Week 96

Mom and Family,

Thanks for sending my that qoute from Camerons letter, it really helped me! "the secret to happiness is letting every situation be what it is and not what you think it should be." This has been another good week!  This is transfers week so we are about to get really busy!  Wish me luck and sleep a little extra for me!  hahah.  

Yesterday we had exchanges in our area with our zone leaders and it was awesome.  We had an awesome lesson with Elisa and her cousin!  When we got there her cousin, who is 100% catholic as they say here, started asking a bunch of questions like if we could listen to music or dance or if we believed in Jesus Christ.  Sometimes after 2 years of listening to people ask questions like that it can get on the nerves because some people ask questions like that out of spite but we were able respond with love and patience.  Then we showed them the new video "A Savior is born"  and she completely changed.  We taught about the premortal life and the spirit was really strong!  When she had to leave she said that she was leaving with her jaw dropped.  She said that she was going to talked to Elisa later to talk about how good she felt!  We felt really blessed because Elisa doesn't have much support from her family. It was a blessing for her!  

Have a great week!  let me know about Carter and send my support and love to Willy.  Talk to you not this Saturday but the next!

Elder Quist

Week 95

Family,

  It sounds like you have had a great week.  What is better then being with family all week?...just one thing...being a missionary!  hahah.  Not to make you jealous or anything!  Thanksgiving was great, the food was really good and it reminded me of the united states but, nothing measures up the the Quist thanksgiving dinner.  After eating we followed with the same tradition that we have in the family and we all shared one thing that we were grateful for.  I said that I was grateful for my baby sister Abby.  Truthfully she is an amazing blessing.  These last 3 years have been full of suprises and blessing.  Although we have been far apart we have never been closer.  I think that we have been gifted with the two most powerful unifying experiences. 1. a New baby in the family 2. two missionaries serving missions and one preparing.  I think that we are more united then ever. and besides that Abby is cute...so that is why.  

That is awesome that you could be with Shelby for her Birthday!  I really liked the videos where Abby said Shelbys name!  Alex, you look so tall.  I like the Generations sweat shirts.  

I thought about it a little more and I am not interested in the block classes but I would like to talk a insitute class back at home.  But I will look into that.  

The mission has taught me to deal with and enjoy the ups and downs in life.  I am learning that we need the be grateful for the good times and the hard time.  For the ups, because we can enjoy the blessing of feeling the pure love the our Savior manisfested. And the downs, because they help us develop Christlike attributes.  James 1:5 is the very well know verse in the Christian community and even more so in the members of the Church of Jesus Christ but a verse less recognized but that has found a place in my heart as I have studied it and lived it is James 1:3-5.  Truthfully in english it is hard to understand but in spanish it is clearer to me!  2 Hermanos míos, tened por sumo gozo cuando os halléis en diversas pruebas,

 3 sabiendo que la prueba de vuestra fe produce paciencia..

The Literal translation or at least how it has been written in my heart is something like this.  "Brothers and Sisters, be joyful when you find yourself going through different trials, knowing that the trial of your faith produces patience."

I experienced this scripture just yesterday.  We were having a hard morning and I was in exchanges with Elder Monroy.  No one had let us in their house.  We got to the house of one of the most humble families that I have taught on my mission.  Family Suarez, Mario and Felipe are about 75 years old.  It is an older couple that lives in a very humble house.  Their front door is 2/3 my height..and yes, although slouching over, I still hit my head leaving the first night from the lesson.  They are very loving and grateful for our visits.  Yesterday morning we went by and saw the brother in his old, stained, white shirt and ragged jeans with fresh paint on his hands.  We asked us if he needed help and he humbly accepted our service.  We were lead to the back room and helped paint for 1 hour.  It was an amazing experience and a drastic change.  That room looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in 20 years.  There were 1000 year old daddy long legs that we cleaned out.  We finish and shook the Brothers hand before leaving.  As I shook his hand he didn't let go...I looked him as tears swelled up in his eyes.  In a broken voice he struggled to say the most sincere words that anyone has ever told me.."Thank you!".  That moment was one of the "ups" that I mentioned and oh how full my soul felt.  Two hours later we passed by their house heading to a members house.  Brother Suarez came running out of his house...what he said was both un-expected and saddening.  I ask him, "what happened?".  He looked at us with sadness in his eyes too and "you or your companion stole 1000 pesos from the room where you were painting."  Guided by the spirit, we calmly told him that it wasn't us and asked him what had happened."  He seemed nervous and unsure.  Quickly we realized that what they were saying was a scam that there daughter was trying to do. She had arrived just before be finished painting, and motivated by needs and dishonesty told her parents that she had a 1000 pesos that went missing trying to trick us into giving her 1000 pesos we don't have.  Her parents, do to their humility believed this lie and asked us if we had stolen it.  We went away, sadden by the effects this lie would have on Mario and Felipa. Later that night we saw Mario on the way to the house and asked him a few questions.  He admitted that he never knew that those 1000 pesos existed and by then had realized that his daughter had lied.  That experience is one of the "downs" that sometimes capture and limit our happiness.  But it doesn´t have to be that way.  We can be joyful in whichever different trail that we are going through is my testimony.  I give thanks for the opportunity to develop patience and love that the trial yesterday gave me.

Have a great week Family.  Enjoy the Christmas season because I am!:)

Elder Quist 

Week 94

Family and Friends,

So this week I am going to have a little more time to write so don't worry.  The next transfers are in 2 weeks.  Things are going smooth this transfer and I am feeling great!  It is awesome because we have been able to stay in our house a lot more because of the intercambios that we have in our area.  It is a blessing for me because we get to work in our area everyday.  And we are sleeping on our house 6 days a week.  Our house is 10 min in taxi from the mission offices and 30 minutes from the presidents house.  We don't go to the offices everyday,  we just have meetings on Monday but then we go in occasionally as needed.   President lives in the other mission, right next to the other mission Presidents house, we are actually going to eat Thanksgiving dinner in Presidents house, so that will be fun.  I am sure that it will remind me of home a lot.  My companion is really good.  He is more serious then Elder Cook but we are feeling good and we are very similar in Character.   

The other day we were able to have some amazing lessons with members.  I think that I have already told you but there are 2 members that are so great in our area. Hermano Robles and Hna Estefania.  They are like Alma and Amulek in the lessons. Remember Elisa and Elizabeth?  they are doing great and we have seen a lot of progress in them.  We had a lesson with Hermano Robles and Hna Estefania; Elizabeth started to cry.  It has been hard for her because her friends and extended family don't support her.  

Last night we were in a lesson and an investigator started to talk bad about Hno Robles. It made me really sad and to be honest it made me mad. It was the first time in my mission that I actually felt mad in a lesson.  I offended the investigator with some things that I said and right after I felt horrible and knew that I didn't listen to the spirit that told me to not say what I said.  I felt the desire to repent as quick as possible and asked forgiveness as soon as I could.  Thinking about it after it made me sad that, still, after so much time being a misisonary I could get mad.  but I am grateful for things like this because it helps be see how much I depend on the Lord and the spirit.  After getting mad I could hardly talk...there is a huge difference of teaching with the spirit, and without the spirit.  It was very obvious and I never want to let that happen again.

Well I think that is all for this week.  Thanks for everything Family.  You mean a lot to me.  Talk to you next week.  Have a good thanksgiving.  Say hi to the Quists for me.

Elder Quist  

Week 93

Family,

I was really bad at writing last week but I am sorry, I am going to be even worse today!  I am doing great and have been able to feel the spirit really strong lately!   Love you you mom, dad, alex and shelby.  I promise I will write more next week but I really do apricate your letters and the time that you take.  You are the best.  

Elder Quist

Alex- be careful driving

Week 92

This has been a busy week for us.  We are writting a little late today because we were busy all morning in some training meetings.  

Things went well this week!  I am happy and getting used to my new companion.  I am happy and we love our area!  I will write more next week.  but I love you all.  I am learning a lot and am very grateful lately.  One of the biggest things I am grateful for is the friends that I am making on the mission.  

Have a great week everyone.

Elder Quist

Week 91

Hello,

Well on Wednesday Elder Cook went home.  I was sad because he was truly a great companion!  We had an amazing 3 months working together and reflecting back on it I am so grateful.  

We have been sooo busy these last 7 days.  I have barely had a chance to stop and catch my breath but today is a great day to rest a little bit.  

So there are two stories that I would like to tell this week.  

#1.  Remember the story that I told about the family that we are teaching, the mom that had a kidney problem.  Yeah, so after I wrote about that story last week we were able to return and talk more about the experience.  She told us that when the doctor told her that she didn't have a defect in her kidney anymore she was so happy and told the doctor, "it must be the young men that are praying for me".  The doctor asked "which young men?" and she explain that she was listening to the LDS missionaries.  He proceded to tell her that he was LDS also and that she should keep listening.  So a few days later after praying for more direction in her life, she got a call from the Doctor. He had recieved the impression to call her but he didn't know why.  She took that as an answer:)

#2.  On Saturaday night the first counselor in the bishopric let us know that we were going to be asked to speak the next day, so I started to pray to know what the Lord wanted me to speak on.  In the morning I planned out that I was going to speak on following to spiritual impression to build faith and become aninstrument  in the hands of the Lord.  I thought about some of the many experiences that I have had in my life related to this theme, but then I started to think,  it does't matter what I have done in the past, It matters what I am doing now.  So I stopped thinking and started listen....only an hour before church started we were farther away from our church building because we had to stay in the offices the night before,  in that moment the impression came "don't take public transportation, walk to the church."  We didn't know why but we followed the impression and started what is at least a 45 min walk.  Not even 5 minute into the walk we saw a lady that looked lost.  She came up to us and asked us what church we were from, we responded and she said " I am looking for a church here close by that some handsome young men invited me to and gave me a beautiful book.  So, as she told us why she loved the Book of Mormon that the missionaries had given her, we walked back to the mission office with her which is the church building where the other missionaries go.  If we hadn't  listened to the spirit she would have given up, having already looked for 20-30 minutes. She was about to go home when we should up. just 40 minutes later I was able to share the experience with the ward in my talk and testify, that we are nothing but instruments in the hands of the Lord!  (1 Nefi 9:6)

My new companion is Elder Romero from ciudad de juarez chihuahua.  I am really excited for these next couple months.  I really am going to miss my old companion Elder Cook because we got along really well and he was a really fun missionary! Today we are not doing much because the past 7 days have been packed.  We are just cleaning our bedroom in the offices and then we are going to go back and clean up our house. To answer your questions, Monterrey barley got hit by the hurricane but it was rainny for a few days. 

 So this transfer the area presidency changed the way all the assistants in Mexico are going to do the intercambios with the zone leaders.  Instead of one of us going to their area and one of us staying in our area we are going to both work in our area.   That has the purpose of our area being the example area of the mission!  I feel really excited because we are going to see a lot more time in our area and help the people there more. We are going to have some baptsims coming up pretty soon.  I will let you know more as they get closer!

Love you family! hope you are doing as well as you sound!   

Elder Quist

Week 90

Hello, 

It's been a short time since I have written you but I am doing great as always. These last few days have been packed with good experiences.

1.  Sunday morning was great...as we were walking to church a car passed by and stopped right next to us.  They rolled down the window and told us that they are a young couple from another stake and wanted us to visit the wife's sister.  That was a little miracle that we saw!  It was pretty awesome because they called us last night to set an appointment for saturday to go visit her with them(that almost never happens!)  we are excited to see what happens

2.  Remember I told you about the lady that we were teaching named Dora that was like my grandma here in Mexico!  yeah we are teaching her again!  I never wrote you again about her because she fell off the charts!  It was really sad actually because at first she wanted to be baptized and then her children from a different religion started talking bad about us and making her feel bad about listen to us so she backed out.  A week ago we found her in the park next to her house and put an appointment to teach again.  On the day of the appointment she told us that she doesn't doubt that what we share is true and she is now willing to do what she knows is the will of the Lord and put off her fears!  She told us that she just needed some time.  I´ll keep you updated about her.

3. One of the families that we are teaching is great, family Montemayor.  The mother of the Family had a some sort of disorder in her kidney a few years ago they did an operation  and put some sort of metal apparatus in her kidney but supposedly she still had the defect and she was going to have to go get an operation to get the apparatus out and fix the defect in her kidney...she was really scared and had a constant pain side.  We decided to pray and fast for her last sunday and two days later when went to her house she told us that a miracle had happened.  When she went to get her final check-up before the surgery and the doctor told her that he didn't know how but she didn't have the defect any more!  The was just going to have to have a small surgery to get the apparatus out.  She was so happy!  The power of fasting and prayer is real, try it.  

4. I went on intercambios to andalucia( my second area) .  I got to see the Sanchez family.  They are doing so great and passing through a lot a trials. Jonathan the oldest son( who works for Melisa and Pablo)  is doing amazing and talked to the bishop last week to see about his mission papers.  How grateful I am to be a part of this families life!  I love them so much and have formed an eternal friendship.  

5. Someone told me that I look like the little kid from "back to the future"

Love you friends and family. Tell Alex I love him and Abby too.  Have fun back in Idaho Shelby. 

Elder Quist