Week 1

Well I have been here for almost a week, which is crazy because I feel like I just got here, but at the same time I feel like last Wednesday was a lifetime ago, kind of hard to explain that part. Everything is good around here, I am in a threesome companionship with Elder Millat (From St. George) and Elder Hendricks from Springville. All three of us are going to the Taiwan, Taizhong mission. Then I have 2 other Elders in my district, Elder Chan (From Dallas, Texas) and Elder Marcelo (From the Philippines), both are going to California Chinese speaking missions. Then we have 4 sisters who are also in our district Sister Hancock, Sister Nimraw, Sister Prophet, and Sister Kuan (I may have misspelled all those Sister names). I feel like me and my district are pretty tight, especially since all 5 Elders are in the room with me. (BTW Elder Chan is our district leader, and he is awesome).

The week was packed with all sorts of things, mostly meetings, but also some interesting times. We went to the temple yesterday for a temple walk where we just walked around and hung out, which was cool. Sundays are pretty chill, and the devotional last night was awesome. The speaker was Chad Lewis (from the NFL) and he went to the Taiwan, Taizhong mission. He gave a great talk and it really lifted all of our spirits. And at that devotional I even got to see and talk to Elder (Gavin) West, which was awesome. 

Chinese though. It's crazy. My teacher hasn't spoken English to us yet, but we get through the lessons. I've even already taught my first investigator twice, and both times in Chinese. The first time was practically just us reading from a paper and her answering in a way we didn't understand, but I felt the second time was a lot better. I can already pray in Chinese, and bare testimony of some things in Chinese. We are all learning really fast, but the Sisters are all so much better than us. I think it's because they all took some college classes in Chinese before they got here, so they got a head start. But it's coming, and I know we will be better by the end of these 9 weeks.

Times in the residence are really fun. All the Elders in our zone and building really have fun, and they are all really welcoming to us new guys. I feel like all the Elders going before me are so much older than me, but it turns out that I am older than a lot of them, it's kind of weird how that works. But on the second day Elder Hendricks got sick. We got back from dinner (where he didn't eat anything) and he was feeling really bad. So we went to the medical center, which was closed, so we went to the front desk. There he called up and doctor who talked to him over the phone. The doctor prescribed some ibuprofen and we went back to the room. Next thing you know Elder Hendricks is in the bathroom throwing up. By this time the rest of the district was gone, and me and Elder Millat were just chilling in the room. Then another set of missionaries from our zone came in and told us that me and Elder Millat were supposed to go to meet with the Branch Presidency, and they stayed with Elder Hendricks. 

So we met the Branch Presidency, and they are all really cool. My Branch President is Brother Woodfield, and he seems like a cool guy. However, the first counselor (I think he's the first) is Elder Averatte (I don't know how to spell it), and he has lived in Mapelton for quite some time. He said he remembers our family from when we lived there, and he recognized my last name. He said he remembers me running around the block as a little 4 year old. So I guess it's a small world. 

Today is my Preparation (P-DAY) day as you might have guessed, and I started this morning with a great temple session. I will admit though, it was at 8 this morning, so I did struggle staying awake the whole time (but I did stay awake!). 

Yeah, sleep is one of the hardest things for me here. I probably will get better, and some nights are fine, but if you want to pray, pray that I can sleep better. It usually takes me a little while to fall asleep, because I have always been a bad sleeper. I got a few snorers, but they are very off and on, so I don't usually have to worry about that. The thing that has taken me the longest time to get used to is my dear friend Elder Marcelo, because he tends to russel (I tried, I could not spell that) in his sheets in his sleep.. and he sleeps right next to me. What I mean is that he will be constantly moving his feet back and forth is the sheets, so it's like a constant shoosh shoosh shoosh shoosh. But hey I am getting used to it, so it's okay. I even used a some of those sleeping pills the other night, and that helped. I could definitely tell they were in my system, and I fell asleep a little faster. But the next morning I felt like someone had punched me in the face for the first hour, but that's just gym time so that's okay. 

But all and all everything is good. I heard after today the gas pedal goes down, and things start flying by. I am ready for this adventure and I thank you for all your letters and emails (by the way I could hear the game on Saturday night dad),

Love Elder Quist