June 27, 2016 - Sete Lagoes

I see a belo horizonte.

Just to start out we still have a cold shower, but at least it is clean.

This week I think I knocked on more doors than during any other week in my mission. It is not my favorite thing to do, but it is part of the work. I actually like it when you are able to find someone who is open to talk. You´d be suprised about how open people are, especially with two random nineteen year olds.

This week I was thinking about miracles. Mostly, people think that miracles are things like parting the Red Sea and raising the dead, but many times overlook the small miracles. One is the miracle that anyone lets us enter their house without knowing us. But the greatest miracle is the change that the gospel brings into the lives of those that hear and follow it. The key to this miracle is reading the Book of Mormon. The people that really start to sit down and read this reavealed scripture every day have a change come over them. The change can be drastic, as when one investigator stopped drinking and cut his long hair, or it can be barley noticable to those that don´t pay attention. Just beginning to smile more, be more open to others and wanting to be better. At times I open and begin to study, when I find a verse or story that speaks to me and helps me with a challenge that I am facing.

The other act that can bring about this miraculous change in people is attending church. Inside of the chapel, especially in sacrement meeting, you can feel the spirit with great strength. When you do these two actions, reading the Book of Mormon and attending church, you will recieve a witness that the Book is true and that this is the church of Christ which was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

When you know this there is only one question left, 'What does God want me to do?' He has told us exactly what to do; repent and be baptized in the name of his son, Jesus Christ. When we do this we take our first step towards gaining an eternal family.  The next is found at church on Sunday and the next the Sunday after that. I am refering to the sacrament. This is our oportunity each week to renew our batism and be clean once more.

How does this all start? With an invation to know more. God knows who is ready and He will guide us to them.

Elder Quain

June 20, 2016 - Sete Lagoes

I see a belo horizonte

Well, I sent a couple photos of the hike that we did last week today. I hope that they turned out well.

This week it dropped down to sweater weather and I was able to study bundled up every morning. It is quite a difference from studying with a fan. It's nice not to have to worry about the pages flying. I had an unpleasant surprise one morning as one of the elders was taking a shower and started to scream. When he got out he told us that the hot water broke. Here in Brasil they heat the water in the shower head that has a coil in it. Well, it broke in half. We replaced it and it broke again. Our shower head only lets out like three streams of water, so we decided to buy a new head, but the wires weren´t connected when I took a shower; so, it is sweater weather and I haven't taken a hot shower in 4 days.

Our ward decided to do a themed sacrament meeting this week and they made a bunch of pass along cards for us. The theme was the end of the world and the pass along cards were all red with a photo of the second coming and an exploding earth. It was interesting to hand them out to people. I explained thoroughly that the meeting would be about the second coming, but one of the speakers went all doomsday on us. At least the investigator at church said that she didn´t get bored.

Transfers happened last night and the results were that the entire district will be staying the same. I will now be beginning my 3rd transfer with Elder Ribeiro and my forth living in the same house with Elder Buchanan.

uma lei é trabalhar 

Elder Quain

Sweater weather with Elder Ribeiro

June 13, 2016 - Sete Lagoes

Well, I see a belo horizonte.

So, I can now speak Portuguese well, almost. It is really funny how direct Brasilians are. I was doing a split with Elder Catiste and had do a lesson in English. Unfortunately, he doesn´t speak any English. I was teaching and teaching and it ended up that she really wasn´t interested in the gospel, just in English, so we just left and Catiste turned to me and says, "you would make a really good English missionary.... because when you teach in English you have so much more emotion in your voice and don´t sound like a robot." Now my new goal is to not sound like a robot by the end of next transfer.

We also had a zone conference this week. We met with President Fernandes and three zones. It was fun as I got to see some old friends and catch up with them. More importantly, it was really inspiring and gave me new insights as to how I can be a better missionary. President had been in a seminar with Elder Holland and the area presidency of Brasil and he passed the training on to us.

Today we decided to hike the Serra here. It was pretty fun and we got some cool pictures, teaser for next week as I am receiving them from another elder and he forgot the cord to load them. Also, I had an ingrown nail that I had to fix today. It hurt a lot and right now I am walking in dress clothes and slides. But Elder Buchanan had an ingrown toenail even worse than mine and we are both in sandals and look pretty comical.

That´s all for my week. Hope everyone is doing great!!

Elder Quain

Zone Conference with President and Sister Fernandes

June 6, 2016 - Sete Lagoes

I see a Belo Horizonte.

Our p-days are a little boring here. We kind of just clean and prepare for the week, but I guess that´s why we have p-day, the day of preparation. Since we have started really focusing on preparing on p-day I have seen a change in the whole house. First off, the house is a whole lot cleaner and secondly we just feel better during the entire week. This p-day we were planning to climb up the serra, but that plan fell thought due to a new law in Brasil. Now every foreigner living in Brasil has to have a Brasilian I.D. I am now a proud owner of a Brasilian I.D. Their I.D.s are actually just paper that they tell you to cut out and laminate.

We also had a family home evening that went really well. The family that was hosting even invited some of their non member family and we were able to teach them the first lesson. We are now working with one of his nephews.

We work, but our work isn´t super effective on our own. When we work with the members we can be super affective. People are just so much more receptive to friends and family then to us. So, having a member with us gets the foot in the door. Also, it is by the mouth of two or three witnesses that every word shall be established... but three is better. we have actually been able to work rather well with the ward here and it is through them that we havee found many of our best investigators.

One of our best investigators is João Paulo. He has come to church three times already. You wouldn´t ever guess where we met him, at church. His ex-girfriend brought him (he is still friends of the family) and the family is accompanying him. We have taught every lesson to him so far in a members house and he is reading the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. Take it away and what is left. The Book of Mormon is the concrete evidence that God called Joseph Smith to be a prophet, because it is only to one called to be a prophet that God would reveal scripture. And, if Joseph Smith was a prophet he had the authority to call twelve apostles and reorganize the church like other prophets before him. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was called to reorganize the church of Jesus Christ on the earth. I know that he had the athourity to do that and that the authority is held today by a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. Anyone who has the desire to know the same simply needs to read the Book of Mormon and pray to God with faith asking if it is true. Whoever does this will recive a response and the blessings that follow will be uncountable.

Elder Quain