Nova área, Vacas...

 Monday, August 12, 2024; Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil:

Olaaaa tudo bem com vocês? Mais uma semana passou, e eu estou muito animado para trabalhar aqui na minha nova área! Vai ser muito Top!

This week I got to my new area, another part of the same City, Rio Branco. However, part of my area here is roads and communities and buildings away from the city. There is more land. It includes several farms. My current home is an apartment in an (official) apartment building. We live on the top floor, being the 4th floor. From our apartment, out one window we can see open land, sometimes with horses and cows grazing. Out another window we can see the chapel for our ward. It's really close, like 3 minutes walking. 

My new companion is Elder S. Nascimento. He is from João Pessoa, Brasil. He is trying to learn and better his English. So, I started praying in English again and having him pray in English too. 

This week we were getting to know people taught by the past missionaries here. Some of the people weren't interested anymore, others weren't home, but some worked out. We had some really awesome lessons. It really showed me how much the gospel can help anyone and everyone. 

A small awesome experience we had was this. My companion Elder Nascimento already served in this city about a year ago. He had served in another ward (congregation) but lived close to our current ward's boundaries. There was a woman-who he remembered talking to a lot-at a small store, which is in our area. So, we stopped by to see if that woman was still there. Sadly, she was not. But it opened up the chance for us to talk to another woman about the church, who had seen missionaries before but had never talked to them, and so she was interested to talk more with us another day. It showed to me that God truly does lead me and my companions to people who are searching and prepared to learn more about Christ and His Church.

I found out you can have an orange colored lemon... Super tasty.

The food here in my new area includes a lot of Beef. Super good as well.

You know, they say it doesn't get cold here, and it is of course always super-hot... but it sounds like Brazil passed through a cold phase. Here it got cold and overcast for one day, which was super windy and cold enough to wear a sweater. The next day started out cold but then the sun came out. 

One of the biggest stores you can find here that some cities in my mission and throughout Brazil have, is called 'Havan'. My new area has one. A normal feature for a Havan is a large statue of liberty out front. Super tall. Picture included below~~~

Here in the city, there are several water towers that remind me of alien spaceships, as the top gets somewhat flat and looks saucer-like. Near the Havan with the statue of liberty there is a saucer water tower. Two giants together. 

This past Sunday was the Brazilian Father's Day. Unlike Mother's Day, Father's Day here is a different day than in the USA. But anyways, Happy Father's Day to all fathers!

This week I was thinking a lot. As always. 

I thought about a lot of the bad experiences and difficulties that I have faced during my mission. Those things caused by people in the street and city. Those caused by other missionaries. And those caused by me. We all make mistakes, true. But why do we have to go through such things? I was thinking some of what happened and this week it clicked. Part of it included some next level/more focused fasting and reading my patriarchal blessing. But also, just some conversations I had with my new companion, and some other people. 

Mistakes show a need for progress. And recognizing the mistakes we make allows us to learn and change so that we don't make those mistakes again. Learning wisdom. I was studying a scripture this week in the Book of Mormon. A Prophet is telling people that through their experiences they are more humble and are learning wisdom:

"...that ye may be humble, and that ye may learn wisdom; for it is necessary that ye should learn wisdom" (Alma 32:12)

And when I was thinking about all of this, I asked myself "why did I make those choices," or "why did he/she/they do that," I can also look at "what did I learn?" "How am I different now?"

When we look at it from the eyes of that moment, it is just a simple decision. But when we look at it from God's perspective, we come to understand that That is what God's plan for us is. THAT is the purpose of life. THAT is a part of why bad things happen, even to good people. 

Sooooo... are you learning? Are you improving? Did you gain wisdom from that? 

That's my invitation to each of you. Be humble, and see what God has to teach you. Through gaining wisdom because of your decisions or those of others. 

Amo vocês!

Elder David Olson

Missão Brasil Manaus Sul

Fe, Obras e Poder

Pics-

-Statue of Liberty!

-Elder S. Nascimento

-View from our apartment, with cows

-Sunset on a normal road