Normal week, plus rain

 Monday, November 4, 2024; Floresta Ward, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil:

This week was pretty good! 

Just like life, it didn't seem as good as it was until I finished it and looked back at it. 

It rained a decent amount. One day, it rained in the morning. After lunch, it was mostly clear, so I thought the rain had stopped. 15 minutes of walking and the sky burst open. Even with a raincoat I was soaked. Finally, we took cover in a covered soccer court. But it got kind of cold so that was nice.

I ate fresh mangos and pineapple. Love how sweet the pineapple is here. 

A bunch of bugs started swarming the walls and doors of the chapel and my current apartment building.

Apparently now is the season to get sick from mosquitos.

Lots of walking. Lots of difficulties. But it's that one moment, that one lesson, that one person that makes it all worth it. There is this guy we started teaching, and we are trying to help him quit smoking. He wants to stop but needs help. And just seeing how much the addition is hurting him and his family, but also how much he could benefit from stopping, shows me how worth it is.

This week I was working with one of the youths that got baptized recently, trying to help them better their study of the scriptures. It got me thinking about that old story of give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him forever. 

Sometimes we think teaching someone (anyone, anything) (like your kids, families, friends or other), is just a matter if putting what's in your head, into their head. But we aren't like computers. We aren't meant to just know something. Being humans means we must learn that thing. 

It's like a child's test. Maybe they get the question: what's 2 + 2 =? That child needs to answer, 4. But just by answering 4 is not enough. The child must understand why 2 + 2 = 4, so they can apply it to 2 + 3, and so on. 

I thought how really that's what we must do as people, me as a missionary, but each of us in our lives helping others out. Not tell them the answers but tell them how to get to the answers. The problem they have today may not be the same problem tomorrow. But if they can figure out today's problem, they will figure out tomorrow's.

That's my invitation for each of you. How can you help teach others, so that THEY will succeed and continue progressing. How can you use YOUR experience, to help THEM have their own experiences, learn their own things? 

That's it for today, love you all! Hope y'all have an awesome week!

Elder David Olson

Missão Brasil Manaus Sul

Rio Branco, Acre, Brasil

Pics-

-Elder Johnson and I on the bus

-Yan, first time wearing a shirt and tie that I gave him!

-Sunset

-Clouds