Tuesday, May 3, 2011
¨It ain´t over til it´s oooover...¨
I heard that song in the street and thought, Thaz right, Mr. Motown group!
Honestly, it STILL hasn´t hit me that I´m going home. Everybody keeps telling me I need to get ¨trunky¨ so that I don´t get sad. I dunno, I just keep praying that the Lord will help me make the transition, and I believe He will. For me, one of the great lessons regarding fulltime missionary service, and this life in general, can be summed up as follows:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; ¨Turn, Turn, Turn¨ by the Turtles.)
So, as the Stake President told me and my sister often reminds me, I am on the Lord´s time right now, and will be for another good week. Hooray! Therefore, I´s gots to make it the best week ever!
General Conference = espectactular!
One of my favorite lessons this week was when we taught a boy whose friend, a local member of the Church, invited him to receive the missionary lessons. We sat on a rooftop in a beautiful equestrian training facility and taught about the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was impressed by the story of Joseph Smith´s humble search for pure truth. When Joseph Smith prayed to know which church was true, he was only 14 years old. The boy we taught is 15, but like Joseph, this boy is mature well beyond his years. He expressed dismay at the ¨mediocrity¨ of a value-less lifestyle and a sincere interest in discovering a solid religious footing on the shifting sands of metaphysical suppositions. (Okay, so he didn´t say it quuuite like that. But he did say ¨mediocrity¨!) :) Point is, this boy is ready, his friend helped him, and now he´s on his way to finding the answers he´s seeking. THAT´s why the gospel is so wonderful. There are answers!
I know the Church is true, and am excited and thrilled to always be an active part of it. Heavenly Father lives. His Son Jesus Christ too. They live for us. What tremendous love They have! Let´s show Them our gratitude by living for Them, and helping our brothers and sisters. That is what we´re here for, after all.
Hugs, smiles, thank yous, and see-ya-later´s,
Hermana Lindquist
Honestly, it STILL hasn´t hit me that I´m going home. Everybody keeps telling me I need to get ¨trunky¨ so that I don´t get sad. I dunno, I just keep praying that the Lord will help me make the transition, and I believe He will. For me, one of the great lessons regarding fulltime missionary service, and this life in general, can be summed up as follows:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; ¨Turn, Turn, Turn¨ by the Turtles.)
So, as the Stake President told me and my sister often reminds me, I am on the Lord´s time right now, and will be for another good week. Hooray! Therefore, I´s gots to make it the best week ever!
General Conference = espectactular!
One of my favorite lessons this week was when we taught a boy whose friend, a local member of the Church, invited him to receive the missionary lessons. We sat on a rooftop in a beautiful equestrian training facility and taught about the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was impressed by the story of Joseph Smith´s humble search for pure truth. When Joseph Smith prayed to know which church was true, he was only 14 years old. The boy we taught is 15, but like Joseph, this boy is mature well beyond his years. He expressed dismay at the ¨mediocrity¨ of a value-less lifestyle and a sincere interest in discovering a solid religious footing on the shifting sands of metaphysical suppositions. (Okay, so he didn´t say it quuuite like that. But he did say ¨mediocrity¨!) :) Point is, this boy is ready, his friend helped him, and now he´s on his way to finding the answers he´s seeking. THAT´s why the gospel is so wonderful. There are answers!
I know the Church is true, and am excited and thrilled to always be an active part of it. Heavenly Father lives. His Son Jesus Christ too. They live for us. What tremendous love They have! Let´s show Them our gratitude by living for Them, and helping our brothers and sisters. That is what we´re here for, after all.
Hugs, smiles, thank yous, and see-ya-later´s,
Hermana Lindquist
Hello my baby, hello my darlin´, hello my ragtime gaaals (y guys)
We´re working with the members to help them share the gospel more with their loved ones, and we printed out these cutesy little fliers that they´re going to use to write down their references. On the little flier, I typed the following:
¨Y ahora solamente
esperamos oír las alegres nuevas de su venida que nos serán declaradas por la boca de ángeles; porque el tiempo viene, y no sabemos cuán
pronto será…¨ (Alma 13:20)
(¨And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we aknow not how soon...¨)
Nice, right? Well, the thing is I put the wrong reference. This scripture I wrote out is in Alma 13:25. I wrote the citation as Alma 13:20, by mistake. It says the following:
¨Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the ascriptures are before you; if ye will bwrest them it shall be to your own destruction.¨
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sounds like we´re threatening the members into giving references. :) Well, if that´s what it takes....
So anyhoo, this week was fantastic. Mostly because, Alejandra is wonderful and I love her and she wants so badly to change her life. It was the first time I set a baptismal date for after my mission. In other words, when she gets baptized, I won´t be there. Sad! BUT, I´ll be able to email her! Happy! Also, this week Estela is getting baptized. Wonderful wonderful day!
¨And now you know, the rest of the story. Goood daay!¨
¨Y ahora solamente
esperamos oír las alegres nuevas de su venida que nos serán declaradas por la boca de ángeles; porque el tiempo viene, y no sabemos cuán
pronto será…¨ (Alma 13:20)
(¨And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we aknow not how soon...¨)
Nice, right? Well, the thing is I put the wrong reference. This scripture I wrote out is in Alma 13:25. I wrote the citation as Alma 13:20, by mistake. It says the following:
¨Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the ascriptures are before you; if ye will bwrest them it shall be to your own destruction.¨
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sounds like we´re threatening the members into giving references. :) Well, if that´s what it takes....
So anyhoo, this week was fantastic. Mostly because, Alejandra is wonderful and I love her and she wants so badly to change her life. It was the first time I set a baptismal date for after my mission. In other words, when she gets baptized, I won´t be there. Sad! BUT, I´ll be able to email her! Happy! Also, this week Estela is getting baptized. Wonderful wonderful day!
¨And now you know, the rest of the story. Goood daay!¨
What´s the one Zone more thought-provoking than the Twilight Zone?
The Monte Grande Zone!....Zone CONFERENCE that is.
I love, love, love zone conferences. President Stapley taught us how to be more Christlike. And FINALLY we watched a clip of Lion King. I KNEW that someday on my mission that HAD to happen. Hermana Norby laughed at me when the video clip came on, because I used to insist to her that that movie was doctrine. Haha. I feel somewhat justified. :)
One major theme of the conference (and the reason we watched the clip of the Lion King) was remembering who we are: children of a King, and more powerful than we realize. We read from Elder Richard G. Scott´s talk, ¨The Transforming Power of Faith and Character.¨ Elder Scott taught:
¨Righteous character is a precious manifestation of what you are becoming.
Righteous character is more valuable than any material object you own, any knowledge you have gained through study, or any goals you have attained no matter how well lauded by mankind...
The bedrock of character is integrity. Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to recognize the direction of the Spirit and to be obedient to it. Your consistent exercise of faith builds strong character.
A secure foundation for your growing character is laid by making Jesus Christ and His teachings the center of your life.
Your happiness on earth as well as your eternal salvation require many correct decisions, none of which is difficult to make.
Together those decsions forge a character resistant to the eroding influnces of sin and transgression.¨
Matías got baptized! He was so happy! He prepared himself very well for the special day of his spiritual rebirth. He reads the scriptures, prays to his Heavenly Father, attends church every Sunday and activities throughout the week, and even wakes up for early morning seminary, which he loves. There are so many good young people like him who we must bring into the safety of the true gospel and church of Jesus Christ.
President Stapley had asked me to prepare a talk for Zone Conference, to teach what I think it means to be a good missionary. I actually used the story of how Randy and Katie met to teach this principle. Short form: He took the challenge, approached with diligence and even though he didn´t meet the goal of getting the number in 7 (?) minutes, he kept going til he got the number. On the other side, Katie surely wouldn´t give her number to any ol´ person; she must have recognized some good behind the surfer-dude appearance. Thanks to diligence and love, their story leads to the temple.
Then, on Sunday, the Bishop asked me to share a talk last minute, so I shared the same story and applied it to sharing the gospel as members. Right now, I don´t have time to explain the story as I explained it in the talks, or how it proves that he really was and is a good missionary, but remind me to tell you. Part of the point was that I know that my brother was a good missionary in Brazil, because he continues to be a good missionary and apply good, true principles to bless others after his mission. (Kudos, Randy!) So now, a large group o South Americans will all be going surfing in hopes of finding their eternal companion.
Gotta go!
Love to all! Smiles and rainbows and happy days!
Hermana Lindquist
p.s. All of my (ex-)companions who are still on the mission (Hermanas Hill, Norby, Petrick, and Bushman) are in the same stake as me now! in the Zone Conference, we all were there seated on the same bench. Even Hermana Hill, who left this stake a few months ago, came back but to a different ward. So of the 6 sisters that are in our zone, there´s only one who hasn´t been my companion, and that one´s being trained by one of the sisters I trained! I love these sisters. It was so good to sit with them all. They are super missionaries.
I love, love, love zone conferences. President Stapley taught us how to be more Christlike. And FINALLY we watched a clip of Lion King. I KNEW that someday on my mission that HAD to happen. Hermana Norby laughed at me when the video clip came on, because I used to insist to her that that movie was doctrine. Haha. I feel somewhat justified. :)
One major theme of the conference (and the reason we watched the clip of the Lion King) was remembering who we are: children of a King, and more powerful than we realize. We read from Elder Richard G. Scott´s talk, ¨The Transforming Power of Faith and Character.¨ Elder Scott taught:
¨Righteous character is a precious manifestation of what you are becoming.
Righteous character is more valuable than any material object you own, any knowledge you have gained through study, or any goals you have attained no matter how well lauded by mankind...
The bedrock of character is integrity. Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to recognize the direction of the Spirit and to be obedient to it. Your consistent exercise of faith builds strong character.
A secure foundation for your growing character is laid by making Jesus Christ and His teachings the center of your life.
Your happiness on earth as well as your eternal salvation require many correct decisions, none of which is difficult to make.
Together those decsions forge a character resistant to the eroding influnces of sin and transgression.¨
Matías got baptized! He was so happy! He prepared himself very well for the special day of his spiritual rebirth. He reads the scriptures, prays to his Heavenly Father, attends church every Sunday and activities throughout the week, and even wakes up for early morning seminary, which he loves. There are so many good young people like him who we must bring into the safety of the true gospel and church of Jesus Christ.
President Stapley had asked me to prepare a talk for Zone Conference, to teach what I think it means to be a good missionary. I actually used the story of how Randy and Katie met to teach this principle. Short form: He took the challenge, approached with diligence and even though he didn´t meet the goal of getting the number in 7 (?) minutes, he kept going til he got the number. On the other side, Katie surely wouldn´t give her number to any ol´ person; she must have recognized some good behind the surfer-dude appearance. Thanks to diligence and love, their story leads to the temple.
Then, on Sunday, the Bishop asked me to share a talk last minute, so I shared the same story and applied it to sharing the gospel as members. Right now, I don´t have time to explain the story as I explained it in the talks, or how it proves that he really was and is a good missionary, but remind me to tell you. Part of the point was that I know that my brother was a good missionary in Brazil, because he continues to be a good missionary and apply good, true principles to bless others after his mission. (Kudos, Randy!) So now, a large group o South Americans will all be going surfing in hopes of finding their eternal companion.
Gotta go!
Love to all! Smiles and rainbows and happy days!
Hermana Lindquist
p.s. All of my (ex-)companions who are still on the mission (Hermanas Hill, Norby, Petrick, and Bushman) are in the same stake as me now! in the Zone Conference, we all were there seated on the same bench. Even Hermana Hill, who left this stake a few months ago, came back but to a different ward. So of the 6 sisters that are in our zone, there´s only one who hasn´t been my companion, and that one´s being trained by one of the sisters I trained! I love these sisters. It was so good to sit with them all. They are super missionaries.
Boo-way-gnaws tar-days! (it´s Spanish, I tells ya!)
President´s Message:
Thank you for your letters and your consistent hard work every day. As each of you know a major theme of our mission is to help our missionaries become more like Christ. Elder Scott taught, ¨We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become.¨ Change does not happen magically at the end of your mission; it happens by constantly doing what the Lord wants you to do each day. The result is righteous character which is a precious manifestation of what you are becoming and is more precious than any object you own. We love each of you very much.
President Stapley
Good day you beautiful people you!
Now then, this week I told the story of ¨The Boy Who Cried ´Wolf´¨ to get a little boy to not lie. Only little detail is that he didn´t have a toy wolf to use to illustrate the story, so I changed it to ¨The Boy Who Cried ´Crazed Llama, Gigantic Turtle, and Man-Eating Elephant´¨. We work with the tools we´re given.
I like that Alice in Wonderland is nigh on to scripture these days. Ever since the Prophet quoted the Chesire cat, we´re ALL quoting the Chesire cat. (See ¨The Three Rs of Choice¨, last General Conference)
Bwa! Ya tengo que irme! Bueno, les amo mucho. Les agradezco mucho, y por muchas cosas. Que anden en la luz. Felicided y amor son reales! Pueden ser suyos, si guarda los mandamientos de Dios.
SONRISAS!!
Hermana Lindquist y Monte Grande
p.s. I didn´t even mention this! AAA! Okay, quick: Sandra got confirmed yesterday. Her dad secretly traveled from the north of the country to be able to confirm her. She had no idea he´d be able to be there. She was overwhelmed with joy when she saw him. A longer version of this story will be told another day....
Thank you for your letters and your consistent hard work every day. As each of you know a major theme of our mission is to help our missionaries become more like Christ. Elder Scott taught, ¨We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become.¨ Change does not happen magically at the end of your mission; it happens by constantly doing what the Lord wants you to do each day. The result is righteous character which is a precious manifestation of what you are becoming and is more precious than any object you own. We love each of you very much.
President Stapley
Good day you beautiful people you!
Now then, this week I told the story of ¨The Boy Who Cried ´Wolf´¨ to get a little boy to not lie. Only little detail is that he didn´t have a toy wolf to use to illustrate the story, so I changed it to ¨The Boy Who Cried ´Crazed Llama, Gigantic Turtle, and Man-Eating Elephant´¨. We work with the tools we´re given.
I like that Alice in Wonderland is nigh on to scripture these days. Ever since the Prophet quoted the Chesire cat, we´re ALL quoting the Chesire cat. (See ¨The Three Rs of Choice¨, last General Conference)
Bwa! Ya tengo que irme! Bueno, les amo mucho. Les agradezco mucho, y por muchas cosas. Que anden en la luz. Felicided y amor son reales! Pueden ser suyos, si guarda los mandamientos de Dios.
SONRISAS!!
Hermana Lindquist y Monte Grande
p.s. I didn´t even mention this! AAA! Okay, quick: Sandra got confirmed yesterday. Her dad secretly traveled from the north of the country to be able to confirm her. She had no idea he´d be able to be there. She was overwhelmed with joy when she saw him. A longer version of this story will be told another day....
3/7/11
Sandra and Rocio got baptized! They were so happy! And Hermana Zapata was able to come and see her, even though she just barely missed the actual baptism. Wait, I don´t have to call her by her last name anymore. Oh well, I like it.
Sandra was just overcome with joy. She can hardly wait for next Sunday, when she´ll receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The most precious present the Lord´s provided for His children. And *no one need wait til Christmas nor their birthday for this gift! It´s available year round! Por lo tanto, bautizáos! O vosotros, extremos de la tierra! (Therefore, be baptized!) I would love to be baptized. If you´ve not done it before, consider it: you can be washed clean of sin and its related effects of remorse, sorrow, and guilt. And if you have done it, I´ll see you at sacrament meeting, where we can renew that cleansing and be filled with good feelings! It is quite a lovely plan, the plan of our Heavenly Father. And it is a joyful thing to find that trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Happy birthdays to Ray and Dan and Breylnn! and others! And happy unbirthday to those unmentioned!
Have I tooooold you lately that I love....Peruvians. Seriously. Buena gente. Just ask Yda. The woman´s been waiting to be baptized for years, but has some documents she has to go to Peru to get in order to be able to. So, I told her to pack her bags, and we´ll just go together. She makes beautiful handcrafted dolls and boxes and knickknacks and paddywacks; I can play the spoons. Together, we´ll make a living on the road and arrive to beautiful Perú where all our dreams can come true. ¨We´re gonna make it after aaalll!¨ Meanwhile, she serves in the church and dedicates so much time to her famliy and their spiritual growth, when others could easily throw down their arms in hopelessness. Not Yda! She is a faithful fighter, and I love her for it. So keep watching for the up-and-coming baptismal announcement from our beloved Hermana Yda.
*no one, EXCEPT children under the age of 8. Yeah, you do have to wait for your birthday. But you´ve got the Spirit for being so clean and innocent, so hooray!
Sandra was just overcome with joy. She can hardly wait for next Sunday, when she´ll receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The most precious present the Lord´s provided for His children. And *no one need wait til Christmas nor their birthday for this gift! It´s available year round! Por lo tanto, bautizáos! O vosotros, extremos de la tierra! (Therefore, be baptized!) I would love to be baptized. If you´ve not done it before, consider it: you can be washed clean of sin and its related effects of remorse, sorrow, and guilt. And if you have done it, I´ll see you at sacrament meeting, where we can renew that cleansing and be filled with good feelings! It is quite a lovely plan, the plan of our Heavenly Father. And it is a joyful thing to find that trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Happy birthdays to Ray and Dan and Breylnn! and others! And happy unbirthday to those unmentioned!
Have I tooooold you lately that I love....Peruvians. Seriously. Buena gente. Just ask Yda. The woman´s been waiting to be baptized for years, but has some documents she has to go to Peru to get in order to be able to. So, I told her to pack her bags, and we´ll just go together. She makes beautiful handcrafted dolls and boxes and knickknacks and paddywacks; I can play the spoons. Together, we´ll make a living on the road and arrive to beautiful Perú where all our dreams can come true. ¨We´re gonna make it after aaalll!¨ Meanwhile, she serves in the church and dedicates so much time to her famliy and their spiritual growth, when others could easily throw down their arms in hopelessness. Not Yda! She is a faithful fighter, and I love her for it. So keep watching for the up-and-coming baptismal announcement from our beloved Hermana Yda.
*no one, EXCEPT children under the age of 8. Yeah, you do have to wait for your birthday. But you´ve got the Spirit for being so clean and innocent, so hooray!
2/28/11
Hey! Today began my last transfer. Weeeeeird. But guess who my companion is! GUESS!! Okay, keeping in mind the prophecy of old - ¨and the first shall be last, and the last shall be first¨ - my companion for the end of my mission is none other than.....*drrrrrumrrrrollllll*.....Hermana Bushman! Lindquist and Bushman: The Sequel. Hermana Destinee Bushman was my trainer when I arrived to Argentina. That Hermana Bushman has been home for months now, but her younger sister arrived to the mission here six weeks ago (last transfer), and now she´s here in Monte Grande! Crazy cool!
Mana from Heaven experience:
Yesterday, a recent convert and friend had signed up to give us lunch after church. After the first hour, he informed us that he had to go buy raviolis after church, because he didn´t have time to yesterday. We briefly explained the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy, in part by refraining from commercial activities on Sundays. He still felt bad he´d forgotten and wanted to do it anyway, thinking that he could just take one for the team (i.e. sin just this once and in behalf of all so we could eat). We kindly insisted that God provides for those who keep His commandments and promised him that we would find another way to get ahold of enough raviolis for lunch. He entered his class and we starting looking for someone who would have a pile of raviolis laying around (while praying internally that such a person existed). The second person we talked with informed us that in her freezer at home, they had large quantities of food stored because this last week they were supposed to cater an event that ended up getting canceled. And what was to be the main dish at the catered event? Why, raviolis of course! What´s more, this member lives a few houses away from the chapel, so she went to retrieve the food and returned within minutes. When the second hour ended, our friend who was to make lunch for us walked out of his class, and we handed him a big bag of boxes of raviolis. He grinned from ear to ear and once more learned that the Lord always blesses those who keep His commandments. ¨Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed¨ (Doctrine and Covenants 123:17).
I love love love being on a mission and am excited to work hard this last run. It´s gonna rock! and roll!
Many happy times and many many gracias to you all!
Hermana Lindquist
Mana from Heaven experience:
Yesterday, a recent convert and friend had signed up to give us lunch after church. After the first hour, he informed us that he had to go buy raviolis after church, because he didn´t have time to yesterday. We briefly explained the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy, in part by refraining from commercial activities on Sundays. He still felt bad he´d forgotten and wanted to do it anyway, thinking that he could just take one for the team (i.e. sin just this once and in behalf of all so we could eat). We kindly insisted that God provides for those who keep His commandments and promised him that we would find another way to get ahold of enough raviolis for lunch. He entered his class and we starting looking for someone who would have a pile of raviolis laying around (while praying internally that such a person existed). The second person we talked with informed us that in her freezer at home, they had large quantities of food stored because this last week they were supposed to cater an event that ended up getting canceled. And what was to be the main dish at the catered event? Why, raviolis of course! What´s more, this member lives a few houses away from the chapel, so she went to retrieve the food and returned within minutes. When the second hour ended, our friend who was to make lunch for us walked out of his class, and we handed him a big bag of boxes of raviolis. He grinned from ear to ear and once more learned that the Lord always blesses those who keep His commandments. ¨Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed¨ (Doctrine and Covenants 123:17).
I love love love being on a mission and am excited to work hard this last run. It´s gonna rock! and roll!
Many happy times and many many gracias to you all!
Hermana Lindquist
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