8-year-old Alani Santos believes that just like Jesus, she too can perform miracles. At her father's church just outside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Santos believes that God has given her the power to cure the world's worst illneses, from HIV to cancer.
On YouTube, Alani can be seen 'healing' a man suffering from years of HIV and helping an elderly woman walk without a cane . She is called "Missionarinha," or in English, "Little Missionary" and she is encouraged by her father, Pastor Adauto Santos, who the Daily Mail describes was a former car thief before he turned to ministry.
Twice a week, sick people from across Brazil attend the church, hoping to be touched by the hands of little Alani Santos. Like most churches, the people are asked to fill collection plates by the end of the service.
The 8-year-old 'healer' has been doing this for about two years now and reflecting on all the people she claims to make better, she hopes to one day be a doctor. "I pray and God performs miracles. My Dad interviews people who say I have cured them," the little girl told the Daily Mail. The girl's father also operates a website where people send in their prayers to Alani. On the site, visitor can buy DVDs, posters, check in on Alani's tour dates and they can also get in touch with her via Skype.
"She's a normal kid – apart from this gift," her father told the Daily Mail. "It is Jesus who cures. She is an instrument."
In Brazil, many Christians belong to the Pentecostal Church. Pentecostal believers practice speaking in tongues and healing. Discussing the powers she believes God has blessed her with, Alani said in an interview with Vocative, "To see God working though people and their lives, that is very pleasing."
