Hey everyone!
So lots of excitement since last letter; let me update you. So Monday, I ran around like a crazy person getting everything ready to leave, trying to close up our area in Ipiranga for the elders to start there, packing everything....it was crazy. Then Tuesday, we went to the bus station, I met Sister Cantuara, and went off on a 7 hour bus ride with her here to Uruguaiana! We didn´t get here til about 8, but when we got to the bus station the zone leaders were there to meet us. They helped us get our stuff to our apartment, set everything down, said good luck, and left. It seemed really quiet for a second, and I had a small inner panic attack of "what do we do now?!" So we started looking around our apartment for any kind of clues, the phone number of the bishop or something, but nothing. The area book (the place where we record all the information about investigators and what they´ve been taught) hadn´t been updated since April. So by then it was already 8:30, so we stayed in, trying to get some info about investigators and members to start with the next day.
So the next day....we got our map and the addresses of investigators and headed out! Eventually, we got a hold of a number of the stake counselor who lives in our ward, and he came and got us in his car and showed us around a bit, where the chapel was, etc, and drove us to our lunch appointment. Since then, all the members have been that amazing! Everyone´s super excited to have sisters - it seems like this ward never has! The city used to, the Santana ward did for a few years, but people are way excited to have us in the Uruguaiana ward. So we continued the week trying to find our way around with the map and various addresses, not really knowing what people needed to be taught because of the lack of info in the area book, but finding our way through everything. It´s obvious the Lord really gives us what we need to accomplish what we need to accomplish! I´m not great with maps, but already on the second day I was able to get us to where we needed to be (most of the time:P) I´m so grateful for heavenly help!
So there are amazing people here, great members (although our ward is going through a bit of a rough patch, with an attendance of about 40), and an amazing family of investigators! They´re a reference from a member who the elders had only contacted once before they left. So we taught them twice more this week, and the mom (Eva) and one of the daughters (Tainara) came to church yesterday!! They loved it, the family is amazing, and I`m so excited to work with them.
So everything´s going amazing! The area is really cool, we´re literally right on the river, so I get to see Argentina every day:P I´ve met a few Argentinos here, and got to attempt spanish once! Sister Cantuara is great, too. She´s from Salvador, Bahia. She´s 27 but looks like 17, and is the second youngest of 11 children. She´s very very calm and collected, and never freaks out when I get us lost or anything, which is great:) We already get along really well.
So that´s this week in a nutshell! I´m so excited to work here. I know it´s for a wise purpose in the Lord, and I know there are people here I need to help. We were able to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday, and I spoke about how we´re a "peculiar people" (not as cool in portuguese, they just say "special") and need to be different from the rest of the world, and our responsibility to share the blessings we´ve been given. We´re so lucky to know what we know - that there´s a prophet on the earth today, why we´re here and where we´re going, that our families can be together even after death. I´m so grateful to be able to teach people those things every day. I can´t believe how time is flying! Next week I´ll make one year! It just makes me realize how much I have to take advantage of this time I have, because it will never come back.
I love you all so much, and I´m so grateful for your love and support. Thank you for helping me be here, where I can serve the Lord by serving his children. I love you all and pray for you all the time! Til next week! :D
Sister Madsen
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Transfered?! :D
Hey Family!!
So, big changes!! So today was our transfer meeting, and I was 99% sure I knew what was going to happen.....President told me in my interview that he would be pulling one companionship out of Ipiranga, so it would end up just me and Sister da Silva to combine to the two companionships. So Sister Pedrozo and Sister Witmer have already packed their bags and everything because they knew they were leaving, and I was trying to plan out combining all of our investigators into one big teaching group, how we would plan everything, etc.
But then today it was just one surprise after another! I told you how we do it, right? With drawing the nametags out of a bag, our whole zone together......so someone drew Sister da Silva, and Elder Borges, the Zone Leader who had all the info, said "Would you believe her companion´s sitting right next to her?" So she looked at Sister Pedrozo, her current companion, and starting screaming, Yay, we´re together again! But nope, then he announced her area......Vila Rica in the city of Santiago!! A city that´s never had sisters (as far as I know) in the history of the mission! And her companion.....Sister Witmer!! So they´re both leaving together to open an area!
So I started to wonder about who would end up staying with me....but then Sister Pedrozo´s name was drawn. Everyone thought he was kidding when he put up her area.......Alegrete! Another city that´s never had sisters!! Two huge surprises in a row! So she would also be leaving to open an area, with Sister de Oliveira. She was super excited!
Then it came to my turn.....I was positive I was staying, because who else would there be to take care of our area? The only question was who would be my companion. So of course I told Elder Borges to stop joking around when he wrote my area on the board.....Uruguaiana, a city that hasn´t had sisters for 2 years! But he really wasn´t kidding.....I´m really going!! To open the area again with Sister Cantuara (who I´ve never met). So.....none of this probably means as much to you guys as it does to us here, but it´s very crazy!! The whole time I´ve been here, it´s just been the same 5 cities that have sisters, and now all of a sudden 3 new ones, that ALL 4 of us in our apartment are going to open.
So that means....no one is staying to take care of our area! He´s handing it over to elders! Just when all the difficulties were starting to get better....but it´s good, it will revive the ward a lot. But.....I´m going to Uruguaiana!! Tomorrow! 6 hours away, waaay over on the boarder with Argentina! (I know, it sounds like it should be the border with Uruguay, which I thought for a long time, but nope, it´s on the River Uruguai, which is the border with Argentina). So I´ll get to practice my Spanish....Sister Cantuara and I will get to start from scratch.....I´m super excited!! :D
And in other amazing news, Sister Raphaela came last night! Her mission is officially over, but she´s staying 2 more weeks like I explained before. But, so for these last few transfers she´s been back in Cruz Alta! When she trained me it was in the 1st Ward, where she stayed for 7 months, then went off to a few more cities, then went back to the 3rd Ward to finish. So she spent more than half her mission there! But she brought news of everyone from the 1st ward......and they´re all doing so, so well!! EVERYONE that we worked with is still firm in the church. Jovana is loving being a Young Women´s counselor, and Marcos (less active) is going to church a little at a time. And remember Rosane, mom of Malika and Claudia, who I told you the crazy story about, how she told us she had been baptized as a teenager, but then on our last day told us she never really had been, she had just said it so we wouldn´t "try to baptize her"? But then she said she realized that a church that did the things she´d seen it do had to be true, and she even wanted to be baptized that weekend before we left?
Well, she was baptized shortly after we left, and Sister Raphaela said she´s a completely changed person now - she stopped smoking, separated from her boyfriend, she even changed her house to be cleaner and more open with a picture of everyone in the family´s baptism displayed on a table....she said it´s hard to describe, but you can even see a change in her appearance. I was SO SO happy to hear about her....and Cirlei´s marriage turned out alright (which we helped her start working on), she was baptized and had her baby.......Elenice also got married and was baptized, and now she and her two kids (who used to be less active) are all going every week! She even showed me a video of Giulia (Jovana´s daughter) and Carol (cousin) singing the young women´s song from this year, with Jovana standing in the background singing along.....and watching all three of them singing by heart, Marcos standing quietly as always, but then wrapping his arms tight around Jovana......I started to cry from the happiest feeling I´ve ever had in my life. All the memories of those people came flooding back, and I felt this incredible love for them, and this incredible happiness at how far they had all come. It´s impossible to describe, but I´ve never felt a feeling like that in my entire life.
It really is like Preach My Gospel says in the very front - "more happiness than you have ever experienced awaits you" on your mission. I´m so glad I get to have this opportunity. Thank you all so much for helping me get here and supporting me in this incredible experience. I love you all so much, and I hope I can convey to you a little of the joy I´m feeling - the joy that comes from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that He is the only wait to gain such joy in this lifetime, and to gain eternal life in the world to come. I know He lives, and I know He loves us.
Have a great week! I´ll update you next week on the first week in Uruguaiana!!! :D
Love always,
Sister Madsen
So, big changes!! So today was our transfer meeting, and I was 99% sure I knew what was going to happen.....President told me in my interview that he would be pulling one companionship out of Ipiranga, so it would end up just me and Sister da Silva to combine to the two companionships. So Sister Pedrozo and Sister Witmer have already packed their bags and everything because they knew they were leaving, and I was trying to plan out combining all of our investigators into one big teaching group, how we would plan everything, etc.
But then today it was just one surprise after another! I told you how we do it, right? With drawing the nametags out of a bag, our whole zone together......so someone drew Sister da Silva, and Elder Borges, the Zone Leader who had all the info, said "Would you believe her companion´s sitting right next to her?" So she looked at Sister Pedrozo, her current companion, and starting screaming, Yay, we´re together again! But nope, then he announced her area......Vila Rica in the city of Santiago!! A city that´s never had sisters (as far as I know) in the history of the mission! And her companion.....Sister Witmer!! So they´re both leaving together to open an area!
So I started to wonder about who would end up staying with me....but then Sister Pedrozo´s name was drawn. Everyone thought he was kidding when he put up her area.......Alegrete! Another city that´s never had sisters!! Two huge surprises in a row! So she would also be leaving to open an area, with Sister de Oliveira. She was super excited!
Then it came to my turn.....I was positive I was staying, because who else would there be to take care of our area? The only question was who would be my companion. So of course I told Elder Borges to stop joking around when he wrote my area on the board.....Uruguaiana, a city that hasn´t had sisters for 2 years! But he really wasn´t kidding.....I´m really going!! To open the area again with Sister Cantuara (who I´ve never met). So.....none of this probably means as much to you guys as it does to us here, but it´s very crazy!! The whole time I´ve been here, it´s just been the same 5 cities that have sisters, and now all of a sudden 3 new ones, that ALL 4 of us in our apartment are going to open.
So that means....no one is staying to take care of our area! He´s handing it over to elders! Just when all the difficulties were starting to get better....but it´s good, it will revive the ward a lot. But.....I´m going to Uruguaiana!! Tomorrow! 6 hours away, waaay over on the boarder with Argentina! (I know, it sounds like it should be the border with Uruguay, which I thought for a long time, but nope, it´s on the River Uruguai, which is the border with Argentina). So I´ll get to practice my Spanish....Sister Cantuara and I will get to start from scratch.....I´m super excited!! :D
And in other amazing news, Sister Raphaela came last night! Her mission is officially over, but she´s staying 2 more weeks like I explained before. But, so for these last few transfers she´s been back in Cruz Alta! When she trained me it was in the 1st Ward, where she stayed for 7 months, then went off to a few more cities, then went back to the 3rd Ward to finish. So she spent more than half her mission there! But she brought news of everyone from the 1st ward......and they´re all doing so, so well!! EVERYONE that we worked with is still firm in the church. Jovana is loving being a Young Women´s counselor, and Marcos (less active) is going to church a little at a time. And remember Rosane, mom of Malika and Claudia, who I told you the crazy story about, how she told us she had been baptized as a teenager, but then on our last day told us she never really had been, she had just said it so we wouldn´t "try to baptize her"? But then she said she realized that a church that did the things she´d seen it do had to be true, and she even wanted to be baptized that weekend before we left?
Well, she was baptized shortly after we left, and Sister Raphaela said she´s a completely changed person now - she stopped smoking, separated from her boyfriend, she even changed her house to be cleaner and more open with a picture of everyone in the family´s baptism displayed on a table....she said it´s hard to describe, but you can even see a change in her appearance. I was SO SO happy to hear about her....and Cirlei´s marriage turned out alright (which we helped her start working on), she was baptized and had her baby.......Elenice also got married and was baptized, and now she and her two kids (who used to be less active) are all going every week! She even showed me a video of Giulia (Jovana´s daughter) and Carol (cousin) singing the young women´s song from this year, with Jovana standing in the background singing along.....and watching all three of them singing by heart, Marcos standing quietly as always, but then wrapping his arms tight around Jovana......I started to cry from the happiest feeling I´ve ever had in my life. All the memories of those people came flooding back, and I felt this incredible love for them, and this incredible happiness at how far they had all come. It´s impossible to describe, but I´ve never felt a feeling like that in my entire life.
It really is like Preach My Gospel says in the very front - "more happiness than you have ever experienced awaits you" on your mission. I´m so glad I get to have this opportunity. Thank you all so much for helping me get here and supporting me in this incredible experience. I love you all so much, and I hope I can convey to you a little of the joy I´m feeling - the joy that comes from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that He is the only wait to gain such joy in this lifetime, and to gain eternal life in the world to come. I know He lives, and I know He loves us.
Have a great week! I´ll update you next week on the first week in Uruguaiana!!! :D
Love always,
Sister Madsen
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
This week in Ipiranga!
Hey guys!!
How is everyone? I loved the video you made for the president! Thanks so much, I´m sure they´ll really enjoy that. You guys all looked so spring-ish and cute, and Carrie is getting cuter every day!! It was so good to see you in video form:)
As for here, I can´t believe how time is flying. We´re already starting the last week of this transfer! In one week, Sister Raphaela officially ends her mission...but she´s coming to stay with us for two weeks! The president gave her permission to stay two extra weeks so she could be here for the "mission tour" he´s doing before he leaves and the goodbye fireside and stuff. So she´ll be staying in our house! It´ll be so great, we´ll be together for the start of my mission and the end of hers. So it feels like a lot of things are changing! New transfer in a week, and Pres. told S. Witmer she´s leaving, so new companion as well...he also said he´s taking out a companionship from the ward, so it will be just me and the new comp. Plus President leaving in a few weeks.....lots of changes coming up!! But I´m excited.
Things here are going well. Things in the ward are improving a little at a time. The ward has kind of a negative attitude about the missionaries - not sure where it comes from, but I kind of already explained it, right? Just kind of a gossipy situation. So we´ve been trying to work better with them, leaving notes at the bishop´s house every few days since we can´t get a hold of him, etc. At a family home evening on Tuesday, one of the more gossipy members who used to be ward mission leader sat down and just kind of told us everything we could do better, so we just listened to it all, agreed, and started putting it in practice the next day! We also visited his family and sang them a hymn. So yesterday, the bishop said how happy he was with our notes, that he told the President he was impressed, and that said member had spoken well of us. So things are getting better with the ward a little at a time - still a long way to go, but it seems to be looking up.
As for the investigators...we both found again and possibly lost again Tiago this week. After he said, "don´t call me, I´ll call you" we were kind of thinking he had already "cut" us...but we went back this week to see how he was. So we watched the Restoration video and he felt the Spirit really strong, saying "wow, I really lost the focus, huh? I was so focused on coffee, I forgot about all this...." So sounds great, right?? We were so excited to have him back. But then on Saturday, when we asked if he was coming to church the next day, he said, "I probably should be more sincere with you guys....I´ve really already made my decision, and my decision is to stay with Catholicism." It was so frustrating, because he´s never showed any interest in Catholicism - it´s just an excuse. So we tried to talk things over, but he just kept saying "I´ve already made up my mind." So we just said a prayer and left...but he said we were always welcome there. And then today we met his mom (who LOVES us) in the street, and she said Tiago had been really sad, thinking we wouldn´t come back, and that we were always welcome there......so I think we´ll continue to pass by, not focusing on him, but seeing if we can get him to feel the Spirit every time and finally remember the answer he got when he prayed.
We also found some really cool people - Antonio Carlos and Silvana especially. We met them walking in the street carrying a tiny little baby all wrapped up, and made an appointment to go by. So when we went by, we found out we met them coming home from the hospital! The baby, Leticia, was born on Monday. They have three other kids as well. They´re really great, super receptive, really liked the message of the Restoration. When we asked them to come to church, Silvana apologized and said she really couldn´t leave with the baby yet, but would really like to. But Antonio said, "No, but I´m going there!" in such a decisive way. So then when we went to pick him up on Sunday, Silvana came out and said, "He already left! He went early." So we got all excited and ran to the chapel to find him.....but he wasn´t there. So either he got lost....went to the Catholic church around the corner.....or he´d had to go work and she just thought he had gone to church! When we went by later he was at work, so who knows. But they´re an amazing family and I´m really excited to work with them.
Like I said, I can´t believe how everything´s flying, but also how much I´m learning. I´m so glad to be here, every minute of it, even the hard stuff. It´s such a life changing experience and I´m so glad I decided to do it:) I´m learning things that will positively influence the course of my eternity. Thank you all so much for supporting me in it! I love you all so much, and I want you all to know that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Church is true - it´s all true, all of it. It´s the greatest happiness there could be in the world. I love you all, and have a great week!
Til next time,
Sister Madsen
How is everyone? I loved the video you made for the president! Thanks so much, I´m sure they´ll really enjoy that. You guys all looked so spring-ish and cute, and Carrie is getting cuter every day!! It was so good to see you in video form:)
As for here, I can´t believe how time is flying. We´re already starting the last week of this transfer! In one week, Sister Raphaela officially ends her mission...but she´s coming to stay with us for two weeks! The president gave her permission to stay two extra weeks so she could be here for the "mission tour" he´s doing before he leaves and the goodbye fireside and stuff. So she´ll be staying in our house! It´ll be so great, we´ll be together for the start of my mission and the end of hers. So it feels like a lot of things are changing! New transfer in a week, and Pres. told S. Witmer she´s leaving, so new companion as well...he also said he´s taking out a companionship from the ward, so it will be just me and the new comp. Plus President leaving in a few weeks.....lots of changes coming up!! But I´m excited.
Things here are going well. Things in the ward are improving a little at a time. The ward has kind of a negative attitude about the missionaries - not sure where it comes from, but I kind of already explained it, right? Just kind of a gossipy situation. So we´ve been trying to work better with them, leaving notes at the bishop´s house every few days since we can´t get a hold of him, etc. At a family home evening on Tuesday, one of the more gossipy members who used to be ward mission leader sat down and just kind of told us everything we could do better, so we just listened to it all, agreed, and started putting it in practice the next day! We also visited his family and sang them a hymn. So yesterday, the bishop said how happy he was with our notes, that he told the President he was impressed, and that said member had spoken well of us. So things are getting better with the ward a little at a time - still a long way to go, but it seems to be looking up.
As for the investigators...we both found again and possibly lost again Tiago this week. After he said, "don´t call me, I´ll call you" we were kind of thinking he had already "cut" us...but we went back this week to see how he was. So we watched the Restoration video and he felt the Spirit really strong, saying "wow, I really lost the focus, huh? I was so focused on coffee, I forgot about all this...." So sounds great, right?? We were so excited to have him back. But then on Saturday, when we asked if he was coming to church the next day, he said, "I probably should be more sincere with you guys....I´ve really already made my decision, and my decision is to stay with Catholicism." It was so frustrating, because he´s never showed any interest in Catholicism - it´s just an excuse. So we tried to talk things over, but he just kept saying "I´ve already made up my mind." So we just said a prayer and left...but he said we were always welcome there. And then today we met his mom (who LOVES us) in the street, and she said Tiago had been really sad, thinking we wouldn´t come back, and that we were always welcome there......so I think we´ll continue to pass by, not focusing on him, but seeing if we can get him to feel the Spirit every time and finally remember the answer he got when he prayed.
We also found some really cool people - Antonio Carlos and Silvana especially. We met them walking in the street carrying a tiny little baby all wrapped up, and made an appointment to go by. So when we went by, we found out we met them coming home from the hospital! The baby, Leticia, was born on Monday. They have three other kids as well. They´re really great, super receptive, really liked the message of the Restoration. When we asked them to come to church, Silvana apologized and said she really couldn´t leave with the baby yet, but would really like to. But Antonio said, "No, but I´m going there!" in such a decisive way. So then when we went to pick him up on Sunday, Silvana came out and said, "He already left! He went early." So we got all excited and ran to the chapel to find him.....but he wasn´t there. So either he got lost....went to the Catholic church around the corner.....or he´d had to go work and she just thought he had gone to church! When we went by later he was at work, so who knows. But they´re an amazing family and I´m really excited to work with them.
Like I said, I can´t believe how everything´s flying, but also how much I´m learning. I´m so glad to be here, every minute of it, even the hard stuff. It´s such a life changing experience and I´m so glad I decided to do it:) I´m learning things that will positively influence the course of my eternity. Thank you all so much for supporting me in it! I love you all so much, and I want you all to know that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Church is true - it´s all true, all of it. It´s the greatest happiness there could be in the world. I love you all, and have a great week!
Til next time,
Sister Madsen
Monday, May 31, 2010
This week!
Hey Family!
So this week was good! A few things out of the ordinary - Zone Conference on tuesday! Always something I look forward to, and this one was great. It´s the last one with Pres and Sister Myrrha! I can´t believe it, but they leave June 30 (my one year mark!) They showed us a picture of the new president and his wife and told us a little bit about them - they´re from the same place as the president now, Belo Horizonte. They´re also young, I think even a little younger, and he´s worked for years with the church educational system, institute and stuff. So they seem really awesome! The Ribeiros. They get here July 1! So we´ll see how that goes! But the conference was amazing, we learned a lot, discussed a lot, and even got the flu vaccine!
Which turned out to have some adverse consequences....I´m pretty sure it actually gave me the flu! No, I don´t even know if that´s possible, and I don´t have the flu because I haven´t had a fever. But after the vaccine I definitely haven´t been normal:P But it´s ok, I´m totally fine, no worries, just some sneezy/coughiness. But on Friday Sister Witmer got sick (food poisoning type) so we stayed home all day. That was kind of hard, I had kind of forgotten what it´s like not to be busy! But it was nice to rest a little as I wasn´t feeling great either.
But as for the work we did get done this week, it was good. Kind of a downer on Wednesday when Tiago called and cancelled his appointment for that night, and then wouldn´t re-schedule. Just said, "Oh, I´ll just call you another time...." which basically means he doesn´t want any more. But we´re not giving up on him! We´re going to pass by another day and surprise him, talk a little bit and find out why he´s giving up. It´s so strange, he was SO excited. The enemy really works on people when they start getting on the right path.
So we started working in a really interesting neighborhood, where we found a ton of inactive members! I don´t know how, we had never met or heard of any of them, but we were just knocking doors and at 3 houses the people said they were already members but hadn´t been in a long time. One, Ricardo, found us in the street! We were walking past us and he said, "Sister!" in this wistful, kind of sad way. So we started talking and asked if he had already known missionaries, and he said he was baptized 20 years ago after being taught by sisters! He said he´d been inactive 15 years but wanted to come back so badly. There must have been some kind of confusion, because he said the bishop in that era had told him not to come to church anymore, which is impossible. He must have misunderstood. But anyway, we invited him to a family night that very night, and he came! It was great. He said he´d come Sunday, but didn´t...but we´ll get him to come next week. He´s really great, really humble, such a good person.
But that´s kind of it for this week - we´re still doing all we can to get the members on our side so the ward can really grow. It´s going, slowly, but going! I know everything will turn out fine, because we´re doing our best. I´m so glad to be here, even in the hard times, because I´m learning things I would never learn anywhere else, that will change my future for eternity. I´m so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you all so much for helping me get here. I know this is the work of the Lord, and I know that if we´re humble and faithful we can be instruments in His hands to bring about His great work. The time is flying by, and I´m trying to take advantage of it while it´s still here! I love you all and can´t wait to hear more from you. Have an amazing week!
Til next tme!
Sister Madsen
So this week was good! A few things out of the ordinary - Zone Conference on tuesday! Always something I look forward to, and this one was great. It´s the last one with Pres and Sister Myrrha! I can´t believe it, but they leave June 30 (my one year mark!) They showed us a picture of the new president and his wife and told us a little bit about them - they´re from the same place as the president now, Belo Horizonte. They´re also young, I think even a little younger, and he´s worked for years with the church educational system, institute and stuff. So they seem really awesome! The Ribeiros. They get here July 1! So we´ll see how that goes! But the conference was amazing, we learned a lot, discussed a lot, and even got the flu vaccine!
Which turned out to have some adverse consequences....I´m pretty sure it actually gave me the flu! No, I don´t even know if that´s possible, and I don´t have the flu because I haven´t had a fever. But after the vaccine I definitely haven´t been normal:P But it´s ok, I´m totally fine, no worries, just some sneezy/coughiness. But on Friday Sister Witmer got sick (food poisoning type) so we stayed home all day. That was kind of hard, I had kind of forgotten what it´s like not to be busy! But it was nice to rest a little as I wasn´t feeling great either.
But as for the work we did get done this week, it was good. Kind of a downer on Wednesday when Tiago called and cancelled his appointment for that night, and then wouldn´t re-schedule. Just said, "Oh, I´ll just call you another time...." which basically means he doesn´t want any more. But we´re not giving up on him! We´re going to pass by another day and surprise him, talk a little bit and find out why he´s giving up. It´s so strange, he was SO excited. The enemy really works on people when they start getting on the right path.
So we started working in a really interesting neighborhood, where we found a ton of inactive members! I don´t know how, we had never met or heard of any of them, but we were just knocking doors and at 3 houses the people said they were already members but hadn´t been in a long time. One, Ricardo, found us in the street! We were walking past us and he said, "Sister!" in this wistful, kind of sad way. So we started talking and asked if he had already known missionaries, and he said he was baptized 20 years ago after being taught by sisters! He said he´d been inactive 15 years but wanted to come back so badly. There must have been some kind of confusion, because he said the bishop in that era had told him not to come to church anymore, which is impossible. He must have misunderstood. But anyway, we invited him to a family night that very night, and he came! It was great. He said he´d come Sunday, but didn´t...but we´ll get him to come next week. He´s really great, really humble, such a good person.
But that´s kind of it for this week - we´re still doing all we can to get the members on our side so the ward can really grow. It´s going, slowly, but going! I know everything will turn out fine, because we´re doing our best. I´m so glad to be here, even in the hard times, because I´m learning things I would never learn anywhere else, that will change my future for eternity. I´m so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you all so much for helping me get here. I know this is the work of the Lord, and I know that if we´re humble and faithful we can be instruments in His hands to bring about His great work. The time is flying by, and I´m trying to take advantage of it while it´s still here! I love you all and can´t wait to hear more from you. Have an amazing week!
Til next tme!
Sister Madsen
Monday, May 24, 2010
Week 3, Ipiranga
Hey guys!
How is everyone doing? It was great to hear from Dad, and I got a box from you guys last week after I wrote!:D So that was great. However, I need to see pictures of Carrie as soon as possible!;) Thanks so much for writing me and supporting me.
So this week was good! To be honest, it´s been a little difficult in this ward, but nothing insurmountable. There´s just a lack of union between the members and the missionaries. Apparently things have happened in the past that have left awkwardness on both sides...I´m not sure what, this is just what I hear. So I think our work in this area has to start with that! Nothing can happen until we´re unified with the members. They´re the ones that know who´s prepared to receive the gospel, and without us working together, we can never help the ward grow. (I hope you guys are taking notes on this for your own wards! I never realized how crucial it is that the members work with the missionaries. I was terrible before the mission! But, absolutely nothing can happen in missionary work until the members are involved, looking around in their own lives for who´s prepared, and introducing them to the missionaries. There´s actually an amazing video called Small and Simple Things made by a mission in California that shows how amazing it can be. Go try to find it online, it must exist somewhere out there. Watch it, it´s amazing!) So we´re trying to make lunches with the members a great time, really get to know them, give great messages after, and show them we´re working hard so they´ll trust us.
So as far as the investigators....Tiago, our perfect investigator, had a little bit of difficulty this week. When we taught the Word of Wisdom and invited him to stop drinking coffee, he accepted immediately, saying he thought it was better to stop completely immediately rather than diminishing. But when we came back, he said he hadn´t made any progress at all, and he didn´t think he would be able to. He said he didn´t think something so small was important....it really shook his faith, somehow. He even said he couldn´t come to church, when on Wednesday he had been so excited. I´m not sure exactly what happened, but he´s experiencing a lot of opposition. He said he would pray and ask if he really needed to stop drinking coffee, but if he didn´t get an answer or felt like the answer was no, he would not only continue to drink it, but stop investigating the church:( I was so surprised to hear all this from him. So we´re fasting and praying that he can get a clear answer he´ll recognize, and know he needs to be baptized.
So what else interesting happened? Hmmm, a great experience with the Relief Society president! She´s a return missionary, so kind of judges us harshly, having been where we are, but we´ve been trying to gain her trust. So it seems like we did, as she shared with us an amazing experience she had. So she said she had been praying and praying for a referral to give us, but just couldn´t think of anyone. So then walking home from an activity in the chapel, she and her daughter took a road they didn´t usually take, and ended up almost running into an old investigator of the other sisters, Azarias. So apparently when he saw her he shook her hand, started to cry, and told her that his life was all wrong and he knew he needed to come back to church. (She was the teacher for the New Members class, so knew him really well.) So she said she´d send us there, challenged him to go to church on Sunday, and said it was an amazing experience. She said she felt a voice that said, "Azarias is the referral!" So that was an amazing experience hearing from her. He didn´t come on Sunday:(, and we´ve passed by his house 3 times without him being there, but we won´t give up!
So the work continues here! Sometimes difficult, always amazing, the greatest experience ever. Thank you all so much for your love, support and prayers while I´m here. I know this is exactly where I need to be, and I´m learning things here I could never learn in any other way. I love you all so much, and I know the Church is true. It´s not only good, amazing, and life changing, it´s the only church of Jesus Christ that was restored by him, not created by men. I know that, and I´m gaining more of a testimony of it every day. I love you all so much!!
Til next week,
Sister Madsen :D
How is everyone doing? It was great to hear from Dad, and I got a box from you guys last week after I wrote!:D So that was great. However, I need to see pictures of Carrie as soon as possible!;) Thanks so much for writing me and supporting me.
So this week was good! To be honest, it´s been a little difficult in this ward, but nothing insurmountable. There´s just a lack of union between the members and the missionaries. Apparently things have happened in the past that have left awkwardness on both sides...I´m not sure what, this is just what I hear. So I think our work in this area has to start with that! Nothing can happen until we´re unified with the members. They´re the ones that know who´s prepared to receive the gospel, and without us working together, we can never help the ward grow. (I hope you guys are taking notes on this for your own wards! I never realized how crucial it is that the members work with the missionaries. I was terrible before the mission! But, absolutely nothing can happen in missionary work until the members are involved, looking around in their own lives for who´s prepared, and introducing them to the missionaries. There´s actually an amazing video called Small and Simple Things made by a mission in California that shows how amazing it can be. Go try to find it online, it must exist somewhere out there. Watch it, it´s amazing!) So we´re trying to make lunches with the members a great time, really get to know them, give great messages after, and show them we´re working hard so they´ll trust us.
So as far as the investigators....Tiago, our perfect investigator, had a little bit of difficulty this week. When we taught the Word of Wisdom and invited him to stop drinking coffee, he accepted immediately, saying he thought it was better to stop completely immediately rather than diminishing. But when we came back, he said he hadn´t made any progress at all, and he didn´t think he would be able to. He said he didn´t think something so small was important....it really shook his faith, somehow. He even said he couldn´t come to church, when on Wednesday he had been so excited. I´m not sure exactly what happened, but he´s experiencing a lot of opposition. He said he would pray and ask if he really needed to stop drinking coffee, but if he didn´t get an answer or felt like the answer was no, he would not only continue to drink it, but stop investigating the church:( I was so surprised to hear all this from him. So we´re fasting and praying that he can get a clear answer he´ll recognize, and know he needs to be baptized.
So what else interesting happened? Hmmm, a great experience with the Relief Society president! She´s a return missionary, so kind of judges us harshly, having been where we are, but we´ve been trying to gain her trust. So it seems like we did, as she shared with us an amazing experience she had. So she said she had been praying and praying for a referral to give us, but just couldn´t think of anyone. So then walking home from an activity in the chapel, she and her daughter took a road they didn´t usually take, and ended up almost running into an old investigator of the other sisters, Azarias. So apparently when he saw her he shook her hand, started to cry, and told her that his life was all wrong and he knew he needed to come back to church. (She was the teacher for the New Members class, so knew him really well.) So she said she´d send us there, challenged him to go to church on Sunday, and said it was an amazing experience. She said she felt a voice that said, "Azarias is the referral!" So that was an amazing experience hearing from her. He didn´t come on Sunday:(, and we´ve passed by his house 3 times without him being there, but we won´t give up!
So the work continues here! Sometimes difficult, always amazing, the greatest experience ever. Thank you all so much for your love, support and prayers while I´m here. I know this is exactly where I need to be, and I´m learning things here I could never learn in any other way. I love you all so much, and I know the Church is true. It´s not only good, amazing, and life changing, it´s the only church of Jesus Christ that was restored by him, not created by men. I know that, and I´m gaining more of a testimony of it every day. I love you all so much!!
Til next week,
Sister Madsen :D
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Family!
Hey everyone!
How are you all doing? I´m glad to hear camping was so great for Katie and Alex - it looks just like the pictures of when you used to take us camping when we were little, Mom and Dad! I think climbing red rock and getting dirty are must experiences for little kids.
But as for here, everything´s great! Some interesting ups and downs this week. Let me tell you about all of them -
The first "down" was that Dalva dumped us. She "asked for some time" without our visits. So that was really sad - she´s already had two dreams, been to church a bunch of times, when we took a member there to mark her baptism date she asked the member, "What is it I feel when I pray? I get goosebumps and feel like crying..." The member explained to her that it was the Spirit...so she´s obviously had numerous confirmations that it´s true, she´s just very timid and stuck in her ways, and won´t change her life. There´s not even really anything to change, no addictions to give up or anything...I´m not sure what she´s afraid of. BUt hopefully she´ll realize her mistake in giving up.
Another "down" was that Carolina also dumped us. We had only taught her once, but it was such an amazing lesson that I wrote about her last time, I think, and was so excited to go back this week. So we tried a few times and she wasn´t here, we called and she said she had to work, so we passed by another time and she was there, seemed surprised to see us, and when we said "Do you have time now?" she said "More or less......" So we said we could come back, but she said, "No, I´ll call you." I said, "Yeah, we have your number so we´ll give you a call!" And she said, "No no, just let me call you." So that was depressing - I KNOW she felt the Spirit during that one lesson, I have no idea why she didn´t want to pursue it.
Another interesting experience was a lesson with Fabricio and Jaqueline, a really nice Evangelical family S. Witmer had taught before I got here, and it was our first time going back. It was my first bible-bash! We tried not to bible-bash, but he kept showing us scriptures that "proved" the Book of Mormon wasn´t true, and we kept showing him scriptures that proved it was. So I tried to cut that off as soon as possible and just asked him if he´d prayed about it. He said yes, and that he didn´t feel any peace about it, and he felt the answer he´d gotten was "no". Actually, the answer he said he got was "There is none other above me" (he has the impression that we worship Joseph Smith or something) so the answer he got was actually in confirmation..........but he was too closed minded to understand.
Another fun dip on the roller-coaster of the mission was our experiences knocking doors this week. I´ve gotten more impoliteness here than anywhere else! I think it´s because it´s the most down-town/richest area I´ve been in. Yesterday a woman stuck her head out the window and when I said we were representatives of Jesus Christ, she said "No no, I have my religion." "But it´s independent of religions!" "NO, girl, didn´t you hear me? I wouldn´t waste my time! Let´s find something to do, eh?" So....we had to laugh that one off :P
But the good things about this week topped all those! :D They´re basically all centered around one investigator - Tiago. Tiago is 21, but had a friend named Moroni in high school who invited him to a few things, and he went to church a few times (he said, but then he was acting like it was all new this sunday, so I`m not sure if he just played soccer with them or actually went to church.) But anyway, S. dos Santos found him knocking doors and set up an appointment. So we went and taught him, and it was good, he had a lot of questions, but it wasn´t anything extraordinary. But then when we went back...
He went back and got his Book of Mormon before we had even sat down. He brought it out and said, "First, I have to thank you for this book." I closed my eyes and braced myself for another Fabricio-like reaction. Please don´t give it back, please don´t give it back! But then he said, "I read those parts you asked. And I prayed."
I opened my eyes again and was suddenly filled with excitement.
"And?? And??"
"And I felt so good. I know it´s true."
Sister Witmer and I burst out laughing with happiness!! It was the greatest thing. He smiled, ´probably surprised by us, doing our best not to jump up and down. So we preceded to have an AMAZING lesson. This is how it started:
Tiago: "So let me see if I understood what I read." (usualy WE ask that.) "So the Book of Mormon is the story of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. There was Lehi, who came over from Jeruslem, and then his descendents split into two, the Nephites and the Lamanites. But then even before them there were the Jaredites, who were from...the Tower of Babel or something? I didn´t get that part exactly..."
So I realize writing this that it´s the story of the Book of MOrmon that it tells right in the introduction, so I don´t know if you guys know how amazing that is -- NO ONE I´ve ever taught understood the Book of Mormon so well. He had studied it intensely, gone on Wikipedia and the church website.....he´s the greatest, most interested investigator I´ve ever taught.
He went to church yesterday and loved it! He did teh same thing during church - "Wait, let me see if I understand" during all the classes, and wowed everyone. Everyone after was like, "Wow, Tiago is sharp! I´m excited to have him in the ward!" Everyone he talked to, he said something like, "Yeah, the Sisters are showing me the way. I didn´t know anything before, but they´re teaching me. It´s great..."
So.....that was worth all the hard parts of the week and then some:D I´m so glad to be in a position where I can help people like this, help them know the truth and become members of the true church. It´s the only church that can answer ALL of the questions, that has all the pieces of the puzzle. It´s so wonderful and so true, and I´m so happy to be a part of it. I would gladly do anything for Jesus Christ, and I know my mission is just a small way of serving Him.
I love you all so much! Thank you all for you love and support. I´ll write more next week, telling how we set a date for Tiago´s baptism! :D Have a great week!!!
Love always,
Heather
How are you all doing? I´m glad to hear camping was so great for Katie and Alex - it looks just like the pictures of when you used to take us camping when we were little, Mom and Dad! I think climbing red rock and getting dirty are must experiences for little kids.
But as for here, everything´s great! Some interesting ups and downs this week. Let me tell you about all of them -
The first "down" was that Dalva dumped us. She "asked for some time" without our visits. So that was really sad - she´s already had two dreams, been to church a bunch of times, when we took a member there to mark her baptism date she asked the member, "What is it I feel when I pray? I get goosebumps and feel like crying..." The member explained to her that it was the Spirit...so she´s obviously had numerous confirmations that it´s true, she´s just very timid and stuck in her ways, and won´t change her life. There´s not even really anything to change, no addictions to give up or anything...I´m not sure what she´s afraid of. BUt hopefully she´ll realize her mistake in giving up.
Another "down" was that Carolina also dumped us. We had only taught her once, but it was such an amazing lesson that I wrote about her last time, I think, and was so excited to go back this week. So we tried a few times and she wasn´t here, we called and she said she had to work, so we passed by another time and she was there, seemed surprised to see us, and when we said "Do you have time now?" she said "More or less......" So we said we could come back, but she said, "No, I´ll call you." I said, "Yeah, we have your number so we´ll give you a call!" And she said, "No no, just let me call you." So that was depressing - I KNOW she felt the Spirit during that one lesson, I have no idea why she didn´t want to pursue it.
Another interesting experience was a lesson with Fabricio and Jaqueline, a really nice Evangelical family S. Witmer had taught before I got here, and it was our first time going back. It was my first bible-bash! We tried not to bible-bash, but he kept showing us scriptures that "proved" the Book of Mormon wasn´t true, and we kept showing him scriptures that proved it was. So I tried to cut that off as soon as possible and just asked him if he´d prayed about it. He said yes, and that he didn´t feel any peace about it, and he felt the answer he´d gotten was "no". Actually, the answer he said he got was "There is none other above me" (he has the impression that we worship Joseph Smith or something) so the answer he got was actually in confirmation..........but he was too closed minded to understand.
Another fun dip on the roller-coaster of the mission was our experiences knocking doors this week. I´ve gotten more impoliteness here than anywhere else! I think it´s because it´s the most down-town/richest area I´ve been in. Yesterday a woman stuck her head out the window and when I said we were representatives of Jesus Christ, she said "No no, I have my religion." "But it´s independent of religions!" "NO, girl, didn´t you hear me? I wouldn´t waste my time! Let´s find something to do, eh?" So....we had to laugh that one off :P
But the good things about this week topped all those! :D They´re basically all centered around one investigator - Tiago. Tiago is 21, but had a friend named Moroni in high school who invited him to a few things, and he went to church a few times (he said, but then he was acting like it was all new this sunday, so I`m not sure if he just played soccer with them or actually went to church.) But anyway, S. dos Santos found him knocking doors and set up an appointment. So we went and taught him, and it was good, he had a lot of questions, but it wasn´t anything extraordinary. But then when we went back...
He went back and got his Book of Mormon before we had even sat down. He brought it out and said, "First, I have to thank you for this book." I closed my eyes and braced myself for another Fabricio-like reaction. Please don´t give it back, please don´t give it back! But then he said, "I read those parts you asked. And I prayed."
I opened my eyes again and was suddenly filled with excitement.
"And?? And??"
"And I felt so good. I know it´s true."
Sister Witmer and I burst out laughing with happiness!! It was the greatest thing. He smiled, ´probably surprised by us, doing our best not to jump up and down. So we preceded to have an AMAZING lesson. This is how it started:
Tiago: "So let me see if I understood what I read." (usualy WE ask that.) "So the Book of Mormon is the story of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. There was Lehi, who came over from Jeruslem, and then his descendents split into two, the Nephites and the Lamanites. But then even before them there were the Jaredites, who were from...the Tower of Babel or something? I didn´t get that part exactly..."
So I realize writing this that it´s the story of the Book of MOrmon that it tells right in the introduction, so I don´t know if you guys know how amazing that is -- NO ONE I´ve ever taught understood the Book of Mormon so well. He had studied it intensely, gone on Wikipedia and the church website.....he´s the greatest, most interested investigator I´ve ever taught.
He went to church yesterday and loved it! He did teh same thing during church - "Wait, let me see if I understand" during all the classes, and wowed everyone. Everyone after was like, "Wow, Tiago is sharp! I´m excited to have him in the ward!" Everyone he talked to, he said something like, "Yeah, the Sisters are showing me the way. I didn´t know anything before, but they´re teaching me. It´s great..."
So.....that was worth all the hard parts of the week and then some:D I´m so glad to be in a position where I can help people like this, help them know the truth and become members of the true church. It´s the only church that can answer ALL of the questions, that has all the pieces of the puzzle. It´s so wonderful and so true, and I´m so happy to be a part of it. I would gladly do anything for Jesus Christ, and I know my mission is just a small way of serving Him.
I love you all so much! Thank you all for you love and support. I´ll write more next week, telling how we set a date for Tiago´s baptism! :D Have a great week!!!
Love always,
Heather
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
First week in Ipiranga!
Hey guys!!
It was so great to talk to everyone yesterday!!:) It was amazing to hear all of your voices. I especially loved hearing Carrie sing!! I got a little emotional knowing that she´s grown up so much, but I´m glad she still knows what I look like (even if she does like to stomp on my picture:P) But as soon as I got talking to you I just kind of started talking about whatever, so I don´t know if you guys really know a lot about what happened this week. It´s not very exciting and I think you already know most of it, but I`ll give you a rundown anyway.
So it was my first week in the new area! I´m mostly getting the hang of everything - the new neighborhood, living in an apartment with 4, etc. It´s different, but fun! Like we talked about, it´s not as crazy as I thought it would be living with 3 other girls. We´re all pretty calm, so it´s fun! A little more like having a family:P So like I said, I´m with Sister Witmer from Pennsylvania. She´s very cool - she was studying chemical engineering at BYU! So she´s really smart, and sometimes has ideas that are way beyond me. The other sisters are S. Pedrozo and S. da Silva, two Brasilians. S. Pedrozo speaks perfect English, but S. da Silva speaks zero, so she´s always funny about it - "It´s so funny when you guys speak English! Is it funny for you when we speak Portuguese?" Funny.
So this area is really good! It´s a little "nicer" than Camobi - well, there were mansion areas in Camobi too, but it also had really poor neighborhoods, which I haven´t seen any of here. It feels kind of like the Avenues. Just to get things straight, Ipiranga is another neighborhood in the city of Santa Maria, like Camobi was. Ipiranga is closer to downtown. So it looks like I´ll be spending the majority of the mission in this city, if I stay in Ipiranga as long as Camobi! So that will be cool, I really like it ehre (although I do want to pass through Livramento before I leave:D) SO we´re working with some cool people -
Dalva, who has already had two dreams since the sisters started teaching her that were confirmations that the gospel is true. We invited to be baptized next Saturday and she timidly said yes, but then when we passed her on the street later at night she said she had been worried all day and that she just couldn´t do it next saturday. So we´ll have to figure out what kind of doubts are holding her back.
I told you about Carolina, who we found knocking doors in an apartment building the other day. She was so great, understood the Restoration so well, and said she was excited to tell her whole family about it. We´re seeing her tomorrow, which I`m excited about.
And there are all kinds of great members and recent converts. The Relief Society president has been helping us a lot - she´s a return missionary, and helps us out with teaching.
So I can tell the time I spend here is going to be amazing! I´m so excited to really get the work rolling here and find more people who are prepared to hear the gospel. It´s such an amazing time in my life - the only time I´ll be an official representative of Jesus Christ. I find myself growing so much closer to Him through serving and representing Him. He really is our brother, and the Savior of the world. I know that without a doubt. Thank you all so much for your love and support. I´m so grateful to have such a loving, supportive family behind me. Know that you guys have all my love and prayers. Big hugs and kisses for everyone! I miss you all, but I know the time til I get home is going to fly, and I have to make the most of it while it lasts.
I love you!!
Sister Madsen
It was so great to talk to everyone yesterday!!:) It was amazing to hear all of your voices. I especially loved hearing Carrie sing!! I got a little emotional knowing that she´s grown up so much, but I´m glad she still knows what I look like (even if she does like to stomp on my picture:P) But as soon as I got talking to you I just kind of started talking about whatever, so I don´t know if you guys really know a lot about what happened this week. It´s not very exciting and I think you already know most of it, but I`ll give you a rundown anyway.
So it was my first week in the new area! I´m mostly getting the hang of everything - the new neighborhood, living in an apartment with 4, etc. It´s different, but fun! Like we talked about, it´s not as crazy as I thought it would be living with 3 other girls. We´re all pretty calm, so it´s fun! A little more like having a family:P So like I said, I´m with Sister Witmer from Pennsylvania. She´s very cool - she was studying chemical engineering at BYU! So she´s really smart, and sometimes has ideas that are way beyond me. The other sisters are S. Pedrozo and S. da Silva, two Brasilians. S. Pedrozo speaks perfect English, but S. da Silva speaks zero, so she´s always funny about it - "It´s so funny when you guys speak English! Is it funny for you when we speak Portuguese?" Funny.
So this area is really good! It´s a little "nicer" than Camobi - well, there were mansion areas in Camobi too, but it also had really poor neighborhoods, which I haven´t seen any of here. It feels kind of like the Avenues. Just to get things straight, Ipiranga is another neighborhood in the city of Santa Maria, like Camobi was. Ipiranga is closer to downtown. So it looks like I´ll be spending the majority of the mission in this city, if I stay in Ipiranga as long as Camobi! So that will be cool, I really like it ehre (although I do want to pass through Livramento before I leave:D) SO we´re working with some cool people -
Dalva, who has already had two dreams since the sisters started teaching her that were confirmations that the gospel is true. We invited to be baptized next Saturday and she timidly said yes, but then when we passed her on the street later at night she said she had been worried all day and that she just couldn´t do it next saturday. So we´ll have to figure out what kind of doubts are holding her back.
I told you about Carolina, who we found knocking doors in an apartment building the other day. She was so great, understood the Restoration so well, and said she was excited to tell her whole family about it. We´re seeing her tomorrow, which I`m excited about.
And there are all kinds of great members and recent converts. The Relief Society president has been helping us a lot - she´s a return missionary, and helps us out with teaching.
So I can tell the time I spend here is going to be amazing! I´m so excited to really get the work rolling here and find more people who are prepared to hear the gospel. It´s such an amazing time in my life - the only time I´ll be an official representative of Jesus Christ. I find myself growing so much closer to Him through serving and representing Him. He really is our brother, and the Savior of the world. I know that without a doubt. Thank you all so much for your love and support. I´m so grateful to have such a loving, supportive family behind me. Know that you guys have all my love and prayers. Big hugs and kisses for everyone! I miss you all, but I know the time til I get home is going to fly, and I have to make the most of it while it lasts.
I love you!!
Sister Madsen
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