Sunday, September 11, 2011
letter 9/6/2011
Hey,
How are you doing? How is the family? Things are going good here. Just got back from Mahajanga and we are doing our email today since we probably wont be able to again until sometime next week or so. It was really nice to be able to get emails from everybody. I sure do love emails. Esspecially from dad. Haha they always make me laugh. So how is Nana doing? Is she going to be able to go into the temple soon. I cannot wait for her to be able to go. How is your scripture study going? Are you almost done with the Book of Mormon? I hope that you are close. It was way cool to be able to go back to Mahajanga. I was really happy to be able to see all of the members up there again.
I was actually really touched by some of their love for me. One of the members name is ***. He was one that I taught and baptised while I was there. When we went and visited him, he actually started to cry. I didnt know what to do. It was the last thing that I expected. I never really realized how much the gospel means to people. I was so touch to see that. I guess I always took those things for granted and never really thought about them. I shared a scripture with him that I really love in DandC 128 vs 22. And told him that even though the missionaries are always changing and leaving the love will always stay behind with us. I told him that he has made so many new friends and we must go forward with our cause so that we will be able to see them again in the next life. If we slack off and dont fullfil our works here in this life then we might not be able to be with them in God's Kingdom. I was really touched by the love that I felt from him.
So the missionaries are doing good in Mahajanga. ***** esspecially. We were able to go on splits with them up there. Haha I must say that you are becoming quite famous in all of the missionaries moms letters. Elder **** and Elder *******both said they new you and that you were best friends with their moms. Haha oh my. Well I am just glad that you are able to love the mission just as much as me, and that is the way it should be. But yes they are both doing good. I was able to go on splits with Elder ****** and teach with him. I should them around to all of the members there that they can teach and some less active members. Right now we are really focusing on working with the members. When the members help teach then the work just goes a whole lot better. It is our big goal right now in order to try and help get a temple into the land.
We also had the opportunity to take the Elders to a Ankarifasika, which is a rainforest that also has one of the rock forests as well called the Tsingy. It was really fun. I really enjoyed it, and I think that the Elders did as well. Elder ***** was also able to have one of his first baptisms in country in which he did in the ocean. He did a wonderful job and you could see the joy on his face when he was finished. it was really cool to be able to see. It is so wierd to see how many new missionaries there are. I am starting to notice that I am one of the oldest missionaries here. That is really wierd. I am not sure how much I like that. There is only one group ahead of my group right now. Gulp.
Things are going good though. Tell everyone that I am doing good and that I said hi. Now that we are back in Tana we are going to get back to getting things ready for when the Apostle comes. That is going to be so cool. I am really excited for that.
I will send you more pictures of Mahajanga when I get alittle more time. I was also able to eat sea turtle again while I was up there. Oh man it is soooooo good. I think that it is my favorite food.
Love,
Elder madsen
How are you doing? How is the family? Things are going good here. Just got back from Mahajanga and we are doing our email today since we probably wont be able to again until sometime next week or so. It was really nice to be able to get emails from everybody. I sure do love emails. Esspecially from dad. Haha they always make me laugh. So how is Nana doing? Is she going to be able to go into the temple soon. I cannot wait for her to be able to go. How is your scripture study going? Are you almost done with the Book of Mormon? I hope that you are close. It was way cool to be able to go back to Mahajanga. I was really happy to be able to see all of the members up there again.
I was actually really touched by some of their love for me. One of the members name is ***. He was one that I taught and baptised while I was there. When we went and visited him, he actually started to cry. I didnt know what to do. It was the last thing that I expected. I never really realized how much the gospel means to people. I was so touch to see that. I guess I always took those things for granted and never really thought about them. I shared a scripture with him that I really love in DandC 128 vs 22. And told him that even though the missionaries are always changing and leaving the love will always stay behind with us. I told him that he has made so many new friends and we must go forward with our cause so that we will be able to see them again in the next life. If we slack off and dont fullfil our works here in this life then we might not be able to be with them in God's Kingdom. I was really touched by the love that I felt from him.
So the missionaries are doing good in Mahajanga. ***** esspecially. We were able to go on splits with them up there. Haha I must say that you are becoming quite famous in all of the missionaries moms letters. Elder **** and Elder *******both said they new you and that you were best friends with their moms. Haha oh my. Well I am just glad that you are able to love the mission just as much as me, and that is the way it should be. But yes they are both doing good. I was able to go on splits with Elder ****** and teach with him. I should them around to all of the members there that they can teach and some less active members. Right now we are really focusing on working with the members. When the members help teach then the work just goes a whole lot better. It is our big goal right now in order to try and help get a temple into the land.
We also had the opportunity to take the Elders to a Ankarifasika, which is a rainforest that also has one of the rock forests as well called the Tsingy. It was really fun. I really enjoyed it, and I think that the Elders did as well. Elder ***** was also able to have one of his first baptisms in country in which he did in the ocean. He did a wonderful job and you could see the joy on his face when he was finished. it was really cool to be able to see. It is so wierd to see how many new missionaries there are. I am starting to notice that I am one of the oldest missionaries here. That is really wierd. I am not sure how much I like that. There is only one group ahead of my group right now. Gulp.
Things are going good though. Tell everyone that I am doing good and that I said hi. Now that we are back in Tana we are going to get back to getting things ready for when the Apostle comes. That is going to be so cool. I am really excited for that.
I will send you more pictures of Mahajanga when I get alittle more time. I was also able to eat sea turtle again while I was up there. Oh man it is soooooo good. I think that it is my favorite food.
Love,
Elder madsen
Sunday, September 4, 2011
letter from Bug 9/1/2011
Hey,
So this week I finally met the *******. They should have sent you a video message of me. I hope that you got it. I had them send it to this account. They are really really cool. Wow he is really good at what he does. He read me like a book. But the one thing that I loved about them was their personality. They were just fun people. Fun to be around, and fun to talk to. I really enjoyed them. We actually drove Elder ******* around alot. So I got to talk with him for quite a bit. I thought that it was really nice to be able to just laugh again. He is the funniest guy I have ever met. He reminded me of being back at home. All the jokes that we had. Plus he was very real. He was proud of who he was, and he didnt try to hide his personality or to hold back. He was very inspiring. Plus he really opened me up and saw how I ticked. He was able to get me to talk about everything. It was really wierd. He was able to get my trust. But it was nice to be able to talk to him about things. I have definately learned this week that no one is perfect, we cannot expect them too, including ourselves. By admitting our weaknesses it helps us to better fight them. It helps us to be able to become strong through the Savior. I have definately started to see more the significance of the Savior in my life. He is who I lean on for support. We all have the natural man, all those desires and wicked things, but through the Savior we can be lifted out of that.
One thing that ********* taught that I thought was cool, was how selfish sin was. In Moses 4 verses1 and 2 it talks about the pre earth life. It is when they are talking about the plan. He said count how many times Satan refers to himself. It is six. Here am I, send Me. When we sin we always are thinking only of ourself. We try to rationalize. Well you just dont know what I am going through. Or I am finding me right now. Why cant I be happy. It is always being so selfish. But then he said count how many times the savior refers to himself in the second verse. Not once. It is so powerful. I never noticed it. Once we stop thinking about ourselves and focus on others we are able to follow the savior. It really shows that principle of agency. Who are we choosing to serve, ourselves or the Lord. Once we are selfless we are able to draw closer to the Savior. I thought that it was very powerful. We need to ask ourselves, how can I forget about my wants and follow him. Pick up my cross and go to Calvary. There is a scripture in Matt 10 that says those that lose theirselves will find themselves. It is so true. It really felt inspiring to me.
Well tomorrow we are heading up to Mahajanga so I had to write you today. We will be back on Tuesday. I am so excited to be able to go back up there. I cannot wait to see all of the members up there. We are going to go up and do splits with some of the Elders up there. I am going to be so happy to see that area again. I would honestly live there I love it so much there. I cannot wait. So please tell everyone that I say hi. And to write me. Goodness they are worse than me at writting. I really like the pictures. They are way cool. Haha you must think that I am vacationing up here, with all of the cool pictures that I am sending. Sorry about that. I promise I do work it is just that the only time I really take pictures in on a pday. But I do have some good ones with members too. I am just sending you the exciting ones that show the highlights of the country. I hope that you will be able to come here someday. Madagascar is truly a magical and sacred place. I love it so much here. I feel that this country has stolen my heart and I will never be able to get it back.
Side note. Do you know how aunt ***** gets all of her sky miles and how I can start saving them up. ******** has invited me to come visit him in South Africa after the mission. They said that they can take us on Safaris and everything. They said they know alot of hook ups and for about one week for two people it would be about 700 dollars. That is food too. The only hard thing would be to fly there. But I know that ****** always is flying for way cheap and so I was wondering how she does that. i would love to be able to come back to mada and to africa. I love it here.
Love ya,
Elder Madsen
So this week I finally met the *******. They should have sent you a video message of me. I hope that you got it. I had them send it to this account. They are really really cool. Wow he is really good at what he does. He read me like a book. But the one thing that I loved about them was their personality. They were just fun people. Fun to be around, and fun to talk to. I really enjoyed them. We actually drove Elder ******* around alot. So I got to talk with him for quite a bit. I thought that it was really nice to be able to just laugh again. He is the funniest guy I have ever met. He reminded me of being back at home. All the jokes that we had. Plus he was very real. He was proud of who he was, and he didnt try to hide his personality or to hold back. He was very inspiring. Plus he really opened me up and saw how I ticked. He was able to get me to talk about everything. It was really wierd. He was able to get my trust. But it was nice to be able to talk to him about things. I have definately learned this week that no one is perfect, we cannot expect them too, including ourselves. By admitting our weaknesses it helps us to better fight them. It helps us to be able to become strong through the Savior. I have definately started to see more the significance of the Savior in my life. He is who I lean on for support. We all have the natural man, all those desires and wicked things, but through the Savior we can be lifted out of that.
One thing that ********* taught that I thought was cool, was how selfish sin was. In Moses 4 verses1 and 2 it talks about the pre earth life. It is when they are talking about the plan. He said count how many times Satan refers to himself. It is six. Here am I, send Me. When we sin we always are thinking only of ourself. We try to rationalize. Well you just dont know what I am going through. Or I am finding me right now. Why cant I be happy. It is always being so selfish. But then he said count how many times the savior refers to himself in the second verse. Not once. It is so powerful. I never noticed it. Once we stop thinking about ourselves and focus on others we are able to follow the savior. It really shows that principle of agency. Who are we choosing to serve, ourselves or the Lord. Once we are selfless we are able to draw closer to the Savior. I thought that it was very powerful. We need to ask ourselves, how can I forget about my wants and follow him. Pick up my cross and go to Calvary. There is a scripture in Matt 10 that says those that lose theirselves will find themselves. It is so true. It really felt inspiring to me.
Well tomorrow we are heading up to Mahajanga so I had to write you today. We will be back on Tuesday. I am so excited to be able to go back up there. I cannot wait to see all of the members up there. We are going to go up and do splits with some of the Elders up there. I am going to be so happy to see that area again. I would honestly live there I love it so much there. I cannot wait. So please tell everyone that I say hi. And to write me. Goodness they are worse than me at writting. I really like the pictures. They are way cool. Haha you must think that I am vacationing up here, with all of the cool pictures that I am sending. Sorry about that. I promise I do work it is just that the only time I really take pictures in on a pday. But I do have some good ones with members too. I am just sending you the exciting ones that show the highlights of the country. I hope that you will be able to come here someday. Madagascar is truly a magical and sacred place. I love it so much here. I feel that this country has stolen my heart and I will never be able to get it back.
Side note. Do you know how aunt ***** gets all of her sky miles and how I can start saving them up. ******** has invited me to come visit him in South Africa after the mission. They said that they can take us on Safaris and everything. They said they know alot of hook ups and for about one week for two people it would be about 700 dollars. That is food too. The only hard thing would be to fly there. But I know that ****** always is flying for way cheap and so I was wondering how she does that. i would love to be able to come back to mada and to africa. I love it here.
Love ya,
Elder Madsen
Sunday 9/4/2011
Sunday...
After getting home from church today I looked at my email and had the following message from *********.. I hope someday I can meet this couple in person..what amazing people they are.
Dear ***** - I am so glad you enjoyed the video postcard. Your son was even better than you described. He is absolutely delightful. His personality and his smile are so contagious. We were able to spend a couple of days with them and it was wonderful. You can be very proud of your son and the work he is doing. He is so positive and happy, we really enjoyed him. He and Elder ******* picked us up several times, we had dinner with them one night and they even accompanied us to the airport. My husband was able to spend more time with him and said "Elder ****** has an amazing heart and a bright future ahead of him."
I did do the kissing hand - he blushed and laughed but I could tell he was very touched - and knew just what it meant. He loves you and couldn't say enough about you and his family.
We had such an incredible trip - truly a memory that we will never forget. The people were so wonderful and kind. (Your son translated for us several times and did a great job with the language as well.) I am so happy we had the opportunity to meet him. I will be posting some pictures sometime this weekend on our blog - if you would like to see them.
Have a great day - know that your son is safe, happy and doing a great job serving his Heavenly Father.
Tia Ko Be, Bug, xoxo mom
After getting home from church today I looked at my email and had the following message from *********.. I hope someday I can meet this couple in person..what amazing people they are.
Dear ***** - I am so glad you enjoyed the video postcard. Your son was even better than you described. He is absolutely delightful. His personality and his smile are so contagious. We were able to spend a couple of days with them and it was wonderful. You can be very proud of your son and the work he is doing. He is so positive and happy, we really enjoyed him. He and Elder ******* picked us up several times, we had dinner with them one night and they even accompanied us to the airport. My husband was able to spend more time with him and said "Elder ****** has an amazing heart and a bright future ahead of him."
I did do the kissing hand - he blushed and laughed but I could tell he was very touched - and knew just what it meant. He loves you and couldn't say enough about you and his family.
We had such an incredible trip - truly a memory that we will never forget. The people were so wonderful and kind. (Your son translated for us several times and did a great job with the language as well.) I am so happy we had the opportunity to meet him. I will be posting some pictures sometime this weekend on our blog - if you would like to see them.
Have a great day - know that your son is safe, happy and doing a great job serving his Heavenly Father.
Tia Ko Be, Bug, xoxo mom
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