Week 43, May 30, 2016

Here come TRANSFERS

In 20 years, I have:
 
* Lived in 10 different cities (Ellensburg, WA; Wenatchee, WA;
Portland, OR; Spokane WA; DesMoines, IA; Spokane Valley, WA; Reno, NV;
Houston, TX; Layton, UT; Ogden, UT) (the longest was in Spokane Valley
= 3 years and 10 months)
* Attended 4 different elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 3 high schools
* Graduated from San Jacinto Community College with an Associates
degree in General studies
* Been accepted into BYU, Provo in Utah
* Learned 4 different instruments: piano, trumpet, French horn, and
mellophone. (My favorite is the French horn, but most played is the
piano; I also enjoy singing if that counts as an instrument =) )
* Participated in band for 8 years (having started in 5th grade and
ending, as of right now, in 12th grade), which includes concert band,
jazz band, and marching band
* Performed in community honor bands, at one point being one chair
away from a state honor band
* Performed in 3 major (you may argue what major means but for me,
it's anything larger than just a school event) parades: Jr. Lilac
Parade, Lilac parade, Fourth of July Parade in Washington D.C.
* Performed in Solo and Ensemble twice, once as an 8th grader, the
other as a Freshman. The first time around, I received a 1 (which is
the best score you can receive on a scale of 1-5); the second time, a
2. Lesson learned: never stop practicing
* Seen multiple sights: Seattle, WA with the space needle and famous
pier; the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River (my grandpa Lindh
helped build this dam); Spokane, WA with Riverfront Park and the falls
on the Spokane River and the Davenport Hotel; Mt. Rushmore; Salt Lake
City, UT with Temple Square and General Conference; Denver, CO;
Nauvoo, IL; Omaha, Nebraska; Reno, NV and LasVegas, NV; Sacramento,
San Francisco, and Los Angeles, Yosemite National Park, CA (Disneyland
and Hollywood); Hoover Dam; Grand Canyon; Sedona National Forest;
Pheonix and Tuscon, AZ; White Sands, NM; Carslbad Caverns; every major
city in TX = El Paso, Fort Worth, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and
Houston; Tower of the Americas and the Riverwalk in San Antonio; New
Orleans, LA; Orlando, FL for DisneyWorld; Washington D.C.; Mexico
City, Mexico
* Been in at least 20 of the 50 states in the United States
* Been the first in my immediate family to leave the country and stamp
a passport
* Tried numerous dishes of food, including to but not limited to:
menudo = stomach lining, lengua de vaca = cow tongue, mole = a
specific sauce that originated from Mexico, street tacos, arroz con
leche, and a whole lot more
* Gone to multiple different amusement parks, such as 6 Flags
(Discovery Kingdom in CA and a 2 in Texas), SeaWorld, DisneyLand and
DisneyWorld
 
All of these things can help describe my life and describe me, but
they don't include some of the most important things that I have done.
In chronological order, my most important memories/events are:
1. baby blessing - in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
we bless our babies in front of the wards we live in. In this
blessing, we give the baby a name (in my case, Rachel Morgan Lindh)
and their names are kept on the records of the church; in a sense,
from that point on the members of the church become part of the baby's
family and are always there to help them. Also during these blessings
the baby receives a special blessing as dictated to the priesthood
holder by the Spirit. They may be given advice for their future, or
wishes made such as that they'll grow up in faith and virtue. If you'd
like to learn more, please see:
https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-fundamentals/chapter-21-ordinances?lang=eng
under the section "The Blessing of Children"
2. Baptism - on June 19th, 2004, I was baptized a member of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and then confirmed. I was 8 years
old and what I remember is my family being there and feeling really
happy. My dad had been out in Iowa that year but came back so he could
baptize me; I wore a white dress that my mom had worn when she was
baptized. (If I mess up the story, please forgive me, I don't have the
best memory ever) We were living in Spokane at the time and I can
remember my primary teacher being there. He was a kind old man and he
gave me a journal that became my first personal journal. I can also
remember not being able to stop smiling. I am so grateful I made the
decision then to follow our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ because
it has positively influenced my life ever since. I know who He is and
I am firm in the faith due to this major event.
3. Completing Personal Progress - Personal Progress is a program for
the young women (girls ages 12-18 yrs. old) to help them develop into
amazing and righteous women. While I feel like I still could've grown
spiritually without this program, it did help me stay focused and to
push me. I completed it right before I graduated high school and
before I turned 18 and in so doing earned a Young Woman's medallion
(I'll include pictures). To me, this necklace helps remind me of the
work I've done and it's also a promise of continual growth.
4. Preparing for a mission - preparing for my mission was a beautiful
period of my life for growth albeit a bit hard. I was attending
school, attending institute, and overall growing, and as part of my
preparation, I was able to attend the temple. In the Lord's house, I
was able to make a special covenant, or promise, with Him that has
changed my life. I am now more dedicated to Him and He has promised to
help me in my attempt to become more like Him. The temple is a
beautiful place and will always hold a special place in my heart. I
know that as I attend as regularly as possible, I will be able to
achieve my goal of becoming like Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus
Christ. They have given me the things I need to know and do in order
to enjoy the blessings of eternal life.
5. Serve a Full-time Mission - As you know, I am currently serving a
mission in Ogden, UT and it is the most glorious thing I have ever
done. I would not trade the time I have spent, the experiences I've
had, the people I've met, and the growth I've had for anything in the
world. I know that my testimony has deepened and has come closer to
conversion. I know who my Savior is on a more personal level and I'm
here helping others enjoy the same blessing. As I have been praying
and yearning for charity, my heart has broken in innumerable ways, but
it is so much better and stronger now. I kinda had an epiphany I want
to share with you all: all God asks from us is a "broken heart and
contrite spirit." (See 3 Nephi 9:20) Besides the comparison of a
broken horse (one who's easily guided) why else would He use the word
broken? I believe that, at least for me, it's because He can make
something much more beautiful with our hearts than we can if we will
turn over the pieces to Him. We are like windows; before we are broken
and turn to Him, we are merely one panel of glass that may be very
pretty, but we could be so much more. The more we turn ourselves over
to Him, the more our one panel can become a beautiful masterpiece of
stained glass, being made up of beautiful parts. I like the imagery
myself; I am breaking right now so that I can be even better in the
future.
 
Thank you for bearing with me as I reflect on my life up till now. I
hope that you will take the time to reflect on where you are at
currently, where you came from, and where you want to go. Please, in
this last step, lean upon the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6) and let Him guide
you. I promise that as you strive to match your will to His, you will
be so much happier than you could've been by yourself. I love you all
and I'm so grateful for how you've played a role in my life. Your
touch has helped shape me into who I am today and I know that the Lord
placed you in my life for that reason. You make a difference, and it's
a beautiful one if you need the Lord.
I love you all and I hope that you have a great week!
 
Love,
Hermana Lindh

Part 2

Funny/Just stories for the week!
 
Wheelchair races! We and the Elders volunteer at a place called Roads
to Independence which helps people with disabilities. This past
Tuesday, we had a little extra time at the end and we had just
finished cleaning some wheelchairs that had been donated. Due to the
prodding of one the volunteers there (a mid 40's man who rocks out to
80's music -he's one of my best friends there) we decided to race in
the wheelchairs. The main room where activities are held was our
racetrack and we had two missionaries marking the end. As we raced
each other to the other side, there was a good size breeze blowing
through our hair, each missionary trying to out race the other. It
became quite apparent that some wheelchairs are faster than others, so
now there is the covetous ORANGE WHEELCHAIR!
It was so much fun and it was cool to see adults laughing really hard.
I personally feel like after you work hard and the job is done, you
should play hard =) Silly moments make the harder weeks easier to bear
and make for great stories to share with others when they need a
pick-me-up.
 
We, being the Elders and us, helped set up an activity for the youth
on Wednesday which was a life sized PackMan! Of course we took
pictures and they make me laugh really hard so I hope you enjoy them
as well!
 
This past Friday, we were invited to a wedding of one of the girls of
a family in our ward. They had a Lord of the Rings theme and it was
pretty cool! The bride walked down the aisle to the theme song for the
Shire (I would sing it for you but alas, we are emailing....) and all
of the participants were wearing the leaf emblem thing. What makes
this funny though is two parts. One, the family dog wanted to join in
with the excitement! We kinda hung out with the bride and groom for a
bit, as they were saying their vows, and I guess the excitement was
too much because the dog decided to go to the bathroom right there in
front of the happy couple. Everyone was dying! Then, as part of her
little bit, the bride, now wife, pulled out a plastic ball and chain
and attached it to her new husband! They seem to have a great sense of
humor and I think they'll get along just fine =)
 
On Saturday, our dinner was a pick-up and so we met the Elders at a
church to eat. As we were talking, our phone went off and we spoke
with the person for a bit and then I said goodbye. For those who know
me, I have a very unique way of saying "goodbye"; I kinda Mhhm
quickly, which sounds like a giggle, and then say bye. The Elders
cracked up when they heard me do that "mmmbye!" and said that it makes
them laugh every time I do it. We then had fun doing different
variations of it, such as "mmmm....bye!" (Pause for effect!) and even
"mmmhello!" Now, whenever I can, I make that sound and it sends them
into a laughing fit. We have some great times in this area!
 
Last story: yesterday, Sunday, we had a special family home evening
where we made pupusas. This is a food from El Salvador and Elder Oritz
know how's to make them, so he taught us how! It was really cool
learning how to make a food I love and help those I love learn this
skill too. It's kinda intense, but it tastes so good so it's worth it.

Before the "trim"

After the "trim", may need to wait longer between trims if they're going to take this much off.

Week 42, May 23, 2016

Obedience brings happiness! This past Thursday we had interviews with President and so while we waited for our turns, we received training from our APs. They taught about having confidence to invite people to baptism and to always remember to testify. It was really powerful and really good. On Friday, we were able to see some miracles. The first was that we found someone new to teach! Her name is Hedrei and she's 18, works at Baskin Robins, and is saving up for college. We found her by trying a house we were told has Spanish speakers; she opened the door, we introduced ourselves, and asked for 2 minutes which she agreed to. We have the 4 minute Restoration and at the end invited her to read the Book of Mormon, the 21 day challenge (which is where they read specific verses from the Book of Mormon to gain a testimony of it). She said she would and then we asked her to be baptized and she said yes! I think I was a bit stunned because I forgot to give a specific date (my bad, I'm working on that...) but she said yes to baptism!! We also invited her to church but she said that she works a lot and that she couldn't make it this Sunday, so we'll shoot for the 29th. It was amazing to see such immediate results to promises given by leaders. We were, and still are, trying to apply what we learned from Thursday, and so far it's working pretty well! We are going to try and visit her with a young woman from our ward who will be serving a mission soon; they're close in age and we felt she would be a good fellowshipper for this girl. Now, to find Hedrei again and her family is the trick! After we met and taught Hedrei, we were coming off the doorstep when we saw 3 girls walking across the street so, naturally, I chase after them. I didn't sprint at them, but I definitely wasn't walking =) They stopped and spoke with us and we had a lesson with them using the Hallelujah video. We were about to invite them to be baptized when they told us that they were already meeting with missionaries. Turned out that they live in J2 area (another Spanish ward) so we reassured them that the elders and sisters there are fantastic and invited them to continue listening to the missionaries. We then texted the zone leaders to report the lesson. This experience was really cool for me because I could feel 2 parts of myself: one wanted to run and talk to them and the other thought it would be weird if I did that and to just leave them alone. It was a weird feeling to feel myself war between the two ideas, but fortunately the correct side won out. I can feel my faith improving little bit by little bit, and that for me was a big bit =) I am naturally outgoing and talkative, but I'm also sensitive to social norms and so it can be hard for me to override those fears and invite someone to baptism on the street or speak to gringos =D But it's very simple; courage is of God, fear is of Satan. Who I choose each day, each moment, determines who'll I'll become and how much I'll help others. After speaking with those girls, we walked back to our car and on the way there walked by a house where 4 men were working landscape. Again, I had that tug-a-war inside me for a bit because who wants to be interrupted during work? but we stopped and talked to them. Of the 4, only 1 stayed and talked with us and his name is Jesus. We asked for 2 minutes and he said he needed a break and so we did a 2 minute restoration and at the end invited him to be baptized. He didn't say yes, but he didn't say an outright no so we invited him to read the Book of Mormon. He said he already has one and that he's even read the first few pages (introduction up through Joseph Smith's testimony). We promised that if he read it and prayed, he would feel ready for baptism, invited him again, and received a "maybe". He lives in Roy, a city to the west of us, so we got his information and sent it off to the Roy sisters. It was pretty cool. Saturday was pretty good....pretty normal, but good. Sunday was pretty good too; the major highlight was our lesson with the Roger Family from the 6th ward (an English ward. I'm sorry, I forgot to explain; my companion and I are the only sisters serving in this stake and surrounding stakes and so we are helping with a program where female leaders take charge with reactivation and baptizing; hence, we are working in English) . We had gone to their ward council this morning and as they were talking about this family, they turned to us and said we'd probably do well with them. They, mostly priesthood holders, have been trying to work with them because it's a family of mom and dad and their 3 boys. They haven't made a lot of progress though so they asked if we would go and see them and the Elders told us that they had a lesson set up for tonight, so we went. We went with a couple, the Treglowns, and taught about faith. At first it felt a bit awkward to me because we didn't really know this family while the Treglowns do and they had prepared a lesson to share. But, after a little while, the Spirit helped guide us with the right questions to help this family. They shared very personal experiences with us and shared their spiritual goals and the Spirit was very strong. We will be going back this Wednesday for service (their house needs a little.....love.....and elbow grease.... I didn't realize how much a clean house makes a difference in feeling the Spirit!) and for a lesson later that night. I love them so much and we got along very well with them. The mom is a stay at home mom so I think that having sisters will help her stay spiritually strong, which in turn will help the rest of her family. They have made such progress to be where they're at right now and I can't wait to see where they'll go! Life is good! It's hard, there are low moments, but it is also joyous and amazing. I love what I do and I am starting to see how much Heavenly Father really believes in me. My dad wrote me an interesting letter recently where he warned that being self-critical is just as prideful as being egotistical. He didn't say out right that I am too self-critical, but he warned me to stay from that path. I think that part of humility is not only recognizing our weaknesses but our strengths too. Jesus Christ is our greatest example in all things and even He pointed out His divine nature, His strengths, His talents. He knew the balance between acknowledging who He is and what He's don, and knowing His dependence on God. I am striving to be better in how I view myself, and my companion knows that and is helping me. I love growth! I love you all and I hope that you are seeing your personal growth. I know that you're all amazing people and I'm so blessed to have you in my life. Please stay safe, be happy, and remember who you are! Love, Hermana Lindh

Elders Ortiz and Juarez

We were practicing having only one minute to invite someone to baptism. The people in the inner circle would run around to find an open "investigator" and after a few times with this group, we switched and the people on the outside became the missionaries. It was really funny trying to run in a pencil skirt and then invite someone to baptism while out of breath =) these are most of the missionaries in my zone.

Week 41, May 16, 2016

Emailing from my iPad today!
Quite a few things happened this past week!
We were part of a city wide service project where we helped clean up
and fix a community garden. My companion and I were assigned to help
clean up a fallen tree and any debris on the ground and we were
privileged to work with missionaries serving  youth church service
missions. We don't normally interact with this missionaries so it was
really cool to meet them and learn more about what they do. Many of
them are serving service missions because they are unable to serve
full time 18-24 month missions, but they make such a difference! One
of them works in the Ogden Employment center for the church and helps
improve people's lives by helping them find good and better jobs. For
me, it was such a testament that 1) Heavenly Father knows where each
of His children are needed for their growth and others and 2) that any
service done for the kingdom of God is of great worth. They do so many
things that help my mission and other missions run smoothly and
without them, my job would be a lot harder. I loved meeting and
working with them for they are all special spirits.
Another big event for me was going to the temple this past Tuesday. We
are so blessed to have a temple within our mission, being only 20
minutes away at the furthest. Our mission president has allowed us to
go quarterly, so every 3 months, and it is such a respite for us! I
love missionary work, I love working hard, but it is nice to
occasionally rest and re-center yourself. The temple is the house of
God, and in there we can find a special and sweet spirit that
rejuvenates our souls. What a blessing to have such a connection
between heaven and earth!
Okay, okay, okay......drumroll please!
The most exciting event of this week was definitely the baptism of
Alina and Maria! Oh, I love them so much! They are both amazing women
and they are going to thrive in this ward. Their baptism went really
well and, as per the usual, was very spiritual. Hna. Wi Repa and I did
the Restoration and it was her first time doing that at a baptism and
in Spanish; she did amazing!! Many people came up and complimented her
and told how strong the Spirit was for them. She is really doing well
in opening her mouth and speaking and you can see her growth. We make
sure to keep communication open between us because I don't ever want
her to feel like I'm picking on her. Fortunately, she doesn't feel
that way so I guess I'm doing ok. =)
Honestly, there are time where I really struggle with the question of
whether I'm doing well by her or not. I know I'm not perfect, God
knows too, and I'm sad when my mistakes and shortcomings affect her
growth. I want her to succeed and be an excellent missionary, which in
many ways she already is, so I just pray that she'll grow despite my
weaknesses. I think I'm starting to understand my parents a bit
better, though I feel like I still have a long way to finally get it.
I'm just grateful that Hna. Wi Repa is very patient with me and is
quick to forgive. (Nothing major, we haven't fought, I just tend to
say sorry a lot...) But really I am so grateful for her; we work well
together and I feel like we are doing a good work in this area even if
our key indicators are a bit low currently.
It's amazing the growth you can see if you ask the Lord to show you;
He is working hard with me and I am so grateful for that. My heart has
been full recently with how grateful I am for the gospel and I marvel
at the blessing I have to have been born into the covenant. I have
amazing parents who have raised me with the fullness of the gospel,
who love me and support me, a family who are spiritual giants; how can
I be so fortunate? I know I'm at the right place at the right time,
doing the most marvelous work possible. I love being a missionary and
I love getting out there speaking with everyone. This work is amazing
and life is good!
 
I hope that you are all doing well and that you're happy. If you're
not, take a deep breath, remember who you are, and sing a happy song.
Heavenly Father is aware of you and loves you; He wants you to be
happy (2 Nephi 2:25). I love you and if you ever need a friend, just
send me an email.
Be good and remember who you are!
 
Love,
Hermana Lindh

Week 40, May 9, 2016

Another mile marker met! Yesterday, I was able to Skype my family for the second time on my mission (which means I will Skype only one more time before I head home). I will say, I am quite proud of myself because I didn't start crying when they first appeared =) It was so good to see all of them! My heart was full as we talked and just enjoyed each other's company; it is something I have missed terribly. They are all amazing and it has been difficult to be apart from them for so long so it is such a blessing to call them occasionally. I know, once again, that I am in the right place, at the right time, and doing the right thing. This sacrifice is reaping such amazing and beautiful blessings that the tears and hard days are all worth it. One of the big moments of the call is that I learned where my brother Nathan was called. He has been called to serve in the South Denver Colorado Mission, English mission!!! I am so excited for him!!! I was secretly hoping that he would learn Spanish so that we could speak with each other in the best language ever, but Heavenly Father knows better than me. I know he is going to the right mission for him, at the right time. I am so happy and proud for him! I know he will be a great servant of the Lord and that while he grows he will help many others to grow as well. He reports July 27th, which is a week before my year mark, so we will both be in the field for 6 months before I head home. I will miss him terribly, but I am at peace as I hope he is. I love him and am so grateful that he is my brother; his mission is lucky to have him. Okay, so that was the major event this past week. Kinda hard to live up to that, but I have a few stories. =) My favorite one happened this past Saturday. We had planned to make treats, such as cake and cookies, to bring to people but we needed some ingredients so we ran to the store real fast. When we got to the self checkout, it asked if I would like any cash back and for some reason,mi felt like I should draw out a few dollars. I didn't want a lot so I took only $5 and put in my wallet, not thinking much of it. Later that day, we were trying to contact some referrals that were close together, so we walked. We walked past a Spanish store where a woman and her kids were outside selling flowers. The little boy runs up to me and asks if I would like to buy a flower. Without thinking about it, I said I would. They had a few bouquets that were fairly expensive but they also had single roses in a bucket that were $5 a piece. I gave them my $5 from earlier that morning and chose a beautiful red rose; I had no clue what I was going to do with it. We spoke with the woman for a while and invited her to read the Book of Mormon, but she wasn't very open to our message, so we moved on. As we continued to the house, we passed a family having a fiesta. A woman had just walked to the front yard and saw us, so she said hi and invited us to join them. We said no, because who likes to crash a family party? She insisted another 2 times so we finally said yes. They were celebrating a child's fist communion, so it was terribly awkward for Mormon missionaries to walk into their party. We approached the child whose day it was and just said "Hi! Felicidades!" because we weren't sure what to do! Just standing there awkwardly, I said "We are so happy for you that you are choosing to accept God!" and then handed her the rose! It was so perfect because if we didn't have the rose, it would've been very bad =/ The mom was very kind to us and now we are hoping to find them again later this week! Miracles happen in weird ways, as long as we are open to the Spirit. I didn't know what I was doing, but everything worked out just right and it was because God's hand was in our work. He is always watching over His children and wants to help us if we would just listen to Him. Okay, the other story I'm going to share kinda happened throughout this week and last. We volunteer at a place called Roads to Independence which is a group that helps anyone with any type of disability. They are always looking for more help and so we have been doing a lot for them. The major project we've done is pin and sew quilts. I can't tell you how excited and grateful I was when we're asked if anyone knows how to sew and I was able to say yes! Now, quilting is a fairly easy sewing project, but it was difficult to just sit down and sew for 3 hours at a time. Despite it being uncomfortable a bit, we were able to get a large part of that project done in a short amount of time. The woman who works with the volunteers was extremely surprised and grateful and it was really cool to see her so happy. I love working there because we are able to help so many people, use the talents we have worked on, and see the difference we make. (We don't always get that blessing so I love it) I also enjoy little blessings that come from it like gift cards. Let me explain =) This woman, Karen, chooses to have a raffle for the volunteers for the service they give so she has them make a "ticket" and put it in a bowl for every day they serve there. We have been doing that and they did the drawing for the month of April on the Thursday we were there. She managed to draw my name! As such, I chose a gift card to Walmart! .....You know you're a missionary when....you choose a Walmart gift card over a restaurant gift card. =D I am so grateful for this gift card because now we can make more treats for people in our area!!! I absolutely love baking cookies for people, as many of you know! =) I think that's it for this week. I have been growing spiritually and laughing and dancing in the rain, overall just living life. I love it and wouldn't change it for the world. My heart is full and I am joyful. I hope you all have a great week. I love you and I know Heavenly Father loves you. Always remember who you are and be good! Love, Hermana Lindh
i found real life princesses!!!
we hiked to the top of a mountain to find a waterfall!

Week 39, May 2, 2016

Just so it's out there.... I'M HALFWAY THROUGH MY MISSION!!!!!! Who knew this day would come? (rhetorical question, thank you! =) ) AH! =D I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!
Ok, now that that's out, ¿qué pasó esta semana pasada?
What happened this past week?
The most exciting news for me is that we put two people on date!!! On our first day here, we met a woman at a relief society activity who seemed very nice and I just really liked her, so I struck up a conversation. I asked her a few basic questions like ¿de dónde es usted? (where are you from?) y ¿cuántos años atrás conoció la iglesia? (how long ago did you join the church?) She laughed a bit and then said that she's not a member. The other women in the room also laughed because they knew that before I started a conversation with her. One woman commented "she's not going to be baptized any time soon" and I kinda went "Hmph! We'll see about that!" in my head. For me, I believe firmly that our attitude strongly affects our actions and if we think like that then we are not going to act as resolutely to help this woman.
Anyways, we finish speaking with this woman, Alina, and head about our week. At church on our first Sunday here, we decided to divide and conquer after sacrament meeting and talk to as many people as possible. (Of course we stayed in sight and sound =) ) I went off and spoke with a few members and set up appointments with them and then went to look for my companion to see how she was doing. (Now, we also did this so that she could practice her Spanish without me there for her to rely on; a little brutal? Maybe. Extremely helpful? Absolutely!) She had found her way to the woman we had met that past Wednesday, Alina, and her family. They were talking when I approached and Hna. WiRepa had just finished setting up an appointment with them. Apparently I'm not the only one who enjoys a challenge =)
I believe we had set up the lesson for Tuesday and all four of us missionaries went to their house so that Alina and Maria would be comfortable with us. We decided then that all four missionaries would come back to teach the Plan of Salvation on Thursday. As such, Thursday came around and all of us were there to teach together one of the harder lessons (it's harder because it has multiple parts). As we got started, you could already feel the Spirit; the room was filled with His presence. We started teaching, taking turns teaching different parts, asking lots of questions, all the good stuff until we got to the last part about after this life. My companion taught the 3 different degrees of glory (please see lds.org for an explanation of the Plan of Salvation) and stressed the importance of being baptized to enter into the best kingdom, the Celestial kingdom. We asked Maria, the daughter, to tell us what the Celestial kingdom means to her. She said that that's where we can be super happy and that's where she wants her dad to be. Earlier we had taught about temples and what they are and what they mean, so she knew about baptisms for the dead. This little one started to cry because of how strong the Spirit was and because of how much she wanted this for her dad.
I went over to her and hugged her, letting her cry for a bit, and then said thank you, promising her that we would help her to enter this kingdom and her dad. Elder Juarez, one of the Elders we work with, then invited both of them to be baptized. Maria agreed right away. Alina sat there for about 5 minutes, just thinking. During that time, when I would normally try to talk, I sat and prayed for her, asking that she would be open to the Spirit and accept the invitation. After the quiet time, she asked us how she can prepare for baptism. We answered her questions about baptism and then left her and Maria with a pamphlet for the next lesson.
This lesson was AMAZING!!! Our goal as missionaries is to teach people, not lessons by listening to the Spirit and testifying of truth. We accomplished this goal in this lesson. As a missionary, it was one of the most satisfying and joyful moments for me. As a daughter of God, I couldn't stop smiling and giggling because my sisters have chosen to enter into the strait and narrow way; they have chosen the path for exaltation!!! Oh! I am so happy!!!!
This whole week has been an extremely happy and spiritual week for; I have felt myself become more converted to the Lord. I write a lot in my journal about my emotions because I am just too full of positive feelings! I want to burst and so I do; sometimes it's in song, sometimes in tears, other times in lots of words (everyone who knows me knows I like to talk =) ). I love my mission because I love my Savior. These past 9 months have been the hardest, most amazing, most satisfying months of my life. The price may seem steep - living and working with strangers, being away from home, learning a new language in a short amount of time, etc. - but I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I'm going to! I have 9 more months to complete consecrate every second of my day to the Lord! I rejoice in the time I have left and eagerly await the months to come.
Lindhs work hard, and we do it with love, and this Lindh is going to keep working hard! I love you all and I'm so grateful for the support you have given me. You are my dear brothers and sisters and I am so grateful to have you in my life. Please remember who you are and rejoice in the truths we have.

I love you!

Hermana Lindh

 

Service at a place called Roads to Independence

Ah man! I just wanted to bring you eternal happiness!...Your loss!

The Elders were sick so we brought them meager "get well" food. Included is soup, corn and frozen readymade juice.

Got to love working in the Spanish program =) (I love it so much!)

Primary kids wrote letters to the local missionaries and we were included!