September 26, 2011

Hey everybody!

Well, everything is skyrocketing down here. Brandi got baptized on Saturday. It was an awesome experience. It was neat when she got confirmed as well. Brother Hill gave such a pwerful blessing and there were tears in her eyes. Her husband Ryan was at the baptism and at church for all 3 hours on Sunday! It will be a sight to see when they're sealed in a year from now. That's what Brandi's goal was when we first met her.
If you ever meet Brother Hill (which won't be too hard because he's the only black man in Cardston), you will feel one of the most strongest missionary spirits you will ever feel because when we showed up for Brandi's lesson on Tuesday, he had another nonmember and he grandchild there for us to teach. We finished Brandi's lesson and then invited Clara and her grandson to come onto a church tour with us. The spirit was so strong in that building especially with members who were supportive and invited her to sit with them at church. We invited her to be baptized after we taught the Restoration and she said she wants to wait. We emphasized the power he Book of Mormon has. She has been reading it and has been keeping in contact with Brother and Sister Hill. We taught her the plan of savation again on Saturday and there was another powerful spirit there as she learned the true nature of who God is and that we don't pray to Jesus but that we pray to the Father in Christ's name as taught in the Bible and Book of Mormon. She still hasn't committed to a date but it won't be long until she and her grandson do.

We taught Ron again on Monday about the Restoration. He understood the importance of authority but seems to be too much of a logical thinker. He feels that his faith is not strong enough. We told him this is the opportunity that God is giving him to increase his faith. He committed to reading the Book of Mormon but feels that it's too soon for him to commit to anything. It's difficult because he works on Sunday (we just need another evening sacrament meeting like in Banff, just kidding). I know that God will hlep us because there are some solid fellowshippers to help out.

Kendall is going to treatment tomorrow so we won't be able to teach him for a while. Tyler Moxley's mom came up to us and told us that his mom finally gave him permission to be baptized! They're looking at October 8th but everything is up in the air rith now so we'll keep in touch there and see what we can do. We talked to Bishop Beazer and he said it looks possible that Dayson could be baptized on that same day as well. I'm okay with filling up the font twice...

Miracles are all over the place right now and I'm so grateful that the Lord is giving us these experiences. Elder Harris is an incredible missionary and has such a strong desire to work hard. The work is a lot o fun when you've got a companion that wants to work just as hard, if not, more harder than you. I was reading a talk by Elder Worthlin and there was a really powerful message in there. He was talking about the love of God and the perspective He has on our lives. He said, "we always see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today while Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever... although we may settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for He sees us as glorious beings we are capable of becoming." In gosepl principles, someone asked if it's possible of being too honest with people. For example, if someone doesn't cook the best meal and asks us what we think about it, what kind of response should we give... Well, what kind of response do you think Heavenly Father would give if He were asked that question. He would express his love for the effort that was put forth by that glorious being. He would probably say, "You are perfect," and could say it honestly. How often do we look at people's weaknesses instead of their potential. It's something I'm always working on.

I love all of you and I know that God loves us, Jesus is the Christ. A man from England called us yesterday and tried to throw anti information at us but nothing he could say could destroy the feelings of love that come from the Holy Ghost everytime I read the Book of Mormon and everytime I attend church and testify that Joseph saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The feelings of the Spirit are undeniable and we don't need logic or reason to explain why everything is the way it is. Like Nephi, if we know that God loves us, then we are doing quite well.

Love,
Elder Madsen