Week 73: Talk It Out!

Something really beautiful and awesome and life changing I learned this week is about COMMUNICATION!!! This is something I've wanted to master my whole mission, but never have...... this week God gave us the opportunity.

We experienced an incredible miracle, one different than all the others. Normally the miracles we see revolve around other people and how we find/teach them. But this week the biggest miracle was in our apartment, between Sister Moore and I, regarding our companionship.

We are extremely similar-we both love to talk, lead, and are bursting with energy! You can probably imagine how 2 Ella's would be a little overwhelming...well it was. We couldn't find the balance between talking too much and not at all, listening, and sharing the load. I was getting frustrated because I never felt like I had a chance to talk, she was getting annoyed because I wasn't being assertive enough! I had been praying extremely hard to know what to do, and the very next day in our studies we landed on the page "your companion" in the missionary handbook-NOT a coincidence!!!!!!! We read from it together and both nearly cried, thinking about how our personal studies were related to this exact topic. We realized we both had things to work on. We needed to talk things through and find a solution.

We shared perspectives, challenges, fears, feelings, etc. it was soooooooo cool to realize how we BOTH NEED EACH OTHER! I need her to learn how to love. she needs me to learn how to listen. we were able to get to a way deeper level and build trust, love and unity!!!

I know God puts us with the exact companion we need at the exact time we need them. There are lessons and skills and strengths I've developed because of the incredible companions I've had. I know God answered my prayers because I felt his spirit guiding and directing my every move. I know we all have weaknesses, but when we are open and humble we can turn them to strengths!!

I love my life and companion soooooooo much!! Things are going so extremely well and I am so blessed to have her!

Love,

Sister Madsen

our friends from the riverwalk!!! sister moores feet got DESTROYED by bugs that night!!!! poor thing!

district meeting on the river! it seriously felt like the sermon on the mount! so rad and beautiful and warm! I love it!

lunch with the footes! best salad of my life!!

sister moore's poor feet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she is a trooper.

we had to teach the restoration to our branch president and take a pic! request of president hanks! hhaha

taking pics by the river...... hahhahah

we made breakfast for dinner!!! love our roommates!

skylar from the branch! she made us delicious Korean food this week!

some more random friends! hahhaha seems to be a trend...... !

we taught the funniest best lesson ever to our friends who played for Alabama football and now play for the Chargers! We were sitting outside Chipotle and at first we were laughing because their gnarly rap music totally killed the spirit we had while watching the restoration with someone, but then we asked if they wanted to talk about Jesus so they got their food and joined us! such a good time!

sister moore, my love!!! such a great companion! I am so blessed!

Week 72: 2 Ears, 1 Mouth

As many of you know, I love the human body!! It is so complex and detailed. However, each person is a lot more than a body. On the inside we all have thoughts, feelings, and experiences that shape who we are and what we believe in.

This week we sat down to teach a boy named Ozzie for the first time, and he told us he was interested in knowing what Mormons believed. We could've thrown information at his face for an hour, but we decided to ask him questions first, then listen. As we did so, we learned he is a spiritual agnostic. He possibly believes in something bigger, just can't figure it out. He is super compassionate and believes in being a good person.

As we sought to understand him first, the words we said were guided by God. We showed him a video entitled "lessons I learned as a boy", which is about 2 young kids putting silver coins in an old farmers shoes. This touched Ozzie and he began to tear up. We told Ozzie he was feeling the spirit, which is manifest through love, peace, joy, warmth, confidence, assurance. The spirit comes from God and teaches us truth, exactly what he is seeking.

It was so cool to see Ozzie completely change. At the beginning he didn't know if he believed in God. And if he were to, how would he know? As we listened and testified and helped him FEEL the presence of God, his outlook changed. He learned God is real. We learned the importance of listening!!!

A few quotes about LISTENING that have really helped me:

"Before I walk in another's shoes, I must first remove my own."

We often enter conversations with preconceived notions or judgments. We must humbly see where others are coming from without assuming we are right.

"Do we have the solution before we hear the problem?"

When someone is expressing concern, we jump to conclusions and try to solve everything as quickly as possible. We would think a doctor was crazy for giving a prescription before diagnosing the problem, thus we should listen and learn before we give our 2 cents.

"Listening is never about you."

I enjoy talking and sharing what I know, especially as a missionary. However, this work isn't about me. It's about helping my brothers and sisters find truth-an identity as a child of God, purpose, peace, joy. We have to get rid of our selfish tendencies and focus on the other person! 

I am far from perfect, but listening is something I'm working on. I know God gave me 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. So let's all take a step back and listen. The person in front of you needs to be heard!!! And when people really feel and see your genuine attentiveness, they are more likely to share their personal feelings. You will be able to help others deal with their challenges and find answers. I know this is true and am so thankful for this learning!!!!

Sister Madsen

I am in love with UA!!!! Such a wonderful place!!!!!!

some classic bbq with the sisters!!! their "chips and salsa" was white bread and bbq sauce! hhaha

exchange with sister barton!

oh yessss I love my southern ladies!! those froes are rockin!

we really wanted chocolate chip cookies....then this member randomly made us some....such a tender mercy!

Pai!!! our lovely friend we are teaching from China!!!!!!!! she's the cutest and smartest little thing!

eating dinner on our porch in this gorgeous southern weather!!! loving it!

Week 71: Revelation Station

Something I've been thinking about this week is the beauty of revelation. So what is revelation? If we look at the root word, reveal, that means to uncover. We believe that each person is able to receive personal revelation, or communication, from God. He uncovers truth. We can receive guidance for our specific needs, responsibilities, and questions. We are taught in the Bible to "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).

I'll give an example of receiving personal revelation:

The other day I was on a weird kick wondering if I would ever get married....hahaha....so I just decided to ask God in prayer. I started reading my Book of Mormon and a few pages in I read this exact verse, "ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another...But ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another." How cool is that?? We are told to liken the scriptures to ourselves, so as I read this I felt Gods love and knew He was speaking to me!!! Some poor little children are going to have Ella as their mother one day!!!!!!!!!!!! hahha   

But in all seriousness, I know God answers our personal prayers. So if you have a question, pray and read!!! He knows exactly what we think, worry, and care about. He is anxious to help us and guide us, if we only ask for it! I am thankful for my knowledge of the truth. I love this gospel and the joy, purpose, peace, direction and understanding it brings to my life!!!

Sending my love from Alabama,

Sister Ella Rae Madsen

Week 70: Washed Clean

We all make mistakes in life, and boy can those get us down! After years of living all those little things we regret build up and weigh us down. The fact that we can be forgiven and those awful feelings of guilt, shame and embarrassment can be relieved is one of my favorite things about the gospel!! 

And how do these mistakes go away?? Baptism!!!! Because of Jesus Christs beautiful sacrifice, we can each become clean. When we are immersed in the water our sins are washed away. We can start anew. We can learn from the past and move forward with a determination to be better.

As missionaries we get to help people do this!! And on Saturday a 19 yo boy we've been working with got baptized!!!! He is from Montgomery Alabama studying biology at UA. He grew up Catholic but not practicing. Because of sad examples around him in the ghetto of Montgomery, he personally decided to live a morally good life. So when we met him a few weeks ago he was ready for truth. He had the desire to learn and follow God.

However, his family wasn't too happy about it. His mom called him Saturday asking what he had done the previous night and he said he was out with friends (he went to a trampoline place with our congregation). She inquired if it was the "mormons" and he said yes. She continued, "are you a mormon??" and stone said "not quite..." knowing he was going to be in a few hours. hahah. His mom tried to tell him that was a bad idea. After the call he began to pray, asking for help and direction. He is always shivering because of coldness, but as he began to pray he was literally filled with a warmth and enveloping feeling of love and peace. He knew he needed to precede with the baptism despite opposition from friends and family. 

From this experience I learned that truth from God impresses your soul so deeply that nothing can stop you from following it. Even though Satan put Stone to the test when his mom called, which she NEVER does, he was able to stand up for himself. I am so grateful God gave us the ability to make our own choices and that we have religious freedom in America! We are soooo blessed and I love everyone and everything!!!! The church is so true! I know it and love it!!!! 

Sister Ella Rae Madsen

at thai food with james from the branch!! he works on computers and considers himself to be a "casual nerd" hahah

yogurt with the Foote family! they are in the neighboring ward! 

FHE with sister hansen! 

we got matching sorority shirts. hahahhaahha. so classic. 

lunch with the district hosted by Elder and Sister Hansen from Oregon! I love senior couples!!! they are hilarious and so fun! 

this is a bit of an inside joke....but my companion is considered to be a "unicorn".....so i had to take a pic of this suit! haha

the library. 

just cruising on the Crimson Ride!!! so fun to meet people on! 

Stones Baptism!

Sim. The best branch mission leader ever!!!

Stone and michael

some of the branch eating lunch at the hansens again!! post baptism celebration! 

only 15% ??? hahha not true!!! 

the beautiful dock on tuscaloosa river!!! 

AUNT JANNA CAME TO VISIT!! I love her!!! 

our awesome missionary minded stake president!! he served his mission in alabama years ago!!! so rad! 

we made her go knock doors with us!!! hahah such a good time!!! 

Week 69: Pick up the Phone

Prayer. What an interesting concept-talking to a being who we can't see or hear. That could be very strange to someone whose never done it! We experienced this recently with our sweet friend Elizabeth (the Japanese anime girl). She is extremely smart and logical, and has been skeptical of religion her whole life. She never understood it or saw the purpose. In fact, it was always a burden for her to go to church.

When we first started teaching her she said she wouldn't pray because she is an adult, and needs to do things on her own. She shouldn't have to ask God for things. She needed to rely on herself and be independent. Though this idea makes some sense to me, we explained how God is our Father. Like my dad, He wants to help me, teach me, comfort me, and know how I am doing! Just like my dad would be sad if I never emailed him, so is our Heavenly Father when we forget to pray. 

So Elizabeth decided to pray for the first time. When she asked God if the Book of Mormon was true she felt "light and happy!!!" She shared her experience in sunday school and you could literally see her glowing!!! She is very reserved and quiet, but she was beaming with joy as she explained how she loves coming to this church! Even though it's 3x longer than others, she enjoys it! It has touched her heart deeply and she enjoys it!!!

YAYY!! I can't tell you how beautiful it is to see others discover the light and truth I've been talking about!!! Elizabeth now knows that God is real, He answers prayers, and the Book of Mormon is His word!!! So I invite everyone reading this to pick up the phone and talk to God. Ask Him a question. Tell Him what is on your mind. Thank Him. As you listen and wait for an answer, I promise you will FEEL His presence!!! 

I couldn't love my life more. It is simply the happiest time.

Sister Madsen

 just a few friends at FHE!!! stone in the front is someone we are teaching!!! whoo hoo!!

crazy kids photobombing us!! 

$5 Gyros with the Branch before institute!!! 2 of the people we are teaching came with us!!! so fun!!! and best falafel I've had in a longgggggg time! 

brent in the branch! we realized we have TONS of mutual friends from byu and it was so fun to bond over!!! shout out to ashylnn, afton, mikiyla, jr, bonnie, etc!!! 

Sister Warren!!! We love each other and share clothes everyday. It's the best. 

best comp ever!!!!!!!!!!!! 

all of our lovely sisters at zone conference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! soooo much fun!!! I love exchanges!!! 

 hahahah just taking selfies after planning. why not. my camera has been broken so finally i got a new one to use!!!!

we made a kazookie for some missionary friends. yum.

The Book of Mormon. The KEYSTONE of our religion!! hahah this is so cheesy and dumb...but we love finding treasures around campus! 

a casual day party on frat row. 

random room we found tracting in a fancy apartment complex! haha

teaching the plan of salvation at the mall saturday night!!! love me some t town!!

left to right: member. elizabeth who we are teaching!!! me. helmi from menlo park, also teaching her! sister warren.

church with maria!! she was baptized a year ago! love her!

Samoan FEAST with Jalaire and her mom!!!!!! Best meal ever!!! So full after that!!!!