Week 44 - 10 MONTHS

HELLO EVERYONE! 

Not a ton of things to report this week. Just that literally all of our investigators need to get divorced or married orrrrr both. And that is so difficult here in Mexico because no one ever has the money to get a divorce or to get married. And no one has the time to do it all because it takes a little bit of time. Prayers would be ideal. Thank you everyone! 

This week was good nevertheless. In the church, we had 55 people which is the most they have seen here in awhile, even though there are like 400 members. If anyone has any "out of the box" ideas, please let me know how I can get more members to come to church. Shoot me an email.

We met a lot of people this week, which is awesome, but none of the people we met are 100% ready for this message so we are continuing to look this week and trying to help everyone get married. ;)

Not to much to report. I love y'all! You're in my prayers!

Elder Quist

Week 43 - Mi HIjo Amado

The pregnancy was long and tough but after many long months I gave birth to a young and healthy Elder Solorzano. He is legit. A couple weeks after he got his mission call some professional soccer team in Guatemala offered him like $4000 american dollars monthly to play for them and he turned them down so he could focus on the mission #consecrated. I am in a new area called Cuatro Vientos Ixtapaluca. It is cool. When we got to the house, it was super dirty. So an hour or two everyday we have been cleaning it. Saturday we finally got to the back patio... lemme tell y'all. That was a terrifying experience. There was a dead rat in a bucket, a trash bag full of maggots and larvae, then the spiders.  

So in the corner there was this stack of floor tiles and I started moving them and I saw something move... To my horror I found the largest spider I have ever seen, like the size of my hand, and it had an enormous egg sack on it's back. Basically a nightmare of mine. So VERY carefully I started moving the tiles so I could kill the spider from hell and APPARENTLY this freaking spider has a HUSBAND. So you know, there is me, internally screaming like a little girl (and a little bit on the outside too), and then a couple feet behind me is my son, all calm and relaxed telling me to kill them while he is doing the dishes or something like that. After about 20 minutes, I move all the tiles and the spider couple is happily staring me down. They think I got nothin', but to their surprise I had a bucket of water. And a broom stick. That spider couple didn't know what hit them! I splashed them with a TON of water and went in there beating those things like a man possesed... I hope I left a good impression for my son...

This week we went and talked with the Salas family. They just got back from a long vacation and are so ready for this gospel. They read the Book of Mormon like everyday and all the pamphlets. Super prepared people. Pray for them. We also met with Tio and Leti. Really kinda awkward couple... BUT they are also way prepared. They read the BoM like maniacs. We were just getting to know them and I asked if they have been reading and praying often, to which they responded "yeah, when I get back from work everyday and relax a little bit we say a prayer and start reading and then after we finish we say another prayer..." and we just could not thank our Heavenly Father enough for preparing these people for us to help them know his true church.

Life here in Mexico is great, exhausting but great work! I miss y'all. You are in my prayers, and I love ya!

Elder Quist

PS - No pics for the moment, I lost my camera :( If you would like to donate to my new camera fund let me know! :)

Week 42 - Transferring and Training!

Hey all!

So I'm on the move again. I'm transferring areas again! And one other thing... I'M PREGNANT! I'M HAVING A BOY. I found out yesterday that I will be training starting onnnnn Tuesday! I'm pretty excited, but a little sad to be leaving Jonacatepec. 

So this week, on Sunday, we had a baptism! Eder got baptized after listening to the missionaries for TEN YEARS!! Super cool guy, he is 25. It was a really awesome service. His whole family was there. His sister flew in to see him get baptized from Monterrey, about 2 hours by plane. We had like 50 people at the baptism and along with 12 missionaries, and a ton of the young single adults came from another ward. We had a super spiritual service. I got to baptize him which was incredible. I messed up saying his name the first time so I had to do it again and after I hugged him in the font and said sorry I messed up. He just kinda shrugged it off and said "That's ok, I had a lot of sins to get rid of." hahahahaha I love him. He's awesome. At the end of the service, he was asked to say the closing prayer and it was just so spiritual and personal. He cried during the prayer and yeahhhhh he's awesome. 

Sometimes it is hard to see the blessings we have in our lives right in the moment. Sometimes it is easy. Always be grateful. Recently I have thought about being an example to others and how important the examples in my life have been, my mom and my dad, my older sister, my younger siblings, all my friends, my leaders who cared and loved, my bishops, all the other ward members and family friends. Remember: As a member of this church, even though you are not wearing a name tag, you are a personal witness of Jesus Christ, of Joseph Smith, of Russell M Nelson, of the Book of Mormon. Always act in such a way that would bring nothing but honor and respect to those things. :) 

I love y'all! I miss ya.

Elder Quist

Week 41 - Baptism!

Hey guys, 

I don't have a ton of time to write today. I just wanted to tell y'all that we had a baptism this week! Guadalupe was brought into this wonderful church of God on Sunday. It was a fun day :) We have another baptism this Saturday with Eder. He has been an investigator for TEN YEARS! God puts the miracles in our lives every day. Don't forget to be grateful! :) 

Homies don't forget to be an example and let your light shine forth for everyone to see! 

Love y'all!

DQ

Baptism pics with Jhonnatan and Guadalupe!

Week 40 - Elections Are Over

Hello my friends in the good 'ol United States Of AMERICA!

Enjoy the 4th of July a little for me, eh? 

So lately we have been trying to get an investigator married, Guadalupe, to her husband who is a member. They are cool!  Y'all are gonna see them in some baptism pictures soon!!! They are getting MARRIED THIS WEEK ON THE GOOD 'OL 4TH OF JULY - send them some love through that amazing thing called prayer.

Mexico has been pretty dang insane these past two months or so. The elections for the state governor, city mayor, and president are all going on at the same time. Here in Mexico everyone cares about the local government more than any other thing so the people running for office here have made jingles to use to tell people to vote for them. People put GIANT speakers on their cars and drive around and blast this ugly music all day and all night... BUT the elections ended Sunday so it's a lot more calm.

THAT ALSO MEANS we can visit more people. The number one thing people say when we show up at their house is "oh I am going to help so and so with some politics stuff, come back another day". So this week we are going to kill it.

I love Mexico, I love the Lord, I love my comp, I love the prophet, Russell M. Nelson, I love all you out there reading this! Have a stellar week!

E. Quist

 Elder Mendez from the Dominican Republic, I love him

 Elder Castillo and I in a taxi during divisions

Elder Santos and I borrowed some bikes and found this cool highway that no one is allowed to use. It's called the highway of the sun.

Week 39 - Another Week in Mexico (but no weekly email)

No weekly email from our boy, but found his face on the mission facebook page...

Week 38 - LECHE

Hello everyone! 

Ok so this week I had a lot of milk. My comp and I counted and I think I drank like 12 liters of milk. Which is a lot because we only eat at home in the morning and sometimes at night, but I usually only drink like 3 liters... anyway, sorry for that weird little life fact of mine haha.

Rain! Ok so it rained SUPER hard on Saturday! I would have recorded it, but that would have ruined my camera, lemme explain. So the street curbs here are like a foot and a half or 2 feet tall becuase during the rainy season (now) it floods. The first time it happened was Saturday. I literally was standing in water almost to my shins - we had to do it because we had a lesson.

People! We have someone progressing :) Her name is Jaqueline. We walked through a flood to get to her and God blessed us with an awesome person to teach! And then she came to church! I'll keep y'all updated.

I have been thinking a lot recently about what I want (in life, during the mission..) and have been kinda distracted recently. God is a good god so he sent an angel into my life. His name is Braden Verano (I think). We had a meeting and he is from a ward 45 minutes away. He is the ward mission leader and is only 20. His family basically disowned him because he got baptized and wants to go on a mission, but he still wants to go. We just started talking and he really helped me out. Something I really like that he said: "Sacrifice means everything. If you want a mansion (or some worthy desire), you must sacrifice everything to get it - family, friends, time, money. God will see that and give you that mansion, if He sees fit. The question is: What. Do. You. Want? And what are you willing to give up to have it?"

Where are our priorities? What do we want? What are we willing to give up to get it? Something to think about :)

Have a good week!

Elder Quist

Week 37 - It's a Learning Experience

Hey y'all!

So Elder Palomares left to Chalco and my new companion is Elder Santos. He is a cool guy. He has 20 months in the mission - 4 months left. So he is kinda lazy... but I still love him. He has a lot of experience and can teach me a lot. I'm senior companion though. I am still trying to figure that out. Like the title says, it's all a learning experience. Following along that thought, here are a couple things I've learned:

- You can't always make everyone happy.
- Smile when you make a mistake.
- Don't change your standards to make others happy.
- Above all else, put your trust in God.
- Some things take time, accept that. (Holland)
- Spend your money wisely.
- Have fun!
- Plan now; let God change them as you go along.
- Trust the Holy Ghost.
- A long prayer is worth it.
- Love your companion.
- Love the Lord.
- Love to work.
- Don't get down on yourself - Be positive.

Nothing incredible happened this week, but I hope it was incredible for you good people that read this. :) 

I love y'all. I miss y'all. Have a great week!

- Davis

My cool mosquito net

Week 36 - "Don't Worry, It'll Fit"

Hey all!

I have officially been in Mexico 250 days. Cool I guess haha. So I decided that this describes Mexico very well: "Don't worry, it'll fit" (when the taxi is full and the driver thinks 3 more people can fit, when the truck is full of stuff but they just use extra rope, when you say you can't fit more food inside of you and they take that to mean you don't like their food so you have to sacrifice and just EAT. MORE. FOOD).  

Ok so this week to finish up this cycle, we went on exchanges like 4 times with the other Elders in our district. It was a little frustrating to be outside of my own area so often but it was a good experience to be able to see how other Elders work and be able to help others in their labors.

This week we committed a couple people to baptism, BUT they didn't come to chruch so we will need to focus this next week on the importance of the Sabbath Day and the sacrament. I hope they can come next week. Pray for us por favor :) By the way, the reason I don't include many names of investigatos is because we have a lot and not mant progress, even those with a date for baptism. So if they ACTUALLY progress, I'll include them.

Quote from the week that I love from David O Mckay: "The purpose of the Gospel is to make bad men good and good men better - to change men's lives." If we understand that more clearly in our lives we will have SO MUCH MORE DESIRE to share this gospel with others.

Another quote: "Learning to live is learning to live simply."

I love y'all! Get a little closer to God this week :)

Elder Quist

More pictures from our hike last week - 

 Me and Elder Money

Week 35 - The Lords of Chalco

Hi all!

How's it goin? This week was good. Super tiring. It is still hot here, big surprise.

Monday: Long p-day. I went on divisions with Elder Rowberry (fellow LP Knight) because our comps had an appointment. It was fun, but very long. I found this quote last week by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

"Some tasks take time. Accept that."

Being a missionary has really helped me with patience. Patience with my companion, investigators, members, and more than anyone, myself.

Tuesday: We had a district meeting today. It was good. I really like learning from other missionaries. Not a ton happened today. We just contacted a ton.

Wednesday: So today I was on divisions with Elder Rowberry's son, Elder Mendez. We killed it. Didn't have many lessons, but we did have a TON of contacts. 32! The mission is the bomb, homies. I get the amazing opportunity every day to talk with random people -- but at the same time, not random because God puts everyone in our path for a reason -- and share this incredible message. :)

Thursday: Hahaha. Nothing really happened today.

Friday: We visited a bunch of people today. One of them was a less-active member. He was baptized 4 years ago and recently stopped going to church, but wants to be active again. I don't want to share a ton, but a quote I like relates to him: "A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are made for."

Saturday: Two things I learned today. Things I already knew, but I learned them in interesting and personal ways: First, "If you don't teach with the spirit, you aren't teaching, you're explaining." And second, "Affliction, pain and difficulty are given to us from God so we can receive blessings in the future." 

Sunday: It was a good day. The Sabbath is the best. That less active - his name is Jonathan - came! Later, in the evening, we had a zone meeting and we made a goal to have 102 investigators with a baptismal date this week. So please pray for us!

I love y'all! I hope you have a good week and remember to look for ways to bless God's children and share this message.

- Elder Quist

Week 34 - It's Still Hot

Hey fam and friends, 

A shorter one this week. About my subject line: it is still hot here. 

We worked really hard and didn't see a lot of fruits come from our labors, but that's ok sometimes. I just wanted to share some parts of a talk I listened to by Jeffery R. Holland called ¨For Times Of Trouble."

"If you are trying hard and living right and things still seem burdensome and difficult, take heart. Others have walked that way before you. 

Wherever you go in this Church there will always be somebody to stand by you. That’s part of what it means to be a Latter-day Saint." 

READ OR LISTEN TO THIS TALK.

Have a good week! I love y´all!

- Elder Quist