Wednesday, September 7, 2011

September 6, 2011

Hey everybody!

Things are looking really good now. We're having a baptism this Thursday with Dayson Stephan. Things were finally able to work out on both sides and now he's entering the water! Tings with Rochelle have been to a halt lately. We call and try to set up times to meet with her but it hasn't been working out. Rebuke me if I'm wrong but I feel like daily contact is a good indicator of how much desire the investigator has to come into the fold. It seems like investigaotrs who don't have a problem with it are progressing stronger as opposed to people who avoid it. That's been Rochelle's problem so her date naturally dropped.

Better things have been going on. We picked up another new investigaotr. Shirley Chiefmoon is inactive and has 2 granddaughters (Gurlee and Carla) who are 12 and 13. Gurlee was only present for the lesson on Tuesday and understood everything very well. She is shy but we taught to her level and firmed her for the 17th but Shirley said that it was too soon. We'll keep working with the girls. We may be teaching them but we're really focusing on Shirley as well. Bishop Smith is a big help for us on that one and members in Glenwood are awesome at fellowshipping.

We taught Kendall again. We finally got back into contact with him and he's been showing a lot of commitment. He's already read through Mosiah! We asked him what his favorite part in the Book of Mormon was so far and he said the olive tree allegory! Sounds golden to me! He has a short attention span and some word of wisdom issues but we established daily contact with him so things will progress with him.

Brandie cancelled on us but we're meeting with her tonight and are going to set a date. Her husband has a testimony but feels awkward attending church because of the choices he makes. The principles of daily contact will help out in her situation too. Ryan doesn't seem antagonistic but not supportive at the same time.

We met with Raymond's district and trained them on the pricniples of consecration. It's amazing when you apply these principles. No longer do I want to talk about sports or music. I just want to talk about the work and how we can improve things in the area. It seems like being obedient is no longer a question. That's primary stuff now. Now it's about giving everything to the Lord and I've felt so much more peaceful this past weekend. It's been a while since I've felt the Spirit as strong as it was at ZLC.

Im officially exhausted everynoght and everyday zooms by faster than a mazda zed 3 (canadian car). Elder Harris is an awesome companion and I feel like there's so much urgency to bring people back to God. Neat experience we had with prayer, Elder Harris asked that we would find someone who knew about the doctrine of Christ that we could baptize by the end of September. Sure enough, 2 hours later we get a phonecall from a member who has a friend whose son just died and she wants to learn more about the church. If we ask, we will receive.

Love,
Elder Madsen

August 23, 2011

Hey everybody,

Elder David S. Baxter of the 70 visited us yesterday! Thats why there was no e-mail. He told us of his conversion story and also emphasized daily study out of the Book of Mormon and PMG will help us to succeed as a mission. Elder and Sister Baxter had similar experiences where missionaries had been rejected by their parents previously but down the road, both of their parents had trials and tragedies in their lives which humbled them to ask God for help in their lives. Sure enough, the missionaires came again and brought their families into the church. Do you think those missionaires who were first rejected had any idea that one of those families who rejected them would eventually have a son who would become a general authority? I'm not sure of the answer but I'm positive that if they did not invite, it would no thave happened.

Things are really picking up now and we're starting to see a lot of miracles! We've been trying to get in touch with Rochelle Across the Mountain these past couple of weeks and we set up a time for Sunday to meet. She drove 30 minutes to the church to meet with us. Talk about commitment! She wants her family to be happy because she's going through a lot of trials right now and she knows this is the path she needs to be on. We taught her L1 and she understood it pretty well. The spirit was strong and with her especially as we talked about how it would bless her family. She accepted a date for September 17th to be baptized!!! She lives out near Glenwood so we prayed and we know she should be fellowshipped in that ward as soon as possible. She understands that she needs to be in touch with other ward members as well.

Brandie has been going through a lot lately. Her schedule is pretty erratic and it's diffcult for us to schedule things with her. She lives out in Jefferson which is about 15 minutes away from Cardston. We've been stopping by her at work and she hasn't been consistent about reading the Book of Mormon but has been praying about the 3rd. She's still worried about her husband not helping her out but we gave her the letter so hopefully she takes the things in there to heart. We're working on getting more fellowshippers from the Aetna ward to help out as well. She wasn't at church this Sunday which bummed us out but I know that she'll get it back together again.

Michelle's daughter is here now and we're teaching her this Saturday. We've already got a fellowshipper picked out for her and I already know that she's going to accept a date. There are so many more things on the prowl. A member told us about their neighbors out in Glenwood. So we stopped by and they want us to visit them on Wednesday! Miracles are starting to happen now and I'm so stoked for it all.

President has committed us to study the Atonement everyday for the next month. I've picked up so many unique insights that I wanted to share with you because I know that they can help. Consecration to the gospel is not perfection. It is something we are always working at and improving. We understand that the Lord's will is more important than ours. Have you wanted something so badly and when you got it, you realized that you didn't want it? That's exactly what happens when our wills aren't aligned with God's will. We think we want to achieve something (that isn't in line with what God wants us to achieve) and when we reach that destination, we realize that it's empty and hollow. I know that if we seek God's will in our lives, we can find something that is wholesome and desirable above all other things.

Love,
Elder Madsen

August 2, 2011

Hey everybody,

Well, things are still going difficult in Cardston. Tyler didn't talk to his mom while he was on vacation which caused his baptismal date to drop. We talked to him andn his dad on Sunday and he wants to sit down with his mom face to face and talk to her about why he wants to be baptized. Unfortunately, he won't be back for a couple of weeks which pushes things back again. I have faith in the Lord that it will happen. I'm positive that if Tyler is bold and sincere, his mom's heart will be softened and he'll be baptized.
We talked to Bishop Beazer and he said that he talked with Dayson's parents and that they want him to get baptized within the next two weeks. Bishop hasn't told us what the reason has been so I'm not sure what we can do to make it happen.

We've had some stellar 7days this week. We've met a lot of faithful members who have friends that they've made plans to invite. One of the members said that he had been given this challenge in the past but the missionaries never followed up with him so he didn't invite his friend. It's awesome how much power is in following up with people. It's frustrating because we've had 7day challenges where we teach the 10 minute first and members are ready to fall out of their chairs because the Spirit is so strong. We've had quite a few members look at their spouses and say, "Wow, I would love to have my friends listen to you!" We then ask them and they don't know anybody. We did have a member who said, "At first, I was hesitant when I heard you invite people to be baptized on the first lesson... but after listening to this, I felt the invitation to baptism was an actual invitation. It was non threatening and I would love to have my friends in this kind of environment." It's getting frustrating because the people who are ready to have friends in their home have the most difficult time finding people.

There's lots of potential out here and I know the Lord's hand is in this area, just like it has been in every other area I've been in.

Love,
Elder Madsen



Ha, I definitely forgot to wish Grandma Madsen a happy birthday! What is she, 35 now? The next birthday she has, I'll be there!

Love,
Elder Madsen

July 25, 2011

Hey everybody

Well, things are still going rough but we're continuing to look for opportunities. We taught Tyler this week. He is still committed to July 31st. In the lesson, Elder Mott accidentally firmed him for August 31st and Brother Moxley was really excited. He told us they were going on vacation the week before the baptism. We explained to them that we sought Heaven;y Father's will on what day Tyler should be baptized and that we know he needs to be baptized on the 31st of July. They agreed and have faith that it will all work out. His mom is still an issue. She wants to talk to him on July 30th when she comes down from Calgary. It's a tough thing for Tyler to talk to his mom about. Brother Moxley gave him a blessing to have the strength to talk to his mom. We haven't heard of how anything has gone yet but we have faith that everything will work out.
One of our investigators is moving to Red Deer but we heard from a nonmember who asked us for help on his property out in Hillspring. Doug (nonmember) called us from Southern B.C. and asked us for some help out there. We talked to the ward and some of the members want to help out there as well. I don't think Doug knows what he's in for because he is definitely about to get baptized!

Bishop Beazer is still trying to work with Dayson. We stopped by and talked to Brother Stephan. Dayson was listening to us the whole time so we weren't able to talk about the situation very much. I have faith that good things will happen there.

It's been pretty difficult. I've never extended 7days as good in the entire mission as I have now and I've never been this obedient or dedicated but it seems like there is no success going on right now. I'm positive this is a trial of my faith and I know that good things will come. I guess I'm "of shortsightedness" right now but good things are about to happen out here.

Love,
Elder Madsen

July 18, 2011

Hey everybody,

Well, it hailed on Tuesday... luckily Elder Mott and I were in the truck and have a garage to park it in. Crazy weather up here. We spoke in sacrament meeting for the second week in a row except this week, it was only Elder Mott and I who were speaking. So there was an hour left, and Elder Mott went first... he only spoke for 15 minutes. So I looked at the clock and did my best to stretch out my 10 minute talk to 30 minutes. I was exhausted. The bishopric has some good things to say afterwards. Bishop said, "The Lord prepares, we invite, the missionaries teach, the Spirit converts!" Such a true statement. Missionaries can only go so far in their own efforts. We have been really struggling on finding through our own efforts and are really relying on the members for help.

Well, this week was still rough with no new investigators but there is still a lot of potenital happening. We have 3 investigators lessons set up for this week and we'll see what will happen. The quality of our 7 days have considerably risen. Members are inviting more and are starting to be more aware of missionary work as we meet with them.

Tyler was at church on Sunday. We talked to his dad and the mom still has a hardened heart towards it all. Brother Moxley said, "Well, he has a baptismal date for the 31st, so it's up to you if you want to be there..." I'm not sure how this will all go down but I have faith that Tyler is going to be baptized. No question about it. We're teaching him tonight.

We haven't gotten a hold of Dayson or his parents. Bishop Beazer said his baptism should be any week. There's a lot of things going on with the parents right now so we'll figure things out in the upcoming weeks. We got a call from the Temple Visitor's Center and a Native wants to meet with us out in Standoff. We have a lesson with him scheduled for Tuesday night. We're hoping he's an investigator as well.

Not a whole lot to report on this week but I know that as we're patient with the Lord, we will see miracles. In every 7day, we're really emphasizing with members how to invite. It's really the main focus of our visits. I know that as we continue to be diligent in our role plays, the Lord will bless us.

I love you all and am really grateful for this opportunity I have to serve in Canada. I am officially at the point where I've decided that I'm not going home. I just want to be on a mission forever because there is no more important nor satsifying work than sharing the gospel with all of Heavenly Father's children. Please conitnue to keep those that we are working with in your prayers. They need God's help and they can receive it.

Love,
Elder Madsen

July 4, 2011

Hey everybody!

Well, I am excited for this new area! There is mounds of potential ready to happen. I can already name about 7 people who we need to work with who have a lot of potential to be baptized. It's a rough transition for me because in the past 9 motnhs, I have been focused on finding through our own efforts and haven't used as much of the members as we could've. Now, I'm learning a lot because there is a much more limited resource for me to find through our own efforts. I am learning how to work effectively with ward mission leaders now and am focused on spending much more time working closely with them.

A little bit about Cardston... it's exactly like Manti: middle of nowhere, tons of members, a temple. We cover a whole stake (7 wards). There's 2 stakes, 9 buildings, 4 missionaries in a ton of about 3500! There's lots of work to be done and it's only going to be done through the members and our diligence with working closely with them. Brother and Sister Leavitt should know all about it
The members down here have a lot of faith. In the past few 7 days we've extended, hardly anyone has been able to identify anybody but they always say, "We have faith and will do our best." We have a lot of members scheduled for this week who do have people for us to teach. We'll let you know how it goes.
I like the new 7 day program. Before we challenge them to find us people to teach, we given them a 10 minute version of the first lesson. Members have complimented us especially during the first vision. They're really able to feel the Spirit and I know that it builds their confidence in us as we show them what kind of teachers we are. I've never given such powerful 10 minute firsts in the whole time I've been on a mission. Role playing it everyday has helped me understand what principles are the most important for investigators to hear, what parts I need to slow down on and check for understanding and also how to teach around commitments to people so that they can understand the importance of accepting the gospel.
We had a pretty sweet miracle where we went through the first lesson with the bishop in the Glenwood ward. We extended the challenge and they said, "We'll do it... tonight!" My eyes lit up and we found out that they were visiting a part member family who had just moved in. Bishop Smith visited them and invited them to come out to church. We were a little disappointed in our follow up visit because they hadn't invited them to take the lessons. On Sunday, they were both at church, and Bishop visited with Tom (less active) in his office. We found out that his wife, Jen, had taken the discussions twice and that she is a logical person. Bishop asked Tom about his testimony of Joseph Smith. Apparently, there is more than one soul to save in that home. We're excited to work closely there and see some miracles.
I love the work. I am excited to work with Elder Mott. He's from Tooele, UT and is going home this transfer. I get to kill off another missionary! I feel more inadequate than ever but it's like President said in my interview, "The Lord doesn't care." I guess I need to stop whining and get to work.
Love,
Elder Madsen

P.S. The mail strike is over so you can expect some letters now! Thank you for the pictures from Ham's wedding! That's pretty awesome! The cardboard cutout is sweet!

June 28, 2011

Hey everybody,

Well, there's bittersweet news. Elder Hansen and I are going to part ways and I'm going to have to leave the Smeaton family. But I am going to Cardston with Elder Mott and am a new zone leader! Elder Mott is from Toole, UT and was my district leader a couple of transfers ago. We had a lot of fun together and I am excited to work there because it's right next to the temple!!!! There will be some pics of Waterton National Park in a few weeks. Be prepared!!!

Miracles have not ceased in Praire Winds. Bradley has a baptismal date for July 9th. He is totally prepared and is definitely one of the elect. He is 20 but has girlfriend and child back in Ontario. He does have plan to get married. He has so much faith. We taught him the law of chastity. We told him that when he goes back to Ontatrio, he cannot live with his girlfirend until he marries her. There was o lng silence in the room. Bradley has been trying to gain back the trust of his girlfriend ever since they had a child together. He couldn't handle the pressure of being a young father and left her but is now trying to make things right with her. From the bottom of his heart, he asked, "How am I supposed to gain her trust back if I don't live with her?" Silence in the room continued and then Elder Hansen said, "Bradley, by living the law of chastity, you will gain her trust back and you will gain your trust with Heavenly Father and those around you." Silence filled the room for a moment, the Spirit was building. Bradley said, "I will keep the law of chastity... no matter what it takes." This is not our work, it's the Lord's. Two 20 year old boys by themselves could not do that, but two 20 year old boys called of God with power and authority can. He was at church after getting home at 1 in the morning and working 17 hours. I asked him how he did that. He said, "God is giving me so much, nothing is a sacrifice to him in comparison to what he's giving me."

There are so many more miracles going on. Dani and her family recevied the first lesson. I know with all my heart that Dani is going to be an incredible member because during the first lesson, Satan tried to get in there by sending the kids' father unexpectedly. He was very rude to her and to us after we were trying to be polite. After the kids' dad walked in, Dani's interest in the lesson was gone. Nothing was getting to her but, the Spirit did build back up because she testified that she knew that Joseph saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She defintely likes to walk by sight rather than faith because she asked where the gold plates were and said that the only parts of the Book of Mormon that she believes are true are the parts that she has read.

We've also taught people on their doorsteps and are seeing lots of miracles. Elder Hansen is an incredible missionary. He is full of faith and if it wasn't for him, I don't think we would've seen half of the miracles we saw this transfer. The Lord placed he and I here for a reason. I am exicted to work with Elder Mott.

So my cool insight I found in the scriptures this week. Read through Doctrine and Covenants and see how many times it says "pray vocally". I enjoy praying vocally because it locks away all of the thoughts I don't want to have in my prayers. I love being a missionary and enjoy the one on one time I have with the scriptures. It's the best!

I love you all and am glad the mail strike is over!

Love,
Elder Madsen

June 20, 2011

Hey everybody,

well sad news. Elder Marsden is going home because of his health. He leaves today and we're all down today because of it. We're going to miss him but he is calm about it. He knows he is going where the Lord wants him. This week was not good as for as our physical states were. Everyone of us got sick and it really hindered the work. We were able to continue to press hard though in spite of that.

We took Dani on a church tour. She's a referral we received from the Airdrie sisters. She's from Chile and has been brought up in a Catholic background but as far as religion goes, she does, "whatever works." Throughout the church tour, we had solid fellowshippers for her and she really enjoyed the presentation aspect of it. She also feels good whenever she reads the Book of Mormon, especially when she read through 3 Nephi 11. It was no surprise when we went to the Christ room that she picked the picture where Christ comes to the Nephites as her favorite picture. We watched the Restoration and she got very emotional when she watched it. We firmed her and she wants to do more praying and pondering. She also has concerns with her kids (Ages 10 and 12) and what they think about the church. So we're teaching her family on Tuesday night. She wrote all of her commitments down on the pamphlet. I know that as she keeps her commitments and gains a testimony, her concerns will be minor annoyances but the only thing that will matter to her will be following her Savior.

We were following our 15 minute plan and forgot the address of the lady we wanted to stop by. We were a bit frustrated but knew the Lord had us there for a reason. We knocked on a door and a black woman and her 2 kids answered. We said we had a message about Jesus Christ and she said we could come back on Saturday. Saturday afternoon, we went over and started teaching. We told her that it wasn't an accident we showed up at her door but that God had prepared her for the message He had for her. She started sobbing. She said,"The day you came was a very diffcult day for me. I prayed and asked God,' Where are you?!' and then you gentleman came..." The Spirit had borne witness that we were representatives of God. We taught her the Restoration. We firmed her for July and she said she wanted to talk to her husband and didn't want to rush anything. We had to get to our next appointment but we did get a return appointment. She tried to resist writing down the appointment on the pamphlet but we were persitant about it and didn't let her get away. There is inspiration in the pamphlet principle.

We found some investigators for the YSA ward to teach as well. We also met with Mike. He was pretty fed up about how the members go through the motions at church and how it shouldn't be just our jobs as missionaries to find people to teach (thats what im talking about). We did our best to resolve his concerns and he understands that baptism is a commitment.

Well, we're a bit down about Elder Marsden leaving but we know it's what the Lord wants. We are excited to work hard again and continue to see miracles in this area.

Love,
Elder Madsen

P.s. Yes, Elder Newman is our zone leader. He and I talk about Brother Quackenbush and how he was in the Stake Young Men's Presidency. Elder Newman is an incredible missionary. He is such a good example of hard work, obedience, and having fun at the same time. I love him a lot and am bummed that he's going home so soon. Mail strike isn't over yet. I am honestly the worst person to update you on how it's going but Sister Leavitt's daughter can keep you more "posted"