Week 30

Wow the weeks go by so fast here!  I can not believe everything that has happened in the last 7 months. It has been so great!  Life sounds good at home!  It was weird seeing Carter in the picture of Brooks birthday..I feel like home does not exist, but is just a fictionary place of babies and parties!  hahahah.  

This week has been so amazing and inspiring!  On Thursday we had a mission training conference with ELder Pieper.  He is a area seventy!  President Bird divided the mission into 3 groups so that it would be more personal training!  I learned so much!  He taught about eternal progress and how our goal in the mission is to help people have eternal progress.  We are going to start working more with recent converts and the people that haven't made covenants in the temple, so they can prepare to continue progressing!  The Lord wants quality convert and therefore I do too.   We have found alot of people this week that are so ready to receive the gospel.  Tenemos que "comenzar con el fin en mente".

We had a ward activity this week for the Mexican indepence day!  It was great! There were alot of new investigators there.  We are going to have alot more work with the members now!  My companion and I made the ice cream as part of our service hours for the week!  They put chili sauce on their ice cream! It is actually really cold!  In Monterrey they call ice cream "nieve"  which means snow.  Shelby how do they call ice cream in Peru?  

On Wednesday Melisa was baptized!  She has been working so hard to repent and be ready for her baptisms.  So it was so amazing to finally help her be baptized!  She felt so good after the baptism!  She said that when she came up from water, she saw that everything was brighter and happier then she had seen.  She has been so burdened down by past mistakes that she was literally living in darkness and when she was baptized these sins left completely!  I can't tell you how good it is to see how happy she was.  And somehow the baptismal services always turns out better then we plan.  Alot of the Relief Society sisters showed up at the baptism and sister Aburto brought a cake to eat after!  Melisa felt really good to be able to have so much support!  I think she is going to marry Pablo and then get sealed in a year!  It is amazing!

What else...

I think that is it for this week!  Off to play Quitich with the zone!  I don't know how that is going to work, but we´ll see!  

Love Elder Quist

Week 29

The new Elders in the ward are way cool.  They divided our area in half so now our area is alot smaller.  It is nice not to walk so much but we lost alot of our progressing investigators...well I wouldnt say lost but we had to hand them over to the Elders.  It is sad not to be able to visit them anymore but i know that they are good hands.  Elder Shakespeare and Elder Oyola are the new missionaries in our ward!  Elder shakepeare in from southern utah. he is way cool!  he is really good a american football and was going to go and play football for the university of utah because he got a scholarship to play there but he dicided not too. He is really shy and timid for a big football player.  It is funny to see his precetion of mexico because I was just in his shoes 6 months ago but now I am completely acostumed to the mexican life.  The new elders are sleeping on the floor in our house so everything is pretty hectic but it is fun.  

That is such an awesome quote that you sent me "Love God and He will enable you to love others even when the disappoint you". It was perfectly inspired for me this week!  I need to love the Lord more so that I can show more love for my companion.  It is really hard sometimes because he never wants to talk about things that we can do better.  It is hard being a trainer but I know the Lord wants me to learn to be more patient with him when he is disobedient and be able to show my love for him no matter what he does.  Sometimes I am really direct with him and I think that I know what is best, so I try to control him, but that is just the pride that is in me and I am learning to be humble.  But really I do love my companion so much and we have sooo much fun together working really hard.

Yesterday we taught one of our investigators a 9 year old kid named Axel!  He is a part member family and he is sooo funny!  We found him because our recent convert Lizbet who is also 9 years old told us that we could visit her neighbors.  We usually teach Axel in the house of Lizbeth.  Usually lizbeth is at school when we teach Axel, but yesterday was Sunday so we planned to teach Axel with Lizbeth present so she could share the feelings she felt when she was baptized.  She got sooo excited and couldn't stop asking when we were going to teach Axel!  So when we got to her house with Axel before we could sit down and say a prayer she started sharing the scripture that she wanted to share.  We let her calm down and then said the prayer.  After she went off again with reading random scripture in the book of mormon and trying to make sense of them!  Axel just sat there listening really intently and the father of Lizbeth was busting up laughing the whole time because after everything Lizbeth said she would say, "and I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen!"  She said that like 5 times in the lesson!  After she was done, my campanion and I shared a short message  and then Axel started in saying " well Lizbeth I would like to share something with you too...and he started saying something like the moon helps us to pray to God and then he shared it in the name of Jesus Christ amen.  Then Lizbeth started to share another scripture and shared it in the name of Jesus Christ amen!  By this point my campanion and I were laughing pretty hard too...  It was so funny to just see them, two kids, bible bashing with the book of mormon not even knowing what they were saying.  And then to finish it off, Axel said "brothers,  are you going to be in the street at 10:00 because there is going to be a meteor shower.  I just wanted to share that with you. and then the Dad of Lizbeth said " and are you going to share it in the name of Jesus Christ? "   

Well other then that the week was really good!  We are going to change houses this week so it is going to be really busy but I am so excited to be here in Mexico and to be learning and growing so much!  

I know my Savior lives!  When I pray fevently He answers my prays in the best way for me! 

Love you!!

Elder Quist

Week 28

Wow that letter from Micheal Merrill was awesome!  He is such a great example!

This week has been such a good week!  We are getting a new pair of missionaries in our ward.  It is going to be great! They come tomorrow!  I hope another white missionary will come so that I am not alone not understanding the Mexican jokes that they make...I am learning little by little!  We are having lot a sucess with a few of our investigators.  It is great to see the progress in them and see how they are changing their lives!  We had another training meeting on Saturday in the offices and we have to go back to the offices tomorrow to pick up the new missionaries, so a lot of traveling!  But nothing compared to what Shelby is doing!  I could go to and from the offices 20 times in the time she takes to go there and back once!  

Good story- On Saturday we had lessons planned and then alot of them fell through so we called our progressing investigator Manuel who is going to be baptized in 2 weeks!  He picked up the phone and said yeah come on over.  So we quickly went to his hermanador (don't know how to say in English) Hermano Cerda so he could come with us to the lesson!  We got to Hermano Cerdas house and it started pouring!  It rains so hard and so suddenly here!  So we waited 10 minute and the rain stopped. and we thought that it was all clear to go to the lesson, but then we started walking and realized that the streets were still rivers even though it had completely stopped raining!  For the next 30 minutes we went on an adventure with Hermano Cerda the old first counselor in the stake presidency.  What should have been a 5 minute walk turned into a 30 maze to find what streets were not rivers and what speed bumps we could use as bridges to the other side!  It was pretty awesome!  We used rocks as stepping stones to cross some of the rivers!  We finally got to the lesson and it was literally the best lesson that I have ever been in on my misison!  Wow that was a great day!

I think you all are going to look at me weird when I get back because I am starting to adopt some Mexican habits that are gross...like pizza with alot ketchup.  Yeah it actually is good.  Or maybe I just think that it is good!  haha

That is so crazy that you are going to get carter. It went by so fast!  It seems like just yesterday that I said goodbye to him!  and now the time is going by even faster that I am on the mission!  Tell carter I say hi!  I cant believe he is home!  Is Gracie just so happy!?

Abby is soo cute!  She is getting so big!  I miss hanging out with you and the McCay family.  I loved Abby's video, she is going to be a good panio player!   

Well I am just loving it here in Mexico and loving every one of the experiences that I am having!  I feel so blessed!  I love you all so much! Tell Carter to write me now that he is home!  

Love you mom and dad so much!

Elder Quist.   

Week 27

WOW!  crazy couple weeks!  I can't believe how fast everything is going by!  I have 6 months in the mission field  and have already been with my son ( the new missionary I am training) for 5 weeks!  We are having so much success together and we are working hard!  Sorry that I haven't written in a little while. It is because we went to the temple today and our p day changed!  and two mondays ago I forgot to tell you that I wouldn't be writting the next monday..sorry.  I got distracted because just as I finish writing you President Bird called me and told me that there would be a change in our district and that I would be a new district leader.  So have been really busy these last couple of weeks planning training for the district and going to district leader training meeting in the offices!  I am learing so much! I have alot less time for myself (like I had any in the first place) but I love it because I love serving other missionaries!  

I can't really remember what happened this week but I think it was a amazing week because I feel really close to the Lord.  We have a new bishop now and I am excited to work with him and help this ward progress!  

I feel the love the Lord has for me in my life and I am so grateful for that!  Carters letter really inspired me this week!  I can not believe that he is done!  Tell him to write me when he gets there! 

Love you all so much!  Keep doing what you are doing because you are awesome!  

Love ELder Quist

Week 26

This week has been a great week for my companion and I.  The misison life is very very hard!  Yesterday was a really hard day!  We did not teach one lesson to an investigator!  That is the first day in my mission that we did not teach a single lesson and it felt terrible! It is not because I think that the number of lessons I teach is the amount of success that I have, but more that I think that I know that lessons are necessary to bless peoples lives!   It made me reflect alot!  I asked myself if it was because I was not working hard enough or not dedicated enough.  I can say with peace in my heart that that is not the reason.  I dont think there has been a minute on my mission that I haven't been trying my very hardest (that isn't  to say that I haven't made thousands of mistakes because I have but I am trying my best). Mom that's funny that you sent that talk because I was actually listening to that same talk by Elder Bednar this morning (by the way I GOT THE PACKAGE!!!!!!) and the scripture in Mathew 11:29-30 really impressed me!  I know that the Lord is making up for my mistakes! A yoke is the perfect example of how the atonement of Jesus Christ works!  He pulls the load that we can not pull because of our many weakness!  I know that I need to learn to rely on the Lord for my strength even more.

This week I was studying in John 17:3  that says "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. "

All we have to do to receive eternal life is know our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  There are 4 footnotes in the english scripture for the word"know"  

Look them up!  and study it!  They are the 4 requirements to know God!  Study it and I'll tell you next week what I think they are!

Dad-  I am doing good with the Spanish!  I feel like I can talk about everything I need to pretty much, but a couple times per day I'll have to ask my companion how to say something!

Love you all!  I am so happy and everything is great

Love Elder Quist

Week 25

Mom to answer your question -Of course they have EFY here!  and it is all free!  I think all of the members of the United States pay for everything for the poorer countries.  My trainer said that his mom payed 30 pesos a month for his mission!  That is like 3 dollars!  and EFY is free!  But if you think about it, it is fair because we are so blessed in the United States.  

This week is really good, I have been reflecting alot this week.  Our district leader is Elder Gardner from utah.  He is so awesome and such a great example.  The companion of Elder Gardner is ELder Galindo.  First I will just tell you that the friends that I am making with members and elders and investigators are going to be friends for eternity.  I feel really close to so many of the Elders in the mission.  

This Sunday we had a baptism of a little girl namber Lizbeth!  She is 9 years only and very awesome!  She has such an interesting personallity.  The lessons that we have with her are always an awesome experience!  She was so happy to be baptized.  The baptismal service was right after church, so my companion and I were filling the baptismal fount during the 3 hours of church and Lizbeth kept leaving her primary class to see how full the fount was because she was so excited!  The baptsimal service was so spiritual and everything went so smoothly. It was even better then we thought it would be because we weren't planing a musical number, but secretly the aunte of Lizbeth planned a musical number and they are amazing singers!  The spirit was so strong!  After the baptismal service we went to their house with all their extended family to eat dinner and we ate some amazing tacos!  

Also yesterday we found a new less active family to teach and they want to come back to activity. Then we found a new part member family and started teaching them and put a baptismal date with the girl named Jasmin.  Also yesterday Gerardo Jimenez who was baptized 4 weeks ago, blessed the sacrament.  Overall a really good day!  

Well this is all.  

Love you so much mom and dad and alex and abby!  

Elder Quist 

Week 24

Well I feel really strengthened after reading the letters from Cameron and Alex!  Alex I am glad you are home and doing well.

This week has been pretty amazing!  I feel like I am becoming a better missionary every day! (and skinnier)....haha.   All the sisters in the ward always come up to me and say " Elder Quist you look so skinny, are you eating good"  I really don't think that I have lost any weight, I think they are just crazy but maybe I am the one who is crazy!  We had a great day yesterday!  We had 8 investigators in the sacrement meeting!  yeah yeah!  It made me pretty happy to see these people progressing!  I think we are going to have 2 baptisms pretty soon because 2 young men that aren't  members went to EFY and now they want to be baptized!  I don't know if you remember me telling you about Israel but he is an old investigator and his parents told him that he couldn't be baptized but I think they are going to let him now because they know that he has such a strong testimony now!  He bore his testimony yesterday!  I think we are going to have 4 baptisms this transfer!  

My companion and I are doing great!  He is really awesome.  He is called ELder Avila.  He is from mexico DF.  He is really smart and I am learning a lot from him!  I think we are going to get along really good!  He corrects my Spanish alot and I like it because sometimes I don't know that I am making mistakes!

Well maybe I will write a little more later today but for now I have to go! 

Love you all so much! 

Elder Quist