Hello my dear and amazing family! What an amazing week it has been! I have so much to tell you! First of all, thank you all so very much for your amazing emails and pictures! I had so much fun reading them and seeing all of your fun pictures! I am SO glad that you all had such a fun week and got to do lots of fun stuff! I really appreciate all the details and everything about the week! I am so excited that it is almost Halloween! This time of year is so much fun but it will be hard not to be there. I'm so happy that you all had fun with the Indiana Lindbergs and American Fork to see Grandma! She emailed me and told me how much she appreciated all of your hard work!
So now more about our area and my awesome companion! Elder Brown is so humble and very nice to everyone around him! He is always asking me how I am doing and if there is anything that he can do. He was born with a hearing loss and so he wears hearing aids to help him. He loves to ski and plays the piano. He is planning on going to Byu when he gets home. He was Elder Kirkham's companion in the MTC and so they will fly home together along with a huge group of missionaries. He has been in this area for 1 cycle and so we should stay together for at least 2 cycles......I hope! Because he is really awesome! This area is really, really cool but hasn't had too many investigators. I'll be honest, it isn't like Kingston at all because we always had someone to teach up there. People down in the city, especially Manhattan are so busy and most of them tell us that they don't have time for religion. There are a lot of people dressed up in suits going to their jobs every day when we head out. There are tons of Chinese and Japanese people here since China Town is just down the street. We also see lots of Dominicans and people from Mexico and Puerto Rico. It has been so cool to meet so many different people! Our apartment is really nice especially for the area. We are rigjt across the street from lots of project buildings. The area itself is pretty quiet but starting at about 7:30, there will be police officers lined up and down the streets searching for drug activity. Our apartment itself is really safe and we have lots of great and friendly neighbors. It is a really nice and quiet part of the city. Those two don't add up, quiet=city?? Hehe! 
Today for P-day we are doing something SO fun! Every cycle, this zone organizes zone sports so it gives us time to do other fun things because it is the city and there is so much to do and see. We found out that Jay, the nice guy who cuts everyone's hair, is going to be at the 87th street chapel and so Elder Brown is going to get a haircut really fast. I just got one about a week before getting transfered so I will email! Then we are going to go to 8th Avenue where they have tons of little shops that have New York stuff! I've heard that they sell everything for really cheap so I hope I don't buy too many souvenirs.
I am so excited to say that the Cookie Dough Confections shop is in our area so we are excited to try that sometime! Haircuts will take about an hour depending on the line of missionaries and then we will play zone sports near Lincoln Square! It has been raining off and on so if the rain holds up, we will play sports in Central Park!!
Last P-day was so amazing!!! I had so much fun emailing you and seeing all of your pictures and videos and reading your emails! After our grocery shopping, laundry, and my flu shot, we took the train down to Lower Manhattan and took lots of pictures! We didn't know what to expect but we all paid excited to go to the very top! As you can see in the pictures and videos, it was incredible!! I can't even describe how amazing it was and all of the sights we got to see! After our P-Day ended, we did some lookups and not very many people were home. We enjoyed so much getting to know each other better! As we were walking, I looked over and there is the One World Trade Center as we were prosylyting! I am used to only seeing all of these sights on P-Day but to be out working was so amazing! Then we dropped off a French Book of Mormon to a member for her sister. Her name I Sister Mpembe from Africa. She is a really great lady! We couldn't go inside so we just got to know her for a few minutes and then headed on our way to go visit Mone and Charles. Mone just got baptized last week right before I got here and she is 12 years old. Her parents aren't members and the only thing that is holding the Mom and Dad back to getting baptized is their smoking addiction. It has been hard on Mone because she wants her parents to get baptized but they can't because they can't stop smoking. As we were walking to an appointment, we saw a huge tour bus that has New York written all over it and a group of people waved at us and yelled "Hey Elders!" It was so cool and I will never forget it! People here are a lot more busy and in a rush but when we talk to them, they are a lot nicer than people in the Bronx. There are lots of wealthy business people here! It is such an amazing place! So after our visits and our 1 lesson, it was time to head back to the apartment. Our new address if you want to look it up on Google maps is 71 Avenue D. It was such an amazing day and I will never forget! I hope you enjoyed my pictures and videos! I have to tell you something crazy! So Elder Palmer is from Farmington and so I told him that I have family that lives there. So that was really cool! But then, last Wednesday Elder Palmer went on a split and so we had Elder Gentry come to our apartment for the day. He is a really great guy! He is from Declo Idaho. I thought that was pretty cool and so we got talking. I told him that I lived in Nibley which is right by Logan. He asked if I have ever been to the Logan fair and I said yes. He then blew my mind and said "Do you know Tyler Irish?" Can you believe that? Tyler Irish used to live in Declo and so Elder Gentry and Tlyer were best friends and then he moved to Logan and then we became best friends in the 5th grade. I couldn't believe how small the world is! I am doing so well and getting settled just fine! It is always a change to switch companions and apartments but I am adjusting. We had such a great day!
Thursday was a really awesome day as well! I LOVE THIS AREA!!! We woke up and do our morning exercise by running to the Williamburgh Bridge and back. What can I say other than wow! It was so amazing to be out on a morning run along the East River as we overlooked Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan with the whole cityscape right in front of us! It was my 1st weekly planning session in this area and I couldn't wait to get started and get to know people! I just can't believe that I'm actually here and seeing so many cool sights while doing missionary work! I think of movies like Elf and Home Alone, Lost in New York! So after we did our exercise and studies, we took a train to the Manhattan Temple to pick up mail! I love that we get to go to the Temple Chapel each week to get our mail! Then we did our weekly planning and I have to say that Elder Brown and I are a lot alike! We get along so well! I think Thursday we walked the most I ever have on my mission. When I say a lot, I mean a ton! We took a train from the Manhattan Temple all the the way down to the bottom of the island to the One World Trade Center. We had some people that we wanted to find that had talked to missionaries in the past and so we wanted to get to know them better so we could start teaching them. People in Manhattan are very nice but it is just so crazy and everything is moving so fast and there is always something cool to see! I mean, we were doing missionary work on Wall Street, Broadway, and Liberty Street! How cool is that? So we tried to see if we could find these people but none of them were home. We tried talked to people but everyone is just in such a big hurry that nobody has time to stop. I forgot to mention that after our weekly planning, we got to meet a member sitting into the foyer of our chapel that we will go to church in each week and she is very nice! She has had some health problems and so we gave her a blessing to brined some peace into her life. It was a great opportunity to serve! So after we spent a good 2 hours in Lower Manhattan and Wall Street, we decided it was time to head over to a young couples house, who are both members, for Dinner! As we were walking to their house, which is on Wall Street by the way! I just couldn't help but think how cool it was going to a dinner appointment for some members on Wall Street! Well, as we were walking over, they texted us and said that they had something come up so they asked us if we could come over for dinner the next day instead. So then we decided to go have dinner at Wendy's right down the street from the One World Trade Center on Nausau Street. It was a really cool 3 tiered Wendy's and it was slammed and so many people were there. Then we talked to a lots more people and tried to find more people to teach. We talked to a lot of cool people and they were so nice and friendly! We made our way down to the East Side of Lower Manhattan and did some lookups near some building right by the East River. We could see all of Lower Manhattan from where we were and found a really cool guy at home! We knocked on a door of someone named Cheri. Neither of us knew her but we felt like we should knock on the door right next to it that had a picture of Jesus Christ on it. A guy answered and Elder Brown recognized him from a few weeks ago when they knocked on his door. He is a member and was baptized a long time ago. He is a very interesting guy and isn't all with it due to some health challenges but it was really cool to here how he found the church back in the 90s! He said that he was watching tv and an ad came on and so he called the missionaries and was baptized a few weeks later. Really cool story! He lives in a rough apartment in a rough area on the East side but still a really cool area! We had a list of people that we wanted to try and find before the night ended so we walked toward our apartment and knocked on some doors of people we had in the area book. We walked through China Town and it really is like stepping into another country. Everything was in Chinese and it really felt like China! As we were walking, I said hi to a guy that was working for a Manhattan Bus Tour Company and he said "Welcome to the United States boys!" I laughed and laughed over that one! It was really funny! Then we made our way back to the apartment for the night after an amazing and awesome day! We realized that we had walked from the One World Trade Center all the way over to our apartment on 71 Avenue D! It was an amazing walk and we both had such a great day! I was beat I'm not going to lie! I found out that we do have WiFi everywhere we go because it is optimum and it is all over New York City so I can get emails just about anywhere! I was a little sad because I wasn't going to be able to read your awesome emails that you send throughout the week but now I can! Our apartment has really good Wi-Fi in certain spots and so we are very fortunate! I am so grateful to be here in this area and such a cool and historic place!
Friday was great! It was a lot of walking but we got to talk to a whole bunch of cool people and share our testimonies to them that this church is true! I was thinking about Mike all day and wore the tie he gave me to honor him on his Baptism day! I was so excited for him! I was also thinking about you all day and hoping you were having a great day off! I cant believe that next cycle I will be able to Skype call you and that the holiday season will be upon us! We did our morning exercise and the run was so pretty! We run right along the FDR Drive right along the East River that overlooks Brooklyn. I'm pretty sure that I have already mentioned that but I still think it is so cool! Then we did our studies and planning and headed out the door for another great day of work in the big city! We have been doing a lot of finding and so I hope my emails don't get boring! We are working hard to try to find people who are ready to hear our message and so we spent most of the day walking around knocking on lots of doors in and around apartment building. Elder Brown is a really great missionary! He is so humble and is very kind! He is also hilarious as well! I feel bad because I didn't get to tell you a whole lot about him and our apartment. He is from Orem and has lived in Colorado as well. He has 3 older brother and a younger sister and brother. Here is something really cool about him! He was Elder Kirkham's companion in the MTC so they know each other really well! Our apartment is very nice as well! It has 2 bedrooms and so the 2 companionship share 2 bunk beds. There are also 2 bathrooms which is very nice! I have my personal space all set up and I love everything on it! We finally got our Wi-Fi working and so I can now recieve emails just like normal because the city, our apartment, and the subways tunnels all have Wi-Fi to connect to so t hst makes it really nice! I always love your emails so much! So after our morning lookups, we came back for lunch and companionship study. I am trying to re-adjust to the city because it is much different but Manhattan is very different from the Bronx. I think when you had your dream Mom, it probably looked just like what we do every day because we tract and do missionary work with the huge skyscrapers and New York City skyline in the background! We set up a few appointments by phone but didn't have much luck with knocking on doors. Then at about 4:00, we took the subway to the church which is really interesting. The church blends right in to the buildings around it. It doesn't even stand out at all and has 4 floors. The chapel is on the 4th floor and so it is very interesting! We have been doing a lot of work in the project building which are always pretty rough areas. We were at the Church to meet a member for dinner and So we were just calling our investigators and trying to set more appointments. We heard a ring at the door and it was a lady who is from Afghanistan but lives in South Carolina. She said that she was looking for a job and So she drove to New York to try to find work. She was very nice and we gave her the phone number of the LDS Employment services. So after we talked to her for a while, we met a really awesome member couple that live on Wall Street! We were going to go out to eat with them the night before but they told us to meet them at the Church. Sister Anderson is the Young Women President and her husband is the 1st councilor in the Bishopric. They just had their 1st baby and so they have their hands full. She is so nice and friendly! She was just starting her Young Women's activity and so she gave us some money to treat ourselves to some Chipotle for dinner! We were really excited because I tried Chipotle before in Manhattan and it was so good! Plus we were really hungry from all of the walking! It was really fun because we could see the Empire State Building from where we were in the Restaurant and I just pinched myself because that is SO cool! Then after dinner, we headed back towards our apartment to do some more work. When we got back, we saw tons and tons of NYPD police cars all over the place. There were tons of police officers and chiefs all over the place. It was quite the scene and lots of stuff going on! We had someone we were trying to get a hold of in one of the project building and we walked right past all of the commotion. Elder Brown asked one of the chiefs that was wearing a white shirt, what the difference was between white and blue uniforms. He noticed that we were dressed nice and explained that he is in charge of a handful of officers. He then told us something really crazy. He said that 2 gangs from 2 different buildings across from each other shot a few times at each other for some kind of prank. He said that they weren't trying to hit anything but they were just messing around. I couldn't believe it! He told us to stay safe and watch our for any possible gangs. He told us how much he respected us and what we were doing. His name is Chris and he is a really great guy! It was really fun to talk to someone from the NYPD! After that crazy event, we did a few more lookups but we noticed that everyone was out at restaurants and so nobody was home. We did call this one really cool guy named Angel and he invited us over to teach him because he needs some peace in his life. It was a jam packed day with lots going on! I really missed you all a lot though. I am adjusting just fine and loving the big city SO, SO much! It is just like what you would see in the movies! Lots of people, taxis, subways, tall buildings, and steam coming up from the manhole covers. It really is the city that never sleeps! NEW YORK!!!!
Saturday was a very great day! We were busy and up walking and teaching all day! It was such an amazing day and a lot happened. We woke up and did our studies and then we had the North Manhattan Elders call and ask a favor. During my studies, I read over my patriarchal blessing and it gave me so much comfort! I am so grateful for it and everything that it says! I checked the date and I can't believe it has already been almost 2 years. So after our studies, the North Manhattan Elders called and asked if we could bring them a kids size Baptisimal So it for a baptism that would be happening that day. So we hopped on a train and headed to our church and we found one really quick and then took another train to the Manhattan Temple Chapel! I could not believe how busy it was! I have never been to Lower Manhattan on a Saturday and so it was even more packed than usual! We dropped it off and then headed back to the apartment for lunch and companionship study. As we walked out of the Manhattan Temple Chapel, a lady in her mid 40s with 2 little girls, said "Hey Elders" and so we stopped and talked with them for a few minutes. They were on vacation from Colorado Springs Colorado and Elder Brown has lived in Colorado so they got to talk for a while. Another lady walked up who was with her on vacation and said that she was from Arizona but lives in Westchester. I told her that Grandma Lindberg was born in Yuma and she said that she has lots of friends that live in Yuma! It really is such a small world! After our lunch and studies, we had a lesson with a guy named Francis and he lives on the West side of Manhattan! I love getting to know people and hearing all of their cool stories about living in New York and their experiences about 9/11. It has been so fun to be back in the city but at the same time, I really miss Kingston and all of my friends up there. It is definitely very different being in the city than upstate. We do missionary a lot differently and we don't have as many investigators in the city because most of them are really busy. So we took the train to 8th Avenue and we met a couple from Provo that just moved into the Manhattan 1st Ward boundaries a few months ago. They were really nice and told us to keep up the good work. They both just graduated from Byu. Then we had a really awesome lesson with Frances and his friend, Caroline. They are both living in a shelter for the time being and Frances was online and saw that Mormon.org give out free Books of Mormon and so he ordered one. Well the Sister Missionaries in our ward dropped it off and shared a quick message about it. He had lots of questions and so when we called him the day before, he was really intrigued and ready to hear our message! He didn't have anywhere we could meet so we walked down 8th Avenue and you could see the Empire State Building in one side, and the One World Trade Center on the other. We taught him the Restoration and he really liked it! He says t hst his beliefs are basically the same but he had never heard the story of Joseph Smith. He is from Nigeria and his friend is from Kenya. They are both really humble people! We couldn't set a return appointment because he works 2 jobs and so it makes it hard for him to meet. Then we saw something SOOOOOO cool! We were walking to our next appointment at the Church, and just happened to walk right past Penn Station and Madison Square Garden arena where the New York Rangers, and New York Knicks play! It was SO busy and crowded, when I say busy and crowded, I mean busy and crowded!! There were TONS of New York Rangers fans all decked out in Rangers gear and then we saw some Predators fans as well. Then we walked right past a back entrance where a ton of fans were gathered and then we saw 3 huge team busses with the whole Rangers team in it! Madison Square Garden is so famous and iconic! There have been so many great and memorable games played there! I couldn't believe I was actually standing right there! We tried talking to as many people as we could but nobody would stop and talk because it was just so crowded. Then, as we were stopped waiting for the crosswalk to turn green, we saw a couple in their mid 50s walking towards us. They were so excited to see us and asked us where we are from. I said Nibley and Elder Brown said Orem and then they told us that they were from Saint George on a business trip to the big city. He was all done with his meetings so they were out having a good time. We talked for a little bit and then he patted us each on the back and told us that we were great missionaries serving in such a cool place! Then after seeing the busses with the team on it, we walked back over to the Church to meet John and Brother Eades for a lesson. When we got there, they were wondering if we could share a really quick message and then help them find a screw and lock nut at the Home Depot. We thought it was a great idea to serve them and so we walked over with them both to find the part! We talked to lots of people along the way. We even had a girl and her friend "Descretely" take a picture of Elder Brown and I when we were stopped. People really do think that we are actors from the "Book of Mormon" musical and so people love to take pictures and even sign autographs. I have had a few people take our picture and try to make it look descrete but we seem to always notice. Nobody has asked for my autograph yet but I'm totally convinced that it will happen very soon! So after we found John a screw and lock nut for his wheelchair and got him all ready to roll! Then we came back to the apartment for some dinner. We were both really tired from all the walking but we pressed on! Then we had time to travel down to South Manhattan for 1 more lesson. Steven wasn't home so we were wondering if we needed to be down there for other reasons. We were headed out the door and had 2 really cool miracles happen! First, a lady that we held the door open for, asked a little bit about the Church and how we do baptisms. She was really excited when we said that we baptize with the Priesthood authority that Jesus Christ himself had when he was on the earth. Then, we saw a lady who looked really familiar. We both knew that we had seen her somewhere but we couldn't remember where. She then asked us if we had been to the temple recently. We told her that we were there that morning dropping off a baptismal suit for the baptism. Then we remembered that we saw her working security at the front desk that leads to either the Temple or church. She isn't a member but we heard that she is taking lessons with the Sister Missionaries in Northern Manhattan! We headed back to the apartment really excited after another great day of missionary work!
Sunday was amazing! It was my 1st Sunday in a Manhattan ward so I was really anxious to get to know everyone in the ward! I am getting more and more excited for our Skype call even though it is still 2 months away. I can't wait to see and hear you all! I am especially so excited to be in Manhattan when we call! So we wok÷ up and Elder Brown told me that we were singing in the ward choir and so we got right ready for the day and then headed off to Church for choir practice! I was SO, SO EXCITED to meet all of the ward members!!!!! I had heard that there is a ton of great members and lots of people from Utah! I got to Church and was so excited to get to know everyone! We had choir practice and sung "Come thou fount of every blessing." Then church began! All I can say is wow, wow, wow! This ward is so awesome and it feels a lot like home! It is the closest ward to our home ward t hst I've had so far on my mission! Most of the people there are very young, and very......very wealthy and have really good jobs! We had an amazing Sacrament meeting and had 3 really incredible speakers! The best one was of a High Councilor and he started his talk by introducing himself. He is from Logan and graduated from Utah State and talked a lot about his mission and how he had to gain his testimony on his mission. I got to shake his hand afterwards and he is one of the tallest and thickest guys I've ever met......even thicker than Dubbie! Hehe!
We got to talk for a little but and he thought it was cool that I'm from Nibley! After our awesome sacrament meeting, we had a member who was visiting her daughter that lives in this ward, stopped us and said "When was the last time your Moms saw a picture of you Elders??" She was so nice and friendly and she told us that she is from Provo and has a son serving Florida and so she knows how hard it is on Moms. She told me to tell you thanks for the hard sacrifice you are making. Her heart really went out to you all! So she took a picture of us and then asked for your phone numbers! I was so excited to have her send you a picture of us! Then in Preisthood Opening Excrcises, we sat next to some visitors from Riverton! They were really nice and they had a 17 year old son who is a Junior at Riverton high school and is planning on going on a mission. It made it feel like home because of all the people from Utah! I told them all to say hi to Utah when they fly home! The ward is really cool! There are tons of high end businessmen, lawyers, doctors, and dentists and most of them are really young and from Utah. Some of them graduated from the University of Utah and so it adds a touch of home to the ward! I got to talk to a stock broker that works on Wall Street! Brother Guyyn is a lawyer and works right across the street from the World Trade Center and Brother Bryan works for Goldman and Sacs in the Financial District! I of course told him how much I love money and dealing with finances! After Church, we were really excited because Elder Brown told me that morning that we had a dinner appointment with the New York, New York Stake President! He is in our ward but is really busy with his duties. I couldn't wait to meet him and his family! So we came back to the apartment and had our personal studies and then planned out the rest of our day and then did lots of lookups near Wall Street and Battery Park City! It was so amazing to be encircled by so many huge buildings! We past right by the New York Stock Exchange Building, the Trinity Church, and the One World Trade Center! Then when it was time for our dinner appointment, we found their building and holy cow it was amazing! It was a huge and very expensive apartment building that had the most amazing views of the One World Trade Center! It had marble flooring and was completely updated and modern. We both felt so fancy walking in there and couldn't believe that we were guests in such a nice apartment building. We went up to the 16th floor and had one of the best lessons I've ever had! They are such a down to earth family and love the missionaries very much! President and Sister Cropper have 2 kids, Lad who is 10 and Georgia, who is 14. Sister Cropper was born in Califronia and President Cropper was born in Idaho. President Cropper graduated from Byu and they have lived in New York City for about 2 years now. Their kids are so smart and friendly and very talkative. Their whole apartment is amazing and has really nice furniture and decorations. We looked out the window and tilted our heads straight up at the mammoth One World Trade Center right in front of us. Sister Cropper's Mom was visiting and she made us a really good chili, corn bread, and green bean dinner. I wish I could have gotten a picture with them but I totally forgot. I know we will be over there soon so I will be sure to get one! Sister Cropper's Mom is a teacher and one of her daughter's graduated from Utah State with a degree in Education. I mean, how small of a world is this because even in New York City of all places, I've been able to find people who not only know where Nibley is but have actually been there. So far, I have found ties to Logan, Nibley, Providence, Nephi, Malad, Farmington, and California! This ward is so diverse with lots of occupations and lots of people from Utah! We had such an amazing lesson with the Cropper family and we taught them the Restoration! We said a kneeling prayer with them and then headed out into the busy streets of NYC! Then we went to go visit John, who is a recent convert as of last Christmas. He is in a wheelchair and has some health problems but is really humble. It took us about a half an hour to get home from where we were so we decided to head back for the evening after an amazing day! I love all of the people that yell "Hey Elders!" and all of those people who take pictures. Today we had about 3 people take our pictures and lots of people thought we are from the Broadway play. I'm still waiting for someone to ask us for our autograph! Then I can give them the great news t hst we aren't the fake missionaries from the play but we are the ACTUAL, REAL MISSIONARIES!!! We were beat after another great day of hard work! I was thinking about you all day and hoping you were having an awesome time with Grandma in American Fork! I was really hoping you saw the picture that the member from Provo sent!
Monday was so awesome! I woke up and was SO excited to see your awesome picture quote that you sent! Thank you so much! It was my 1st District Meeting in this area and so I was really looking forward to it! I found out that we have our District Meetings in the Manhattan Temple Chapel! It will be a lot of fun to go there every week! So we took a bus and then a train to get to the Temple and had an awesome District Meeting! The 1st week in a new area always feels really long and so I couldn't wait for your email last night! I felt like I hadn't talked to you in forever and so I am so excited for today! We found out some pretty sad news from the wife of someone we are teaching. Monae is a 12 year old who was baptized a few weeks before I got here. She lives with her Mom and Dad in a pretty rough apartment. Charles and Charlene aren't members yet and both have a smoking problem that Elder Brown and I are trying hard to work through. We got a text that morning from Charlene and she told us that Charles has turned back to drinking and so it has been really hard on her. He has been out at bars most nights and she barely even sees him anymore. It is sad because Monae has such a strong testimony but it makes it even harder without her Dad's support. On our way to District Meeting, we got a text from our District Leader, Elder Taylor, and he told us that they were doing a cleaning of the whole Lincoln Square chapel and cleaning the carpets so they told us that we would be having District Meeting in the 87th street chapel! That is the building that was supposed to be the Manhattan Temple but then they bought property for where it is now. We have a huge district and we had a really great meeting! I was asked to give the spiritual thought on overcoming our challenges that come about while being a missionary. Then we did something really fun! They have all of these 99 cents pizza places all over town and they have a really good deal where you can get a can of soda and 2 huge slices of pizza for $2.75. Their pizza is so good and I always smile because it is REAL New York pizza! So after we had lunch, we had an appointment scheduled and we were hoping to set a Baptisimal date with him but he cancelled last minute. So then we went to our backups plan and we saw 2 really cool things on the way! We were walking down the street and I could not believe what caught my eye! On the back of a Subaru Outback with a New York license plate was a Bucking Bronco Wyoming sticker! Then we walked down the road further and saw a whole bunch of semi trailers and tons of equipment out. We got closer and realized that it was for a movie shoot! There were lots of people with headsets standing around and there was even a sign on one of the posts saying that it was a movie shoot. Pretty cool! There is always so much going on her in the big city and its hard to take it all in. We talked to some really great people on the train and shared our message with them! Abi (shout out to Abbs!!) is from South Africa and Harry was born right here in New York City! We both taught and testified to them about the message of the Restoration and then we even said a prayer with Abi right there on the subway! We prayed for her and her little newborn baby and their health and safety! It was a really cool experience but I have to say that is the first time I've prayed on a subway. We had a great lesson with John and Brother Forbes! We taught them about the Atonement and how special the sacrament is. They have both been struggling with some health problems so we challenged them to pray and then give a pass along card to give to someone else. Then it was time to head back to the apartment for dinner and then we tried to find some people to teach near our apartment. We have been trying really hard to help everyone we see feel the spirit so they want to know more. We have been praying together to be able to find more people to teach because right now this area only has a handful of investigators that we meet with every so often. It's definitely a lot different than Kingston! Then we had dinner and then I remembered that you had just gotten back from Grandma Evans' house! I was hoping you had a great time and I hope you knew that I was thinking about you! I also remembered that the very next day was Tuesday, and you all know what that means!! Email night! After dinner, we headed back out to do some more street contacting and door knocking. I have to say, I have had quite a few doors slammed in my face and people that just don't want anything to do with us, nutni think we met a guy who slammed the door harder than anyone before. As we were street contacting, a completely drunk guy, who could barely talk, came up behind us just before we were ready to cross and pulled out a 5 foot long stick out of the trash can that was right next to us. He yelled......um......somthing at us that I couldn't make out, and then proceeded to throw the stick at us as we were walking in the middle of the street. He didn't hit anyone but he was not happy that we were there. So we crossed because we didn't really want to make eye contact with him so we walked across the street and heard the stick hit the ground. Then we noticed that he walked the other way so I ran back out into the middle of the street and picked the stick up and put it back in the garbage. There were tons of cars and New York taxis all over the place and we got a few thinks to say thanks. One very sad thing I have noticed is the amount of homeless people there are. Also, the number ofmpeople who smoke is just down right ridiculous. I mean, everyone and their dog seems to smoke. It is sad how people jeopardize their health and spend tons of money on cigarettes. We were put contacting and knocking on doors of people we had on our tablet record books and found out that a couple of people moved. It may not seem like much but that is missionary work. Now we know that they moved and so future missionaries can spend their time with people who are home. We are working so hard and diligently to find those that have been prepared and we are so excited to find them! It was a really great and productive day!
Tuesday was really great! We woke up and did our exercise and as soon as we were done, it started to rain. This apartment has been so nice! It must be a really expensive apartment because it is so nice! Elder Palmer and Elder Rocha are such great missionaries but we usually only get to see them at night because they are in the YSA Branch and so they cover all the way up to the Bronx. It is really amazing how much they have to travel each day. In the Bronx, we got to see the other companionship in our apartment more often. We started the day by planning and then we went over to the Church because we needed to get Bishop's signature for Monae's baptismal certificate. I was really excited to meet him! His name is Bishop Duprieu. He is from France and is a very successful business man and owns 2 or 3 companies. He had a small window of time that we could meet after a meeting he had at the Church that morning and so we got the signature and had to leave because so did Bishop. He is a really great guy! We then met the guy who is in charge of all the seminaries and institutes here in the city. His name is Brother McKenna and he just happened to be at the Church. He asked us where we were from and when I said Nibley, his eyes budged out! He is from Hyde Park and has lived in New York City for 2 years now and has a sister that lives in the valley. I mean, this is such a small world! Then we had a lesson with a really cool guy named Neal. Elder Brown and Elder Costa met him on the bus and he was so amazed at how we acted for being teenagers. He loved how proper and mature they were for only being 19. So we went over and got to know him better. He has a really nice apartment on the 19th floor and so the view is incredible. He was born and raised in New York City and has lived in that apartment for over 20 years. He told us a little bit about himself and he is a very smart guy! He told us that he is a professional photographer and has traveled all over the world to take pictures. I guess you could say that he is a true "New Yorker" through and through! He told us that he is Athiest and said there is absolutely no way we can teach him. Don't get me wrong, he is a really nice guy but politely said he won't let us talk about religion. Well, that defeats the purpose of us coming over so we will stay in minimal contact with him and check up on him every once in a while but there isn't a purpose for us going over. He told us that he graduated from the University of Buffalo and so I shocked him when I asked if he is a "Bull". He was stunned and asked how in the world a boy from Utah would know that. I'm telling you, dinner trivia really works and comes in handy! He then told us something really amazing! He showed us a view from one of his windows and we could see the top of the One World Trade Center. He was in that very same apartment the morning of September 11th. He said that he got ash and debris from his apartment almost 2 miles away. He said that the smell was unbearable of burning electrical and wiring. It was just amazing to me that we were looking through the same window that he did on that day. We had a really half hour talk with him but since we couldn't share a message, we decided to leave. Then we tried to go visit Charles but he wasn't there so we came back for some lunch. Then we we took a bus to the Lower East side of Manhattan to visit a few people and try to find people to teach. It was still raining off and on but it wasn't too bad. We then had a really cool lesson with a guy named Carlos! We were going through our list of investigators and said a prayer to find someone to teach. I felt strongly about calling him and so we called him and he was more than excited to have us over. We got to know him better and he just poured out his heart to us. He is in his 40s and lives alone and is having a really hard time with it. He is really struggling with alcohol but is a really neat guy! He told us that when we knocked on the door, he felt a nudge telling him to answer it. He says that he normally looks through the peephole before answering but he felt like just answering the door. He told us that he knew we were supposed to be there at that moment. It was really cool! Then we hurried over to visit John and Anthony. We had a great visit with them and then it was time for dinner! We were debating if we should come back to the apartment or eat out. Then we walked right past......Arbys!! So of course, we had to stop! I got to try their new cookie butter shake and it really made me miss not working there. Just being there brought back so many good memories and I was so excited to get back to work! Then we had time for 1 last appointment after our lookups. Charlie and Monae have been having a hard time and so we went over and ended up showing up at the perfect time! We had a great discussion and then it was time to head back to the apartment after another awesome day! It's taking me a while to adjust back into being a "city missionary". It is so much different than being upstate. I cannot tell you how excited I was to come back and read your email and see all of your pictures!
Well my dear family! It has been so much fun to email you today! I miss you all so much and think about you all the time! LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
Love You Always!
~Elder Lindberg
Today for P-day we are doing something SO fun! Every cycle, this zone organizes zone sports so it gives us time to do other fun things because it is the city and there is so much to do and see. We found out that Jay, the nice guy who cuts everyone's hair, is going to be at the 87th street chapel and so Elder Brown is going to get a haircut really fast. I just got one about a week before getting transfered so I will email! Then we are going to go to 8th Avenue where they have tons of little shops that have New York stuff! I've heard that they sell everything for really cheap so I hope I don't buy too many souvenirs.
Last P-day was so amazing!!! I had so much fun emailing you and seeing all of your pictures and videos and reading your emails! After our grocery shopping, laundry, and my flu shot, we took the train down to Lower Manhattan and took lots of pictures! We didn't know what to expect but we all paid excited to go to the very top! As you can see in the pictures and videos, it was incredible!! I can't even describe how amazing it was and all of the sights we got to see! After our P-Day ended, we did some lookups and not very many people were home. We enjoyed so much getting to know each other better! As we were walking, I looked over and there is the One World Trade Center as we were prosylyting! I am used to only seeing all of these sights on P-Day but to be out working was so amazing! Then we dropped off a French Book of Mormon to a member for her sister. Her name I Sister Mpembe from Africa. She is a really great lady! We couldn't go inside so we just got to know her for a few minutes and then headed on our way to go visit Mone and Charles. Mone just got baptized last week right before I got here and she is 12 years old. Her parents aren't members and the only thing that is holding the Mom and Dad back to getting baptized is their smoking addiction. It has been hard on Mone because she wants her parents to get baptized but they can't because they can't stop smoking. As we were walking to an appointment, we saw a huge tour bus that has New York written all over it and a group of people waved at us and yelled "Hey Elders!" It was so cool and I will never forget it! People here are a lot more busy and in a rush but when we talk to them, they are a lot nicer than people in the Bronx. There are lots of wealthy business people here! It is such an amazing place! So after our visits and our 1 lesson, it was time to head back to the apartment. Our new address if you want to look it up on Google maps is 71 Avenue D. It was such an amazing day and I will never forget! I hope you enjoyed my pictures and videos! I have to tell you something crazy! So Elder Palmer is from Farmington and so I told him that I have family that lives there. So that was really cool! But then, last Wednesday Elder Palmer went on a split and so we had Elder Gentry come to our apartment for the day. He is a really great guy! He is from Declo Idaho. I thought that was pretty cool and so we got talking. I told him that I lived in Nibley which is right by Logan. He asked if I have ever been to the Logan fair and I said yes. He then blew my mind and said "Do you know Tyler Irish?" Can you believe that? Tyler Irish used to live in Declo and so Elder Gentry and Tlyer were best friends and then he moved to Logan and then we became best friends in the 5th grade. I couldn't believe how small the world is! I am doing so well and getting settled just fine! It is always a change to switch companions and apartments but I am adjusting. We had such a great day!
Thursday was a really awesome day as well! I LOVE THIS AREA!!! We woke up and do our morning exercise by running to the Williamburgh Bridge and back. What can I say other than wow! It was so amazing to be out on a morning run along the East River as we overlooked Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan with the whole cityscape right in front of us! It was my 1st weekly planning session in this area and I couldn't wait to get started and get to know people! I just can't believe that I'm actually here and seeing so many cool sights while doing missionary work! I think of movies like Elf and Home Alone, Lost in New York! So after we did our exercise and studies, we took a train to the Manhattan Temple to pick up mail! I love that we get to go to the Temple Chapel each week to get our mail! Then we did our weekly planning and I have to say that Elder Brown and I are a lot alike! We get along so well! I think Thursday we walked the most I ever have on my mission. When I say a lot, I mean a ton! We took a train from the Manhattan Temple all the the way down to the bottom of the island to the One World Trade Center. We had some people that we wanted to find that had talked to missionaries in the past and so we wanted to get to know them better so we could start teaching them. People in Manhattan are very nice but it is just so crazy and everything is moving so fast and there is always something cool to see! I mean, we were doing missionary work on Wall Street, Broadway, and Liberty Street! How cool is that? So we tried to see if we could find these people but none of them were home. We tried talked to people but everyone is just in such a big hurry that nobody has time to stop. I forgot to mention that after our weekly planning, we got to meet a member sitting into the foyer of our chapel that we will go to church in each week and she is very nice! She has had some health problems and so we gave her a blessing to brined some peace into her life. It was a great opportunity to serve! So after we spent a good 2 hours in Lower Manhattan and Wall Street, we decided it was time to head over to a young couples house, who are both members, for Dinner! As we were walking to their house, which is on Wall Street by the way! I just couldn't help but think how cool it was going to a dinner appointment for some members on Wall Street! Well, as we were walking over, they texted us and said that they had something come up so they asked us if we could come over for dinner the next day instead. So then we decided to go have dinner at Wendy's right down the street from the One World Trade Center on Nausau Street. It was a really cool 3 tiered Wendy's and it was slammed and so many people were there. Then we talked to a lots more people and tried to find more people to teach. We talked to a lot of cool people and they were so nice and friendly! We made our way down to the East Side of Lower Manhattan and did some lookups near some building right by the East River. We could see all of Lower Manhattan from where we were and found a really cool guy at home! We knocked on a door of someone named Cheri. Neither of us knew her but we felt like we should knock on the door right next to it that had a picture of Jesus Christ on it. A guy answered and Elder Brown recognized him from a few weeks ago when they knocked on his door. He is a member and was baptized a long time ago. He is a very interesting guy and isn't all with it due to some health challenges but it was really cool to here how he found the church back in the 90s! He said that he was watching tv and an ad came on and so he called the missionaries and was baptized a few weeks later. Really cool story! He lives in a rough apartment in a rough area on the East side but still a really cool area! We had a list of people that we wanted to try and find before the night ended so we walked toward our apartment and knocked on some doors of people we had in the area book. We walked through China Town and it really is like stepping into another country. Everything was in Chinese and it really felt like China! As we were walking, I said hi to a guy that was working for a Manhattan Bus Tour Company and he said "Welcome to the United States boys!" I laughed and laughed over that one! It was really funny! Then we made our way back to the apartment for the night after an amazing and awesome day! We realized that we had walked from the One World Trade Center all the way over to our apartment on 71 Avenue D! It was an amazing walk and we both had such a great day! I was beat I'm not going to lie! I found out that we do have WiFi everywhere we go because it is optimum and it is all over New York City so I can get emails just about anywhere! I was a little sad because I wasn't going to be able to read your awesome emails that you send throughout the week but now I can! Our apartment has really good Wi-Fi in certain spots and so we are very fortunate! I am so grateful to be here in this area and such a cool and historic place!
Friday was great! It was a lot of walking but we got to talk to a whole bunch of cool people and share our testimonies to them that this church is true! I was thinking about Mike all day and wore the tie he gave me to honor him on his Baptism day! I was so excited for him! I was also thinking about you all day and hoping you were having a great day off! I cant believe that next cycle I will be able to Skype call you and that the holiday season will be upon us! We did our morning exercise and the run was so pretty! We run right along the FDR Drive right along the East River that overlooks Brooklyn. I'm pretty sure that I have already mentioned that but I still think it is so cool! Then we did our studies and planning and headed out the door for another great day of work in the big city! We have been doing a lot of finding and so I hope my emails don't get boring! We are working hard to try to find people who are ready to hear our message and so we spent most of the day walking around knocking on lots of doors in and around apartment building. Elder Brown is a really great missionary! He is so humble and is very kind! He is also hilarious as well! I feel bad because I didn't get to tell you a whole lot about him and our apartment. He is from Orem and has lived in Colorado as well. He has 3 older brother and a younger sister and brother. Here is something really cool about him! He was Elder Kirkham's companion in the MTC so they know each other really well! Our apartment is very nice as well! It has 2 bedrooms and so the 2 companionship share 2 bunk beds. There are also 2 bathrooms which is very nice! I have my personal space all set up and I love everything on it! We finally got our Wi-Fi working and so I can now recieve emails just like normal because the city, our apartment, and the subways tunnels all have Wi-Fi to connect to so t hst makes it really nice! I always love your emails so much! So after our morning lookups, we came back for lunch and companionship study. I am trying to re-adjust to the city because it is much different but Manhattan is very different from the Bronx. I think when you had your dream Mom, it probably looked just like what we do every day because we tract and do missionary work with the huge skyscrapers and New York City skyline in the background! We set up a few appointments by phone but didn't have much luck with knocking on doors. Then at about 4:00, we took the subway to the church which is really interesting. The church blends right in to the buildings around it. It doesn't even stand out at all and has 4 floors. The chapel is on the 4th floor and so it is very interesting! We have been doing a lot of work in the project building which are always pretty rough areas. We were at the Church to meet a member for dinner and So we were just calling our investigators and trying to set more appointments. We heard a ring at the door and it was a lady who is from Afghanistan but lives in South Carolina. She said that she was looking for a job and So she drove to New York to try to find work. She was very nice and we gave her the phone number of the LDS Employment services. So after we talked to her for a while, we met a really awesome member couple that live on Wall Street! We were going to go out to eat with them the night before but they told us to meet them at the Church. Sister Anderson is the Young Women President and her husband is the 1st councilor in the Bishopric. They just had their 1st baby and so they have their hands full. She is so nice and friendly! She was just starting her Young Women's activity and so she gave us some money to treat ourselves to some Chipotle for dinner! We were really excited because I tried Chipotle before in Manhattan and it was so good! Plus we were really hungry from all of the walking! It was really fun because we could see the Empire State Building from where we were in the Restaurant and I just pinched myself because that is SO cool! Then after dinner, we headed back towards our apartment to do some more work. When we got back, we saw tons and tons of NYPD police cars all over the place. There were tons of police officers and chiefs all over the place. It was quite the scene and lots of stuff going on! We had someone we were trying to get a hold of in one of the project building and we walked right past all of the commotion. Elder Brown asked one of the chiefs that was wearing a white shirt, what the difference was between white and blue uniforms. He noticed that we were dressed nice and explained that he is in charge of a handful of officers. He then told us something really crazy. He said that 2 gangs from 2 different buildings across from each other shot a few times at each other for some kind of prank. He said that they weren't trying to hit anything but they were just messing around. I couldn't believe it! He told us to stay safe and watch our for any possible gangs. He told us how much he respected us and what we were doing. His name is Chris and he is a really great guy! It was really fun to talk to someone from the NYPD! After that crazy event, we did a few more lookups but we noticed that everyone was out at restaurants and so nobody was home. We did call this one really cool guy named Angel and he invited us over to teach him because he needs some peace in his life. It was a jam packed day with lots going on! I really missed you all a lot though. I am adjusting just fine and loving the big city SO, SO much! It is just like what you would see in the movies! Lots of people, taxis, subways, tall buildings, and steam coming up from the manhole covers. It really is the city that never sleeps! NEW YORK!!!!
Saturday was a very great day! We were busy and up walking and teaching all day! It was such an amazing day and a lot happened. We woke up and did our studies and then we had the North Manhattan Elders call and ask a favor. During my studies, I read over my patriarchal blessing and it gave me so much comfort! I am so grateful for it and everything that it says! I checked the date and I can't believe it has already been almost 2 years. So after our studies, the North Manhattan Elders called and asked if we could bring them a kids size Baptisimal So it for a baptism that would be happening that day. So we hopped on a train and headed to our church and we found one really quick and then took another train to the Manhattan Temple Chapel! I could not believe how busy it was! I have never been to Lower Manhattan on a Saturday and so it was even more packed than usual! We dropped it off and then headed back to the apartment for lunch and companionship study. As we walked out of the Manhattan Temple Chapel, a lady in her mid 40s with 2 little girls, said "Hey Elders" and so we stopped and talked with them for a few minutes. They were on vacation from Colorado Springs Colorado and Elder Brown has lived in Colorado so they got to talk for a while. Another lady walked up who was with her on vacation and said that she was from Arizona but lives in Westchester. I told her that Grandma Lindberg was born in Yuma and she said that she has lots of friends that live in Yuma! It really is such a small world! After our lunch and studies, we had a lesson with a guy named Francis and he lives on the West side of Manhattan! I love getting to know people and hearing all of their cool stories about living in New York and their experiences about 9/11. It has been so fun to be back in the city but at the same time, I really miss Kingston and all of my friends up there. It is definitely very different being in the city than upstate. We do missionary a lot differently and we don't have as many investigators in the city because most of them are really busy. So we took the train to 8th Avenue and we met a couple from Provo that just moved into the Manhattan 1st Ward boundaries a few months ago. They were really nice and told us to keep up the good work. They both just graduated from Byu. Then we had a really awesome lesson with Frances and his friend, Caroline. They are both living in a shelter for the time being and Frances was online and saw that Mormon.org give out free Books of Mormon and so he ordered one. Well the Sister Missionaries in our ward dropped it off and shared a quick message about it. He had lots of questions and so when we called him the day before, he was really intrigued and ready to hear our message! He didn't have anywhere we could meet so we walked down 8th Avenue and you could see the Empire State Building in one side, and the One World Trade Center on the other. We taught him the Restoration and he really liked it! He says t hst his beliefs are basically the same but he had never heard the story of Joseph Smith. He is from Nigeria and his friend is from Kenya. They are both really humble people! We couldn't set a return appointment because he works 2 jobs and so it makes it hard for him to meet. Then we saw something SOOOOOO cool! We were walking to our next appointment at the Church, and just happened to walk right past Penn Station and Madison Square Garden arena where the New York Rangers, and New York Knicks play! It was SO busy and crowded, when I say busy and crowded, I mean busy and crowded!! There were TONS of New York Rangers fans all decked out in Rangers gear and then we saw some Predators fans as well. Then we walked right past a back entrance where a ton of fans were gathered and then we saw 3 huge team busses with the whole Rangers team in it! Madison Square Garden is so famous and iconic! There have been so many great and memorable games played there! I couldn't believe I was actually standing right there! We tried talking to as many people as we could but nobody would stop and talk because it was just so crowded. Then, as we were stopped waiting for the crosswalk to turn green, we saw a couple in their mid 50s walking towards us. They were so excited to see us and asked us where we are from. I said Nibley and Elder Brown said Orem and then they told us that they were from Saint George on a business trip to the big city. He was all done with his meetings so they were out having a good time. We talked for a little bit and then he patted us each on the back and told us that we were great missionaries serving in such a cool place! Then after seeing the busses with the team on it, we walked back over to the Church to meet John and Brother Eades for a lesson. When we got there, they were wondering if we could share a really quick message and then help them find a screw and lock nut at the Home Depot. We thought it was a great idea to serve them and so we walked over with them both to find the part! We talked to lots of people along the way. We even had a girl and her friend "Descretely" take a picture of Elder Brown and I when we were stopped. People really do think that we are actors from the "Book of Mormon" musical and so people love to take pictures and even sign autographs. I have had a few people take our picture and try to make it look descrete but we seem to always notice. Nobody has asked for my autograph yet but I'm totally convinced that it will happen very soon! So after we found John a screw and lock nut for his wheelchair and got him all ready to roll! Then we came back to the apartment for some dinner. We were both really tired from all the walking but we pressed on! Then we had time to travel down to South Manhattan for 1 more lesson. Steven wasn't home so we were wondering if we needed to be down there for other reasons. We were headed out the door and had 2 really cool miracles happen! First, a lady that we held the door open for, asked a little bit about the Church and how we do baptisms. She was really excited when we said that we baptize with the Priesthood authority that Jesus Christ himself had when he was on the earth. Then, we saw a lady who looked really familiar. We both knew that we had seen her somewhere but we couldn't remember where. She then asked us if we had been to the temple recently. We told her that we were there that morning dropping off a baptismal suit for the baptism. Then we remembered that we saw her working security at the front desk that leads to either the Temple or church. She isn't a member but we heard that she is taking lessons with the Sister Missionaries in Northern Manhattan! We headed back to the apartment really excited after another great day of missionary work!
Sunday was amazing! It was my 1st Sunday in a Manhattan ward so I was really anxious to get to know everyone in the ward! I am getting more and more excited for our Skype call even though it is still 2 months away. I can't wait to see and hear you all! I am especially so excited to be in Manhattan when we call! So we wok÷ up and Elder Brown told me that we were singing in the ward choir and so we got right ready for the day and then headed off to Church for choir practice! I was SO, SO EXCITED to meet all of the ward members!!!!! I had heard that there is a ton of great members and lots of people from Utah! I got to Church and was so excited to get to know everyone! We had choir practice and sung "Come thou fount of every blessing." Then church began! All I can say is wow, wow, wow! This ward is so awesome and it feels a lot like home! It is the closest ward to our home ward t hst I've had so far on my mission! Most of the people there are very young, and very......very wealthy and have really good jobs! We had an amazing Sacrament meeting and had 3 really incredible speakers! The best one was of a High Councilor and he started his talk by introducing himself. He is from Logan and graduated from Utah State and talked a lot about his mission and how he had to gain his testimony on his mission. I got to shake his hand afterwards and he is one of the tallest and thickest guys I've ever met......even thicker than Dubbie! Hehe!
Monday was so awesome! I woke up and was SO excited to see your awesome picture quote that you sent! Thank you so much! It was my 1st District Meeting in this area and so I was really looking forward to it! I found out that we have our District Meetings in the Manhattan Temple Chapel! It will be a lot of fun to go there every week! So we took a bus and then a train to get to the Temple and had an awesome District Meeting! The 1st week in a new area always feels really long and so I couldn't wait for your email last night! I felt like I hadn't talked to you in forever and so I am so excited for today! We found out some pretty sad news from the wife of someone we are teaching. Monae is a 12 year old who was baptized a few weeks before I got here. She lives with her Mom and Dad in a pretty rough apartment. Charles and Charlene aren't members yet and both have a smoking problem that Elder Brown and I are trying hard to work through. We got a text that morning from Charlene and she told us that Charles has turned back to drinking and so it has been really hard on her. He has been out at bars most nights and she barely even sees him anymore. It is sad because Monae has such a strong testimony but it makes it even harder without her Dad's support. On our way to District Meeting, we got a text from our District Leader, Elder Taylor, and he told us that they were doing a cleaning of the whole Lincoln Square chapel and cleaning the carpets so they told us that we would be having District Meeting in the 87th street chapel! That is the building that was supposed to be the Manhattan Temple but then they bought property for where it is now. We have a huge district and we had a really great meeting! I was asked to give the spiritual thought on overcoming our challenges that come about while being a missionary. Then we did something really fun! They have all of these 99 cents pizza places all over town and they have a really good deal where you can get a can of soda and 2 huge slices of pizza for $2.75. Their pizza is so good and I always smile because it is REAL New York pizza! So after we had lunch, we had an appointment scheduled and we were hoping to set a Baptisimal date with him but he cancelled last minute. So then we went to our backups plan and we saw 2 really cool things on the way! We were walking down the street and I could not believe what caught my eye! On the back of a Subaru Outback with a New York license plate was a Bucking Bronco Wyoming sticker! Then we walked down the road further and saw a whole bunch of semi trailers and tons of equipment out. We got closer and realized that it was for a movie shoot! There were lots of people with headsets standing around and there was even a sign on one of the posts saying that it was a movie shoot. Pretty cool! There is always so much going on her in the big city and its hard to take it all in. We talked to some really great people on the train and shared our message with them! Abi (shout out to Abbs!!) is from South Africa and Harry was born right here in New York City! We both taught and testified to them about the message of the Restoration and then we even said a prayer with Abi right there on the subway! We prayed for her and her little newborn baby and their health and safety! It was a really cool experience but I have to say that is the first time I've prayed on a subway. We had a great lesson with John and Brother Forbes! We taught them about the Atonement and how special the sacrament is. They have both been struggling with some health problems so we challenged them to pray and then give a pass along card to give to someone else. Then it was time to head back to the apartment for dinner and then we tried to find some people to teach near our apartment. We have been trying really hard to help everyone we see feel the spirit so they want to know more. We have been praying together to be able to find more people to teach because right now this area only has a handful of investigators that we meet with every so often. It's definitely a lot different than Kingston! Then we had dinner and then I remembered that you had just gotten back from Grandma Evans' house! I was hoping you had a great time and I hope you knew that I was thinking about you! I also remembered that the very next day was Tuesday, and you all know what that means!! Email night! After dinner, we headed back out to do some more street contacting and door knocking. I have to say, I have had quite a few doors slammed in my face and people that just don't want anything to do with us, nutni think we met a guy who slammed the door harder than anyone before. As we were street contacting, a completely drunk guy, who could barely talk, came up behind us just before we were ready to cross and pulled out a 5 foot long stick out of the trash can that was right next to us. He yelled......um......somthing at us that I couldn't make out, and then proceeded to throw the stick at us as we were walking in the middle of the street. He didn't hit anyone but he was not happy that we were there. So we crossed because we didn't really want to make eye contact with him so we walked across the street and heard the stick hit the ground. Then we noticed that he walked the other way so I ran back out into the middle of the street and picked the stick up and put it back in the garbage. There were tons of cars and New York taxis all over the place and we got a few thinks to say thanks. One very sad thing I have noticed is the amount of homeless people there are. Also, the number ofmpeople who smoke is just down right ridiculous. I mean, everyone and their dog seems to smoke. It is sad how people jeopardize their health and spend tons of money on cigarettes. We were put contacting and knocking on doors of people we had on our tablet record books and found out that a couple of people moved. It may not seem like much but that is missionary work. Now we know that they moved and so future missionaries can spend their time with people who are home. We are working so hard and diligently to find those that have been prepared and we are so excited to find them! It was a really great and productive day!
Tuesday was really great! We woke up and did our exercise and as soon as we were done, it started to rain. This apartment has been so nice! It must be a really expensive apartment because it is so nice! Elder Palmer and Elder Rocha are such great missionaries but we usually only get to see them at night because they are in the YSA Branch and so they cover all the way up to the Bronx. It is really amazing how much they have to travel each day. In the Bronx, we got to see the other companionship in our apartment more often. We started the day by planning and then we went over to the Church because we needed to get Bishop's signature for Monae's baptismal certificate. I was really excited to meet him! His name is Bishop Duprieu. He is from France and is a very successful business man and owns 2 or 3 companies. He had a small window of time that we could meet after a meeting he had at the Church that morning and so we got the signature and had to leave because so did Bishop. He is a really great guy! We then met the guy who is in charge of all the seminaries and institutes here in the city. His name is Brother McKenna and he just happened to be at the Church. He asked us where we were from and when I said Nibley, his eyes budged out! He is from Hyde Park and has lived in New York City for 2 years now and has a sister that lives in the valley. I mean, this is such a small world! Then we had a lesson with a really cool guy named Neal. Elder Brown and Elder Costa met him on the bus and he was so amazed at how we acted for being teenagers. He loved how proper and mature they were for only being 19. So we went over and got to know him better. He has a really nice apartment on the 19th floor and so the view is incredible. He was born and raised in New York City and has lived in that apartment for over 20 years. He told us a little bit about himself and he is a very smart guy! He told us that he is a professional photographer and has traveled all over the world to take pictures. I guess you could say that he is a true "New Yorker" through and through! He told us that he is Athiest and said there is absolutely no way we can teach him. Don't get me wrong, he is a really nice guy but politely said he won't let us talk about religion. Well, that defeats the purpose of us coming over so we will stay in minimal contact with him and check up on him every once in a while but there isn't a purpose for us going over. He told us that he graduated from the University of Buffalo and so I shocked him when I asked if he is a "Bull". He was stunned and asked how in the world a boy from Utah would know that. I'm telling you, dinner trivia really works and comes in handy! He then told us something really amazing! He showed us a view from one of his windows and we could see the top of the One World Trade Center. He was in that very same apartment the morning of September 11th. He said that he got ash and debris from his apartment almost 2 miles away. He said that the smell was unbearable of burning electrical and wiring. It was just amazing to me that we were looking through the same window that he did on that day. We had a really half hour talk with him but since we couldn't share a message, we decided to leave. Then we tried to go visit Charles but he wasn't there so we came back for some lunch. Then we we took a bus to the Lower East side of Manhattan to visit a few people and try to find people to teach. It was still raining off and on but it wasn't too bad. We then had a really cool lesson with a guy named Carlos! We were going through our list of investigators and said a prayer to find someone to teach. I felt strongly about calling him and so we called him and he was more than excited to have us over. We got to know him better and he just poured out his heart to us. He is in his 40s and lives alone and is having a really hard time with it. He is really struggling with alcohol but is a really neat guy! He told us that when we knocked on the door, he felt a nudge telling him to answer it. He says that he normally looks through the peephole before answering but he felt like just answering the door. He told us that he knew we were supposed to be there at that moment. It was really cool! Then we hurried over to visit John and Anthony. We had a great visit with them and then it was time for dinner! We were debating if we should come back to the apartment or eat out. Then we walked right past......Arbys!! So of course, we had to stop! I got to try their new cookie butter shake and it really made me miss not working there. Just being there brought back so many good memories and I was so excited to get back to work! Then we had time for 1 last appointment after our lookups. Charlie and Monae have been having a hard time and so we went over and ended up showing up at the perfect time! We had a great discussion and then it was time to head back to the apartment after another awesome day! It's taking me a while to adjust back into being a "city missionary". It is so much different than being upstate. I cannot tell you how excited I was to come back and read your email and see all of your pictures!
Well my dear family! It has been so much fun to email you today! I miss you all so much and think about you all the time! LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
Love You Always!
~Elder Lindberg
