Monday night all of our appointments cancelled. It was 27 degrees outside. We didn't have anyone we felt like we should visit. Struggling to know what to do, we discussed as a companionship. Long story short, we decided to knock on some doors!!
We met a lot of uninterested people and got plenty of doors shut in our faces...yet we KNEW there would be one person to let us in. God works miracles in response to our faith and work-and we had both!! As we got to the end of the road a man named Andy answered. A goofy guy in his 30s wearing a graphic tee that he made (he's an artist). We explained who we were and what we were doing, but he just seemed confused. Despite his blank stares we boldly asked to come in and share a message. He agreed. We met his 10 year old son Cason who loves gaming and baseball. I don't know what changed but as soon as we got inside they were both super open to hearing what we had to say. We expressed our feelings of gratitude and love for the gospel.... the happiness and purpose and confidence it's given us. Andy wants to follow God and is willing to act on truth he finds. We told him it was no coincidence that we met him, because we have exactly what he needs! But of course, we are only here to invite. People must come to the knowledge for themselves through prayer and study.
Therefore, we invited Andy to ask God for himself. Despite the heaps of dog and cat hair on the carpet we kneeled to pray. Andy offered a beautiful prayer asking to know if what we taught was real and true. In that moment we all felt the love, peace and reality of God. Since then we've been able to teach Andy and Cason many great lessons. They came to church and Cason had friends from his school class there!!! They had a great time.
Moral of the story: Even when you are tired, not in the mood, freezing, or unmotivated.....work anyways. Believe the effort you are putting in now will benefit you in the long run. Remember, the rainbow comes after the rain. The championship win comes after hours of sweat and hard work. The miracles come after we step out on the water, trusting God will uphold us.
"Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6)
I know this to be true because I see it everyday. I absolutely LOVE my mission and wish everyone could experience the things I do! There is nothing that compares to the joy and happiness and excitement I feel!!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y'ALL!!! I am so grateful for everything in my life!!!!
Sister Ella Rae Madsen
love this girl so much!!!
making empanadas with our Venezuelan friend!!! my hair looks uber red here.....I promise it's not this bad in real life!! hahha
just strolling into our gated apartment complex that has a beautiful pond and willow trees!!! I LOVE it here so much!
collecting our mail and taking self timer pics! hahha
this man is a less active member of the church who we randomly met biking through a parking lot!!!! he bought us these hats to keep us warm!!!!!!!! ok for reals, this is the scariest picture of the hair. the flash was on....yikes!!!! but I couldn't resist sending this moment home!
bundling up for this biting weather!!!!!!! watch out Alabama!
all the missionaries in our zone put this together-it has nice things written on it from everyone!! and they baked us muffins! whaaaat this is the best zone ive ever been in!!! so precious!!
just one of my favorite little girls I met this weekend!
and her precious ginger brother who now looks like my twin!!!!!!! hahhahahahha
super cute little things we made for all of our sisters! we wrote notes on the back and are baking them pumpkin chocolate chip muffins today!!! yaayy so fun!
if you have not noticed....I DYED MY HAIR!!!!!!
we helped out at this high school art fair show thing and our friend was also performing there! so fun!
oh yes....with my broken umbrella someone we know gave me
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