Week 39: I Read A Chapter Book

For those of you who really know me, you are aware that I dislike reading. But hey! I've found a new love on my mission. I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON!!! I want to read it again and again because it teaches me so much about life! It is simply the best.

The whole point of the Book of Mormon is to convince all men everywhere that Jesus Christ is in reality our Savior. It is a hard concept to grasp-that one man came to earth to pay for the mistakes we make so we can return to live with God. Some may wonder, is there really life after death? Is there really a God? On the flip side, if there wasn't life after death, what would be the point of building relationships, working hard, and making good choices now? If there wasn't a God, how would we be here? The world we live in is much too complex to deny the reality of a creator. Look at your hand, how does it work?!? Man I love the body!!!

Anyways, if there is a God, then what He teaches is true. We know the Bible is His word, and it teaches us about Jesus Christ. Christ came to earth, lived a perfect life, performed miracles, took on all of our sins, died on the cross, and rose the 3rd day.

Think about it like this, you are in class and the teacher asks, "who stole my pencil?!" Knowing that your best friend stole it, you stand up and take the blame. Because you LOVE your friend, you will suffer the consequences so they don't have to.

That is exactly what Jesus Christ did. As Miley Cyrus so wonderfully sings, "nobody's perfect", we know we will all make mistakes in life. And just as purified water is considered dirty even if one drop of unclean water is poured in, we too are dirty with one mistake. Water can't be purified without an outside source, no matter how much clean water you add. Parallel, we can't be forgiven and become clean without an outside source-that is, the Atonement (suffering, death, and resurrection) of Jesus Christ.

Last night I finished reading the Book of Mormon another time! What a joyous experience. Because of the peace and happiness I feel when I read it, I know it's true. Because it answers my questions, I know it's true. Because it teaches me how to be a better person, I know it's true. Because it teaches me about my purpose in life, I know it's true. Most importantly, because it testifies of Jesus Christ, who makes change and happiness and hope possible, I know it's true.

I am having the time of my life here in Alabama, y'all. And it's all because of HIM! I love Jesus! hahha I wouldn't want to be anywhere else! I love y'all, keep being the great people you are!

Love, Sister Madsen

some basics on the Book of Mormon:

http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/book-of-mormon

abandoned boat??!!! hahha so funny!

we love the green!!

Sister Williams in our ward saw my legs......then went to WalMart and bought all of this!!! My legs are COVERED in bites of all sorts, and she just couldn't handle it! hahha So kind of her!

Aldaberto!! Sister Brassfield and I met him in Piggly Wiggly, now the Spanish sisters are teaching him!! Yay!

Guntersville sisters!!!

I love Sister Downs! She is a wonderful companion!!!

another beautiful night on the lake!

Roll tide y'all!!! People are INSANE about football.

we were on top of the island!!! we could see the lake on both sides! SO GORGEOUS!

Week 38: More than Fried Chicken!

Last night we ate homemade fried chicken, biscuits, gravy, green beans, and chocolate pie with a member and her family! We asked them questions about their lives, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into.

Auntie Gale told us about how her father pulled a shotgun on her high school date. He came out in his underwear and told that boy to get off his lawn. Everyday she would be whipped with a belt, and if she cried, he would beat until she quit it. Uncle Tom shared how his parents got a divorce when he was young, so he was sent to live with his grandparents in Oklahoma. Every couple of months his mom would come to visit with a "new dad for him to try out". Sadly, they were all abusive alcoholics. At 12 he caught one of his 7 stepdads beating his mom, and so he pulled a gun on him. Luckily the new dad saw the reality in Tom's eyes and quit his beating.

After they finished their sad tales, they were fascinated to know our stories. They wanted to know what it was like to grow up in a "normal" family. Well that question just hit the gut. How can I sit here and talk about my nearly perfect life after hearing those stories?! Humbled, I told a little bit about my life back home.

They couldn't really wrap their heads around it, but were amazed at our Mormon families. Uncle Tom actually found the Mormon church later in life and joined. He always knew therewas something different about us, and once he actually he learned what we believed, he was convinced.

That dinner became a lot more than fried chicken. It helped me realize how lucky I am to be a Mormon. I am grateful we don't drink alcohol or smoke or do drugs...nothing good comes from that. It strengthened my testimony that Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God, for he received the revelation on our health code. When the church first established this commandment in the 1820s, tobacco wasn't bad for you. It wasn't until years later that science caught up.

God knows more than we do. If we follow Him, we will be protected. I know our prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson, is called of God. I've read his words and they are true!

Love your little southern belle,

Sister Madsen

(If you want to read something awesome from our prophet, look up https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng SO GOOD!)

another random man who let us dust his dead mothers house for 2 minutes....then gave us $20 for lunch.....hahhah

the district.

a random man we followed through the jungle to go meet his Mormon neighbor. hahha love this place! then he gave us veggies from his garden! MY FAV.

we finally got reusable bags!!!!! ugh thank goodness!! Alabama probably uses 50 trillion plastic bags a year!!!

it rains on the daily. we just get soaked. and we LOVE IT! the adventures never end!

love these girls!! one of them had to go home bc of her knee.....sad day.

hahahha trying to take a pic with all of us ain't easy with the self timer!!

after our southern meal, these 2 cute girls took the tractor out in the corn fields. totally normal.

Sister Calvert!! Best southern meal ever!!!!

auntie gale :)

these gorgeous Alabama sunsets get me every time! Guntersville is the dream!!

Last night we walked home in the rain! We went on the sketchy train tracks right over the water. It def reminded me of the railroad in SC going to the boardwalk! so fun!

I LOVE SISTER DOWNS! Best companion ever!!

Hump Day! Week 37

Tomorrow I officially hit my half way mark!!! I only have 9 months left! That is so crazy to think about!!!

This has caused some serious reflection to take place!! 9 months ago I left my loving family, fun friends, best college ever, and perfect summer job to move to Alabama.

Most of y'all are probably sooooooooo curious about why in the world I would ever do such a thing! Well I don't blame you for asking that question, I ask myself too! hahha

You're probably wondering, is Ella having some mid life crisis that made her move away for 1 1/2 years to go tell people about Jesus? Is she on some kind of weird spiritual journey? She must be super religious to do that.....something not many of us find favor with.

Well I will tell you why I am here! I am here because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true! And this knowledge makes me HAPPY! I want everyone to feel it!!! God sent us here to find joy, and that is the ultimate reason for everything we go through.

I've had my fair share of trials out here in Alabama, all of which are different than I was expecting. I thought waking up at 6:30am, being with someone 24/7, and not seeing my family would be the hard part. Boy was I wrong!! That's the easy part! hahha

The hard part is retaining a "perfect brightness of hope". I often wonder why in the world I got sent to the buckle of the Bible belt. I could be in South America helping many humble people find the happiness I have, but I am in Alabama where hardly anyone is open to learning. Staying positive after getting rejected day after day is more of a mental challenge than anything! But I love the challenge!!!!!

I don't have the answers to many things I wonder about, but I found this cool bible verse, "for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9) 

Heck! I don't know why things happen in life! I don't know why some of go through huge trials and why some of us seem to have seemingly perfect lives! But it does not matter, because I have learned to TRUST GOD!! I have felt His love uncountable times on my mission. These feelings carry me day by day, for I know God is aware of me.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!! The hard times make me stronger and I am unfathomably grateful for each experience. I love my life and my family and my friends and everyone reading this! God loves you too!!!! YAYYY!

Sister Madsen

it is sooooooo hot and humid here.....thus the elders bought me some water! hahha YUM!

exchanges with Hermana Wong!!! love her!

just some missionaries in Alabama. what a great life.

the wonderful gville missionaries! love it!

a beautiful butterfly.

I LOVE MY TROPICAL ISLAND!!!!!!! Guntersville is the best place ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Red, White, Blue...God Loves YOU! Week 36!!!

4th of July was soooo much fun in Guntersville! There is a long walking trail along the lake with grass where people set up camp for the day! Literally 2,000 people swimming, eating, barbequing, playing games, tanning, walking, talking, and enjoying the good ole south!

We were walking along the path when this shirtless, tattoo covered man came up to us and said, "you are pretty girls! I need you!" Very confused, we followed him to his families bbq. There we found his 15 yo cousin Seth sitting in a lawn chair getting yelled at by his family to believe in God. They were fiercely saying, "he doesn't even believe in god! he had some little girlfriend who turned him atheist! god is obviously real! just look around!" Shocked at the situation we calmed the family down. They had overheard our conversation about God and thought we could help. We decided to take Seth, the scrawny little boy on a walk so he could be away from his family pressure.

As we strolled along the path observing the beautiful lake and admiring all the different people we started to ask Seth questions. He opened up and told us he wasn't atheist, he just didn't know who God was. Perhaps he was an alien, he thought. We listened and discussed and helped him understand how we have come to know God is our loving Heavenly Father. 

We shared a scripture from the Book of Mormon about a man who is unsure of Gods reality, but prays to know if He is real. His prayer is as follows, "O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me" (Alma 22:18). We invited him to follow that example and pray. We promised he would feel God's love and gain an assurance that God is aware of HIM. Seth agreed and said a precious prayer as we stood under a tree.

He muttered, "Dear Heavenly Father, are you real? Amen." He opened his eyes and a smile stretched from ear to ear. We asked how he felt and he said, "incredible! I feel it inside!" As we made our way back to his family we asked what he had learned from our random interaction and he gratefully said, "Well I know God is real now. He knows me and will answer my prayers."

HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! I know God is real and that we are on His errands as missionaries. He leads us to the people who need Him most. It was clear to see the difference between his family yelling at him-forcing him to believe what they believe-and us just listening to him. As we listened with love he opened up and we were able to help him!

I love being a missionary! So many miracles everyday! That is only one small story!

Sister Madsen!

making homemade pancakes on the floor! no recipe! hahha love experiments!

I love my little island!!! :)

Huntsville Southeast Zone!!! What up!!!

precious little desserts! cheesecake with graham cracker sand, teddy grahams laying out on a beach towel of sour strips!

oh and we got those burgers for free! we joined a random family bbq! hhaha I love southern hospitality!

this is the walking trail! it was gorgeous when the sun set!

 our perfect apartment!!! so gorgeous! I love it here!

We went all out for the 4th!!!!! I LOVE RED, WHITE, and BLUE

Guntersville Ward missionaries! enjoying the 4th of July party!

4th of JULY was the most MAGICAL, MIRACLE filled, day ever!!!!! I love the gorgeous lake! thousands of people, hundreds of boats, and an incredible firework show put on by the city from a boat in the lake! what more could you want?!?! #America

just a few of the new friends we made at the park on Saturday while painting nails and doing face paint!!! SO FUN!