My mother was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Portugal in 1989 by a missionary who devoted two years of his life to serving the Lord and thereby blessed my family.
I came to Luanda from Dundo to study when I was 14 and attended Church there. I studied the Book of Mormon and gained a testimony of its truthfulness when I was 16.
When I was 18, I finished high school and was part of a music group called Dream Boyz Angola. The band was so successful that I did not even think of serving a mission.
But everything changed because I had a testimony and I had to share it.
I submitted my mission papers and received my mission call in April 2012 to serve in New Zealand, beginning July 2012. The dates began to change because I could not receive my visa. I fasted and prayed but did not receive an answer.
I decided to concentrate on my music group, and our success increased to such an extent that we were known throughout the whole country.
In November 2012 I received news that my visa had been denied. I thought of giving up serving my mission. A few days later I received the news that my mission had changed to South Africa Cape Town Mission. I no longer had the interest to serve.
I began to reflect on the love Heavenly Father has for me, how blessed my family is to have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and how my life would have been if that missionary had not made the decision to serve. I prayed a lot and read the scriptures daily.
I chose to serve a mission because I know that this gospel is true, and could not keep its blessings only to my family; I also had to share it with the children of God that needed the truth. D&C 88:81: “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.”
Serving a mission is a commandment and a privilege which gives one the opportunity to grow spiritually and be the person the Lord desires him to be. I know God gives commandments to his children so they can be happy. Missionaries leave their eternal families behind for two years so other families can be forever.