This has probably been one of the busiest and funniest weeks in the mission ever. As a brief outline: 1) New companion!
2) Biking!
3) General Conference!
Each section has multiple funny stories so I hope you enjoy.
As
I announced last week, my previous companions Hnas. Woodhouse and Kang
were transferred. We learned last Monday night where they were going;
they have opened a new area (which means they are the first to serve in a
certain area) in the ward Jefferson 2nd. This ward already has 3 sets
of missionaries, but they are the first set of sisters in this ward in 3
years. They are very special and the ward is very excited to have them!
I stayed in Buenaventura and now I am serving with Hna. Felix! She is
from the Dominican Republic and she had served there for the first part
of her mission, for 4 months, as she waited for her visa. I am so
excited to have her!
She has brought such a positive energy
and outlook that I feel refreshed and ready to go (for those who don't
know, I have been struggling a little lately because of the challenges
in this area). She has brought new ideas that worked really well in the
D.R. and so I'm excited to try them here. She also is very good at
pointing out others positives and strengths. For example, I tend to be
very self-critical. I feel the way to progress and to grow is to
overcome mistakes and make weaknesses strong, which means that I notice
my imperfections quite easily. I can also get stuck in my thoughts at
times, which makes it easy for me to be very down on myself. She has
helped me multiple times change the way I think and point out things in
me that I had felt were weaknesses. I am so very blessed to have her and
that she is such a positive influence in my life. I hope that I am able
to be one for her as well.
We get along really well because
we are both very social and we have similar interests and viewpoints. We
both appreciate the importance of obedience and the blessings that come
when we are obedient. She is a very intelligent woman who loves to
learn and so we will spend travel time talking about our opinions and
helping each other with our non-native languages. She is also very
willing to drop everything and serve, which I love! I love physical
service as much as spiritual service, so I treasure the time we have to
provide a physical relief for someone. For example, this past week we
were told to visit a family where the dad speaks Spanish, 1 for the
Spanish speaker and 2 because they need help. We knocked on the door and
the wife answered and we asked if we could take a few minutes for a
spiritual thought. She replied that she'd love that but that we probably
shouldn't come in because of how bad the house was. We asked if she
needed any help, and she said "Only if you want to clean my house!" With
giant smiles, we replied "Of course!" and started walking in! She was
surprised but let us come in and we spent about 1 1/2 hours cleaning her
house. We didn't leave it perfect, but we tried our best in our time
constraints. She seemed so happy and asked if there was another time we
could come by to help, and so we set something up with her.
The
power of service is real, and it can make such a difference in the
lives of others. No, we may not have found someone new to teach that
night, and we may have missed out on opportunities to teach lessons, but
the time was well spent. That family, those children of God, know that
they are loved by their Heavenly Father because He sent His servants to
them that night. They know that there is always someone who loves them,
and now their faith will be strengthened. No, we didn't serve someone
who speaks only Spanish, but I know that Heavenly Father is pleased with
what we did. Okay, now Hna. Felix and I love music, and so we will sing
to people and sing as we work, which is amazing! We also sing as we
bike, which is an amazing feat of its own!
I
am now serving a biking area; we do not have a car, which I have had up
to this point in my mission. I was definitely intimidated when I
learned that I would be biking because I barely know how to ride, let
alone in a skirt and on a mountain. But, anything is possible with the
Lord if you'll trust Him, so we got bikes the next day. Missionaries who
have served here before using a bike can choose whether to keep their
bike (bring it home, sell it to someone else, etc.) or leave it with the
mission. Fortunately, many have chosen to leave their bikes and so Hna.
Felix and I had a few to choose from when we obtained our bikes. I
chose one with a place for a basket in front because that would allow us
to carry around pamphlets and copies of the Book of Mormon. I was so
happy and excited to see it!!!! And when other missionaries asked about
it, I would get excited all over again! One Elder commented that he
wishes he could get as excited about important things as I do about
little things. I just laughed =)
My bike is also pretty old
apparently. Now a days it is popular to have old-fashioned looking
bikes, but mine is actually pretty old according to people who have
stopped me to ask where I got my bike. I was in the FHC (Family History
Center) when a volunteer came in asking who had parked their bikes
outside. Me and my companion raised our hands a bit sheepishly, thinking
we were in trouble. But all he did was ask where we got the blue bike
and so I explained. He proceeded to tell me that my bike is from the
1950's and he knew that because he had watched multiple antique
television shows (shows about antiques and what they're worth). I kinda
shrugged off his comments until we got home and a friend of our owner
asked where I got my bike. He also analyzed it and stated that it was
made sometime in the 1960's, which he knew because he has worked with
bikes before. Now, thanks to these two men, my companion loves to tease
me by saying things like "Oh, go ahead first because seniors first!" of
"My bike is the granddaughter of your bike!" I love her sense of humor
and it just makes me chuckle to think I have an antique bike.
Now
that we have bikes, we depend on others giving us rides to far away
places, such as Salt Lake City. We were able to attend 3 of the 4
sessions of General conference down in Salt Lake City. It was amazing
for me, but even more so for my companion because it was her first time.
It was such a treat to show her around and watch her excitement! She
insisted on pictures (and I'm a little camera shy so that was....fun)
and I loved watching how big her smile got! I also loved to watch our
friend, who had brought us down and we had asked to accompany us, soak
in the peace and tranquility of conference and temple square. It was an
amazing General conference and I was so edified by the Spirit this
weekend.
Now, General Conference is a big thing for us
Mormons and many people come from far away. There were people from
China, India, Colombia, and many other countries. There were also people
from other states, and I happened to run into 2 people that I knew!
After the Saturday afternoon session, we were looking for our friend who
had driven us when we had paused for a second to check our phone. When I
looked back up, there was a man standing in front of me and as I
started to recognize him, he said my name (my secret first name, so it
was really weird to hear it =) ). It was Dylan Pemberton, a friend from
home!!! He is up here studying at BYU Provo and that day he had made a
last minute decision to come to conference. It was so good to see him,
yet really weird because we couldn't hug, like I would back home, and I
was just kinda startled to recognize someone here in Utah. We talked for
a bit and took pictures but then both of us needed to go. It was such a
blessing to see him and that we had been able to talk for a short bit.
I
thought myself very blessed to have run into him, so I thought that my
allotment of miracles was up. The next day, after the Sunday afternoon
session, I felt a tap on my shoulder so I turned around and saw Ty
Hinson, another friend from home! (I'm sorry if I spelt that wrong....)
His family were up here to see conference and so we talked for a bit and
then took pictures. It was so good to see them too! I felt so blessed
to have seen my friends, a tender blessing from my Heavenly Father.
Little (well, not really little, but you know what I mean) surprises
like that make my life so much richer. I'm so grateful that He watches
over all of us and gives us what He knows will make us happy. =)
Last
story for the day; this past January I participated in a world-wide
broadcast for missionaries. 15 other missionaries and myself were
recorded having trainings with general authorities and officers of the
Church. In the missionary world, I quickly became fairly famous. I
didn't realize how much so until random people down in Salt Lake stopped
me to ask if I was one of the sisters in the broadcast. I said yes and
they shared what they thought of what we had said and what they had
learned. It was really cool to see returned missionaries kinda freak out
because I didn't feel like I had done something terribly special; I
only shared my personal experiences and thoughts! But, it was cool to
see how the Lord places us in each others paths and how we were able to
meet each other. One woman even took a picture with me to send to her
friends back in the mission!
All in all, this
has been an awesome week! I have had a lot of great experiences and
learning moments which I will forever be grateful for. I hope that you
are all doing well and that you are enjoying spring time! I love you all
and remember who you are!
Love,
Hermana Lindh
 |
| With the Hinson boys. |
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| With Dylan Pemberton |
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