Hiiiiiiiii everyone!
Davíd got baptized! Yay Davíd! It was a lovely baptismal service. And
in church on Sunday, a number of investigators and less active members
came, and everyone felt so good. The Spirit does His job when we give
Him an opportunity. He testified of the truth all day. Many who
attended felt the peace and security that only exists in a clean, holy
atmosphere. What better place than the house of God? In reality, every
home in the world should have that same Spirit. And THAT, my friends,
is the goal. May we share the joy, love, and profound peace that the
Gospel has to offer in every way we can, and in every moment we can.
Some fun charlas: We´re teaching a group of teenage boys the charlas.
They´re all friends of a member in the ward here. I believe there are
many more teenagers who would be studying the scriptures on a
weeknight, happily discussing the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, if they just had the opportunity. Nobody WANTS to choose a
lost, confused life of crime/drugs/lo que sea. So many are steered
that way though. Why not steer them to something good? Give the
peoples an option at least!
That was my mini-rant. Just wait til I have more time to write....
Good news! The Church is true! Okay, so it´s not NEW news, but it´s
still just as important as ever. It´d be a nice front-cover article:
¨Millenium Near, People Happily Preparing.¨
Thanks everyone! I love you mucho and pray for you a toooon.
Hasta la próxima!
Smiles and sunshine,
Hermana Lindquist
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Hello my dear yokefellows!
(¨Yokefellows¨ = A Paulism from Phil. 4:3)
Buenas tardes a todos ustedes, las hermosas personas que amo tanto! Things are splendid here in Monte Grande. Trees are green, streets are tranquil (and completely empty between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00p.m. - siesta!), dogs are happily eating scraps in the streets while missionaries stand on the sidewalk, clapping our hands and waiting in sweet anticipation to see who will come out from behind their barred yards to welcome us into their homes with jugo and galletitas. There´s always jugo and galletitas.
So fíjense! A part of my letter to President Stapley this week:
¨And a happy (Mon)day to you President. This week in Monte Grande, we met a good number of our weekly goals, and we exceeded a few as well. It was a good week. A couple of hard moments, but that´s what makes good weeks possible! My favorite moment was finding and teaching a couple who have both been searching. They´re friends of a various members of our ward, so when we showed up on their doorstep (at the request of one of those member friends), they warmly greeted us. The husband...has read the entire Book of Mormon. He had prayed before to know whether it was true, but never felt he received an answer. We taught him and his wife the message of the Restoration and invited them to be baptised in January. They so badly want to know the truth. The lesson was filled with the Spirit, and the two of them are praying to know the truth, but this time, they´re praying with ¨real intent¨. I don´t know how past times went, but I believe these two are ready. The Spirit has been so kind to them, and to us.¨
And considering another man we´re teaching, I wrote the following:
¨The first time we taught him, he paused the lesson to light some incense by a tiny statue of Buddha, next to a picture of the ´sagrado corazón´, also some mystic stones and many other semblances of idolatry and confusion. We´ve taught him for three visits or so, and each time, we´re seeing that he´s more and more in tune with the Spirit, and less and less concerned with ¨weirding us out¨ (for lack of a better way to describe his seemingly intentional attempts at performing uncomfortable ¨religious¨ rituals). Haha. But really, he is progressing so well. When we invited him to be baptized, he said yes. Yes, because he knows that the Holy Ghost is leading us, and he knows God has a path that is true and good. His testimonies expressed at this time were touching.¨
The latter example of an investigator´s experiences is one of my favorites. Really, every person seeks something. Many don´t know what that is. Many try to fill their spiritual desires with any number of metaphysical, mystical, or other theories, concepts, and relics. While we can find truth in nearly everything, the only place to find pure, unadulterated truth is in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every question has its answer there. Every search eventually leads there. But not everyone will find it. And no one can find it on their own. In Preach My Gospel, there is a quote to this effect: ¨To be known, the truth must be stated.¨ What responsibility we then have, we who have found truth! Speak with the tongue of angels, speak the words of Christ. That is the way to bring Heaven to earth. I know it is! I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so pure and so true and good.
Thank you all for your amor and apoyo and ejemplos! I love my homeland mucho. ¨I luf my adopted cuntree¨* as well!
Have a happy-go-lucky week, everyone!
Love,
Hermana Lindquist
*Raise your hand if you know where the quote´s from! Dad, I know your hand is immediately in the air. Muchos kudos! :)
Love and smiles from Monte Grande,
Hermana Lindquist
Buenas tardes a todos ustedes, las hermosas personas que amo tanto! Things are splendid here in Monte Grande. Trees are green, streets are tranquil (and completely empty between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00p.m. - siesta!), dogs are happily eating scraps in the streets while missionaries stand on the sidewalk, clapping our hands and waiting in sweet anticipation to see who will come out from behind their barred yards to welcome us into their homes with jugo and galletitas. There´s always jugo and galletitas.
So fíjense! A part of my letter to President Stapley this week:
¨And a happy (Mon)day to you President. This week in Monte Grande, we met a good number of our weekly goals, and we exceeded a few as well. It was a good week. A couple of hard moments, but that´s what makes good weeks possible! My favorite moment was finding and teaching a couple who have both been searching. They´re friends of a various members of our ward, so when we showed up on their doorstep (at the request of one of those member friends), they warmly greeted us. The husband...has read the entire Book of Mormon. He had prayed before to know whether it was true, but never felt he received an answer. We taught him and his wife the message of the Restoration and invited them to be baptised in January. They so badly want to know the truth. The lesson was filled with the Spirit, and the two of them are praying to know the truth, but this time, they´re praying with ¨real intent¨. I don´t know how past times went, but I believe these two are ready. The Spirit has been so kind to them, and to us.¨
And considering another man we´re teaching, I wrote the following:
¨The first time we taught him, he paused the lesson to light some incense by a tiny statue of Buddha, next to a picture of the ´sagrado corazón´, also some mystic stones and many other semblances of idolatry and confusion. We´ve taught him for three visits or so, and each time, we´re seeing that he´s more and more in tune with the Spirit, and less and less concerned with ¨weirding us out¨ (for lack of a better way to describe his seemingly intentional attempts at performing uncomfortable ¨religious¨ rituals). Haha. But really, he is progressing so well. When we invited him to be baptized, he said yes. Yes, because he knows that the Holy Ghost is leading us, and he knows God has a path that is true and good. His testimonies expressed at this time were touching.¨
The latter example of an investigator´s experiences is one of my favorites. Really, every person seeks something. Many don´t know what that is. Many try to fill their spiritual desires with any number of metaphysical, mystical, or other theories, concepts, and relics. While we can find truth in nearly everything, the only place to find pure, unadulterated truth is in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every question has its answer there. Every search eventually leads there. But not everyone will find it. And no one can find it on their own. In Preach My Gospel, there is a quote to this effect: ¨To be known, the truth must be stated.¨ What responsibility we then have, we who have found truth! Speak with the tongue of angels, speak the words of Christ. That is the way to bring Heaven to earth. I know it is! I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so pure and so true and good.
Thank you all for your amor and apoyo and ejemplos! I love my homeland mucho. ¨I luf my adopted cuntree¨* as well!
Have a happy-go-lucky week, everyone!
Love,
Hermana Lindquist
*Raise your hand if you know where the quote´s from! Dad, I know your hand is immediately in the air. Muchos kudos! :)
Love and smiles from Monte Grande,
Hermana Lindquist
Friday, November 5, 2010
Mary's Contact Information
***Pouch mail instructions***
You MUST either send post cards or you can send a letter that is a SINGLE sheet, folded into 3 panels and taped at the bottom. NO ENVELOPES!!!
You MUST either send post cards or you can send a letter that is a SINGLE sheet, folded into 3 panels and taped at the bottom. NO ENVELOPES!!!
Sister Mary Lindquist
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
To send packages to Mary, you will be sending them to the mission office in Argentina. The address is:
Sister Mary Lindquist
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission
Quintana 447
1846 Adrogue
Buenos Aires
Argentina
Sister Mary Lindquist
Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission
Quintana 447
1846 Adrogue
Buenos Aires
Argentina
You can also send letters to Mary at a website called DearElder.com
It's a free and easy way to send letters. If you need help with this, let me know.
It's a free and easy way to send letters. If you need help with this, let me know.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
BURZACO!!
Almost exactly a year ago, I arrived in Argentina and came to my first area: Burzaco. Today, I write to you from the same. How deliciously nostalgic! I have been asked to train a new missionary, and so while I await her arrival, I am working with the Sister Missionaries in Burzaco. Once my new companion arrives, it´s back to Monte Grand! The city and I will miss Hermana Hill like crrrrazy, but I know she´ll keep working miracles in LA PLATA! (Another of my beloved Stakes here in La Argentina.) As for me, I´m cramming anew, reading the mission manual along with the other books and manuals that describe the mission and its rules, and I´m going to do my best to read through all of Preach My Gospel anew, so that I can help this new Sister Missionary get off to the best start possible.
Excerpt from letter to President Stapley (our amazing, loving, and faithful Mission President):
We have an investigator in Monte Grande who was very excited for his baptism and had studied everything and was quiting smoking and everything great, so it seemed. We stopped by his work one rainy evening last week and he told us he didn´t want to learn anything else for a while and that it was clear it wasn´t the right thing for right now. We were shocked. After much internal prayer and calming words, Hermana Hill and I were able to convince him to meet us again in his home. When we went to that cita, it appeared he was still a bit ¨desanimado¨, but we started off reading Helaman 5, with an Hermana from the ward who accompanied us. The investigator mentioned that he´d need at least a couple of months before being baptized. A bit after reading, I felt my companion needed to speak, and I needed to keep quiet to let her. Keeping quiet is hard for me. But when Hermana Hill opened her mouth, I realized why I had felt to do it. She taught simply the doctrine of Christ, that the hermano needed to have faith, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost. The Spirit entered the conversation. The investigator started speaking and again began making excuses and straying to other conversational topics. I looked at him at one moment, opened my mouth, and the Spirit filled it. I testified to him of what my companion had said, explaining that he already had faith, and he already had repented, and that he could not resolve his problems - personal, familial, etc - without living the Gospel as he had learned it. I felt and knew that the Spirit had revealed to me his thoughts, in a way. It was amazing. He looked at us and said, ¨No se preocupe, hermana. Entendí. Me bautizo en dos semanas¨ (Don´t worry, Sister. I just understood. I´ll get baptized in two weeks¨). Rarely have I felt the Spirit so strongly in teaching. I learned that it has to do with being humble and allowing the Spirit speak. I hadn´t any idea how to resolve this problem, neither did Hermana Hill. There in our most desperate need to know how to help this beloved brother, Heavenly Father could use us best. I need to be a better instrument in the Lord´s hands. Working on it!
And HEY! Happy birthday DAD!!!! We had preparation day today (Wednesday) instead of Monday, so I didn´t get to tell you beforehand. But hey, you get the whole year! So FELIZ CUMPLE!!! And guess who else cumplirs soon....Brandon too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! October sure is a good month. :) You know who ELSE? Marissa Gardner! FELIZ CUMPLE AMIGA! If I´m forgetting someone right now, my apologies. And to you too, happy birthday!
Thank you, family and friends, for all your goodness and enthusiasm for life. Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your letters. Thank you for working hard and living every day with faith. That in and of itself is HUGE. Así que, les felicito, y más, les agradezco. MUCHAS GRACIAS!! (So, I congratulate them, and more, I thank them. MANY THANKS!!)
UN ABRAZO GIGANTE Y MIL SONRISAS, (A GIGANTIC HUG AND THOUSAND SMILES)
Hermana Lindquist
Excerpt from letter to President Stapley (our amazing, loving, and faithful Mission President):
We have an investigator in Monte Grande who was very excited for his baptism and had studied everything and was quiting smoking and everything great, so it seemed. We stopped by his work one rainy evening last week and he told us he didn´t want to learn anything else for a while and that it was clear it wasn´t the right thing for right now. We were shocked. After much internal prayer and calming words, Hermana Hill and I were able to convince him to meet us again in his home. When we went to that cita, it appeared he was still a bit ¨desanimado¨, but we started off reading Helaman 5, with an Hermana from the ward who accompanied us. The investigator mentioned that he´d need at least a couple of months before being baptized. A bit after reading, I felt my companion needed to speak, and I needed to keep quiet to let her. Keeping quiet is hard for me. But when Hermana Hill opened her mouth, I realized why I had felt to do it. She taught simply the doctrine of Christ, that the hermano needed to have faith, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost. The Spirit entered the conversation. The investigator started speaking and again began making excuses and straying to other conversational topics. I looked at him at one moment, opened my mouth, and the Spirit filled it. I testified to him of what my companion had said, explaining that he already had faith, and he already had repented, and that he could not resolve his problems - personal, familial, etc - without living the Gospel as he had learned it. I felt and knew that the Spirit had revealed to me his thoughts, in a way. It was amazing. He looked at us and said, ¨No se preocupe, hermana. Entendí. Me bautizo en dos semanas¨ (Don´t worry, Sister. I just understood. I´ll get baptized in two weeks¨). Rarely have I felt the Spirit so strongly in teaching. I learned that it has to do with being humble and allowing the Spirit speak. I hadn´t any idea how to resolve this problem, neither did Hermana Hill. There in our most desperate need to know how to help this beloved brother, Heavenly Father could use us best. I need to be a better instrument in the Lord´s hands. Working on it!
And HEY! Happy birthday DAD!!!! We had preparation day today (Wednesday) instead of Monday, so I didn´t get to tell you beforehand. But hey, you get the whole year! So FELIZ CUMPLE!!! And guess who else cumplirs soon....Brandon too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! October sure is a good month. :) You know who ELSE? Marissa Gardner! FELIZ CUMPLE AMIGA! If I´m forgetting someone right now, my apologies. And to you too, happy birthday!
Thank you, family and friends, for all your goodness and enthusiasm for life. Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your letters. Thank you for working hard and living every day with faith. That in and of itself is HUGE. Así que, les felicito, y más, les agradezco. MUCHAS GRACIAS!! (So, I congratulate them, and more, I thank them. MANY THANKS!!)
UN ABRAZO GIGANTE Y MIL SONRISAS, (A GIGANTIC HUG AND THOUSAND SMILES)
Hermana Lindquist
Monday, October 11, 2010
Hello young lovers wherever you are.....
....lovers of missionary work, that is.
I love missionary work so much. Hermana Hill and I have been fighting this week, like loco. So many people are kept from salvation, because they´re simply afraid of ultimately minor, temporal things. Satan is so astute. Sometimes I just want to shout repentance (like Alma wanted! In chapter.....I´ll get back to you on that). People cannot be truly happy under the weight of sin. That´s what makes the Gospel such a tool for peace. Through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, people are cleansed from sin and at PEACE. Peace and joy and love. That´s what everyone wants. It´s amazing.
Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. They are felt and very appreciated. I hope you can feel my prayers, and the prayers of many investigators and members here who ask the Lord to be with you, my family and friends. The Gospel makes the world a network of love!
I love you!
Hermana Lindquist
I love missionary work so much. Hermana Hill and I have been fighting this week, like loco. So many people are kept from salvation, because they´re simply afraid of ultimately minor, temporal things. Satan is so astute. Sometimes I just want to shout repentance (like Alma wanted! In chapter.....I´ll get back to you on that). People cannot be truly happy under the weight of sin. That´s what makes the Gospel such a tool for peace. Through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, people are cleansed from sin and at PEACE. Peace and joy and love. That´s what everyone wants. It´s amazing.
Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. They are felt and very appreciated. I hope you can feel my prayers, and the prayers of many investigators and members here who ask the Lord to be with you, my family and friends. The Gospel makes the world a network of love!
I love you!
Hermana Lindquist
Monday, October 4, 2010
Loor al Profeta!
Raise your hand if you´re happy that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ restored the true church to the earth again! Is your hand up?? Get it up there!! And if it´s not, send me your address and local representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be humbled and grateful to visit and explain why your hand should be up. For ¨what do we hear in the gospel which we have received?¨ A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy...Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.
Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! (Doctrine and Covenants 128:20-22)
And let everyone reading this letter raise their hands!!!
Haha, okay. You can put your hands down now. :)
Besides, you are an agent unto yourself. Man, this last week, I had studied so many themes that were beautifully analyzed throughout the General Conference. One of the greatest was of agency. My favorite study: Ephesians 6:12 (10-18) + Alma 48:12, 24 + Amla 57:20-27 + 2 Nephi 2 + D&C 58:26-29 = We fought before this life, and continue to fight now so that we may be free to anxiously engage ourselves in good causes. If we don´t act, we will be acted upon. Heavenly Father created us for greater things than that. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins and took upon Him our weaknesses and infirmities (physical, spiritual, emotional, etc.) so that we could be free to follow Him into eternal life, eternal perfection, and eternal happiness. I know the Church is true and that Christ lives, directing it from above and within. He has called Thomas Monson as Prophet for these years. His voice is the voice of the Lord. What a statement, ¿no? But it´s true! God Himself said so. Ask Him about it. :)
Gotta go! Smiles and thanks to you all!
Hermana Lindquist
And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers! (D&C128:22)
Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! (Doctrine and Covenants 128:20-22)
And let everyone reading this letter raise their hands!!!
Haha, okay. You can put your hands down now. :)
Besides, you are an agent unto yourself. Man, this last week, I had studied so many themes that were beautifully analyzed throughout the General Conference. One of the greatest was of agency. My favorite study: Ephesians 6:12 (10-18) + Alma 48:12, 24 + Amla 57:20-27 + 2 Nephi 2 + D&C 58:26-29 = We fought before this life, and continue to fight now so that we may be free to anxiously engage ourselves in good causes. If we don´t act, we will be acted upon. Heavenly Father created us for greater things than that. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins and took upon Him our weaknesses and infirmities (physical, spiritual, emotional, etc.) so that we could be free to follow Him into eternal life, eternal perfection, and eternal happiness. I know the Church is true and that Christ lives, directing it from above and within. He has called Thomas Monson as Prophet for these years. His voice is the voice of the Lord. What a statement, ¿no? But it´s true! God Himself said so. Ask Him about it. :)
Gotta go! Smiles and thanks to you all!
Hermana Lindquist
And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers! (D&C128:22)
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