Hello my awesome and dear Family!!! Only a few more days until Mother's Day and we all know what that means!!!! SKYPE TIME!!!! I can't wait to see you all and I'm so excited to talk to you!! Thank you all so much for your email and fun pictures! I'm so thankful that your week went so well and so much happened! We are going to have a really fun day and we have lots of plans! We are going to the Bronx Zoo and I'm really looking forward to going again! None of the Elders in my apartment have ever been there and so it will be fun to show them around! We are also going to try again to go to Cross Bronx because for some reason, he has been closed the last few Wednsdays when we call him. We are also going to get haircuts from Jay later on and so I'm really looking forward to getting a haircut for our Skype call! It will be a very fun day! Transfer calls are on Saturday night and we are also going out to eat at Applebee's in honor of our awesome Mothers and it will bring back lots of memories from when we ate! We had a really busy week and found probably the coolest Family ever and they want to get baptized! So to finalize our Skype call, Elder Mitonzi will do his at 7:00 our time, 5:00 your time. He is emailing his Family today go confirm that time and so we are really excited to do it then! I will be ready and excited to see you!!!! 
Last P-Day was so great! It was very, very hot to say the least but we had a really fun time playing ultimate frisbee with our whole district. We split up the team's and so it was 4 on 4 and we had most of the field all to ourselves. We played for a couple of hours and then we were all beat and needed a drink so we went to Checker's to grab some grub and cold drinks. We had so much fun walking around and hearing all of the music being played and all of the people out and about. We had some amazing catches during frisbee and scored lots of goals! I was thinking about you a whole lot and wishing you a great day! Our new ward mission leader set our weekly correlation meeting for Wednesday night after our P-Day ends and so that will be a nice change! I was happy for you that you completed your class and everything went so well! At 6:00, we went over to the Church for our 1st Ward Correlation with our new ward mission leader, Brother Gerhartz. It went really well and we enjoyed the warm weather. Tons of people were out and about and almost everyone sits out on their front porches or on the steps to their apartment building and listen to music. It is a cool scene! We had a very good ward correlation meeting and our new ward mission leader did such a great job! His name is Brother Gerhartz and he served in Germany and works as a Tmeple worker. He set some goals for what he knows that the ward can accomplish and really helped us a lot! The assistant ward mission leader is hilarious! His name is Frank and he was baptized about 3 years ago. He is in his 70s and is just hilarious! Then we got to call 4 of our new referrals that we had just received and got to schedule 2 appointments which is always so awesome! They are mostly Jamacain and Purto Rican and they are always so nice and friendly. The weather was still so hot and I noticed that I got a little sunburned. Once we got back to the apartment, I was writing in my journal and thought it would have been fun to see what I did exactly 1 year ago on May 2nd, which is Grandpa Lindberg's Birthday. I was so excited to see that on May 2nd 2017, I finished my training and said goodbye to Elder Kirkham. It was my very first day with Elder Dick and I had just started my 3rd transfer. It was really fun to see what I did exactly 1 year ago and think back to the many memories that I have! It was such a great day and I so appreciated your fun emails!
Thursday was such a great and busy day! It was so fun to wake up and see that I had an email from you! The weather was so nice and very hot and we had a very busy day ahead of us. We had lots of appointments scheduled and also weekly planning. Elder Williams told me that he had a safe trip to Yorktown and he was settling in just fine! It's always wierd to have an emergency transfer just because it's right in the middle of a transfer but he was happy to be with Elder Rocha. We had a conference call first thing and enjoyed listening to President Smith! He talked about going to member's homes and teach the Restoration and by doing that, it will bring the spirit into their homes more than anything. He talked about studying and how we can determine how our day will go by how we study in the morning. He also talked about our families and how loving and supportive they are. He told us that if we trust in the Lord, everything will work out at home and things will be fine. He also talked about how we can apply the things to our lives when we get home. After our conference call, we had lunch and then we to our first appointment with a guy named Chris. He wasn't home so we went to our next appointment with Justin LeBlanc. I was really happy to get your email! Thank you so much for sending me some new shoes! I was really looking forward to getting them! On our way to Justin's apartment, I saw a guy with a Bill's hat and so I talked to him about the draft from what I knew and then gave him a Restoration Pamphlet and then we met a member from Ghana who just moved here and didn't know where the Church was. We had a great lesson with Justin but he loves to talk and we can barely get a word in. We taught him abiut the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he really knew a lot about it already! Then we planned for our week and discussed our lessons and planned some appointments. It was really great and then after we had some dinner, we went to visit Kadeem and his Mom but since he is only 14, we can't go inside and so we decided to pass him off to the Sister Missionaries. The temperature reached a high of 92 degrees and over 70% humidity! Can you beleive that?!?! We saw a bad storm rolling in towards the end of the evening and a big, dark cloud headed right for us. We didn't think it was going to rain but then it started to pour rain but it was wierd because of how hot it was. We had a good talk with Kadeem and his Mom but we passed off Kadeem to the sister missionaries and then went to deliver a Book of Mormon but some guys that were working on a van called us over and one guy yelled at us and said "You don't even believe in Jesus Christ!" Elder Mitonzi walked over to him and said "Who told you that?" He told us that we don't beleive in Jesus Christ and that it just says that on our nametags. It was a weird question to have but we testified of the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ and he accepted what we said, shook our hands, and continued his work. It was a good feeling to calm a contentious situation and have us both walk away happy. Then we took the bus back to the apartment after a great day!
Friday was so very awesome! Happy "May the 4th be with you" day! It was even hotter than before and we woke up to 80 degree temperatures by 6:30. It has been so hot but we are staying cool and drinking lots of water. We had a very busy day and lots of appointments and so we were excited to get going! It was really awesome go get your email about May 4th! I can't believe that it was a whole year ago! Thanks so much for the picture! We had a great zone meeting and we learned how to work with members and we came up with a huge list of ideas to better work with members. We came up with having members text investigators and invite them to Church and also have members give out a copy of the Book of Mormon to a non member friend. Then we got a call from Sister Honeycutt in the mission office and asked if we could go give a blessing to a lady who was in the emergency room at a nearby hospital. Her husband is a non member and they have only been in the Bronx for 2 days. They moved here and should be in our ward but she had some health problems. We are always so happy to give blessings and help others! We also heard that they used to be in this ward a long time ago and were excited to be back. She was so appreciative and very Happy that we came and then we had an awesome lesson with a man named Charles Whitfield at the Church. He has been taking lessons from the missionaries for years now and doesn't want to get baptized because he was already baptized when he was a baby. We taught him the Restoration and he knew a lot already about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He didnt understand why we needed to be baptized again but by the end of the lesson, he understood. It was really awesome and we hope to set a Baptisimal date with him soon! Then we went to visit a guy named Keith Sampson and we met his wife! Keith wasn't home but we gave his wife a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration Pamphlet and even set up a return appointment! Then we went to another appointment with a guy named Duland Coke in his home near Boston Road on the East side of our area but he wasn't home but we were able to meet his 2 sons, Nathaniel and Daniel. They are all from Jamaica and have lots of potential to progress. I'm so grateful to be in this area because there is so much going on that we can hardly even keep up! We realized that there was only 7 full weeks until the new mission President comes in and the merge of the missions happens! It is an especially exciting time to be a missionary with all of these exciting changes coming up! President Smith and his Family have been so amazing and I will miss them so much but President Teuscher will be awesome! I think that I've already mentioned this but Bermuda is in the South mission and so the New York, New York City Mission will cover Bermuda which is just so amazing! I found out that missionaries who get sent to Burmuda, stay there for at least 6 months. They have to transfer the missionaries by airplane and takes a few hours to get there. It would so crazy to serve in Bermuda for the last 6 months of my mission which could happen! After we grabbed a bite to eat, we filled out Prince's baptismal record and got that all done and then we talked to people on the streets as we came back to the apartment. I have something kind of funny to tell you!! So for my whole mission, I have been using a ledger on my tablet to keep track of all my expenses. Elder Mitonzi saw me using it one day and thought it was an amazing idea. It has helped me so much and I'm very grateful for Dad teaching me how to be thrifty and keep a budget. Once I showed Elder Mitonzi how to do it, our roommates caught on and so I taught them about how to use it and how to budget every penny and keep track of what you buy. It has been really fun to teach them!
Saturday was so very amazing! When we were playing frisbee on P-day, a group of 30 year old people from Mexico invited us to come and play on Cinco De Mayo with them at 8:00. We were excited to go over and play some soccer and get some good exercise! They even told us beforehand that they might have some soda and snacks for Cinco De Mayo. We did our morning exercise and then walked over to the turf field near the Church and had a really fun time! We meet some interesting and cool people every single day and it amazes me how different people's beliefs are. Some people beleive in Jesus Christ and God but others beleive that Heavenly Father is Jesus Christ. Others read scriptures, some pray, and some don't. It has been so cool to learn about other people's cultures and beliefs from the country that they come from. We have mostly run into people from Africa, Jamaica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. We had a really fun time playing soccer but none of them spoke English and so it was hard to play with them and so we are going to have the Spanish Elders come and start playing with them. It was fun because they were really good and scored tons of goals. It was hard for me to tell who was on my team but by the end, I had it figured out and we had a great time! Then we got asked to fill up the baptismal font for a guy who is getting baptized named Waldir. He is Brazilian and since he was excommunicated from the Church, it was a ward baptism and so the missionaries weren't in charge of it. We invited Jessie to come and he said that he would come. Waldir is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese and is such a nice guy! His name is pronounced Voll-jeer which is interesting since it starts with a W. So we filled up the font and set up chairs and waited for people to come but it was kind of last minute and so not very many of the ward members knew about it. There was a huge bike race going on called the "5 Borough Bike Race" and it covered all 5 bouroughs and went right by the Church and up Grand Concourse, which is the main road in the Bronx. Waldir told me that he has been to Laramie and Logan and has been all over Utah and Wyoming. It was really cool! The baptism was so amazing and he bore the most amazing testimony! He talked about missionaries and to tell you all back at home thanks for letting us serve! So thank you!!! I was able to see the mission blog from our mission and I was wondering if you still check it? I saw some pictures of me and uploaded them to my drive and thought you might like to see them! Sorry that they are out of order and don't go in the right week file but I thought they were really cool! Waldir made a really yummy dinner for everyone that came and it was so delicious! There were 2 companionships of sister missionaries and then 2 members that came and it was just a great experience to hear his testimony about the Gospel! I was thinking about each of you a lot and wondering how your Cinco De Mayo was going and hoping that you were having a fiesta! Hehe!
Then we hurried to our next appointment with a guy named Keith Simpson. He lives in kind of a scary part of the Bronx but he is a really nice guy! Unfortunately, because it was Cinco De Mayo, he had been drinking and wasn't coherent at all and could hardly talk. We were able to give him a Book of Mormon and set a return appointment but we aren't sure how much he learned. There were tons of parties going on and loud music everywhere. There were a couple of fights and so we had to take a different road to avoid them. Most people were really nice and friendly but it was sad to see that almost everyone was smoking and drinking. It's sad to think that to "have fun" in today's world, people have to do such harmful things to themselves. We walked around talking to people and sharing as much of the Restoration as we could and even did a little bit of tracting. Elder Mitonzi needed a new umbrella and we heard that a few rain storms were headed our way and so we stopped at Rite Aid near our apartment and he bought an umbrella before we headed back in for a good night's rest!
What an awesome day Sunday was! It was pretty cloudy and it rained for a portion of the day but we had a really awesome day! We headed off to Church very excited because we had tons of investigators committ to come to Church and we were also excited because we were only 1 week away from Mother's Day! We had a really great day at Church! We had some huge and unexpected news that nobody saw coming! We had 3 investigators in Church and Prince has been doing a great job to continue to come even though his work can sometimes be challenging to get away from. We were greeting people at the door and the Stake President walked in and so we knew that something was happening. They released our Bishop and called the 1st Councilor in the Bishopric to become the new Bishop. The old Bishop's name is Bishop Ferguson and they called Bishop Mathews to serve as the new Bishop! It shocked a lot of people because Bishop Ferguson has only been in for a few years. It was a great meeting and they invited the Bishopric and their wives to bear their testimonies! Then I was talking to one of the Spanish Sister Missionaries who flew into New York the same day that I did. She came from the Mexico MTC and she is from Utah. She shocked me when she said that she goes home at the end of next transfer! That means that by the end of the next transfer, I would have been out for longer than any sister missionary is the mission! Isn't that crazy!?! We had some great classes and the New Elder Quorum President did an awesome job at setting goals for how our group councils each 1st Sunday can best help each of us. We had a really great time at Church and then we changed before studying for our lessons for the day. It was really awesome to have 3 investigators in Church and we are so glad that they came! Then we had an appointment with Kevin Lamb and when we got there, his wife and daughter told us that he had to work and so he wasn't able to meet with us. So then we had dinner at the apartment before our last lesson of the day with Brother Darko and his son and daughter. We havent had very many dinner appointments with members in this ward but we are trying to get to know members by just visiting them in their homes. It can be hard for people in the Bronx to prepare meals and so we just share messages. Brother Darko is the member with 3 kids and his youngest son is preparing to get baptized when he turns 8. He is from Ghana and I really awesome! We had a really awesome lesson and shared "The Music Of The Gospel" video and it was fun to hear their responses when we asked them what they learned. They all agreed that reading scriptures and saying prayers were the most important things to do each day. Brother Darko is always so nice and makes us dinner every time we go over. His wife is in Ghana and isn't a member of the Church and so he is trying to raise his 2 sons and 1 daughter all by himself. He has done a great job and has really well behaved kids. It was a very awesome day and we were excited to watch the devotional for young adults by Elder Kearon when we got back to the apartment for the day. I hope you all had an amazing Sabbath! I was really excited when I looked at the clock and it said 7:00 on the dot which meant exactly 1 week until our Skype call!!!
Monday was another really great day! It has been so amazing to study Preach My Gospel and read the Book of Mormon each day because I learn so much! It's amazing to see how much I've learned and how much I've been able to experience! I'm so grateful for each of you at home and you mean everything to me! I love these 2 scriptures in the Book of Mormon and they really describe missionary work so well! I love how Heavenly Father is always mindful of us and knows exactly how we are feeling. He will help us no matter what and he knows what will help us the most. We all go through tough times but as we rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for guidance, they will comfort and help us. I heard an analogy that Brother Gillingham sent me and it talks about a man who was called by Heavenly Father to push against a rock with all his might. He was getting angry because he was trying so hard but it wasn't moving. He was ready to give up when he prayed and asked Heavenly Father why he wasn't moving the rock. Heavenly Father told him that he was commanded to be obedient and push against the rock. He never said anything about moving it. It was just cool to think that as long as I'm following the rules, which I am, and just focus on giving it my all, then that is what I've been called to do.
"17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants."
I really have become so much more appreciative of the Gospel and the many blessings that come from it and how happy it allows people to be! It has been so amazing to be out here serving! I wish I could tell you everything that I've learned but I would love to tell you in person! After our studies, we went to our last District Meeting of the transfer and had a great time! It was so crazy how fast this transfer left and we all realized that some of us could be leaving. It was a really nice, cool day with lots of sun! After we did our language and companionship study and reading from the Book of Mormon, we went to a lesson with a guy named Ramos. We didn't know too much about him but the Sister Missionaries sent him to us. His Mom answered and told us that he wasn't home. She didn't speak very much English but she left us with a smile and then we went to teach a guy named Lloyd but his wife told us in the intercom that she didn't know who we were and didn't want us to come over. We got a text from Prince and he told us that he is doing well but recently moved in with some Family in Harlem but he will continue to come to our Ward. He lived so far away from his work and so it will be so much nicer for him! He told us that he was coming to Family Home Evening and so we were looking forward to that! I am so excited each day because I know that Mother's Day is coming up and that we get to talk soon! I love having a Skype call to look forward to so much!!!! Family Home Evening was really awesome and Prince was in a really great mood! It takes him a lot less time to get to the Church and so he loves living so close. We talked about kindness and how the small acts of kindness can mean the most! I talked about some of the many ways that you bless my life through your words and actions! I talked about some of our trips that we have taken and how Mom and Dad always are there for me and I can always talk to them! I also talked about how I have relied on my Family and how much each of you means to me! 1 day closer to Skyping!
Tuesday was a very great day as well! I love being a missionary so much and have seen how I have personally grown as a person and how grateful I am to be serving at this time in my life! I couldn't do it without you! Elder Ihalmo planned a split for our apartment and I would stay in our area and Elder Palmer would come with me for the day! I always love helping new missionaries in any way that I can because I know that there is quite the adjustment that comes with coming out on a mission so it was fun to have him ask me questions and work with him for the day! After we got ready for the day, we split and did our studies and then headed to the Church for an appointment with a really awesome referral named Bishop Bénéwendé. He referred himself to the missionaries and wanted to learn mote about Family History and so he aggreed to meet us at the Church to learn more! He kept calling us and telling us how excited that he was to meet and learn more. It was really cool! I was really looking forward to your email and pictures and was really excited to hear from you! I forgot to mention that I found something really cool while we were walking to an appointment. There was a bumper on the side of the road that had fallen off of a taxi cab and there was a licence plate on it and since it was garbage, I took it and realized that it was a taxi cab licence plate! It was a cool souvenir that I'm excited to show you when I get home! We had one of the most amazing lessons ever and it was a huge miracle! We got a referral for a man named Bishop Bénéwendé and he is the most amazing investigator ever!! We set an appointment and we heard that he wanted to learn more about Family History and loves our Church! We went to the Church for our lesson and he brought his wife and son! They moved her from Africa just 9 days ago and love our Church! He told us that he watched the Restoration video and felt the spirit and he prayed with his Family and knows it is all true! He wants his whole Family to join and he wants to get baptized! I just couldn't believe how amazing these investigators were and how ready they are to progress in the Gospel and get baptized! Bishop Bénéwendé is the Dad and his wife doesn't speak any English, she speaks French, and so her husband translated while we taught them all about Family History and the Restoration! When we said the closing prayer, they asked if we could take a picture because they wanted to remember this day forever because they know how much the Church will bless their lives! They told us that the LDS missionaries came to their country, Burkina Faso, in 1921 and taught his Grandfather about Christianity and he later because a member of another Christian church because of the foundation of knowledge that he had. He then gave us some gifts right from Burkina Faso in Africa! We could tell that it meant so much to them and we were stunned at how excited and thrilled they were to be taught. We got a little bracelet and flag that came from their country. It was so cool and we can't wait for them to get baptized! Then we did some service at a member's home and we trimmed some trees and used the weed whacker to trim around her fence and then she cooked us a big lunch with burgers and barbecue chicken. Then we went to basketball and Jonathan came which was so great to have him there and he is really looking forward to his baptism and told us that he would be coming to the Baptism that the sisters were having this Saturday. It was a very awesome day and I was just so excited to hear from you and hear all about your week! Your email was so amazing and so fun to read!!!! I love you all so much and I'm so excited to call you!!!!
Well everybody! It won't be long until we get to talk again and I'm really looking forward to Skyping! It is so excited to call you and I can't wait! I wish you all good luck with everything that you have going on and I hope you can feel my love and support in everything that you do! I am so thankful for your love and prayers! I'm really looking forward to the new shoes on Thursday! Thanks so much for thinking of me! It will feel so quick until we get to Skype and I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can! We are all very anxious here in the New York, New York North mission about all of the changes coming up and to hear about transfer calls on Saturday! I'm really not quite sure what will happen with transfers. I hope that Elder Mitonzi and I stay together but he only has 3 transfers left and so it is most likely that he will go. Who knows, I might be getting transfered on Tuesday! We will see. There is only 1 transfer, 6 weeks, u til the new mission President Arrives and it really is crazy how fast that time will go. I only have 6 transfers left and that is really rocking my world because I seriously feel like time is flying by. Lots of exciting times ahead that's for sure! Well, TALK TO YOU SOON!!! I will be ready and excited to talk to you!!! Have a great few days and see you soon! LOVE AND MISS YOU TONS AND TONS MY DEAR FAMILY!!!!
Love You Always! ~Elder Lindberg
Last P-Day was so great! It was very, very hot to say the least but we had a really fun time playing ultimate frisbee with our whole district. We split up the team's and so it was 4 on 4 and we had most of the field all to ourselves. We played for a couple of hours and then we were all beat and needed a drink so we went to Checker's to grab some grub and cold drinks. We had so much fun walking around and hearing all of the music being played and all of the people out and about. We had some amazing catches during frisbee and scored lots of goals! I was thinking about you a whole lot and wishing you a great day! Our new ward mission leader set our weekly correlation meeting for Wednesday night after our P-Day ends and so that will be a nice change! I was happy for you that you completed your class and everything went so well! At 6:00, we went over to the Church for our 1st Ward Correlation with our new ward mission leader, Brother Gerhartz. It went really well and we enjoyed the warm weather. Tons of people were out and about and almost everyone sits out on their front porches or on the steps to their apartment building and listen to music. It is a cool scene! We had a very good ward correlation meeting and our new ward mission leader did such a great job! His name is Brother Gerhartz and he served in Germany and works as a Tmeple worker. He set some goals for what he knows that the ward can accomplish and really helped us a lot! The assistant ward mission leader is hilarious! His name is Frank and he was baptized about 3 years ago. He is in his 70s and is just hilarious! Then we got to call 4 of our new referrals that we had just received and got to schedule 2 appointments which is always so awesome! They are mostly Jamacain and Purto Rican and they are always so nice and friendly. The weather was still so hot and I noticed that I got a little sunburned. Once we got back to the apartment, I was writing in my journal and thought it would have been fun to see what I did exactly 1 year ago on May 2nd, which is Grandpa Lindberg's Birthday. I was so excited to see that on May 2nd 2017, I finished my training and said goodbye to Elder Kirkham. It was my very first day with Elder Dick and I had just started my 3rd transfer. It was really fun to see what I did exactly 1 year ago and think back to the many memories that I have! It was such a great day and I so appreciated your fun emails!
Thursday was such a great and busy day! It was so fun to wake up and see that I had an email from you! The weather was so nice and very hot and we had a very busy day ahead of us. We had lots of appointments scheduled and also weekly planning. Elder Williams told me that he had a safe trip to Yorktown and he was settling in just fine! It's always wierd to have an emergency transfer just because it's right in the middle of a transfer but he was happy to be with Elder Rocha. We had a conference call first thing and enjoyed listening to President Smith! He talked about going to member's homes and teach the Restoration and by doing that, it will bring the spirit into their homes more than anything. He talked about studying and how we can determine how our day will go by how we study in the morning. He also talked about our families and how loving and supportive they are. He told us that if we trust in the Lord, everything will work out at home and things will be fine. He also talked about how we can apply the things to our lives when we get home. After our conference call, we had lunch and then we to our first appointment with a guy named Chris. He wasn't home so we went to our next appointment with Justin LeBlanc. I was really happy to get your email! Thank you so much for sending me some new shoes! I was really looking forward to getting them! On our way to Justin's apartment, I saw a guy with a Bill's hat and so I talked to him about the draft from what I knew and then gave him a Restoration Pamphlet and then we met a member from Ghana who just moved here and didn't know where the Church was. We had a great lesson with Justin but he loves to talk and we can barely get a word in. We taught him abiut the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he really knew a lot about it already! Then we planned for our week and discussed our lessons and planned some appointments. It was really great and then after we had some dinner, we went to visit Kadeem and his Mom but since he is only 14, we can't go inside and so we decided to pass him off to the Sister Missionaries. The temperature reached a high of 92 degrees and over 70% humidity! Can you beleive that?!?! We saw a bad storm rolling in towards the end of the evening and a big, dark cloud headed right for us. We didn't think it was going to rain but then it started to pour rain but it was wierd because of how hot it was. We had a good talk with Kadeem and his Mom but we passed off Kadeem to the sister missionaries and then went to deliver a Book of Mormon but some guys that were working on a van called us over and one guy yelled at us and said "You don't even believe in Jesus Christ!" Elder Mitonzi walked over to him and said "Who told you that?" He told us that we don't beleive in Jesus Christ and that it just says that on our nametags. It was a weird question to have but we testified of the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ and he accepted what we said, shook our hands, and continued his work. It was a good feeling to calm a contentious situation and have us both walk away happy. Then we took the bus back to the apartment after a great day!
Friday was so very awesome! Happy "May the 4th be with you" day! It was even hotter than before and we woke up to 80 degree temperatures by 6:30. It has been so hot but we are staying cool and drinking lots of water. We had a very busy day and lots of appointments and so we were excited to get going! It was really awesome go get your email about May 4th! I can't believe that it was a whole year ago! Thanks so much for the picture! We had a great zone meeting and we learned how to work with members and we came up with a huge list of ideas to better work with members. We came up with having members text investigators and invite them to Church and also have members give out a copy of the Book of Mormon to a non member friend. Then we got a call from Sister Honeycutt in the mission office and asked if we could go give a blessing to a lady who was in the emergency room at a nearby hospital. Her husband is a non member and they have only been in the Bronx for 2 days. They moved here and should be in our ward but she had some health problems. We are always so happy to give blessings and help others! We also heard that they used to be in this ward a long time ago and were excited to be back. She was so appreciative and very Happy that we came and then we had an awesome lesson with a man named Charles Whitfield at the Church. He has been taking lessons from the missionaries for years now and doesn't want to get baptized because he was already baptized when he was a baby. We taught him the Restoration and he knew a lot already about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He didnt understand why we needed to be baptized again but by the end of the lesson, he understood. It was really awesome and we hope to set a Baptisimal date with him soon! Then we went to visit a guy named Keith Sampson and we met his wife! Keith wasn't home but we gave his wife a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration Pamphlet and even set up a return appointment! Then we went to another appointment with a guy named Duland Coke in his home near Boston Road on the East side of our area but he wasn't home but we were able to meet his 2 sons, Nathaniel and Daniel. They are all from Jamaica and have lots of potential to progress. I'm so grateful to be in this area because there is so much going on that we can hardly even keep up! We realized that there was only 7 full weeks until the new mission President comes in and the merge of the missions happens! It is an especially exciting time to be a missionary with all of these exciting changes coming up! President Smith and his Family have been so amazing and I will miss them so much but President Teuscher will be awesome! I think that I've already mentioned this but Bermuda is in the South mission and so the New York, New York City Mission will cover Bermuda which is just so amazing! I found out that missionaries who get sent to Burmuda, stay there for at least 6 months. They have to transfer the missionaries by airplane and takes a few hours to get there. It would so crazy to serve in Bermuda for the last 6 months of my mission which could happen! After we grabbed a bite to eat, we filled out Prince's baptismal record and got that all done and then we talked to people on the streets as we came back to the apartment. I have something kind of funny to tell you!! So for my whole mission, I have been using a ledger on my tablet to keep track of all my expenses. Elder Mitonzi saw me using it one day and thought it was an amazing idea. It has helped me so much and I'm very grateful for Dad teaching me how to be thrifty and keep a budget. Once I showed Elder Mitonzi how to do it, our roommates caught on and so I taught them about how to use it and how to budget every penny and keep track of what you buy. It has been really fun to teach them!
Saturday was so very amazing! When we were playing frisbee on P-day, a group of 30 year old people from Mexico invited us to come and play on Cinco De Mayo with them at 8:00. We were excited to go over and play some soccer and get some good exercise! They even told us beforehand that they might have some soda and snacks for Cinco De Mayo. We did our morning exercise and then walked over to the turf field near the Church and had a really fun time! We meet some interesting and cool people every single day and it amazes me how different people's beliefs are. Some people beleive in Jesus Christ and God but others beleive that Heavenly Father is Jesus Christ. Others read scriptures, some pray, and some don't. It has been so cool to learn about other people's cultures and beliefs from the country that they come from. We have mostly run into people from Africa, Jamaica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. We had a really fun time playing soccer but none of them spoke English and so it was hard to play with them and so we are going to have the Spanish Elders come and start playing with them. It was fun because they were really good and scored tons of goals. It was hard for me to tell who was on my team but by the end, I had it figured out and we had a great time! Then we got asked to fill up the baptismal font for a guy who is getting baptized named Waldir. He is Brazilian and since he was excommunicated from the Church, it was a ward baptism and so the missionaries weren't in charge of it. We invited Jessie to come and he said that he would come. Waldir is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese and is such a nice guy! His name is pronounced Voll-jeer which is interesting since it starts with a W. So we filled up the font and set up chairs and waited for people to come but it was kind of last minute and so not very many of the ward members knew about it. There was a huge bike race going on called the "5 Borough Bike Race" and it covered all 5 bouroughs and went right by the Church and up Grand Concourse, which is the main road in the Bronx. Waldir told me that he has been to Laramie and Logan and has been all over Utah and Wyoming. It was really cool! The baptism was so amazing and he bore the most amazing testimony! He talked about missionaries and to tell you all back at home thanks for letting us serve! So thank you!!! I was able to see the mission blog from our mission and I was wondering if you still check it? I saw some pictures of me and uploaded them to my drive and thought you might like to see them! Sorry that they are out of order and don't go in the right week file but I thought they were really cool! Waldir made a really yummy dinner for everyone that came and it was so delicious! There were 2 companionships of sister missionaries and then 2 members that came and it was just a great experience to hear his testimony about the Gospel! I was thinking about each of you a lot and wondering how your Cinco De Mayo was going and hoping that you were having a fiesta! Hehe!
What an awesome day Sunday was! It was pretty cloudy and it rained for a portion of the day but we had a really awesome day! We headed off to Church very excited because we had tons of investigators committ to come to Church and we were also excited because we were only 1 week away from Mother's Day! We had a really great day at Church! We had some huge and unexpected news that nobody saw coming! We had 3 investigators in Church and Prince has been doing a great job to continue to come even though his work can sometimes be challenging to get away from. We were greeting people at the door and the Stake President walked in and so we knew that something was happening. They released our Bishop and called the 1st Councilor in the Bishopric to become the new Bishop. The old Bishop's name is Bishop Ferguson and they called Bishop Mathews to serve as the new Bishop! It shocked a lot of people because Bishop Ferguson has only been in for a few years. It was a great meeting and they invited the Bishopric and their wives to bear their testimonies! Then I was talking to one of the Spanish Sister Missionaries who flew into New York the same day that I did. She came from the Mexico MTC and she is from Utah. She shocked me when she said that she goes home at the end of next transfer! That means that by the end of the next transfer, I would have been out for longer than any sister missionary is the mission! Isn't that crazy!?! We had some great classes and the New Elder Quorum President did an awesome job at setting goals for how our group councils each 1st Sunday can best help each of us. We had a really great time at Church and then we changed before studying for our lessons for the day. It was really awesome to have 3 investigators in Church and we are so glad that they came! Then we had an appointment with Kevin Lamb and when we got there, his wife and daughter told us that he had to work and so he wasn't able to meet with us. So then we had dinner at the apartment before our last lesson of the day with Brother Darko and his son and daughter. We havent had very many dinner appointments with members in this ward but we are trying to get to know members by just visiting them in their homes. It can be hard for people in the Bronx to prepare meals and so we just share messages. Brother Darko is the member with 3 kids and his youngest son is preparing to get baptized when he turns 8. He is from Ghana and I really awesome! We had a really awesome lesson and shared "The Music Of The Gospel" video and it was fun to hear their responses when we asked them what they learned. They all agreed that reading scriptures and saying prayers were the most important things to do each day. Brother Darko is always so nice and makes us dinner every time we go over. His wife is in Ghana and isn't a member of the Church and so he is trying to raise his 2 sons and 1 daughter all by himself. He has done a great job and has really well behaved kids. It was a very awesome day and we were excited to watch the devotional for young adults by Elder Kearon when we got back to the apartment for the day. I hope you all had an amazing Sabbath! I was really excited when I looked at the clock and it said 7:00 on the dot which meant exactly 1 week until our Skype call!!!
Monday was another really great day! It has been so amazing to study Preach My Gospel and read the Book of Mormon each day because I learn so much! It's amazing to see how much I've learned and how much I've been able to experience! I'm so grateful for each of you at home and you mean everything to me! I love these 2 scriptures in the Book of Mormon and they really describe missionary work so well! I love how Heavenly Father is always mindful of us and knows exactly how we are feeling. He will help us no matter what and he knows what will help us the most. We all go through tough times but as we rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for guidance, they will comfort and help us. I heard an analogy that Brother Gillingham sent me and it talks about a man who was called by Heavenly Father to push against a rock with all his might. He was getting angry because he was trying so hard but it wasn't moving. He was ready to give up when he prayed and asked Heavenly Father why he wasn't moving the rock. Heavenly Father told him that he was commanded to be obedient and push against the rock. He never said anything about moving it. It was just cool to think that as long as I'm following the rules, which I am, and just focus on giving it my all, then that is what I've been called to do.
"17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants."
I really have become so much more appreciative of the Gospel and the many blessings that come from it and how happy it allows people to be! It has been so amazing to be out here serving! I wish I could tell you everything that I've learned but I would love to tell you in person! After our studies, we went to our last District Meeting of the transfer and had a great time! It was so crazy how fast this transfer left and we all realized that some of us could be leaving. It was a really nice, cool day with lots of sun! After we did our language and companionship study and reading from the Book of Mormon, we went to a lesson with a guy named Ramos. We didn't know too much about him but the Sister Missionaries sent him to us. His Mom answered and told us that he wasn't home. She didn't speak very much English but she left us with a smile and then we went to teach a guy named Lloyd but his wife told us in the intercom that she didn't know who we were and didn't want us to come over. We got a text from Prince and he told us that he is doing well but recently moved in with some Family in Harlem but he will continue to come to our Ward. He lived so far away from his work and so it will be so much nicer for him! He told us that he was coming to Family Home Evening and so we were looking forward to that! I am so excited each day because I know that Mother's Day is coming up and that we get to talk soon! I love having a Skype call to look forward to so much!!!! Family Home Evening was really awesome and Prince was in a really great mood! It takes him a lot less time to get to the Church and so he loves living so close. We talked about kindness and how the small acts of kindness can mean the most! I talked about some of the many ways that you bless my life through your words and actions! I talked about some of our trips that we have taken and how Mom and Dad always are there for me and I can always talk to them! I also talked about how I have relied on my Family and how much each of you means to me! 1 day closer to Skyping!
Tuesday was a very great day as well! I love being a missionary so much and have seen how I have personally grown as a person and how grateful I am to be serving at this time in my life! I couldn't do it without you! Elder Ihalmo planned a split for our apartment and I would stay in our area and Elder Palmer would come with me for the day! I always love helping new missionaries in any way that I can because I know that there is quite the adjustment that comes with coming out on a mission so it was fun to have him ask me questions and work with him for the day! After we got ready for the day, we split and did our studies and then headed to the Church for an appointment with a really awesome referral named Bishop Bénéwendé. He referred himself to the missionaries and wanted to learn mote about Family History and so he aggreed to meet us at the Church to learn more! He kept calling us and telling us how excited that he was to meet and learn more. It was really cool! I was really looking forward to your email and pictures and was really excited to hear from you! I forgot to mention that I found something really cool while we were walking to an appointment. There was a bumper on the side of the road that had fallen off of a taxi cab and there was a licence plate on it and since it was garbage, I took it and realized that it was a taxi cab licence plate! It was a cool souvenir that I'm excited to show you when I get home! We had one of the most amazing lessons ever and it was a huge miracle! We got a referral for a man named Bishop Bénéwendé and he is the most amazing investigator ever!! We set an appointment and we heard that he wanted to learn more about Family History and loves our Church! We went to the Church for our lesson and he brought his wife and son! They moved her from Africa just 9 days ago and love our Church! He told us that he watched the Restoration video and felt the spirit and he prayed with his Family and knows it is all true! He wants his whole Family to join and he wants to get baptized! I just couldn't believe how amazing these investigators were and how ready they are to progress in the Gospel and get baptized! Bishop Bénéwendé is the Dad and his wife doesn't speak any English, she speaks French, and so her husband translated while we taught them all about Family History and the Restoration! When we said the closing prayer, they asked if we could take a picture because they wanted to remember this day forever because they know how much the Church will bless their lives! They told us that the LDS missionaries came to their country, Burkina Faso, in 1921 and taught his Grandfather about Christianity and he later because a member of another Christian church because of the foundation of knowledge that he had. He then gave us some gifts right from Burkina Faso in Africa! We could tell that it meant so much to them and we were stunned at how excited and thrilled they were to be taught. We got a little bracelet and flag that came from their country. It was so cool and we can't wait for them to get baptized! Then we did some service at a member's home and we trimmed some trees and used the weed whacker to trim around her fence and then she cooked us a big lunch with burgers and barbecue chicken. Then we went to basketball and Jonathan came which was so great to have him there and he is really looking forward to his baptism and told us that he would be coming to the Baptism that the sisters were having this Saturday. It was a very awesome day and I was just so excited to hear from you and hear all about your week! Your email was so amazing and so fun to read!!!! I love you all so much and I'm so excited to call you!!!!
Well everybody! It won't be long until we get to talk again and I'm really looking forward to Skyping! It is so excited to call you and I can't wait! I wish you all good luck with everything that you have going on and I hope you can feel my love and support in everything that you do! I am so thankful for your love and prayers! I'm really looking forward to the new shoes on Thursday! Thanks so much for thinking of me! It will feel so quick until we get to Skype and I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can! We are all very anxious here in the New York, New York North mission about all of the changes coming up and to hear about transfer calls on Saturday! I'm really not quite sure what will happen with transfers. I hope that Elder Mitonzi and I stay together but he only has 3 transfers left and so it is most likely that he will go. Who knows, I might be getting transfered on Tuesday! We will see. There is only 1 transfer, 6 weeks, u til the new mission President Arrives and it really is crazy how fast that time will go. I only have 6 transfers left and that is really rocking my world because I seriously feel like time is flying by. Lots of exciting times ahead that's for sure! Well, TALK TO YOU SOON!!! I will be ready and excited to talk to you!!! Have a great few days and see you soon! LOVE AND MISS YOU TONS AND TONS MY DEAR FAMILY!!!!
Love You Always! ~Elder Lindberg
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