February 7th 2018~Another Week Already? It's A Winter Wonderland Here In New York City!
Hello my dear and amazing Family! Thank you all so much for your awesome email and pictures! Wow! I'm so glad that you all had a great week! Puck pointed out that exactly 50 weeks from today, I will be home!!!! That is a really crazy thought and it will fly right by! It's 9:00 our time right now as I'm writing this and I'm looking out our window and it's snowing like crazy and the snowflakes are huge! Since it is a crazy blizzard, we are going to go to China Town again and Elder Latu and Elder Williams want to buy a souvenir for their families. So for right now, those are our plans and so we hope that the snow storm stops so we can do more fun stuff! It will be a really fun and entertaining say because the Bengali store owners love to give us "Good price" and give us good deals! It will be a really fun, relaxing P-Day!!! We had a really great week and a ton happened! If there are any questions that you want to know I would be more than happy to answer them! I hope I am descriptive and I'm so glad that you enkoy my emails! Tonight we have a dinner appointment with the Cropper family that we are really excited for and I will be sure to get a picture with them!
Last P-Day was really amazing! We had a ton of fun and packed a lot into our fun day! We got to go to the huge NBA store and also the Museum of the City of New York which I enjoy going to so much fun to go to! Especially when its free! We got to see the Chrysler Building very close up and had a fun time seeing the many cool sights. It's always fun just to walk through the city because there is something going on or something cool to see everywhere you turn. We had a great time and I read your emails and enjoyed every single one as usual! One cool thing that we did in the museum was watch the cool Timescapes video that they have! We were the only people in the little theater that they have and so it made it even cooler! There were so many people everywhere we looked as we walked down 5th Avenue and there were also tons of people in the NBA store. It is so big and there are so many thing to look at and buy that I got lost in there! Hehe! We also got Elder Williams a haircut and then got some really good cookie dough from the Dö store! It was delicious as usual and I can tell why it has been on a few tv shows! After our fun P-day ended, we got a call from Antoine and he canceled our appointment again because he was taking a trip to Brooklyn with his wife for a church activity. We aren't sure how to have a lesson with Antoine and his family because they are always on the move. Even though they want to meet with us, they still just have really busy schedules. So we knocked on a few doors before our appointment with Lillian that night at 7:30. We were sad because she wasn't home and so that meant that both of our evening appointments fell through. Then we got a text from the Sister Missionaries and they said that heard from a member that Brother Forbes was having a really hard time so we tried calling him on Skype but he didn't answer. So then we called Brother Eades and he was sick with a bug and wasn't feeling well at all. We had a nice chat with him and committed him to read the Book of Mormon! It was a great end to our crazy night! It was a really fun and productive day!
Thursday was a great day of hard work! It was our weekly planning again and I was so excited to get your email! Thanks so much for sending it! We walked outside of our apartment to catch the bus and a lady in a wheelchair asked us to push her down the street a few blocks over to East Houston Street. She only had 1 leg and she was having a really hard time pushing herself up the sidewalk ramps and so We were able to help her all the way to the door of her apartment building and then We gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read it and she said that she would read it right then! We always love service opportunites like those to help someone out! Then we headed over to the Church and did our weekly planning and did the rest of our studies and then we went to do lots of lookups to find more people to teach. We have been having a hard time meeting with people just because people are always on the move and so we are trying to find those people that we can teach on a regular basis and who we can help progress in the Gospel. It has been really fun to find more people to teach and testifying to people of what we know to be true. It's just all about going out and doing the work and having a good time doing the work and Heavenly Father will always be there for us and your prayers help so much! Your email really gave me a huge boost and I am so grateful and appreciative of you and all that you do for me! I also saw that the new mission Presidents got announced and so it was exciting to see all of the new names! So we went out to work and knocked on lots of doors! It started to rain a tiny bit and so we were walking really fast and then we had something really cool happen! We were on our way to try to teach Kevin and we walked past a guy who had his hood on and head down and was fixing a skateboard. I remembered that Kevin loves skateboards and the spirit told me to stop. So I turned my head back and just as I did that, Kevin lifted his head up and looked right at me! Even after we had walked past him! It was cool because if we would have kept walking, we wouldn't have been able to see him because he wouldn't have been home. It was a really cool, tender mercy and we were able to talk to him and even set up an appointment for the next day! He really wants to get baptized but the only thing he can do at this point, is keep taking lessons and learning as much as he can. Then for the last appointment of the day, we had an amazing dinner with Brother and Sister Toomey! We had noodles with a garlic sauce, broccoli, califlour and sausage. It was really good! Then we shared a message with them that we studied that morning about forgiveness. We originally had planned to share a video about forgiveness that we found to Brother Eades and Brother Forbes but we decided that it would be a good lesson for them as well! So we are and had a great discussion and then it was time to take the bus back to the apartment. The weather has been up and down for the last month and I can't tell which season it is. It was a weird winter without tons and tons of snow and bitter cold temperatures and so I'm confused! Hehe!
Friday was a really awesome day! The weather wasn't too cold and we had another busy day and so we were anxious to get going! We started out by having a really good conference call and President Smith talked about always having a prayer in our hearts so we can always be in tune with the spirit. Then Elder Williams and I worked on our 12 Week program by cleaning up his Facebook account like I had to do when I first got into the mission. It didn't take him very long and it was really easy! So then we had lunch and I made some wheat pasta with noodles and it was really tasty! Then we did our studies and prepared and planned out our 3 lessons that we had that evening! One sad thing that we had to do was have a final lesson and say goodbye to the De Jesus family because they are moving to California in a few days. They invited us to go to the Brookfield Place by the World Trade Center and what's really cool about it is that we can pick where we want to go since it is one huge food court! We got some really cool referrals from Salt Lake City and we called them and scheduled 2 appointment with them! Then we did our 12 Week program and companionship study and then had a scheduled lesson with Kevin but he wasn't home. We are starting to think that Kevin sets up appointments with us and then purposefully forgets about them or something. We were sad because we studied that morning for him about the Sabbath Day! Then we had something really amazing and cool happen! We were walking back to our next appointment and we were stopped at a crosswalk when a man walked up next to us as we were stopped. He had a beard and a huge winter coat and uncovered his face and removed the scarf that was wrapped around his face and said hello to us! He then asked us if we had had lunch yet or if we were thirsty. We had just eaten a big lunch that I cooked and so we weren't hungry but he asked if he could buy us a drink. So we went inside a nearby store and he bought us a Gatorade and then told us something really cool! He said that he wasn't a member but was in town for some business but he said that his nephew served a mission and that his Brother is a Stake President in Louisiana and has some friends in Monroe. His brother is the Stake President for a small town somewhere outside of New Orleans. It was so cool to meet him and it was fun to tell him that I had family in Monroe! He said "No way!" Then we went to the Temple to pick up mail and we got our large print Book of Mormon for one of our investigators, Lillian Rios. Then we went to Brookfield Place at the World Trade Center and met the De Jesus family for our last dinner together before they move to California! We were really looking forward to it and we had worked up quite the appetite! Brother De Jesus wasn't feeling very well and had been sick for the last few days but we still had a great time! We got Mighty Quinn's again and I got the amazing brisket sandwich with fires and an ice cold root beer and then we shared Mosiah 28:3 which talks about missionary work! Brookfield Place is always so amazing and we saw a huge cruiseliner ship as it exited the Hudson River to go to the Caribbean Islands. It is the nicest part of town and everything is really, really fancy!!! We took a picture together and then we headed back to their hotel that they stayed at until yesterday when they moved. It was a really nice hotel called the Conrad and it had this huge lighting fixture that expanded up 30 floors and had an amazing view of New Jersey! I do have to tell you that it was bitter cold....I mean, this wasn't any ordinary cold, this was the absolute most bone chilling cold I have ever felt. It was about 18 degrees but since we were right next to the water, combined with the humidity, wind, and the fact that the huge 1000 feet story building great wind tunnels. Let's just say that It was COLD!!! BRRR!! They had the mover come that morning and pack up all of their belongings and then loaded everything into a truck and it headed off to Los Angeles and they stayed in the Conrad for a few days until they flew to California. Then I was so excited that Sister De Jesus took our pictures and sent them to you! It is always fun to know you are getting a picture! She told us a story of why she loves to do that. She said that when her daughter, Ellie was in preschool, she loved it when the teacher would send her pictures of Ellie throughout the day. She said it was comforting to know how they were doing and so she knows how much you would appreciate pictures throughout the day too! Then we headed back near where our apartment is for our last lesson of the day with the McClain family! It was a pretty quick lesson but we focussed on the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. We are really trying to focus on 3 things with our investigators and get them to make and keep the small and simple things before we focus on the big commitments like baptism and coming to Church. We feel like we were thinking too big with some of our investigators and so we are working with them to read their scriptures, saying their prayers, and having family prayer as well! It has been so amazing to be a missionary! Especially in New York City! I am absolutely loving my time here and couldn't have asked for a better place to serve! It has been such a blessing and an enriching experience!
Saturday was such an awesome and amazing day! I woke up and was very excited to see your email! I was thinking about you both all day and hoping that you were both having a really awesome time! I bet it feels just like yesterday Mom that you were going to school there! We had to leave the apartment a little early since we got to fill up the baptismal font for the Sister Missionaries' baptism! Her name is Zeny and she has been coming to Church ever since Godson started coming to Church and decided to get baptized! So we went to her baptism and it was really great! We invited lots of investigators to come but the cold must have kept them inside because nobody showed up. We had lots of members come which was awesome and it was a really great baptism! After the baptism, we helped clean up and then did all of our studies. I studied about faith and how we can help Robert with his addiction. Then we went to go see Brother Eades and Brother Forbes but Brother Eades was really sick and so we had a great time teaching Brother Forbes about forgiveness and we even showed him a video! He was doing really well and we all had a really great time teaching him! Then we had a fun dinner appointment with a brand new young couple that moved into our ward on January 2nd! Their names are Brother and Sister Barton and they are so awesome! We went to their really nice, luxury apartment on Cliff Street which is a very fancy part of South Manhattan near the World Trade Center and we had a great dinner and lesson and we got to know them a lot better! They have lived all over the world and I even got a picture with them for you to see them! Brother Barton was born in California and served his mission in Boston Massachussets and grew up in Scotland! He had a very thick Scotish accent and so it can be funny at times when he says certain words. Hehe! Sister Barton was born in Vietnam and spent the first 7 years of her life there before her family moved to the United States. They fed us a really nice rice and chicken stew soup and we had a great conversation about missionary work and how our missions are very similar! He thought it was really cool how Dad served in Atlanta because they really loved living there! Then it was time for us to head back to the apartment after another awesome day! I was so excited for the Super Bowl even though I couldn't watch it but it was really fun to know that you were all at home having a huge, fun party! It was also really fun to think that I would be home for the next Super Bowl!!!!! It was a really awesome day and I was thinking about you all the whole day!
HAPPY SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!!! 
I woke up and was really excited to see your email and I'm so glad that Mom and Abby had a great time with Grandma Evans and Aunt Dee! I was really looking forward to hearing how the Super Bowl turned out! It seemed just like yesterday that I was in the MTC on Super Bowl Sunday and I couldn't believe that it was already here again! There was a ton of talk about the game all over the city and there was tons of Patriots and Eagles gear. It has also been interesting to hear how many people aren't even going to watch the game because they are Giants fans and the Giants' 2 rival teams are the Patriots and Eagles! We had one of the best days in Church I've had so far in this area and there were tons and tons of people in sacrament meeting! Godson surprised us and showed up to Church and stayed for all 3 hours! It was fun to watch him take the sacrament and fellowship with the ward! One really funny thing about church was when Brother Anderson, who is the 1st counselor in the Bishopric and was conducting, started his testimony by saying "Wow! This ward is so awesome! We are all a bunch of spiritual Patriots but we need to spread our wings and fly like Eagles." He said it with a straight face and most of the congregation started laughing because it was a clever way to say "I'm really excited for the Super Bowl!" Hehe! There was so much talk about the Super Bowl and it was weird to think that I wouldn't be watching it but I smiled because I knew you were all watching and cheering loud! Our council meetings in the 3rd hour have been really awesome and fun to be a part of! There are tons of young couples with only about 1 little baby and so they talk a lot about families and how to build hose bonds with their kids early on in life. The council meeting have been really productive with lots of participation. This last meeting was all about managing time and how we can focus our time on family and our other church responsibilities. We had a great discussion and Godson even made a comment about how he prays to manage his time. We had some really great lessons and after church, we were able to go give Brother Forbes a Priesthood Blessing because he had a mild heart attack the night after we met with him but he was released that morning and he was feeling much better! We had Brother Bryan come with us and we had a great little lesson before our dinner with Brother and Sister Vogelmann! We had a yummy chicken and dumpling soup which tasted extra good because of the cold weather and while we were there, it started to pour rain. We shared a fun video about the Sabbath Day and then headed to our next appointment! After our awesome "Super Bowl Party" dinner, it was about 6:15 and we realized that it was 15 minutes before kickoff and so as we were waiting for the bus, there wasn't anybody in sight and so since we are both HUGE football fans, we listened to the Star Spangled Banner 2 minutes before the actual kickoff! It was fun to think that the actual anthem was being played at the same time! On our way to our Bible referral drop off right by Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building, we had a really cool guy talk to us a we read through Malachi while we were on the bus and then we transferred to the train that takes us right to 34th Street Penn Station! We met a guy named Joseph Bowlby and he was living in a nearby homeless shelter and he lost almost everything and wanted a new and fresh Bible and so we were able to give him one and also give him a copy of the Book of Mormon! He wasn't interested in meeting again which was sad but we helped him come closer to Christ and he felt the spirit when we testified about the Book of Mormon! I do have to say, it was really hard to concentrate because there were tv's literally all over the place and it was impossible to not see the Super Bowl. We were walking by a little restaurant near the huge Macey's and we saw the Eagles score a touchdown right before halftime. There was hardly anybody outside and it seemed really quiet. We knew that everybody was inside watching the big game! I was thinking about you all a whole lot and hoping your party was awesome and that you were having a really fun time! We knocked on Antoine's door since we haven't been able to contact him for a few days and so we stopped by and Sylvia was home so we said hi to her and told her that we would call and set up an appointment! It was such a great day and I was so excited to hear who had win the Super Bowl!
What a great day Monday was! We had something SOOOO amazing happen and I have some really exciting news! It was so exciting to see your email about the Super Bowl! I was so sad for Parker and his Patriots but I was excited to hear that the Eagles won! Sometimes it is nice to see a team that doesn't win a big game like win every once in a while, especially since the Eagles haven't ever won a Super Bowl! We had a great district meeting and Elder Williams and I did the training and we talked about finding new investigators pur of our former investigators list and it went so well! Then we did our companionship study and 12 week and we continued to watch the District videos for this week and had a great time learning together! Then we went to go teach Brother Eades and Brother Forbes but they have been sick and Brother Eades was having a hard time and so he stepped out about 5 minutes into our lesson. We showed them a video called "Weaving Our Spiritual Tapestry!" They really enjoyed it but we had to hurry to get to the rest of our appointments on time. We had an appointment with Alexsander and we showed him the Restoration video and then went to visit Isaac Sorden and we taught him about forgiveness and showed him a video about how a man forgave someone else! Then we had one of THE COOLEST experiences that I've had so far on my mission!!!! We received a refferal of a man named Mike Vargas a few days ago and we tried calling him 2 or 3 times with no success. The only way that we could possibly get a hold of him was through phone since the address that he provided us was for the Madison Square Garden basketball arena. So we knew that he didn't live on the basketball court of a famous arena and so we could only call him. We called him during our companionship study but he didn't answer and so we left him a message. Well, later on in the evening while we were in our lesson with Alexsander, he called us back but we couldn't answer it. So we waited until we were done and then we called him back and............he didn't answer.
So we went to our next appointment with Isaac Sorden and during that lesson, he called us back. I kept thinking to myself "This guys' timing is impeccable!!!" So we waited until we were done with that lesson and on our walk back to the apartment, we called him and...........HE ANSWERED!!! Wow!!! This phone call was incredible and I can't wait to tell you all about it! Elder Williams and I have been praying to find more golden investigators and we think and hope that Mike Vargas is that golden investigator! He called us and had some of the best and most sincere questions that I've ever heard! He asked us all about the Plan of Salvation, Gospel of Jesus Christ, and so much more! He truly wanted to know what happens to us after we die. We answered his awesome questions and he thanked us for being there for him to talk to and told us that he wants to come to Church and meet with us! We hung up the phone and just were so excited because this guy is the real deal and will get baptized really soon! If Elder Williams and I don't baptize him, then he will get baptized down the road with other missionaries but we are the ones to provide that foundation! It was such an amazing was to end our amazing day!
What a great day Monday was! We had something SOOOO amazing happen and I have some really exciting news! It was so exciting to see your email about the Super Bowl! I was so sad for Parker and his Patriots but I was excited to hear that the Eagles won! Sometimes it is nice to see a team that doesn't win a big game like win every once in a while, especially since the Eagles haven't ever won a Super Bowl! We had a great district meeting and Elder Williams and I did the training and we talked about finding new investigators pur of our former investigators list and it went so well! Then we did our companionship study and 12 week and we continued to watch the District videos for this week and had a great time learning together! Then we went to go teach Brother Eades and Brother Forbes but they have been sick and Brother Eades was having a hard time and so he stepped out about 5 minutes into our lesson. We showed them a video called "Weaving Our Spiritual Tapestry!" They really enjoyed it but we had to hurry to get to the rest of our appointments on time. We had an appointment with Alexsander and we showed him the Restoration video and then went to visit Isaac Sorden and we taught him about forgiveness and showed him a video about how a man forgave someone else! Then we had one of THE COOLEST experiences that I've had so far on my mission!!!! We received a refferal of a man named Mike Vargas a few days ago and we tried calling him 2 or 3 times with no success. The only way that we could possibly get a hold of him was through phone since the address that he provided us was for the Madison Square Garden basketball arena. So we knew that he didn't live on the basketball court of a famous arena and so we could only call him. We called him during our companionship study but he didn't answer and so we left him a message. Well, later on in the evening while we were in our lesson with Alexsander, he called us back but we couldn't answer it. So we waited until we were done and then we called him back and............he didn't answer.
Tuesday was so awesome and I couldn't believe that it was already Tuesday again! I just want to start by thanking you for sending me a really fun email about being in New York for a whole year! I couldn't even believe that it has been that long! It's so crazy to think and say to myself: "What was I doing exactly 1 year ago today?" The same thing that I'm doing today! Missionary work! I loved the picture that you sent and really appreciated the well wishes! Time has been going even faster each week and it's so crazy to think that after this birthday season, I will home for all of your next birthdays! We started off by delivering a large print Book of Mormon to Lillian Rios but she was sick so we gave it to her daughter. I was really excited to get your awesome email and pictures! Tuesdays are always so fun because I know your email is coming! Then we had lunch since we were right by our apartment and called and texted all of our investigators to try and set up some appointments with them. Then we did our companionship study as well as 12 week. We got a really cool referral of a lady who lives in our area but we had to pass her off to the Sister Missionaries since she lives alone. So then we called more of our investigators and then had a really cool lesson with Aaron Dais! We really love teaching him but he can be hard to teach sometimes because he tends to complain a bit about some things that are going on in his life but he started to cry during our lesson and told us that we are the only people who are keeping him going right now. He says he feels hopeless and doesn't feel like he has a purpose in life which was sad for us to hear but we cheered him up and gave him some scriptures from the Book of Mormon to read! Then we knocked on Robert's door but he wasn't home so we went to our lesson with Brother Eades and Brother Forbes. It was a great lesson about the Sabbath Day and how special of a day it is! It was fun to talk about some special memories that I have of our Sundays back at home and I'm so grateful for those amazing memories! Then we went to deliver a Bible to a referral we got that day named Michael Pittman. We hadn't ever talked with him since the Sister Missionaries set up the appointment and so we were looking forward to meeting him! His address we found out didn't excist and when we called him, he wasn't interested anymore and so then we went to our next appointment with the McClain family and taught them about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and then we excitedly came back to the apartment to read your email after a great day of work! Your email was just so awesome and I love reading it so much and seeing your great pictures......as always of course!
Well my incredible Family, I loved emailing you and hearing back from you today! I continue to love being a missionary and serving the Lord in any way that I can! You guys mean everything to me and I want you to know that I love and care deeply for you and all that you do for me! I hope you all have another fun and safe week this week! 1 year ago today, I met Elder Kirkham and started my very 1st day as a missionary! Time surely does fly by and it keeps getting faster and faster! I am really loving my time here and it has blessed my life so much but I still can't wait to see you and give you a hug in just a few more months! I was looking through some pictures of when I flew out and I just smiled to see how far I've come and the things I have been able to do and accomplish! It also was crazy to think "What was I doing exactly 1 year ago today? Was I at home?" Nope, I was doing the exact same thing, Missionary Work! It feels so great to have time and experience under my belt and I will work even harder! I try to put my whole heart and soul into teach anyone I can here in the big city! LOVE YOU SO, SO, SO, SO SO, VERY MUCH!!!!!!
Love You Always!
~Elder Lindberg
Well my incredible Family, I loved emailing you and hearing back from you today! I continue to love being a missionary and serving the Lord in any way that I can! You guys mean everything to me and I want you to know that I love and care deeply for you and all that you do for me! I hope you all have another fun and safe week this week! 1 year ago today, I met Elder Kirkham and started my very 1st day as a missionary! Time surely does fly by and it keeps getting faster and faster! I am really loving my time here and it has blessed my life so much but I still can't wait to see you and give you a hug in just a few more months! I was looking through some pictures of when I flew out and I just smiled to see how far I've come and the things I have been able to do and accomplish! It also was crazy to think "What was I doing exactly 1 year ago today? Was I at home?" Nope, I was doing the exact same thing, Missionary Work! It feels so great to have time and experience under my belt and I will work even harder! I try to put my whole heart and soul into teach anyone I can here in the big city! LOVE YOU SO, SO, SO, SO SO, VERY MUCH!!!!!!
Love You Always!
~Elder Lindberg
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