Week 85 - 16 Weeks Left

Hey guys! 

Great week here in Mèxico! So I am now in Valle de Chalco again! My ward is called Anàhuac and my new companion is named Elder Cueva. He is from Ecuador and he has about 7 months here in the mission! He is new to this area too, so we got kinda lost-ish a couple times this week which is always a blast! Just contacting and visiting and trying to find houses and where the members live, but we had a great time. Elder Cueva is a hard worker and we are ready to fill that font up and baptize! 

Not much to talk about this week! We just kinda spent everyday figuring out the area and contacting. We have seen lots of small miracles while we work, whether it is finding a house we are looking for or contacting someone super chosen. :) This next week I will be able to say a lot more! 

Today for P-day we played basketball and soccer as a zone. It was awesome! I didn't get sunburned either, so that was nice.

Remember to be grateful to God this week :)

Elder Quist

Happy mothers day mom! I love you :)

Also it was so great to see my fam, I love y'all!

 Elders Crockett and Quist

Week 84 - Back to Valle

Hey everyone! 

I hope y’all had a good week and were able to see some awesome miracles. This week was a lil slow, not a lot of people were home cause this week there were a bunch of days of from school and whatnot... 

On Saturday we went to the baptism of some other missionaries to help out and after the baptism, when the people had time to change and all, they had the opportunity to share their testimonies. This is honestly my favorite part of any baptismal service. It is crazy how fast God helps people receive a testimony. In just a few short weeks, a handful of powerful spiritual experiences, all of that can make some say, “I know without a doubt that this church is true.” That’s pretty cool :)

A few times in church a specific thought came to mind, well the talk as a whole, but the quote is “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.” Sometimes it is hard as a missionary not to judge. We meet a lot of people, many of them with serious sins and problems in their lives, and if we aren’t careful we can start to judge. But like the quote says, we should not judge others because they have different sins than us, we aren’t perfect and neither are they. Maybe you aren’t judgy. That’s good :) keep doing that. 

I was also reading a quote by a president of the church, I honestly don’t remember who, I think it was President McKay... but the quote said that “Our personal influence is one of our greatest responsibilities,” or something like that. When we meet people or interact with another person they come to know who we are and what we stand for. He went on later to say that one of the biggest things that will bring people to the church is our example. Remember to be good, reverent, kind, and happy people, you never know who is watching!

I love y’all :) I hope you have a good week! Stay on the lookout for miracles!

Also I have changes, I’m heading back to Valle de Chalco, where I started my mission!

Elder Quist 

Week 83 - Still Hot

Hey everyone! 

We had a good week! Lets get right into this.

I know this may come as a surprise, but I have not been the best at doing exercise during my mission... but this last week I started to do a lot more exercise and I can honestly testify that doing exercise in the morning can help you all day hahaha! One of the more random testimonies I have, but it's true! To all you future missionaries, exercise. It's awesome.

Also to you future missionaries (or to those of you who know future missionaries), I am working on a very, very, very long list of mission tips and tricks. You could say it is a small "mission survival guide". Pre-orders start now. Let me know who wants one. 

There is a saying, "When you are green, you are growing." I like to explain to some investigators about, well, plants. A plant is only improving and progressing in its life when it is green and growing, but when it reaches a plateau, or in other words it stops growing, it, well, starts dying. And it can't progress anymore. We are the same. As human beings, we go through the same process, spiritually and physically. Maybe we can only control one of those two... but the principle is the same. Following the prophet, keeping the commandments, doing the small and simple things we can progress and grow :) I have been pondering about this during the week, What things can I do to keep progressing and growing towards Christ? What things can you do? 

I love you all :)

Elder Quist

Staying hydrated... 90+ degrees all day, every day

Week 82 - Semana Santa! Happy Easter!

Hey guys! 

I hope this has been a wonderful Easter weekend and that you have been able to feel closer to Christ! :) This week I also will hit 19 months out here so that's cool. More than anything I just want to share a spiritual thought with you all.

The other night I was feeling a little weird, not sad, just a little off. So I grabbed my trusty 'ol Preach My Gospel and I was reading about helping others keep commitments and it really stuck out to me the phrase: "Commitment is an essential part of repentance. It is the act of obligating oneself to a course of action and then diligently following through on that decision." I only have about 4 months left of this wonderful 2 year experience to consecrate my time. Repentance is also another way of talking about progressing. We all need to ask ourselves, whether we are preparing for missions, in the mission field, or we have already finished: How committed are we? A mission is a purifying process haha, sounds kinda ominous but it is, and it is basically a 2 year MTC (or 18 months) that teaches us how to live. We learn how to teach, how to love, how to receive revelation, how to study, how to learn, how to trust in God, how to be a good human being... it teaches us more in such a short period than anything else. To all the future missionaries who read this: prepare beforehand so that you can take full advantage of your time in the mission. You will be such a huge blessing to countless people if you do so. Current missionaries: how committed are you? How can you improve and progress? Return missionaries (or maybe you didn't go on a mission and that is ok, or maybe you went home early, that is ok): how are you progressing? What things should you be doing that you are not doing? Are you being a good example? Are you doing everything you should be doing? 

Repentance is such an amazing process of perfection. Commit yourself to be better! :)

This Easter Sunday I gave a talk in church about Jesus Christ (and a couple other things, but mostly Him). I want to let y'all know that I love Him and this gospel. I am so thankful for His sacrifice, that He was willing to suffer for us in Gethsemane and die on the cross. I am very thankful that He restored the church, this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, through Joseph Smith, and helped us receive the Book of Mormon. I am also thankful for President Nelson, his counselors, and the apostles. I am without words to describe how thankful I am for my family, without them who knows where I would be now. I love you guys :)

Thanks for reading my emails everyone (: Have a good week!

Elder Quist :)

Week 81 - Happy and Busy in the Work

Helloooooooo everyone.

This was a good week, good solid work. We talked to a lot of new people and put a couple baptismal dates! We also had our interviews with President Zapata, it was awesome.

Tuesday we had to go check out a house and cancel the contract, the missionaries aren't gonna live there anymore.  Later we had a couple appointments fall through so we did some contacting and finding allllll day. At night we met with Erik and his family, his wife and two kids, and they agreed to some baptismal dates! Hopefully by the end of this month they can feel prepared enough :)

On Thursday we had interviews with President. As usual, I can truly testify that he is an inspired leader and amazing person. It was fun to talk to him about general conference and the zone. I am gonna miss him when he leaves in July. In the afternoon, we visited a few people and tried to teach a couple lessons but no one was home or they didn't have time... Rough day but a good one.

Friday night we had a stake training about mission work. The stake presidency talked and my companion and I talked as well about how members and missionaries work together and how we can improve. It was fun, I was a little nervous but I think it was fine. 

At night on Saturday we had the same junta but with another part of the stake, but during the day we visited a couple people. Right now we are working with some neighbors of ours. They live in front of our house. One is named Stephanie, who is 12, and the other is Petra, her grandma! They are super prepared, but they both have some obstacles to overcome. I have gained a testimony of sacrifice and endurance in the mission. Like it says in 2 Nephi 9 (I.think) that we must pass through the refiners fire. We all must pass through, or very close to, Gethsemane. And giving up what we want now for something better in the future. Both are topics I love to study. I urge you to study them as well (:

Sunday we had a few people come to church! It was a good day! I had some good steak for lunch hahaha so I can't complain too much. Then at night we went to a family home evening with some members and ate pancakes :)

I love you all! Have a good week :)

Elder Quist

Week 80 - Week 2 in Cocoyoc

Honestly I have no desire to write a weekly email haha! All I would talk about is General Conference anyway :) Go read these talks instead of reading your favorite weekly email! :) 

• President Eyring in the first session.
• Elder Holland 
• President Nelson in Priesthood session

They were my faves! I hope you like them too! :)

Love Elder Quist!

Week 79 - 150

Hi All!

No manches I have 150 days left and that just kinda blows my mind! 

Ok so this week we had changes like I mentioned last week. I am in Cuautla again in a ward called Cocoyoc. My new companion is Elder Torres from Guatemala! He is super cool and is just about finished with his mission - about a transfer and a half left. We are working hard. What I love about being a Zone Leader is that we can work with the whole zone and help everyone progress. We get to make a lot of friends too! 

We had a meeting with all the leaders in the mission on Friday and I really liked one of the trainings about faith. Afterwards I decided to study that a little bit more and I found some good quotes about faith and character. I really like this quote about both from Richard G. Scott:

• God uses your faith to mold your character.
• Character is the manifestation of what you are becoming.
• Strong character results from consistent correct choices.
• The bedrock of character is integrity.
• The more your character is fortified, the more enabled you are to exercise the power of faith.

I hope you can take a few moments and ponder that as you prepare for General Conference! It is gonna be awesome! I hope y'all got your seat belts ready haha. I love you all! Remember to read the scriptures and pray everyday, serve your neighbors, and put God first in your life :) You will truly see miracles! 

Elder Quist!

Week 78 - Changes! Cuautla Here I Come!

Hey guys! 

What a week. I am not one to write much (don't know if you have noticed...) but I will try to give y'all a recap of some of the things that happened during the week.

On Tuesday we went to the Huitzilzingo district meeting, it was good! We talked a little about the importance of finding new investigators and the responsibility we have as missionaries to share this gospel with everyone! I love district meetings. I know that God had those messages prepared for me. I always learn something new from them.

Saturday was pretty awesome! Our ward did a mini-MTC experience kinda thing for the youth. Our companionship and 2 other elders and sister missionaries were the teachers. We taught the 3 districts one of the 3 first lessons. We were the favorites because I brought candy for everyone! hahaha But everyone had a great time! After the activity, we went to lunch with our recent converts and they made us the best tacos de cecina I have had in my mission! They were the bomb.

On Sunday, we had a few investigators come to church! It was great to see them feel the spirit, be happy, ya know? We got changes later in the day. I am going to Cuautla! It's gonna be fun. And really hot, but mostly fun hahaha. 

Have a fantastic week! I miss you all!

Elder Quist

Week 77 - Same Area, New Comp

Hey everyone! 

This was a great week with my new comp! I don't remember if I told y'all about him... His name is Elder Martinez. He is from Pachuca, Hidalgo, here in México. He has about 20 months, a few more than me which is awesome. I love learning from my companions. Each one has something distinct to teach. We work really well together! He is super cool, a hard worker. 

This week I was reading about Ammon and Alma and all that missionary stuff. It really hit me how loving our Heavenly Father is! Alma and the sons of Mosiah were the "vilest of sinners" and God forgave them because he knew their potential, and they became some of the best missionaries in the Book Of Mormon! If God can forgive them, he can forgive us (we certainly are not the "vilest of sinners"). And if he can make them some of the most powerful teachers, just imagine what he can help us become! Our Heavenly Father knows our potential. He has a plan for each and every one of us. We just need to trust in him. It is hard sometimes, but God's way is a lot easier than our way.

This week we had a lot of lessons. A lot of work here in Huitzilzingo. I have been thinking lately about Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." We need to think about our priorities and what we really want in this life. God requires our heart as much as He needs any other part of us, and we need to show how much we love Him and our commitment to His commandments! I hope you all think about that this week and you can reflect on that :)

Have a great week!

Elder Quist!

Week 76 - Long Week

Not really feeling an email today - sorry. Enjoy some pics!

Week 75 - Power of the Priesthood

Hi Everyone!

I have quite the headache right now so I will only share one or two experiences from the week. 

My testimony of the priesthood has grown a lot this week. Let me tell you why. We were in Atlazalpan with the Elders doing some baptism interviews and they mentioned that they have an appointment with someone that says they are possessed... So we started fasting and the next day we went back to Atlazalpan and went to their house. I will never forget what happened. I anointed her and things started to feel a little weird. My comp did the blessing and things escalated very quickly... If the four of us were not there, we would not have been able to do it. Firstly because she started screaming and trying to rip our hands off our her head... secondly because we all had the faith that everything would be fine. We were very calm and relaxed even though it was a situation that would make me scared. I am very thankful that we were all worthy to be there. The priesthood is a very real power and it is such a blessing to have that power on the earth today. We have been given an un-normal amount of blessings this week. 

On Saturday we baptized Hariany! She is awesome! It was a great baptism. It really amazes me how people can gain a testimony in such a short period of time. 

I forgot my camera today so I cant send any pics, but I will send a bunch next week :)

Have a great week!

Elder Quist!