We are so excited and can't wait to talk to Tanner on Mother's Day. I hope everything will go smoothly and that we will be able to have a wonderful call with him. I can't wait to see his face!
May 10th 2017~Happy Mother's Day to an incredible Mom!! 
Only a few more days until we get to Skype!! 
Happy Birthday Grandma Evans! 
Hello my dear family! What a great week! Thank you SO much for your amazing email! I loved hearing how your week went! I am so glad that you all had a great week! It is so nice to be able to email you all again! I have missed you all so much and I have been thinking and praying for you all a ton! First of all, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY on Sunday! The day is finally almost here! I can Skype you all! I have been looking forward to Skyping you all SO much! My testimony has continued to grow and I have learned so much! One of the many things that I admire about each of you if how much you love the church and the Gospel. You have always been such great examples and have always loved each other so much! I am so grateful to be your son! Happy Birthday to Evans yesterday! I was thinking about her all day! I hope you had a great day! Thank you SO much for the emails you sent me throughout the week! I loved getting them as always! I loved the minion holding up the Book of Mormons! It was hilarious! I also loved the "May the fourth be with you" and the Cinco De Mayo! They are always so fun to get throughout the week! They are awesome! It has been really hard to be away from you all and miss events and everyday activities but your love and support makes it so much easier! There will be times throughout the week where I will get homesick but I just read your emails and think about you all, I feel so much better! I love every single one of your emails so much and everything that you say! I thought it was so cool in last week's email Mom about you in New York! It is so amazing to think that you have been here! I get thinking the same things that you do! I am so excited for Mother's day! It will be hard not to be there but I will definitely be there in spirit and giving you a huge hug! You are such an incredible Mom and have taught me so much! I love and appreciate all you do for me and our family! I truly have the best parents and family ever! I am so grateful for the many memories like car trips, vacations, sporting events, and everything else that we have done together so much! I cherish every single memory and all the fun and amazing times we have had together as a family! Being out here in the Bronx has just made me realize even more how lucky we are to live where we do with everyone we have around us! It has opened my eyes even more to see how some people have to live and I just smile and I am so grateful that we live in a beautiful home in a beautiful valley! I am truly so grateful for everything you have done for me in my life! I wish I could be there for Mother's day! I hope you have the best day and know I will be thinking about you all day! I wish I could be there to give you a big hug and kiss! I just really appreciate you all so much and I am so grateful for every single thing you have taught me! I look back on the many memories I have made with you all and I am so grateful for all of them!
I can't even describe how excited I am to Skype you all!!! It is going to be so much fun and I can't wait to see and hear you all! I think that 9:00 would work great! I just hope it isn't too early for you! I have been thinking about what time works best for you and I think that would be perfect! I hope it hasn't been a hassle to get the right equipment for it. Elder Dick still hasn't decided when to do his so he may just Skype when I do! I can't wait to see and talk to you all! It is such a fun time to be a missionary! I remember like it was yesterday, calling Dan on Christmas and what a fun time that was!
Elder Dick and I have been getting along great! He is a great guy and I have enjoyed so much working with him! I found out that he went home right before leaving the MTC because he had mono. So he had to go home for about 6 weeks and he said it was really hard. We have been working really well together! I have had a great week! I haven't been very homesick this week which has been so nice! I have been learning so much and I have really gotten into the swing of things! Time has really been flying by now that I have gotten into a routine. Elder Kirkham told me that once you change companions once, time really flies by. It's just the getting used to a new companion he said that changes but the work is still the same and you already know how to do it! It is different being a regular missionary and not a trainee.
I feel really bad because Dad's really cool tie that you wore when you got dropped off at the MTC is starting to ware out. I have loved being able to wear it and honor you! So I'm trying to keep it as nice as possible! I don't want to ruin it so I'm keeping it nice. I didn't want you to wonder why I wasn't wearing it.
Today for P-Day I will be able to email you back and forth a lot more! It will be great! On Thursday, we found out that Jay, the guy who cuts all of the missionaries hair for free, will be at the Kingsbridge Church again! So today, the 4 of us are going to go get our hair cut! My hair isn't very long but we love to take advantage of a free haircut every time he comes!
What can I say about last P-Day! It was AMAZING! We all had such a fun time going to the Museum of Natural History! I really wanted to chat some more last P-Day but unfortunately we didn't have WiFi the whole day for some reason. I felt bad because I wanted to read and reply to your emails throughout the day but nothing would refresh on my tablet. So I typed up an email while we were in the museum and I was hoping that it would send but it didn't sent and I didn't get your emails until we got back into the Bronx. I loved reading your emails! So on Wednesday morning, our new and improved P-Day! We woke up excited for an awesome day and didn't have to do laundry that morning because we had already gotten it done during our short 2 hour P-Day we had on Monday which was so nice! So we all studied from 7:30-8:00 and then P-Day starts at 8:00 so right after studies, Elder Smiley and Elder Knudsen headed to Manhattan while Elder Dick and I went grocery shopping! I didn't have to buy anything since the 3 of us had already gotten our shopping done on Monday! So we headed over to Aldi's and we got there right when it opened! We had something really cool happen while we were shopping! It was kind of a miracle! As we were shopping a really nice lady stopped us and said: "Hello elders!!" We started talking with her and we found out that she had moved into our ward a few months ago but her records hadn't been switched over yet and she hasn't been to Church because her son was in the hospital and so she spends a lot of time there. She was about 55 years old and was so excited to see us! She told us that she would love to have us come over to her house sometime! It was a miracle that we saw her at that exact moment! Also, what else that was really amazing is that she is in our area! So after we said goodbye to her, we hurried through because there wasn't a crowd at all so we checked everything off of his list and headed back to the apartment to drop off his groceries! Then we quickly hopped on the train and away we went to Manhattan! We were really excited! Elder Dick has actually never been to Manhattan. So he was extra excited to go! We all really love a $5.00 taco and crunchy wrap box that they sell at Taco Bell so we met Elder Smiley and Elder Knudsen at the Manhattan Taco Bell. While we were shopping they went to Macy's to look at some shirts for Elder Smiley. So we met them at Taco Bell and ordered and then ate our food. Then after we ate we headed over to the Museum of Natural History! The only thing I could think of was Dexter and "Dum-Dum, you give me gum gum??" We were all laughing about that! The outside and front doors of the Museum look the exact same as they do in the movie but the inside looks pretty different. Elder Smiley and Elder Knudsen have both been there before so they knew where the coolest stuff was! So we headed inside and the main entrance is incredible! It is so amazing! They have so much to look at! First we went to the space exploration exhibit and it was so cool! It talked about how the universe was formed and the different planets. It was really cool! Then we went over to the African Mammals exhibit and it was amazing as well! I was looking all over for Dexter but they don't have one on display. They have so many cool animals! It was so neat to read all about them! Then we went over to the Native American and Tribal section of the museum where they have the Easter Island Head! It was so cool to see! They have so many amazing artifacts on display from the different time periods! These museums are always so amazing and hard to take in all at once! You could seriously spend an entire week at just one museum reading about all of the artifacts! I would love so much for you all to see this! There is always something fun to do! Then after a whole day of fun we headed over to the gift shop! We had to leave at 4:30 to get back by 6:00 because we always have appointment scheduled after 6:00 and so we walked over to the gift shop......and what do I see?? A penny smasher! Of course I had to get some of those so I chose the 2 coolest designs and smooshed 2 pennies! I took a picture of them and all of the souvenirs I got! I bought the 2 postcards at the Museum of Natural History and then we went over to a department store and they had the cheapest New York souvenirs ever! It was so cool how cheap everything was! I got the New York mug for $2.99 and the 2 magnets for $1.99 each! Then I kept the bag that my postcards came in! I am trying to save and keep lots of stuff so I can have some fun souvenirs! It was such an amazing day and we had a great time! It was all so amazing! It was also so cool to be where a movie was filmed! Then after that we decided to get on the train and headed back to the Bronx for some lookups that we had! After we got home and grabbed a quick snack, we headed out to Co-op City and looked in our area book! We first went to a member named Sister Roman. There wasn't any information in our area book about her other than her name and phone number. We knocked on her door and 2 really nice Hispanic ladies answered and said that Sister Roman wasn't home but she would love a visit sometime! We enjoyed talking with them! We eventually found out that they are in the other ward which is the Spanish ward. So after the Roman family, we knocked on a few more doors but nobody was home. It was such an amazing day!
Thursday was another great day! Since it was Thursday we had our weekly planning session and because we switched our P-Day we had Zone Meeting on Thursday! So it was a busy day of planning and meetings! We headed over to the church after we did out personal study for our Zone Meeting! So when we got there it introduced Elder Dick to everyone and then we got to meet the 2 new Sister missionaries that are being trained! I felt so old since I wasn't being trained anymore! Their names are Sister Heywood from Arizona and Sister Perkins from Florida. For Zone Meeting, we talked about how important it is to find and teach people using the Spirit and how important the Book of Mormon is! It was great! We all enjoyed hearing from our Zone Leaders! Then after Zone meeting we decided to head back to the apartment for some lunch. Then after we ate lunch we started our weekly planning session! It was pretty nerve racking because I was totally in charge of the whole thing! So we planned for all of our investigators by planning out exactly what we want to teach them and then we scheduled in service, study times, and APF activities! Then by the time we got our whole week planned, it was dinner time so we had some dinner, and then we did our companionship study and then headed back out to do a few lookups and w had and really cool experience! We went over to the Francis family's house and we walked up to the door and we could see that they were home! We were so happy that they were home! We knocked on their door and their youngest daughter said: "Mom, it's 2 boys!" This is the family that we helped shovel their snow when the really bad snow storm hit. They invited us in and were so happy to see us! The Dad's name is Fitz-Roy and they are all from Jamaica and his sister was there. The Mom, Arthel, told Fitz-Roy's Sister that we helped them out with shoveling snow and she thought that was amazing! We talked with them for a few minutes and come to find out, they really want to come to church which is awesome! They said that they are so busy with work that they haven't had time to come. So they said that they were going to come one of these Sundays! Then they told us that they really wanted us to come over for a Jamaican dinner! They said that they would love to have us come over on May 28th. We left really happy because they could tell how much we cared about them! It was a great evening! Then after the Francis family's we did a get more lookups but neither of them were home but we were so glad that the Frances family was home! It was a great day!
⛆ Friday was another great day! Although, it POURED rain the entire day. It was the one of the craziest rain storms I have ever seen! The water drops were huge and amount of water that was coming down was almost unbelievable! I have never seen so much rain before in my life. It was pretty crazy!
We woke up, got ready for the day, then finished our weekly planning by scheduling in some service for next week and any APF activities we wanted to do with our roomates! So after we planned for a little bit, we braved the elements and headed to do a few lookups of some investigators in Co-op City! It was pouring rain like none other. I wish you could have seen it because it was crazy! Then we came back to the apartment and we had some lunch.....and to dry off because we were soaked even though we had umbrellas! So after we had lunch and dried off we did our companionship study and then headed back out to do some lookups and try to schedule some appointments! It was great! I always enjoy looking through our area book and finding many people to go knock on their door and talk with! So we headed back out and.....no rain! We were so glad that it stopped raining! It made is so much more pleasant to be outside! So we went over to the Daley household and talked with Marcus and he said that he had been so busy and hasn't had time to meet recently but then he told us some really exciting news! He was us to have a lesson on Friday! So we scheduled a lesson with him and his family and then headed to our few other lookups we had! Then we got a call from our good friend Dalton and he invited us over for dinner so he could meet my new companion! So on Saturday evening we went over and had an awesome dinner with him! For dinner, we had.......TACOS! I told everyone that Dad had said to go get Tacos so we ordered some Tacos from the Tacos El Bronco food truck! It was a big hit Dad! Then we headed back out to visit some investigators in our area book! So after we got done with our lookups it was time for us to head back to the apartment for the evening! It was a great.......but wet day!
Saturday was another great day! The weather was amazing! There have been so many flowers and trees blossoming everywhere! It has been so neat to look at all of the amazing scenery! We woke up, got ready for the day, and then did our studies. I feel like I'm really starting to get into the groove now! I just miss you all so much each and every day! I appreciate you all so much and everything you have done for me! So after our studies, we headed out the door to go see a really nice man named Jude. There seems to be something that everyone here in the Bronx has in common and that is that everyone is usually very busy. It takes most people and hour to an hour and a half to get to work because most of the people in our area work in Manhattan. So it takes them a long time to travel. Jude wasn't home but we still had a great time out in the really nice weather and talking with people! The weather was so pretty and perfect to be out in! So after we went to Jude's house we did a few lookups but not very people were home so we decided to talk with everybody that we saw on the streets! As we were heading back for lunch, we said hi to this lady that was walking passed us and she just stopped immediately. She turned and looked at us and said: "I need your help!" She was going through a really rough time in her life and she said that she needed someone to talk to. She was very nice and she told us everything that she had been going through. Right now, her Mom is very sick in the hospital and she had a bouquet of flowers in her hand and she was going to take them to her Mom. Then she told us how her she and her boyfriend want to get married but things just haven't worked out. So after we talked for a few minutes we gave her our phone number and she said that she would call us! So after we talked with her, we went back to our apartment and had some lunch and did our companionship study and it was great! Then we headed back out into the beautiful weather! Right before we left, we got a call from the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric and he really wanted us to come over so we quickly planned a lesson and away we went to the Ampah's home! When we got there, their 3 little kids were just finishing up lunch. They were so excited to see us! They have a 2 year old daughter, and a 4 and 5 year old son. They told us that they really want to be missionaries someday! We had a great lesson with them! We taught them about baptism and we showed a video about baptism! It was great! Then after the Ampah family, we knocked on Dalia's door since she was in the next building and invited her to church the next day! So after that, we had a dinner appointment with Dalton and so we started heading over to his house! Dalton is a great guy and is always so willing to cook for the missionaries! So when we got to Dalton's apartment, it was 6:30 and he made us a really good dinner! We had a stir fry again with shrimp, jasmine rice, and a grapefruit sangria! It was so good and after we ate, we taught him about fasting and the importance of fasting. He really enjoyed the lesson! We thanked him for the meal and by that time it was 7:30 so we headed back to the apartment for the night! It is crazy to me how long it can take in the evening to travel back to the apartment! We got to the bus stop at 7:45 and got back to the apartment right at our 9:00 curfew. It was such a great day! It was even better since the weather was so nice!
Sunday was another great day! I woke up and I was so excited for the multi-stake conference! I was also really excited to see Jaime and Steve! Then I got thinking, that they probably lived closer to the New Rochelle chapel and I I wasn't sure if they were going to be at the Kingsbridge chapel. I was hoping that I would get to see them! So we woke up, got ready for the day, did our studies and then we had an awesome lesson before Church since it was stake conference and it started at 1:00! So we headed over to Jose's apartment and taught him the Restoration! The lesson went really well! So after our lesson with Jose we decided to head back to the apartment to have some lunch before we went to Multi-stake broadcast! We were really excited for it! So after we ate lunch, we decided to quickly make some brownies from a Ghirardelli brownie mix to give to her! I actually had the idea to put them in a cupcake pan and use that! It worked really well! So after the brownies cooled, it was time to head to church! So we took the bus over to the Kingsbridge Church! I forgot to mention that right next to the Kingsbridge Church is a house that Edgar Allan Poe used to live in. It is a historical sites and is so neat to see every time we go to this church! So after we sat down I immediately started looking for Jaime and Steve. But I ended up not seeing them. I am pretty sure that they were at the New Rochelle chapel. The meeting was great! It was so cool to watch! They had Sister Cordon, Elder Gong, and Elder Oaks speak. All of the talks were amazing and they talked a lot about missionary work and how much the ward members can help out in finding investigators for the missionaries to teach! It was a really good meeting and then after church, we headed back to the apartment for dinner and companionship study. Then we headed over to the care center where Sister Johnson is to give her the brownies and sing with her. She enjoys so much having someone come over to see her! It has been really fun to go over on a regular basis! She appreciated so much the brownies and then we sang: "I am a child of God" After we talked with Sister Johnson for a while we headed back to the apartment and Skyped with Matt. I love that we can use Skype to video chat with investigators. We are so lucky to have that kind of technology to use! After that we were all beat from another great day of missionary work!
Monday was another great day! Although it was VERY wierd to not email you and chat with you! It was another cool and beautiful day to be outside doing missionary work! Each day that passes, I get more and more excited to Skype you! It has been so fun to have something really fun to look forward to! It was really wierd and different knowing that it was Monday.....but it wasn't P-Day! So we woke up, got ready for the day, did our studies and then headed to District meeting! Every time we go to District meeting I think of Dad on his mission! At district meeting, we talked about our investigators and how they were doing. I always enjoy hearing how other missionaries are doing! So after district meeting we headed over to Co-op City to set up some appointments! This week we have been so blessed to get LOTS of appointments and lessons!! We have gotten lessons with the Danquah, Gorman, and Sister Figuero! Then we have lessons with Matt, the Daley family, and a man named Jose! It has been such a great week and we have had so much success! I thank you for all of your love and prayers! I have been able to see so much love as I serve from you all back home! So first we went to the Danquah family's apartment and Brother Danquah wasn't home so we set a return appointment with them on Thursday! We were so happy that we were getting so many lessons! Usually it is very hard to get lessons because everyone is so busy with work and people don't usually answer their phones. So it was so amazing to see all of the lessons that we were getting! So after we looked up a whole bunch of members and investigators, we headed back to the apartment for some dinner. We were so happy that we had a lot of lessons and visits scheduled! So we had some dinner and then headed back out to Co-op City and looked through our area book to find any investigators that haven't been contacted for a while. The weather was so nice and cool! I could have stayed out in it for hours! So after we knocked on a ton of doors, a lot of people were just getting home from work and so they were tired and didn't want to chat. Then we headed back to the apartment for the night. We had a great and successful day!!
On Tuesday, I was getting more and more excited to Skype and email you! I was thinking about Dad all day as he was flying to Canada! I think about all of you all the time! I pray for you all everyday! So yesterday, we had a great day! I am so excited to say that we have a ton of lessons coming up! We had a lesson yesterday and the spirit was so strong! So we woke up and did our studies then we went over to the library to sign up for a service program called: "New York Cares". We signed up so it would be easier to find service opportunities to do some service! So after that we headed to an apartment complex and knocked on a TON of doors! It was beautiful weather once again and I enjoyed so much being outside! It always puts a smile on my face when the weather is so nice! So we knocked on a bunch of doors and talked with many people. Not very many of them were interested in having us come back over and teaching them. But we still enjoyed talking with so many people and getting to know them better! Then we knocked on this one particular door and a really nice Hispanic man answered and said that his daughter actually had ordered a Bible a while ago on mormon.org and so we scheduled a time that we could come over and give her the Bible that she ordered! We were so lucky that we found her because she may be really interested in learning more! So after we knocked on lots of doors we headed over to the Gorman's house for our dinner appointment! We talked with Sister Gorman on Sunday and she has been really wanting us to come over for a while now! We were really excited to have a dinner appointment since we hadn't had one with someone other than Dalton for a while. We really wanted to learn more about them! So we went over to their apartment and talked with them and then they made dinner! We had a really good buffalo chicken pizza, salad, and for desert....ice cream! I found out that Sister Gorman is from Washington state, and Brother Gorman is from Oklahoma. I impressed Brother Gorman because he said that he graduated from Tulsa University and I said: "Oh, so you are a Golden Hurricane." He couldn't believe that I knew.
He served a mission in Washington state and he loved it! Right now he is doing his residency at a local hospital and is training to become a surgeon. It was really awesome to get to know them more! So after we talked for a little bit and had dinner, we shared with them a video called: "Because of him". It was a Christmas video from a few years ago. It talks about how Jesus Christ can help us through trials. We then tied it to the sacrament and how we can always remember him by partaking of the sacrament. We had a great time with them! Then after the Gormans, we talked to as many people as we could on the street and then headed back to the apartment for the night!
Well everyone! I think I told you everything that happened this week. It was so much fun to be able to email you! Late last night we got a text from our Zone Leaders and they said that President Smith would be having a conference call this morning! So we just got done with it and it was so good! President Smith always knows how to inspire his missionaries. I teared up a little because the focus of his call was on Mother's and how important they are in our lives! He talked about what an awesome opportunity we have to call home on a special day! He told us how amazing our Mothers are! I love you so much Mom and I hope you have an incredible day! It was a great conference call! He also said to enjoy every second of the call home.....boy will I!!! I just want you to know how excited I am to call you and see and hear you! It is so amazing that we have the technology to video chat you 2,000 miles away! Elder Smiley decided to do his call at the same time! It is going to be so amazing! I hope you all have a great next few days.....and then it's Skype time!!! I am looking forward to it SO MUCH! I love, appreciate, and miss you all so much! You are the best family ever! I hope I remembered everything that I wanted to tell you! TALK TO YOU SOON! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Love Always!
~Elder Lindberg
Hello my dear family! What a great week! Thank you SO much for your amazing email! I loved hearing how your week went! I am so glad that you all had a great week! It is so nice to be able to email you all again! I have missed you all so much and I have been thinking and praying for you all a ton! First of all, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY on Sunday! The day is finally almost here! I can Skype you all! I have been looking forward to Skyping you all SO much! My testimony has continued to grow and I have learned so much! One of the many things that I admire about each of you if how much you love the church and the Gospel. You have always been such great examples and have always loved each other so much! I am so grateful to be your son! Happy Birthday to Evans yesterday! I was thinking about her all day! I hope you had a great day! Thank you SO much for the emails you sent me throughout the week! I loved getting them as always! I loved the minion holding up the Book of Mormons! It was hilarious! I also loved the "May the fourth be with you" and the Cinco De Mayo! They are always so fun to get throughout the week! They are awesome! It has been really hard to be away from you all and miss events and everyday activities but your love and support makes it so much easier! There will be times throughout the week where I will get homesick but I just read your emails and think about you all, I feel so much better! I love every single one of your emails so much and everything that you say! I thought it was so cool in last week's email Mom about you in New York! It is so amazing to think that you have been here! I get thinking the same things that you do! I am so excited for Mother's day! It will be hard not to be there but I will definitely be there in spirit and giving you a huge hug! You are such an incredible Mom and have taught me so much! I love and appreciate all you do for me and our family! I truly have the best parents and family ever! I am so grateful for the many memories like car trips, vacations, sporting events, and everything else that we have done together so much! I cherish every single memory and all the fun and amazing times we have had together as a family! Being out here in the Bronx has just made me realize even more how lucky we are to live where we do with everyone we have around us! It has opened my eyes even more to see how some people have to live and I just smile and I am so grateful that we live in a beautiful home in a beautiful valley! I am truly so grateful for everything you have done for me in my life! I wish I could be there for Mother's day! I hope you have the best day and know I will be thinking about you all day! I wish I could be there to give you a big hug and kiss! I just really appreciate you all so much and I am so grateful for every single thing you have taught me! I look back on the many memories I have made with you all and I am so grateful for all of them!
I can't even describe how excited I am to Skype you all!!! It is going to be so much fun and I can't wait to see and hear you all! I think that 9:00 would work great! I just hope it isn't too early for you!
Elder Dick and I have been getting along great! He is a great guy and I have enjoyed so much working with him! I found out that he went home right before leaving the MTC because he had mono. So he had to go home for about 6 weeks and he said it was really hard. We have been working really well together! I have had a great week! I haven't been very homesick this week which has been so nice! I have been learning so much and I have really gotten into the swing of things! Time has really been flying by now that I have gotten into a routine. Elder Kirkham told me that once you change companions once, time really flies by. It's just the getting used to a new companion he said that changes but the work is still the same and you already know how to do it! It is different being a regular missionary and not a trainee.
I feel really bad because Dad's really cool tie that you wore when you got dropped off at the MTC is starting to ware out. I have loved being able to wear it and honor you! So I'm trying to keep it as nice as possible! I don't want to ruin it so I'm keeping it nice. I didn't want you to wonder why I wasn't wearing it.
Today for P-Day I will be able to email you back and forth a lot more! It will be great! On Thursday, we found out that Jay, the guy who cuts all of the missionaries hair for free, will be at the Kingsbridge Church again! So today, the 4 of us are going to go get our hair cut! My hair isn't very long but we love to take advantage of a free haircut every time he comes!
What can I say about last P-Day! It was AMAZING! We all had such a fun time going to the Museum of Natural History! I really wanted to chat some more last P-Day but unfortunately we didn't have WiFi the whole day for some reason. I felt bad because I wanted to read and reply to your emails throughout the day but nothing would refresh on my tablet. So I typed up an email while we were in the museum and I was hoping that it would send but it didn't sent and I didn't get your emails until we got back into the Bronx. I loved reading your emails! So on Wednesday morning, our new and improved P-Day! We woke up excited for an awesome day and didn't have to do laundry that morning because we had already gotten it done during our short 2 hour P-Day we had on Monday which was so nice! So we all studied from 7:30-8:00 and then P-Day starts at 8:00 so right after studies, Elder Smiley and Elder Knudsen headed to Manhattan while Elder Dick and I went grocery shopping! I didn't have to buy anything since the 3 of us had already gotten our shopping done on Monday! So we headed over to Aldi's and we got there right when it opened! We had something really cool happen while we were shopping! It was kind of a miracle! As we were shopping a really nice lady stopped us and said: "Hello elders!!" We started talking with her and we found out that she had moved into our ward a few months ago but her records hadn't been switched over yet and she hasn't been to Church because her son was in the hospital and so she spends a lot of time there. She was about 55 years old and was so excited to see us! She told us that she would love to have us come over to her house sometime! It was a miracle that we saw her at that exact moment! Also, what else that was really amazing is that she is in our area! So after we said goodbye to her, we hurried through because there wasn't a crowd at all so we checked everything off of his list and headed back to the apartment to drop off his groceries! Then we quickly hopped on the train and away we went to Manhattan! We were really excited! Elder Dick has actually never been to Manhattan. So he was extra excited to go! We all really love a $5.00 taco and crunchy wrap box that they sell at Taco Bell so we met Elder Smiley and Elder Knudsen at the Manhattan Taco Bell. While we were shopping they went to Macy's to look at some shirts for Elder Smiley. So we met them at Taco Bell and ordered and then ate our food. Then after we ate we headed over to the Museum of Natural History! The only thing I could think of was Dexter and "Dum-Dum, you give me gum gum??" We were all laughing about that! The outside and front doors of the Museum look the exact same as they do in the movie but the inside looks pretty different. Elder Smiley and Elder Knudsen have both been there before so they knew where the coolest stuff was! So we headed inside and the main entrance is incredible! It is so amazing! They have so much to look at! First we went to the space exploration exhibit and it was so cool! It talked about how the universe was formed and the different planets. It was really cool! Then we went over to the African Mammals exhibit and it was amazing as well! I was looking all over for Dexter but they don't have one on display. They have so many cool animals! It was so neat to read all about them! Then we went over to the Native American and Tribal section of the museum where they have the Easter Island Head! It was so cool to see! They have so many amazing artifacts on display from the different time periods! These museums are always so amazing and hard to take in all at once! You could seriously spend an entire week at just one museum reading about all of the artifacts! I would love so much for you all to see this! There is always something fun to do! Then after a whole day of fun we headed over to the gift shop! We had to leave at 4:30 to get back by 6:00 because we always have appointment scheduled after 6:00 and so we walked over to the gift shop......and what do I see?? A penny smasher! Of course I had to get some of those so I chose the 2 coolest designs and smooshed 2 pennies! I took a picture of them and all of the souvenirs I got! I bought the 2 postcards at the Museum of Natural History and then we went over to a department store and they had the cheapest New York souvenirs ever! It was so cool how cheap everything was! I got the New York mug for $2.99 and the 2 magnets for $1.99 each! Then I kept the bag that my postcards came in! I am trying to save and keep lots of stuff so I can have some fun souvenirs! It was such an amazing day and we had a great time! It was all so amazing! It was also so cool to be where a movie was filmed! Then after that we decided to get on the train and headed back to the Bronx for some lookups that we had! After we got home and grabbed a quick snack, we headed out to Co-op City and looked in our area book! We first went to a member named Sister Roman. There wasn't any information in our area book about her other than her name and phone number. We knocked on her door and 2 really nice Hispanic ladies answered and said that Sister Roman wasn't home but she would love a visit sometime! We enjoyed talking with them! We eventually found out that they are in the other ward which is the Spanish ward. So after the Roman family, we knocked on a few more doors but nobody was home. It was such an amazing day!
Thursday was another great day! Since it was Thursday we had our weekly planning session and because we switched our P-Day we had Zone Meeting on Thursday! So it was a busy day of planning and meetings! We headed over to the church after we did out personal study for our Zone Meeting! So when we got there it introduced Elder Dick to everyone and then we got to meet the 2 new Sister missionaries that are being trained! I felt so old since I wasn't being trained anymore! Their names are Sister Heywood from Arizona and Sister Perkins from Florida. For Zone Meeting, we talked about how important it is to find and teach people using the Spirit and how important the Book of Mormon is! It was great! We all enjoyed hearing from our Zone Leaders! Then after Zone meeting we decided to head back to the apartment for some lunch. Then after we ate lunch we started our weekly planning session! It was pretty nerve racking because I was totally in charge of the whole thing! So we planned for all of our investigators by planning out exactly what we want to teach them and then we scheduled in service, study times, and APF activities! Then by the time we got our whole week planned, it was dinner time so we had some dinner, and then we did our companionship study and then headed back out to do a few lookups and w had and really cool experience! We went over to the Francis family's house and we walked up to the door and we could see that they were home! We were so happy that they were home! We knocked on their door and their youngest daughter said: "Mom, it's 2 boys!" This is the family that we helped shovel their snow when the really bad snow storm hit. They invited us in and were so happy to see us! The Dad's name is Fitz-Roy and they are all from Jamaica and his sister was there. The Mom, Arthel, told Fitz-Roy's Sister that we helped them out with shoveling snow and she thought that was amazing! We talked with them for a few minutes and come to find out, they really want to come to church which is awesome! They said that they are so busy with work that they haven't had time to come. So they said that they were going to come one of these Sundays! Then they told us that they really wanted us to come over for a Jamaican dinner! They said that they would love to have us come over on May 28th. We left really happy because they could tell how much we cared about them! It was a great evening! Then after the Francis family's we did a get more lookups but neither of them were home but we were so glad that the Frances family was home! It was a great day!
⛆ Friday was another great day! Although, it POURED rain the entire day. It was the one of the craziest rain storms I have ever seen! The water drops were huge and amount of water that was coming down was almost unbelievable! I have never seen so much rain before in my life. It was pretty crazy!
Saturday was another great day! The weather was amazing! There have been so many flowers and trees blossoming everywhere! It has been so neat to look at all of the amazing scenery! We woke up, got ready for the day, and then did our studies. I feel like I'm really starting to get into the groove now! I just miss you all so much each and every day! I appreciate you all so much and everything you have done for me! So after our studies, we headed out the door to go see a really nice man named Jude. There seems to be something that everyone here in the Bronx has in common and that is that everyone is usually very busy. It takes most people and hour to an hour and a half to get to work because most of the people in our area work in Manhattan. So it takes them a long time to travel. Jude wasn't home but we still had a great time out in the really nice weather and talking with people! The weather was so pretty and perfect to be out in! So after we went to Jude's house we did a few lookups but not very people were home so we decided to talk with everybody that we saw on the streets! As we were heading back for lunch, we said hi to this lady that was walking passed us and she just stopped immediately. She turned and looked at us and said: "I need your help!" She was going through a really rough time in her life and she said that she needed someone to talk to. She was very nice and she told us everything that she had been going through. Right now, her Mom is very sick in the hospital and she had a bouquet of flowers in her hand and she was going to take them to her Mom. Then she told us how her she and her boyfriend want to get married but things just haven't worked out. So after we talked for a few minutes we gave her our phone number and she said that she would call us! So after we talked with her, we went back to our apartment and had some lunch and did our companionship study and it was great! Then we headed back out into the beautiful weather! Right before we left, we got a call from the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric and he really wanted us to come over so we quickly planned a lesson and away we went to the Ampah's home! When we got there, their 3 little kids were just finishing up lunch. They were so excited to see us! They have a 2 year old daughter, and a 4 and 5 year old son. They told us that they really want to be missionaries someday! We had a great lesson with them! We taught them about baptism and we showed a video about baptism! It was great! Then after the Ampah family, we knocked on Dalia's door since she was in the next building and invited her to church the next day! So after that, we had a dinner appointment with Dalton and so we started heading over to his house! Dalton is a great guy and is always so willing to cook for the missionaries! So when we got to Dalton's apartment, it was 6:30 and he made us a really good dinner! We had a stir fry again with shrimp, jasmine rice, and a grapefruit sangria! It was so good and after we ate, we taught him about fasting and the importance of fasting. He really enjoyed the lesson! We thanked him for the meal and by that time it was 7:30 so we headed back to the apartment for the night! It is crazy to me how long it can take in the evening to travel back to the apartment! We got to the bus stop at 7:45 and got back to the apartment right at our 9:00 curfew. It was such a great day! It was even better since the weather was so nice!
Sunday was another great day! I woke up and I was so excited for the multi-stake conference! I was also really excited to see Jaime and Steve! Then I got thinking, that they probably lived closer to the New Rochelle chapel and I I wasn't sure if they were going to be at the Kingsbridge chapel. I was hoping that I would get to see them! So we woke up, got ready for the day, did our studies and then we had an awesome lesson before Church since it was stake conference and it started at 1:00! So we headed over to Jose's apartment and taught him the Restoration! The lesson went really well! So after our lesson with Jose we decided to head back to the apartment to have some lunch before we went to Multi-stake broadcast! We were really excited for it! So after we ate lunch, we decided to quickly make some brownies from a Ghirardelli brownie mix to give to her! I actually had the idea to put them in a cupcake pan and use that! It worked really well! So after the brownies cooled, it was time to head to church! So we took the bus over to the Kingsbridge Church! I forgot to mention that right next to the Kingsbridge Church is a house that Edgar Allan Poe used to live in. It is a historical sites and is so neat to see every time we go to this church! So after we sat down I immediately started looking for Jaime and Steve. But I ended up not seeing them. I am pretty sure that they were at the New Rochelle chapel. The meeting was great! It was so cool to watch! They had Sister Cordon, Elder Gong, and Elder Oaks speak. All of the talks were amazing and they talked a lot about missionary work and how much the ward members can help out in finding investigators for the missionaries to teach! It was a really good meeting and then after church, we headed back to the apartment for dinner and companionship study. Then we headed over to the care center where Sister Johnson is to give her the brownies and sing with her. She enjoys so much having someone come over to see her! It has been really fun to go over on a regular basis! She appreciated so much the brownies and then we sang: "I am a child of God" After we talked with Sister Johnson for a while we headed back to the apartment and Skyped with Matt. I love that we can use Skype to video chat with investigators. We are so lucky to have that kind of technology to use! After that we were all beat from another great day of missionary work!
Monday was another great day! Although it was VERY wierd to not email you and chat with you! It was another cool and beautiful day to be outside doing missionary work! Each day that passes, I get more and more excited to Skype you! It has been so fun to have something really fun to look forward to! It was really wierd and different knowing that it was Monday.....but it wasn't P-Day! So we woke up, got ready for the day, did our studies and then headed to District meeting! Every time we go to District meeting I think of Dad on his mission! At district meeting, we talked about our investigators and how they were doing. I always enjoy hearing how other missionaries are doing! So after district meeting we headed over to Co-op City to set up some appointments! This week we have been so blessed to get LOTS of appointments and lessons!! We have gotten lessons with the Danquah, Gorman, and Sister Figuero! Then we have lessons with Matt, the Daley family, and a man named Jose! It has been such a great week and we have had so much success! I thank you for all of your love and prayers! I have been able to see so much love as I serve from you all back home! So first we went to the Danquah family's apartment and Brother Danquah wasn't home so we set a return appointment with them on Thursday! We were so happy that we were getting so many lessons! Usually it is very hard to get lessons because everyone is so busy with work and people don't usually answer their phones. So it was so amazing to see all of the lessons that we were getting! So after we looked up a whole bunch of members and investigators, we headed back to the apartment for some dinner. We were so happy that we had a lot of lessons and visits scheduled! So we had some dinner and then headed back out to Co-op City and looked through our area book to find any investigators that haven't been contacted for a while. The weather was so nice and cool! I could have stayed out in it for hours! So after we knocked on a ton of doors, a lot of people were just getting home from work and so they were tired and didn't want to chat. Then we headed back to the apartment for the night. We had a great and successful day!!
On Tuesday, I was getting more and more excited to Skype and email you! I was thinking about Dad all day as he was flying to Canada! I think about all of you all the time! I pray for you all everyday! So yesterday, we had a great day! I am so excited to say that we have a ton of lessons coming up! We had a lesson yesterday and the spirit was so strong! So we woke up and did our studies then we went over to the library to sign up for a service program called: "New York Cares". We signed up so it would be easier to find service opportunities to do some service! So after that we headed to an apartment complex and knocked on a TON of doors! It was beautiful weather once again and I enjoyed so much being outside! It always puts a smile on my face when the weather is so nice! So we knocked on a bunch of doors and talked with many people. Not very many of them were interested in having us come back over and teaching them. But we still enjoyed talking with so many people and getting to know them better! Then we knocked on this one particular door and a really nice Hispanic man answered and said that his daughter actually had ordered a Bible a while ago on mormon.org and so we scheduled a time that we could come over and give her the Bible that she ordered! We were so lucky that we found her because she may be really interested in learning more! So after we knocked on lots of doors we headed over to the Gorman's house for our dinner appointment! We talked with Sister Gorman on Sunday and she has been really wanting us to come over for a while now! We were really excited to have a dinner appointment since we hadn't had one with someone other than Dalton for a while. We really wanted to learn more about them! So we went over to their apartment and talked with them and then they made dinner! We had a really good buffalo chicken pizza, salad, and for desert....ice cream! I found out that Sister Gorman is from Washington state, and Brother Gorman is from Oklahoma. I impressed Brother Gorman because he said that he graduated from Tulsa University and I said: "Oh, so you are a Golden Hurricane." He couldn't believe that I knew.
Well everyone! I think I told you everything that happened this week. It was so much fun to be able to email you! Late last night we got a text from our Zone Leaders and they said that President Smith would be having a conference call this morning! So we just got done with it and it was so good! President Smith always knows how to inspire his missionaries. I teared up a little because the focus of his call was on Mother's and how important they are in our lives! He talked about what an awesome opportunity we have to call home on a special day! He told us how amazing our Mothers are! I love you so much Mom and I hope you have an incredible day! It was a great conference call! He also said to enjoy every second of the call home.....boy will I!!! I just want you to know how excited I am to call you and see and hear you! It is so amazing that we have the technology to video chat you 2,000 miles away! Elder Smiley decided to do his call at the same time! It is going to be so amazing! I hope you all have a great next few days.....and then it's Skype time!!!
Love Always!
~Elder Lindberg
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