Week 71

The time is going by so fast!  We ar eapproaching transfers again!  I can not believe it!  I think that this is the last week for my companion and I!  It has been a great 2 transfers and I feel very blessed!  We are seeing miracles!  I think that Elder Juarez is the companion that I have gotten along best with!  

We are teaching many families that are having problems.  For Example, hermana Rosa and her kids.  She is struggling a lot with her husband and money.  It has been really hard for her.  On wednesday we went to visit her and she was struggling more then ever!  It was so sad to see!  When we got there she was acting different, she told us a little bit latter that she was thinking about asking us to stop teaching her so she could fix all of he problems and then after they were all fix then she would go to church and prepare to be baptized!  We had a powerful lesson in wich we taught about the importance of trusting the Lord during our problems!  She understood, after the lesson we asked her and her family to kneel and pray with us!  She said the prayer and in her pray thanked the Lord sending us, the missionaries, she said that we are angels for her!  The power of the holy spirit to change peoples hearts is un-real!  

One thing that I learned this week is the importance of being obedient to the commandments.  In the mission people are very open and honest with us about their problems.  I have seen families being destroyed and hearts being broken and  every time it is for disobeience to the commandments! EVERY TIME!  Although most for the time we don't realize that the problems that we have are direct results of the disobedience to the commandments, THEY ARE!  It is so sad!  The Lord tells us in almost every chapter of the book of mormon  "if you keep my commandment you will prosper in the Land"  and may I add " and in your lives and in you familys and in you work and in you relationships and forever!  I know this is true

Love you family! You are the best!  Give a hug to Abby for me!

Love ELder Quist

Week 70

 This Tuesday we were walking to the stake center for the district meeting and we passed a friend that we have from the street.  Enrique was involved in some really bad things a few years ago, I will explain more when I get home. but we met him in the street because he always is walk around our area selling churiso.  He was trapped in his problems before he learned about Christ and became Christain but hasn't joined a church yet.  He always asks us to pray for him, but we have never been able to go to his house because he lives with his aunt and uncle and they does let us go there .  So we passed by and he asked us where we were going!  We explained that we were going to a meeting with other missionaries in the Church.  Once again he asked us to pray for him in our meeting!  We told him for sure and the thought came to my mind "Invite him to come to the district meeting"  so I did. He came in and all the missionaries gave us a strange look.  We divided into districts and we asked our district leader if we could say a prayer for Enrique.  We started the meeting with a hymn, as we are singing , I looked over at Enrique and he had his eyes closed, as tears dripped slowly down his face.  The spirit was so strong and the whole district could feel it.  It was a great experince because sometimes as missionaries and members of the Church we fall into a routine and stop feeling the spirit.  If a simple hymn can touch a random person from the streets heart, ¿why can we not feel it sometimes?  It is a lack of humility!  On this tuesday morning we were all humbled and able to feel!  Enrique chose to stay for the rest of the time.  After the meeting he approached me with a simple question that will stay with me forever.  He asked "¿how can I become a missionary like you?"  before I could respond he said the following "  Well I think the first step to to repent and be baptized!"  I re-assured him that he was right, testifying that he could change his life.  The power of a humble heart makes everything possible!  

Last night I was praying and I got a strong impression that I should ask my companion for a blessing of comfort and counsel.  I wasn't completely sure why, but I did it.  He asked me why, and what came to my mind in that moment is what I told him.  As he placed his hands on my head and began to speak, I knew why I asked for the blessing.  The Lord told me exactly what I needed to hear, although I had no idea what I needed!  The Lord spoke to me through my companion.  I learned the power of faith, priesthood and prayer.  But more specifically, I learned that sometime we are not aware that we need help, but the Lord is.  We must listen to the still small voice to follow impressions as simple as what the spirit told me to do.  

Thanks for being the best family ever!  Say hi to Nicole Green for me! 

Love you Mom and Dad.

Alex, you are the best!  you should do the summer seminary thing!  Invite the people to the house in the morning and make breakfast for them! That would be sweet!

Love Elder Quist  

Week 69

This Tuesday we were walking to the stake center for the district meeting and we passed a friend that we have from the street.  Enrique was involved in some really bad things a few years ago, I will explain more when I get home, but we meet him in the street because he always is walking around our area selling churiso.  When he was trapped in his problems before he learned about Christ and became Christain but hasn't join a church yet.  He always asked us to pray for him and we have, but we have never been able to go to his house because he lives with his aunt and uncle and they don't let us go there .  So we passed by and he asked us where we were going!.......I have to go I will finish the next week!

Love you mom and dad!  Thanks for all of you support. 

Elder Quist

Hey send me information about our family history

Week 67 & 68

Wow, sounds like you have had a great time camping!  Everyone looks great, especially Abby and Alex.  Alex, your front flip was sweet!  Keep up the parcour so you can teach me when I get back!  But don't worry about teaching me how to milk a cow!  haha just kidding, That dairy farm visit actually sounds awesome!  I want to go one day!  I also liked the picture of everyone in byu shirts and alex in uconn.  hahah.  respresenting!  Oh, this week we were eating at a families house and they had the tv on and there was NBA highlight playing.  I had to close my eyes real quick because I reallize how much I miss basketball.  It made me miss home for 3 seconds but when a look down at my plate of freshly made tortillas de harina I remembered how much better Mexico is!  Oh and by the way, the sisters in our district are going to teach is how to make enchiladas suizas.  I also learned how to make tortilla de harina.  So when I get back we will have to have a mexican family home evening and watch Nacho Libre!  hahah.  

Another week gone by!  Wow time is flying.  My companion and I a doing great.  We truly do enjoy working and it is the best.  I love this companionship.  It is going so great and I am learning so much.  This week I learned that we are nothing but intruments for the Lord. and sometimes when we are too weak, He just gets work done!( Mosiah 4).  We have a family that we are teaching that are great.  It is a mom (Rosa) and 3 kids. Her husband hasn't choosen to go to church yet.  She comes from a small town in another state.  She does not have a formal education and doesn't know how to read very well.  We have been taking the teaching slow with her and her children so they can understand the doctrin clearly.  WOW,.  she has learned so much!  When we first taught her, she was confused and couldn't grasp the concepts. Miraculously she is the one that teaches us some times.  Due to the slow learning process, we have not taught all of the commandments yet.  Last Sunday we were in church teach gospel principles and I asked the class if they wanted to share an experience about when they had exercized their faith recently.  Rosa raised here hand and told us that the day before she was with her husband and he told here that he was going to drink with his lunch.  She is accostumed to drinking with him because that is what she always has done.  She decided to tell him this time that she was going to visit her friends instead.  She left the house and fled from the tempation.  That same night her husband said that he was going to invite friends over to have a party and carne asada.  She knew that he was going to get mad is she left again, so this time she had enough courage to tell him and his friends straight up that she was going to join them but with a soda.  The miracle is that we hadn't taught the word of wisdom and some how she know how important it was for her to not drink!  The Lord taught her, not us.  That is a mircale.  and the same thing happened with the law of chasity.  She was living in union libre with her husband (boyfriend) and before we taught her the law of chastity she told us, Hermanos I am going to get married officially with my conguye. She didn't know that it was a baptismal requirement but she was taught by the spirit that she should get married  The Lord is preparing the people and it is amazing to see.

 I love you all so much 

Elder Quist

Week 65 & 66

Week 65

We didn't get a letter from Adam but we got a phone call for Mother's Day and was wonderful!

Week 66

Happy Mothers Day!

Yesterday was a great day.  It was amazing to be able to talk to you! I was able to feel the spirit and feel of your love!  It was great to see your smiling faces.  Especially yours mom!  I hope that you had a great day yesterday!  After talking to you we kept working till 9:00.  We were able to find a new family last night! They are so awesome!  It is a couple with 3 kids.  We felt really blessed to be able to talk to our families and then see how the Lord guided us to find a new family!  

Everything went well this week!  We had our zone conference and it was amazing.  One story this week.  Alot of times we are not sure if people are married or not here.  One of our investigators is Rosa.  She is amazing and faithful.  We thought she was married to her husband so we didn't even ask her.  A few days ago she told us " Elders guess what?  I am getting married."  We had no idea and we hadn't taught the law of chastity yet!  I know that the Lord prepared her to make the decision even without our help because he wants her to be baptized!  I know this is the Lords work!

Love you all!  Thanks again for all your letters in my birthday package!  It was great to hear from each of you!

Elder Quist

Week 64

2 Tuesdays ago I was able to go the baptism of the Sanchex family!  The church where I was is 1 hour from where I am now, so we went in a taxi.  The whole ride in the car I was so happy and excited.  We got there and the teenage boys of the family where waiting out side, Jose and Johnathan.  I got out of the car and they gave me a hug and I was so happy to see them. I asked them how they were doing and they said they were great and ready for the baptism, but Johnathon said "Elder Quist there is some bad news.  My dad came and dropped us off but he didn't stay because he got stressed and started drinking.  Who knows if he will come back.  I got so sad.  My heart ached because I knew everything that he had left behind to make this amazing change in his life.  He used to smoke crack and sell.  He changed everything and I couldn't believe that a little alcohol was going to change all that.  We walked in the church and I saw Melisa my convert from Metro ( my first area) and her husband Pablo that knows the family Sanchez.  That made me happy, but I was still so sad. Everyone was sad too but we were going to continue with the baptism.  Just then I saw a door crack open and Hermamo Sanchez was hiding to trick me.  I can not express the joy that I felt.  Everyone that I loved was there.  2 of my old companions Elder Morris and Elder Astacio and the whole Sanchez family, not to mention Melisa and Pablo and thier new baby. I can not express how full of joy I was that night. One of the best nights of my life.  I will send a picture next week.

We had an awesome spiritual experience last week finding new investigators.  Remind me to tell you that one next week. 

Love you all,  I am happier then ever!

Love eLder Quist 

Week 63

Wow, it sounds like you had an awesome family day.  I have never heard of soccer golf!  hahah  but that is sweet! 

Well to continue with the story.....so I was telling you about Ricardo Rdz but I forgot to tell you that he used to be SWAT for Mexico.   He went to Israel to get trained and they told him that they were training him to be the best of the best but also the worst of the worst.  He was and is not a bad guy but when he got back to Mexico he receive a lot a recognition from the government because he saved a lot a kids from a shooting and other people in hostile situations.  So they made him the "trainer"  of the new swat in mexico,  so he told his students the same thing and they took it seriously and all the people he trained started killing the police and people that did not deserve to die. so that is why he doesnt work as SWAT anymore.  Just an interesting detail.  So when we left his house we saw the clouds and knew that it was going to rain so hard.  We started walking fast to the next appointment when suddenly it started raining harder then I have ever seen in my life. So we saw that a random house had their porch gate open and it was a covered porch, so with no other option we  ran in.  The whole family was there hiding from the rain and we asked them if we could stay there for a moment  and they let us.  It turns out that they are family members of a recent convert that just died.  We were able to see that they needed to heart about the plan of salvation.  Right before we said the prayer the power went out.  We had the whole lesson, with 7 people listening in complete darkness.  The spirit was so strong and there is not a doubt that it was a miracle that we were guided to that families house so they couldreceive  counsel after having their father, brother, and son die the week before.  They went to church on Sunday and we are teaching them now.  That is a mircale.  They Lords ways are always higher then our ways.   

This week we went back to my last area for the baptsim of the Sanchez family.  Oh how sweet it was.  That was awesome.  The whole family got baptized. 4 of them and they played a bad joke on me.  I will tell you next week.  but that is all.    Oh and I got the package thanks !!!!!

Elder Quist

Love you all!