June 29, 2017-Coming home

So, the mission ended. I never thought this day would come. Quem diria?

The trip home was quite an adventure. On Tuesday I dropped Elder Briggs off at the train station to go up to João  Monlevade. I walked with another Elder to the bus station where I waited until a van came and picked up some other elders and me. We were then brought to the mission office and walked down to the chapel nearby. All the Elders and Sisters that were heading home stayed there for almost the entire day. We took a self sufficiency course that helped us prepare a little for the transition to normal life with work and studies. That night we had a pizza party and stayed in a hotel. I shared a room with Elder Karen and we stayed up talking for quite a while. Finally, we were able to fall asleep.

The next day we woke up at our normal time, got ready and ate the continental breakfast(a lot of pão de queijo). Then we went to the Central Market, where we bought some souvenirs. My favorite was a horn to call in the cattle. Then, everyone headed to President Fernandes' house for lunch. Then we all caught a van to the airport, where we started to split up to our various destinations.

All of the American Flew to São Paulo together then We started to split way fast. We were running a little late. So Elder Silfies, Sister Perkins and I had to hurry to board our next plane to Atlanta, Georgia. We got there(after a 9 hour flight) and we passed through customs easily. Then we split up, each for their own plane. I caught another 5 more hours in a plane and got to see my family again.

It took a 24 hour trip, but I was with my family again. We went to Athenian Grill and as I had been unable to sleep in the plane I was dead tired and took a nap before I went to talk with President Bennett to be released as a full time missionary.

Me-Nelson-Coutinho-Briggs

S'Andrade, S'K Costa, E'Barbosa, E'Bustamante, E'Acosta, E'Araujo, E'Karren, Me, E'Seale, E'Silfies, E'Domingues, E'Sampaio, S'Shepard, S'Perkins

S'Fernandes, Pres'Fernandes

  

In the van to the airport

                   Sister and Elder Perropato

Back with my family

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