Thanksgiving in Amazonas!

Elder Olivier wasn't able to send me pictures this week, but we were very blessed to receive pictures from a very kind mother of another missionary!!  It looks like they had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast....even in Brazil!

Hi everybody!

This week was sort of a lame week. We didn´t do too much, because my companion and I spent some time just in our house because he was sick. While he was sick, I drank 2 liters of caju juice. That made me happy. I my companion and I also opened the Christmas package that my mom sent early, because we needed something to lighten the mood. There were cashews in the package. That made me happy. Thanks, Mom! 

My companion blew my mind by saying that cashews and caju are the same thing. I was eating cashew and drinking cashew at the same time! Holy cow! Caju is a super weird looking tropical fruit that looks kind of like an upside down pepper. The part on the end is a cashew. That totally blew my mind this week.

One of the Elders in our zone (who is brazilian) was, for some reason, super pumped about thanksgiving (they don´t have thanksgiving here), and had the idea of having a thanksgiving dinner at the bishop of his ward´s house. It was freaking awesome. We ate tons of food: turkey, casseroles, tumbaqui, drank Baré (an Amazonas-exclusive type of Guaraná which is basically just cream soda), and had acaí. The bishop´s house was super decorated for Christmas, and he even dressed up as Papai Noel (Santa). That part wasn´t very thanksgiving-y. But it was pretty cool.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I have no photographic evidence. Whoops.

So this week I have been studying a lot about the Book of Mormon. I really like in 2 Nephi 29:6-8, when the prophet Nephi talks about how people will reject the Book of Mormon:

6 Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no     more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?

 7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in theearth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?

 8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of twonations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

A lot of people think that we don´t believe in the Bible, that we only believe in the Book of Mormon. But we have the Book of Mormon as a second witness to the Bible, and the two books together complete and confirm each other. God loves everybody equally, obviously, so it makes sense that he wouldn´t just give us the Bible and never reveal any more scriptures to his people again. I love the Book of Mormon. It answers so many questions about Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Anyway, on a completely other note, thanks so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! I forgot about my birthday until now! 

I hope next week is a lot cooler! Every week is starting to seem more and more like the same thing, so I´m trying my best not to be super boring!....

Love, 

Elder Olivier
(written 11/30/2015)

Thanksgiving Feast!...Thanks to an awesome Bishop and his family!!