Week 44, May 30, 2017

Howdy Y'all! Today concludes the last of week five of this transfer. It was full of fun and adventure along with some sad news. So our investigator Chelsea has lost her house and is having a really hard time with things. I know she wants to come closer to Christ but is struggling because life is not exactly easy right now. We spent most of last week helping move stuff to her storage space here in paonia. Hopefully things change and start getting better for her soon. Other big news is that we have 5 new investigators! the Hendricks family! They are a part member family where the father is a member but the rest are not. The strange thing is that She has a calling in the scout program. She loves it and has good feelings towards the church so she is happy to begin learning about the gospel. They have 4 kids, 2 girls, and 2 boys. The kids are all awesome and seem interested in learning more about the gospel. I sure look forward to teaching them more about the gospel. Other than that it has been a slow and uneventful week. Although I have learned lots. A short spiritual thought for the week is that sometimes its the small things that make the most difference. Listening to someone when they have had a hard day. Telling someone you love them. These things can change someones life. And no that is not an exaggeration. Chelsea always is telling me how much it means to her to have someone who cares and is willing to help her when life gets hard. More than anything else I could do, showing her I care and that God loves her, has changed her life. Thats what I love about what I do. Anyway I am sorry this is a day late, yesterday all the libraries were closed because of memorial day so I couldn't email. I love you all! Sincerely Nathan

Week 43, May 22, 2017

Howdy yall! So this week was full of fun and adventure and learning experiences. Our two most progressing investigators are continuing to do well and progress towards baptism. Chelsea has some problems that are holding her back and causing problems in her life. She is losing her house and has nowhere to go so all prayers you can send her way would be appreciated. She loves God and the gospel and wants the blessings that come from being a member. She is so prepared but life isn't always easy. Especially when you want to make good choices. Amber is doing well although unfortunately we have not met with her recently. We should be able to sometime this week so I will let you guys know how she is doing. I had a good experience this week with some members who are preparing to leave the ward. They reminded me that my influence goes beyond just the investigators and can touch the hearts of even members. I love being a missionary for this very reason. I get to help lift others and bring them closer to their Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all so much! Love Nathan Lindh

Week 42, May 15, 2017

Howdy! So first of all want to say thank you to all the mother figures in my life. I love you guys and I wouldn't be who I am today without you. Thank you. Secondly this was a good week! We had a good lesson with Chelsea which started out rough but ended very well. Then thanks to my Dad sending me the funds, I got to take her and most of her kids out to ice cream. This family has been having a rough go of it and needed some good things in their lives. So I am glad that I was able to help them out. Thirdly, Amber quit smoking! She was unable to come to church due to the fact that she was immense pain because she had pulled her shoulder at work. But that night she texted us that she had thrown away all her cigarettes and was determined to quit! She had been slowly weening herself off but yesterday she finally just got rid of them! We are so excited for her to enter the waters of baptism. She is so prepared and I cannot wait to see her enter the waters of baptism. Then to end it all off I would like to share a small miracle that I have seen this month. So in this area we don't usually have much success in finding new people to teach. But through a small and simple act of kindness we found a new investigator who is so excited to learn about the gospel. I know that God loves each and every one of us and shows that love by putting others in our way that helps us meet our needs. I love being able to serve others. I love you all. Stay safe and have fun! Sincerely Elder Lindh

Week 41, May 8, 2017

Howdy all! So this week has been full of fun and adventures.... Sort of. Mainly this week was a lot of service and good teaching opportunities. We got to teach a couple people we have not seen in a while and that was a lot of fun. The biggest news this week is that Chelsea is on date! She is planning to be baptized on the 29th of June! But in order for that to happen she needs to stop smoking and get remarried to her ex husband who lives with her. It is an interesting situation that might prevent her from getting baptized. But we are going to do our best to help her overcome those obstacles. The other big news is that Amber is on date for the 17th of June and she will be baptized by her husband Wyatt. Then they will be moving to Fort Bliss Texas! Good news is they will be in Texas so I plan to visit them at some point. Bad news. Its 10 hours from Houston to Fort Bliss which to give you an idea is the same amount of time it takes to get to Fort Bliss from here...... So yeah. Still I am so happy for them and that they will be making such an exciting step in their lives and on the road to being sealed in the temple! Beyond that not much has happened and I continue to try and work hard and help others come unto Christ. I love you all and want all of you to know that I KNOW the atonement of Jesus Christ works. It isn't just a nice idea or nice thought. It WORKS! For everyone! It works for me! It works for you! It works for us all! If there is anything you think that you cannot overcome or cannot be forgiven that is a lie that Satan is telling you. The atonement WORKS! I love you guys! Have a great week! Sincerely Elder Lindh

Week 40, May 1, 2017

Howdy all! So this has been a fun and exciting week here in the Paonia ward! We have a new elder and I have had a blast working with him. I have served around Elder Mataele for just about half my mission and am excited to now be his companion! He likes to work hard and so I expect we will see a lot more success in the future. In fact this week we had amazing success! We met with an investigator named Amber who we have not seen in about six weeks. Her husband Wyatt is in the military and got baptized so she has rededicated herself to being prepared to be baptized by him when he gets home from training. It has been exciting to see her become more excited and dedicated to really learning about the gospel. Another exciting albeit strange event was with our investigator Chelsea. She has really been struggling to make ends meet especially with her cancer and health problems. So she called us and wanted to talk. Fortunately we were able to take her to a members home and helped her find solace and strength and she was able to come to church on sunday! The biggest problem she is facing though is her ex Husband that lives with her. He does not like her meeting with us or her going to church. So I ask that all of you pray for him that his heart may be softened. His name is Russel and any prayers you could say on his behalf are welcome and appreciated. The other miracles this week is that we had 4 non members at church on sunday! We hope to be able to meet with all of them and help them come closer to Christ. Weeks like this is what makes being a missionary so worth it. I love doing this. Even though its the hardest thing I have ever done. I love this. And I love all of you for making it possible for me to come out and serve the Lord for these two years. I love you guys! Sincerely Nathan!