April 18,2016 - Sete Lagoas

I see a belo horizonte.

We had a really good week this week. We worked really hard and things just seemed to be working. The best thing this week started with a reference. There was a member that gave us a reference for a person called Joice. We were trying to contact her, but found her younger brother. He had some free time and was willing to listen to our message. He is really intelligent and has already studied the bible a lot at only 15. He also has some great questions that we are trying our best to answer and have challenged him to learn for himself through the Book of Mormon. He then told us what time to return to talk with his sister. We were able to talk with her and she was very similar to her brother. The best part is that they were both interested and came to church. They seemed to have really liked it and we have a family home evening marked tonight with them. Now we just need to get the rest of the 10 family members involved. 

The miracle of the week, besides finding them, was that we were making a visit to their house with a member that I had never made visits with and he turned out to know their dad. They had played soccer together when they were young. It really helped to open the father up more to us. It is great to see how God is really preparing people.

Other than that everyone here just wants to talk politics right now; who I want to be U.S. president, and what I think about the Brazilian President. It was different to hear people talk about it. We generally ask people what they want us to ask for in the prayer and nearly everyone responded 'impeach or no impeach the president.'

Well, it's off to another good week of 'spreading gospel cheer, preaching loud for all to hear.'

Elder Quain

Sete Lagaos zone conference, we also got to eat subway and açaí.

April 11, 2016 - Sete Lagoas

I see a belo horizonte

This week was pretty good. I got a new companion (or as Elder Gonçalves said, onion) and was super tired by Sunday.

Monday: P-day was pretty relaxed and we actually played soccer. We have a concrete court here that also has basketball and volleyball, but it is really hard to get Brasilians to play those games. After that we just visited members and Elder l. Silva thanked them for all the help they have given.

Tuesday: Transfers. We rode in a bus to Belo Horizonte and swapped companions. My new companion is Elder M. Ribeiro, he´s good. He is from north Brasil.  I also said bye to my trainer, Elder Barbosa, who was heading home to Fortaleza. We rode back and were about to start planning, when we decided that cleaning was more urgent. We ended up cleaning our room and planning afterward. Then we tried to visit investigators, but none were at home so, we visited some     members.

Wednesday and Thursday: Don´t remember much, but we taught a lot of lessons and just did good. We have started to help people carry their groceries again. This always helps to open the hearts of people.

Friday: The lunch for the other elders fell though, so they walked with us to our lunch. We ended up kicking rocks through each other´s legs. I am really bad. We were walking down a street and I thought I found the contact. It turned out that I read the number wrong, but the person had already had the missionaries and accepted us back. Later we were walking down a different street, when I noticed we were going the wrong way. We ended up passing in front of a members house because of this and they gave us a cake. Moral of the story, lose yourself in the work of the Lord.

Saturday: We had great planning, but no one was cooperating. First our lunch fell through,  but luckily we were able to go to the other elders lunch. The bad thing is we had already walked to the other house. We ender up walking more then 7 kilometers before lunch. we were only able to get into one house of an investigator. It wasn´t very productive as she canceled on us for church. This was after we told her that we already had a ride. We got home that night and didn´t really talk much. We just went to bed as we were wiped out from all the walking.

Sunday: I was still tired, especially during Sacrament meeting. We have our Sacrament meeting after ward council and lunch. Our lunch on Sunday was an hour long walk each way(10km). During Sacrament meeting my vision kept on blurring as I was fighting going to sleep, but I overcame and was able to make it thought the rest of the day. We also had a member that made pizza for us. We always like getting pizza. I think I might be becoming a little more Brasilian, as I now put ketchup on my pizza.

Well, my week in a nutshell

Elder Quain

April 4, 2016 - Sete Lagoas

I can see a belo horizonte

But, this week was a little bit of a blur.

We worked like crazy this week, and were really tired.

We visited a bunch of people, but for some reason things just aren´t working out too well. When I started to the mission I had trouble getting anyone to accept a commitment. Now we have a bunch of people that will make commitments, but few that will follow through. Unfortunately, that is many times just due to a lack of a real desire. God truly does respect our agency. Our desires are what motivate us. Anything is possible if you really put in the effort. 

I learned this when I was learning Portuguese. It was really the desire that helped me gain the ability to speak. The desire to be able to help the people here. This desire was so strong that it brought me to my knees in humility asking my Father in Heaven for help, then putting in the effort. The Book of Mormon has the invitation that all might read, ponder and pray to know the truth. Through praying we demonstrate humility, but all three steps show our desire.

Why would you want to know that the Book of Mormon is true?

Why wouldn´t you want to know with assurance that you are following the path that leads to the greatest and most lasting blessings achievable, including; eternal families and eternal life, which is living in the presence of God and Christ with our families for all eternities.

I am truly thankful for this hope and this knowledge and invite all who have already tried the promise of the Book of Mormon, but have doubt in their heart or who have yet to do this to read, ponder and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. I know that it is a witness of truths. Firstly, that God has restored his church, but also other questions, such as, I lived with God before this life, He knows me and loves me, He has a plan for us, and life and family ties do not end at the grave, but continue on forever.

Randoms:

* I´ve been teaching my companion how to play guitar

* Excited that Adam and Garrett got their mission calls

* I love to see the Temple

* In Brasil we eat Pão de queijo 

eu amo vocês

Elder Quain

lifting Elder Buchanan in a wheelchair to church after he twisted his ankle

March 29, 2016 - Sete Lagoas

I see a belo horizonte

Monday: p-day, P-day was fairly relaxed and we traveled to Pedro Leopoldo for a split. The house in Pedro Leopoldo is really nice. It looks like a normal American apartment.

Tuesday: We had district meeting in the chapel in Pedro Leopoldo. There chapel is a rented house that has three stories and what looks like a sniper turret on top. Mostly, it just reminds me of what a Catholic church looks like. While there our lunch fell through, but this gave us a little extra time. We ate fast and Elder Kasió said he would take us to see something cool on the way to our appointment. It was a really old Catholic church in the middle of a forested area. It had a plaque on it that said it was built to commemorate the miracle of three people that had an incurable sickness being buried alive. I personally thought it was kind of creepy and thought we should leave.

Wednesday: We headed back to our normal area to work like normal again. We had quite a few good lessons and Maria Lourdes is progressing really well. She has already been to church one time and really liked it so, we have high hopes.

Friday: We were lead to knock on a door of an old investigator and she actually let us in. She already believes in the Book of Mormon and said that she reads it often. Turns out that she actually frequented enough in the past for the bishop to remember her, Maria Fatima, (we only teach Maria's) and the only thing that kept her from being baptized was her smoking habit. We got super lucky and she now has to take medicine that doesn´t let her smoke any more.

Sunday: We were invited to be part of the ward leadership meeting and it actually went really well. Many of our members have the desire to help and they are beginning to catch the spirit of missionary work. After that we went to Luis and Rosa´s house for lunch they made us a banquet of food with beef, French fries...of course rice and beans. They sent the rest of the left overs home with us. Then, we went to church. we tried really hard to help our investigators come to church and even arranged rides for them, but it´s hard to prepare for them having dengue, so we didn´t have any in church this week, but that is just a bump in the rode. Next week will be better.

Elder Quain

  

                        Outside Luis & Rosa's home                                  Church restroom                    

March 21, 2016 - Sete Lagoas

Eu vejo um belo horizonte

(I think you can guess what that says in English)

This week was an exciting and tiring week to say the least.

Monday: P-day, the only relaxing day that I had this week, but I still had to exercise a great amount of faith as I let my companion cut my hair. It tuned out well and he didn´t give me any bald spots.

Tuesday: We had what we call a mission tour. It´s where a leader in the church comes and visits us and gives talks with our president. The leader that came was Elder Zwick. He is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, was a mission president in two Hispanic countries and the area authority of Brasil. It was really inspiring and you could just feel the spirit. He also gave us a promise. It is, "Esta Missão, Missão Brasil Belo Horizonte, será a nº1 no MUNDO, se tivermos fé suficiente para mudar um pouco só." And, for all of you that can´t read Português it says, this mission, Brasil Belo Horizonte, will be the number one mission in the WORLD, if we have faith sufficient to change just a little bit. He also promised that if this happens we will have a temple here in Minas Gerais.

Wednesday: Went well, had weekly planning, did some visits and came back to Elder Buchanan with a twisted ankle. He´s not my companion. So, you probably wouldn’t think that this affected my week much, but it did. We can´t just let their investigators fall through. So, we have been doing splits with them at the end of every day. Working two areas is a little tiring.

Thursday: We went to lunch and they made pizza!!! One for each person. It was really good and way better than what you can buy here. After that, we tried to visit a referral, but it didn´t work out. L. Silva said that he didn´t feel too good and had to return to the house. He had a 24 hour bug. So W. Santos and I went out to visit people in both areas.

 Friday: We had a reference from a member and went to visit him. He is a 38 year old guy and really wants to change his life. We were giving him the lesson about the restoration and he accepted everything. He even accepted a baptismal date. It turns out that his mom had been listening behind us and started asking questions too. She also accepted a baptismal date. After that we had to run back to the house to do a split with the other companionship. I went out with W. Santos and we had a good and productive evening.

Saturday: Elder Buchanan and I worked at Fisk (the English school) in the morning. Was interesting and they had us help a class with younger kids. They have a lot of energy. We ended up playing hangman in English and I had to be careful not to use any words too difficult.

Sunday: We had Stake conference. It went really well and we had a seventy there, but my favorite talks were by President and Sister Fernandes. I might be a little biased as they talked about missionaries and the work that we can all do to help it proceed. A Sister gave a great testimony and called all the missionaries bonitinho. President bore a powerful testimony and a story I want to share.

When he was serving his mission in Portugal he was placed as a group leader, this is where you act almost like a bishop, and he always tried to be the first person there to set everything up; but, there was an elderly lady that was always there first. He, as a missionary wanted to know how she came to know the gospel. He found out that she was not baptized. He asked her why and she responded that God was her friend and would save her any way. President tried to help her see the need to get baptized, but he heard some time later that she had passed away and was never baptized. President then turned to the congregation. Brothers and Sisters, Jesus Christ was God´s best friend, and even he had to be baptized.

I would also like to leave my personal testimony that God is our father and Loves us in such a way that he gave us his Son to be a Savoir and a REDEEMER. Our sins have already been payed for. The price was precious. We cannot return to live with God without accepting the Son. For no one can know the Son without knowing the Father, or the Father without the Son. And none can return to the Father unless they accept the sacrifice of his Son through baptism by authority. Christ is the way, the truth, and the light.

Elder Quain

Elder Zwick and I (We look like we could be related)😁

Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Zwick

Elder Silva and I with Dirley

 My District

March 14, 2016 - Sete Lagoas

I see a belo horizonte

Monday: p-day. We had 2 extra missionaries in our house and we went out to play soccer in the rain. It was pretty fun, even if I wasn´t so good. Afterwards I went with one of the other elders on a split in our area, got a little lost, but we were still able to teach one lesson.

Tuesday: We had a district meeting. Our´s was normal, but there is another district that meets in the same building and they all came in different color pants. They reminded everyone of the power rangers.We went to lunch with Elders H. Santos and Kassió, then they went to the doctor. The rest of our day was fairly normal.

Wednesday: I went on a split with Elder Buchanan. It was a headache. We were in his area and I didn´t have to plan, but while I was talking with him I forgot to look in front of me and ran my head right into a pole. It was in front of our supermarket and the pole rattled so loud that everyone turned and stared. We went back to the house to ice and a little rest. Only 20 minutes, because we had an appointment with Dirley. He is a guy that is dating a girl in the ward and is taking the lessons. After that we had a meet and greet in an English school. They pretty much just asked us a bunch of questions and we talked about the U.S., the church and a mission. It was pretty fun and in the end there were people wanting to take pictures with us. Americans can´t even go to the book store without making the front page.

Thursday: My companion had to go to the doctor to get a camera put up his nose, he showed us the film after, but I didn´t really want to go as the hospital is 2 hours away, so I stayed and worked with Buchanan again and his companion went to BH with mine.

Friday: We walked a lot and had a lot of appointments fall through, but the bright spot was that my companion interviewed Dirley for baptism. Dirley did come a little late, but this gave me time to play around on the piano.

Saturday: Saturday we were able to do some visits with the Bishop´s son. We ended up visiting an inactive, part-member family. It went really well and I don´t remember why, but my companion mentioned that I play guitar. The boy was about 14 and was learning to play guitar and ran to grab his. He asked me to play a little and I played 'Blackbird.' After that we switched smoothly to a lesson and the boy was really open. He even returned to church on Sunday. After that the other Elders that we live with had Dirley´s baptism. I don´t know who was more excited, Dirley or Elder W. Santos, as it was his first baptism. It all went well and after we went to the birthday celebration of Louis. We ate some food, talked and came back with a new investigator. 

Sunday: I was very tired. I was nearly falling asleep during sacrament meeting but still got a laugh during one of the talks. A man in our ward was giving a talk and was quoting an apostle. He said that luckily the name was easy to say 'hobertchy day alice.' After thinking for awhile I realized that he was trying to say Robert D. Hales. My companion had to hide his face as he was laughing.

Elder Quain

March 7, 2016 - Sete Lagoas

I see a belo horizonte

What happened this week?

I´m getting to know the members better as I spent an hour just sitting in one of their houses. The reason for that was that my companion got stuck in the bathroom. He wasn´t too happy about it, but what do you do? To finally get him out they basically broke the door down.

This week we ate a food I´m pretty sure few Americans have had, it was fried cod and mandioca cakes (bolinhos frito de bacalhau e mandioca). They were really good and even better with pimenta (hot sauce). We had the four missionaries from our house there in the house of Louis and Rosa. They have a son on a mission and give us dinner at times. The conversation turned to, what is different here? and our response was milk. Here it is super diluted. They had some milk that they bought fresh from the farm and asked us if we wanted some. The response from Elder Buchanan was, "Eu tem saudade para leite de uma vaca." more or less, I really miss milk from cows. 

Also, Elder W. Santos cannot eat pimenta. We were all just sitting there and he turned to us and says my throat is itchy. This scared Rosa half to death, but he drank a little milk and everything was fine.

It had been raining pretty hard that entire day, but when we arrived back in the apartment it started to pour. It ended up filling the road about a foot high in front of our house. We went out and Buchanan went in the water to demonstrate for a video. As he was leaving the water he ended up losing a sandal. It was gone in about one second. We caught that part on camera also.

Random:

* We ate açai again

* We had an investigator bear testimony that she felt the spirit and Jesus was there during fast and testimony meeting.

Elder Quain   

Eating acai with Elder Silva

Acai

Before the rain & the street flooding