Lots of beautiful things happened this week. But I feel impressed to share one lovely story with y'all!!
We drove to see a lady Mamie but she was not home. We saw 2 black guys sitting outside of her neighboring trailer.They told us Mamie wasn't home and we started a conversation. We went up to them and were just being friendly and open. One guy had a hood on with a hat and huge neon shoes and was bumping gnarly rap music super loud. the other was very overweight, was wearing 2 pairs of pants because one was sagging to his knees and the other was only sagging a little. I asked their names and the larger one said "God. Jesus" I was confused/could barely understand him so I just asked the other guy and he said "Rashad". At first they were just messing with us asking how many moms we had. As conversation kept flowing they became more and more sincere. Rashad asked what the difference was between Mormons and other Christian denominations. We taught them about prophets and priesthood authority. We explained how God loves all of his children equally and that he wouldn't just send prophets to teach/guide his children in the ancient times (Adam, Noah, Moses). Thus we have a prophet on the earth today-Thomas S Monson-who holds the same power (priesthood) that Christ had on the earth. Rashad was loving it, trying to say "Monson", but he was having a hard time. as we kept talking to him my love for him as a child of god was growing deeper and deeper. He turned off his crazy music and was fully engaged in the conversation. I was having fun with him, learning from his culture and just appreciating every detail about his countenance. We continued to explain that after Christ and his 12 apostles died, that power was lost from the earth. Then our home boy joseph smith comes into play because he lived in the 1830s and wanted to know which church he should attend. he read james 1:5 in the bible, "if any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of god". he surely lacked wisdom as a confused 14 year old boy. thus he went into a grove of trees near his house and knelt to pray. this is how he describes the experience "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. when the light rested up me I saw 2 personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. one of them spake unto me, calling me by name, pointing to the other, saying, "this is my beloved son, hear him". at that moment jesus Christ and god appeared to joseph and told him that he should join none of the churches. some time passed, joseph matured, and god sent angels to teach joseph what he needed to do about it. eventually joseph smith was able to RESTORE the same exact church that jesus Christ set up when he was on the earth. he got the priesthood power (mans ability to act in gods name) from angels. By this power he was able to translate the golden plates, which words are now found in the book of Mormon! SO RAD!!!
when we taught this to rashad and his friend-who told us his real name was frank- they understood. it made sense. You could see the light in their eyes growing and the nodding of heads agreeing as the Holy Ghost was confirming the truths we were teaching. Rashad really opened up and started telling us about his concerns and where he was at in his life. he told us he was lost. he said he was feeling down and sad until we showed up. he was so amazed that we were there talking to him because he had been praying for change. he said when we first pulled up and saw us get out of the car he was confused, "why in the world are these 3 girls in nice skirts driving a nice car in this neighborhood?" (I'm assuming the neighborhood is not very safe bc mamie wont let us come around when it is dark out). but he was SO THANKFUL that we were HUMBLE enough to talk to him. he didn't understand how we could possibly see the good in him. he told us he was a gang banger and showed us his tattoos. Nonetheless, he was inspired by our happiness and knew god had sent us there. he knew something was different about us. he felt gods love emanating through us. we explained that the great spirit/aura we had was the light of Christ in us, not us. we helped him understand that he could get the Holy Ghost and feel this same pure joy and peace forever! he said, "no. because yall brought it here and I cant go with you!" we all laughed.
as the discussion went on, he mentioned how we all have a purpose in this life, and that he thought us 3 sisters were fulfilling ours. he said we were angels. at this moment I was overcome with gratitude. being on a mission isn't always easy. yes I always sound excited in my emails because it makes me so happy, but that doesn't mean every moment is perfect. we work hard for our experiences out here. we study, pray, ponder, read, pray, pray some more- all day long. we wake up at 6:30 and don't go to bed until 10:30. and sometimes I doubt if im doing enough. when he said we were angels and that we were fulfilling our purpose I knew god was proud of me. god knows our hearts and exactly how we feel. he knows we are trying. and let me tell you-being called an angel is the most humbling, amazing thing anyone can say to you. he was genuine and I really did feel like an angel, truly on the Lord's errands. God placed two of his most incredible sons in our path and we were able to uplift them.
my heart was so full and the smiles we shared were genuine. rashad was also so very happy-it was miraculous just to see how his countenance changed as we stood there in the freezing windy weather talking to him. he felt the holy ghost (recognized by feelings of peace, love, joy, comfort, happiness). he almost cried and he admitted it "hey I aint fixin to cry now but what youre saying feels so good" it was beautiful to see such a tough, black gangster (literally) have a mighty change of heart because the he had been touched by the spirit. he said "yall are just so happy go lucky, how could I not indulge and see where this is all coming from?!"
I titled this story "ain't no room for judgement" because we can't judge a book by its cover. if we had, we would've been scared little girls who walked right past these thuggish black guys into our car, fearing for our own safety assuming they didn't want to talk about god. but we didn't. we recognized them as 2 of gods wonderful children just trying to survive this life. as a missionary I am truly able to see people as god does. we are all his children. he does not care where we've been or what we are wearing or how much money we have, all he cares about is where we are going. he wants us to be happy. he sees the potential we all have and that is what motivates me to keep working. I know everyone on earth can become happier and have peace in their lives through the gospel. And the moments when people feel God's love is priceless. They cannot deny it. Their faces light up and I see them as beautiful people, no matter what the world would see them as.
I know this gospel is centered on Jesus Christ and his atonement, which allows everyone to change. Christ suffered for the world, and all he wants is for us to turn to him. he is waiting with outstretched arms. he is here to help us through everything in life-he felt our sorrows, doubts, confusions, and pains in order to succor us. God and Jesus Christ love each of us more than we can possibly imagine. Their love is pure and boundless. it is always here. may we all give away a few more smiles and love everyone, no matter what they look like, is my prayer.
have a wonderful week and remember that god loves you!!!!!!
Sister Madsen
Crazy Christmas village!!!!!!
my camera has some cool settings hahhaha
Sister Jensen :) probably leaving for brazil soon!!
Kim, Javaris, Lil' willy, Sister Haws
sister Jensen and sister madsen.
umbrella!!! loving the fresh rain and cold!
we walked past a car show and decided to talk to everyone there! perfect opportunity! this old man gave us all these gift certificates and said we should "pay it forward" and give it to someone who would use it if we didn't want to! love it!
beautiful bama!
our district!!!!!!! I LOVE EVERYONE SO MUCH!
sister Cunningham-not even in our ward- left a package of hot coco, cupcakes, cider, marshmellows and a card at our door on the freezing day! such a miracle!
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