Floating trash & Amazonas beach houses

 Monday, October 16, 2023; Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil:

This week was quite different. For the first half I stayed with Elder Cruz. Then halfway through the week, I packed all my stuff up and we went to my new area. There we waited for my new companion, Elder Schmidt to arrive. He ended up being delayed several hours. 

Elder Schmidt is from Arizona. He is 20 and has 11 months on the mission. He has been in another state of Brazil (Acre) for the past 6 months. But now he is back here in Manaus.

Elder Schmidt and I both have decent Portuguese knowledge. His Portuguese is however a lot worse to what I am used to (as all but one of my past comps have been Brazilians, and the one non-Brazilian was Elder Cruz who has been here almost 2 years). But that just means it's a lot easier for me to talk more, as I don't have someone with me with way better Portuguese to defer to.

My new area is a Ward in the South-East of Manaus. This time we are only assigned one ward. The only "problem" is that before we arrived here, this ward was combined with another ward. So now the records are having some problems with who being taught is from what ward. Also, because both I and Elder Schmidt are new, we don't know anyone being taught in this area. 

While walking this week we have found some areas that reminded me of North Carolina...

A few areas have houses built around or on streams. For example, we were following google maps one day. It took us down a cement road, to a pathway of plank boardwalks. Underneath that was a few feet(?) of water, filled with trash. And then around the boardwalk were wooden houses built on stilts. Some were surrounded by water, others not (until it rains). The wooden stilts are only a few feet high but still remind me of the beach houses in NC, just waiting to be destroyed during a hurricane. At times it's super surreal. But after walking on this boardwalk, we then returned back to cement pavement. Just a part of the normal path.

This past week some members of the church mentioned the solar eclipse. We were kind of able to see it. But also, recently Manaus has had really bad air, such that it looks super cloudy. That made the eclipse hard to see. Apparently, someone is burning down the Amazon Forest :(

Also, recently the Amazon River has been a little dried up, and some of the people here have been worried. I, however, haven't seen physical affects here (I don't think).

About the weather though, it's getting into the rainy season. Apparently, the rain will get super hard and last a long time.

In my new area here, there is a man who was baptized recently. He currently has a leg problem and is stuck walking around with metal sticking out of his leg until it heals. He has had some difficulties physically, but also mentally and spiritually including depression. Some missionaries in the past helped him find more value in his life and a church community that really cared. That wanted to help out. Not just with money or material help. But also, with helping him get to church, talking with him, helping him feel accepted. 

He also mentioned that he wants to help others after he heals and gets his life together. To not lose that desire when he has less problems. 

I feel each one of this is in one of those places. Faced with problems or at one of those high spots before the problems crash back down. For anyone full of hard problems right now... don't lose the desire to help others when you are finally back on your feet or in a high spot. And for those of you in that high spot... now is your time to help others. Service is a pure use of your resources. It can be money, manpower, talking, comforting. A kind word or smile. Whatever you can give. And even if you don't have much money or physical means... a smile costs $0 but can turn someone's day around.

I invite all of you to promise this day- you will help others. Small things, big things, easy or hard. Whatever you have to give. 

AND.... I invite anyone who takes that invitation to tell me about it. Maybe you did some service for someone and have a photo. Maybe you just said a kind word. But send me a message. Tell me how it went.

That's it but for the pics...

Elder David Olson

MANAUS

Pics-

-Elder Schmidt and I, and another dupla we live with. Eating lunch

-My new comp Elder Schmidt, with trash-filled water in the background

-Random view

-Counsel of some ward leaders