Elder Lindquist 12/28/09

So it was really great to talk to all of you guys I hope you are doing well and that you had an awesome Christmas! I was super happy to talk to ya and hear your voices again. Doesn't sound like a lot have changed, however; a lot is changing here in Portugal we had another baptism yesterday and a bunch of his family members came and they loved it. This = new investigators:) So we will keep working our magic and following the spirit and every thing will be good. I can't believe that Ryan is already 13! Holy smokes, before you know it he'll be on a mission. I'll eventually send you guys the package I have here I just haven't had that much time to run it to the place. Well we had a fun week with the Christmas conference with all the missionaries in the mission. We had good trainings, good food, and a good white elephant exchange. We had a crazy Christmas Eve where all we did was run around and eat at member’s houses all day long. And it was basically the same thing on Christmas. We could feed an army with all the left over food that was given to us from Christmas and this baptism. I don't know what we'll do with it probably give it to the poor people here or something. Well the work is going good here we have a bunch of people that are ready for baptism but they want to "wait until the time is right" which is frustrating sometimes when you know they are ready and they want to be baptized but they decide to wait for some reason. But we'll keep working with them and they'll be baptized here pretty soon. Well the work continues onward and I'm so happy to be a part of it, this last year has been sick and I am excited for the New Year and to see what it holds in store for all of us. I hope everyone is good and know that you are in my prayers. Thank you for all of the support! Love, Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 12/21/09

Hey gang how's it going? Hope you had a great week ours went well here in Corroios we had a baptism yesterday and it went very well. I'm so dang excited for Christmas it's going to be awesome, and even though there is not snow here it is so cold here. Oh my goodness. Anyway we had a great turnout in church yesterday with over 10 investigators. Our investigators are amazing but we had some problems this week with a few investigators telling their family members that are in Cabo Verde that they're investigating our church and their family freaked out on them because they're breaking the family tradition of being catholic, (non practicing..) so that is kind of annoying because it bums people out ya know, then we have to go over and encourage them to follow what they feel is true. But things are going great especially during Christmas time. I got bombarded yesterday with members asking when we can eat at their house, I love serving in a ward it's amazing. And even though we still don't have a ward mission leader we're coming along pretty well. I have other good news, Ana's mom from Caldas da Rainha, got baptized a few days after I left! We had been teaching her but I didn't think she'd be baptized that soon, or in the ocean. Poor old lady but also a girl that Elder Wheeler and I found in Torres Vedras got baptized last Saturday so I was stoked on that as well. It is cool to hear about what happens after you leave areas. I felt like Amulek and them when they said are our fruits few? I say unto you no, they are many. Or something like that I'm trying to translate it in my head from Portuguese. So I'm super excited to talk to you guys on Christmas just remember that it's always better to give than receive. There are so many people who have nothing here it amazes me. People here have so much more faith than me. Like one African lady we found the other day in a ghetto place by our house, (that's basically little Africa) she promised us she'd go to church and yesterday morning she didn't have electricity in her little hut thing so to take a bath she poured cold water in a tub thing and bathed her daughter and herself early in the morning (when it was about 32 degrees) so they could make it to church. I feel really humbled to be here and have these experiences and meet these awesome people. I'm grateful to be a missionary and I'm grateful for my savior and for all of you and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Elder Lindquist 12/14/09

Wow this week was crazy. A bunch of stuff has happened and I'll try and fill you in even though I can't do this week justice. So it turns out that I was not called to serve in Setubal but in an area called Miratejo, I just got confused because they combined the two zones so it includes Setubal but we're in the Miratejo. The Miratejo is on the other side of the river from Lisbon and it's a way sick area. It's the first time I'm serving in a WARD, yes I said a ward. It's part of the Setubal stake and we share our chapel with some sister missionaries in Almada that is close to our area. I took elder Petersen’s spot here, (my favorite comp in the mission) and I'm serving with Elder Daley. Elder Daley is an incredible missionary he's a super hard worker and we're having lots of success. As a matter of fact I got to walk in a threesome with Elder Daley and Elder Peterson for a few days before he went home. It was sooo fun to talk to him again that kid is so hilarious. It was sad to see him go, but he's got a mission to fulfill at home now. (Marry Courtney!) So things are going well in our zone, it's a lot of work but we are doing well. We have had a lot of awesome experiences and we will have quite a few baptisms this transfer. We had our Christmas party the other day and Elder Daley and I preformed a missionary version of the 12 days of Christmas, it was really fun and the members liked it a lot. Elder Peterson wrote it the week before he went home and left it for us to perform so we threw it together the day before, it was pretty nerve racking to do but it was a lot of fun. We've been following the spirit a lot this week and seeing a great deal of success. This last Saturday we decided to pass a potential investigator by, but he wasn't home so we decided to do some knocking in his building. We said a prayer there so that we could be led to those that were ready to receive us. Just a few doors later a woman answered the door and invited us right in. She has two sons and a daughter, we taught them the first lesson and they came to church the next day. That was really cool it's amazing how much stuff like that happens here. This area is full of Africans, whereas my other areas were full of Portuguese and Brazilian people. The people here are so freaking nice! I couldn't believe it, but it has been refreshing to have so many people listen and talk to us and be willing to listen to our message. The difference between Beja and here is like night and day. Even the Portuguese people will talk to us here it's sick. So last night we went to the Christmas devotional and it brought tears to some of our investigators eyes it was cool. Especially an African guy we've been talking with who is a member of the 7th day Adventist church. After a hefty lesson/debate about baptisms for the dead we went to the devotional and he and his girlfriend liked it a lot. Oh and also our mission is doing a thing where whenever we have a baptism we send a picture to the office and they send them to church headquarters and our mission has a deal with President Monson that as a Christmas present they'll make a slideshow of these pictures and put it on the churches website so you should see me in there a few times. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I'm excited to talk to you soon! com muito amor e carinho, -Elder Lindquist

P.s I'll send you my address here but I want to make it very clear DO NOT send packages here only letters! Because you have to bring your real passport to the place to get the package and I don't have that the mission office does and I don't want to have to go to the office and get that every time I receive a package it's easier just to send it to the mission office. I received the package slip for the first package you guys sent to Caldas but I was not able to get the package before leaving the area so I'll call the place and have them ship it to the office. Also we're still figuring out whose house we're eating at on Christmas so I don't know if I'll be calling you from a members house or from the chapel but I'll let you know next week I'll just buy another calling card and use that to call your cell or the house phone. Elder Daley is from AZ so we will call at different times but we'll get everything sorted out this week and let you know. Love you
Avenida Rui Gracio
Nº 64 4º DRT
Santa Marta Do Pinhal
2855-709 Corroios
Portugal.

Elder Lindquist 12/7/09

So Christmas is drawing nearer and nearer each day and needless to say I'm pretty excited. This week went by crazy fast holy smokes, I spent the majority of the week out of my area (in Santarém) on divisions and such and we're still here but we'll be returning in the afternoon. We had Clara's baptism on Saturday and it was amazing. It was a combined baptism with two other baptisms, (an awesome African lady and her son) which the elders here in Santarém had. Then after the baptism we had the Saturday session of our district conference, it was amazing. President Torgan was there along with a seventy from Brazil it was pretty sweet. President told me that night that I probably wouldn't stay in Caldas da Raiha but I still haven't heard any news on transfers today so I'd say the best bet is to ship the packages to the mission office. So yesterday was the conference again and it was super cool. We had a fun night last night staying in our Zone Leaders house with about 10 elders, (which included a dance party and other fun adventures.) But like they say we play hard and we work hard. It was sick because my homeslice elder Togo from my MTC district was there and other amigãos. So this week should be good if I stay in Caldas with a branch Christmas party and so forth, but even if I leave I'll be happy to serve wherever the Lord wants me to. It's pretty sick to serve during Christmas time the people are somewhat cheery. The rejection isn't always as bad because you can always say "Happy Holidays!" and leave people with a smile. Last night we went to members’ houses here and sang them a few Christmas carols and it brought tears the every eye in the room, (like I said a few weeks ago my angelic voice has improved.) So my Christmas thought for this week is the following, during this time of Christmas we see many lights, lights on the Christmas tree, lights on the roofs of houses, etc. But let's remember what the meaning of these lights is. As we read in the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon Christ is the LIGHT and LIFE of the world. Christ brings light to every thing he touches, that is why his gospel changes the lives of those who live it and I testify that it does because I've seen that with my own eyes. Even though we do not have a big star to indicate where the Savior is here on earth we have other tools- the scriptures, the words of the living prophets, etc. So let's all think more about how we can add more of this light to our lives and also light up the lives of others, that is what Christ would do if he were here and so let us help share the light of the gospel with those who are in darkness. Have a great week every one, I love you all, and I'm excited to talk to ya'll here in a few weeks!
-Elder Lindquist

Here is a follow-up email received later this morning.
So I'm getting transferred to Setubal. It will be pretty hectic. Another missionary and I will be white washing the area as leaders of the zone but they're combining two zones so it will be the biggest zone in the mission. President told me he wants me to teach other missionaries how to baptize. I'm excited but a little nervous since either my companion or me will have experience in the area. I love you.

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

Elder Lindquist 10/26/09

So this week was sick! We're busting out some big accomplishments here in Caldas; we broke two of the pattern of excellence goals for the mission so we'll keep on working to fulfill the others. The baptism went really well, she was just happy to get baptized she was sick of waiting. It was a really peaceful atmosphere; the place where we went the water wasn't very deep so Christophe, (our Branch mission leader) and Joana had to walk around for a while to find a place deep enough. It was kind of like a lake thing that split off from the ocean called lagoa de óbidos. We are working with a couple other people to get them baptized as well. Going to the baptismal service really got them excited about baptism. In fact half the people at the service were investigators and then yesterday we had 9 investigators in church! This branch is small but it has a lot of potential. This last week we had interviews with President Torgan and this week is transfers. I don't want to get transferred I love this place, but we'll see what happens. Yesterday Teresa showed up at church to visit. She brought a bag full of treats, oh by the way I went to the mail place the other day and picked up the package it was just waiting there for me. Thanks for the package. The shoes are really nice. Well p-day last week was really fun but I was really sore from all the ping-pong, B-ball, and ultimate frisbee. Then that night we had a street meeting and we all sang for people then got their information after the hymn, it was sick. Today I think we're going to go bowling with one of our Brazilian investigators, (the one that almost burned my face off). Well have a great week I pray that all is well with you, thank you for the support.
-Elder Lindquaisties (as pronounced by a few people this past week.)

p.s. I forgot to mention the other day we went to teach a reference that was given to his dad and us was a pastor. Well let’s just say that was a fun experience. After calmly listening to us explain the restoration to his son he started yelling a bunch of crazy nonsense that had nothing to do with anything. ugh I'm so dang sick of these crazy evangelical churches they are so distorted and all they want is your money. I'm glad I have the truth it's a very big blessing for sure. Oh and yesterday we were doing some finding when I hear drums coming from a third story window. My dream finally came true! We knocked on the door and a man answered I asked him if he was playing and he explained that his daughter was the one playing I asked if I could try and he invited us right in. I had a good 5-minute jam and they were really impressed, (even though I'm really really rusty). I know it was the Sabbath but I've been studying the Law of Moses and I found that it's just within the law to play if you get two new potential investigators. They were really cool he made us tea and we had a good visit with them. They said we could come back any day to talk about the church or to jam out. I just thought I'd share that because it made my day yesterday.

Love Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 10/19/09

Hey so sounds like your week was almost as busy as mine was. Well we're working hard here in Caldas and meeting some of our goals so that's always really fun to see and feels really rewarding. Our baptism is this Saturday and we're all really excited, especially Joana. Wow she is electissimo (ha the way you say really elect but used at the end of an english word). And we hope to have some other people marked here pretty soon. I love hearing investigators bear their testimonies on the Book of Mormon, it is really is a powerful tool in the conversion process. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and the keystone of this church and it's so sick to be able to give someone a copy of it in another language and bear my testimony of it. This week I did a division in an area called Carregado with Elder Ellis it was fun, I did a baptismal interview for them there and I also re-learned how to play Egyptian rat screw, (a card game that I had only played once and forgotten how to play). Today will be sick, our whole district is in Santarém and we're going to have a nice P-day together including a ping pong tournament, B-ball, ultimate frisbee, and a little bit of kings cup as well. Tomorrow we have interviews here then I have a division here on Wed. so it will be a little while before I get back to Caldas but oh well. What are your plans for Halloween? Halloween doesn't exist here. (The carnival is the closest thing to Halloween that they've got) I don't know what we'll do because transfers are a few days before Halloween. Since we can't dress up we'll probably do something like wear each others nametags or something just to throw people off. Well I love you guys and pray for you everyday. Have a great week!
~tsiuqdnil redle

Elder Lindquist 10/12/09

Oi minha familia tá tudo bem convosco? How was the week sounds like it was good. Ours went well also some crazy stuff went down. The other day we were teaching a Brazilian dude named Allyson, (I know that name is completely a girl name but in Brazil anything goes with the names.) He's a way sick dude. So anyway I asked if I could use the bathroom and so when I walked out of the bathroom he was standing on the side of the doorway with an air freshener and a lighter. All of the sudden I just felt a huge flash of heat by my head and I look over and see him with this homemade flamethrower. It was funny but it was pretty close to my head I don't think he estimated how far the flame would go. Luckily it didn't singe any hairs! So Joana is doing well and we're making all the preparations for the baptism our branch mission leader will baptize her in the ocean, (we don't have a font closer than an hour and a half or so). So we're excited for that and so is she, as a matter of fact she bore her testimony in church yesterday. Oh my goodness speaking of yesterday, we had four investigators in church and things were going good and sacrament meeting was almost over when a member gets up to bear his testimony and says brothers and sisters I know this church is true and the book of Mormon is true but this is the last week I'm going to come to church. Guhh sometimes I get sick of these small dysfunctional branches. He continued to list a few reasons why, none of which had anything to do with the church but that's how people function here.. I think he just wanted attention and was using the wrong way to obtain it. Yesterday we ran into Teresa in the street. I guess she came up to Caldas to visit a few people and track me down to say hello. It was weird but cool. Well the work is going fairly well here in Caldas. The companionship isn't the most fun one in the world but patience is a virtue right? Well have a great week I hope you all are doing well and all strengthening your testimonies daily I know that is happening to me. Bem, valeu meus queridos. -Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 10/5/09

So this week went great. Conference was awesome! However, I must say it was a huge stress getting everything going for the members and investigators who were waiting to see it. Our Branch President is out of town so that means the Elders do everything for a couple weeks, (we usually do anyway) so we spent a while running around on Saturday trying to find a way to get internet so we could start watching conference, it could have been a fiasco but we ended up getting everything to work. And the sessions worked out well yesterday as well. Fogo pá Elder Holland laid down the law I hope to be able to preach the gospel like him by the end of my mission I also liked a bunch of others but too many to name. This morning we came to the chapel with our branch mission leader to watch the priesthood session on his laptop it was great as well. This week went by really fast now that I've been in Caldas a couple weeks I'm getting used to how things function here and things are going good. I know that Thomas S. Monson is our Prophet today and our church is led by modern revelation, our church is the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth. I know without a doubt this work is real and it will progress until it fills the whole earth. Even though our branch is small and at times very dysfunctional it will eventually grow to be a stake. Portugal is an amazing country, it has amazing people here. I know if we will work hard the Lord will bless the people here and with a little help from our Heavenly Father, (maybe the fall of the great and abominable church...) this country will accept more fully this gospel. Portugal is already the highest baptizing mission in Europe and will continue to grow. Have a great week I love you all and I love the Lord and his work, Love Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 9/30/09

Hey sorry I didn't send an email yesterday the missionary couple that served here and left a couple months ago is visiting this week and took us all around in their car to all these sweet places that would be impossible to visit without a car. Then we went to the area of our zone leaders because I had a baptismal interview to do there and we planned on doing email there but the power went out! So I got permission from president to use it for a bit today so this will be quick. Well things are going really well this week we had an awesome week. Both Joana and Ana are progressing very well. Joana will be baptized on the 24th and she is soooo excited. The baptism was supposed to be on the tenth but our branch president will be in Brazil so she agreed to do it after he got back but she is really anxious to be baptized. She without a doubt is elect. Ana is also doing really well but has a lot more questions and concerns, this morning we had a lesson with her and the couple that served here. Brother and Sister Parker from Idaho helped us out and it was probably one of the best lessons I've taught on my mission. It was awesome and without their help it wouldn't have been the lesson it was. We had zone conference yesterday and it was very intense, and our president is a beast; both spiritually and physically! It's incredible to be in a meeting with him I feel like we're in a meeting with the apostles. He really is a spiritual monster and a great leader of this mission. For the past few years our mission has averaged 11 baptisms a month. This last month the mission had 42 baptisms, I hope all of them, including Teresa stay strong in the church. Speaking of apostles I'm really excited for General Conference. Every time I hear it announced I get giddy, I don't know why but it's a lot cooler on the mission. I really know we are led by inspired men of God. We will watch it in our chapel on a little laptop and we'll use the computer speakers I bought to use with my walkman. Well have a great week everyone I love you and pray that everything goes well for you this week!-Elder

Elder Lindquist 9/23/09

Wow time is flying by! It scares me to think that my time in the mission is more and more limited but I look at it like the mission cup is half full, not half empty. Elder Larsen's B-day is tomorrow as well so we're going to party it up. Caldas da Rainha is sick! I really like it here but it took me a few days to get used to it here. Even though it's close to Torres and the city is similar the work is very different. Once again I'm out in the middle of nowhere, even a million miles away from people in our district. Our branch here is very small, about 20-25 people. But there are some sick members here. The mission leader in the branch is awesome. He's a 25 year old guy named Christophe and he walks with us and teaches with us every day for the rest of the day after he gets done with school. That's a big help. We do service here every Friday morning at a soup kitchen for homeless people it's pretty cool we kind of help prepare the food then we serve it and do the dishes after it was cool. And we've got two really good investigators right now who are progressing really well, Ana and Joana. We marked Joana for baptism the other day; she'll be baptized in October. She has a cousin that's a member in our branch and that helps a lot. And Ana is still praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true and I know she'll receive an answer because she's one of the most down to earth sincere people I've met. We have family night every Tuesday here and it was a good one last night the members here are pretty cool, there's not a lot of crazy people like there is in other branches. My district here is huge; there are 8 of us including our zone leaders so it will be a party. Oh by the way President Torgan moved P-day to Monday, starting this coming Monday so make sure to send your emails on Sunday night instead of on Tuesday. I had a sick dream last night, Elder Larsen and I visited a music store on P-day and I played the drums for like ten minutes it was amazing. That reminds me the other day Elder Wheeler and I were proselyting in Torres and I heard drums coming from an apartment. We rang the door bell like a hundred times but no one answered :( it's alright I'll eventually get my chance. I was way excited to hear that Aspen will be getting a little brother! That's awesome I'm excited to see him when I get back. When will Nat and Isaac have their baby? Well I'll end with my testimony on the priesthood; I know the power of the priesthood is real and that holders of this priesthood can lay their hands on someone’s head and cure them in the name of Jesus Christ. Have a great week.
My address here is:
Elder Jordan Lindquist
Rua fonte do Pinheiro
Nº43 3ºESQ
2500-Caldas Da Rainha

Elder Lindquist 9/16/09

Hey all how's life? I hope everyone had a great week ours went pretty well. The baptism went really well on Saturday and we tried to stay busy this whole week making sure everything is in order because in interviews president told me he was probably going to whitewash Torres, (he likes to whitewash areas.) and he did. So we're making sure everything is in order for the new elders that arrive. Well we got transfer calls yesterday and I'm getting transferred even farther north almost to the border of the Porto mission! It's a city the same size as Beja and Torres Vedras called Caldas da Rainha. I'm way excited because I've heard lots and lots of good things about this area. The branch is small but the members are great, and that area has some of the coolest castles in Portugal. Elder Wheeler is going down to Mafra ha-ha different area but the same branch. I'm really bummed to leave Torres because I really love the people here they are amazing and I'm going to miss them a lot but I'm excited to go up to Caldas. My companion is from California, (another one) his name is Elder Larson and he's from Brea California. Well today we're going to a place called Cabo da Roca with the elders from Cacém, Cabo is the furthest point in western Europe so that should be fun. I'll send pictures from the baptism and such, I'll let you know what my address is there in Caldas so you can send the shoes there, or you can send them to the office if you want. I'm glad you guys liked the package, have a great week!
-Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 9/9/09

So this week went really well. Ha I've been waiting all week to tell you guys but last Wednesday night we met up with Teresa and she informed us that she had received an answer to her prayer concerning her baptism. So she let us know that she wants to be baptized this coming Saturday, it's a really cool story of how it all came together but one to be told in person and not typed out. That was the biggest thing we encouraged her to do was to search prayerfully for an answer and she received a sign. We're very happy about that, all I can say is God loves his children and answers their prayers. And I know that miracles are real. We had a fun day on Saturday, our ward mission leader got married and we partied it up at the reception, Teresa also insisted on taking us out to a nice restaurant Saturday night; so we ate pretty well on Saturday needless to say. Well we have a lot of good investigators but most of them have a hard time going to church. That is probably the biggest barrier we have and unfortunately it's the barrier that keeps people from being baptized. But we try our best to get people there without destroying their agency. We found some cool people this week, it's pretty cool when plans fall through then you have to go with another option and you end up finding amazing new investigators. It's funny how the spirit works. Well this stupid computer is telling me it's going to shut down in a second but did you guys get your package? Well have a great week we're going to the driving range with the rest of our district today. This next week we will know if I'm getting transferred. I'm nervous but excited. Tchau pessoal!-Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 9/2/09

So this week went well, it's really cool to see people progress it's one of my favorite things to see. The baptism didn't go through. Teresa was really nervous and didn't think she was ready to make that commitment. She continues to progress, we had a family night with her on Monday and we played a game I made that reviews the restoration it was really fun and we had some good laughs. It was a bummer but she'll still be baptized soon when she feels completely ready. (She is ready she just got scared). So Saturday was a rough day it was very hot and we were both exhausted. We were getting shut down all day. We went to the other side of town to teach Sister Maria Regina and after that (about 7:30) we didn't have much to do. I was like I feel like we should do some finding in Bairro Boavista (which is another 30 minute walk from where we were) Elder Wheeler looks at me like you've got to be kidding me, but we decided to go. We started walking up the long road that led to that part of town and we decided to start knocking those apartments. Everyone was treating us like trash and I was getting a little annoyed, so I was like should we keep knocking here or go up to the Bairro? Elder Wheeler was like I don't care, so we decided to keep knocking. A few doors later I knocked on a house and a younger lady answered. She was a little hesitant to talk to us at first and let us know that they were eating dinner I jokingly said "oh cool do you have room for two more? I'm starving" (I really was because I slept during our hour for dinner) she laughed and was like do you want to come eat with us?! I looked at Elder Wheeler and we both shrugged our shoulders and I was like sure. So we go in and there's a table full of people in their living room, so they found space for us and preceded to hand us plate after plate of food. It was awesome. After desert we talked to them about the Book of Mormon and left them a few copies, they wanted us to write our testimonies in them so we did and we left that house walking on clouds. It's funny how the days can shift so quickly. I definitely know that our Heavenly Father had our back that day because it wasn't going very well and he was aware of that so he gave us a nice tender mercy. So last night we had a lesson with our African investigator Vanessa. She is so sick! She's on chapter 11 of 1st Nephi and we had a great lesson talking about the tree of life vision and all this good stuff. I told her that she's going to like chapter 13 because it describes the church of the devil and I was like pay attention to the characteristics I'm pretty sure you'll be able to decipher which church it is. She was excited about that. Well today we're going to Sintra with our Zone it's going to be sick. Elder Wheeler has never been so it will be a good day. I hope you had good birthdays Mom and Dad the package should get there in about a week. Take it easy and study/work hard! Love vosso querido Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 8/26/09

So this last week went great we're making, I should say attempt-ing to make the final preparations for the baptism and we're a little stressed out but I hope it goes well for Teresa she is an awesome lady. The baptism will be held in Mem Martins, (an hour and a half or so from our area) we got permission from Pres. Torgan to do it in the ocean but unfortunately our stake shut us down. Oh well. I don't really remember a lot that happened this week my mind has been pretty scattered, we've just been working with the members a lot to teach Teresa and some other people so things are going good. Wow how the mission is a rollercoaster. It's crazy I can't explain but sometimes it feels like the end of the world but then sometimes you are floating up in the clouds because people are so grateful to you for showing them the truth. We really are instruments in the Lords hands in the mission field that is something that is really cool to me. I'm really grateful for the conversion of my family into the church just one generation ago because that is now rippling to other people that will create generations of other members in the church, and who knows how long the ripple will last. It's cool to think that the ripple of my grandparent’s conversion would spread across the Atlantic Ocean. There is nothing in the world cooler than being a missionary. The script writers for Billy Madison messed up the old lady should have said "if serving a mission is cool consider me Miles Davis". So the B-day went well, thank you all for the packages, letters and emails. Well I feel that this will be the last transfer that I will stay in Torres Vedras but I'm going to continue working hard in this area until I leave, It's cool to see the progress of this area since it opened and it's cool to think that with the Lords help Torres Vedras will have its first baptism in over 10 years. One day there will be a branch here, then a ward, then a stake. Nothing can stop this work from progressing I testify of that. ~Elder Lindquist

Elder Lindquist 8/19/09

Hey sounds like summer is wrapping up well for you guys. This last week went really well for us here and I hope things continue to go well for all of us. Count your many blessings right? There are more than we can imagine. Well the other day we had a family night in our investigator Teresa's house with about five members and we marked her for baptism. She should get baptized in a few weeks and I received permission from President Torgan to realize the baptism in the ocean so we'll see if that's where she wants to do it. These members have been such a help to us, if it wasn't for the members Teresa wouldn't have progressed. Well I should say wasn't progressing I tried for two months to get her to come to church and she never did then the Sunday after we had a lesson with her at the members house she came and was also there this last Sunday. So we're grateful for the members help and we're excited about that. Ha this morning we were doing personal study and we got a buzz at the door, Elder Wheeler jumped up like he always does and was like Yes! A package! So he ran out and shut the door. I was like what do you think you're doing you crazy man and got up to chase after him. When I opened the door he was standing in the hall with Elder Nair and his companion Elder Thomas. They traveled from Cacém to surprise me and play golf with us. So that was really fun we're going to go after we do email and eat. Oh the other day we were knocking some building and this 50 year old not so skinny woman came to the door and was like hello my dears. And I was like hi we're missionaries and we'd like to talk to you about Jesus Christ and immediately she was like do you want to come to bed with me. I was like Guh! My answer was no but that we could teach her how she could be forgiven of her sins. She declined, so that was interesting I've never knocked into a prostitute before and I hope it doesn't happen again. Well I hope you have a nice transition from summer to school/work, I miss you all and thank you for your support. I really love serving a mission it is by far the best decision I've ever made. -Elder Lindquistinho