Good morning my dear loved ones! Wow, what a great week it has been! Where do I even begin? You all had such a great week and it was a ton of fun to read all about everything you got to do! I am just so excited for you to go hear the Smiths speak on Sunday! That will be so amazing to know that you get to hear from them! They are amazing speakers and you will love their talks! I'm so grateful as always for your fun emails and pictures and for the time that you take to write them! We are going to have such a great P-Day! We are planning on doing the usual shopping and laundry and then we are going to finish unpacking the rest of our stuff and organize everything. We do plan on resting and taking a load off because we have been a little tired. So I will have tons of time to email and write back and forth! Especially because we have really nice WiFi in our apartment! We found out from the Sister Missionaries who used to live in this apartment set up an appointment for a guy to come over and fix the broken dishwasher today and so it works out great that we will be home! There are so many pretty rivers and hikes that we plan on taking within the upcoming P-Days and so we are really excited for that! My favorite part of this week was meeting the Asay Family and having the fun connection with them and their Family! So much happened this week but the most important thing to know is that I LOVE and miss each one of you so very much!!!!!!
Last P-Day was so much fun! It felt like I just packed.....oh wait....I DID just pack! Hehe! It didn't take too long to pack and so we had lots of time for fun and emailing! We got all packed up and cleaned the apartment and got our laundry done! We got a lot done and then we got a call from the Poughkeepsie Elders, who are in a trio, and 1 of the Elders had to go to the Emergency room because his knee was having some problems and so we went to go pick up the 3rd Elder to come with us for the day while his companion took the other Elder to the ER. It was a little bit crazy and we still had some packing and cleaning to do but we were happy to help! We actually packed up and took all of our luggage and stayed the night in the Poughkeepsie apartment since that is where Elder Lusk will be staying. It was defintly an interesting day with all of the run around but everything worked out so well! I was thinking about you all the whole day and wishing Abby good luck with her job training! I was getting so excited for transfers and I was anxious to get settled in to my new apartment and area! I found out that my companion is actually from Queens, New York and so it is fun having a true New Yorker as my companion! So we said goodbye to our apartment and headed up to Poughkeepsie and it was Elder Cottrell, Elder Lusk, and I having P-Day for a few hours before 6:00 hit. We got to talk to a really cool guy and he doesn't have a belief in God and we were able to give him a Book of Mormon and then we talked to a lady and she has a member who lives in her house and so we had a great talk with her about her belief in God! We had a 45 minute drive back to Poughkeepsie and we had a great night in the Poughkeepsie apartment! It is a very nice apartment and has lots of room! I was so very excited for all of your emails and I loved hearing from you during the day! We were all very excited for transfers and we went to bed looking forward to transfer day! We knew it would be a really great and fun day! Love and miss you tons and tons!!!
TRANSFER DAY!!! Wow! What a day! We were so busy all day and everything went really smoothly! The 3 of us woke up, packed up, and then headed to the Newark Chapel and we had to be there by 10:30 and then the meeting started at 11:00. They have every single missionary in the mission that is getting transferred come and also the new missionaries who are getting assigned to trainers were there as well and so it was a really fun way to have transfers! Everything went so smoothly and I love the apartment and Elder Caccioppoli! We got to drive right past MetLife Stadium and even got out to take pictures! It was so amazing to drive into New Jersey and I realized that it might be a while before I get to go back to New York! It was such an amazing drive and MetLife Stadium is huge! I have so much to tell you and so I hope it all makes sense! So we found out that the Sister Missionaries who were serving in the Sparta ward moved to a different apartment and so we are now in their old one and so there will be 4 missionaries in the Ward! This mission has a very different feel to it but I love it already! So we drove into New Jersey and made a stop in the Stadium parking lot since it was on our way and we took some pictures and it was a really cool sight to see! Then we drove to Newark and met up with all of the missionaries getting transferred that day and then I met Elder Caccioppoli and then we got our new car and apartment keys and drove about an hour to our apartment. It is so pretty up here! It has the same feel to it as Kingston with lots of trees. Our apartment is really nice and is a lot of space for just the 2 of us! We live in a town called Franklin and it is about 20 minutes away from Sparta and the Church building. The apartment address is 267 Route 23 South, Apartment: 9, Franklin New Jersey, 07416. It is such a great apartment with lots of room! The Church address is 95 Pinkneyville Road in Sparta New Jersey! This area is really awesome and there are lots of people to work with! It is wierd to have a companion who hasn't been in this area and doesn't know anybody that we are teaching and so we learn together! Elder Caccioppoli is from Queens New York and has 1 younger sister. He is really nice and just turned 20 not too long ago. He goes home in the beginning of October and so he has 12 weeks left. We had a great rest of the day getting to know each other and calling some of the leaders of the ward! It was just such a fun and exciting day! We got our car and it is a red 2017 Toyota Corolla so I thought of Puck because it is Utes colors! I just want you to know how much I love you! I was thinking about you a lot but I'm adjusting just fine and loving New Jersey! I'm so thankful for all of the experience that I got in the city! I uploaded the pictures from the day to my drive and j hope you enjoy! It was a really fun day! I hope that I'm remembering everything that I wanted to tell but I will think of things as time goes along! Love each one of you tons!!!!!
Wednesday was such a great and busy day! What a day! I woke up and was very excited for your email! Thanks so much for sending it! I was so happy to hear from you! I'm so thankful for your fun questions! So we don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment but there is one downstairs. We live on the 2nd floor and so we just walk down 1 flight of stairs and there are 2 washers and 2 dryers that are quarter operated which is so nice! I love having a washer and dryer close! We found out that it takes about 2-3 weeks for packages to get to us once they have arrived at the mission office. But letters can be sent right to our apartment! Isn't that cool?!? This area has so many trees everywhere and lots of pretty homes all around us! I have also noticed that there are tons of smaller lakes that are all over our area! It really is such a beautiful place with tons of wildlife like deer, squirrels, and even fox! Our area is pretty big and the Sister Missionaries were working with a lot of cool people! We both think that Elder Caccioppoli and I will stay together until he goes home in 12 weeks. He is very excited to see his Family but wants to finish his mission strong and so we are both really excited for these next 2 transfers! He isn't sure why he got called so close to home but he did tell me that he got his mission call and didn't go to the MTC for 2 weeks. He went right to the mission home and got his trainer the next day and so he was able to get experience right away. They thought that the best way to train him since he got called so close to home would be for him to get right to work instead of flying him all the way to Provo. Cool huh? It has been fun to get to know him! His parents were baptized into the Church after they got married and they have 2 kids. I forgot to mention yesterday that we saw a ton of different luxury car dealerships as we crossed over the New Jersey border. We saw a Lamborghini dealership and it was just funny to see all of these very expensive cars just waiting to get sold. Hehe! It has been interesting to see all of the New Jersey license plates since our car still has a New York licence plate. Franklin is a very peaceful little town. We were able to call the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader and they both sound so nice and helpful. Our Bishop's name is Bishop Kory Jensen and he has a son on a mission! I'm just so excited to be here and love the area already! Thanks a ton for everything that you do for me! It always takes a while to adjust to a different apartment, companion, and environment. I have felt a little homesick and really missed you! I think it is just because I'm new to the area but I will adjust quickly! I just love and miss each one of you so much and you mean the world to me! I always want to be the best that I can be and I want to finish the rest of my mission STRONG! We don't have any roommates which has been different because I have had roommates ever since I left Kingston and so it has been different to only have the 2 of us. We have lots of time in the morning to excersice, have breakfast, and get ready for the day! We have a really nice view from our apartment and we have a Speedway gas station and a Shop Rite store right across the street! We also have a Walmart just down the street and so that will be so nice! I feel like I'm back in Kingston!!! I am only a few pages away from finishing the whole Book of Mormon cover to cover and it has been so great to feel the spirit as I read! I really have gained a strong testimony of it on my mission and I know it is true! I have been praying so hard for another baptism and I know that this is the area that I will be able to find one! After we studied, we went to our 1st District Meeting of the transfer in a town called Ledgewood and it went really well! The missionaries are great and made me feel so welcome! It's almost like coming out as a brand new missionary because I didn't know anyone but I'm excited to get to know them better! We have some great missionaries and they are from Mexico, Utah, Washington, North Carolina, and Arizona! There are 4 companionships of Elders and 1 set of Sisters and I enjoyed hearing about all of the people that they are teaching! It takes us about 35 minutes to drive to District Meeting but I love driving! I also forgot to mention that Elder Caccioppoli didn't get his driver licence since he lives in Queens and hardly anyone has a car so I get to drive the whole time that we are together! I really enjoy driving and so it is fun to be the designated driver! I also found out more about why he got called to serve so close to his home! He had some anxiety and so he wasn't sure if he would be physically able to serve a mission and so they called him to serve a 12 week mission in the New Jersey Morristown Mission and then he would see how he could handle missionary life. Once his 12 weeks were completed, he got a call to serve for the remaining 2 years. He says that he still has some issues with being away from home and sometimes struggles with being motivated but I'm really excited to help him finish strong! I hope that all makes sense! Hehe!
Thursday was such a great and hard day's work!! We had such a great and it just makes me so happy to be a missionary and have then chance to teach people the Gospel! This area is just so awesome and we have tons of people to teach and so we are trying to get to know them and set up appointments as soon as we can! I felt so much more settled in and have adjusted very quickly to this area! I still don't know very many people but I'm excited for Sunday to meet all of the ward members! I set some goals this morning and im pretty excited about them! I want to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover 2 more times before I come home! I'm really exited to set this goal and go for it! I just finished reading the Book of Mormon and so my goal is to read it 2 more times! I love setting goals and I even wrote down a list of my goals for when I come home! I can't wait to share them with you! I found out something interesting! So in New Jersey, it is actually illegal to pump your own gas! Isn't that interesting?? They have workers who will take your card and pump your gas and have you on your way very quick! But I just thought that was so interesting! We set some goals during our weekly planning and we want to have 2 or 3 baptisms by the end of this 12 weeks until Elder Caccioppoli goes home! It's so crazy to think that my 18 months mark is coming up and that I will have less than 6 months left! We were able to do lots of tracting and we found a really cool area in a small town named Hamburg and it is a community of townhomes and the people there were so friendly! I was looking at a map and I realized that we are only 25 miles away from the Pennsylvania border and about 100 miles from Philidelphia! The rest of the evening, we did lots of tracting and found some very nice people at home but they can sometimes be very stubborn and persistent and so we have to ask the right questions that get them thinking about how they can develop a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ. So when we knock on a door, we usually tell them that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that we share a message that can bless individuals and Families! We then ask them questions about their beliefs and why they beleive what they believe. We offer them a pamphlet or a copy of the Book of Mormon and try to set a return appointment. Our door approaches have to be quick, simple, and powerful and then we help them feel the spirit by reading a scripture or testifying to them. I have really enjoyed practicing my teaching skills and working with random people who we meet on the street. We found some really nice people who were firm in their Catholic and Methodist beliefs but other people slammed the door in our face. How rude!!! Hehe!
P.S: I have been meaning to thank you for the Utah State Football schedule! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Friday was so awesome! We had another great day and we got a ton done! I really missed you all a lot and really wished that I could talk to you! I was wishing you all a fun day and hoping that you were all well and happy! I was also thinking about Abby and her new job and how her training was going and so I was excited to hear about that! We woke up and went to a fun service activity at a food pantry that the Sister Missionaries have been going to for a few months and they said it was a great activity! We went to a Church in downtown Sparta and they have a food pantry all set up and our job is to hold the bags and help them pick out food that they need. They have it run really well and they have lots of different food items to choose from. The people that came in were just so nice and were so thankful for the Food! Then I was very excited to see your fun email and picture! I was thinking about you too and was just so excited to hear from you! Thank you a tons for thinking of me and sending it! After our service, we got a call from a member in the ward who heard that we were brand new to the area and she wanted to take us out to Lunch! Her name is Sister Campbell and she calls herself the "Missionary Grandma"! She loves missionaries and says that she can't imagine how hard it would be to be away from Family and so she likes to take the missionaries out! I have felt so welcomed into this ward and I have only met 2 members so far and so I'm really looking forward to meeting more! We had a great lesson with a lady named Laura and she had her son's girlfriend at her house for a few minutes and so we were able to have a lesson on their porch with both of them! We invited Brianna to be baptized and she said that if she received an answer thought the Holy Ghost that this Church was true then she would baptized! We were so excited for it and they really understood the Restoration very well! I just want to take the time to let you know how thankful I am to be a missionary! I was watching some of the District videos about missionaries teaching investigators and I have always loved improving every single day to become more like the Savior. President Smith called the District videos our "game film" and so I have really enjoyed improving every single day. I have truly learned so much as I have seen people change and become more like the Savior as well. I think that one of the best words to describe the Gospel is change and improvement. I might not have as many baptisms as I would like but as I've heard many times, teaching sometime the Restoration is the most important thing to teach a person and the best thing for someone to hear in their lifetime! I just want to make you and my Father in Heaven proud each day as I teach and testify to what I KNOW to be true! Teaching people on the streets and testifying to people aboutnthe Gospel is just so exciting! I love teaching people about how special the Sacrament is and coming to Church and saying personal prayers because we can literally talk to our Heavenly Father and receive answers through the Holy Ghost! It gives me such a special thrill to share the Gospel and I feel such a sense of urgency because 2 years really is a short amount of time. I am just so thankful for you and all of your love and prayers! You are the greatest Family in the whole wide world and I will be forever grateful for all of the sweet memories that we have made and the examples that you are to me! The Gospel gives us so much peace, joy, and happiness and it makes me so sad for those people who aren't at peace with anything going on in their lives and that they don't have the knowledge that we are so blessed to have. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass!" I have seen such a change in myself and it just blows me away with how little time I have left! I have given it all I've got and once I hit my 6 month countdown on the 21st of July, I will push myself even harder and never slow down! This truly is the Best 2 Years that everyone talks about and has and will continue to change my life forever! After we grabbed some dinner, I felt prompted to go to a certain street in our area and we ended up tracting the whole street! It was fun to see everyone's yards and all of the pretty trees and flowers! We knocked on tons of doors and testified every chance that we got but most people told us that they weren't interested but we just kept pushing forward because we know that by working hard, good things come from talking to everyone we see! We found a record in our Area Book of a guy named Chris and he had been taught the whole Restoration a few months ago and the missionaries lost contact and so we knocked on his door and luckily he was home! We were able to talk to him about what the previous missionaries had talked about and he said that he was really interested in learning more! He said that the other missionaries stopped coming because they tried to knock on his door so many times without him being home and so he told us to keep coming and trying because when he is home, he is always willing to talk. He was a pretty big, burly guy and said that he was having a hard time because his 26 year old son moved to Florida and he has really missed him. He told us that he works right across the street from MetLife Stadium and so it was fun to tell him that I was just there! Small world isn't it!!!! It was a great day and we talked to tons of people and tried different approaches with them all to see if any point of the Gospel would catch their attention and we were excited to have met Chris!
Saturday was such an amazing day! I have so many cool things to tell you about some of the members and I'm just so excited right now!! I was wishing you a great Saturday and I was hoping that you were having fun! We got a lot done and talked to so many great people! Elder Caccioppoli is a very humble missionary! It has been fun to get to know him! Here is a little bit more about him. He got accepted to Union College in upstate New York and he loves to draw and is really good at it! He isn't in to sports as much as some as my other companions and he wants to finish school when he gets home. His parents were Catholic and the missionaries knocked on their door and baptized them a few weeks later. He said that it was a little hard to go to school in Manhattan during high school because there weren't very many members of the Church. It's funny because he took some of the same trains that I took when I was serving in Manhattan! He is a pretty quiet guy but loves teaching the Gospel very simply! It has been fun to get to know him because we are really good friends! I have been so blessed to have such great companions throughout my mission! We have tons of people in our area book who are at the state in their teaching that they just need lessons and a regular time that we teach them and we have so many people that we are calling them all to get to know them and drive to their houses and our goal has been to set up appointments with them and find more people to teach along the way! We did lots of lookups and knocked on lots of doors and it was so nice outside! We found this guy named George in our area book and so we decided to visit him. It said that he hadn't been taught very much but missionaries knocked on his door and hadn't been able to teach him and so we went over and he was home! It turns out that he is an 89 year old Air Force Veteran and has so many amazing stories! We tried to teach him about the Plan of Salvation but he just wanted company and he talked for about 45 minutes. He is such an interesting guy though and showed us some really cool stuff in his neat house! I really love the city but getting back to nature and seeing some older homes has been fun as well! Most of the people here are very down to earth and friendly! So George told us about his wife that passed away a few years ago and then he told us the story of how he met her. He said that he got home from serving in the Air Force on the 22nd of December in 1949 and his Mother asked him if he wanted to go to a Christmas party that was being held close by the following day on December 23rd 1949. He hesitated and something told him to go to the party and so he went. His Mom handed him a ticket and he and his parents went to this dance. Well he met his wife at the party that night and they ended up getting married. Well the cool part about that story is that George pulled out his wallet as he was talking to us and showed us the exact same ticket from 1949 that his Mom handed to him and he has had the same wallet ever since and the ticket has been in there ever since! It was a very neat story! He also plays the piano like a pro and plays classical music that would be played at fancy parties and also was involved with the 1969 Apollo mission that sent Neil Armstrong to the moon! 1 more cool thing about George is that he told us that his great Aunt, who he became really good friends with, went to the funeral for President Lincoln! Isn't that cool!?! I just think it was amazing that we were talking to someone whose great Aunt went to President Lincoln's funeral! Then we went to go visit a few members that lived near George and here comes the BEST part!!!! So we looked up the names of the Bishopric and we saw that the 1st councilor lives really close to where we were and so we decided to see if they were home and boy was I glad that they were! First off, his name is Brother Asay and he invited us to introduce ourselves in Sacrament Meeting and share our testimonies for 2-3 minutes. Brother Asay and his wife were home and they made us feel right at home! They are in their 50s and have 3 kids and when I walked into their living room I just about jumped for joy!!! I saw on their wall that it said Idaho and so I got very excited to talk to them about where they were from! I got to know them really well and it just goes to show just how teenie tiny this world is! I feel like the world is so small right now because I have had cool connections like this in all of my areas! So I saw a picture on a table in their living room and I saw that one of the people in the picture had a brown n gold Wyoming Cowboys shirt on!!! I got very excited and asked them who it was in the picture! It was a picture of their 2 sons and their daughter and she said that their youngest son is going to the University of Wyoming right now and just got off of his mission in Mexico this last September! She said that he loved his mission and loved every second just like I do! Then I looked over and noticed that they had the old Utah State logo and a brown n gold Wyoming sticker on their fridge! Brother Asay was born in Lovell Wyoming and Sister Asay was born in Idaho! Their daughter graduated from Utah State and their son who got off his mission was in town for just a week before he goes back to Laramie on Monday and so I just happened to be there! We talked with them for a while about our missions and where we ahve served and then as we went to leave and walked outside what did I see?!?! Their son walking up the driveway decked out in Brown n Gold Wyoming gear! He was wearing the exact same "Gameday Gold" shirt that we all got when we went to see the Pokes play against Air Force and he was also wearing a sweet Brown Cowboys hat with the bucking Bronco on it! It was a nice touch of home that made me think of you all! It was such a fun time to talk with them all because we have so much in common! I mean, what are the chances of my flying 2,000 miles away and meeting a Family who has ties to the University of Wyoming, Utah State University, and Idaho!! Sister Asay took our picture next to their Idaho sign in their home and I got a picture with their son, Connor! The timing was perfect because he goes home on Monday the 16th and so I'm so glad that I was able to talk to him abiut how Laramie was doing! He said that he would tell Laramie hello for us all! What a fun suprise that was to meet them all and talk about home! After dinner we were knocking on some doors and we came across a corner and there was an egg hutch and it said that they were selling 1 dozen farm fresh eggs for $2.00. It was tempting to buy some but we knocked on their door to tell them what a great idea it was but they were not happy that we were there because we were talking to people about Jesus Christ and so I ended up not getting any. No eggs for Tanner!!! Hehe! Then we were on a street that a member lives on and so we decided to go and visit her and it turns out that she is 91 years old and loves alone and can't get to Church and so she was absolutely thrilled that we stopped by because she says that she hasn't had company in a while. It put a big smile on our faces and we were so thankful for the day that we had! I love you all to the moon and back times 1,000!!!!
P.S: I just uploaded a picture to show you Connor decked out in Pokes gear! Can't wait for your email tomorrow! Love ya tons!
Wow! Sunday was such a great day! I was so excited the whole day for your email and I couldn't wait to read it and see your pictures! I was really excited to hear how your week went and everything that you got to do! We woke up at 5:30 to go to our ward correlation meeting at 7:00and I was looking forward to seeing the Church and meeting the members! We were asked by Brother Asay to introduce ourselves in Sacrament Meeting and tell a little bit about us! Brother Stevenson is our ward mission leader and he has breakfast for the missionaries each correlation meeting! We had some yummy pecan waffles with lots of different syrups and toppings and we had a great talk! We also had ward council right after and so we had lots of meetings to start the day! This ward is so awesome and we had about 50 people come to Sacrament meeting and the ward is really awesome! It is mostly couples in their 60's and 70's and then we also have a few younger couples with little kids and everyone is just so friendly! We were able to introduce ourselves and I told the whole ward that we are here to work and right after I said that and after Church got done, Brother Asay asked me to speak next Sunday on a conference talk! It was so cool to see that he trusts us and put us right to work! The ward is pretty diverse with a few recent converts and also lifelong members and even some members from Utah! We watched a talk in Elders Quorum from President Oaks about small and simple things. I learned lots of new names and so I hope that I don't forget them! I had this strong feeling during the day that this is where I need to be and I'm so blessed to be serving in this ward! A Member looked really familiar to me and I asked her where I had seen her and she says that she works in the Manhattan Temple as an ordinance worker! I was also able to pass the sacrament with Elder Caccioppoli and I got to wish Connor Asay a good trip to Laramie! We had some great talks about religious freedom and how each one of us as members of the Church have to protect our religious rights. The members welcomed us into the ward very nicely and it was fun to have everyone so excited to have Elders back in the ward because they haven't had any for a while! It was a great day at Church and we talked to lots of people! I was thinking about all of you as you went to Church as well! The Sparta chapel actually looks a lot like ours does in good old Nibley! Our Church starts at 10:00 our time and 8:00 your time and it is a really great time for Church! I am just so grateful for each of you and have the most respect and love for all that you do! I try to emulate your actions and make you proud in everything that I do! We tracted and visited people and called our investigators for the rest of the day and everything went so well! Thank you for all of your prayers as we are out and about! I feel so safe to drive because I know that I have extra prayers sent my way from back home! I pray for your safety as well and I'm so grateful that you are all doing so well and happy!!!
I totally forgot to mention that we have Zone Conference tomorrow in Morristown and so I am very excited for that! It will be so fun to hear from President Hess again and meet other missionaries! It has been fun to get to know brand new missionaries that have served in this mission the whole time! Will let you know how our zone conference goes tomorrow! They asked me to share the monthly theme scripture and have all of the missionaries recite it and then I will be preparing my talk for Sunday!
Well my dear and awesome Loved ones! I had such a blast hearing from you and typing up this email! You are all just the best, most amazing Family EVER and I'm so grateful for all of the many things that you do for me! I hope that you all have a really fun and great week! We are really close to the 24th of July but it's funny because nobody has ever heard of that over here in New Jersey! Hehe! We have another busy week and we are excited for our return appointments! Cross your fingers that they will all be home! I am adjusting super well to this new area and it keeps getting easier and easier to adjust since I have been transferred so many times and so I've really got the adjusting down! Well my dear Family, I hope that each of you has an amazing and fun week and love every minute of your summer! I can't believe that it is already the 16th! Thanks again for the awesome emails and pictures! I love and appreciate each of you so much and I'm so thankful for everything that you do for me! I hope that you have another really awesome and fun week! LOVE & MISS YOU TONS & TONS!!!!!!!
Love You Always!
~Elder Lindberg
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