Week 11: Letter #1

October 20th, 2015

I'm sorry that I didn't send this last week; let me explain what
happened. Last week, I had an extremely rare opportunity.
There is a company here called iFly that does indoor skydiving. My
mission president happened to run into the owner of iFly and he's a
member; he offered to let all the sisters in the mission come fly for
2 minutes each for no cost to the missionaries. We were invited to go
indoor skydiving!!! My companion and I and 2 other sisters who are our
friends carpooled to go in the early afternoon. I was so excited!!!!
But, that meant that I didn't have a lot of time to email. I think I
may have mentioned, but I only get an hour to email each Tuesday but
because of our activity, I had about 45 minutes. I wasn't able to
write this email previously in the week and I used my time to email my
family. I'm very sorry that I didn't write last week; will you please
forgive me?

Let me tell you about my experience flying though! It was the coolest
thing I have ever done! It's really hard to do but I love how the wind
feels and the sensation of falling/floating; I have always wanted to
go sky diving and this was a great introduction to it. I think before
I attempt anything that requires a parachute, I'll go to an inside one
a couple of times first =) It is officially on my bucket list!
There were about 24/25 of us there who participated so we were split
into 3 groups of 8. Everyone was really nervous so I ended up in the
first group. When it came time to see who would go first, the mission
president's wife encouraged her daughter to go, but she
realllllllllyyyy didn't want to be first. So, naturally being
outspoken, I offered to take her place. I was the first of all the
sisters to go!! That was a really cool but also kinda scary; but, I
know that obedience brings happiness so if I did what the instructor
said, I'd be okay. I did what I was told and I let myself kinda fall
forward, so I was spread eagle. I. WAS. FLOATING...... It was
EPIC!!!!!! I loved the rush of knowing that nothing was holding me up
but wind and that while I was in charge, I really wasn't.
The position that you need to be in to do this correctly is actually a
but harder than it looks. You have to keep everything just right or
you go flying out of control. There was always an instructor there to
correct my form and to grab me from hitting the wall, but I was
actually able to do fairly well. The general trend is to flail/freak
out when things start to get a little funky but I stayed still and
relaxed so I was able to not get hurt and to enjoy myself! The time
that we were in the tunnel was only for a minute then we got out and
someone else went in. We had 2 minutes to do this and the second
minute they first stabilized us like the first minute, but then an
experienced flier maneuvered us to go up really high! It was sooooooo
cool! I knew that he was in control and all I felt was a thrill from
the feeling of flying! (The instructor who took us up higher is a
world sky diving champion; I have a short clip of some of his moves.)
I love this sport so much. If I ever have the opportunity and means to
do this again, I would do it in a heartbeat.
My mission president took pictures so I think they'll be posted on the
Ogden Mission Facebook page if you'd like to see them. I'm also
supposed to receive a video of our time there so when I do, I'll share
it with you
So, that's why I didn't mail this letter out last week. I'm sorry that
I procrastinated, but to be quite frank, it was worth it! I love you
all. =)

Other than my p-day activity, my major highlight of the past week was
when an investigator got baptized. I don't know if I have mentioned
him before, but he could be my great grandfather, if I was Latina =) I
love this man because he is such an example of faith and the power of
prayer. He has had a strong testimony of the these we've taught him
but he had been struggling with his addiction of smoking. To be
baptized, you need to first meet a few requirements that are outlined
by Doctrine and Covenants 20:37(D&C, a set of scriptures composed of
revelation from the Lord through Joseph Smith. We, Mormons, study this
along with the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible. If
you would like to know more about D&C or the other sets of scriptures,
please send me an email or see LDS.org) One of the requirements is to
follow the commandments of the Lord, which includes the Word of Wisdom
(see D&C 89). Part of it is to not smoke so before he could be
baptized he had to stop smoking which has been a multiple year long
habit.
He was cigarette free for two weeks before he was baptized and he has
not touched one since! I am so happy for him! To me, it's a testament
to the importance of baptism and proof that God is still a god of
miracles. If he had not received a confirmation from the Holy Ghost,
it's possible that he could've stopped but what incentive would he
have had to stop? I also know that the Lord strengthens and blesses
those who strive to be obedient to Him. He blesses us when we make a
commitment to Him and then miracles happen; I see it everyday and this
time it was with this man being able to quit his addiction.

A mission is hard work and sometimes it's filled with disappointment.
This week has been fairly difficult because I had a lot of
appointments cancel on me; I'm still trying to not take things
personally, but I'm also sad for these people because of what they're
missing out on: true joy. When you spend all your time and energy on
these people, because you know they're not just random people but
rather YOUR brothers and sisters, you tend to feel the extreme
emotions. You feel so happy for them when they receive their answer,
but you also feel their pain when they still feel confused. No, you
don't understand them perfectly, but you strive to put them before
yourself so you become more in tune with the Spirit. The Spirit will
tell you what thy are feeling and/or what they need to hear or see. In
that way, you know who these people are and you know what they are
feeling and you feel it with them. So when I say that this week has
been difficult, it's because of experiences like that mixed in with my
personal emotions.
But, a mission is a miracle. You are here only for 18-24 months and
usually only 6-12 weeks in one area (sometimes longer, it depends on
the needs of the missionaries and the areas) and yet, you're able to
intimately connect with, in many ways, total and complete strangers. I
have never met my companion before and yet I love her as dearly as I
do my family and close friends. These people I meet on the street or
through members, I come to know them in 1-2 visits. Granted, I don't
know them perfectly, but I want to. It's miraculous that I have
learned as much Spanish as I have in 2 months. It's miraculous that
mere teenagers are able to help fully grown (please don't laugh too
hard at my terminology) adults make difficult changes in their lives.
It's miraculous that teenagers are able to choose to focus on others
for 2 years of their lives at a time that the world tells us we need
to be the most worried for ourselves! No one could persuade me from
this truth that I have; missionaries are called of God and because of
such their work is nothing short of miraculous for God is a God of
miracles.
I know there are some who disagree with my beliefs, my church, my
religion. I would invite those people to ponder on 2 questions:
1. Why do you disagree and what did you base your decision on? And
2. Can you humble yourself enough to listen to a set of missionaries
without malice or ill will in your heart?
I promise you, that if you truly want to know whether The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church, all you have to
do is get past yourself and ask God. God will give you His answer
through the Holy Ghost and you will be able to know for yourself the
truth. But, the Holy Ghost speaks in a quiet voice, one of peace, joy,
comfort; you have to be listening for Him in order to hear His
whispering which means clearing yourself of your preconceptions,
arguments, and/or bad thoughts. This is the promise and invitation
that I am extending to people here (granted in more simple terms
because that's all my Spanish skills will allow). Can you do that? Ask
with sincere intent, what I just described above?
You'll get your answer, which will come in the form best suited for
you, for Heavenly Father knows you and what you need.

I love you all and I know that you are all good, righteous people
trying your best to follow Christ. Keep working hard to grow that
relationship with Him; you'll be blessed beyond belief. Remember who
you, a child of God, someone with infinite worth and value. Remember
there is always someone who loves you because you are His child. Be
good in this coming week. I promise I'll do better with letters. I
really am sorry for the mess up and I'll strive to prevent it from
happening again.

I love you. God and Christ loves you.

Love,
Hermana Lindh