GROUP EMAIL 10-22

大家好!

So this week was pretty uneventful overall, I think there are only three quick things I want to talk about this week.

So first and foremost, Qianqian's confirmation! It was super awesome. Yesterday, she came to church like fifteen minutes early (thank goodness because she is almost always late because she lives very far away haha) and she got confirmed in Sacrament meeting! It was super awesome to stand in the circle and then when the blessing was finished to see the huge smile on her face. She went around and gave everyone in the circle handshakes and you could tell just how appreciative she was to have the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was super awesome to be a part of. Alex, a guy in our ward, gave the blessing and he gave an awesome blessing. Him and his wife have really helped Qianqian, and in fact his wife, Brynn, is one of her ministering sisters. It is super, super awesome and I am so excited for Qianqian.

The second thing. We had a lesson with Mike again this week. It wasn't very good. Before he was feeling peace when he prayed, but now he says he isn't feeling anything. He still feels like he doesn't have an answer yet regarding the Book of Mormon, despite our best efforts to show him the answers in his life (such as the feelings of peace), but it's tough. Basically he said that he would meet with us one last time on Friday and if he feels he still doesn't have an answer, he is going to stop meeting with us. It is super hard and we don't really know what to do anymore to help him. It is okay though, hopefully he feels he has received an answer or hopefully we can help him realize how praying and reading the Book of Mormon have changed his life already.

Finally, this is the funny one. So, we had zone conference on Thursday, and one of our mission nurses gets up there and talks for half an hour about the importance of getting flu shots. Basically, if anyone in the mission doesn't have their flu shot by the 31st, they have to start wearing a mask around because we don't want to get anyone sick. Super over the top. But anyways, we go on Saturday to try and get our flu shots. But first of all, I am not insured by the mission because I am a visa waiter, so I have to use my own insurance. I was like, okay, whatever, not a big deal, but turns out, it was a big deal. We show up in the morning to CVS and our standing in line to sign up for our flu shots. Elder Fu, Cameron, and Thacker all sign up. Then it is my turn and I show the guy a picture of my insurance card and everything. The guy puts in all the information and then is like, your insurance doesn't cover you here, you need to go to that clinic (points to a clinic to the side of the pharmacy). I am like, "okay whatever." I go over and the wait time is 80 minutes! So we don't have time for that, so we leave. Then after district council we come back and the wait is 2 hours! So we're like, "nope!" and walk out. We then go to Ralph's to see if my insurance for some reason works at that pharmacy. It doesn't. So we go to a lesson we had and then come back to CVS. We come back and the clinic is booked until it closes. We stand there for a bit, trying to figure out what to do, when the doctor walks out. The doctor calls for the people that are next and no one was there. I then say, in my most desperate voice, "We are just trying to get a flu shot, can you please fit us in." The doctor pulls me in and gives me my flu shot. Turns out he also had a hard time getting his because his insurance was like mine and he wasn't allowed to give it to himself. It was kind of funny, but we did it. I am now flu-vaccinated. 

Anyways, that's my week! Sorry no pictures, I slacked. Love you all!

Elder Vander Linden

PS

The quick little spiritual thought I wanted to share with you all. So in our mission, we were challenged to do the challenge that President Nelson challenged the women to do about the Book of Mormon. If I am being honest, I wasn't going to do it. I was almost finished with the Book of Mormon and I was like, "I am leaving this mission anyways." But then I got an email  from someone back home telling me about it and how it was helping them so I was like, "Alright I will finish the Book of Mormon real quick, then start this challenge." So I did it, and I started it, and let me tell you all, it has been life changing. I don't even mean that as an exaggeration. Focusing on the Savior while I have read has been so awesome. Before I started this challenge, I always knew that the Book of Mormon was another testament of Jesus Christ, but I thought that Jesus Christ was sort of only in towards the end of the book. I don't know why I thought this, because that is absolutely and completely wrong. The Book of Mormon truly is another testament of Jesus Christ and everything in it points towards Jesus Christ. I testify of this, and I know that through reading the Book of Mormon, we can come to understand our Savior so much more. I challenge you all to try this challenge, even you non women out there. It will help you realize the Book of Mormon truly is a testament of Him, it has been so awesome for me. Just a reminder for those of you that don't know, the challenge is to read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year (including the introduction and testimonies) and anytime there is a reference to Jesus Christ to underline/circle that. It has been so awesome for me to do, and I invite you all to do it as well.