Week 14

Family homework- D and C 19 ' read study and talk about it.

Sorry if I sounded sad and unfiltered in my letters I don't mean to be. But really I'm  doing so goood!!!

 

This week we got to see Elder Cook! He came and all the missionaries got to go to Lima to hear him. It was good to see all my MTC freinds! He was amazing and I could just feel his power when he spoke (and it was in english so that's a plus!) He said some amazing things that have really helped me. He  also talked about how he was in the DC North mission not too long ago and talked about the mission president there and I was like Hey I know him!!!!! Its kinda cool how Carter and I have had our missions cross paths twice now!!!

Elder Cook told us that we should rate the success in our mission on the success of our Ward or branch -If we are having alot of people in sacrement meeting. That totally changed my focus and orientation. It's true though. When we work through the members, we are so much more successful and efficient. The members are so important. Please go help the missionaries in your wards! References!

I also gave my first sacrament meeting talk in Spanish! I actually didn't do horrible! Whoot whoot! Ah PUES! 

We went as a zone to this old burial ground with 10000s of bones. It was so cool, but do you know whart isnt cool? When we got back we found we had fleas all over us! These nasty bone fleas from all the dead people! It was punishment for disrespecting thier heads. (see pics)They were in my hair I think and everyone in our district had them! I got over my initial freak out and then showered and basically burned my cloths haha! 

This week we baptized a man named Angel. Just imagine probably the worst sins  you could think of and I guarantee he has done them. I think the drugs have made his life hard.  BUT he went down that road of repentance and changed his life! He showed up to the baptism in a white shirt and tie and I almost died! It was so great! I have never been so content!!!!! This gospel can do amazing things. He really has a testimony and is clean. Its basically a miracle.

 The people here are really accepting of the truth but not willing to act on it. So before we baptize someone we have to make sure they are not just being baptized, but are really truly converted to this gospel. Baptism vs. Conversion. And that conversion comes through the OLA! Orar, Leer, y Asistir! (ola means wave in spanish and it stands for pray, read, and attend church - we use it alot and say how we all need to surf this wave!) 

I love you all and I miss you! Stay Strong!

Hermana Quist

Week 13

I am so happy i am getting another sister!  I started crying a little when I read it! I am so excited!!!!!!!! Kenna told me how she found out! opps ahah. I like the name Halle, Cameron, Chloe  and Sam- nothing else -ew. Mom can you just be prego for 17 more months so I can see the baby be born!? Hahaha jk I would never put you through that haha.

I GOT MY PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! PERECT. 

Also thanks for not telling me about my lost photos because I would have been devastated. And thank you for taking it to the miracle worker and being responsible! and ZAC! I love you 10000x more if that is even possible ! Gracias!!!!!!!!!

Also mom can you send me the recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

Alex - golf wow I like it, I like it. Don't worry about not having fun with a little sister, you can teach her golf and she can teach you about barbies! Miss you bud!

Adam -Other email-

Dad- Thank you for always worrying about my health and i am happy to report I have been perfectly healthy so far! Knock in wood! I love you!

Mom- Stay strong and i wanan hear what Bud had to say about the baby! Thank you for always taking care of me, even when i am in another country! I love you!

This week we had a miracle! So like I said last week we have really tried to be obedient and be better.  Because we know if we do, God will bless us. And we have faith in his promises. Well my faith is even stronger now! Because the day after our commitment to be better, we got a phone call during personal study from a random number and we almost didn't  answer it, but we did. It was the husband of a random street contact and he said that he and his whole family will be waiting to hear our message this sunday at 3.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were like....uh OK!  I really have a new testimony of obedience and a new testimony of how God will always keep his promises. 

Sometimes I find myslef reading in the scriptures and I receive an answer to one of my questions. And i find my self being surprised. But why am I surprised that God kept his promise that the scriptures will always be able to answer our questions. Why don't I have that complete faith that yes, of course it is? I am lacking in so many things and at times I get down. That I can't teach the lessons as well as I should or why do I think and do the unrighteous things I  do? I know it is because I am fallen and we all aren't perfect. But I hate it, like Nephi it really pains me when I sin and every time I fail and don't do the things I should, I am sad. Why can't I just be better? But the thing is, that's the way it is. But I can't lose hope because one day after this life of sin and pain, we will be perfect, like God. We have such potential! We just have to try everyday until we can be like Christ.

I successfully taught more classes de English and had 2 more batptisms!!!!! EEEEEEKKKKK! Its great! The work is great! The only sad thing is the leadership of our branch here. Its pretty rough. And we are trying to work with them to make them better but ITS NOT OUR JOB! But its ok becuase the church is true hahaha. 

My comps are great and we have so many fun times! We are always laughing! Our apartment has mold. Like no other, even though we have cleaned with bleach so much. Even my clothes have it. So we might be switching apartments soon. ehhhhhhh

My spanish....pretty rough still. I think by the end of sept. I will have it all down. But thats a loooooong ways off. I have started waking up early to study spanish. Poco a poco! After my English class I have to bare my testimony in English and no joke, I couldnt do it! I was so surprised! I started off by saying ¨ yo know que Jesus Christ es mi Savior... wait noooo! hahah I seriously don't speak any language right now. Not spanish and not english! AHHHHHHHH un poco frustrated.

Warning - disturbing picture below

This is a picture of a dead dog. There are alot of them here. Its great

Week 12

Yeah just crying a little looking at all the pics of  Taylor's  wedding...kinda heart broken. My comps are looking at me a little worried. BUT its looked so amazing and I am so happy for you guys! 

Lesson learned these last 2 weeks - OBEDIENCE- So we have not been 100 obedient. Not anything major or bad at all. Mostly with our time. But we are really seeing the effects of it now. Our numbers are way low and we are not having any success. And we KNOW it is because of us. We are trying hard now, but Hermna Odar just got sick and its so hard to work and be productive when she is sick. She is the Trainer so we kinda depend on her. But Hermana Bustamante and I got to go teach a whole day of appointments without her while she rested in the room with our favorite memeber (hermana katy- i think you added her on facebook right) )  It was a good experience, more responsibility to talk more and do everything ourselves. My spanish is better but still lacking so much. I am supposed to have 1 hour everyday for language study, but we rarely actually have time to do it( becuase it isnt that important for them) I need to start practicing more in my 10 mins of free time before bed to get better.

OK HomeWork for all you guys! Print out the talk by Elder Bednar from OCT 23 2001. The title is The Atonment and travel of mortal life. - I think because i am traslating that from spanish. But please read it and mom for your next FHE incharge teach it on this. Did you guys know how awesome the atonement is? We have to study the atonment everyday and find scriptures on it. WOW there is so much I didnt understand before. And still dont. But the atonment and sacrifice Christ made for us is EVERYTHING.

We had our second baptism, Mirella Florintini. She is 17 and i love her! Also we have 2 more this saturday!!!! ) 

So we came to a new investigators house to teach and I go to sit down on her couch and BAM the whole thing breaks under me and smashed to the ground. I swear I am not fat and it is all the couches fault but we all had a pretty goot laugh... at me.

Guess what! They drink hot Koolaid here! And this stuff called Ecco. Its is the mormon coffee and super good.

I teach classes of english every saturday and its pretty fun. I am bad at it but you know what I have realized soemthing. I am bad at alot of things. But its ok because   everytime I do the thing I get better at it. And i can do it because of the Atonement  and the power it gives me. The enabling power and His grace. 

I want to know the sex of the baby so bad!!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe I don't get to see my mom pregnant! So sad! I hope its a girl!!!!!!!!

Mom you should send me an article or something from pinterest with good stretches. Like ¨how to do the splits in 2 weeks¨or somthing ' Still no package 

Week 11

To answer your questions:

We have a kitchen and a bedroom and bathroom and a study room

I make my own breakfast (bread and yogurt) but lunch an dinner is always provided and that's why I am going to get fat.

We live close to the zone leaders who are super fun. So that's awesome but all the others in our district are super far away. We eat meals with the zone leaders Saturdays and Sundays. One is from the US BUT ITS KINDA RUDE TO TALK IN ENGLISH SO WE NEVER DO. 

- My nickname is BarbieQ and everyone here calls me that. 

-This is going to sound stupid but I am kinda famous here. It's not that big of a city and we walk everywhere all the time so I get noticed. When we teach someone they always say like yeah I have seen you alot on the streets. And all these little kids always hug me! But it's also bad because there is alot of creepy guys. But don't worry.  I am definitely protected!

-Some times our investigators are drunk but we manage hahaha!

- We had 7 investigators in the Chapel this Sunday!!!!! YEAAAAHHHHH

-I am pretty tired of people not understanding me and not understanding anything that is happening still. I have gotten really good and smiling, laughing, and nodding at the right times.

-So its just great to see how the Lord and his spirit can affect the home. We started teaching this one kid of 11 years and then a couple weeks later his sister (13) decided she wanted to get baptized too! And then so are all their little siblings saying they want to get baptized and when we visit they are so excited! Their home  has the sprit in it and it's so great too see! I have sweet handshakes with each of them too!

I love you and miss you!

Hermana Quist

Week 10

Hey! OK so I have time! YEAAH. 

OK so News for the last two weeks- Our mission president got super strict on emergency supplies and plans. Like one day we had an unplanned big meeting to make a plan for earthquakes and then they called us 2 separate times to make sure we have water and all these other supplies ready and told us to go buy them right then if we didnt. So yeah we are pretty sure there is going to be an earthquake now. We will have to see.

The food is super good here and my pentionista is amaZing. She makes these soups  with cream of wheat. I am going to ask for the recipe and send it to you guys ok. I haven't gotten sick yet which is a miracle. But I don't know how long that is going to last. There are some pretty sketchy meals at members houses. Their bedroom is the kitchen and their dinning room.

Main source of fear here is the dogs. Remember how I said I thought one was attacking me? Well now they actually are. None have actually touched me. But they are so scary and mean and bark and bite and I freak while my comps are as calm as a summers day.

My comps are good. Not bothering me too much which is a miracle if you know me. I get along with each of them but somtimes they don't get along. They had a huge fight the other day. I was pretty scared. But after some yelling and tears they made up and things are good again. Which is manditory because we cannot teach when there is contention.

We teach every night and usually a member is with us and its so funny because the girls here love high heels and we will have an appointment way up far away and they will wear these heels and its like why!! Because the mountains...well i can't call them mountains they are more like huge piles of dust. ....Oh and it rained the other day and guess what happens to a town that is constantly covered in dust when it rains...yeah mud (see pic) I slipped about 1000 times.

I can feel myself getting more and more lost in the work each week. We have committed 8 people to baptism since I have been here. But only 4 are progressing. The people here are super open to our message, but not on the acting on it and going to church part. Alot of your work is just with menos activos (inactives) 

We are always looking for new investigators and tracting is actually my fav. Its like - o we want more people to teach- ok all we need is a good hour of knocking on doors and we have appointments for all the next week. The problem is no one is ever actually home for those appointments haha. Its hard to get ahold of people and actually teach.

I had my first baptism on Saturday.  His name is Luis and he was the perfect investigator. This work is so rewarding and I was so happy!

My spanish is.... well coming along. I struggle. But I had to teach the gospel doctrine class yesterday. It was...well- I'm sure you can just try and imagine me  teaching in spanish. But I did it. Good practice.

--DUDE PHIL PHILLIPS AND JOHN MAYER!!! JEALous!

--Pretty jealous of the lake time with the MCcays  too!  I miss you all. 

--MADDY!!! I love you!

--Tell Caroyln Hoer thanks for writing me a real letter- twice!

Bye