Hey everyone!
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s so summery there - here winter´s finally starting to arrive (maybe). I´m pretty sure it´s not going to be anything like people say it is! I believed the hype, but if these people spent the winter in Utah they would all freeze to death.
So it was another good week! The highlight was the family of Eva and Gilberto. We visited with the stake counselor who´s taking care of our ward right now (we have no bishop) and talked about the priesthood. Gilberto, who´s always kind of been lagging behind, really clicked with him. When Presidente Lupe asked what feelings they were having during the lesson, Gilberto said, "I´m believing your words." Then, best of all, when we got to church on Sunday all four of them were sitting in a pew together! Them and their two daughters, 14 and 21. They had a great time, loved everything, didn´t stay with us (a good thing) and...it was great to see them all there. I´m so excited for their family. We found out a bit ago, I don´t know if I told you, but that we started visiting them right at a time when their family was going through a huge problem. So I´m so glad we were put in their life to help them:)
The sad part of Sunday was Cinthia and Wagner - we were there at 8:40 like we said to walk with them, but they just simply didn´t answer. Their uncle who lives in...a different house but the same building (brasilian thing) answered and said he didn´t think they were there, and that he called and no answer. So that was really sad. We didn´t get there to see what happened yet, but I know they´ll be members, it´s just a matter of when!
We made a really interesting contact this week. We were knocking a street before coming home, and there was a lady standing out on her porch, so we walked up and said hi. People get really suspicious when you come up to talk to them at night, so I didn´t know how she´d respond, but she said hi so happily it surprised us and almost started laughing, that happy. So we talked for a bit, she said she was really needing God in her life and knew she should go to church, that she was going through all kinds of problems in her family, and had even lost her son two years ago...she started crying while telling us about it. Then she asked what church we were from - when we answered, she said "You´re kidding!" (actually in portuguese, "lie!") I thought she was going to say, "I heard that church was a cult" or something (lots of people do), but she said, "I´ve always wanted to go inside that church! I pass it all the time, and I told my daughter one day I didn´t want to die before I got to know that church". We told her God sent us to help her with her problems and help her fulfill her dream of knowing the church. She said we couldn´t come in right then, but she´d wait for us on Saturday. So it was amazing, but when we got to our appointment on Saturday, no one answered:( It´s always like that, there´s always a ton of opposition getting to the people who really need it, but we´ll get there!
So....the week is going well. Our ward is getting better - when we got here, it was super low in attendance and everyone was gossiping and backbiting about each other.....the bishop was doing the best he could, but it was kind of out of control. So they released him and now a stake counselor is in charge of our ward, who´s kind of snapping everything back to order. It´s been good - I was so tired of listening to people gossip! It can really kill people´s tender testimonies. But everything´s getting better.
So that´s about all the stories from this week I think. Everything´s going great! I can´t believe how fast the time is passing - I realize more every day how much I need to make every minute count. I´m so grateful to be here, getting a chance to represent the Savior and help feed His sheep. I learn more every day than I ever thought possible - looking back, it seems like I really didn´t know anything before I started. There´s kind of a theme of what I´m learning - it´s summed up by something Ann M. Dibb said in her Conference talk from October about holding to the iron rod. She said she was talking to her dad (Pres. Monson) about everything, how the blessings of the gospel are so important in our lives, and that he said, "Ann, they are everything." That´s what I´m learning more every day here. The blessings of the gospel - to be sealed to our families for all eternity, to have peace in this world and the promise of eternal life in the world to come....they´re everything. I´m so grateful to know that, and that I´m here having that knowledge reinforced every day. I love you all so much, and pray for you always!
Love always,
Heather
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Third Week, First Year, and Fourth of July
Hey everyone!
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s summer there and you guys are having barbeques and watching fireworks....but actually, it´s kind of summer here too! Since July 1 it´s been hot here, like summer weather at home (not the insane, over the top summer weather of the south of Brasil). So maybe we´re kind of on the same page!
Also, you´re totally right, Brasil is very sad to be out of the Cup. We were listening to the game and heard everyone celebrate at the 10 minute mark, and I thought we were going to make it! But then no more celebration for the rest of 2 hours.....and the significant lack of fireworks and general insanity let us know we did in fact lose. Too bad! But it´s better for missionary work:D
So let´s see, what happened this week? Things are continuing amazingly. We saw Cinthia and Wagner again a few times, and they loved learning about the Book of Mormon. They were sad because they were going out of town this weekend and wouldn´t be able to come to church, but Cinthia said learning about the BoM got rid of a few doubts she had had (that we have "another Bible", etc) and made her even more excited to go to church. They´re really amazing!
More really interesting people to tell you about are Luciano and Alba. Super interesting story! They´ve already been investigating for a year and a half, going to church every week, and waiting for their wedding, which will be in August (so I´ll likely be here - yay!!) So they´re like 30 and 35-ish, have 3 kids- 13, 10 and 10 months. But their story is so interesting....Luciano had already asked a friend for a Book of Mormon 9 years before meeting the missionaries. He read up til 3 Nephi 11, decided it was a nice work of fiction, and stopped. Then 9 years later when the elders appeared, he said he already had the book, showed it to them, and he had stopped right where they were going to mark for him to start! So he started accepting their visits and reading, not just reading but studying intently, to try to catch them on something. Every Bible scripture reference he thought "Now I´ll get them..." But he kept reading and studying and realized there was nothing to "get them" on - that it really had to be true. I really like talking to them, because he was a skeptic about *everything* - and even a skeptic like him had to accept. If you read and study with a sincere heart, anyone can know the truth of the Book of Mormon.
I´m coming to appreciate it so much more on my mission. I´m finishing Helaman in my reading, and am understanding and loving it more than ever before. On the mission I have such a different perspective - I can imagine exactly how those prophets felt in lots of situations. I´m so grateful that God inspired them to write their stories so we could have their wisdom today, when the world needs it most. I really love that book and have no doubt that it really is true, and that it really came about how Joseph said it did, because there´s just no other answer.
So those were just a few quick stories about two of the families here, and there are more, but time is running out! Next week I`ll tell you more about Eva and Gilberto and how it goes with them. Another super amazing family I´m so grateful to be working with. So to summarize, (that was the first English word I´ve forgotten in a long time) things here are going amazing. We´re really receiving a ton of help and we´re lucky enough that Heavenly Father is using us as His instruments to bring about some great things with great families. I´m so grateful to be here where he can use me to help others in need. Thank you all for helping me get here, and for all your help and support. I love you all so much and you´re always in my prayers!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
How are you all doing? I can´t believe it´s summer there and you guys are having barbeques and watching fireworks....but actually, it´s kind of summer here too! Since July 1 it´s been hot here, like summer weather at home (not the insane, over the top summer weather of the south of Brasil). So maybe we´re kind of on the same page!
Also, you´re totally right, Brasil is very sad to be out of the Cup. We were listening to the game and heard everyone celebrate at the 10 minute mark, and I thought we were going to make it! But then no more celebration for the rest of 2 hours.....and the significant lack of fireworks and general insanity let us know we did in fact lose. Too bad! But it´s better for missionary work:D
So let´s see, what happened this week? Things are continuing amazingly. We saw Cinthia and Wagner again a few times, and they loved learning about the Book of Mormon. They were sad because they were going out of town this weekend and wouldn´t be able to come to church, but Cinthia said learning about the BoM got rid of a few doubts she had had (that we have "another Bible", etc) and made her even more excited to go to church. They´re really amazing!
More really interesting people to tell you about are Luciano and Alba. Super interesting story! They´ve already been investigating for a year and a half, going to church every week, and waiting for their wedding, which will be in August (so I´ll likely be here - yay!!) So they´re like 30 and 35-ish, have 3 kids- 13, 10 and 10 months. But their story is so interesting....Luciano had already asked a friend for a Book of Mormon 9 years before meeting the missionaries. He read up til 3 Nephi 11, decided it was a nice work of fiction, and stopped. Then 9 years later when the elders appeared, he said he already had the book, showed it to them, and he had stopped right where they were going to mark for him to start! So he started accepting their visits and reading, not just reading but studying intently, to try to catch them on something. Every Bible scripture reference he thought "Now I´ll get them..." But he kept reading and studying and realized there was nothing to "get them" on - that it really had to be true. I really like talking to them, because he was a skeptic about *everything* - and even a skeptic like him had to accept. If you read and study with a sincere heart, anyone can know the truth of the Book of Mormon.
I´m coming to appreciate it so much more on my mission. I´m finishing Helaman in my reading, and am understanding and loving it more than ever before. On the mission I have such a different perspective - I can imagine exactly how those prophets felt in lots of situations. I´m so grateful that God inspired them to write their stories so we could have their wisdom today, when the world needs it most. I really love that book and have no doubt that it really is true, and that it really came about how Joseph said it did, because there´s just no other answer.
So those were just a few quick stories about two of the families here, and there are more, but time is running out! Next week I`ll tell you more about Eva and Gilberto and how it goes with them. Another super amazing family I´m so grateful to be working with. So to summarize, (that was the first English word I´ve forgotten in a long time) things here are going amazing. We´re really receiving a ton of help and we´re lucky enough that Heavenly Father is using us as His instruments to bring about some great things with great families. I´m so grateful to be here where he can use me to help others in need. Thank you all for helping me get here, and for all your help and support. I love you all so much and you´re always in my prayers!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
Monday, July 5, 2010
Second Week!
Hey everyone!!
So the second week here in Uruguaiana was great! It was actually a completely normal and actually a good week in terms of how much we were able to teach, the new investigators we were able to find, and everything. We´re totally, totally being blessed, because I was expecting to have a rough first few weeks opening the area! But it´s going amazing! Let´s see everything that happened.
We focused on getting a lot of new investigators this week, since there wasn´t a big teaching pool when we got here, and were able to find some amazing people! We found this couple who´s right out of those stories you always hear. Cinthia and Wagner are a young couple (she´s my age) with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. We taught the first lesson to her and her grandma, and they loved it and were really receptive, but it didn´t seem unusual. (The first lesson for us is different than anywhere else, for those of you who have served missions. Presidente Myrrha broke up the first lesson into 3 parts: "The Ministry" is the first one we teach, followed by The Restoration, and third, The Book of Mormon. So the first lesson explains the mortal ministry of Christ, baptism, the church he established, and the atonement, with a challenge to accept Christ´´s sacrifice by being baptized. Then we leave the question of "hmm, why don´t any of the churches you know today have the same organization as that one Christ established?" with them)
So we set up a return appointment and went back. Cinthia had been cleaning the house and he said she had been all excited for us to get there. So we sat down, and the first thing she said was, "Hey, I wanted to tell you guys something. I was baptized in the Universal church like I told you but.....when I was baptized I didn´t feel anything. There was something missing." She said she and Wagner had already been to a million churches but hadn´t found one to stick with yet. So we told her in our message she would feel what she had been missing. They loved the restoration and agreed to go to church next week! I´m so excited about them - they remind me so much of Angela and Valdir, a couple from Camobi, who were introduced to the church with almost exactly the same age, when their two oldest kids were 2 and a baby...and now they´ve been members for 20 years, all sealed in the temple, the oldest is on a mission and the next oldest is preparing to go, etc.....I can just see Cinthia and Wagner in the same place in 20 years :D I´m SO excited to see what happens with them and so grateful to have the opportunity to work with them.
So this week actually went so much better than I was expecting, I think we´re already past the lost stage and now it´s just normal work! I´m so glad we got over the hurdles so fast. Now the only challenge is the World Cup!:P I didn´t tell you guys about that last week, but it´s....just as big a deal here as you would imagine. The normal games are always on, but life continues as normal...but when Brasil plays, people don´t work, kids don´t have school...life completely stops. (Oh yeah, a bunch of streets here are decorated, too, with huge murals on the sidewalks and green and yellow flags and streamers everywhere.) We have to go home during Brasil games, President´s orders, to not be tempted to watch and also not to be caught in any of the craziness. So we´ve been home for the three games so far, but it´s so cool to be sitting in our apartment and then hear the whole world take a deep breath and then explode in screams and cheers and fireworks when they score.
Also, this week was the festa de São João (remember two years ago when I wrote you about San Juan in Spain??) but no one did anything exciting. But I did see a few kids dressed like....country people? Farmers? Running around in the streets. So that was really cute. But, in a nutshell, everything here´s continuing amazingly! We´re getting so much heavenly help in this new area. I´m so excited to be here and work with all these amazing people. I know I´m here for a reason and I can help them change their lives by introducing the Spirit into their homes. I love you all so much and I´m so grateful for your love and support!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
So the second week here in Uruguaiana was great! It was actually a completely normal and actually a good week in terms of how much we were able to teach, the new investigators we were able to find, and everything. We´re totally, totally being blessed, because I was expecting to have a rough first few weeks opening the area! But it´s going amazing! Let´s see everything that happened.
We focused on getting a lot of new investigators this week, since there wasn´t a big teaching pool when we got here, and were able to find some amazing people! We found this couple who´s right out of those stories you always hear. Cinthia and Wagner are a young couple (she´s my age) with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. We taught the first lesson to her and her grandma, and they loved it and were really receptive, but it didn´t seem unusual. (The first lesson for us is different than anywhere else, for those of you who have served missions. Presidente Myrrha broke up the first lesson into 3 parts: "The Ministry" is the first one we teach, followed by The Restoration, and third, The Book of Mormon. So the first lesson explains the mortal ministry of Christ, baptism, the church he established, and the atonement, with a challenge to accept Christ´´s sacrifice by being baptized. Then we leave the question of "hmm, why don´t any of the churches you know today have the same organization as that one Christ established?" with them)
So we set up a return appointment and went back. Cinthia had been cleaning the house and he said she had been all excited for us to get there. So we sat down, and the first thing she said was, "Hey, I wanted to tell you guys something. I was baptized in the Universal church like I told you but.....when I was baptized I didn´t feel anything. There was something missing." She said she and Wagner had already been to a million churches but hadn´t found one to stick with yet. So we told her in our message she would feel what she had been missing. They loved the restoration and agreed to go to church next week! I´m so excited about them - they remind me so much of Angela and Valdir, a couple from Camobi, who were introduced to the church with almost exactly the same age, when their two oldest kids were 2 and a baby...and now they´ve been members for 20 years, all sealed in the temple, the oldest is on a mission and the next oldest is preparing to go, etc.....I can just see Cinthia and Wagner in the same place in 20 years :D I´m SO excited to see what happens with them and so grateful to have the opportunity to work with them.
So this week actually went so much better than I was expecting, I think we´re already past the lost stage and now it´s just normal work! I´m so glad we got over the hurdles so fast. Now the only challenge is the World Cup!:P I didn´t tell you guys about that last week, but it´s....just as big a deal here as you would imagine. The normal games are always on, but life continues as normal...but when Brasil plays, people don´t work, kids don´t have school...life completely stops. (Oh yeah, a bunch of streets here are decorated, too, with huge murals on the sidewalks and green and yellow flags and streamers everywhere.) We have to go home during Brasil games, President´s orders, to not be tempted to watch and also not to be caught in any of the craziness. So we´ve been home for the three games so far, but it´s so cool to be sitting in our apartment and then hear the whole world take a deep breath and then explode in screams and cheers and fireworks when they score.
Also, this week was the festa de São João (remember two years ago when I wrote you about San Juan in Spain??) but no one did anything exciting. But I did see a few kids dressed like....country people? Farmers? Running around in the streets. So that was really cute. But, in a nutshell, everything here´s continuing amazingly! We´re getting so much heavenly help in this new area. I´m so excited to be here and work with all these amazing people. I know I´m here for a reason and I can help them change their lives by introducing the Spirit into their homes. I love you all so much and I´m so grateful for your love and support!
Til next week!
Sister Madsen
Monday, June 21, 2010
First Week in Uruguaiana!
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
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
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
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