Elder Lindquist 11/30/09

So I hope you all had a great week, Sounds like you had a great thanksgiving and every thing. I was excited to hear that BYU won. As far as turkey day went for me. We had interviews and president took us out to McDonalds! so that's a tradition for me here in Portugal because a year ago when I arrived in Beja on Thanksgiving day Elder Rissi and I ate that for dinner, but I'm afraid that next year that tradition will be broken:(
So this week we were running around quite a bit. And this week will be even busier, preparing our awesome investigator Clara for baptism and I have to go to Santarém to do a baptismal interview, Saturday and Sunday is our district conference and before the conference on Saturday our zone is combining all of our baptisms it's going to be awesome. Well things are good here in Portugal, I'm pretty sure I'll stay during transfers but I'll let you know, stop stressing mom! We should get T-calls next Monday so I will let you know what's going on. Transfers would be on the 8th (they moved because our P-day moved). And for Christmas, if I stay I'll probably just buy a calling card and call you from the phone in the chapel. But we can sort out all of those details when I know. So this week Joana has been walking with us all day and Christophe after he gets done with class. It's amazing the work that the members do here I've never seen anything like this anywhere else. Joana will be starting a course soon then after that is over with in a year and a half she wants to serve a mission. Oh and Ana might be going to Brazil this next weekend, I don't want her to go she is such an amazing person/member, and a lot of times she reminds me of mom. Christmas would not be the same without her. Well I love you all, I hope you all stay safe in the snow! It’s pretty cold here as well. mas paciência não é?, Love, Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 11/23/09

Oi gente how's it going? Well this week was pretty awesome. I'll start with a fun little experience we had at the beginning of the week. So we decided to do some finding in a different part of town the other night that's basically on the border of Caldas. When we got out there Christophe said oh man this is the second most dangerous place in Caldas and I thought, great I've already been to the first most dangerous place so we'll see how this goes. We started knocking but no one wanted to talk to us because Portugal's soccer team was playing an important game. So we went down a smaller street. We knocked on a gate of a house and their dog started going crazy, then a lady opened the window and was like "what do you want"?! Elder Silva tried to talk to her but she couldn't hear because of the dog. So then she turned around and said to someone behind her "hey go get the pistol". I was like GUH! I turned and started booking it. Eventually we got to Christophes car and Elder Silva was joking with me saying that I was a baby for running and that she was joking. So we started driving and when we got to where the road we came from connected with the road we were driving on there was a tall man dressed in all black with a big hat on just standing in the middle of the road and in one hand was holding what looked like a gun and in the other was holding a thick chain that was about two feet long, with his back to us but when we drove by him he turned and looked at us. I almost wet my pants that image freaked me out. Elder Silva was like "ahhh! Now I believe you Elder"! It was crazy, I don't know if it was because it was a dangerous area or if we were messing with Portugal people and their soccer. So we confirmed Ana and Elias yesterday, Elias also received the priesthood. They also received callings so they’re doing well. We also marked another investigator yesterday. So the other day Elias informed us that a little bag of his, (containing all of his important information, credit card, passport, drivers license, etc.) had been stolen from his car. He was pretty stressed but we visited him on Saturday night and we said a prayer asking God to help him get these important things back, (to be honest I didn't think that he would ever see them again. Where was my faith right?) So Sunday morning he got to church and was like Elders, last night after you guys left someone called me and told me that they found my bag. I met up with him and he gave it to me and it wasn't missing anything! It was a pretty sick miracle and in a certain way a test of faith, Ether 12:27. But as we read in D&C 58:2-4 we are blessed after our trials. Well things are going good here, I don't know if I'll stay one more transfer we'll see. Transfers are the first week of December. Well you all are in my prayers. I love you.

Elder Lindquist 11/16/09

Que semana! So this week was incredible, even though it has been raining a lot and I don't like this weather it was an awesome week. The baptisms were a success, we met with Ana last Monday and after a bit of conversation I asked her how the day went. She said horribly until about ten minutes ago. She continued to explain that after she told us that she would be baptized the day before the rest of that day and almost all of Monday she became worried that she might have made the wrong decision. She said she watched a bunch of the church films we had given her and prayed all day Monday pleading with God for a sign. A week earlier when we challenged her to be baptized on the 14th she was worried because she had a visit marked with a client of hers up north and this client doesn't like to have things changed, so she was afraid to call him if she received an answer and decided to be baptized. So after she agreed to be baptized she was king of stuck between a "rock and a hard place" and so she prayed all day on Monday knowing that we had a visit that night. Ten minutes before our visit she received a phone call from the client saying look we're really really sorry but we can't have the meeting with you on the 24th. she was completely stunned and she knew with a certainty that that was her sign from God. She was so excited that day. The baptisms were so cool! I would give anything to feel the feeling I felt on Saturday. I felt like I was the person that was baptized ha. But I know all the money in the world can't buy that feeling, the joy that comes from the gospel is incredible. Ana and Elias felt it too; they were so happy on Saturday and are completely different people. I know that they literally were born again spiritually. Elder Bell, (the elder that found Ana a week before I got here) and his parents were here. He baptized Ana, it was a way cool experience for him and his parents, for Ana, and for us as well. I know that God lives and loves his children, and I know that miracles are real. I've already seen so many miracles happen in this last year that it almost makes my brain want to explode. It makes me wonder how much more I'll be able to handle in the last year of my mission. Well I'm extremely excited for Christmas, (I've been listening to Christmas music almost every day) and about thanksgiving. Well, we have interviews with president on that day so I don't know what we'll do but all I know is Elder Silva is an INCREDIBLE chef. He cooks some of the best food I've ever eaten, (in the mission Mom I'm not talking about before.) but I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything but my cooking skills have improved quite a bit as well. As well as my singing skills, (I have the best voice in the branch by far Portuguese people can't sing worth beans). Well have a great week I love you all!
-Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 11/9/09

Well this last week was amazing, some of the coolest experiences that I've had on the mission happened this last week. I'll share some with you. We've been working extremely hard to help Ana receive an answer and take the step to baptism, it's been a challenging journey but we continued with faith. Last Monday Elder Silva and I were discussing her needs and the things we could do to help her, we decided to do a special lesson and we spent some of our p-day preparing it. That was probably the coolest lesson I've taught on my mission, the Spirit was extremely strong. The lesson was titled "The love He has for you" it was all about the Savior and his love for us, we listened to a beautiful version of "come thou fount of every blessing" while we closed our eyes and thought about Christ. We also made a little book for her that had pictures of Christ and poems and scriptures about the Savior. It was awesome, especially because we didn't plan on doing that but we were talking and we were inspired and ideas started flowing and it turned out really well. Needless to say she received an answer. But it was to a different question than if she should be baptized, it was if she should go to Brazil for three months to do some medical treatments from an accident she had some years ago. But she said she had been feeling a great desire to be baptized. So this left her with another question, if she should be baptized before or after the trip to Brazil. This was a big question she has been fighting with this whole week, we continued teaching her and praying that she would receive an answer. Yesterday we had a nice sacrament meeting, the Spirit was very strong and at the end of the meeting right before I went up to say the closing prayer she tapped me on the shoulder from two chairs over and said Elder I will be baptized this Saturday. My jaw dropped and I almost had to change my pants. And the cool thing is the elder that found her a week or so before I got here (who ended his mission in this area) is visiting this weekend with his parents, I'm pretty sure he's going to baptize her. After all this time of trying to help her receive an answer I can see that things have to be done in the Lord's time and not when we want them to be done. We also marked an awesome investigator named Elias, (elijah) and he had a dream that I was baptizing him so he wanted me to baptize him. So this Saturday we'll have two baptisms, I'm not sure if it will be at the beach or in Santarém but I'm super excited. It is so sick to see the hand of the Lord in the work here there's no doubt that all of this is true. I've been feeling the spirit in abundance this week it has been an awesome week. Well glad to hear you all are doing well, you'll have to send me some pictures of the snowy mountains. It has actually started to get really cold here; winter is on its way. I don't know how to express my feelings right now, I feel extremely blessed for being here at this time. I know that I'm actually making a difference in people’s lives and I'm super grateful for the privilege I have to be here in Caldas serving with Elder Silva because I'm certain that things would not go the way they have gone if we were not here at this point in time. Oh I forgot to mention this last week we had zone conference and a 70 was there, Elder Kopischke. He's a member of the area presidency for Europe. I really enjoyed the conference but I was exhausted at the end of it because I had to translate the whole thing for Elder Silva, man that was rough. Well have a great week.

Com muito amor, -Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 11/2/09

Well this week was crazy sauce but it was pretty awesome. Last Monday we got T-calls and Elder Larsen got sent to the other end of the mission to serve with my MTC comp Elder Craig. And Elder Silva got sent to me! He's a stud I have already served as his District Leader when I was in Torres Vedras, (he was in Mafra). So we already are buddies and we work well together, really well. And needless to say I now realize that I don't speak Portuguese, ha! But, he’s helping me with a lot of stuff and I'm helping him learn English as well, he's my second companion from Porto. So things are going really well we have a few people progressing and we will get them marked soon. Joana's baptism was a big help to get people pumped up about baptism. She got a calling yesterday as a primary professor, she was way excited. And yesterday we taught her about missionary work because she wants to serve a mission in a year! Well I realize that there are quite a few people, friends and family that are in need of special blessings. They are not alone; all around the world people are going through trials and need special blessings from our Heavenly Father. One thing I can testify of with all of my heart is that I know our Heavenly Father loves us and watches over us. And that our Savior is always on our side, (Matthew 11:28-30) and no matter the trial there is always a reason and a purpose to our challenges and if we stay close to our Heavenly Father through these challenges and have faith in him we will always come out on the other end stronger (D&C 120-122). I'm grateful for this opportunity I have to serve the Lord, I've learned so much and still have a lot to learn. But I'm really enjoying my time here in Caldas with Elder Silva I know we have a lot of miracles to accomplish here. Well were going to get a haircut right now (even though Elder Silva doesn't have a lot of hair. haha he's a 26 year old convert and he's balding) but I'll let you guys go have a great week you're always in my prayers.-Elder Lindquist