Another Week‏

Hey guys!

How are you all doing? I LOVED the videos of Carrie dancing, and I can´t believe how big she is!! I couldn´t stop laughing in the middle of the internet place. Thanks so much for sending them! It´s so good to see you guys in video!

As for here, it was another week! We continued our search for new people, without a ton of success. We´re meeting real opposition in finding people - we´ll find great people, who then on the second visit somehow don´t work out. (You might say we can´t get a second date;)) Like Matilde and her family - an amazing family who let us in knocking doors, a mom, her son and daughter, and the daughter´s boyfriend. They all were doing something, but all stopped and sat to listen, listened with such attention and loved the message. Then when we came back, only the son was at home, so we tried another day. That day, we were coming down the street as we saw Matilde coming home. We stopped because we got a phone call, talked for a minute, and then went to knock.....and knock.....but no one answered. So I don´t know why people do things like that, see us coming down the street and run in the house and hide, after they liked the first message so much. But the work will continue, and I know there are people here who need the gospel! So I know we´ll find them!

Things continue to be super weird with Cinthia. This week she called once, "just to see how we were doing", but at the end said we were invited over any time to have some wine or coffee. So....I don´t know what she wants or what she´s trying to do, but it´s really weird. Then she texted saying they wanted to have us over for lunch and then take us to their church meeting. We´re thinking about doing it if she agrees to come to General Conference this weekend, but I´m still not sure if it´s a good idea, so we´re getting a few people´s advice about it.

We had a great ward activity this week! We haven´t really been having activities, not having a bishop, but the first counselor is really stepping up and trying to bring the ward together. So he threw together a pretty last minute activity with us, which I was worried wouldn´t turn out, but it was great. The theme was the Book of Mormon, and we showed "Small and Simple Things", this awesome short film about a boy whose friend gives him a Book of Mormon, and then a few people bore their testimonies. Then we ate Brazilian hot dogs (they cut up the hot dogs into pieces and put them in a tomato-y sauce and then eat it on bread! They think our hot dogs are weird.) and just talked. 40 people came, more than sacrament meeting last week! A lot of the people who we´re trying to get to come back, and Antonio and Danielle, a couple we´re teaching. So that was great.

So that´s pretty much the news of the week! As well as the fact that I now know the day I´m coming home - December 1. But I don´t want to think about that too much yet. I´m so glad to be here doing the work of the Lord, and I`m trying to make every minute count. Every day there´s something new to learn, someone new to help, and some new way for my testimony to be strengthened. This really is the greatest experience I´ve ever had. Thank you all so much for supporting me! I love you all and hope you have an amazing week.

Until next time!
Sister Madsen

P.S. Happy birthday tomorrow, Katie!!! :D And happy late birthday, Mom! I wrote your birthday in my planner and thought about you all day on the 17, but forgot to write it last email. So happy birthday, guys! :D