Burned Brownies and Dishonest Banks

- August 29, 2023

Monday, August 28, 2023; Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil:

As the title says... This week I made some brownies and of course I burned them. But that just made a nice little crunch.

I credit my making brownies to 3 things. One, I bought supplies for brownies a little while back but ended up not having eggs. And I finally bought eggs. Two, my companion and I hit 6 months on the mission during this transfer. And three.... well, that's where the bank comes in.

Every few weeks we receive some money from the mission, which is just to buy food and the basic things we need. We are instructed to go to a specific bank and withdraw our money for that time period. But when my companion tried to this week, the atm took his money out of his account but didn't actually give it to him. We had a meeting, but when we returned to the bank, they said they said they would call us the next day. Of course, they didn't. So, then we went back again another day, and they finally gave us our money.

This week was the birthday of Vinicius, who works in the members' house we live in/next to. We gave him cake

This week we had the Baptism of Ramon, a young man we have been teaching. He had a lot of things in his life to change, and he is still changing. But it was honestly awesome to see how much he has already grown in the little time I have known him.

This week we have started getting mangos all over our yard because of the mango tree above our house. I ate one or two this week. I also found out there are different types of mangos, and the one above our house isn't usually sold in stores here. It probably is not very good quality. But still tastes fine :)

This week I thought a lot about efforts and values, along with practice. In our world we hear so much about people who have amazing skills and abilities. Athletes, writers, artists. And sometimes we wish we could have the skills they have. Right now, I wish I knew how to play the piano. My mom teaches! But I don't know how. For me, practicing piano was never a priority. I didn't value it. While we all have natural talents and abilities, without practice and prioritizing, we won't be very good. Regular habits like daily prayer and scripture study help us get in tune with the Spirit of God. If we don't get to know the still small (or quiet) voice of the Spirit in our lives, we can't receive its guidance and help.

This week my invitation for all of you is to evaluate your life. Make a list of your top 5 priorities. Think about how you show those things as priorities. Do you do small and simple practices of those things? Do you pray to have a relationship with God? Do you tell your family you love them? Do you practice your art or athletic skills? Do you get enough sleep? And then think of how you can better prioritize those things.

Elder David Olson

MANAUS

BRAZIL

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