Elder Lindquist's Beja Address
Send letters and packages here
Elder Lindquist
Rua de Camilo Castle Branco
No 28 R/C DTO
7800-280 Beja
Portugal
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Family update
This week has been pretty busy. Last Wednesday (12/3), Suzette was supposed to get her 1st post chemo treatment PET scan. This was canceled due to the solution they pump into her was not available for some reason.
Monday night we enjoyed a Kurt Bestor Christmas: A Celebration of Life concert at UVU. This concert was dedicated to all of the cancer survivors. At the beginning of the program they showed a video presentation of cancer survivors and their stories. This brought back a flood of memories and emotions. It was an enjoyable evening and it was good to have our boys join us as well.
Anyway, her PET was rescheduled for yesterday. Her appointment was at 1:00, so she had to fast all morning. She came through the procedure with flying colors and was rewarded by her loving husband with dinner at Cafe Rio. She is such a trooper and has never complained. She is a great example! Her appointment with her Oncologist to give us the results of the PET was today. Dr. Clark said that the PET was perfect. Suzette is in remission! We celebrated by attending the temple and her loving husband treated her to lunch at Olive Garden.
Elder Lindquist 12/10
Hello from Beja! Hey everyone how is everything? I have more or less been in Beja for about two weeks now and I love it here, this last week has been amazing. We have a new investigator and a couple is pretty close to baptism they're just waiting for their marriage papers to come through. We're the only missionaries in Beja and our area is pretty big so we walk a lot. Your feet get beat up from walking on cobble stone all day but I can't complain it is so beautiful here. Last P-day we went to the castle that's here in the middle of the city and took some really cool pictures, it's been pretty cold and rainy this last week but it's not too bad. The language is coming pretty good I feel like I can communicate pretty well but I have a long ways to go. On Monday Elder Rissi and I went to a city called Evora to do divisions with part of our district. (We have six elders total in our district, a companionship in Evora and a companionship in Santo Andre.) It was way fun and we got so much done. For some reason almost everyone we talked to that day was accepting of our message. Elder Flint and I were able to obtain about twenty addresses/phone numbers from contacting, teach two lessons, place two Books of Mormon, and get in a door. That usually doesn't happen in an entire week. So it was really fun to have that much success in a matter of 5 hours or so. We were on our way to pick up some dinner and talked to a guy in a park who was a little hesitant to talk to us but once he realized we just wanted to visit with him and not take any money or anything he really opened up. He played guitar and we talked about music, (in English). I was way excited to talk to someone in English!) We talked about Miles Davis, Neil Young, Led Zepplin, the whole gang. It was sweet. Elder Flint and I were also able to teach him most of the first lesson about the restoration of the gospel and it was really cool. He seemed really interested in the fact that we had a living prophet on the earth today. He had band practice after talking for about 45 minutes but we gave him a Book of Mormon and challenged him to read Moroni 10:3-5 and pray about the book. I wish I could be there for their next appointment with him but I am needed here in Beja. Last night we all went to the bus station to come back to Beja and spend P-day here. Elder Flint’s companion forgot some things so he and elder Rissi went back to their house to get it. While they were gone elder Flint and I decided to do some more contacting since we missed our bus and the next one wasn't leaving for another hour and a half. Every one we talked to gave us their address to visit another day, which is extremely rare here. Almost everyone says they don't have time to talk and sticks their hand up in your face. It's really funny. So as we were contacting we decided to go back into the city to visit one of their new investigators who they'd only taught once. He's like nineteen and is from Cabo Verde, Africa. He was home as well as all three of his roommates. They were all watching the soccer game between Sporting Portugal vs. Brazilia Brazil. They were way cool guys but didn't really seem interested in why we were there. We went into another room with their investigator to share the second lesson. We were visiting with him for a while, and in the meantime some of his roommates would come in to talk a little bit. The game was really loud coming from the other room, and pretty soon all of his roommates were in the room. We had a lot of fun talking to them while a couple of them bounced a basketball around, so it was really loud. Time was running a little short so I said ok guys now we want to teach you about the plan of salvation. It's the plan Our Heavenly Father has for us to return and live with him again. This got their attention and they shut the door to block the sounds of the game in the background, this was a miracle. For about twenty five minutes Elder Flint and I taught four Cabo Verdians about how they can live with their families after this life. It was the coolest thing in the world. I will always be able to skateboard and play drums and do all of that stuff I did before the mission but that is one thing I will never be able to do again after these two years here. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here and I know that I'm supposed to be here at this time.With love, Elder Lindquist
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Elder Lindquist 12/3
Hello all! How is life back in the USA? I have been in Portugal for a week and one day now and it is crazy here. Everything here is the exact opposite of America. I've started to appreciate things a lot more that I took for granted back home. My first area is a place called Beja. It's a town of about 40,000 people and its right in the heart of the mission. So we're kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It was a three hour bus ride to get here and the first week has been awesome! Beja has lots of crazy people; there are lots of drunks and gypsies. But there are also so many nice people who will give you anything they have. I feel bad because they don't have much but they are willing to help the elders any way they can. It is freezing cold here, the buildings don't have heating or air conditioning because the people think that airflow like that makes you sick. So needless to say we have the space heaters on constantly. The first week wasn't too bad at all, I had some jet lag but I think it’s wearing off.
My trainer is awesome, his name is Elder Rissi and he's a native from the Porto area, which is the northern part of Portugal. He's a really nice guy that speaks perfect English. We do a lot of visiting with members and trying to get them to come to church. We have a couple of potential baptisms but we'll see. So many things happen every day I can't even think of a story to tell.
The city here is really cool, there's a big castle right by our apartment. All the roads and sidewalks are cobblestone, most of the city is really old and the buildings look really cool. We live in kind of a ghetto area but our apartment on the inside is nice. We live by a lot of gypsies. One of which is a member, Pala Cristina. She's the nicest lady! She has a son named Pedro that's about 12 and we're trying to get him to the point so he can receive the lessons but he's got a ways to go.
Most of the members are old crazy people, church is very interesting. It is the exact opposite of the way church is in America, people will just get up in sacrament meeting and go in the kitchen to eat the left over food from the activity we had on Saturday night. It is going to take some getting used to. President Gil, our Branch President asked me to get up and introduce myself and bear my testimony. There are about a hundred members in our branch but only about thirty go to church and only like four hold the priesthood. We walk everywhere here, and it stunk because it rained a lot this last week. So yeah that's pretty much how my first week went. I'll try and remember a story for next week.
Eu espero tudo bem!ama Jordão
My trainer is awesome, his name is Elder Rissi and he's a native from the Porto area, which is the northern part of Portugal. He's a really nice guy that speaks perfect English. We do a lot of visiting with members and trying to get them to come to church. We have a couple of potential baptisms but we'll see. So many things happen every day I can't even think of a story to tell.
The city here is really cool, there's a big castle right by our apartment. All the roads and sidewalks are cobblestone, most of the city is really old and the buildings look really cool. We live in kind of a ghetto area but our apartment on the inside is nice. We live by a lot of gypsies. One of which is a member, Pala Cristina. She's the nicest lady! She has a son named Pedro that's about 12 and we're trying to get him to the point so he can receive the lessons but he's got a ways to go.
Most of the members are old crazy people, church is very interesting. It is the exact opposite of the way church is in America, people will just get up in sacrament meeting and go in the kitchen to eat the left over food from the activity we had on Saturday night. It is going to take some getting used to. President Gil, our Branch President asked me to get up and introduce myself and bear my testimony. There are about a hundred members in our branch but only about thirty go to church and only like four hold the priesthood. We walk everywhere here, and it stunk because it rained a lot this last week. So yeah that's pretty much how my first week went. I'll try and remember a story for next week.
Eu espero tudo bem!ama Jordão
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
He's there!
So we finally made it to Lisbon. It has been a long string of airplane rides but I'm doing alright. We're all really excited and happy, but very tired. My brain hurts just from even thinking of what to type. We almost missed our flight from Paris to Lisbon because JFK took forever to leave but a lady called the plane and they waited for us and a couple other people going to Lisbon. Our mission President met us at the airport; he and his wife are very nice. We are going to spend the night at the mission home and then get matched with our trainers tomorrow. Right now we're just kind of relaxing while the mission president interviews people. We're going to get pizza here in a little bit and have orientation. I'm so excited, Lisbon is awesome! Well I've got to go, take care I love you. Elder Lindquist
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Elder Lindquist 11/25
All,
Elder Lindquist called this morning from the SLC Airport. He has received his visa and is on his way to Portugal. He said he got about three hours of sleep last night and additionally he will lose 7 more hours due to the time difference. His district will all be going. They had about an hour before his flight left; they were going to grab a bite to eat. He couldn’t wait to eat some “normal” food; he was getting tired of the same old cafeteria food at the MTC. He will arrive in Portugal at around 7 a.m. He will fly to New York, and then have a stop in Paris, then to Lisbon. He was a little worried about the weight of his luggage. They weighed in just fine with no additional fees!
He is so pumped and excited to be going. He is going to be a great missionary! We want to thank everyone for their love and support.
The Mission Home address: (Letters only)
Elder Jordan Michael Lindquist
Portugal Lisbon Mission
Apartado 40054
1500 Lisbon
Portugal
Elder Jordan Michael Lindquist (Packages only)
Portugal Lisbon Mission
Rua Jorge Barradas 14C
1500 Lisboa
Portugal
Click on Google link to view Elder Lindquist's Mission Home in Google Earth:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=109940560602722579917.00045c862cd56389b7672&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.765327,-9.195385&spn=0.060499,0.153809&z=13
Elder Lindquist called this morning from the SLC Airport. He has received his visa and is on his way to Portugal. He said he got about three hours of sleep last night and additionally he will lose 7 more hours due to the time difference. His district will all be going. They had about an hour before his flight left; they were going to grab a bite to eat. He couldn’t wait to eat some “normal” food; he was getting tired of the same old cafeteria food at the MTC. He will arrive in Portugal at around 7 a.m. He will fly to New York, and then have a stop in Paris, then to Lisbon. He was a little worried about the weight of his luggage. They weighed in just fine with no additional fees!
He is so pumped and excited to be going. He is going to be a great missionary! We want to thank everyone for their love and support.
The Mission Home address: (Letters only)
Elder Jordan Michael Lindquist
Portugal Lisbon Mission
Apartado 40054
1500 Lisbon
Portugal
Elder Jordan Michael Lindquist (Packages only)
Portugal Lisbon Mission
Rua Jorge Barradas 14C
1500 Lisboa
Portugal
Click on Google link to view Elder Lindquist's Mission Home in Google Earth:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=109940560602722579917.00045c862cd56389b7672&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.765327,-9.195385&spn=0.060499,0.153809&z=13
Friday, November 21, 2008
Elder Lindquist 11/21
Hello everyone,
This last week was amazing! It’s crazy to think that we only have three more days here. I am definitely going to miss this place and all the people I've grown to love. But I am ready to head out into the real world. Yesterday was the last day with our teachers, (one is getting married tomorrow and the other is going out of town for turkey day.) So they brought in pictures from their missions and told us stories and stuff. It was really cool and it got us super exited to leave, we also threw a bachelor party for Irmão Harmon. All of us brought all of the goodies we have received in the last week up to the classroom, (which consisted of like a hundred pounds of every kind of candy you can imagine...) and we decorated the room. We surprised him big time. We scarfed dinner down then ran up to the room so we could be there before him then turned off the lights and waited, I've never seen anyone smile bigger than he did. It was awesome. This whole last week has been the perfect way to end our stay here everything has gone very smoothly. We had an awesome experience this last Tuesday; Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came to speak to us for our devotional. It was by far my favorite meeting we've had here so far; he is such a good speaker especially with the missionaries. After each of the devotionals we have devotional review where we go back to our classroom and discuss our thoughts on the talk. The spirit was super strong that night as we discussed our feelings about the devotional and then bore our testimonies in Portuguese. Yesterday was our last time to teach the second lesson. We also had to incorporate the law of tithing into it. (o lei de DÃzimo) it went really really well. There was also a ton of volunteers at the TRC that day so we got to have a "member" there during our lesson. It was super helpful to have them there and let them bear their testimony about the law of tithing and the plan of salvation. Everything is going really well, I'm feeling really comfortable with the language but I know that's about to turn around real quick here in four days or so. We're getting really busy in our last few weeks with departure meetings and things like that.
I'm not looking forward to packing but oh well it's got to happen. This Sunday Elder Craig and I are released as zone leaders, which is a relief but sad at the same time because we've gotten to know our zone so well and now we're taking off but we enjoyed serving. Oh I forgot to mention we had a new district come in on Wed. there were only supposed to be eight missionaries but a ton of elders, and one sister were sent here due to their visas being delayed. So we had a group of 17 new missionaries show up this week, orientation went really well except for the tour of the MTC campus was a little hard to keep everyone together but other than that things went well. I'm just so excited to head out into the field, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now than serving the Lord in Portugal. I love my district, I love the MTC, I love Portuguese, (even though it doesn't love me) and I hope that when I get to Portugal I can love the people there. Thanks for your support and prayers!!
ama Jordão
This last week was amazing! It’s crazy to think that we only have three more days here. I am definitely going to miss this place and all the people I've grown to love. But I am ready to head out into the real world. Yesterday was the last day with our teachers, (one is getting married tomorrow and the other is going out of town for turkey day.) So they brought in pictures from their missions and told us stories and stuff. It was really cool and it got us super exited to leave, we also threw a bachelor party for Irmão Harmon. All of us brought all of the goodies we have received in the last week up to the classroom, (which consisted of like a hundred pounds of every kind of candy you can imagine...) and we decorated the room. We surprised him big time. We scarfed dinner down then ran up to the room so we could be there before him then turned off the lights and waited, I've never seen anyone smile bigger than he did. It was awesome. This whole last week has been the perfect way to end our stay here everything has gone very smoothly. We had an awesome experience this last Tuesday; Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came to speak to us for our devotional. It was by far my favorite meeting we've had here so far; he is such a good speaker especially with the missionaries. After each of the devotionals we have devotional review where we go back to our classroom and discuss our thoughts on the talk. The spirit was super strong that night as we discussed our feelings about the devotional and then bore our testimonies in Portuguese. Yesterday was our last time to teach the second lesson. We also had to incorporate the law of tithing into it. (o lei de DÃzimo) it went really really well. There was also a ton of volunteers at the TRC that day so we got to have a "member" there during our lesson. It was super helpful to have them there and let them bear their testimony about the law of tithing and the plan of salvation. Everything is going really well, I'm feeling really comfortable with the language but I know that's about to turn around real quick here in four days or so. We're getting really busy in our last few weeks with departure meetings and things like that.
I'm not looking forward to packing but oh well it's got to happen. This Sunday Elder Craig and I are released as zone leaders, which is a relief but sad at the same time because we've gotten to know our zone so well and now we're taking off but we enjoyed serving. Oh I forgot to mention we had a new district come in on Wed. there were only supposed to be eight missionaries but a ton of elders, and one sister were sent here due to their visas being delayed. So we had a group of 17 new missionaries show up this week, orientation went really well except for the tour of the MTC campus was a little hard to keep everyone together but other than that things went well. I'm just so excited to head out into the field, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now than serving the Lord in Portugal. I love my district, I love the MTC, I love Portuguese, (even though it doesn't love me) and I hope that when I get to Portugal I can love the people there. Thanks for your support and prayers!!
ama Jordão
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Family Update 11/20
I was reprimanded for not keeping up on our family a little more often. It is just our son Jordan has really consumed our every thought and energy. I know this is a lousy excuse, but it will have to do.
Suz has been doing relatively well since her completion of her treatments in September. She still gets weak really easily and also gets frustrated that she can't do more. I have reminded her she is doing great considering she went through 4 months of chemo and 5 weeks of radiation therapy. She feels as though she takes one step forward and two steps back. All in all she is doing well and we feel very blessed to have her in our lives and have her as healthy as she is. Her next PET scan is in a couple of weeks and we will get a better idea of how her body has responded to the treatments. As anybody who has dealt with this dreaded disease knows, it is a waiting game until the next PET or CAT scan. We are hopeful and have the faith that all will be well for many years to come.
Dallan is done with football for the year. Suz, Dallan, and I attended the Annual banquet held on 11/18. Dallan was awarded a football letter. He is now focusing his attention to "working out" and the baseball season in the spring, which actually starts in February. He attended Sadie Hawkins a couple of weeks ago. They wore Cubs shirts and I believe I heard Dallan state he had a good time. Dallan doesn't say a lot, so when he does, you have to be tuned into what he is saying. Dallan also sold the hand-me-down vehicle from Jordan (which was a 90 Toyota Corolla), and bought an 85 BMW 318I. I believe he is pleased with the vehicle, because he hasn't stopped smiling since the purchase!
Ryan is doing well. He always has a smile on his face and if he doesn't it isn't very difficult to get a smile to come to the surface. He completed a scout pow wow this last week. He is looking forward to his birthday in a month or so. He will be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood and is looking forward to becoming a Deacon. However, he was a little disappointed when he found out that the Deacons don't play in the Young Men's basketball league. He will be playing Jr. Jazz though.
We have been and are very blessed. I am grateful for the plan of happiness and for the opportunity our family can be a forever family.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Elder Lindquist 11/14
So this will be the second to last email I am able to send while at the MTC.
This last week was busy but it went by super fast. I hope this next week goes by that fast so we can head out of here without it dragging on too much. Speaking of which, we got our flight plans today. On the twenty fifth we report to the travel office at 5:00 AM, our flight is at 8:25 and we fly to NYC. Then we eat and fly to Charles de gau, Paris. We have about an hour layover there then it's about an hour long flight to Lisbon. I'm so excited; this week is going to be hard to focus when we know we're leaving so soon. A bunch of missionaries from our zone, (including one from my district) got their visas to go to Brazil. So they will all leave this Tuesday to go to Sau Palo. This is a sad thing because we are really getting to know them and they're a really cool group of Elders but everything must come to an end. So this last Thursday we taught the second lesson, (the plan of salvation) for the first time at the Teaching Evaluation Center. When we were talking about Adam and Eve neither Elder Craig or I could remember how to say multiply and replenish the earth, so I said, o primero mandamento Deus deu para Adão e eva foi para faz bebes. If you couldn't understand that I basically said the first commandment God gave Adam and Eve was to make babies. Both my companion and the investigator started busting up laughing. We'll have to work on the vocabulary more for that lesson but other than that it went well. Hopefully my bags aren’t overweight because if they are it's a $150-300 charge. We've all enjoyed our stay here but I think it's time to head out into the world and spread the gospel. We've all grown to be really good friends here, our district is by far the coolest one in the MTC. So it's going to be a sad thing to separate but we're really excited to go to Lisbon even if we can't speak a lick of Portuguese! Well I'll stop blabbing. Thanks to everyone for writing me.
ama Jordão
This last week was busy but it went by super fast. I hope this next week goes by that fast so we can head out of here without it dragging on too much. Speaking of which, we got our flight plans today. On the twenty fifth we report to the travel office at 5:00 AM, our flight is at 8:25 and we fly to NYC. Then we eat and fly to Charles de gau, Paris. We have about an hour layover there then it's about an hour long flight to Lisbon. I'm so excited; this week is going to be hard to focus when we know we're leaving so soon. A bunch of missionaries from our zone, (including one from my district) got their visas to go to Brazil. So they will all leave this Tuesday to go to Sau Palo. This is a sad thing because we are really getting to know them and they're a really cool group of Elders but everything must come to an end. So this last Thursday we taught the second lesson, (the plan of salvation) for the first time at the Teaching Evaluation Center. When we were talking about Adam and Eve neither Elder Craig or I could remember how to say multiply and replenish the earth, so I said, o primero mandamento Deus deu para Adão e eva foi para faz bebes. If you couldn't understand that I basically said the first commandment God gave Adam and Eve was to make babies. Both my companion and the investigator started busting up laughing. We'll have to work on the vocabulary more for that lesson but other than that it went well. Hopefully my bags aren’t overweight because if they are it's a $150-300 charge. We've all enjoyed our stay here but I think it's time to head out into the world and spread the gospel. We've all grown to be really good friends here, our district is by far the coolest one in the MTC. So it's going to be a sad thing to separate but we're really excited to go to Lisbon even if we can't speak a lick of Portuguese! Well I'll stop blabbing. Thanks to everyone for writing me.
ama Jordão
Friday, November 7, 2008
ELder Lindquist 11/7
Wow this last week was busy, but awesome. Elder Craig and I were called to be the new zone leaders, so this last week has been pretty interesting. We had a new district of twelve come in on Wed. so we got to do orientation with them and give them a tour of the MTC campus. They are a good group of Elders and Sisters; we're excited to get to know them better as we have the district below us. It's crazy to think that in three weeks we'll be out of here. The oldest district left on Monday and Tuesday of this last week. It's nice that our branch is good about following the rules and getting in on time. But other missionaries like to meander around the hallways at night much later than they're supposed to, so we kind of have to baby sit people and make sure they're getting in on time. Anyway, the Portuguese is coming along. We taught the first lesson for the second time and it went ok. I can't wait to teach the second lesson next week, even though I don't know very much of the second lesson in Portuguese we learn fast. Oh I just remembered a funny story that happened on Tuesday. There is a building here where you can practice teaching people and you can sign up any day to practice. There's a thing called a "progressing investigator" where this guy that served in Lisboa pretends to be an investigator, he asks different questions with every set of missionaries that teaches him (he acts like investigators he taught.) So Tuesday was our first time teaching him and first off he had us practice a couple door approaches. The first one he just said no thanks and shut the door, the next one he pretended to be a timid old lady and cracked the door open a couple inches to look at us. When we started talking to him he just mumbled something and slowly shut the door in our face, it was pretty funny. The third time we made it into his home and started getting to know him. Before we started the lesson we asked if we could start with a prayer, he said ok and stood up. We asked him to please sit down and I said I would offer the prayer. As I started the prayer he started copying everything I said. I couldn't help it I was laughing so hard, Elder Craig started busting up too. Even the "progressing investigator" was laughing too. I said probably like two things in the prayer then closed because I was laughing so hard. I was in tears by the end of the prayer. But after that I got myself together and we continued to teach him the first lesson and it went ok. We challenged him to read the intro to the Book of Mormon and pray about it so I'll let you guys know if he's following up on his commitments. ha well I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for your letters and prayers.ama Jordão
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Elder Lindquist 10/31
Hello, This week was sweet. I think I mentioned last week that Elder Craig and I had to learn/teach the first lesson in Portuguese in a weeks time. I did not believe that this was possible. But we studied hard and with the help of the spirit, were able to teach most of the first lesson in thirty five minutes. That's a lot of Portuguese. The only time we struggled was after I recited the first vision to the "investigator" he asked the question, so if I pray will God appear to me like he appeared to Joseph Smith. I barely understood that to begin with so you can imagine that answering the question was a little sketchy. I felt like a five year old trying to answer the question but both Elder Craig and I can testify pretty well so when we're in doubt we just testify about stuff! This last Tuesday, L. Tom Perry came and spoke to us and it was cool. I liked Elder Scott's address more though. But it was still good, we didn't get to meet him so I'm glad I was able to meet Elder Scott. We go to the RC (resource center) every Wednesday, that's where we chat with people online and talk to them on the phone about their questions and stuff. For some reason everyone I talked to this week thought that God was a "hypocritical killing machine" when people have that point of view it's kind of hard to convince them that God loves us and wants the best for us. But I tried to testify and answer their question to the best of my ability. But anyway the language is coming a lot easier, Elder Craig and I found that it's a lot easier to just learn vocab for the subject you want to talk about them just piece the words together instead of memorizing the phrases that are writen out in our Portuguese books. That way your message is more personal and you're not just reciting something you memorized. Of course we do memorize stuff like Tiago 1:5 (James 1:5) and the first vision and stuff but it's a lot more fun to speak in your own words. This Monday we're going to be the oldest district! The old phogies ship out Monday morning and we get a new district or two on Wed. It's kind of weird to think that we're going to be the old ones now. It kind of makes the reality that we're leaving in less than a month a little more tangible. I still have so much to learn though, I feel like I'm learning a lot but at the same time I'm kind of scared to go to a country where that's the only language they speak. But at the same time I'm super exited. Well hope all is well with everyone, take it easy. ama -Jorão (Elder Lindquist) Eu estou muito grato pelo evangelo de Jesus Cristo Eu tenho não dúvida que elevive. Este é melhor trabalho sempre!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Elder Lindquist 10/25
Our family did not receive a letter this week from our Elder, just this e-mail. It sounds as if he is writing to everyone else quite a bit.
This last week was good. It's kind of a blur because it went by so fast but we are learning like crazy. I almost have the first vision down in Portuguese, and this last week was the last week to teach the lessons in English. This next Thursday it's back to the first lesson in Portuguese, we are definately going to sound like five year olds speaking, but oh well. This last Thursday Elder Craig and I carried on a ten minute conversation or so. We taught the person how to pray and talked about our families, we even brought a couple fotagrafÃas as a visual aid. Last Tuesday night Elder Mask, (from the seventy) and his wife came and spoke to us for our devotional and it was sweet. He had so many cool stories to tell, most of which were about his Grandpa who left his wife and baby behind to serve a mission during the Mexican revolution. They were some of the coolest stories I've ever heard, they sounded like something out of the Book of Mormon. I hope I can have some experiences like that that I can share when I get home. I like the MTC but I'm anxious to get out there and start teaching people, (even if I can't speak the language that well.) Thank you all for the letters you've been sending me, if I haven't written you back it's because I accidently threw away the letters evelope with your addresses on it. But I hope all is well with everyone. This last month has just flown by, it seems like just yesterday I was giving my farewell talk. It is crazy to think I only have twenty three to go. Elder Craig and I get along fine, some of the other companionships in our zone don't so it's nice to have a companion that I can get along with. I think I've seen a dozen Elders from school/mission prep classes. I thought I was the last one out the door but I guess not, there's an Elder that's in our room that is 22 and he's from Washington and he sees people he knows too so I guess it's just a small world. Well that was a little side trip. I don't really know what to say because not too much happened this week but I hope all is going ok with everyone. Tchau, ama Elder Lindquist (Jordão)
This last week was good. It's kind of a blur because it went by so fast but we are learning like crazy. I almost have the first vision down in Portuguese, and this last week was the last week to teach the lessons in English. This next Thursday it's back to the first lesson in Portuguese, we are definately going to sound like five year olds speaking, but oh well. This last Thursday Elder Craig and I carried on a ten minute conversation or so. We taught the person how to pray and talked about our families, we even brought a couple fotagrafÃas as a visual aid. Last Tuesday night Elder Mask, (from the seventy) and his wife came and spoke to us for our devotional and it was sweet. He had so many cool stories to tell, most of which were about his Grandpa who left his wife and baby behind to serve a mission during the Mexican revolution. They were some of the coolest stories I've ever heard, they sounded like something out of the Book of Mormon. I hope I can have some experiences like that that I can share when I get home. I like the MTC but I'm anxious to get out there and start teaching people, (even if I can't speak the language that well.) Thank you all for the letters you've been sending me, if I haven't written you back it's because I accidently threw away the letters evelope with your addresses on it. But I hope all is well with everyone. This last month has just flown by, it seems like just yesterday I was giving my farewell talk. It is crazy to think I only have twenty three to go. Elder Craig and I get along fine, some of the other companionships in our zone don't so it's nice to have a companion that I can get along with. I think I've seen a dozen Elders from school/mission prep classes. I thought I was the last one out the door but I guess not, there's an Elder that's in our room that is 22 and he's from Washington and he sees people he knows too so I guess it's just a small world. Well that was a little side trip. I don't really know what to say because not too much happened this week but I hope all is going ok with everyone. Tchau, ama Elder Lindquist (Jordão)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Elder Lindquist 10/17-18
Email sent on Friday, October 17, 2008
All, so I've been here almost a month and the time has flown by. A new district came into our zone this last Wednesday so we're not the newbies anymore. We're now the middle district, the oldest ones left last Tuesday and I miss a lot of them, they were cool guys. The Portuguese is coming along, in our appointment at theTRC (Teaching Resource Center) we were supposed to speak in Portuguese for fifteen minutes, but Elder Craig and I only lasted like ten minutes. But we did a good job of teaching the second lesson (the plan of salvation). It's crazy how much you learn in just a week. Not only with the language but your teaching skills and your knowledge of the doctrine increases drasticly. The spirit is definately guiding us as we study and the Lord has blessed us a great deal in these past three and a half weeks. This last week was pretty rough I about had a nervous breakdown on Wednesday, but I'm feeling better now. Some things in Portuguese just don't make sense to me and it can be extremely frusturating. In addition, one of my teachers ticks me off sometimes. But I like my other one a lot, he's a stud. I definately have learned a lot about personalities here, because we're forced to be with so many people that have different attitudes about stuff and there's so many different personalities that a lot of times those clash. Sometimes it stinks but it also makes things interesting. We have some friends in our residence halls, (by friends I mean mice) the other day one went for one of my no-bake cookies and I knocked him out. (just kidding that never happened) but an Elder had his mom send him some mouse traps and he's caught six already. Our teacher is enforcing a rule that when any one of us passes gas we have to do twenty pushups since the cafateria food can cause extremely potent gas, needless to say we are all getting pretty buff. On a more spiritual note, Richard G. Scott came to speak at our devotional on Tuesday night. I got to meet him after the meeting and it was awesome! The second he walked in the room it was filled with the Spirit. I liked him before I heard him speak in person but he has now definately climbed up the list on my favorite twelve apostles list. He was super funny and involved the audience most of the time, but the end of his talk he bore his testimony and it was one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard. There was no doubt in my mind that he is actually an apostle of God. I really like Sunday nights because we have a fireside and get to watch amovie after. Gym is also fun, I'm trying to cut back on the sweets/ranch and run a little more. Well I'm running out of time so I'll bear my testimony in Portuguese. Eu sei que Jesus Cristo ama nós, e Deus vive. Deus restorão sua o evangelhoatráves o profeta joseph smith. Eu testifÃco que as nossas familias podem sereternas. E Jesus Cristo é nosso redentor. well that's about all I've got and I've run out of time so take care!
Letter sent on Saturday, October 18, 2008
I hope all is well. It's good to hear that Payson is winning some games. How many more games do you guys have? It's starting to get cold out and hopefully you don't have to play in the snow or anything. I miss you guys and think of you often. I miss the little stuff like going to Grandma's on Sunday and playing backyard badminton and watching movies as a family.
Anyway, I kind of feel like the language is coming along lately. I can kind of piece sentences together (small ones). Our whole district tries to speak every word we know even if it's just one in a sentence full of English words. It's pretty funny, we'll probably look back and think oh my goodness we were horrible. But it's a fun language. Our Portuguese accent is way cooler than the Brazilian one. I feel bad for the 1 Brazilian Elder in our district because we all speak different than him. I forgot to mention that Brother Aidukaitis, (the one that gave the talk about his father being converted in Brazil, and talked a lot about the Book of Mormon). His older brother is the second counselor in our branch presidency. He's a nice guy, he also served as a mission president in Brazil. Every member of our branch presidency served as a mission president in either Brazil or Portugal. Well, I'm going to do some laundry and send an email to you guys.
Ama Jordao
All, so I've been here almost a month and the time has flown by. A new district came into our zone this last Wednesday so we're not the newbies anymore. We're now the middle district, the oldest ones left last Tuesday and I miss a lot of them, they were cool guys. The Portuguese is coming along, in our appointment at theTRC (Teaching Resource Center) we were supposed to speak in Portuguese for fifteen minutes, but Elder Craig and I only lasted like ten minutes. But we did a good job of teaching the second lesson (the plan of salvation). It's crazy how much you learn in just a week. Not only with the language but your teaching skills and your knowledge of the doctrine increases drasticly. The spirit is definately guiding us as we study and the Lord has blessed us a great deal in these past three and a half weeks. This last week was pretty rough I about had a nervous breakdown on Wednesday, but I'm feeling better now. Some things in Portuguese just don't make sense to me and it can be extremely frusturating. In addition, one of my teachers ticks me off sometimes. But I like my other one a lot, he's a stud. I definately have learned a lot about personalities here, because we're forced to be with so many people that have different attitudes about stuff and there's so many different personalities that a lot of times those clash. Sometimes it stinks but it also makes things interesting. We have some friends in our residence halls, (by friends I mean mice) the other day one went for one of my no-bake cookies and I knocked him out. (just kidding that never happened) but an Elder had his mom send him some mouse traps and he's caught six already. Our teacher is enforcing a rule that when any one of us passes gas we have to do twenty pushups since the cafateria food can cause extremely potent gas, needless to say we are all getting pretty buff. On a more spiritual note, Richard G. Scott came to speak at our devotional on Tuesday night. I got to meet him after the meeting and it was awesome! The second he walked in the room it was filled with the Spirit. I liked him before I heard him speak in person but he has now definately climbed up the list on my favorite twelve apostles list. He was super funny and involved the audience most of the time, but the end of his talk he bore his testimony and it was one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard. There was no doubt in my mind that he is actually an apostle of God. I really like Sunday nights because we have a fireside and get to watch amovie after. Gym is also fun, I'm trying to cut back on the sweets/ranch and run a little more. Well I'm running out of time so I'll bear my testimony in Portuguese. Eu sei que Jesus Cristo ama nós, e Deus vive. Deus restorão sua o evangelhoatráves o profeta joseph smith. Eu testifÃco que as nossas familias podem sereternas. E Jesus Cristo é nosso redentor. well that's about all I've got and I've run out of time so take care!
Letter sent on Saturday, October 18, 2008
I hope all is well. It's good to hear that Payson is winning some games. How many more games do you guys have? It's starting to get cold out and hopefully you don't have to play in the snow or anything. I miss you guys and think of you often. I miss the little stuff like going to Grandma's on Sunday and playing backyard badminton and watching movies as a family.
Anyway, I kind of feel like the language is coming along lately. I can kind of piece sentences together (small ones). Our whole district tries to speak every word we know even if it's just one in a sentence full of English words. It's pretty funny, we'll probably look back and think oh my goodness we were horrible. But it's a fun language. Our Portuguese accent is way cooler than the Brazilian one. I feel bad for the 1 Brazilian Elder in our district because we all speak different than him. I forgot to mention that Brother Aidukaitis, (the one that gave the talk about his father being converted in Brazil, and talked a lot about the Book of Mormon). His older brother is the second counselor in our branch presidency. He's a nice guy, he also served as a mission president in Brazil. Every member of our branch presidency served as a mission president in either Brazil or Portugal. Well, I'm going to do some laundry and send an email to you guys.
Ama Jordao
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Elder Lindquist 10/11
Here is part II of Jordan's mailbag. Sorry, we are trying to figure out when we will be getting mail from him. I believe he will be sending us an email on Friday, and follow it up with a letter on Saturday. Here is some more from our Elder. He also took some pictures. Here are a couple of them. (L to R, Elders Lindquist, Price and Craig, Jordan holding a "cookie" flag of Portugal and below Elder Lindquist's MTC District).
Hello All, How did you guys like General Conference? I thought it was awesome! Almost every talk on Saturday had profound meaning to me, and yeah I wasn't able to sing in Priesthood session because they had already passed out slips to those that were going to sing like a week before I got here. I started to get over my cold and then I got a flu shot the first day I got here and I think the live virus must have made my cough worse because it is still hanging around.Thanks for the no-bake cookies. I've already eaten them within one day, (just kidding). I just got back from the temple and it was great. Elder Craig and I fasted during breakfast this morning to help us learn the language better.
Suzette had sent a "questionnaire" for Jordan to fill out and return with his answers. Here are his answers. It is good to see he still has a sense of humor.
Q: Does the MTC have a large enough supply of Ranch dressing for you? A: YES (Double checked yes)
Q: What is the thing you do most for exercise time? A: Some rad 4 square or B-ball
Q: What has your favorite meal been? A: Chicken Enchiladas
Q: Is that all there is, 3 cute sister missionaries? A: No, more came in on Wednesday!
Q: How many in your district are going to Lisbon, Porto, or Brazil? A: 8 to Lisbon and 1 to Brazil
Q: Do you enjoy the MTC more or less than expected? A: More
Q: Where in ID is Elder Craig from? A: Idaho Falls. I already asked him if he knew the Bartell's
Q: Do you sleep well at night? A: Yes, except when I'm coughing up a lung.
Q: Are you getting plenty of fruits and vegetables? A: Sure.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Elder Lindquist 10/10
This was an email received today. Sound as though he is doing fairly well.
Hello everyone,
So this last week flew by SO FAST! The first week went by rediculously slow and it felt like every day was like a week long. But with this second week I can'tbelieve how fast it went. Conference was awesome. I think it was the first time I didn't fall asleep watching it, it was very uplifting and probably the most spiritual meeting I've been to in a long time. Even though I wasn't there you could still feel the spirit very strongly. Portuguese is coming along, we learn a bunch of grammar stuff that makes my brain want to explode but I'll eventually get it. The vocab/phrases are coming along pretty good though. Yesterday was teaching day at the TRC. We had to talk to fluent speakers in Portuguese for seven whole minutes! Elder Craig and I introduced each other and asked them about their family and told them about ours and bore our testimonies and asked if we could share a message with them and set up an appointment. At times it was sketchy but we were able to make it through the seven minutes. We then taught the first lesson for the last time. Next week is the second lesson. It went well and the spirit was strong when we bore our testimonies of the restoration. We also spent some time in the RC building, thats where we talk with people on thephone or chat with them on the computer if they have questions regarding our religion. It's fun and almost always interesting. People ask the funniest questions. Like, do you really dig people up and baptize them and why would God make a devil that temps people that have stronger sex drives than other people and so on and so forth. I also spoke with some cool black guys from TN about the Bible and the Book of Mormon and bore my testimony the best I could over thephone that the Book of Mormon was another testimony of Christ and it is scripture just like the Bible. I was able to work my magic and set up an appointment to have the missionaries come over and visit with him. Now if only Icould do that in Portuguese! Well I hope all is well with everyone. Tchau! a igreja de Jesus Cristo e verdadeiro!-Jordão
Hello everyone,
So this last week flew by SO FAST! The first week went by rediculously slow and it felt like every day was like a week long. But with this second week I can'tbelieve how fast it went. Conference was awesome. I think it was the first time I didn't fall asleep watching it, it was very uplifting and probably the most spiritual meeting I've been to in a long time. Even though I wasn't there you could still feel the spirit very strongly. Portuguese is coming along, we learn a bunch of grammar stuff that makes my brain want to explode but I'll eventually get it. The vocab/phrases are coming along pretty good though. Yesterday was teaching day at the TRC. We had to talk to fluent speakers in Portuguese for seven whole minutes! Elder Craig and I introduced each other and asked them about their family and told them about ours and bore our testimonies and asked if we could share a message with them and set up an appointment. At times it was sketchy but we were able to make it through the seven minutes. We then taught the first lesson for the last time. Next week is the second lesson. It went well and the spirit was strong when we bore our testimonies of the restoration. We also spent some time in the RC building, thats where we talk with people on thephone or chat with them on the computer if they have questions regarding our religion. It's fun and almost always interesting. People ask the funniest questions. Like, do you really dig people up and baptize them and why would God make a devil that temps people that have stronger sex drives than other people and so on and so forth. I also spoke with some cool black guys from TN about the Bible and the Book of Mormon and bore my testimony the best I could over thephone that the Book of Mormon was another testimony of Christ and it is scripture just like the Bible. I was able to work my magic and set up an appointment to have the missionaries come over and visit with him. Now if only Icould do that in Portuguese! Well I hope all is well with everyone. Tchau! a igreja de Jesus Cristo e verdadeiro!-Jordão
Monday, October 6, 2008
Elder Lindquist 10/3-10/4
Friday, 10/3
I already wrote home an hour or so ago but I just thought I'd send an email for you to forward on to people. I am pretty tired right now and was falling asleep in the temple session earlier. We get up at six or six thirty and are attending classes and LGM's (large group meetings) all day until nine thirty. Then we go back to our "residence halls" and have a half an hour before we have to be in our rooms, then at quarter after ten we have quiet time, then at ten thirty its lights out. I feel like I don't have enough time to practice the language. The first couple days went pretty smooth (as far as language goes) but lately it's been pretty overbearing. I have learned how to pray and bear my testimony, but it sounds like an eight year old speaking... My companion, Elder Craig and I taught the first lesson the other day and even though it was a fake investigator we were still led by the spirit throughout the whole lesson. Both Elder Craig and I had scriptures planned to read during certain parts of the lesson but ended up reading them at different points than we had initially planned to. And it worked better than we had originally planned. It was weird and cool at the same time. We're having a good time here. There are a few cute sisters, we nick-named them based on the color of clothes they were wearing when we first saw them. There's: the pink panther, black beauty, and dragon verde (the green dragon.) We scoped them out in the cafeteria. Other than that there's not too much going on. It's always nice to receive letters from you all and hear how you're doing. Love -Elder Lindquist
Suz and I also received this hand written letter on Saturday 10/4,
Hello my family, (ola minha familia) I'm going to send you an email later today but figured I'd just write you a letter anyway. How is everything at home? All is well here at the MTC. Today is our first full P-day. It is so nice to get a break from the busy schedule. We got to go to the temple this morning. I saw Sister Wulfenstein in the session. I'm sure she'll probably tell you that on Sunday. Are you excited about conference? I am way excited, even though I can't sleep through this one! Thanks for sending me more clothes. I realized between gym almost everyday and P-day and our service assignment I needed something more to wear. If you want to send me a package every other week that would be ok. Every week was just a little too much. Maybe the next one you could send some no bake cookies and maybe a Portugal shirt and/or flag. I will take some more pictures this week and then send you my camera's SD card. There is no means of getting the pictures onto a thumb drive, so I will just have to do it that way. I bought some padded envelopes at the bookstore so that should work ok.
The past couple days have been pretty rough. Not with home sickness or companions or anything, but the language is hard to learn. I'm doing ok, but a lot of the other Elders in the district are doing better and it's frustrating especially when they can goof off and still learn it and I'm working hard and not picking it up as quick.
We had a missionary leave our district to go to the Sau Palo MTC this last week. I told him to keep an eye out for Elder Olson. We have another Elder in our district that is waiting for his visa that is probably going to take off this next week. He is temporarily rooming with us and is Elder Price's companion, so for right now it is Elder Craig and me. I like Elder Craig a lot because he has a good work ethic (because he is from Idaho). He is also struggling with the language ao I don't feel as bad. I said a decent prayer in our District meeting the other day. I also bore my testimony on fast sunday (with the help of my notes) and our Branch President, President Palmer complimented my testimony as I walked away from the pulpit. Yesterday, Elder Craig and I taught the first lesson to a fake investigator. It went really well, even though it was a fake investigator. The spirit was still really strong and the spirit guided Elder Craig and I as we taught this man about the restoration of the gospel. I will tell you more about it in my email today if we get the accounts set up. Well I hope you are all doing well. I love you guys so much and hope that you are being blessed as much as I am. It's nice to hear from you even if you don't have much to say. It's nice to get letters and packages too. Elder Craig has to pick up the mail (because he is the District Leader) and I go with him and it's always nice to get stuff. So keep writing even if you're going to send an email. I am praying for you guys everyday!
Love, Elder Lindquist
I already wrote home an hour or so ago but I just thought I'd send an email for you to forward on to people. I am pretty tired right now and was falling asleep in the temple session earlier. We get up at six or six thirty and are attending classes and LGM's (large group meetings) all day until nine thirty. Then we go back to our "residence halls" and have a half an hour before we have to be in our rooms, then at quarter after ten we have quiet time, then at ten thirty its lights out. I feel like I don't have enough time to practice the language. The first couple days went pretty smooth (as far as language goes) but lately it's been pretty overbearing. I have learned how to pray and bear my testimony, but it sounds like an eight year old speaking... My companion, Elder Craig and I taught the first lesson the other day and even though it was a fake investigator we were still led by the spirit throughout the whole lesson. Both Elder Craig and I had scriptures planned to read during certain parts of the lesson but ended up reading them at different points than we had initially planned to. And it worked better than we had originally planned. It was weird and cool at the same time. We're having a good time here. There are a few cute sisters, we nick-named them based on the color of clothes they were wearing when we first saw them. There's: the pink panther, black beauty, and dragon verde (the green dragon.) We scoped them out in the cafeteria. Other than that there's not too much going on. It's always nice to receive letters from you all and hear how you're doing. Love -Elder Lindquist
Suz and I also received this hand written letter on Saturday 10/4,
Hello my family, (ola minha familia) I'm going to send you an email later today but figured I'd just write you a letter anyway. How is everything at home? All is well here at the MTC. Today is our first full P-day. It is so nice to get a break from the busy schedule. We got to go to the temple this morning. I saw Sister Wulfenstein in the session. I'm sure she'll probably tell you that on Sunday. Are you excited about conference? I am way excited, even though I can't sleep through this one! Thanks for sending me more clothes. I realized between gym almost everyday and P-day and our service assignment I needed something more to wear. If you want to send me a package every other week that would be ok. Every week was just a little too much. Maybe the next one you could send some no bake cookies and maybe a Portugal shirt and/or flag. I will take some more pictures this week and then send you my camera's SD card. There is no means of getting the pictures onto a thumb drive, so I will just have to do it that way. I bought some padded envelopes at the bookstore so that should work ok.
The past couple days have been pretty rough. Not with home sickness or companions or anything, but the language is hard to learn. I'm doing ok, but a lot of the other Elders in the district are doing better and it's frustrating especially when they can goof off and still learn it and I'm working hard and not picking it up as quick.
We had a missionary leave our district to go to the Sau Palo MTC this last week. I told him to keep an eye out for Elder Olson. We have another Elder in our district that is waiting for his visa that is probably going to take off this next week. He is temporarily rooming with us and is Elder Price's companion, so for right now it is Elder Craig and me. I like Elder Craig a lot because he has a good work ethic (because he is from Idaho). He is also struggling with the language ao I don't feel as bad. I said a decent prayer in our District meeting the other day. I also bore my testimony on fast sunday (with the help of my notes) and our Branch President, President Palmer complimented my testimony as I walked away from the pulpit. Yesterday, Elder Craig and I taught the first lesson to a fake investigator. It went really well, even though it was a fake investigator. The spirit was still really strong and the spirit guided Elder Craig and I as we taught this man about the restoration of the gospel. I will tell you more about it in my email today if we get the accounts set up. Well I hope you are all doing well. I love you guys so much and hope that you are being blessed as much as I am. It's nice to hear from you even if you don't have much to say. It's nice to get letters and packages too. Elder Craig has to pick up the mail (because he is the District Leader) and I go with him and it's always nice to get stuff. So keep writing even if you're going to send an email. I am praying for you guys everyday!
Love, Elder Lindquist
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Elder Lindquist's 2nd letter
Well for Family Home Evening we decided to write letters to our Elder. Suzette also made peanut butter bars to go along with the letters as a care package. Before I left to drop off the letters and peanut butter bars, I decided to wait for the mail to come. It is lucky I did, because we received Elder Lindquist's 2nd letter. Here is what it said,
Dear Family,
Thank you for the package full of goodies. That was muiento bom. (Not sure what the translation is, but I hope it is good?) You probably won't need to send anymore goodies because they feed us very well here and I don't really have time to eat during class and study hours. The past few days have been very busy... I'll tell you what I did yesterday. At 6:35, health orientation, 7:25 classroom instruction until 8:15 which was time to comida comer (to eat). 8:45-10:00 was more class instruction At 10:10 we had a LGM (large group meeting) until 1:00. We had lunch until 1:55 and had another LGM until 3:15. Then we had MDT (basically personal, and companion study time as well as language study time). Then at 6:00 we had dinner. Then at 6:45 we had classroom instruction until 9:00. From 9 - 9:30 we were planning for the next week. From 9:30 - 10:00 we study and get ready for the day. At 10:15, it's quiet time and 10:30 it is lights out. I have been writing in my journal every day.
This is not our regular schedule but next week we will get into the regular swing of things. This past week has been pretty hectic and crazy. Each day feels like it's ten days (10 days) long. I am not even kidding. THIS IS WAY harder than college...But it feels good to be busy even though my brain is getting crammed with information. Two days ago, (our second day here), we learned how to pray. (in Portuguese) That took me a while. Yesterday we learned how to bear our testimony ( I still haven't gotten that yet). But I have to say the prayer at our district meeting tomorrow. (Which by the way I misinformed you, we only have like 9 in our district. The 1st day we met with another district and I thought the whole thing was our district). This letter will probably be the last letter I send, next P-day we can start sending e-mails. My P-days are on Fridays but since this week is all weird it landed on today. We got somewhat of a break today. We've only been in class once and the rest of the time we were studying or exercising. I'm waiting for my laundry to get done right now. Which reminds me, I was going to see if you could send me some detergent but never mind I can buy it at the bookstore. But if you could send me some more P-day clothes that would be nice. Maybe some jeans and a couple of t-shirts, that should be all I need as far as clothes. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. I got another package card today and I haven't picked it up yet so I don't know if it's from you guys or not. But thanks for the 1st package. I will send some pictures soon. I like my companeros (companions). We're definately the strongest companions in our district as far as following the rules and stuff. Elder Craig is pretty buff physically as well. Well I hope all is well with you. Let me know how Dallan does in football and Ryan with his activities. I'll e-mail you again next week through myldsmail.net. Keep an eye out for it on Friday. Tchau. Ama Jordao (Elder Lindquist).
Good news today, Suz had her port taken out today. It took about an hour. She was only sedated with a local and the local has worn off and she is now in a lot of pain. She has been such a trooper and doesn't complain a whole lot, but I think she is just tired of everything and wants to be whole again. She does have a hair appointment tomorrow evening. Hopefully this will cheer her up a little.
However, the bad news is that we now have a pan full of peanut butter bars thanks to our Elder not wanting any goodies. We appreciate all of your love and support.
Chris
Dear Family,
Thank you for the package full of goodies. That was muiento bom. (Not sure what the translation is, but I hope it is good?) You probably won't need to send anymore goodies because they feed us very well here and I don't really have time to eat during class and study hours. The past few days have been very busy... I'll tell you what I did yesterday. At 6:35, health orientation, 7:25 classroom instruction until 8:15 which was time to comida comer (to eat). 8:45-10:00 was more class instruction At 10:10 we had a LGM (large group meeting) until 1:00. We had lunch until 1:55 and had another LGM until 3:15. Then we had MDT (basically personal, and companion study time as well as language study time). Then at 6:00 we had dinner. Then at 6:45 we had classroom instruction until 9:00. From 9 - 9:30 we were planning for the next week. From 9:30 - 10:00 we study and get ready for the day. At 10:15, it's quiet time and 10:30 it is lights out. I have been writing in my journal every day.
This is not our regular schedule but next week we will get into the regular swing of things. This past week has been pretty hectic and crazy. Each day feels like it's ten days (10 days) long. I am not even kidding. THIS IS WAY harder than college...But it feels good to be busy even though my brain is getting crammed with information. Two days ago, (our second day here), we learned how to pray. (in Portuguese) That took me a while. Yesterday we learned how to bear our testimony ( I still haven't gotten that yet). But I have to say the prayer at our district meeting tomorrow. (Which by the way I misinformed you, we only have like 9 in our district. The 1st day we met with another district and I thought the whole thing was our district). This letter will probably be the last letter I send, next P-day we can start sending e-mails. My P-days are on Fridays but since this week is all weird it landed on today. We got somewhat of a break today. We've only been in class once and the rest of the time we were studying or exercising. I'm waiting for my laundry to get done right now. Which reminds me, I was going to see if you could send me some detergent but never mind I can buy it at the bookstore. But if you could send me some more P-day clothes that would be nice. Maybe some jeans and a couple of t-shirts, that should be all I need as far as clothes. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. I got another package card today and I haven't picked it up yet so I don't know if it's from you guys or not. But thanks for the 1st package. I will send some pictures soon. I like my companeros (companions). We're definately the strongest companions in our district as far as following the rules and stuff. Elder Craig is pretty buff physically as well. Well I hope all is well with you. Let me know how Dallan does in football and Ryan with his activities. I'll e-mail you again next week through myldsmail.net. Keep an eye out for it on Friday. Tchau. Ama Jordao (Elder Lindquist).
Good news today, Suz had her port taken out today. It took about an hour. She was only sedated with a local and the local has worn off and she is now in a lot of pain. She has been such a trooper and doesn't complain a whole lot, but I think she is just tired of everything and wants to be whole again. She does have a hair appointment tomorrow evening. Hopefully this will cheer her up a little.
However, the bad news is that we now have a pan full of peanut butter bars thanks to our Elder not wanting any goodies. We appreciate all of your love and support.
Chris
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday activities
Sunday, 9/28/08 Today was a pretty good day. Ryan had his Primary program. He had a part which he memorized after two readings. He is so smart. He also sang with his class during the program the song, "Called to Serve". It was a pretty good program. This will be the last Primary program Ryan will take part in, since in December he turns 12 and will receive the Aaronic priesthood at that time. Suz also has been called to be the Primary pianist. During today's program I was asking her if she could play this song or that song. Let's just say, she will need to practice a little, but in Suzette fashion she will do great! Dallan and I went Home Teaching to both of our families, the Coombs and the Ross'. Dallan even prepared the lesson from the Ensign. He did such a great job. This evening Suz and I delivered the thank you's to the families of our Ward who contributed something to Jordan's mission cause.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Elder Lindquist's 1st letter
Well Elder Lindquist has sent his 1st letter from the M.T.C. Here is the letter in its entirety.
Dear Mom, Dad, and family
My first day at the MTC has been very long and tiring, but is has also been uplifting. After we parted ways I got in a long line of NM's (new missionaries) and visited with them while we got various forms and I got my flu shot. After that I went to the bookstore and picked up my bag of books that are in Portuguese. Rusty Alger's mother was the missionary that helped me. They had told her that I was coming and she was keeping an eye out for me. After that I went to my room on the third floor. I met my companions, Elder Price (who was sitting in front of us at the opening orientation) and Elder Craig. Elder Craig was assigned to be our District Leader, he is about my height with light brown hair and is very athletic. Elder Price is taller and darker. His mother is from Brazil and his father is from Idaho. He already knows Portuguese even though it's the Brazil version.
There is a very strong spirit here that you feel everywhere you go. Once we met up as companions we went to get our luggage and then brought it back to our rooms. I had a brief 15 minutes or so to unpack then we were off to another orientation. All 373 new missionaries were at the meeting. We then went to the cafeteria to eat dinner. There I saw a few Elders from Payson (one of which was in my mission prep class at the Payson Seminary). I also met several other Elders, most of which were going to Chile. After dinner, we went to another 2 hour orientation where we met our District Presidency and everyone in the District. ( I am just guessing this, but there's probably close to 25 of us). After that we got a quick tour and returned to our "residence halls" where I finished unpacking and made my bed on a yellow stained mattress... It was a lot of information to absorb in one day but hopefully I'll figure things out in the next couple of days. It was hard leaving you guys but I know I'm suppose to be here at this time. I love you guys a ton and know that the Lord will bless you while I'm gone.
Love, Elder Lindquist
Suzette and I dropped off another small care package for our Elder this evening on the way to Dallan's football game at Provo High. He should receive the package sometime tomorrow morning. Payson High lost to Provo 29-8. Mom and Dad Burningham also came to watch Dallan play. Ryan was off to a overnight campout with the 11 year old scout troup and will return sometime tomorrow morning. It is pretty quiet around the house these days. Suz and I are experiencing being "empty nesters" way too soon and would prefer to have our sons around a little more often.
Dear Mom, Dad, and family
My first day at the MTC has been very long and tiring, but is has also been uplifting. After we parted ways I got in a long line of NM's (new missionaries) and visited with them while we got various forms and I got my flu shot. After that I went to the bookstore and picked up my bag of books that are in Portuguese. Rusty Alger's mother was the missionary that helped me. They had told her that I was coming and she was keeping an eye out for me. After that I went to my room on the third floor. I met my companions, Elder Price (who was sitting in front of us at the opening orientation) and Elder Craig. Elder Craig was assigned to be our District Leader, he is about my height with light brown hair and is very athletic. Elder Price is taller and darker. His mother is from Brazil and his father is from Idaho. He already knows Portuguese even though it's the Brazil version.
There is a very strong spirit here that you feel everywhere you go. Once we met up as companions we went to get our luggage and then brought it back to our rooms. I had a brief 15 minutes or so to unpack then we were off to another orientation. All 373 new missionaries were at the meeting. We then went to the cafeteria to eat dinner. There I saw a few Elders from Payson (one of which was in my mission prep class at the Payson Seminary). I also met several other Elders, most of which were going to Chile. After dinner, we went to another 2 hour orientation where we met our District Presidency and everyone in the District. ( I am just guessing this, but there's probably close to 25 of us). After that we got a quick tour and returned to our "residence halls" where I finished unpacking and made my bed on a yellow stained mattress... It was a lot of information to absorb in one day but hopefully I'll figure things out in the next couple of days. It was hard leaving you guys but I know I'm suppose to be here at this time. I love you guys a ton and know that the Lord will bless you while I'm gone.
Love, Elder Lindquist
Suzette and I dropped off another small care package for our Elder this evening on the way to Dallan's football game at Provo High. He should receive the package sometime tomorrow morning. Payson High lost to Provo 29-8. Mom and Dad Burningham also came to watch Dallan play. Ryan was off to a overnight campout with the 11 year old scout troup and will return sometime tomorrow morning. It is pretty quiet around the house these days. Suz and I are experiencing being "empty nesters" way too soon and would prefer to have our sons around a little more often.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Care package #1
Thursday 9/25 Well it didn't take long for us to put together a care package for our Elder! Today during lunch I gathered some items up at Albertson's and created a care package for Jordan. Today's care package included bars of dark chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, 3 pack of gum, can of pringles, a box of ding dongs, a box of fiddle faddle, and non essentials of stamps, and a couple letters of support from Suz and me. I mailed the package through BYU mail services. It was quite the deal! All of these goodies for $1.50. I hope he feels loved and is doing well. We love you Jordan!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Entering the Missionary Training Center
Tuesday 9/23 What a great day. Jordan was set apart as a missionary tonight by Stake President Olson. Jordan was promised many blessings if he served faithfully. We went home and tried to finish packing, but by 10:00 he still hadn't finished, so he will finish packing in the morning.
Wednesday 9/24 Jordan woke up early finished packing his clothes. Dallan went to school for the 1st period, and the rest of us got ready for the big day at the M.T.C. We left around 9:45 and picked up Dallan from school, and then we went to Walmart. I knew somehow that Walmart would be a part of our day. Anyway, we then went to the Missionary Mall in Orem to pick up a laundry bag, an alarm clock and a light rain jacket. This was everything on his list! Jordan decided to go to Sensuous sandwich for his last meal with us as a family. We still has some time to kill, so we decided to go to the BYU Creamery for some ice cream. We arrived at the MTC shortly after noon. We got his luggage out of the trunk and slowly walked over to take some pictures. After pictures, we dropped his luggage off in the laggage area. The time had come to enter the doors of the MTC. Jordan went in the left doors, and I, Suz, Dallan and Ryan went in the right doors. Jordan picked up his name badge, and cafeteria card, took a few more pictures, and then we went down the long hallway and went into a room where they were playing all of the LDS commercials. After a short time, they opened the meeting with a prayer, we sang "Called to Serve" and then the MTC presidency spoke to us. Their messages were good and comforting. They then played a short clip of the video "Called to Serve", afterwhich the closing prayer then it was time to say goodbye. I cried like a baby! The rest of the family did fairly well, although it was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. He then went through the right doors with the rest of the missionaries, and the family members went through the left doors. It was quiet all the way home. I know he will do well and will be a great missionary!
Elder Lindquist's Address:
ELDER JORDAN MICHAEL LINDQUIST
MTC Mailbox # 235
POR-LIS 1125
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Utah 84604-1793
Wednesday 9/24 Jordan woke up early finished packing his clothes. Dallan went to school for the 1st period, and the rest of us got ready for the big day at the M.T.C. We left around 9:45 and picked up Dallan from school, and then we went to Walmart. I knew somehow that Walmart would be a part of our day. Anyway, we then went to the Missionary Mall in Orem to pick up a laundry bag, an alarm clock and a light rain jacket. This was everything on his list! Jordan decided to go to Sensuous sandwich for his last meal with us as a family. We still has some time to kill, so we decided to go to the BYU Creamery for some ice cream. We arrived at the MTC shortly after noon. We got his luggage out of the trunk and slowly walked over to take some pictures. After pictures, we dropped his luggage off in the laggage area. The time had come to enter the doors of the MTC. Jordan went in the left doors, and I, Suz, Dallan and Ryan went in the right doors. Jordan picked up his name badge, and cafeteria card, took a few more pictures, and then we went down the long hallway and went into a room where they were playing all of the LDS commercials. After a short time, they opened the meeting with a prayer, we sang "Called to Serve" and then the MTC presidency spoke to us. Their messages were good and comforting. They then played a short clip of the video "Called to Serve", afterwhich the closing prayer then it was time to say goodbye. I cried like a baby! The rest of the family did fairly well, although it was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. He then went through the right doors with the rest of the missionaries, and the family members went through the left doors. It was quiet all the way home. I know he will do well and will be a great missionary!Elder Lindquist's Address:
ELDER JORDAN MICHAEL LINDQUIST
MTC Mailbox # 235
POR-LIS 1125
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Utah 84604-1793
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Temple Day
Jordan received his temple endowments at the Mt. Timpanogas Temple on August 20th, his birthday. Suz and me, Grandma and Grandpa Burningham, Kyle Fuller and Matthew Olson were able to attend. Because it was during the day, most of the family was not able to attend. It was a very special day. I was also privileged to be Jordan's escort through the temple. After the temple, Grandma and Grandpa treated all of us to lunch at Cafe Rio. It was a great day!
First day of school
Dallan and Ryan started their first day of school on Aug. 2oth. Dallan started his Junior year and Ryan is now in sixth grade. How SAD that our boys are growing up way too fast!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Back in the swing
Well, it has been an uneventful couple of weeks since our Cali trip. I have gone back to work. It has been a bummer I can't spend the remainder of my days on the beach. Although I have thought about it quite seriously. To take the void left from the trip, I have started running. Ok more like jogging. Suz and I bought running shoes. This has been quite cathartic! Suz started her radiation treatments and is now half way through. She has done very well with them. She does get a little fatigued and she wants her hair to grow back, but other than that she has gone through this experience feeling VERY blessed! We meet with the Dr. on Wednesdays, and he has been very upbeat with Suzette's prognosis. Dr. Clark did say the word cured! However, he wants a PET Scan done every 6 months to make sure there is no sign of cancer. Jordan is getting ready for his mission. He leaves for the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on Sept. 24th. We can't wait for that day, because the 12:30am or later bedtime will be traded with a 6:00am wake time. We (Suz and I) will finally get some sleep. Dallan started in Payson's Green/White scrimmage. This is Payson's annual fundraising event. He starts on offense and defense. He is looking forward to playing this year. Their first game is this Friday. Ryan has been playing with friends, going to the pool, and reading book after book. School starts for both Dallan and Ryan this Wednesday (8/20). This is another day Suz and I can't wait for.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Cali trip
We spent a week 7/24 - 7/31 with Suz's brother and his great family. It was a BLAST! Here are some of the highlights of our trip!On 7/24 we stayed with friends in St. George, then we left for Cali and arrived around 5pm. It was nice to see everyone. Sat. 7/26 we shopped and lounged around, then had Red's BBQ. Can you say, delicious! Sunday we spent the day at church. They have a very nice Ward and it was fun to experience life again in the mission field.
Monday, 7/28 we were off to Six Flags Magic Mountain. We had the whole gang. Jord, Dal, Ry, and Kenz took off to experience the crazy and insane rides, while Lexi Lu, Suz and I went on the more easy going rides. It was a lot of fun and the day ended way too soon. (L to R: Jordan, Kenz, Ryan, Dallan, Lexie Lu, and Suzette)
Tuesday, 7/29 we went to Zuma beach! What a beautiful beach and a perfect day. We hunted for sand crabs, did some boogey boarding, buried kids in the sand, and had a great time Suz even got dumped on by a seagull...thanks JME for taking us! (Pictures: family photo at Zuma Beach, Jacie being wild and crazy, Jordan and Dallan getting ready to boogey, cousins searching for sand crabs, Suz and I, Jordan giving us his best GQ look).
Wednesday, 7/30, we were off to the Dodger's game. The Giant's were in town. The Dodger's handled them pretty well with a 4 - 0 win. It was a great time. Thanks Brett for taking us to the game. (Trey wearing his sunglasses at night)
Thursday, 7/31 we headed for home. It was a great trip. We arrived home at 9pm.
Monday, 7/28 we were off to Six Flags Magic Mountain. We had the whole gang. Jord, Dal, Ry, and Kenz took off to experience the crazy and insane rides, while Lexi Lu, Suz and I went on the more easy going rides. It was a lot of fun and the day ended way too soon. (L to R: Jordan, Kenz, Ryan, Dallan, Lexie Lu, and Suzette)
Tuesday, 7/29 we went to Zuma beach! What a beautiful beach and a perfect day. We hunted for sand crabs, did some boogey boarding, buried kids in the sand, and had a great time Suz even got dumped on by a seagull...thanks JME for taking us! (Pictures: family photo at Zuma Beach, Jacie being wild and crazy, Jordan and Dallan getting ready to boogey, cousins searching for sand crabs, Suz and I, Jordan giving us his best GQ look).
Wednesday, 7/30, we were off to the Dodger's game. The Giant's were in town. The Dodger's handled them pretty well with a 4 - 0 win. It was a great time. Thanks Brett for taking us to the game. (Trey wearing his sunglasses at night)Thursday, 7/31 we headed for home. It was a great trip. We arrived home at 9pm.
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