June 26 - Gutierrez area

I see a Beautiful Horizen

I´ll only be in Belo Horizonte for a few more day, but we should try to see a beautiful horizen everyday. That is one thing that I have learned from the mission. We need to look for the good things in life and stay optimistic. 

Well, this last week we found a true golden investigator. He understands everything and goes for it. That´s the secret for us. If we want to know if a doctrine is true we have to try it and we will see the blessings that follow. 

This week I will arrive at home ending my mission and returning to normal life. During the mission I have learned more than at any other time in my life. When we are in the service of our fellow man we are only in the service of our God. When we are in His service He will bless us. 

I´m excited to see and talk to you all in just a few days.

Abraço

Elder Quain

June 19 - Gutierrez area

I see a Belo Horizonte

THE END IS NEAR

No, I am not a crazy guy on the side of the road saying the world is going to end, but I will stop you in the road to talk about Jesus. So, you might call me crazy. But, the end of the mission is coming up(no way). That feels weird. Now, end of trunky spree.

This week we had some visitors. Elder Andrade and Elder Pereira came to do splits. It was fun to see my old greenie all grown up. We got to talk a bit, eat pizza and play chess. Yes, chess is our new addiction. I guess the whole singing thing was too good to last, ha ha. I found out I´m not too bad at chess, but I do make quite a few stupid moves at time. 

I received a message from my old companion M. Ribiero, who´s at home now. He said that Márcia went to the Temple and that João Paulo is receiving the Priesthood. I´m super proud of the two of them. As I am getting close to the end of the mission I think about the opportunities that I have had to help others. As I have helped others I have grown along the way. Personally, I feel like I was benefited more from the mission than any of my converts. I am extremely grateful for the Lord having trusted me to help his children find the path that leads home.

Abraço 

Elder Quain

Rosalia's baptism

 Rosalia's Birthday

June 13 - Gutierrez area

I see a Belo Horizonte

This week my house has discovered it´s new favorite passed time. It's...wait for it... singing church hymns. Who would have thought? We have a mini piano and a baritone ukulele (which I learned to play) and we play them along to the hymns; it is actually a great stress reliever.

On Saturday the Sisters from our district asked us to help them sing a song and asked me to do a solo in English. I would have responded that," I will sing so low you can´t hear me."(Tiki room reference) Unfortunately, puns don´t translate well, but if Dad had been there I would have said it. We all ended up singing "I Like to Look for Rainbows" in Portuguese together and it sounded pretty good.

Other than that the week was kind of routine. So, until next week,

Abraço

Elder Quain 

June 5 - Gutierrez area

I see a Belo Horizonte.

This week went by quite a bit faster than last week. 

To start off we had a zone conference where we talked a lot about the Holy Ghost and how to recognize and use it. One of my favorite parts is when we were talking about personal revelation. We talked about how personal revelation is different than inspiration, because personal revelation is inspiration with the total ability to fulfill. (1 Nephi 3:7) It reminded me of the idea that a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square.

After that, we had a split where I worked with Elder Coutinho in his area. We went to visit a member that has a 15 year old son that is into body building. He challenged us to a pull up competition. I got a solid second place as Elder Coutinho managed 0. I managed 10 and the 15 year old managed 100. It was a little humiliating, but at least I didn´t come in last place.

Then we had a Baptism. Rosalia has been progressing extremely well and has understood the lessons better than almost anyone else. The greatest thing is that we just tell her something and she applies it immediately. It was really cool to see her be baptized and confirmed. Unfortunately, the computer is not accepting my SD card so I can´t send any photos.

...But my mom sent me a photo that shows perfectly how I feel on Sunday night at 10:30.

Abraço

Elder Quain    

Conferência das Zonas BH Oeste e Betim (01 Jun.2017)

May 29 - Gutierrez area

I see a Belo Horizonte

Well, this week went by a little slower than most, but I guess not every week can be stellar. But, the bright side is that Rosalia accepted the invitation to be baptized this week. So, if everything goes well there will be a baptism this Saturday and uma festa nos céus. (if you want to know what that mean you can use Google Translate.) But, we are hoping for the best.

This week we were teaching Rosalia and Lucimara and they offered us canjica, which is type of corn soup, and they asked me if I would like hot sauce. I responded that I would. Unfortunately, I wasn´t paying attention while I was adding it and added a whole three tablespoons. That´s about five times more than needed. I tried to mix it in to hide the flavor, but I burned quite a bit. I didn´t eat any hot sauce for the rest of the week.

Randoms:

• Elder Briggs and I made up broccoli and beef (My cooking skills are improving)
• Elder Briggs and I found 2 liters of ice cream for 8 reais (less than 3 dollars). So, we bought it and promptly ate all of it.
• We tried to write a song as a house one night and we found out that we are horrible at writing music.

Scripture of the week:

"Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth....How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth!....Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!"

D&C 128:19,22 (this is an excerpt, I would recommend reading vs.19-24)

Abraço
Elder Quain

May 21,2017 - Gutierrez area

I see a Belo Horizonte.

New week. New companion. New area.

To start out, last week Elder Namauu and I had to say bye to our investigators Rosemeire and Lorrane. It was a little hard, as us two were leaving and entrusting them completely into other´s hands. But, Rosemeire and Lorrane are super strong. It was an honor for God to have entrusted them to us and to have been able to teach them.

My new companion is Elder Briggs. He is from South Jordan, Utah. He is a nice guy with a sarcastic sense of humor, so that means that we are getting along rather well. We met up at the bus stop, where I also got to see all of my past companions that are still in the mission.

Then I came into my new area, Gutierrez. It is quite different than any of my past areas. There are a bunch of apartment complexes and high rises. So, I am trying to adapt the way that I work to better fit here. We have quite a few good investigators that are progressing well. My favorites are Rosalia and Lucimara. The first time that we went there I thought that they were already members. I got a shock when I found out that they weren´t. I was talking with Elder Briggs and asking about why they were not yet members and he told me that it was because of coffee. That is probably the most universal problem that people have here. But, we are working with them to help them stop.

That´s about all for the week

Abraço

Elder Quain

May 15, 2017 - Belo Horizonte, Guarani area

I see a Belo Horizonte.

I received a package from home this week and I decided to start with the Reese's. Brasil has not yet found out the perfection of mixing chocolate and peanut. Maybe, someday they will understand, but today is not that day. 

This week, in honor of mother´s day, all of our lunch messages were aimed at mothers. So, obviously we used the example of the 2000 stripling warriors and the examples that their mothers gave them. The great miracle is that even though they were inexperienced in war none of them died in the fight, this was do to the faith and obedience that they had learned from their mothers. So, learn from your mom and listen to her. Who knows, one day it could save your life.

Shout out to my own mom,to whom I am very greatful for; love you! and thank you for your example.

Sunday was a rather exciting day with the skype call home and transfer calls. It was fun to call home and see everybody. You all look great. After we got home from the skype call we received the call that I will be transferred to Gutierrez and will have a new American companion. I have really enjoyed serving in Guarani with Elder Namauu I have learned a lot, we have had success and there are some very special people here. I am sad to be leaving, but super excited to see what this new area has in store for me.

Abraço

Elder Quain

 In honor of Casey & Trevor's wedding, we sent Elder Quain a matching tie.

Mother's Day skype call :)