Jesus is...April 17, 2017

Who is Jesus to you?

Happy Easter

Sister Madsen

Ok one more picture. Exchanges this week with The Sister Kelsey
Jardine from The Lone Peak High School. Can't beat tracting in the
rain!

Very big THANK YOU to Doria Whitley for sending pictures!! We love bonus pictures.

And we talk of Christ April 10, 2017

This week was very good! I had some ideas of what I wanted to tell you this week but I am having a hard time remembering so please bear with me if this email seems to be all over the place. I think mostly what I wanted to talk about is being an instrument in the hands of God. They talk a lot about it in the scriptures and how that is when the people feel the most joy. So this week I tried to make that the thing that I desired most and it has been awesome!! I realized that if that is my biggest desire and focus then it is a lot easier to do things that may be difficult to do. If I hesitate I ask my self "will this be something that can help Heavenly Father" and then it is a lot easier to do it! So that is cool. We have a lot of investigators that I'm not sure how to help. A lot of them are progressing very slowly. Very slowly. And one of them almost wanted to give up. And outside of lessons with her I haven't been very charitable towards her and thinking she has been really lazy. So when she told us she didn't want to meet with us anymore I should have been kind of relieved but I could feel the spirit pretty much saying "what would Jesus do?" And I knew he wouldn't give up on her. And I told her that as representatives of Jesus Christ we wouldn't give up on her either. It ended up being a really great lesson and she opened up to us a lot about how for the most part she doesn't really understand a lot of what we are talking about during lessons. Which is GREAT to know. We are going to go back at a different angle that will,

 hopefully help her. Anyways we have had a great and super busy week in the trio. We are talking 4-5 appts a day. Some fell through but we have still been busy. So Sunday was very nice. We didn't have any appointments and we were able to share the #princeofpeace video with so many people!!! It was so cool. Everyone has had really positive responses. One man even told us about when he was a missionary for his church and he said something I thought was interesting. When he went out he met all sorts of different people. But the majority of the time it didn't matter who he met, if he asked if they could pray for that person they generally said yes. And I just think that is so cool because that has been more of a focus lately, praying with people and I nick that is awesome!! He was really nice. We met another lady named Cathy and showed her the video and for whatever reason the spirit was just very strong in her home as we were showing it to her. And she teared up and thanked us a couple of times. And that the video had given her a lot of peace that she didn't know she needed. She was so happy that we came over. 

These past couple of weeks I feel like we have been running into a lot of people who aren't really satisfied with the church they are at. As well as some who weren't so satisfied when they were coming to our church. But the reasons lately all seem to be the same. And is is that too many people are talking to much about themselves or other people or things and not enough about Jesus Christ. Or what He said and did, or how we can have a better relationship with Him. It's too much of all this other stuff. I went in to church and have gone in to teaching appointments with a very different attitude since. Always making sure I tie everything back to the Savior. And how we can better have a personal relationship with Him. I have felt so much love for Him this past week as I have been seeking to be more connect with Him and doing and saying things that are about Him. Easter is on Sunday. 

Sister Madsen 

Also please excuse any confusion or typing errors that may be in this email. I burned my thumb about an hour ago while making some tortillas.

Sister Fugal and I had a mac & cheese cooking competition. Captured by sister Morales #trio

It got.. heated 

You can still be cool, and be tight with the Lord April 3, 2017

A man who we are teaching who is thinking about being baptized but

also thinking about being a preacher said this to us last week.

I'm trying to think of cool things that happened this week but I

didn't even have time to write in my journal at all so I can't

remember anything that happened. Write in your journal people

Conference was great!

Being in a trio is still fun so that's good. Teaching is a bit tricky

but we are getting there.

The first couple days of this week were a rollercoaster but in the end

I am just grateful to be a missionary, and to be able to serve for as

long as I get to. As it is getting close to the end I started freaking

out a bit but it has only motivated me to work harder and go more

crazy talking to everyone we see and being bold.

But I am grateful for my companions. It is obvious to see the

different strengths each of us have and how we help each other.

Yesterday we went to visit some people that missionaries had been

teaching a long time ago. They all had moved but as we were driving

away to go see another person and I pointed out this really fat beagle

and sister Fugal slammed on the breaks and pulled over and said we

should go talk to the person who owns the beagle and we did and her

name was Diana and she is a high school English teacher and she is

great. GREAT. She was telling us how her job is her mission field as

she helps these young people. It was just a really cool experience.

She accepted a Book of Mormon but seemed a little hesitant so I don't

know what will happen, but it's just cool to be a missionary. You get

to meet so many people and feel the spirit all the time and study the

scriptures for fun and WATCH PEOPLE BECOME DIFFERENT PEOPLE. It's

cool.

I don't remember what talk but I'm pretty sure this was a quote within

the talk someone said but it was my favorite part of general

conference. The context of it was Heavenly Father talking to each of

us and welcoming us into His fold.. or something along those lines.

Anyways the quote was "come as you are but don't plan to stay as you

are" and I love that. On my mission I have definitely DEFINITELY

experienced repentance. And I have a testimony that we can change and

that we are supposed to change. Heavenly Father isn't satisfied with

who we are even when we may be. He knows we can always be better and

that is why there will always be challenges and trials and chastening.

Because he loves us.

I can't look at all my notes right now but from memory I would say

that my favorite talk was probably Elder Renlund's. I loved how he

said we should treat others the way Christ would, and then actually

explained what that means.

I also loved the one by Elder Choi about looking up and not around you.

Have a good week!

Sister Madsen

There are some future Mormons living in our apartment building
And this is the only other picture I took this week. I will repent and
channel my inner sister Dimond next week and be better