"I love this family and I will never be able to forget them!"

May 25, 2009 - "I have to tell you about how awesome Hermana Yolanda is. She is soooo cool. I love just going to her house to sit and chat and hang out. She always takes such good care of us... inviting us to have some Inca Kola, other drinks, popcorn, cake, and all other sorts of foods... She is such a loving person. She also has two awesome grandkids, Anthony and Mishel, who always wait for us to pass by, and hate it when we have to leave, just like their grandmother. Anthony is 6 and Mishel is 10. I love just sitting and talking with them. Mishel is a huge fan of High School Musical and she gets such a huge kick out of the fact that I know so much about it. I have to tell you about how fun and cute Church was yesterday. You already know that I play piano for Sacrament Meeting, but when I am not playing, I sit with the congregation. I finished playing the Sacrament Hymn, and the passing of the Sacrament was over, so I went and sat down on a bench to listen to the talks that had been prepared. I was sitting alone, and about half way through the first talk, Anthony came and sat by me... :) He is learning to read right now, so I had him read me some of the names of the songs from the Hymnbook. It is so fun to help him learn to read. I also had my photo album that you sent me in the MTC, so I decided to show him my pictures. He was laughing and making fun of me, that I have a cute girlfriend (Whitley), and when he got to the picture of me and all of my friends at my Missionary Farewell, he asked why Whitley and me aren't next to each other. He asked why we were separated and it just made me laugh... He had fun finding me in every picture... "Hay estás tú. Hay están tus hermanos, tu mamá, tu papá..." ("There you are. There's your brothers, your mom, your dad...") He is so intelligent and cute... Then he took the picture book to Mishel. Mishel asked me if she could borrow my book for a while. I told her to just take care of it... I was planning on getting it back at the end of Church, but she left before I could talk with her... We passed by her house yesterday, and come to find out, she took it home to see if Whitley was a famous girl from a soap opera they like watching... She thought Whitley looked like her... :) I thought it was cute that she wanted to check and see if it could be true... At the end of being with their family yesterday, Mishel gave me a High School Musical 3 poster with Troy, Ryan, and Chad... I love this family and I will never be able to forget them... They are Number 1 on my list of people to visit when we come back to Peru... Honestly, when I am with their family, I don't want the time to pass. (That tells you how much I love them because I always want the time to keep passing so that I can see you guys sooner...) I am 100% sure that you guys will love Yolanda and her family when you meet her... She is too good not to love. There are two Returned Missionaries, Gringos, that are visiting the family that I live with right now. They served here two years ago in Iquitos, but finished their missions about a year ago... It has been fun to hang out with them and know that the USA still exists and that life is still totally awesome there... One is already married, and the other has his girlfriend, and both are studying at BYU. They came down to Peru to be interpreters for some Dentists that are coming to do some operations.
I want you to know that I am still doing fine, living in Iquitos, chilling out in the jungle of Peru. I miss you like crazy! I love you tons! I can't wait to see you! Love you guys forever! Love, Coco..."

"This work is hard, but it is also beautiful."

May 18, 2009 - "This week wasn't way exciting... I wasn't looking forward to a phone call on Sunday because that had already passed... And I am already looking forward to the next one... We had interviews with Presidente Pérez, and it was good to talk with him. He is so nice, and always gives me motivation to just keep going on... In his prayer to end my interview, he asked the Lord to bless me with success, because I have the personality to touch the hearts of the people here. Presidente Pérez is a really sweet guy, and I was thankful for his prayer for me...
As a mission, our goal for this month of May is 505 baptisms, or 5 baptisms for every companionship. My companion and I have already had 5 baptisms, but we are trying so hard to have even more... We have to help out the other companionships who maybe are not going to be able to achieve the goal... We are praying like crazy as a mission that we will have 505 baptisms... May 1st, we slept in our baptism clothing and then fasted as a mission the next day for our goal... I have a ton of faith that we are going to do it, but every missionary has to work... This work is hard, but it is also beautiful. And I will never forget the relationships that I have formed with other missionaries, with members, and especially with my converts... :) We are going to have to visit every single one of them when we come back to Peru...It is going to be awesome."

Sweet Greetings form Peru!

May 11, 2009 - "I love you guys sooooooo much. It was so good to hear from you, and just like you said, it makes things easier on my end as well. Just to know that you all sound great and that things are not changing too fast... Whitney and Todd and Stacey got to go see WICKED... Awesome. I think it's just the luck that Whitney always has... :) Tell Davey that I love him tons. Tell him thanks for the example he set for me before I left on the mission, and for the strength that he is giving me by being on the mission at the same time. I can't wait to talk to him in person... :) Today, we are going to Quistococha, the zoo where I ate the suri and kissed the snake, but today, I'm just going to lay low and enjoy the zoo... :) I really think it was the Best Mother's Day we've ever had, and I didn't even get to see my mom... I just want all of you to know the strength that you give, for your support, for your unconditional love, for your laughs, jokes, and everything that you guys are... We really have a perfect family. Honestly, I miss you guys like crazy. But hey, I have to do this, so I'll be here for another 18 months, and then... BAM, I'll be at home, relaxing and chilling with you... I cannot wait... :) Tell Grandma Olsen and Grandma Quinn "Happy Mother's Day...all the way from Iquitos, Peru!" I miss the grandparents as well, and tell them that I can't wait to see them as well... :) You guys all sound great. And just like me, you haven't lost your personalities or your laughs. I am so glad. I want to return the same, just spiritually enlightened and more knowledgeable of the Gospel... Take care until next week. I love you guys so much and can't wait for our next phone call on Christmas. By then, I will have 14 months down. :) The time will just keep on passing and before you know it, I'll be home... :) I love you beyond what words can describe. Cuídense. Les amo bastante...
Love, Coco..."

5 Baptisms!!!

May 4, 2009 - "Hey Family!!! This weekend, my companion and I had 5 awesome baptisms... One was a cute, 65-year-old lady, who I love to death named Yolanda. I can't wait for us to return to Iquitos so that you can meet her. She is so kind-hearted and is so nice. We struggled getting her into the waters of baptism... She said yes on Wednesday to being baptized on Saturday. Thursday, we passed by and she said no because her family thought it was too soon, and she was going to wait until September... Friday, we had a huge dinner with her family, duck and rice, and she announced to her family that she was going to be baptized on Saturday... I baptized her and it was beautiful. After being baptized, Elder Fidler (another Gringo who is awesome) and I sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives"... It was a beautiful... Sunday, I was asked by the Bishop to confirm Yolanda a member of the Church... What? I've never confirmed anyone a member of the Church, let alone in Spanish. The baptism is easy because the prayer is memorized, but in the confirmation, I had to give a blessing as well. It was an awesome experience to confrim her as well... The Spirit was awesome all this weekend... The other four baptisms were 4 cousins: Angelo and Jair, Karla and Analiz... 2 brothers, and their cousins, 2 sisters... I baptized Angelo and Karla, and was able to confirm Jair in Sacrament meeting in our other ward... It was really a completely awesome weekend."

6 Months Down!!!

April 27, 2009 - "Well, here we are at the 6-month mark... Can you believe it? I am still in awe every morning when I wake up... Everyday, when I leave the house, I still can't believe that I am in Peru, that I am in the jungle, or that I am on a mission... It really is a dream that Elder Quinn is living... The time really is passing, but there's still more to go. But I do know that the time will come when I will have to remove the nametag, and I don't think I'll be ready for it... We had an awesome baptism this weekend. We baptized the Hermana Rosa Hidalgo. She was baptized by her nephew José who will be leaving on his mission this year... Rosa is a single mom of two little kids. She lives with the family of José. José's family is just like ours... Dad, mom, and 3 boys... Leo, Leti, José, Andre, and Sebastian... I have become really good friends with them, and I definitely have to visit them when we return to Peru... Mom, Leti is just like you...only she is Latina, and doesn't speak English at all... I think this is why I love their family so much because I see so much of you in this mother... This family has become my Peruvian mom and dad and brothers. They always serve us treats and drinks when we pass by, and I love being in the comfort of their home. Tonight, we are going to have an awesome Family Home Evening with their family and I cannot wait... Back to the baptism. It was perfect. Everything went great. When Rosa was in the baptismal font, the spirit was so strong, and when she went under the water, everyone started to cry, including me... It was the most spiritually overwhelmed I have felt during a baptism... After they changed clothes and dried off, I had the opportunity to sing "Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide" and I sang one verse in English... It went great and I was floating on a cloud... Then Leti gave her testimony, and like I said, she reminds me of you mom, she started crying and I started crying. She said that she feels so sad for me because I am so far away from home, all alone, without my family. She also talked about how much she is going to miss her son when he leaves on his mission... She couldn't even finish her testimony because she was so overwhelmed with tears... Yes, I did cry... But not because I was sad. It was because I was overwhelmed with joy for this family, and especially Hermana Rosa... I know I am far away from home, all alone, but I know that I'm not actually alone. I know that the Lord is with me and I feel the love of you guys everyday... It was an awesome baptism...I love you guys so much and I thank Heavenly Father everyday for the amazingly close family that He blessed me with. I will never be able to pay Him back... I love you guys so much, still cannot wait to see you, and miss you like crazy... I love you. Take care til next week... Love, Coco..."

Missionary Musical

April 20, 2009 - "I am feeling great. I think I've finally realized why I am here... Mom, your words clicked in my head again...I really am just performing on a different stage for two years. Right now, my role is All-Star Missionary... I have realized that everyday is a new performance, and that I need to make every performance that much better... I have to put the same amount of effort into this mission as I put into being Troy Bolton... Instead of having my Gabriella, I have my Latino companion from Puno... :) My set with lights, microphones, and music has become the sounds of rainstorms and little kids screaming "Gringo, Gringo"... :) I am working hard... It keeps me focused and keeps me distracted from worrying about things at home... Really, I don't worry about home...More than anything, it is just that I miss you guys so much! Keep going on in the strength of the Lord... Chase, don't stress. Remember what I said about prayer. I love you Bud, and I love hearing from you in e-mails... Dallis, thanks for your sweet e-mails. Bud, you crack me up. I laugh the whole time when I read e-mails from you. You are such a stud. Keep in touch often... It's always good to hear from my awesome brothers... I love you so much... Take care family... I'll write in a week... Love, Coco..."

Hakuna Matata!

April 13, 2009 - "I was thinking about General Conference and how enjoyable it was again. But this year, I wasn't in my pajamas eating homemade omeletes made by dad, watching it on the Big Screen... I was in a shirt and tie, watching it in the chapel... But it was still very enjoyable...
This week was awesome and fun... Yesterday for lunch, I ate Turtle... I ate Turtle... It wasn't horrible, but it had the taste of the cow stomach that I've eaten before, so I definitely prefer other foods to it... But I can now say that I have eaten turtle... For P-Day, we went to a zoo called Quistococha. There were jaguars, parrots, toucans, pumas, monkeys, alligators, anacondas, and big fish, etc... I kissed a boa constrictor, which was a fun experience... But the best experience was at the end of the day... Sister Luna challenged me to eat Suri... Ahh... Suri is like the grub that Simba eats with Timon and Pumbaa on the Lion King... A big, ugly, chunky, gross, grubby, worm... We ordered 3 fried Suri and counted to three and we each ate one. It wasn't bad, so I ate the third Suri. With the Suri, you can eat everything but the head; so to eat it, you have to hold it by the head and separate it from the body with your teeth... Then came the grossest moment of all. Sister Luna challenged me to eat LIVE Suri... OH NO... I picked my "little" grub out of the container of dirt and grass, cleaned my grub off with a napkin, and was ready to eat it... Just looking at them, Sister Luna and I almost threw up because they were squirming in our hands...But we had to do it... We had to conquer the grub... We had someone else count to 3 and then we did it... I put it in my mouth still holding it by the head, bit off the head, and immediately, all of the guts spilled into my mouth... It was horribly disgusting, and I almost threw up, but I swallowed it, and finished the "meal" with Inka Cola immediately after... It was hilariously disgusting... I filmed it all, so I will be sending home the video of me kissing the snake, and Sister Luna and I eating the Suri... It is hilarious... "We conquered the Grub"... "Hakuna Matata"... Many fun and exciting experiences are still awaiting me... I hope that you had a good laugh reading this e-mail... or maybe just a look of awe in your face... I love you all so much. Take care... I love you. Love, Colyn...