February 14, 2011

Hey everybody!

I'm almost approaching 4 months in Banff (and with Elder Mercado). Next Tuesday, I find out what's happening so we'll see where the Lord needs me. Challenging week for Banff. Satan is doing everything he can to stop the work from progressing not only with our investigators but with ourselves as well.

Dan has been blowing us off these past 2 weeks ever since we met. He says we can come over and say hi but we stop by and he won't answer the door. His roommate Kyle (member) went to Ukraine for 2 months on Tuesday so the support system is no longer there. We're not giving up on him but we are moving on and finding new investigators. Word of Wisdom (specifically, cigarettes, alcohol and coffee) must be bothering him right now and there may be some guilt that he's feeling right now.

Antoine's date dropped as well because he didn't attend church this morning. Bro Mcouatt (BML) stopped by and Antoine was too tired to go. Perhaps the Lord is telling us as missionaries that we need to stress the importance of Sabbath day even more. He is still open and receptive to the lessons. Elder Nielsen and a member (teaches French at the high school) were on splits and taught Antoine about the Atonement. They emphasized the importance of putting off the natural man. They were also able to committ him to live the word of wisdom for a week. He's trying to substitute hot chocolate for coffee and is showing desire to keep that commandment. He is reading the Book of Mormon and is asking us lots of questions about it! He has been praying and feels like he hasn't received an answer yet. We talked about how we need to pray with "real intent" and "faith in Christ". It's obvious he is praying with a sincere heart but he needs to exercise his faith in Christ that if he does recevie an answer, he is willing to act on it. We'll be setting a date for him this week.

We met with Lorne on Friday. We were concerned that he felt too pressured from the invitations to be baptized. Last Sunday, Tiffany called us, she said she told Lorne that the missionaries were giving him a break. He asked, " Why? I miss the spirit with those guys." So naturally, she scheduled a dinner with us and him on Friday. We talked afterwards and Lorne has been having some trials with work, exhaustion, stress and everything else. We had a lesson planned on forgiveness but as Lorne talked about scriptures and prayer, we threw the lesson plan out the window and went to the basics of the gospel. We found out he hasn't been praying about anything we've been talking about and committed him to pray about the Book of Mormon. We watched the "Choose this day" message by President Eyring and afterwards Lorne laughed, "I get it." There will be no progression with him until he decides to do those small and simple things. Tiffany has been dating and living with him for the past year. He probably knows more about the church than I do. It just goes to show that action is what really shows our faith in the Lord.

Well, this isn't probably news you want to hear but tension has been building in our companionship especially on Wednesday night with Elder Mercado and Elder Nielsen. After the lesson, they got into an argument and I told them that neither of them were to talk until we got home. When we got home, I took both of them into seperate rooms and got them to vent and get their anger out. I told them that they needed to make compromises with each other: Elder Mercado needed to control his anger more and Elder Nielsen needs to calm down his critiscms. We had a solid comp inventory and hopefully everything continues to work out. We have really made improvements in our proselyting. Elder Mercado thought it would be a good idea to walk the side streets more than the main ones and sure enough we gave out more copies of BOM and bore our testimonies more often. The Lord is here and can cast Satan out of this area only if we are willing to humble ourselves.

This past Zone Conference was amazing. We heard a talk from Elder Holland given to mission presidents about the Atonement. I`ll never forget what he said. He said a lot of missionaries struggle with the trials of a mission. If we are doing the work of the Lord, have an added measure of the spirit with us, have angels watching over us, then why is the work so hard... He said because the road to salvation is not a cheap experience! If we are truly disciples of the Lord, we have to experience a small measure of what he went through in Gethsemane. Welcome to the journey of discipleship.

I want to leave you with my testimony that anything we go through has been met and encountered in Gethsemane. It has already been challenged and conquered by the Holy One of Israel. God will not give us what we can`t handle. With faith and pereserverance, we can develop that relationship with the one who triumphed over death. He loves us and has given us tools in this life to bring us to him. As a representativie of Jesus Christ, do not take the Book of Mormon lightly. I would not be out here getting rejected, laughed at and mocked by the world if I didn`t know of the power it can bring to us in our lives. It is true and if you want to have this knowledge, you must do as Moroni says in chapter 10, ``Receive these things`` and then ask God. I know that by doing that, you can know that Jesus is the Savior and has prophets leading and guiding his church today.

Love,

Elder Madsen

P.s. The San Juan family was at sacrament meeting on Sunday and are doing missionary work. Talk about the elect!

February 7, 2011

Hey everybody,

If you think the Lord has stopped working in Banff after the San Juan baptism, then you need to read this e-mail. We 7 dayed a member to invite his roommate to listen to the Plan of Salvation. He had a lot of doubts but thought he should do it. He invited us over for dinner on P day and his roomate, Dan, was there. At the end of dinner, Kyle (the member) told me , "Oh, by the way, you guys are teaching the Plan of Salvation." So we did a 2 second preparation for it and also told Kyle we were going to invite him to be baptized. He chuckled and said, "He'll say no but whatever." As we taught Dan, we really focused on listening to him. He talked about how he was tired of always making mistakes in his life and how he wants to stay on straight course. We talked about agency and a little bit about the iron rod and how commandments help us to avoid those mistakes. He also talked about how he hates churches that say "heaven and hell" and when we first showed the spirit world, his eyes got really big. But then Elder Nielsen explained it and it made sense to him that the Spirit world is actually a holding place. Then we talked about the degrees of glory. I gave him the pamphlet that talked about each kingdom and asked him where he would like to live. He said he wants to do everything he can to go to the Celestial Kingdom. We talked about the Holy Ghost, and he said this whole plan made sense to him and he had a feeling in his heart that this is good. We invited him to be baptized and he's agrred to February 19th. He does have some Word of Wisdom issues but he's working on that.

It doesnt stop there. We did some service at Victory and Elder Nielsen was talking to one of the volunteers, Antoine. He said he has nothing to do so he gave us his contact info and we stopped by. We talked about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Elder Mercado and Elder Nielsen committed him to pray about the Book of Mormon. As they were talking, I was listening and praying and the question came to my mind, "Should I invite him to be baptized?" After I asked that question, the answer was, "Why not?" So we firmed him for February 26th and he said yes. A couple of days later, we taught lesson 3 and the spirit was very strong. At the end, we asked him how he felt and he said, "Good." We asked him why and he said, "Well, it's the Holy Ghost." We also talked about repentance and after committing him to repent, we asked him why he was so willing to do that. He said, "Well, I want my family to see a change in me, and today I did some things that I shouldn't have and I know that repentance will help." He is so prepared and is very excited to be baptized.

Saturday, we stopped by this potential's home and talked to the man living there. He said the people the missionaries were working with previously weren't living there but he said we could come in. We talked a little bit about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon and he said we could come back on Monday at 4PM.

Miracles are happening in Banff and the Lord is defintiely the reason. I wish you could have seen the San Juan family baptized. The Spirit was so strong especially as we watched each one of them walk into the font and watch each other make their first sacred covenants. I was able to confirm Florentino. After the confirmation, tears were pouring out of his eyes. Elder Mercado confirmed Divine and Elder Nielsen confirmed Dorothy. Brother Mooney confirmed Norma and Jessica. It was incredible to see the Spirit and to be able to feel God's love in that room. One thing that has really impressed me about this family is their faith and testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith. A special musical number was played "Joseph's first prayer". If only you could see their eyes as that song was played, then you would know why missionary work is done.

I love each of you and I know your prayers for me have been heard. I pray for you each day and hope that you can be able to share the gospel.

Love,

Elder Madsen

January 31, 2011

Hey everybody!

I had my first Chinook this week. It was awesome! 14 C outside and the sun shining with the snow melting. It was great. Now the Chinook is gone and it's -25 C. Oh well!

This week was pretty incredible but it's going to get better (especially on Wednesday and Sunday). We went over the baptismal interview questions with the San Juan family and they passed with flying colors. Florentino is still staying away from coffee and Norma came to church this Sunday. The baptism will be on for 6:00 on Wednesday at the Calgary West Stake Center. It feels like Wednesday is going to take forever to come. Their confirmations will be on Sunday. I'm confirming the dad!

Saturday night, we were supposed to have a dinner and a lesson with Lorne. We knew we should have back up plans for that so we scheduled a back up plan for that evening with members. It turns out that both of our plans went through that night and we wondering what we were going to do. Then the zone leaders called us and challenged us to find a new investigator by the end of the night. After that phone call, I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt! We flew from place to place looking. We stopped by the gas stattion where previously, the worker told us we could come by and share a message. However, he said he was moving to Ft. St. John's. We all had a good feeling we should stop by and invite him again anyways. I went in and asked about Fort St. John's and he said he wasn't moving for another couple weeks. I told him that this message was for everybody and it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, God loves you. He said, "Oh no, that's not what I meant, I've just been really busy and so give me a call Thursday or Friday and I'll tell you where I live and you can stop by." That was 10 minutes after the phone call.

Then, we went to another potential's home. His name is Ron and he's Jewish. We've stopped by before and he said he's a "loner" and likes to learn on his own. We stopped by and he turned to his wife and asked, "How much time till dinner?" She tells him half an hour. Ron says, "Come in, I'm going to grab my triple!" He runs downstairs and has us sit at the table. He then asks us what we learned this morning (I guess he's met missionaries before). Elder Nielsen talked about the brazen serpent and we talked about how simple it is to come unto Christ so that we can be saved. To make a long story short, we invited him to be baptized on February 19th. He said no but appreciates what we do trying to help others. He said, "I'm just not lucky like you guys." He said if he prayed, he knew the Holy Ghost would give him revelation and if he does come to know that Christ is his Savior, the LDS church is the one he wants to join. We asked if we could come back and he said anytime.

I know the principle of planning is real and needs to be taken seriously. God wanted us at those 2 places on Saturday and that's where we were. I know that God has placed me where He wants me, now I need to figure out why.

I love you all and you are always in my prayers. I got the letter from you Gerry which was awesome. I'll be writing back shortly

Love,
Elder Madsen

January 24, 2011

Hey eveybody,

Well, I'm very tired and drained mentally especially with the San Juan family but I got 2 companions to helpme out.

We met with them on Tuesday and finished the lessons. Obey the law of the land... does that include speeding?... something to think about. Anyways it went welland they want to be baptized on the 2nd. Please pray for this family to be baptized specifically on that day.

As far as their spirituality, they are reading from the scriptures together and they each shared with us their favorite verses from the scriptures. Their faith is solid. Divine and Jessica came to the morning session and Florentino came to the evening sacrament. Norma and Dorothy had to work. Maybe the Lord knew they wouldn't be able to come on Sunday so He told them to get baptized next week? Norma is theonly one who hasn't been to church twice yet.

We met with Lorne on Saturday and taught the 2nd halfof lesson 2. We also showed him the movie Finding Faith in Christ. The Spirit was very strong and afterwards he said, "There's a lot of hope for me!" We invited him to be baptized on February 19th. He said he wants to still pray about it but he thinks baptism is "wierd". We toldhim about how it's a way the Savior showed us we need to follow him. I toldhim it was symbolic of how we wash our sins away and start a new life. It's now making more sense to him. His girlfriend (member) told him that we onlyinvite him to be baptized because we love him and she said," Everytime they come over, they're probably going ask youagain to be baptized but with a different date." I was so happy it came from her. So he's going to pray about it and we gave him another reading assignment.

Last time, we assigned him to read 2 Nephi 2 but he misread it and read 2 Nephi 12 instead. So, the first time Lorne readt he Book of Mormon was in Isaiah. He's going to be a solid member I tell you. Start them off strong!

There's a Bible Study going on Wednesday nights and we're doing our best to get people to go to that (Church is a higher priority though). The ward seems to begettingreally excited about missionary work. Elder Mercado's recent convert just got married to a guy she met online. He's a member and they want to get married in the temple sothat will be exciting... especially for Elder Mercado.

Well, I love you all and sorry these e-mails are shorter and there's not as much testimony but I want you to know that this gospel is true and I'm so honored to be able to share it.

Love,

Elder Madsen

January 17, 2011

Hey everybody,

So it turns out that Elder Mercado's lump was a cyst. We got it checked out on Tuesday and the doctor gave him some antibiotics and a cream. He's not having too much fun especially with all of the walking we have to do but it is getting better. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers.

Good things are happening in Banff. We met with the San Juan's on Tuesday and talked about following the prophet and the 10 commandments. So we emphasized the 4th commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. We talked to them about ways they could attend church and we invited Florentino and Norma to take their lunch breaks. Florentino isn't able to leave the hotel during his lunch break and Norma hesitantly accepted. They still want to be baptized and really want to attend church. Wednesday evening, we had dinner with President Yawney and he said we're going to do the evening sacrament meeting. So last night was the first official Banff Branch evening sacrament meeting. Florentino and Norma came (their daughters attended the morning session) and really enjoyed it. President Yawney and I gave short talks and there were 4 other members who came to help out. We had a 20 minute Sunday school class afterwards and talked about the church organization. The Lord provided a way for them to go to church just like we promised. It's wonderful to be able to see the Lord's hand work with everybody here in Banff to make it possible for this family to attend church and for them to be able to gain access to the Atonement.

We met with Lorne on Saturday and taught the first half of the Plan of Salvation. Sister Ganter-Pomares (Relief Society President) said that the Spirit has never been stronger in her home. Lorne is a very special child of God. He's had a rough past and is very susceptible to the Spirit. As he read from the scriptures in the Book of Mormon, he said, "You know, I have no idea what this scripture means, but it feels good." That's the kind of spirit this man is. We talked about Jesus Christ and he feels like Christ has been a guide in his life but isn't sure if he was actually a person. It's very complex but as he reads the scripture assignments we gave him, he will come to know who his Savior is like the rest of us have done. We invited him to be baptized on February 5th and he said he wants to think about it. He said he feels an instant connection with us and the members. We had to leave because of our curfew but afterwards, Lorne and Sister Ganter-Pomares were talking and Lorne told her he wants to meet with us agin on Saturday.

We found 2 Jamaicans on the street to teach and there's a Insitute/Bible Study class that goes on Wednesday nights that we invited them to. They know one of the members who is also a Jamaican so that helps out a lot. We now can invite them to the evening sacrament meeting as well.

I feel really blessed to be in this area at this time. There are so many miracles and the Lord has kept us in the dark for quite a while. Faith is the key in those moments and I have seen that over and over in this area. Allowing the Spirit to be the senior companion is the only way to go.

Love,

Elder Madsen

January 10, 2011

Hey everybody,

Thanks for all the e-mails this week guys... really appreciate it. That's okay though because I don't want to even think abouthome after this week.

This week waschalk full of miracles. On Tuesday, the San Juan family told us they wanted tobe baptized on Januray 17. We talked to thebranch and most of the families would not be able to make it to the baptism so they decided to push the date back to the 22nd. The 3 daughters attended church and loved it. Divine and Jessica have been to church twice now and Dorothy has been once. Florentino and Norma (the parents) have had work and it's been difficult for them to get Sunday's off. The branch was not supportive of the evening sacrament meeting idea so it looks like it's up to prayers and faith now.

As for the lessons, Tuesday was lesson 3 and it went awesome. We also taught about the Sabbath day and how we keep it holy. Divine said she wanted to go to church "again and again and again". There's a very powerful spirit to that girl. Thursday, we felt prompted to teach the word of wisdom, tithing andthe law of chastity. We were all very nervous because they're a very poor family and Florentino said he is a "coffee lover". Were also really apprehensive because at the end of our last appointment, they brought out Nestea and orange juice for us...We chose the orange juice. So we fasted and prayed that the Spirit would bear truth to this family about these commandments. We role played each principle and did our best to figure out how to resolve their concerns. We went in to the lesson and the Spirit was very powerful. We asked them "Who is Joseph Smith to you?" and Florentino blew my mind away. He read through the introduction of the Book of Mormon prior to meeting with us and talked about the Restoration andthe 3 witnesses. It was incredible. Elder Nielsen taught the word of wisdom and they said, "No coffee then... All right!" We then taught the law of chastity and modest dress. The parents were smiling. We then taught the law of tithing. We were concerned about how they were going to take this lesson but Norma said, "With God, all things are possible." They accepted 3 commandments without a doubt in their mind.

Afterwards, we brought up January 22nd. Norma may have a tough time getting that day off. For the closing prayer, Divine asked God to let her mom have the 22nd off because "we really want to be baptized as a family." You cannot tell me that there wasn't a divine power in that room that evening. This is a family whom God has prepared to come to the knowledge of the Restoration. Everyone in that room felt God's love because truth was being taught. The best part is that they recognized those things. They feel and know that this is God's truth.

Saturday night, we met with a less active girl and her non member boyfriend. Prior to the dinner, we asked Tiffany if she would be comfortable with us inviting her boyfriend, Lorne, to takethe discussions. She said she would wait but that if we felt an overpowering impression ofthe Spirit, we should. Well, we felt that Spirit right after she hung up. We went over and had a great dinner and we all really bonded well with each other. After dinner, before we even said anything, Lorne basically opened up his entire personal life to us. He told us about his rough past and how he came to know that God is real and how it's been a blessing. Each one of us were able to relate to him in different ways. He knows a lot about the church and even told us his body is like a temple. My eyebrows went straight up. This man has been prepared to meet us. We talked to Tiffany afterwards and she said that Lorne wished we could stay longer. She said he wouldn't stoptalking about us and there is something about us that he enjoys. So Saturday at 6 PM, we will be having a dinner and a lesson.

The Lord is working his hand in Banff. That is truth. I know that as we continue to work hard and be obedient and let the Lord lead us through the dark, God's prepared children will be placed in our paths.

Love,
Elder Madsen

January 3rd, 2011

Hey everybody,

Well transfers were only 5 weeks this time but it looks like Elder Mercado and Elder Nielsen and I are staying together for another one. This will be pretty exciting staying together especially with Elder Mercado's expertise with the Filipino community.

This week was pretty awesome! We met with the San Juan family and taught them the 2nd half of the plan of salvation. We asked them where they wanted to be at the end of this life and they all said the celestial kingdom. We then invited them to be baptized on January 8th and they said they would call us on Thursday. Before we ended we asked them why they wanted to be baptized and they each gave a different reason: to be born again, to come closer as a family, to have a peace of mind, to find out what their religion is and also because it's a commandment. We then asked what their concerns were and they just said they want to be sure that this is something they want to do. We then invited Florentino to offer the closing prayer and to ask Heavenly Father if this is something they want to do. He gave the prayer and the Spirit was way strong. We also reminded them that after the prayer, to listen to the answers that Heavenly Father is giving them. After doing that, we waited until Thursday.

After fasting and going through some physical struggles (Elder Nielsen got frostnip), we finally got the phone call we were waiting for! Florentino and his family want to be baptized together on the same day!!! The only thing is that they want to decide on a day tomorrow when we met again. Our prayers, your prayers and definitely their prayers were heard and answered. So tomorrow, we will set a date and continue to teach them.

We haven't been able to get a hold of Chris for these past 2 weeks. His job has changed and his phone doesn't work anymore. We're also figuring he's probably getting some outside pressure at the moment. Prayers for him to fight against Satan and to recognize the feelings of the Spirit he had with meeting with us will definitely help.

This is so awesome to be able to see the San Juan family's prayer answered and I am so excited to continue to work with them and see them progress and watch their faith increase along the way.

Love,

Elder Madsen