June 28th 2017~Happy 4th of July! Congrats Abbs on your promotion!
Hello my dear family and Happy 4th of July!! It is pretty crazy to think that I have to wish you Happy 4th of July almost a week before since I won't have P-Day until it is over. Thank you so much for your amazing postcard! It was SO much fun to get! It was so fun to think that you were in such a fun place! Also, I need to congratulate Abbs on your promotion! Congrats Sis! I am so happy to hear that you are doing so well! I loved seeing the picture frame that you made for Mom and Dad for their Anniversary! I loved all of the pictures and it was so cool to see some that I have taken! You did a really great job. It has been really fun and gives me an extra boost to get your emails during the week. They help me so much and I appreciate them a ton. I loved the gif picture! It was really cool how it flashes. Well, I hope I can remember everything that happened and I explain everything well.
So I have some really exciting news! This Sunday, President Smith announced something really awesome that all of the missionaries get to do! So every single missionary in the whole mission is coming to Manhattan this Sunday! It will be a special Missionary Sacrament Meeting at the Temple Chapel! How cool is that?!?! So we will get to go to Manhattan and have our Sacrament Meeting and then head back to our church! It starts at 9:00 and lasts an hour. We are all really excited and it will be so cool to have every single missionary there!
I have some more exciting news! I can't believe that I am saying this but, this coming Saturday will be my official 1/4 of the way done with my mission! Grandma Evans mentioned it a few emails ago and I thought it was so crazy! I can't believe that I'm already a fourth of the way there! When did this happen!?! Time has just been going by so quick and so it seems crazy that I'm already so far in!
I am so excited for P-Day! I am so excited to say that we may go to........wait.......The 9/11 Memorial!!! Elder Dick really wants to go see it and so we are going to try to go to the High Line, and the 9/11 Memorial. We have a few different things we want to do so we are trying to decide but that is in the mix! I will be sure to let you know how everything goes! We are just doing laundry and so we will go grocery shopping in a few minutes and then we will head to Manhattan!! So we are still trying to solidify a plan and where we want to go so we can see lots of stuff! I'm so excited!!
Last P-day was awesome! We woke up and did our laundry and grocery shopping. Then we cleaned the whole apartment and then we emailed! It was so nice to clean and get the apartment ready for the next week! Before we went grocery shopping, Elder Jackman and Elder Knudsen wanted to buy some potting soil and some watermelon seeds to grow watermelons. So we headed over to the Home Depot that is right next to Aldi's and bought some pots and seeds. It was pretty fun! Then as we were emailing, all 4 of us ended up falling asleep!
Thursday was a very awesome day! We started the day by exercising, getting ready for the day, and studying. Then we did our weekly planning session and planned everything out for the week! We planned lots of lessons with some great people! Then after we planned everything out we had such an amazing rest of our day! Elder Dick and I headed over to the church to start our split with the Zone Leaders! They decided that Elder Davis would come into my area and Elder Dick would go with Elder Stevens to their area! So we started our split and dropped off Elder Davis' stuff at the apartment and then headed to a lesson with an awesome lady named Gloria! So we headed over to her apartment and her son wasn't home so we couldn't go in so we talked with her about the Restoration pamphlet that she read and answered any questions that she had. She asked lots of very good questions! She is from Nigeria just like Osagie so it was really great to get to know her better! After our great lesson with Gloria, we had a very busy and great rest of our evening! It was jam packed with lots of lessons and we met lots of great people! I hope I can remember all of the details because it was a very special night that really strengthened my testimony! So we headed over to another lesson with a guy that we found tracting just a few days ago named Mark! We stopped by and he said that visitors were not allowed to come inside for that specific part of the day. He was really sorry and we rescheduled for another day! Then as we were walking down the street for our next lesson, we saw the Grand Daughters of the other lady named Madeline Lopez. Since she lives alone with her Grand Daughters, we could never go inside so we passed her records off to the Sister missionaries so they could start going over. So we talked with her Grand Daughters for a little while and shared with them the Prince of Peace video and they really liked it! Madeline was actually sleeping so we weren't able to talk with her. We told them that the Sister Missionaries would start coming over and then said goodbye to them because we had another lesson that we needed to be at. We then walked a ton!! As we were leaving we got a call from Sister Figuero and she said that she needed some help setting up a new home phone. We knew that we couldn't go inside but she said that we could do it in the hallway. She just didn't know how to do it. We were so glad to help her out! We were in a spot in Co-Op City that we couldn't take a bus to her apartment so we decided to walk the 2 miles to her apartment. We had a really nice walk and the weather was so beautiful! I got to know Elder Davis really well! So we got to Sister Figuero's house and set up her phone. It was pretty easy and we shared a quick message and then headed over to our next appointment. But before our 8:00 lesson, we decided to stop at Subway that was right next to where we were so we got Subway and it was so good! Then we headed to an apartment complex that was pretty close to our apartment and taught a 26 year old named Mike! We found Mike when we were looking for his parents. He is a great guy! He wasn't feeling the best so we just had a quick 20 minute lesson with him. He is from Sierra Leone Africa and loves soccer. We taught him the Restoration and we all felt the spirit so strong! Elder Davis is a very powerful teacher and I learned so much from him. It was a great night and we left Mike's apartment ready for a good night's rest! As we were leaving, there were a whole bunch of kids riding bikes and playing basketball. It was a project building complex and so these kids have come from pretty rough circumstances. These kids came up to us and wondered what we were doing and asked us lots of questions. It was a great moment and we enjoyed getting to know these kids better. There was 1 kid who was 8 years old and he loves basketball. He reminded me of Brandon and Parker because he knew so much about basketball and he was telling us all about how he is going to play in the NBA and how much he loves Kyrie Irving. We then gave them all a fist bump and then headed back to the apartment for the night. It was an amazing and busy day of missionary work! I learned a lot and I feel like I have really gotten the hang of things now that I have some time under my belt!
Friday was a really awesome day! I continued to learn so much from Elder Davis! He is from Arizona and has been on his mission for about 10 months now. He is always such a great example! So we finished our split by waking up and heading to Co-Op City because we had a guy who really wanted a Bible but he was very busy so we met him at 10:00 am to accommodate his schedule. So Elder Davis and I headed over to a Dunkin' Doughnuts that was right by his house. His name is Lawrence Williams and we were really looking forward to meeting him! I have been meaning to tell you this for a while but I can't believe how diverse this area is! We have met so many people from Nigeria, Jamaica, Antiga, Africa, Bangladesh, and Albania! It has been so cool to get to know lots of different cultures because we run into people from all over the place everywhere we turn! It has been great to talk with so many different people with different backgrounds! So we headed to Co-Op City and sat down and talked with Lawrence for a little while. He told us that he just ordered a Bible because the one he has is very old and it falling apart. So we gave him the Bible that he ordered and then introduced the Book of Mormon to him. The whole reason why Bible referrals are so important is because it allows us to give them a rundown of the Book of Mormon and set up another appointment! But Lawrence did not want to meet with us because he just wanted a free Bible and that was it. When we told him about the Book of Mormon, he said: "Why do I need a 2nd book when all of the answers that I need are in the Bible?" We testified of the Book of Mormon and how it can bless his life! He said that he wasn't interested so we thanked him for his time and then headed back to the apartment for our studies! Then after that, it was time for Elder Davis and I to head over to the Church and unsplit. I learned a lot and have really been enjoying my time here! Like Dad said in his last email, I'm definitely not a greenie anymore! I still feel so new!
Wow! Saturday was another great day! We woke up to pouring rain and then got ready for the day, did our studies, and then had lunch! Then after lunch we had an appointment with our new investigator named Mark! So we headed over to his apartment and talked with him for a little while and we found out that he read most of the Restoration pamphlet! We always love it when out investigators read on their own. It is a great feeling! So we taught him the Plan of Salvation and answered any questions that he had about the Restoration. We had a great lesson with him and then we went over just down the street and visited Madeline since we were right there. Madeline was home and told us that the Sister Missionaries had just been over to teach a lesson! They even brought Sister Figeuro and then taught them a great lesson. We talked with her for a little while and invited them to Church and to our ward activity that we had right after Church. She said that they really needed to go to church and that her and her Grand Daughters would really benefit from going. We were really excited because we just knocked on their door a few days ago and here they are coming to church all because we felt like we should knock on their door! It was a really cool experience to see them come to church! Then after we got done sharing a quick message with them, we saw something really crazy! We were walking back to the bus stop and saw a man sitting on the curb in handcuffs. There were tons of undercover police officers standing around him checking his pockets and asking him questions. Then they put him inside of an unmarked police van and away they went. It was pretty crazy to see! There have been so many parties and tourists all around us wherever we look. It is pretty crazy to think that it is summer vacation and so everyone is out and about. Then after we got back to the apartment, we called a bunch of investigators and less active members. We found some numbers that were either disconnected or not in service and so our investigators with just phone numbers and no address had to be "dropped". Our area books on our tablets have what's called "drop". Whenever an investigator tells you that they are not interested or you can't contact them, then we drop them and so it keeps our area book less crowded. So we called a bunch of people and then we headed over to Matt's house for another lesson! We are just trying to figure out what he needs so he can progress and get baptized soon. He has been meeting with missionaries for the past year but just doesn't want to take that next step and come to church or be baptized. He is a great guy and loves hearing our lessons but he says that Sundays are his days to get things done around the house and so he says that it would take his whole Sunday just to get to and from church since it is so far away. We promised him that if he made that sacrifice then he would be blessed. So we headed over to City Island and it took us forever because it was a Saturday and everyone and their dog was headed over to the beach and restraunts. So when we got there, it was already 6:20. So we had a great lesson with Matt and then he made us a quick dinner which was really good! He mashed some potatoes then added some eggs and onions then he put the mixture inside some of his homemade dough and then fried them! It was really good! We knew that to get back to the apartment on time, we had to leave City Island no later than 7:30. Especially on a Saturday we have to make sure we plan in lots of time to travel since it takes longer to get places on the weekends. So we got on a bus and slowly but steadily we got to Pelham Bay station and we saw something else that was even crazier! There were about 10 police cars and lights flashing everywhere. We got off the City Island bus and had to transfer to another bus that would take us back to the apartment. We carefully got off the bus because there were TONS of teenagers all over the place. There were probably close to 500 teenagers waiting for busses. There was a police barricade and close to 20 police officers all over the place. We found out that there was a huge fight between a few groups of teenagers and so the police were there to break it up. The police were there to get all of these kids onto busses to go home. So we all crammed into a few busses and made our way back to the apartment. It was crazy and I couldn't believe how many kids and police officers there were. We made it back with a few minutes to spare before our curfew! We had a great day!
Sunday was such a great day! I couldn't believe that it had been a whole week since I gave my talk and Father's Day. We had such a great day and we even had a surprize visitor at Church today!!! So we got up and did our studies and then we headed off to Church! It was such a beautiful day and we enjoyed being outside so much! So we got to Church and the Spanish ward had just gotten out and Elder Brown and Elder Munoz were at the door and they told us that a lady was looking for us. We weren't sure who it was so we headed around the corner and there was Arthel Francis!! She said: "Surprise!" We were so happy to see her at Church. She says that she felt like it would be a good idea for her and her 10 year old daughter to come since we shoveled her snow. We have been trying to get them to Church for a while now and so it was so great to see them. They have 3 daughters and only her and her youngest daughter came so we showed them around the church really quick before it started. We had no idea that they would come and so it was awesome to see them. So then we went into our Gospel Doctrines class and she really enjoyed it! She is actually a nurse at a local hospital and we were talking about the Word of Wisdom! Sister Rocchi did a great job teaching it and Arthel really enjoyed it! While we were having the lesson, a lady named Sister Fryer and her cute little baby Nathan were sitting next to Elder Dick and I. Nathan kept coming over to me and giving me his tiny shoe and thought it was SO funny when I would pretend to walk the shoe on the chair. He laughed and laughed! He is very young still and can only balance for just a few seconds so it was really funny to have him laugh so much! Then after the lesson, we went to our Elders Quorum class taught by Brother Tueller. He did a great job and then we went to sacrament meeting. We had some great talks! We sat by Dalton and it was so great to see him. Then after Sacrament Meeting, we had our Ward Activity! We watched "The Work and the Glory". It was combined with the Spanish ward and so it was really fun to get to know everybody better! It was a great time and then we headed back to the apartment to have a quick dinner and then we headed to give Sister Johnson the sacrament. We had a great visit and then we decided to head back to the apartment to plan and prepare for Monday's District Meeting. We were enjoying a nice walk back and there was nobody in sight. It was so quiet and peaceful which is very rare and un-heard of for the Bronx. It was a really nice night! Then as Elder Dick and I were enjoying the walk, we noticed a grey 2006 Honda Civic just like yours stop up ahead of where we were. He pulled over and as we got closer I noticed that he had 2 Miami Dolphins bumper stickers and then I quoted Brian Regan and said: "Looks like we got ourselves a Dolphins fan." It would have been really funny if Elder Dick had heard that Brian Regan joke but he hadn't. So we got closer and as we passed the Civic, the guy who was driving asked us if we were on our missions. We told him yes! He had his daughter and his son in the car with him and all 3 of them were totally decked out in Yankees gear. He then said: "So do you know someone who lives in Ogden Utah named Ross Porter." It was really funny that he just assumed that we lived in Utah and that I knew this guy that he did. He had never been to Utah but he said that he really wants to sometime. We chatted with him for a little while and then they headed home. It was awesome to talk to them and we were glad that they stopped for a while. So we headed back to the apartment to finalize District Meeting. It was a great day and we enjoyed working so much!
Monday was another great day! I have been feeling so many prayers and I have felt so blessed. I haven't been feeling homesick! But that doesn't mean that I don't miss you so much because I still miss you all so much. I have felt so much love and support each and every day! I get up and I have such a boost of motivation and determination to do my best! It has been great! So we woke up, got ready for the day, did our studies, and then headed to the Church to set up for District Meeting and to go to Leadership Meeting! So we headed over to the Church and practiced our role play that we were in charge of. I was in charge of demonstrating of how to properly extend the invitation to be baptized. The Zone Leaders asked if I would demonstrate during our leadership meeting and how can I say no to that! I thought it was pretty cool that they chose me! So we practiced for that and then we set up chairs for District Meeting. We had a great Leadership Meeting and talked about our investigators and my role play went great! So then after Leadership Meeting, we headed upstairs and Elder Dick did a really great job at District Meeting! He keeps things lively and does a great job! So after District Meeting, we headed back to the apartment to do our studies. Then we had something really awesome planned! About 2 weeks ago, Sister Ampah invited us over for dinner! So we headed over to the Ampah family's house and their 2 little sons, Ellis and Moses were so happy to see us! They came running at us and have Elder Dick and I a ton of high fives! So we sat down and then Sister Ampah brought us a huge plate of food. We had some really good rice but I can't remember the name of it. It is a classic African recipe that she made with her Mom when she was growing up. Then we had baked chicken, baked beans, and really good watermelon! It was a great time and we enjoyed getting to know them better. We then taught them about prayer and scripture study as a family! They didn't need much teaching because they already read the Book of Mormon and pray before they head out the door every day so it was a nice reminder for them. We had a great time and then we said goodbye and Moses and Ellis didn't want us to leave. We had another lesson to go to so we said goodbye and headed back to a project apartment complex right by our apartment. Elder Knudsen and Elder Jackman found a lady named Kay on a bus and got to know her a little better. She said that she was interested in meeting with missionaries and so they got her address and found out that she lives in our area! We were really excited to get to know her better and start teaching her! So we headed over to her apartment and she was actually sitting on a bench right outside her apartment so we just taught her right there on the park bench. She is a really nice Baptist lady from Jamaica who is just trying to find her purpose in life is what she told us. We were so happy to hear that she had that desire. We taught her the Restoration and it went so well! We all felt the spirit so strong and enjoyed getting to know her better. Here is some really exciting news!!! We invited her to be baptised and she told us that if she found for herself that our message is true then she would get baptized! We hadn't prayed about a Baptismal date yet so we just stuck with the invitation. It was really exciting to see her faith and her desire to want to learn more! So after our lesson with Kay, it was time to head back to the apartment for the night after a great and productive day!
Wow! What an incredible day yesterday was!! We had such an amazing Zone Conference! So we had to wake up really early in the morning and get ready because the office Elders told us that they would pick all of the Elders up at the Church at 7:15. So we hurried over to the church and met Elder Kirkham and his new Office Elder companion, Elder Gappeldt! It is always so good to see Elder Kirkham! He has been doing really well and loving the Office! This will most likely be his last cycle in the office so that means that there will be an opening for someone to take his place. I'm not going to lie, but being an office Elder would be awesome! The mission actually just bought a really nice, new, van for the Office Elders to use! It is really nice! So we drove to Scarsdale and then President Smith started the Zone Conference! He and Sister Smith always do an incredible job! They are always so interesting to listen to and they always help us improve and become better as missionaries. Zone Conference lasted pretty much the whole day by the time we got back to our apartment. It lasted from 9:00-4:30. It was SO great and I learned a ton as usual! We learned a lot about setting goals and then we went into the chapel and learned about the sacrament and how we can help members and investigators get more out of the Sacrament. It was all really great! So after our Zone Conference, we all loaded up into the van and by the time we got back to the apartment for dinner and to change out of our suits, it was 6:30. We helped take everything down and put away tables and chairs and so that took about an hour and then an hour to get back to the apartment. Then, Elder Dick had wanted to talk with President Smith so we actually headed over to the Church to Skype President Smith. President Smith talked to him about being a District Leader. It was such a great day! We hurried back to the apartment and I was SO excited to read your email and then it came right after I wrote in my journal! I loved reading it so much!
Well everyone! It was SO fun to email you and to hear all about your week! I am so glad that you have all been doing well! I pray for you in every single one of my prayers and I am so happy that my prayers have been answered! You are the best family ever and I love you all so much! I can't believe how fast time is going and how long I have already been on my mission. I can't believe that I'm already at 5 months!!! I miss you all every single day and I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I have enjoyed my mission so much so far and I appreciate the sacrifices you made and continue to make to allow me to be out here! It is always so hard to be away from you and home but I know that I will look back on my mission fondly and how much I enjoyed it. It is always hard to miss events and not being there for you but I'm always there in spirit. I am working hard and trying my best so I guess I can't fail.
It is so comforting to know that you are all doing well and enjoying your summer break. Your email help me so much and I enjoy reading all of your detailed letters. I hope you have an amazing week! LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!! ♥️
Love Always!
~Elder Lindberg
Wow! What an incredible day yesterday was!! We had such an amazing Zone Conference! So we had to wake up really early in the morning and get ready because the office Elders told us that they would pick all of the Elders up at the Church at 7:15. So we hurried over to the church and met Elder Kirkham and his new Office Elder companion, Elder Gappeldt! It is always so good to see Elder Kirkham! He has been doing really well and loving the Office! This will most likely be his last cycle in the office so that means that there will be an opening for someone to take his place. I'm not going to lie, but being an office Elder would be awesome! The mission actually just bought a really nice, new, van for the Office Elders to use! It is really nice! So we drove to Scarsdale and then President Smith started the Zone Conference! He and Sister Smith always do an incredible job! They are always so interesting to listen to and they always help us improve and become better as missionaries. Zone Conference lasted pretty much the whole day by the time we got back to our apartment. It lasted from 9:00-4:30. It was SO great and I learned a ton as usual! We learned a lot about setting goals and then we went into the chapel and learned about the sacrament and how we can help members and investigators get more out of the Sacrament. It was all really great! So after our Zone Conference, we all loaded up into the van and by the time we got back to the apartment for dinner and to change out of our suits, it was 6:30. We helped take everything down and put away tables and chairs and so that took about an hour and then an hour to get back to the apartment. Then, Elder Dick had wanted to talk with President Smith so we actually headed over to the Church to Skype President Smith. President Smith talked to him about being a District Leader. It was such a great day! We hurried back to the apartment and I was SO excited to read your email and then it came right after I wrote in my journal! I loved reading it so much!
Well everyone! It was SO fun to email you and to hear all about your week! I am so glad that you have all been doing well! I pray for you in every single one of my prayers and I am so happy that my prayers have been answered! You are the best family ever and I love you all so much! I can't believe how fast time is going and how long I have already been on my mission. I can't believe that I'm already at 5 months!!! I miss you all every single day and I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I have enjoyed my mission so much so far and I appreciate the sacrifices you made and continue to make to allow me to be out here! It is always so hard to be away from you and home but I know that I will look back on my mission fondly and how much I enjoyed it. It is always hard to miss events and not being there for you but I'm always there in spirit. I am working hard and trying my best so I guess I can't fail.
Love Always!
~Elder Lindberg
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