Hey everyone! Holy cow, it’s already week 5! I only have one more week in the CCM!! That is crazy! Half of me wants to go out now, but the other half (the smarter, more practical side) knows I still need more time. My Spanish is getting a little better. All the grammar rules are crazy and super confusing because you change one letter to mean something completely different. It’s still super frustrating though. We're starting to teach more and more, and less of learning, which is a little scary because I feel like I need to know a lot more in order to teach. But hopefully it will all be ok.

We've had a lot of cool opportunities this week. On Sunday, the Mexico City Temple was rededicated. We got to watch the first session of the rededication Sunday morning in our big auditorium. Presidents Eyering and Holland presided at the meeting and both of them spoke. They were both very good talks. The night before, we watched the cultural celebration. It was a big production telling a lot of the stories from the Book of Mormon. They also acted some stories of the first BoM in Mexico, and the first convert. They were pretty good. It was all in Spanish, but I was still able to tell the basic ideas of stuff. But a lot of it went over my head. Also today, we were actually able to go through the temple. It was cool. Luckily we were able to have the English translation headset thingys. The Mexico temple is beautiful. I liked it a lot, but it was also the longest session I've ever had to sit through. It was totally worth the experience. Another thing that is happening today is Mexican Independence day! It started yesterday but is actually today. A few of the buildings are all decked out in Mexican decorations, and they made this weird sandwich with mashed potatoes for dinner. Supposedly it was good, but I must not share the same taste buds as the natives. At least not yet! Also, there are fireworks almost all day long. And at night, they never stop. They were going off when I fell asleep and they were still going when I woke up. Also, some of the fireworks aren't fireworks at all. Apparently the natives just pull out their pistols and shoot them into the air, you know, just for fun. The grounds crew here has a collection of bullets they've found on the rooftops and stuff. So that's…. cool.

I want to say thank you to all of you that wished me a Happy Birthday! It was awesome! The people here are great and made it a wonderful day. And receiving all of your letters just topped it off! I shared the chocolate cake and orange soda with my district, and we had a nice 30 minute fiesta. Sadly, I didn’t have my camera at the time, nor did I even think about it, so I don't have any pictures of the actual birthday party, sorryL

Here are some of my favorite spiritual things this week. On Sunday, we always have a devotional. Either it’s a local 70, one of the MTC people, or a recording of an earlier devotional given in Provo. This week we watched one by Elder Bednar at the Provo MTC. It was phenomenal! The MTC devotionals are so awesome! If there is a way to somehow watch them, I encourage you to do so! This week, Elder Bednar talked about being truly converted, and the difference between testimony and conversion. It was incredible, and I don't have a lot of time to tell you guys all about it, but in general it was about how having a testimony isn't enough by itself. We need to be converted unto the Lord, which means be consistently be living and applying what you know and believe to your life. Also that we need to turn away from the natural man, that we need to look outward instead of inward when times get rough. Testimony is the gateway to the straight and narrow path, but conversion is how we stay on the path. It was a really awesome talk, and I know it helped me and a lot of the other missionaries in my zone.

My zone does this really awesome thing. Sunday and Tuesday nights, after devotionals, we are supposed to have a district discussion about the devotional. But in our district, it’s a tradition to do something else. We all get together and have our "Scripture Roulette". One of the district leaders starts off with a general topic and a brief insight or scripture, and then the time is turned to everyone else to say whatever they feel inspired to do. It is so awesome! This last Sunday I was able to lead the discussion and I brought up the topic of becoming better missionaries. This is after Elder Bednar's talk and many other things on the same subject, so I felt like this was pretty relevant. I started off with a letter I was given by the Ehningers (mom please correct this spelling if it’s wrong (so I did)). It is a copy of a letter from Eric to his brother Tyler and I was fortunate enough to get a copy. In it, he talks about the difference between the law of sacrifice and the law of consecration. It's really awesome, and I encourage you all to look into this, because it is very important, whether you're a missionary or not. But I shared this thought with my zone, and the following hour and a half were some of the most spiritual and motivational minutes of my life! The Elders and Hermanas in my zone are incredible. Their words hit me so hard and deep, every one of them. The spirit was almost tangible in that room!

And that is the reason I can handle being here at the CCM, or Mexico in general. The Spirit is so amazing and incredible, that is makes everything worth it. It makes you happy, makes the trials possible, and comforts when you feel down, sad, or homesick. Without the Spirit, I would have told my parents I was coming home four weeks ago. It’s a hard work, and I'm still only in the CCM, but the Spirit makes it possible. And that truth right there, the thing I've realize the most here in the CCM, has strengthened my testimony so much, and has helped me get on the path to true conversion. The Spirit makes all things possible. You may not realize it then, nor may you realize it for three weeks or more, but it's always there for you. It always pulls through, just when you need it. It will never abandon you, so don't abandon it. Because nothing is more precious, at least in my eyes, than the gift of the Spirit. Nothing will make you want to love more, serve others, or enjoy life than the Spirit. This I know, because I'm living off it right now. And it's not just for missionaries, or bishops, or general authorities. It's for all the children of God. I know the Church is true. And I know that Christ lives, and that he bore all our sins, tribulations, anguish, and pain. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to know the joy he knows, and he knows the best way to help us, because he's been were we've been. He's seen what we've seen. And he loves us more than anything or anyone else could every love us. If only I could have you all here with me now, so that I could tell you personally. Thank you all so much for your support in me. Thank you for your prayers and your love. I've felt them. I love you all, and I can't wait till next week when I get to write again! Have an amazing week! Goodnight!!!!!

Love,

Elder Kaden Scott Quinn

The second one is Elder Eslava and Elder Gamboa. They were our Latin roommates that left on Monday.

 And the first one is the remnants of our party haha!