Christmas Came Early!

December 13th 2017~THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE AMAZING PACKAGE!!! Hello From The Snowy New York City!


Hello my dear and amazing Family!!! First off......THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE AMAZING PACKAGE! I can't thank you all enough for the love and support and everything that you out in it! I loved every single thing so much! It has been so cold today and the humidity is out of this world. It is a kind of cold that I have never felt before. Bone chilling!! The wind comes through and freezes everything solid in its tracks. We are supposed to get a big snow storm within the next couple of days. We had a snow storm on Saturday but it only lasted until Sunday and by then, the snow was already melted. There have been so many Christmas songs playing as we walk down the streets of New York City and we can hear Burl Ives and so much more! It has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to be hear and see the holiday season. I am so excited for our big Mission wide Christmas Party on Friday and I can't even describe in words how excited I am to Skype! It will be so amazing and I can't wait to talk to you all!

Last P-day was so amazing!!! I had a ton of fun reading your email and hearing all about your fun week! So we woke up and did our usual P-Day routine like laundry and grocery shopping and then we headed off to the Rockefeller Center! It's so funny how the last 3 P-Days, we went to that exact same spot, tried to go to the top of the Rockefeller Center twice and on the 3rd time, we were able to go up! I loved messaging you back and forth and even sent you one from the top! I loved your emails so much and really enjoyed the day! The view from up there is just stunning to say the least and is even cooler and more amazing in person! The pictures can only show so much. So we stayed up there for a couple of hours and then as we were walking back to the train to head back to the apartment for dinner, we got stopped by a lady and she told us that she was a member of the Korean Branch in Queens and wanted to take us to lunch! She walked us around the corner and into her deli that her and her husband own and operate. She let us pick anything on the menu and we each got a huge soda to go with it. I got one of my personal favorite sandwiches of all times, The Rueben! It was seriously so good and had swiss cheese that could stretch for a mile! It was really tasty! We got to talk with her for about 45 minutes while we ate our delicious food and then I realized why it was so good. It was because almost all of their meats and cheeses were from Boar's Head which is always really tasty! She is the Releif Society President in her Branch and told us all about how she loves missionaries! It was one of those classic New York delis that has lots of cool decor! After lunch, we headed back to the apartment and finished emailing and cleaned up the apartment and then headed out for the night! We had a dinner appointment scheduled with Brother and Sister Toomey and we had a great time! Brother Toomey was a little late and so we weren't able to eat until close to 7:00 but we did some work in the area while we waited. We showed them the new Light the World video from December 6th and invited them to our gift wrapping activity on Saturday! Then we knocked on some doors and were able to get a return appointment with someone who told us to come back the next day and so that was really exciting! Then on the bus ride back to the apartment, we met someone really cool! I said hi to him and sat down next to him and he said "You are Mormons right?" We told him that we were and he said that he used to live in Utah. He was a shorter African American and very friendly! He told us that he used to live in Provo and Ogden and get this. Puck will especially like this, he used to work for the Utah Utes football team. He was a custodian and so he had most of the keys to the facilities! He told me that he worked for the Utes when they went undefeated and beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl! It was a great way to end the awesome P-Day that we had!

Thursday was really awesome! I hope up and was SOOOOO excited to get your packages!! I was so glad that mail day was finally here! I couldn't even wait to go get it! So after our studies, we took the bus and train up to the Manhattan Temple Chapel and did our weekly planning while we waited for mail! It is always so nice to sit and just think about the week and plan everything out. This weekly planning was different because we have had so many events like Zone Conference and our Mission wide Christmas Party! We didn't have much to plan for but we still got a ton done! So we went over to the Manhattan Temple to plan and then we got a text saying that mail wasn't coming until the next day, Friday. I was so sad and bummed that I couldn't open your package for another whole day. I was really wanting to open them so bad! But we got our week all planned and got to call a ton of people! We were able to call some of our Bible and Book of Mormon referrals that we have been getting and we got a hold of quite a few of them! We found out that one of our referrals who ordered a Bible actually lives in Queens and so we scheduled a time to meet with him near Avenue D since that is where he used to live and that is where he was going to be! So lucky us, we didn't have to make a trip to Queens! Hehe! After our planning, we headed over to the very bottom of Manhattan to go to an appointment with a lady that we found while tracting a few days prior. She wasn't home but we were able to help a lady named Viola with her groceries! It was such a great way to serve! Then we went over to our next appointment with Charles and Monae! We taught them about the 10 Commandments and following the Prophet! It went really well and they both really enjoyed having us over! Then we went to our dinner appointment with a really awesome guy named Ron Woodard! I had never met him but Elder Brown did on a split that he was on when I was in Upper Manhattan. He is a member but hasn't come to Church in many, many years. I have to tell you something pretty crazy! So we got talking and since I had never met him before, I asked him where he was from. He said that he grew up in Nebraska and I was hoping he would say that he was from Omaha since Dad was there and sure enough, he did! He thought that was pretty cool that Dad was in his hometown! He took us out to a really fancy pizza shop just down the street called Nonna's and it was really tasty! It was close to $30.00 just for the 1 pizza. The crust was so good and it has red and green bell peppers with pepperoni. We had a great discussion and showed him the Light the World video! He is a great guy but has some anxiety problems and gets nervous and angry sometimes. He never wants to offend anyone but he is just a nice guy! We headed back to the apartment and I was even more excited than ever because I knew that the very next day I would get your package!!!! It is always so exciting to get mail......especially during the really fun Christmas season! Sleep tight! And don't let the bed bugs bite!


FRIDAY WAS SO INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!! Ok, so today was the day that I finally could get your packages!!! I could hardly wait and I just wanted to open them so bad!!!! I woke up so excited to go get mail!! We did our studies and then we had a service project to go to that we were really looking forward to! So we did our studies and then we got the news that our service project was canceled and so we finished our studies and then did our companionship study. A few days ago, we got a text from Brother Ray Smith telling us that he wanted to take us out to eat near Grand Central Station! We also got a text from our District Leader, Elder Lusk, saying that he wanted to do a split and wanted me to go with him into their area. So I packed my split nag and then we went to Grand Central Station to have lunch! Ray Smith is from Poughkeepsie and lives there but loves to treat the missionaries to food! So we met him and he had a friend in her 60s and who is from Poughkeepsie as well. She served her mission in Anaheim California and even lived in Logan in the 1970s. I can't believe how small the World is! We had some really good burgers with fries and then we got to try a really expensive drink. I'm not sure what made it so expensive but it was a $10.00, 12 ounce bottle of fruit juice and it was really good! Then we were walking past a cjior that was setting up and it was all kids. The Christmas decorations and huge Christmas tree and wreath really made it a cool sight! We had a great discussion and then while we were waiting for a train, a really nice guy came up to us and we both thought that he was a member until he told us that he wasn't. He gave us some positive encouragement and told us to keep going. It was really fun to talk to him! The whole City has just been such a cool sight because Christmas is right around the corner and there are so many festive lights and decorations all around! I guess you have to see it to believe it because it is quite the sight to see! Then we took the train back near our apartment and went to an appointment with an investigator that I haven't met yet named Evelyn. She was really sick and so she told us to come back another time. Then we called and tried to get a hold of lots of people and then we met a guy named Ronald Walker. He is the one who loves in Queens and just moved there recently. He wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon and Bible so we met him a few blocks away from our apartment. He was a really nice guy and we were even able to teach him the Restoration! THEN IT WAS FINALLY MAIL TIME!!!! We got a text saying that mail had been delivered and so we excitedly ran over to the Manhattan Temple to pick it up! I couldn't wait to see the packages that I got! I was especially excited that I got to open them that night since you said there was some to open now and then later! We got to the Temple a little bit before dinner and the mail had just gotten there! I rushed over to get my awesome packages and I was so thrilled! We brought them back to the apartment and during our dinner hour, I enjoyed opening your packages! What can I say other than WOWWWWWW!!!! I am so grateful, thankful, and so happy for everything that you put in there! I opened them and it was like opening home and it brought that feeling of being home. I got teary eyed as I pulled package after package and treat after treat out of the boxes! I don't even know where to begin but I will start by saying THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I had such a fun time opening the packages that said "Open now"! It was so exciting to see every thoughtful thing that you put in! One of my favorite things was the ornament and Christmas tree! I teared up seeing all of my favorite ornaments all ready to put on the tree! Elder Brown played some Christmas music and we were able to decorate the tree together! As I got more gifts out of the box, he turned to me and said: "Elder, you have the best most thoughtful family ever!!" I think he is 100% accurate on that one! I also loved the treats and opened the fudge right away and made fudgelets! I seriously can't thank you enough because it really did feel like opening a package of home and I felt so much love! I will have so much fun eating out at all of those places! I do have 1 question. There was a package that said open on Christmas wrapped in red tissue paper but it must have ripped and so I'm not sure what was in it that I was supposed to wait to open. Elder Brown loved the gifts that you gave him as well! He thought it was so cool and thoughtful that you would think of him! We both loved the socks!! After I opened up my packages, we got to do another split! I got to go to 66th street and go with Elder Lusk into their area. I brought a few treats with me and enjoyed them so much! We got back to their apartment just in time and headed off to bed after an incredible day! I just want to take the time to thank you ALL SO MUCH!!! It brought so much Christmas and holiday cheer into our apartment and my missionary work! I loved and appreciated so much all of the gifts that you sent and they all mean so much to me! I am curious at what the other presents are and I can't wait to open them before we Skype! THANK YOU ALL TONS FOR THE AWESOME PACKAGE!!!

Saturday was really awesome! We woke up to lots of snow and cold temperatures! I was excited to spend the day with Elder Lusk who is our District Leader. He is a great guy and is from Clinton Utah. He went to Clearfield High School and then went to 2 semesters at Weber State. We have always gotten along so well just like Elder Brown and I do! He got out on his mission 1 cycle before me and so he is only 6 weeks further along than me! We woke up and we checked the weather and we had snow on our forecast! That's right.....Christmas is coming and it's coming by fast!! I was so excited to see snow! For some reason, seeing snow brings back so many good memories and always reminds me of home so it was really fun to see! It was about 32 degrees and we got to go play soccer at 103rd street like we did on our last split. We bundled up and went and played a really fun game and tons of people showed up! It reminded me a lot of when Dubbie, Puck and I went to go play on Ridgeline's football field and it was snowing like crazy! This snow was different and it was lightly falling and it was so quiet out there. We had a great game and I even scored a goal! Then we went back to the apartment to get ready for the day and do our studies! We had a busy day planned and we were excited for our split! I wanted to ask a quick question that just came to mind! I was wondering what time you were thinking for our Skype call? We are pretty free and so we could Skype really at any time! I get SO excited just thinking about it! We had a great rest of our day! We had their ward Christmas activity and so we had fun at that! Then we did our studies and then called and texted tons of their investigators. Then we went to go visit a really nice member named Sister Lopez. She has an 18 year old son and they used to live in Delta Utah! Then we got some news that we got to go to the YSA Christmas party as well! While we were waiting for the food to get prepared, we got to talk to one of the Senior couple missionaries who works in the family history center named Elder Hansen. He has lived in Salt Lake, California, and Minnesota. Then he told us something really amazing! He said that when he lived in Salt Lake, he was called to be the main project manager for the Conference Center and so he was in charge of the whole shabang! He said that he spent a ton of time with President Hinckley and it was just so amazing to talk to the man who managed building the Conference Center! Then we had the YSA Christmas party dinner and it was so yummy! They had tons of great food and I even got to talk to Gregory Newman again, the Ute football player! After dinner, Elder Brown and Elder Macedo met us and then we traveled back to their apartment in Hell's Kitchen and I grabbed my split bag and then we traveled back to our apartment! It was a really great split and an awesome day! It snowed and snowed the whole day but luckily I was all bundled up with all of my nice clothes that I have! It was so amazing to see snow in the big city! I loved it so much and it reminded me of home! I got back to my apartment excited to eat my treats! Your treats were such a great idea and they tasted so fresh. I feel like you made it and then I got to eat it! Thanks again for the amazing package! I realized that I will get to thank you in person on our Skype call! I am really excited for it!

Sunday was really a great and fun day of missionary work! I was so very excited to get your email and I woke up very excited for you to go to Elder Howard's Homecoming! I couldn't wait to hear from you and hear how it went! So we headed off to Church and it was bitter cold. We bundled up and stayed warm on our trek to the church! There have been so many cool street performers and tons of people playing live Christmas music in the subway stations. We had a great turnout at church and had tons and tons of visitors! I would say that a good chunk of the ward were visiting! One of the visitors I met said he was from Cody Wyoming and used to live in Green River and even graduated from the University of Wyoming! We also had some visitors from Salt Lake and one of them graduated from Utah State! Needless to say that it was fun sacrament meeting filled with even more great people from Utah! Then as we were just sitting down for our Ward correlation meeting, I got one of the coolest emails from you! I can't thank you enough for sending it! I made my whole day and I loved hearing that you had such a great time at Elder Howard's Homecoming! I am also so very excited that you got such great pictures with him! It was really weird to be honest to think that I was just serving with him as a missionary and now he was hanging out with you all! I really was so cool to see him with you! Thanks again for your amazing email and for thinking of me! We had Godson show up again and he really enjoyed church as usual! We had a lesson on the Sacrmaent and Welcoming others into our church not of our faith and so it was perfect for him to hear! I was on cloud 9 about your email and I read it over and over again! We had a great meeting and it was fun because we were able to talk about Kevin. He wasn't able to make it to Church but we hope he comes this week! After Church, we went back to the apartment to change out of our suits and got a warmer coat. Then we called lots of people and thanked those who spoke in Church. Then we got to visit Brother Eades and Brother Forbes and we had a dinner appointment scheduled with a single lady named Sister Mpembe. She told us to find someone to go with us since our rule is to have a 3rd male there, so we asked Brother Eades if he would like to go and he couldn't turn down a free meal! So the 3 of us went over and had a delicious dinner with Sister Mpembe and her daughter. We had chicken, rice, and salad and got to know Sister Mpembe better! She is from Domican Republic of the Congo and has lived in Arizona. She is a very good cook and such a nice lady. We were able to share the Light the World video and she told us of an experience where her father used to ride his bike for 2 whole days with her on the back seat when she was in school. The example of her Dad Jas shaped her life in such a positive way. After that, we went back to Brother Eades' apartment complex and then got to talk with Brother Forbes and help him prepare his musical number for the ward choir next week. I forgot to mention that last week, we got to sing in the ward choir and it was really fun! After we had a great lesson with them, we headed back to our apartment after an aweomse day! I still was so excited that you got to meet Elder Howard and that you even got a picture with him! What a cool experience! We were standing at the bus stop, and I just took a look around and soaked it all in. There is so much to see all day every day no matter where I look and I just love the Christmas music that can be heard from almost anywhere in the city and all of the amazing Christmas decorations and lights! It never snowed nut there was still some left from the day before but it was still very chilly. ☃️ I am so excited for Christmas and our Skype call to be here but at the same time, I'm totally loving it here in New York City especially during Christmas Time! I wish you could all be here with me to see it but I guess I will just take pictures instead! Hehe! I appreciate all of your love and support so much and I enjoyed many treats that you all sent as I wrote in my journal and looked out the window at the snow filled streets! It was off to bed and I was really exhausted and ready for another great day!

Monday was so awesome! I was so excited because I remembered that you were going to get my package and so I was really looking forward to that! We had a really busy and productive day and I was so excited that I was 1 day closer to Christmas and our Skype call! I was wondering all day how the rest of your trip was and how Dad was doing with his training! I was thinking about you all the whole day and I was hoping that you could feel of my love! It seemed like we just had District Meeting but we were already having another one. Time really does fly by once you get into a nice rhythm and routine. It always throws off my routine whenever I get transfered but now that I have been here for a while now, time really flies by. I can't believe that next Monday is my 11 month mark and my year mark is right around the corner. When did this happen? I enjoyed your treats so much during my morning studies! It is always so fun to have some treats to eat during our morning studies! The fudge, bark, and peanut clusters that you made were so fresh and so delicious! I had a really fun time reading your awesome cards and notes that you wrote to me! I loved all of the quotes so much and I could picture you all saying them! After our studies, we took the bus and train up to 66th Street and had a great District Meeting! We had a great meeting and got to talk a ton about all of the investigators in the zone and how we can best help them. Then after District Meeting, we were able to get a $1.00 slice of pizza and then we tried to go visit Andy Lam but he wasn't home. I we were walking we had something really cool happen! We had just walked out of Andy's building and we saw a lady who looked so nice but she was really cold. We complimented her in her hat and she told us that she was from North Carolina. We then asked her what her name was and she said it was Kathy but her given name is Katherine. I told her that was my Grandma's name and then we continued on the conversation as we walked to the train. Then, she said that she has lots of family in North Carolina and then she said "My Evans line goes way back especially in North Carolina!" I was so stunned and excited!! I said, "So your name is Kathy Evans???" She told us yes and I said "That's my Grandma's exact name!" We both thought that was so cool and coincidental! I mean.....I just happen to meet a random lady on the street named Kathy Evans!!! How cool is that!?! We invited her to come to our Ward Christmas party this Sunday and she said that she would try her best to make it! I thought it was a really cool experience! Then after we said goodbye to her, we headed over to visit Brother Alexsander Feliciano. We always enjoy having lessons with him because he is struggling a little bit right now to stay active in the church and so us coming over gives him a boost! We could only stay for a few minutes and then we went over to visit Brother Eades and Brother Forbes. Brother Eades told us that he bought a 32 inch tv for $119 but had no idea how to set it up and so he begged us to come over and help him set it up. Then we found out about the scary news of the guy in the subway. The time it happened, we were safe in our apartment planning and studying away and so we weren't even out yet. We don't leave the apartment until 10:00 and so it happened when we were inside. The whole City was on lockdown and there were armed guards and even Marines from the United States Marine Core with AK47s on almost every train and subway station. We were told what had happened and I didn't want you to be worried about me but later I found out that Sister De Jesus texted you and so I felt a lot better! So we helped set up his tv and then we talked to Brother Forbes because he has really been struggling with finding a job. Since he is in a wheelchair, people tend to skip over his resume and he really doesn't have a fair shot at getting any kind of job. Then we hurried over to the One World Trade Center and had a dinner appointment with the De Jesus family! We were so excited to go and have some delicious food! We got there right in time and Brother and Sister De Jesus told us that they sent you a message. Then I got a notification while we were eating and it was an email from you!! I was so excited to hear from you!! I was so excited that you got my package! We had a great lesson with them! We had some really good tacos with homemade tortillas. Then Sister Coburn came because she had an appointment with Stake President Cropper and so we all had a great lesson on the Nativity and showed them the video of Christ's birth. Then Sister De Jesus told us that she texted you that morning and let you know that we were ok. Then we played a game of Jenga since it was Ellie's birthday a few days ago. Sister De Jesus even took our picture and sent it to you! After our dinner and lesson, it was time to head back to the apartment for the night after a really awesome day! I was really excited because the next day was zone conference and then it was P-Day! We got to walk through the Oculus Center in the Fulton Street station and see so many cool Christmas decorations! We snagged a few pictures and then headed back to the apartment after a really great day! Thanks again so much for your email about my package! I am SO excited for you to open it!!!!

Tuesday was such an awesome day! We had Zone Conference and so the whole day went by in an instant! I couldn't wait to read your email, see your pictures, and hear all about the fun week that you had! I was really excited! We woke up and hurried to get ready because we had to be over to the Manhattan Temple Chapel by 8:00 for breakfast and then be seated by 8:45. I was really excited because during zone conferences, President Smith always introduces the "Rookies!" It is so incredibly interesting to me that I'm already done with my 8th out of 17 zone conference and these missionaries just had their 1st. Just goes to show how fast time flies! I can feel myself "Moving up the ranks" so to speak because of all these brand new missionaries coming in right out of the MTC!! I brought some treats to enjoy along the way! I am also so excited for our Mission wide Christmas Party this Friday! I will get to see all of the new missionaries and all of my past companions! It is going to be so much fun and I will be sure to tell you all about it! So we woke up and hurried over to the Manhattan Temple Chapel for our huge zone conference and it was really amazing! They are always so good and during the conference, I was so excited to see that I got some emails from Grandma and Grandpa Lindberg and Grandma Evans! Our Zone Conference was absolutely huge and there were tons of missionaries there since Manhattan is so huge! I loved hearing President Smith talk about Christmas and how great an opportunity it is to spend Christmas is downtown New York City and how much our families love us! He talked a lot about families and how hard it is for us and the families but once time passes, we won't remember missing home, we will just remember how amazing it was to Skype and be in the big city for Christmas! It was really comforting! He also talked a lot about working with members and I have always loved working with them and enjoyed their company so it was perfect for me! The meeting lasted most of the day and so sorry I don't have much news. It went until about 4:00 and then we received our smart phone Samsungs and we set them up while having dinner. We had an APF Christmas activity again with the zone from 5:00-7:00 and so we just brought dinner in and set up our phone for the hour that we had before our activity. I really learned a lot and enjoyed so much from hearing from President and Sister Smith! I was getting more and more excited for your email and couldn't wait to enjoy some Christmas treats while reading it! We sang lots of Christmas songs and talked about our huge Mission wide Christmas Party coming up and what a special time that will be! It was a really great conference but it felt really long for some reason. After dinner and settingnupmour phone. We walked outside to the front of the Temple and di our APF activity! It wasn't too cold and so it made the whole experience that much more enjoyable! We even got our picture taken and it was so fun to know that you would get it! By the time we cleaned up, it was time to head back to the apartment for the night and I couldn't wait to read your email and see your pictures!! I was so happy to hear from you and hear how your week went!! It was a really great day!

Well my dear family! It has been so much fun to email you and read your emails and see your pictures! I hope you have another awesome week as we get closer and closer to this very special holiday! LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!! THANKS AGAIN FOR THE AMAZING PACKAGE!!

Love You Always!
~Elder Lindberg