Pizza, Chicken, Healthy Foods

- September 22, 2023

Monday, September 18, 2023; Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil:

Olá! bom dia to all of you!

My Portuguese progresses but it's hard to describe. Still can't say everything but understand most things.

Last week I said that every week the Mission here has a zoom call, and a few missionaries are picked to show their *cleaned* houses. Mine was picked and we showed it. So, this week we got to buy two pizzas, photos below.

This week we had a baptism of Emanuel. He is only 8 years old but is super smart.

This week we had Zone Conference. It is always good to see other missionaries and receive training along with a big meal. This time though was one of the few times I left my small geographical area, and I used the bus. I haven't used the bus much because it's a headache and takes a ton of time. But it was kind of fun to do something different. The buses are always packed with people, so it was super tight and a little hot. But it worked out.

My current companion, Elder Cruz, is almost done with his mission. Just 2 months left. Which out of 24 months... isn't too long. And there's an idea some missionaries get at the end of the mission: Return home looking buff and strong. Because as missionaries we have time to exercise in the mornings, but not all missionaries exercise much. So, for those who hadn't exercised, they spend the last 3 months or so exercising to look strong and all that for college or marriage or what-have-you. In part because of that, my companion is trying to work out a little more. He has also been trying to eat more and healthier. So last week and this week he bought some good foods, fruits and veggies, rice, chicken... etc.

Being who I am, I sometimes love to copy others. So, I bought chicken and other veggies, more than I normally would buy. I was also able to buy my favorite, potatoes. Having food, I cooked and ate more this week especially at night/for dinner. I did not take any pictures but today for lunch I made a good meal with rice and a chicken-potato-barbecue topping that was super good.

This week I thought a lot about friends and relationships. I had a missionary here who I hadn't interacted too much with but had a less happy relationship. I thought about what he does to help others here in the mission and feelings of disconfidence I had for him. I decided that whether it was justified or unjustified for us to not be the most friendly, I could try and help our relationship. I made something artsy and personalized for him. When I gave it to him, he showed more appreciation for me, and gave me something small but cool that I can treasure. While I know this was a random situation, It led me to think about how we can show love for others and persevere through bad things in the past. How we can expect to be best friends with everyone if we don't try developing that friendship. I think my relationship with this other Elder will continue to build. Better friendships make everyone happier.

I invite y'all to develop and strengthen your friendships with a one and everyone.

Love y'all,

Elder Olson

Faith + Works = Power

MANAUS

PHOTOS-

---3 photos from Zone conference: