What a sick week!🤟🤮

 Monday, July 8, 2024; Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil:

Olá pessoal, tudo bem? Vocês estão tranquilo?

Hey y'all, I hope you are all doing awesome! This week started out as a normal week, until Thursday when I got sick, and that basically summed up the second half of the week. 

But anyways, a few things of note that happened this week:

•A young man from one of our wards here left to serve his mission, he's going to Campinas, Brazil and he's gonna do awesome! (Elder Bezerra, whom I sent a photo of him with us a few weeks back).

•4th of July happened. I kind of missed the fireworks, but at least the climate felt similar. Hot and miserable (actually no, it was probably nicer here with a little less humidity than in Ral, NC)

•We had a lesson marked [scheduled] in one of the chapels we cover that's around 1hour 20mins away (walking). We don't yet have keys to that chapel, so we arranged for a member to meet us there and open the chapel for us. We arrived, waited for a while, and the person for our lesson didn't show up. #WastedTime #Inconvenient 

Then Thursday, I woke up sick, so I spent the day resting, basically inside the house all day long. 

I've mentioned various times that there is a tank with fish under the stairs to our apartment. Well... the one day that I'm knocked out tired and sick, the owner of the place decides to pull the three largest fish out, kill and gut them. So, my companion got pictures with these idk, 3–4-foot fish, and all I got was a fish scale? #LeftOut #NoFun

Then as I'm getting better, my companion starts getting sick. Maybe something we ate? He was sick two days, started getting better, got sick again... we're just hoping he gets better

But that's about it for now things, so I wanted to mention one thing that was cool. For those who do know and who don't know, those who have the Priesthood (Power and Authority of God here on the Earth) are able to give Priesthood blessing for healing those who are sick or afflicted. While I was sick, one of the ward members dropped us by some food to help us out. He asked if I had already received a blessing. I hadn't yet. So, my companion gave me a Priesthood blessing. I don't know exactly how, but I do know that that specific blessing helped me, and that Priesthood blessings really are using the power of God (within the will of God) to heal and help others. Then when my companion got sick too, I was able to give him a blessing. I could feel the Spirit of God directing me in some of the things I said in the blessing.

I know that God wants what is best for all of us, his children. He has given us many means, including the Priesthood, along with blessings given through the Priesthood, to help and bless God's children. I know that God has an active interest in the well-being of each of us, and he knows how we are doing. He is taking care of each of us. 

My invitation for each one of you is this: Pick a time and kneel down. Pray to God, giving Him thanks for his love and support. For the things you have in your life. And ask Him to help you with the things in your life. To shed more light upon you. 

I testify if you do that you will feel more love and happiness from God and in your life!

That's it for me, love y'all!

Elder David Olson

Missão Brasil Manaus Sul

Fé, Obras e Poder

Fotos

-One of our chapels used to have a road in front, but now it's just a square full of tents selling clothes! A pic showing the front gate of the chapel, and like 10ft away some tents

-Random statue in a local park

-Elder Whipple and I

-Lunch with Elder Bezerra his last day in the city before his MTC