Elder Gerritt Vander Linden III

Hello everyone,  This week has been awesome. I have learned so much Chinese it is insane. It takes a lot of work though and I have to study it whenever I can so it is mentally exhausting. However, I know that the Lord has rewarded me for my efforts because I have learned way more than I could've on my own. It seems like I have learned more Chinese in the past two weeks than I have learned in all my years of high school. I am starting to understand the tones more and especially how to pronounce everything correctly. It is funny because we did this drill where we tried to teach the restoration  in three minutes , but we first did it in english, and I was having such a hard time because I haven't taught in english in forever so I kept wanting to say Chinese words, it was kind of weird. My companion when he was doing it couldn't remember eternal life in english, it was funny. The gift of tongues is even more evident in my companion though, he hasn't had any background i...

Hey everyone! How are you all doing! So I don't think I have said this but for each email I send home I am going to try and say a cool/funny experience, a spiritual thought, and a scripture. Don't worry, these will stay pretty short and if they get too long feel free to send me an email and let me know ;) If you do have any more questions though about my week, you can also send me an email, I just feel that the majority of you don't care to hear about every little thing that happened this week and I don't feel like writing every little thing that happened haha.  So the really cool experience that happened this week is my companion. His name is Elder Harmon and he is from American Fork. He went to the Air Force Academy for a year and ran track there and was actually the number one freshman for a while. He is a super awesome dude and is super motivated. I am super happy to be his companion. I don't know if my mom has any pictures of me with him (I kind of suc...

Well everyone, the time has come. I am on my way out of here and into the MTC. I leave tomorrow to the MTC and will enter about 1 PM, I am not sure when I will be able to talk to you all next, so here is goodbye until then! Before I leave, I just want to leave you all with my testimony. I have a testimony that this gospel is true. That this gospel can and will bless everyone's life as long as they choose to live it. When faced with difficult times, people can turn to Jesus Christ and know that he has gone through everything that we have gone through. He can relate to us and will be there for us when times are hard. I know that Jesus Christ also suffered for our sins through the Atonement and that through Him, we can return to our Heavenly Father and live with our families forever. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that it is another testament of Christ and that Joseph Smith translated it. I know that if we read it everyday we will gain a stronger testimony and be abl...

Welp...we are less than a week away.  We have his MTC address!  If anyone would like to write to Gerritt or send packages (he would love packages!), he will be there from July 18th through September 19th.  His birthday.  Yes.  He leaves on his birthday! His address starting July 18th is: Elder William Gerritt Vander Linden III SEP19 TAIW-TAI 2005 N 900 E Unit 45 Provo, UT 84602 His email address, if you don't want to use the snail mail, is:  william.vander.linden@myldsmail.net I know he would appreciate hearing from friends and family! Here we go!!!