A Whole New World

Linnea at a mission training meeting in March 2012

Linnea's letter on Monday, March 26th informed us that she had been transferred to a new area.  After spending 6 months in the same place she knew that a change was inevitable.  Here are some of her comments....

I have been transferred. And let me tell you...it really is a whole new world. A whole new life for me. I got the call Tuesday morning that I was being transferred(which was inevitable) and I spent that day with Sister Solomon saying goodbye to my North Star family. It was really hard. I have met a lot of great people in Rose Park and in the North Star Ward and it was surreal saying goodbye to them. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to be there though and know I will be making many visits there when I return. One really great moment I won't forget was talking on the phone with my recent convert, Antonio. We tried stopping by his house Monday but he wasnt home so we sent him a text and he called us back after we had already got home. Hna Magdaleno told him that I was probably getting transferred on Wednesday and had wanted to stop by to say goodbye. I knew that Tuesday was his birthday so he probably wasn't going to be there which is why we tried Monday. He asked to talk to me and he said he just wanted to thank me for changing his life. He said I had helped him change his life in a way he never imagined. He asked me if I remembered a prayer I had said at his house one night(I didnt really remember but Hna Magdaleno helped me remember). He said that he thinks about that prayer every morning when he wakes up and every day after work and he said he knows that because of that prayer his days go well. He said it was a testimony builder for him. I just wanted to cry. It was so great. One of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life. Antonio was a miracle in our area and I know the Lord put him in our path so that we could get to know him and help him but more so that he could help us. He's great and I know he'll continue to be a strong member of the church.

A little information about her new area...

Transfers were crazy because all the sisters(Spanish) had been in their areas for awhile and one sister went home early so we knew that one sister would be alone with a visa waiter or something crazy like that. I thought I was going to the East Zone so when the ZL's held up their signs of who was in their zone I was standing by the East and to my surprise...I wasnt there. Sister Magdaleno ran over to me and said..."I KNEW IT! You're the one white washing with the visa waiter!" Sister Magdaleno had been telling me that I was going to be the next trainer and I kept telling her no, but what do you know....she was right.

        So I got white washed into the Salt Lake Zone with a new visa waiter named Sister Lomiga. She had been out 1 week but was with the Burmese refugee program before so this past week was her first week in Spanish. She is 26 years old from  Torrance California and is going to the Argentina Buenos Aires Sur mission. She is Samoan and graduated from BYU-I with an English degree. She is cool and we get along well. We think its funny that we are together...the 2 polys speaking Spanish. I really miss my last companions but know that we are going to do big things in this area. So as far as the area is concerned....ITS HUGE! We cover the area of about 20 stakes. Woof. So, obviously we have a car. We live super close to the Temple (about 1.5 miles away) in the basement apartment of a members home. Its weird because in this apartment everything is separate. They can't walk down the stairs and come into the basement like my last place..they have to leave their house and come down to our separate entrance so we hardly ever see them. The place is way bigger than my last apartment and there are only 2 of us so its quite roomy.

         Back to the area. We cover about 20 stakes and we are in the Sugarhouse and Granite areas. We cover two Spanish branches. Lucero and Forest Dale 2do. Both in the SL Granite Stake but each of their branch boundaries cover the area of about 10 neighboring stakes. The area is like the complete opposite of Rose Park. Hispanics are few and far between. And the ones there are are already members. I'm excited though because this area in the past hasn't baptized much but I'm ready to change that around. The members here are GREAT! Sooooo willing to help.

Linnea is excited about being in Salt Lake for General Conference and will be at the Conference Center and able to attend if she and her companion are able to get tickets.  

She always expresses her appreciation for the letters and cards she receives from her friends and family at home.  Keep on writing...even though her area has changed her mail continues to go to the same place.

Celebration!

Birthday Celebration

This family had a little party for Linnea for her birthday!

A farewell lunch for the visa waiters (the two sisters standing) who wanted to eat at their favorite place (Taco Bell) before leaving the next morning for Spain.  On the table by Linnea is the giant cookie Shane and Juli and family sent to her for her birthday...she shared it with her zone.

Linnea celebrated her birthday last week.  Here is what she had to say about the first birthday she has celebrated away from home:

First off, thanks for the plethora of birthday cards and surprises. It was fabulous! On Monday the mission office called saying there was a GIANT cookie that I needed to pick up but I told them my ZLs would come on Tuesday when they went to get the visa-waiters mail. Juli and Shane sent me this huge cookie from some place in SL. It worked out perfect because on Tuesday our entire district went to Taco Bell(Hna Marshalls fave place) to eat lunch to say bye to the visa waiters who were leaving on Wed morning so I got to share the cookie with all of them.

     On Monday, Hermana(mom of my recent converts Emmanuel y Omar) called and asked if we could stop by around 4ish so they could say happy birthday. I was like ya we can stop by for a little bit but the visa-waiters have to pack and blah blah blah so it might be closer to 5 but little did I know that everyone was in on it. We went to Hna Vicencio's house and all her kids jumped out and screamed HAPPY BIRTHDAY and attacked me with silly string. They gave me some balloons and were playing some festive mexican happy birthday music. YES! Little did I know that they had planned an entire surprise party for my birthday! Hna  made suuuuuper good tacos de carne. She had a gelatin cake(not a mexican bday without one) and cookies and agua de jamaica. She makes the BEST agua de jamaica from the actual plant. Then there is a knock at the door and another Family (the RS president[who i LOVE] and her husband and daughters) came with a HUGE princess pinata. It was soo fun. We all ate tacos, the kids danced it up and had a great time. Julia and her sister Rosario came over too right as she got off of work(her and Hna Vicencio live in the same town home complex). We broke the pinata and had cake. All my favorite people were there and it was literally so great! Best birthday I've had yet. hands down.

I read this week on a missionary mom site that the Salt Lake City mission was being split and they 

were making two more missions.  Linnea discovered this same news this week.

 On Saturday we got this text from the ap's suuuper early telling us we had to meet at the mission office at 8:30PM that night(everyone in the valley) and at 9:30PM Tooele and Wyoming would have a conference call. We knew something big was happening. Some of the elders told us ahead of time and when we got to the meeting President Winn confirmed. They would be making 2 new SLC missions. SLC central and SLC west. SLC west will be taken out of our mission and will only comprise 16 stakes with 8 missionaries in each. SLC central comes out of the south mission I believe and our mission will be taking in some of the Ogden mission. So much work to be done here in SLC! The only thing is is that since the west mission is coming out of our mission I may get put into that new mission. If on the June 13 transfer I get moved to the west zone I will be in the SLC west mission. Everyone wants to stay in this mission but wherever the Lord sends me is where I'll be going. The only thing  Id be bummed about is that Pres and Sis Winn wouldnt be my mission presidents. But no need to worry about that yet because there are still 3 transfers until then. There is more info on the changes but I dont have time to write it. Its in the Church News though I think. Its crazy to think that they are going to create an entire mission out of 16 stakes. They are really trying to get the missionaries more involved with members which is really hard right now because some missionaries cover the area of like 15 stakes. Its hard to get personal when there is so much area to cover with so many members living in thos boundaries. 

SNOW

This week we were at a lesson at night and we were leaving and as we come out the door we see someone at our car and then they just run away. We just happened to be teaching on the same street where the English elders live. They saw our car and decided to write MORMON huge on it since it dumped down snow that entire evening. Oh, I forgot to say we had the first "storm" of winter. It snowed pretty heavily for like 4 hours. Just happened to be that night. Anyway, we leave the lesson and see the huge MORMON tag in the snow on our car and then all of a sudden we start getting attacked by snow balls. So, Sister Magdaleno and I start making snow balls and fighting back. It was super fun. The culprits were Elder Green(my first AP) and his trainee Elder Christian. there was no lack of snow so the fight lasted a little while. Who said missionaries couldnt have fun?!

Happy 23rd Birthday, Linnea!

Happy Birthday, Linnea!

Today our little missionary celebrated her 23rd birthday.  She is so lucky because her birthday fell on her P-day.  P-day is short for preparation day and on that day the missionaries get to shop, do errands, clean their living space, do their laundry, check their mail and email home.

Here is what Linnea had to share about her special day...

 First off....thanks for all the birthday wishes and emails. Its been a great day so far! The Perez family (recent converts) sent me a text super early this morning and Julia sent one this morning,too. Then, later Rigo and Laura Perez (the oldest kids of the Perez family) sent me a text from their phone while they were at school. The mission office staff called and sang me happy birthday (adorable!) I got the birthday package and everything was great...right sizes and everything. Thanks! Last night we ate with the Cabrera family in our ward. Hno Cabrera was the ward mission leader right before we got into the area and was just put into the new bishopric. They did carne asada and a birthday cake! And then the kids pushed my face into the cake..it was great hahahaha. And tomorrow we are eating with Julia and she is making papusas...its just a week full of celebrations! I'm a lucky gal.


Linnea continues to be busy teaching people about the church.  She had this to share...


This weekend we had a baptism of this young guy named Antonio. He is from Vera Cruz,MX. He is the defintion of a prepared person. We found him while he was washing his car while looking for someone else. We asked if we could come back and visit later and he said sure. we asked him in that lesson who Jesus Christ is for him and he said "el amor de mi vida" Precious! Every lesson he just loved and everytime he would pray he would say he was grateful for all we were doing for him. He overcame some obstacles and was just soooo ready to be baptized. during the talk at his baptism he just started crying and then all 4 of us sang lord,I would follow thee in spanish and he was just smiling. It was so cool. After his baptism we went out to eat(us 4 sisters and him) and he said a prayer to bless the food and just said he felt soooo great but couldnt explain it. Im so glad I had the opportunity to meet and teach him. 


And about being a missionary in Salt Lake City:


Funny story...only here in Utah will sister missionaries get pulled over by a police man so he could get our number to give to the kid sitting in the back seat. HAHA.


Linnea continues to work hard and has lots of experiences that she will remember forever.  She loves hearing from you.  Her address is listed on the blog.  Please write to her.

New Year's Eve in the SLC Mission

Linnea had been telling me about their New Year's Eve celebration.  She said that Sister Winn had taken lots of photos and would be posting them on her blog.  I have been looking at her blog...http://www.mamawinnsplace.blogspot.com/... everyday and finally found that the pictures were posted.  I had to scroll through 711 photos but was able to find a few pictures with Linnea.  I have posted some of them below.

Here are some highlights from Linnea's last letter:

Today, President and Sister Winn took the ENTIRE north zone out to lunch to Tucanos(super good Brazilian Grill place) because we hit the Standard of Excellence as a Zone. That is a REALLY big accomplishment. We have been the only zone to do so this year and it hasn't happened in a while! The standard of excellence is when one companionship has ONE baptism/confirmation, THREE people on date to be baptized, FIVE investigators to church, EIGHT lessons with a member present, and THREE new investigators in a week. In our zone there are 13 companionships so mulitply all those numbers by 13 and thats how many we would need to get to meet the S.O.E. as a zone...but we surpassed it which is why Pres Winn took us out to lunch. We are so spoiled. We ALMOST got it again this week but we needed THREE more people to church...soooo close!

 We had another miracle this week..... So we have this man that Sister Picuasi and I met in November. He flagged us down and was telling us he was baptized and just moved and didnt know where the church was and was just so happy to see missionaries. Then he said "Wait a second...let me show you something!" So he goes up to his apartment and brings down this HUGE poster of the temple, but on the bottom it said "Here is the place where there are special blessings waiting for Javier" He works at a company that makes billboards and posters and this picture of the temple got printed backwards so they were going to throw it away but he asked to take it and he added the words himself. Anyway, Sister Picuasi thought to check his baptism record because he said that after he was baptized he had to go to Mexico and just barely got back. Turns out his record was lost and he needs to be baptized again. We told him and he was happy to have a fresh start and get closer to God, but family issues took him back to Mexico sudenly and we didnt see him again for awhile. I just kept getting this feeling that we should keep stopping by so whenever we were in this complex we would just knock but never got an answer...until last night! He answered the door and was so exicted to see us. He said he just got back and is ready to take the steps to become closer to God and do the things God wants him to do. Since he lives alone the other Sisters rushed over so we could go inside. He just told us that now is his time, he isnt working as much and has weekends off and he is ready to take the step of baptism. We heart committed him and he is on date for this weekend! This just shows that hard work pays off. I also realized the importance of following the Spirit. I just had this strong feeling to keep going back and it paid off. Javier is great! Cant wait for his baptism!

A comment about the time flying by:

Things are going well here in Rose Park especially since the weather has been pretty great! It hasn't snowed. Its been a little cold but not unbearable. The people here in Rose Park have taken advantage of the weather and there is not a day that goes by that I can't smell carne asada haha soo good. This may be my last full week in Rose Park...transfers are next Wed. I cant believe I've almost finshed my 3rd transfer. Time is flying by. 

 Anyway, love you all. Cuidense mucho!

 

The SLC mission sign...all the missionaries signed it and hang it up when they all meet together.

Linnea on transfer day, December 28th.  A smile because she got to stay in Rose Park for 6 more weeks.

New Year's Eve missionary style.  She said it was the first time she wore jeans in 5 months.

There was a big dodgeball game.  Those single ward tournaments paid off!

No celebrations would be complete without food.

Some strategizing with the mission president's wife, Sister Winn.

Looks like they were victorious.

Winter Has Arrived!


Linnea's most recent letter announced that winter had officially arrived.  She also shared that riding a bicycle in the snow is NOT very fun.  Linnea has been in Salt Lake City for 3 transfers.  (Each transfer is 6 weeks).  At each transfer there is the possibility of being moved to a new area.  Linnea was excited that she was able to stay in Rose Park.  She has met many people that she has grown to love.  Her companion transferred and she is with a new companion and 2 additional sister missionaries who are waiting for their visas to arrive...one is headed to Spain and the other to Brazil...when their visas arrive.

In December Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke at the Salt Lake City Mission's Devotional.   Linnea is in the center of the photo right above and to the left of Sis. Oaks (in red).

Elder Oaks and his wife

Linnea at the Mission Home.  Sis Winn, the mission president's wife is next to Linnea.

Linnea, having breakfast at the mission home.  She loves her beanie!

Here is what Linnea had to say:


I am still in Rose Park! Yesssss. I love it here in the hood where it smells like carne asada every day. This is the area EVERY Spanish speaking missionary wants to serve and I'm super lucky to be here still. Anyway, here is a little run down on how transfers went...My two visa-waiters...Hna Marshall and Hna Johnson are still with me and I love it! They are the best and we get a long SUPER well. We work together great. Its the best. My new companion is Hna Magdaleno, originally from Guanajuato, MX but came from California. She is a convert of just around 3 years and is the best. This transfer is going to be awesome. I love her. This is going to be so different from my last 2 transfers...a good different.


A Missionary's New Years


On to this week....just a quick glimpse on New Years...at 5:30 all the missionaries went to the mission office for a dinner and to play some games. It was pretty fun and super fun to be around all the missionaries. We played dodgeball and tug of war and other sorts of games against zones which was fun. Then Sis Winn passed around noise makers at 9PM and we counted down the New Year as if we were in NY haha complete with a New Year's kiss between Pres and Sis Winn. Then before we left the islanders treated us to a haka which I got on video especially for dad so the next time I send home my memory card you can see it :) That was my New Year we were home and in bed by 10:30! Partying hard as a missionary. It was super weird because we were allowed to wear jeans or Pday clothes to the party and the Elders also let us borrow their car to get there. It felt super weird to: 1) be driving in a car and 2 )wearing regular clothes. All 4 of us(my companionship) were like this is super weird we dont even feel like missionaries right now. Its been months since I've worn jeans.


 And finally this...


 This week we had some pretty crazy experiences some good and some not so good. Some of these stories will have to be shared after the mission :) but it just strengthens my faith and knowledge that we are protected by the Lord.

The Best Christmas Gift 

On Christmas Day we were able to Skype with Linnea.  That was my best gift!  It was so fun to be able to talk to her and SEE her.  She had fun talking to all her siblings and cousins and aunts and uncles who were at our house for Christmas dinner.

The next day we got our weekly email from Linnea and she shared this:

This week we had a miracle baptism. His name is Joaquin. We have been teaching Joaquin for about a month or so and he is the definition of a changed man. His wife and 2 oldest kids were baptized Dec 2 and he wanted to be baptized with them but he had not been to church and we hadn't taught him enough for him to be ready. Joaquin was someone who NEVER let the missionaries in before and even made it uncomfortable for his in-laws who were living with them to receive the lessons in his home. The thing that made the biggest difference for him I think was going to Temple Square. We took his wife and kids before their baptism and he decided he wanted to go, but on the condition that we don't ask him any questions. We showed him the temple model and the movie God's Plan. He got teary-eyed when he watched the movie and we asked him if he'd like to have an eternal family and of course he said yes. We took our time with him and really made sure he felt comfortable and felt the Spirit. It was hard to get him to pray or participate in lessons at first because he felt embarrassed but through much help from the Lord we were able to overcome that fear. You could just tell from the look in his eyes that he was learning something that he was searching for his whole life. We even helped him quit smoking! (a long-time habit for him) Joaquin definitely made a complete turnaround and was a golden investigator with a dusty exterior at first, but with lots of hard work and prayer we helped this family become more united through the gospel of Jesus Christ and there is really nothing better than that. Joaquin is the sweetest man ever. He always makes sure we have a water bottle or food. He invited us over for a special lunch before his baptismal interview and made us delicious quesadillas and frijoles! So good.

mucho!

     This Wed is transfers and I will find out tomorrow if I leave. Either Picuasi or I will leave here I think. I doubt we will both stay again for another transfer. I don't want to leave because I love the people but I at the same time I am okay and ready to leave if thats what the Lord wants.  It has been freezing here but no snow! Not even a white Christmas! I want it to snow because everyone says it will be warmer but at the same time I don't want it to snow because I hate the wetness, but we shall see.

Linnea and her companion, Sister Picuasi...from Ecuador!


Linnea LOVES getiing letters from all of you.  Please don't stop writing her even if she doesn't respond.  She keeps so busy and has little free time.  There is not a weekly email that comes that does not mention how much she appreciates hearing from home...

Winter in Utah

Winter in the Utah, Salt Lake City Mission

It has been awhile since I have updated Linnea's blog.  The main reason for this is that I was waiting for her to send me her memory card so that I could add some new photos.  It is always way more fun to look at a blog with pictures.

So here we go.  I will add photos and excerpts from her last few letters.  Enjoy!

Linnea with one of the families taking the lessons visiting the Visitor's Center on Temple Square.

Linnea experiencing on of her first real snow days!

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

This week was a bit crazy.  Our Thanksgiving did not turn our quite as we had hoped but it was good nonetheless.  Julia and Marvin ended up going to California at the last minute so we did not get to have dinner with them.  I'm glad that they had the opportunity to go...they really wanted to but Marvin did not think he was going to get off work. Anyway, the lady we live with invited us to have Thanksgiving with her and we had a couple other offers but we did not really feel like going anywhere. We ended up eating a little with the lady we live with and then did some stuff around our apartment.  We did a deep clean of our apartment and wrote tons of letters...something we don't get to do on our P-days because they are so crazy. After 6 we did a mad dash to get referrals.  We did this competition between zones to see which zone could get the most referrals.  You could only visit less actives, recent converts, or investigators and you could only stay 10 minutes.  For every person you visited you got 1 point and for every completed referral you got 3 points.  My companion and I got 65 points by ourselves.  The winning zone got to have breakfast with President and Sister Winn.  Our zone won!  

This coming week we have 5 baptisms scheduled so we will be busy, busy busy.  We only have 4 weeks to reach our goal (mission goal is 3,000 baptisms for the year) . we have found many solid investigators so we are hoping to take out a big chunk of our goal.  I can't wait until our Christmas devotional with Elder Oaks.

DECEMBER 5, 2011

Temple Square at Christmas time is crazy. We took an investigating family and it was really crowded and crazy, like a zoo, but they loved it.

This week was busy, busy like usual.  We had 4 baptisms this weekend so we had to make sure everything was set and that we had new investigators to teach.  The mission still needs 500 baptisms to meet their goal.

Linnea's companion is having some medical issues.

Christmas is around the corner which is crazy to me...and let me tell you it feels like what Christmas should feel like...weather wise at least. It has been SO cold. Wow. At night sometimes its like in the high 20s. It's snowed a little bit...but hardly at all. The annoying thing about the snow on the biikes is that now matter which way you are riding the snow is somehow always blowing right in your face haha. Luckily we've been getting a few more rides from members so that cuts down on the riding and the freezing. Last night sis.Picuasi's bike got a mysterious flat tire so we havent been biking today and who knows if it will get fixed by tonight. One of the Elder's bikes got stolen so they've been bumming rides off people too haha. Lots of people have their Christmas lights up so it's seeming a little more like Christmas. It's hard though because in this area LOTS of people are really struggling financially and lots of these people cant give their kids the Christmas they want. They can't get a Christmas tree or gifts because they dont have jobs...they are selling their stuff just to pay the rent. Its crazy because we see so many families that live in these tiny apartments with kids sleeping on the floor and they are offereing us food and drinks etc. We are always trying to say no but they won't back down until we accept. These members of the church are so humble and so grateful for the service we are doing and will give their last crumb of bread to us just so that we can continue to teach. It has really made me grateful for all that I've had and still do have. And especially now that the members know us so well they are always giving us stuff or telling us that their house is our house and if we need anything just let them know. They are the best. I'm so lucky to be serving here and to have the chance to get to know people like this...who's testimonies are so strong.

Our sister missionary biking in the snow...can you even tell it is Linnea?

Returning to the apartment soaking wet and sooo cold!

DECEMBER 12, 2011

  Here are some highlights from the week: We found out last Wednesday that we would be getting 2 visa-waiters joining us. We get a lot of visa-waiters here in this mission and tomorrow we will be picking up our 2. I guess there is a bunch and a lot of companionships are getting 2 which is pretty rare. I'm not sure where 2 more girls are going to fit in our little apartment but we will make it work. With 2 more sisters we will able to do split pretty much all day...I guess the Lord knows I need to learn Spanish quicker because I will be going out with one of the visa-waiters who is fresh out of the MTC and probably doesn't know too much Spanish. Also they might not speak Spanish...some of the visa-waiters are going to Brazil. That will be interesting. I'll let you know how it goes next week .

    This week was a rebuilding week here in Rose Park. We pretty much baptized our entire teaching pool so we were left with ZERO investigators. We were pretty down a couple days because we weren't finding ANYONE and we know that we need to find many people to reach the 3000 baptisms. After many days of hard work we found a couple pretty solid people and received a few referrals...we even put some of these people on date for baptism. This just goes to show that through hardwork and obedience the Lord will provide.

    Also this Sunday the YW had a Personal Progress night. There is a girl in the ward who is physically and mentally handicapped. She doesn't walk or speak and is in a wheelchair. A couple girls were assigned  a different value from the Personal Progress program to complete. Each had to do their own project but instead of doing it for themselves they did it for this girl who is unable to do it herself. It was so neat...each girl got up and told what her project was and how it helped build her testimony then presented this girl with the cooresponding ribbon and finally the medallion. These YW in North Star are so awesome and have such strong testimonies. I love them.

One of the dinners Linnea was not too sure about eating.

Temple Square at Christmas

Linnea and her companion, Hermana Picuasi.

My cute little missionary