ELder Lindquist 2/25/09

So this last week was good. It was a different experience getting a new companion it feels weird without Elder Rissi around to make most of the decisions but it's my turn to be in the driver’s seat. Elder Hansen is cool; he's 23 and has been a convert for three years this week. Speaking of dates I left for the MTC exactly five months ago yesterday. Scary huh. I'm freaking out because the time is going by so fast and it scares me. But I'm still in my first area so I've got plenty of adventures ahead of me. The language is coming still. Yesterday a lady standing next to me in the grocery store line complimented my Portuguese! I felt awesome after that. We started talking about our church while we waited in line and I was pretty pumped about that. Now that I don't have that safety net of my trainer I have to be more self reliant with my language and I think this has helped me a lot. When people hear your accent that sounds different they either ask if you’re from Porto or Brazil haha that's where the other Portuguese is. So the other day Paula Cristina told us that her daughter in law is messing around with some witches in Beja so we might give her grandson a blessing. He is a crazy little kid and she thinks he has a demon in him or something. Oh and we can't find her records in the church so we might have to baptize her again. She was baptized 20 years ago and we can't find her records on the computer so her getting baptized again will be complicated because she's married under gypsy law but not legally. So we'll so what we need to do about that. Well I hope all is well with everyone back home and with the ward and everything. Spencer got his call to West Africa? Is he going to be speaking Portuguese? Well fica bem tudo mundo espero que tudo vai correr bem esta semana para vocÊs. Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 2/18/09

Wow this last week was great and I've only got a little time so I'll let you know what happened real quick. We just got done playing soccer with the gypsies and I don't mean to brag but I'm basically a pro now. Last week we played with them and they were all laughing at me hysterically so later that day I went and bought a ball and have been practicing in our little area between our predio this week for exercises. Needless to say the practice has paid off and they weren't laughing because I was schooling them. Seeing Elder Bednar was one of the most spiritually uplifting experiences of my mission. He was awesome and I'll have to be honest before his visit I thought he was kind of a dull apostle, compared to Jeffery R. Holland. But he was way down to earth and had an awesome personality. His wife talked to us then he followed her. We had kind of a group discussion, all of the missionaries from the mission were there and it definitely exceeded my expectations. Our new mission president has been called, his name is Moroni Bing Torgan and he's from Brasilia Brazil. I'm excited and sad at the same time because President Terry is such an awesome president. I also have a new companion, his name is Elder Hansen and he's from San Diego. It's funny because we just stayed with him and his companion, (whose place I took here in Beja) this last weekend in Lisbon for Elder Bednar’s visit. Elder Rissi has been called to serve in Setúbal as our zone leader so I'll still see him quite often. I pick up my new companion from the bus station tomorrow morning. Again I'm sad and exited at the same time. Well I hope all is well with you I'd like to write more but I've got to go wash up so Elder Rissi can say his goodbyes to people. Até logo-Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 2/11/09

Wow this last week has been busy, and good. It's starting to look like spring here in Beja so I'm very grateful for that. This coming week will be pretty busy as well. We have another baptism. It's an awesome eight year old girl. Her name is Ines and she's so easy to teach. Whenever we go there she's always like what are you going to teach me today? Where do you want me to read in the Book of Mormon? Man I wish teaching everyone was this easy. She's way funny we have an awesome secret handshake that we can do in like three seconds. She's pretty well behaved so I don't think there will be any cannon balls at this baptism unfortunately. So this Monday Elder Bednar is coming to talk to us and we're all very excited. He has an interview with the government TV station in Lisboa and then we're going to have a three hour fireside with him so I'm way excited. Well last night we had an interesting experience that I'll share quickly. There is an inactive lady from Brazil that our Brazilian investigator told us about and she's having a hard time going to church because her mom is very sick with cancer. We visited with her last night and it was a great opportunity to share my experience with her and share some scriptures that helped me during this difficult time in my life. I was able to testify to her that her Heavenly Father still loves her and her family and is watching over them. I'm grateful for this opportunity I had to relate to someone and help lift their spirit in this difficult time. Elder Rissi and I invited her to our baptism this Saturday and church on Sunday and she said she'd think about it. I said I have a talk at the baptism and it's a good one so you better come! We all laughed and said a prayer. Missionary work is so rewarding, I'm so grateful for the chance I have to serve the Lord and help bring light to people’s lives. Oh and before we went to that house we were walking there and saw a lady and a man carrying a big piece of a bed frame. So we immediately grabbed it from the lady and helped the man carry it. The lady was like no, no we don't want to distract you from your work. Elder Rissi said this is our work. We helped them carry it up a big hill and past the castle to their house. We probably walked a mile or so and while walking we talked about our church and missionary work. When we reached the man’s house we talked to them about the Book of Mormon and gave them both a copy. They asked if they could give us anything in return and we asked if we could come by and teach them another day. They agreed and thanked us again. I was so excited about that. I love service because a lot of times people don't recognize you and the Lords servants they just think you're two weird guys walking around in suits that are from the CIA or something. But service helps break that mentality and shows people that we're just here to help. Well this is the last week of the transfer and we're pretty sure Elder Rissi is getting transferred so I'll let you know what happens. It has been nice to have a native for a trainer. I get the feeling that President likes me the best because he has entrusted me with this great gift.. Well I hope all is well with you. Se cuida, Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 2/4/09

This email was received on 2/11, but Elder Lindquist sent it on 2/4.

Hello all, I can't believe it's already Feb. That's crazy. This last week has been pretty busy and the next two weeks, (last two weeks of this transfer) will be even more busy.. This last Saturday was Pedro's baptism. For some reason he changed his mind the day before and wanted me to baptize him so I did. Needless to say it was probably the most memorable baptism in the world. After I baptized him I went to give him a hug but what he did shocked me to a great degree, he let out a loud gypsy yelp, jumped up, and did a cannon ball. Water almost splashed all over all the people watching. Elder Rissi ran over and started to close the baptismal gate so no one could see him swimming around. I reached down and grabbed him by the collar of his vest and dragged him out of the baptismal font. When we got to the top of the stairs and I started to head into the bathroom when he jumped off the top stair and did another cannon ball. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I yelled at him to get in the bathroom and he stopped swimming around. We should have filled the font with cold water so he'd want to be in and out; it was pretty interesting. Who would have thought that my first baptism would be a gypsy? After the baptism I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. On Sunday Pedro bore his testimony. He's reading the Book of Mormon and praying; it has been awesome to see the change in him the past two months I've been here. We have another baptism on the 14th so I'm excited for that. It won't stop raining here, and our space heater broke so it's pretty cold, but other than that all is well here. Thank you for your support and love, Fica bem.-Elder Lindquist