails from Elder McKeon. He only has 5 months left in the mission field and we thank you all for continuous support and prayers. 

March 10, 2014

Hey everyone!

We had transfers this past Tuesday and I stayed here in Taubaté, but Elder Zancheta was transferred to São José dos Campos. It was sad, but my new companion, Elder Passos, is a very good missionary. We are from the same group, which means we were in the CTM together and we have been friends ever since. He is from Caera, which is in northern Brasil. He has a different accent and he also speaks a little bit of english. We help each other out, I teach him some words in english and helps me with my Portuguese.

(Elder McKeon and his new companies Elder Passos)

Our zone had 3 areas open up because of how many missionaries we received. Our zone now has 26 missionaries! It is the 2nd largest zone in the mission! The work is progressing and you can see it in how many MORE missionaries are needed to do the work! It's so exciting!

We also had a mission conference this week. This time the conference was with Elder Costa, the Area Presidente of Brasil. Since we are the furthest zone, we had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to get there. Even though we had to travel a great distance, we were the first zone there. Elder Costa had already arrived and we were excited to get started. We had a study session and I learned a lot. After that, Elder Costa had the district and zone leaders meet and we discussed how to become better leaders. He then talked about why we were chosen as leaders in the first place. Elder Costa shared that President Ferrin and Heavenly Father trust us to help our zones and districts become better. I learned so many amazing things and I am looking forward to applying them in my work. Elder Costa then had another meeting with us after lunch, so we were both physically and spiritually fed haha.

Our house nearly flooded, again, because of all the rain. We had to have someone come put in a pipe so the water will go down the drain instead of pile up in our house. Now if we could just get the holes in the ceiling fixed...

On Sunday, an inactive member named Roberta, came back to Church after having not come for a very long time. She asked us last week to invite her family as well, so we did. Surprisingly, they all came to Church and agreed to read the Book of Mormon! After Church, we stopped by Roberta's family's home again to teach. They have all accepted our invitation to be baptized and will do so on March 23rd! Both of the children and the mother are developing strong testimonies, so now we just need to work on the Dad. I am hoping he will feel the spirit so strongly that he will also want to join. It is an incredible feeling to help a family come closer to Christ, even if I did play a small role in their eternal development.

The time is going by even faster and I only have 4 transfers left. It is pretty sad how fast the time is going, but I am going to continue to take advantage of every minute and work hard! I hope you have a great week! Love you!

Love,

Elder McKeon 

March 17, 2014

Hello all, it was a great week!

On the first Friday of every month, we meet with our mission president and all of the other zone leaders in the mission. Once again, since we are so far away, we had to leave on Thursday nigh to make it to São Paulo. A huge storm hit while we trying to get to our meeting and we even saw lighting strike the freeway as we were on our way. The streets were completely flooded!

Other than that, t was a great meeting with the President and the other zone leaders. We learned how to better motivate our zones to achieve their potential. When we made it back to our area, we had the baptism of Matheus and Alanice. Other missionaries were teaching them, but they ended up being from our area so we got to baptize them. It is incredible to see miracles occur in the lives of those who are baptized. Matheus and Alanice are amazing and they were so excited to join the Church. 

We also had family night with Roberta, her husband Jose, and their two children: Geovanna and Gabriel who are going to be baptized next week. I used that puzzle that you gave me of the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit was so strong. I love being a missionary. Words cannot express the joy that comes with teaching these people and bringing them to Christ.

I hope you guys had a great week and I will talk to you next week! I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder McKeon

An Unforgettable Meeting

February 24, 2014

Hey everybody!

We had interviews with Presidente Ferrin this past week. It was so great to see them after I had left the office. We talked for a while and I learned a lot of great things that will really help the Zone here in Guaratinguetá. While we were at the interviews waiting, I was talking to Sister Ferrin. She let me know that we were going to have a special meeting with a General Authority this Saturday, so I got super excited. Then she said that it was going to be with ALL of the missions in the city of São Paulo. That's 5 missions! It was a meeting for the leaders, so the Zone Leaders and the Assistants to the President were called to go. I had the great privelege to attend and learn so much.

We live in the area furthest away from the mission, so we had to leave our area Friday night to be able to make it on time to the meeting on Saturday at the Temple in São Paulo. We get there and it was great to see all of the guys in the office again. We slept there Friday night, and we left on Saturday for Butantã for the Temple. 

We got there and I immediately started asking people for the missão São Paulo Norte, to see if Gary Nielsen was a Zone Leader there. It took a while, but I finally found him! I saw Gary there and we talked and it was super cool to catch up and see how he was doing. It was really weird to talk to him in Portuguese. We hung out there for a minute talking to the other missions and then we went inside to meet the Seventy, because he is the Executive Director of the Mission Department. It is Elder Evans and he is a good friend of Presidente Ferrin's, so it was even better because when we went up to shake his hand, he asked us if we were Presidente Ferrin's missionaries. 

(Elder McKeon with Elder Gary Nielson. They are friends from Granite Bay)

Elder Evans focused on one thing from the start of the meeting had a thing, and he said,"I will ask you questions, and if you want to learn, you will raise your hand. That is an indication to the Spirit that you want to learn. You will then stand up and we will have a conversation, just you and me, and everyone else will be listening. But dont worry about them, its just you and me." I put that in the back of my mind, because I didn't really want to stand up in front of 175 of the leaders here in São Paulo and make a fool of myself. The meeting went on and I toke really good notes because everything Elder Evans said was pure doctrine.

I was finishing writing a note and he asked the question,"What is God's purpose?" As I heard the question I automatically thought in my mind,"Moses 1:39" He then asked, "There is a scripture, who knows the scripture?" And I guess I just flipped back into seminary mode because the next thing I know, my hand is in the air, and I hear him saying, "Elder in the back." (We had to sit in the back because that was where our mission was assigned, but I wanted to sit in the front, trust me Dad!) He said it again, and then I realized everyone was looking at me and I hadn't stood up yet. I jumped up and grabbed the microphone and we had an amazing conversation. I learned so much. I thought that I knew a thing or two, but when I walked out of that meeting, I realized I had a long way to go. I would love to tell you everything that he taught us, but there isn't enough time, The main focus was that we need to do a better job of helping recent converts than just baptizing as many people as we can really quick. We need to really focus on bringing families to the gospel, and eventually to the Temple so that they can be sealed for time and all eternity! 

(Thank you to the Chabras for the cookies!!)

I loved the conference so much. My testimony grew so much in such little time. It was such a great experience and I am so glad that I am here on my mission serving MY Savior. The meeting reminded me of a painting I saw of Christ. The artist had written a little note on the back saying mais ou menos disso which means, "The Savior is personal, for each and every one of us." That really struck me and I know that my Redeemer lives and loves me and each and every one of you even if we aren't doing everything right. I love my Heavenly Father and I know that He loves me too. 

We were walking back to our house one night and it was pretty late because our last appointment lived pretty far away. We weren't saying anything because we were so tired and we just wanted to get home. There was nobody in the street, and out of nowhere I had this feeling that I knew that my Lord lives and loves me so much. I will never forget the feelings that I felt and the testimony that I have now that our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, live and that they love us all unconditionally. I know this is true, and this is the true Church of Christ on the Earth today. I am so glad that I have the wonderful opportunity and privilege to be here in Brasil and meet the family that I never knew I had down here. I am so grateful for my family and all that you do for me. I don't know where I would be without you! "Sou um representante Dele, e não posso negar meu chamado por nada. Sei que Ele vive, e que Ele nos ama mais do que nos conseguimos entender. Eu amo vocês com tudo que eu sou e esta Igreja e meu Salvador. Presto essas coisas com meu amor, em nome de Jesus Cristo. Amém."

Love always,

Elder McKeon

March 3, 2014

Hello all!

This week was a little crazy for me, so let's start from Monday Night. We had just gotten back from São Paulo and my companion and I had been there for 4 days. We rode the bus for 4 hours, so we were exhausted and just wanted to get home, take a shower and sleep. We got home only to find that our house was FLOODED! It had rained super hard on the way back from São Paulo, and the guy who had built our house decided to put the drain pipe INSIDE the house in our laundry room. When it rained super hard, it took all of the nasty stuff off the roof and drain, and put it in our laundry room, bathroom, kitchen and bedroom.....it was awesome. My suitcases got wet, shoes got wet, bed got wet, EVERYTHING! There was 4 inches of water in the house. We had to stay up until 1:30 in the morning cleaning it all. It was an experience, but one that I don't want to have again.

The next thing was that I got bit by a dog! We were at lunch and I was done eating and there was this little dog and I wanted to go and pet him. I get closer and stick my hand out for him to smell it. He smells it and I go in for the pet and then this thing just jumps and bites my middle finger...HARD! I didn't expect it to hurt that bad, but the little guy had some force to him! It started to bleed and the Irmã comes right out and pours straight alcohol into the cuts and that didn't feel too good! It got kind of swollen and bruised, but no infection so we are all good! Again, another experience that Im glad i have, but don't want to repeat! 

Last but not least, my only pair of shoes broke! The left shoe on the front had an opening about an inch wide, and everybody made fun of it, but they were great shoes!  We were walking to an appointment and I tripped on a piece of the sidewalk and I heard a big, "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!!!" I looked down at my shoe and the whole soul had come off like half way. My toes were sticking out of the front and we still had to go teach. I taught with my stinky toes sticking out of my shoes and the family was just laughing at me.

We also have another mission conference this week! I'm super excited and there is a transfer tomorrow! I love you guys so much hope you have a great week! 

Love,

Elder McKeon

February Letters

Once again, I apologize for taking so long to get to these emails. Elder McKeon's ability to write in the English language is deteriorating quickly, so it takes me some time to translate and figure out what he is trying to say. Here are the last three emails from Elder McKeon!

February 4, 2014:

Hello family!

I am emailing today because yesterday we were out of our area for zone P-day and by the time we got back, all of the LAN Houses were closed. So we got permission from President to email today really quick.

This past week was a little tough.  We worked really hard this past week. On Saturday night we had dropped by all of the people who were planning on going to Church. Every single one of them said, "I WILL be there tomorrow! You can count on me!" We were all excited because we were going to have 8 people in Church, but when we got to Church, no one showed up. We were calling all of them, but they either didn't attend, or the phone was off, so that was a major bummer. I was super sad, because they had all been excited to go and to learn and then they didn't come. I know I should be used to people not coming to church, but out of all of them NO one came. It really hurt and I had to pray a lot during the Sacrament meeting to know what we should do differently this week in order to have people at Church.

We also had a really good meeting with the Stake President yesterday.  Presidente Ferrin wants that the Zone Leaders (and all missionaries for that matter) to have a closer relationship with the Stake Presidency. We had a great meeting with him and talked about how we could improve the Guaratinguetá Stake. We were invited to the Bishopric Meeting next Sunday to talk to all of the bishops from the stake about the missionaries in their wards and to see if we can help them with any other difficulties or complaints. We will also prepare a little 10 minute presentation of our monthly goals as missionaries, and we as a stake AND missionaries can do together to achieve those goals. It was really cool to talk to Presidente Martinez (the Stake President). He reminded me a whole lot of President Murphy. He was very enthusiastic and so willing to help us with what we need. It was really great.

So P-day was really cool! Our zone is out here in the Interior, aka the country side. There are cool mountains to hike, waterfalls to see, cool old buildings to visit and a ton more! So, this P-day we went as a zone to this waterfall out in the middle of nowhere.

I will pray and fast for rain in California as well. I miss you guys so much and hope you all have a great week! I love you so much!

Love,

Elder McKeon

February 10, 2014

Hey everyone,

Good news, we finally had a baptism! 

His name is Matheus, I am pretty sure I have already told you about him.  He is a rapaz of 13 years.  With the new mission rules, if someone you are teaching is under the age of 17, he or she has to go to church for at least 3 months before they can be baptized. But, if they have a family member in the Church older than 17, they can be baptized in 3 weeks.  Matheus has an older brother, Jonatan, who has been a strong member of the Church and is 18 years old. We took a bus out to teach Matheus and when we got there he was drinking coffee and we made an agreement with him to stop drinking it. He stopped that same day. He has been going to Church for a while, and he already has a white shirt and tie and has been reading the Book of Mormon. His cousin baptized him yesterday and he already has a ton of friends in the church!

Yesterday we were invited to the Stake Bishopric meeting to talk about how we could work better and closer with the stake leadership and its members. I was really nervous! We were the only ones wearing suit coats there because no one here wears suit coats (it is too hot!), but I wanted to show them that we are serious and here to work hard! We gave a little presentation on our monthly goals as missionaries for baptism in our area, but not only the goal for the missionaries, but for that whole stake too. It was really great and all of the bishoprics really supported us and the stake president most of all! We also had a meeting with the Ward Mission leaders as well to see how they could help their own wards.  In the middle of that meeting, I'm sitting there listening to the training and i feel a little POP in my mouth! I feel with my tongue and feel that my retainer had come off my tooth on one side! It kinda scared me, but I will go to the dentist this week to see if they can put it back in place.

I wish I could write more, but I am getting kicked out. I'm sorry! I am fine, my knee is fine, it just aches a tiny little bit after we walked a long day, but nothing I can't handle! 

I love you all and hope you all have a great week! I heard that you guys got rain!! I have been praying for you and will continue to pray for you guys!

Love,

Elder McKeon

February 17, 2014

Hey family!

I had to go to the dentist, which was pretty scary.... but it turned out OK. We know this guy who sells popcorn and he knows a dentist. He called up the dentist, made the appointment, and we went to see the dentist. The dentist was a very nice lady who put my retainer back into place rather quickly. I just hope it is the right place...I guess we will see. 

We also had to do divisions this week. I went to Cruzeiro, an area in our zone, and Elder Zancheta went to Guara, a different area. I stayed in Cruzeiro Thursday night, Friday and Saturday morning. We stayed for so long because the areas are so far away from each other. From my area to Cruzeiro is 3 hours by bus, so it takes awhile to get to areas in our zone, which is why we don't do too many divisions. I went to Cruzeiro with Elder Hanni and his new companion, Elder Larson. It was REALLY hot and they have a huge area and we had to walk a little bit to get to the peoples' houses we were going to visit AND we were fasting as a zone. We wanted water pretty bad. Everyone was asking, "Hey, do you guys want some water? It's really hot outside!" It was hard not being able to accept the water, but was a good division and I hope that the missionaries there will use the things we learned.

We had 6 baptisms as a zone and 2 confirmations this week! We were second overall in the mission and we are working super hard here and we are beginning to see the results. We can't stop now that we have had a little bit of that success, especially when we can have so much more. We also have interviews with Presidente Ferrin this week and I am super excited to talk to them since I have left the office. I miss them! In the office I got to see them on a daily basis and when I left it was like I was leaving for college...Presidente cried, Sister Ferrin cried, but I stayed strong. I love them so much. They are such great people and great leaders. 

I want you guys to know that I have been praying and fasting for you for my entire mission, and as you guys just ask me things to pray and fast for, I just add them to my list. I am so glad to see that you guys are getting rain in California. There is so much power in prayer and fasting, especially when all the saints do it. It is amazing to me to see how much our Heavenly Father loves us and that we are tested to show our faith in Him. He gives us these challenges knowing that we can overcome them, and that they will make us stronger. I love this Gospel so much and am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve the Lord here in Brasil and serve these amazing people.

I love you all so much and hope you guys have a great week and I will talk to you guys next week!! 

Love,

Elder McKeon

Hello Again!

Hi there!

I apologize for not keeping up on this blog recently. Elder McKeon was in the office for the past few weeks while his knee healed. When we talked to him at Christmas he was VERY excited to be getting back out into the field. His knee is feeling much better, and while he still can't really bend it, he can now walk with a minor limp. Here is the latest from Elder McKeon:

Hello everyone!

I here in Taubaté, Guaratingetá, São Paulo, Brasil!

It is so cool out here! It is the farthest zone away from the Mission office, which is good and bad. It takes about 3 hours to get here by bus and metro.  It is VERY hot here. It's the middle of summer and I am getting the worse missionary tan ever. I was super white in the office and now that I am back in the field, I have gotten way darker! I am now a Zone Leader in the Guaratingetá Zone and it's WAY out in the countryside, which is a nice break from the busy city.  It's way more chill out here and the people are more polite. It's a really flat area, which is good for my knee.

I have a Brazilian companion now, Elder Zancheta, he is from Curitiba, Paraná, it's the state right below the state of São Paulo. He is a great guy and I have already known him since the beginning of my mission, so we are already brothers, and he is a really hard worker! We work hard together and teach even better! 

 

We had a really cool experience this past week.  Before I got here, Elder Zancheta got a reference from a member.  The references's name was Johnny.  He lived in a area where we have to get a bus in order to visit him.  We get to the bus stop and we had to wait and wait and wait for the bus to finally get there. When we arrived, we finally find the house and they're actually home. We walk inside and start talking and they are super cool. Johnny and has his "wife" (they aren't married legally) and their 4 year old kid were all there. We started teaching the Restoration, but we also brought the DVD to watch the movie. We led into Joseph Smith and his questions about which church to join and we popped in the DVD.  It started to skip at the beginning and me and Elder Zancheta looked at each other like, "Is it going to do this for the rest of the movie???" So we both started to pray so that it would play smoothly. It did, thank goodness, (side story: the Lord works in mysterious ways, because when we looked at the DVD after the lesson, it was TOTALLY scratched up and shouldn't have worked, but it did! I love miracles!!) We finished the movie and the Spirit was so strong there and we asked if they would pray to see if these things are true and to see if the Livro de Mórmon is true.  The wife, Mayara, said that during the movie, she felt the same way. She had been a Catholic her whole life and she is now thinking, "Is it really true?" She started to cry. They both promised to read and pray about it, but they didn't go to Church because they were going on a trip that night to a different state and don't get back until tonight. There was such a strong Spirit and 8 other people live in that house and they want us to meet them and teach them too! We are going back there this week to teach them all!

A couple days later we were teaching this less active member and her non-member son.  We had just finished the lesson and were eating some ice cream and playing with this big turtle when we hear, "BOOM BOOM BU BOOM!!!" 

A huge storm came out of nowhere. It started to rain, HARD, like huge drops, and then hail started to come down. It was impossible for us to leave, we didn't have umbrellas or anything. and so we waited. Two of her stone pots broke because they filled up with water and then fell and landed like 2 feet from where we were standing. So, the irmã let us borrow some jackets and trash bags to put our backpacks in so they wouldn't get wet. We then went out and it started to rain even harder so we started to run and sing "I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain! What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again, I walk down the lane, with a happy refrain, I'm singing, just singing, in the rain!" and people thought we were so crazy! We then get to our bus stop and sit there waiting for the bus, and finally a bus comes by like a half hour later (it's like 8:30 at this point) and the guy said that no more buses pass this bus stop and told us to get on so he would take us to the right spot! The Lord was looking out for us, because if we didn't get a bus there, we would've either had to walk home, or spend the night there.

This place is amazing and I love it so much! I love being a missionary so much and am so grateful that I could stay here on the mission and teach and love this amazing people! I am so happy to be a servant and tool in the Lord's hands for this short time! I am taking advantage of every minute. 

I love you all so much and hope you guys have a great week! I love you!

Love,

Elder McKeon

Testimony

Hey guys!

So, last week Dad asked me to write a special email for you guys on some experiences throughout my mission that have helped my testimony grow. Well, there are a lot, so I will try and keep this short.

Being in a different country, far from family, speaking a different language, with people who I never even knew existed, made me grow up.... fast. I learned how to do things quickly and effectively that would help me and help these people. I thought it was me learning these things, but in reality it was the Lord, through the Spirit, teaching me these things.

When I came on the mission, I had a long list of goals that I wanted to accomplish like: baptize every single person I teach, or become a MASTER of the Portuguese language, or memorize the scriptures. Don't let me be the one to tell you that they can't be accomplished, I just happened to change the perspective of my goals. I decided that I would like to be more humble, more patient, less stubborn, and be the best missionary that I could be.  These became my goals.  Not unreachable, but definitely not the easiest thing for me.  I knew that I was prideful, and that I was never the most patient guy, and I really could use being less stubborn. So, these goals were going to take some work, I'm not saying that I have perfected them, (a long ways actually) but I have really made some improvement. And it wasn't even me that did the work!  I'll tell you how.

People change people.  I have learned that this is a fact. Certain people act differently around one group of people and then change completely for a different group. That is a negative way people change people. But, there is a positive way too.  Its all depends on how YOU want to be.  Whenever I meet someone new to teach, I always think, "How can I help them?"  Then we begin to teach them and we all feel the Spirit and they begin to grow, and as they begin to grow spiritually and start planting that little seed of a testimony, they begin to help you. 

Once they really start to see a change in their own lives, reading the Livro de Mórmon and going to Church, they start to study it and then they share what they have learned with us because they are so excited to strengthen their testimony, and I can say 100% of the time, what they studied and told me strengthened my testimony. Seeing the light in their eyes and their lives helped me see that this work was made for EVERYONE  and that it will help everyone become better.

In my first area, Continental, we were teaching a muleque named Matheus, (maybe you remember him) but anyways, we started to teach only him. We knew there were other members of the family, but no one else wanted anything to do with us.  I was a little frustrated (I still wasn't very patient) because I wanted to bring a WHOLE family into the Church.  But my companion, Elder Padilla, told me to just chill and it would work out.  So, we start to teach him and it goes well and we invite him to come to Church and to be baptized, and he accepted!  We then go back to his home to pick him up for Church and we get there and his Dad, Luiz, wants to go too!  We thought, "Even better!"  So, we take them to Church and they had a great experience and wanted to learn more.  We then teach the son and dad and the mom, Katia, who had been pretty hesitant but starts to listen to what we teach from the kitchen. And soon after, she is sitting on the couch attentively listening to what we have to say!  Then one thing led to another and they wanted to be baptized and then their oldest son, Felipe, who wanted nothing to do with the Church, sees the change in his family and begins to hear what his family has learned.  It turned out that his family taught him more than we did! They used their testimonies and knowledge to teach him and to help him!  It was the most beautiful act of love I have ever seen.  They were truly worried and cared enough for their son or brother to help him receive this Gospel to become an Eternal family. They were all baptized! As we were teaching them the 5th lesson, they cut us off and began asking us questions, and then it turned into them teaching us! It was amazing, they helped me learn patience, because I wanted them all at once to be baptized, but the Lord knew what He was doing and put it all in place how it was supposed to happen. And even better, they invited their next door neighbors to go to Church with them and they got baptized too! People change people!

We also had a miracle this week.  We were getting ready for a training and we get a call from a member saying that he has an investigator that only speaks English and that he was bringing him by the office in 30 minutes. Bangerter and I jumped at the opportunity to teach him!  It was SO HARD to teach in English! I couldn't think of the words to say! We would start a sentence in English, but then end it in Portuguese and we would constantly have to hit each other under the table to switch back to English, it was so hard, but it was a really great lesson.

His name is Menick, and he is from Bangladesh.  He fled his country because his political party made him a target for a terrorist group. He ran into a member close to his house and they started to talk about the Church and Menick wanted to learn about Jesus Christ.  But the way he said  was like this: "I want to learn about Jesus Christ from the Missionaries of Jesus Christ".  When he said that, Elder Bangerter and I just got the biggest smiles on our faces as we could say,"We are the missionaries of Jesus Christ here on the Earth!" It was so cool, and it felt so good to teach again! He downloaded the Livro de Mórmon in Bangla, onto his ipad and now is getting ready to be baptized in December. We asked him to give the closing prayer and we asked him to offer it in his language.  I didn't understand a single word, but I knew that he was praying for the truth and to know that this Church is true.  He started to cry during the middle of it and it was a great spiritual experience for all of us, especially Menik. 

These are a few examples of the many that I have experienced throughout my mission that have helped my testimony grow. I KNOW for a fact that this is God's true Church and that we are doing a marvelous work and a wonder here and around the whole world. I want you to know that I know that this is the only true Church on the earth today and that it was restored by Joseph Smith, who was a Prophet of God, and that we still have the same keys and authorities today, through President Thomas S. Monson.  I love this Church and the work that we are doing for our brothers and sisters that I have come to call family down here in Brazil.  It is all true.  And I love it all.  In the name of Jesus Christ. Amém.

Love,

Elder McKeon

Medical Miracles

Hello everyone, Elder McKeon's sister (Carlie) here. I apologize for the lack of updating I have been doing on this blog. But, before you get too upset with me, there is a reason behind it.

(Elder Moises and Elder McKeon)

A few weeks ago, Elder McKeon was playing a little game of soccer on P-day. During the game, he planted his foot and turned awkwardly, resulting in a serious knee injury. His knee cap had gone from being on the top of his knee (where it belongs) to the side of his knee. Derek immediately put it back in place, but was still in a great deal of pain.

The next day, Derek tried to go out and walk on it, but it was extremely swollen. He then called Sister Ferrin (the mission president's wife) and explained to her what had happened. President Ferrin made a trip to see Derek and gave him a blessing. All of the missionaries also participated in a fast on his behalf. Derek scheduled an MRI and was forced to wait in his apartment until he had results.

Our family received an email explaining what had happened. In the email, Sister Ferrin told us that if the knee required surgery due to torn ligaments, Derek would have to be sent home. Needless to say, Derek was rather discouraged by the news.

Our family was also rather devastated. We knew that it was such a leap of faith for Derek to go, especially since our dad had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer just a couple of months before he left. We also fasted and prayed that the ligaments in Derek's knee would heal and he would be able to stay on his mission.

(Elder McKeon saying goodbye to Sister Aledo and Sister Carvalho from his district)

A couple of weeks after his MRI (the medical system down there is rather slow), Derek was given the pictures from the MRI. He was able to e-mail them to Dr. Hansen (our good family friend and orthopedic surgeon). Dr. Hansen told us that the ligament had been torn (when his knee cap moved to the side of his knee), but because of the way the ligament was torn, it was not going to require surgery. Instead, Derek will just have to wear a knee brace for 4-6 weeks and use crutches until the scar tissue around the torn ligament is able to help heal the injury. There was also a piece of cartilage that broke off and is just kind of floating around his knee, but it shouldn't cause him any problems. Oh, and he can't play any sports until he gets home.

(The new knee brace)

Elder McKeon was transferred to the office (which he informed us is not as rewarding as teaching), but he is grateful that he will be able to finish the last 9 months of his mission in Brazil. We feel so blessed to have family and friends that were kind enough to offer prayers on Derek's behalf.

So there you have it. The last few emails have just been exchanging medical information, which is why I haven't posted anything on here. He really does appreciate any and all emails and letters sent his way, so if you have a minute, please write him a little note. It would mean a lot to an elder stuck in the mission office:) You can also send him a message on Facebook, and I will make sure to send it to him.

Thank you all again for your love and support!

Love,

The McKeon Family

Conference Miracles

Hey everyone!

I love service and miracles!

This week we had been preparing for conference and I was so excited for it. I really didn't take conference seriously while I was home and now I am really kicking myself for that. Anyways, earlier on in the week we ate lunch at an Irmã's house named Alzenir. She is old and lonely, so our visits with her are usually a little bit longer. During our visit, I noticed that one of her walls was super moldy and falling apart. At the end of every message we give I always ask,"Do you have anything that we could do to help you?" Usually they always say "no" (and she did as well) which I expected, but then I told her that if there was ANYTHING we could do just to tell us. She got kind of quiet and I told her, "Irmã, just because we are wearing these clothes doesn't mean that we cant work, these are our working clothes." She was still quiet, so I had had enough, I stood up, went to the wall, grabbed a hammer and a screwdriver and I was about to start cleaning it up when she started to scream and yell at me saying that I couldn't do it because my clothes would get dirty. I told her that I was still going to help and I started to chip away at the wall. 

(Elder Moises and Elder McKeon working on a moldy wall)

Then Elder Moises came and started to help. She started to cry because she didn't have the money to pay someone to come and do the work. It was such a touching experience for me, she reminds me of Grandma Gale because she sows for a living and she always worries about us, but I love her and it made me feel so good to help her out. She was right though, it got us SO dirty. I was COVERED in dust and rock, but I was so happy to have the opportunity to help.

(Covered in dirt after doing a little service)

We then get to Conference and MIRACLES! 

We have been teaching this guy, Ademar, but he wasn't really progressing. He didn't want to go to church or read the Book of Mormon, but we visited one last time on Friday and told him how incredible conference is. He ended up saying, "Alright, I'll go and if I like it and feel the Spirit. I'll be baptized!" I walked out of there feeling great. On Saturday were in the session and I am was looking for Ademar. It was hard to pay attention because I was just looking at the doors waiting for him to come in. We called him during the break and he said that he couldn't go Saturday, but that he would go on Sunday. Great. So, we go back Sunday and Ademar didn't show up for the first session, so I was hoping he would be there for the afternoon session. Then I remembered that he said if it rained he wasn't going to come. Just as the second session started, I heard rain, so I lost all hope.I was already bummed because we had all of our other baptisms fall through that week in our district, which meant we weren't going to have a single baptism in the whole district that week (which had not happened in this zone ever). I started to pray for a miracle. After I finished the prayer, we got up to sing the intermediate hymn and as I got up I turned around to stretch. Guess who I saw sitting in the very back? That's right, Ademar! I ran back there and brought him up to the front so he could see and hear everything. It was awesome! 

(Elder Moises, Ademar, and Elder McKeon at Ademar's baptism)

After the session, Ademar had his interview and he came out with a huge smile on his face. We went to the baptismal font and immediately started to fill it up. The water was freezing cold, but we had the service anyways. Ademar started to cry, and we were so happy to see him enter into the Gospel. It was a great testimony builder for me and I was so grateful to witness these miracles happening in the lives of others.

Well I have to go, but I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Love,

Elder McKeon