"¡Parece que son de un otro mundo!"

{looks like they're from another world!}


{Are those palm fronds and are they celebrating Easter week?  It's awesome.}



We had an investigator say this week that it appears that we are from another world!  She was saying this in response to the spiritual strength she saw in us.  I am so grateful I was born in the gospel and had the opportunity to grow that spiritual strength.  But something very valuable I have learned on the mission is that my strength doesn't come from me.  Every ounce of energy, strength, and power I have come from God.  Therefore I must give my all to Him and His work.

This week I think I grew more as a person than any MONTH in my life.  I learned so much about myself, about companionships, and about what mission work is REALLY all about. A lot of really cool things happened this week but a lot of them I can't share right now.

I can give my testimony and how it has grown.

God is All-Powerful.  We need not have fear of what Satan or man can do to us if we have God in our hearts and at our sides.  I testify of the redeeming power of the Atonement and of the influence of Christ in every life. I know that He will strengthen us when we turn to Him for guidance.  I also know that the adversary will work extra hard on us when we are close to God.  When we are about to achieve something magnificent, he closes in with all he knows to get us.  I have seen that many times in my life and in the lives of others.  I know the only remedy is to pray and serve.  Every day we feel the power of the devil, we should realize it is a sign of our divine potential and we must stamp him out of our lives.  The way he gets to missionaries is he does anything he can to close our mouths and keep them closed.  I learned that I must pray and ask for help to open my mouth.  It seems simple, and it is!  God works in mysteriously simple ways.  

My invitation to you all is to pray.  Simply pray with all the intention of your heart and you will receive guidance, comfort, and peace.  Sé que Jesucristo vive y vendrá otra vez.  Nos bendecirá cuando le confiamos. 

{I know that Jesus Christ lives and will come again. He will bless us when we trust Him.}

¡Les amo muchísimo! 

Fun Facts:

- Some houses here have signs that say "We are Catholic here and we will not change religion"... We still knock on those doors =)

- The taxis have little stuffed animals on their dashboards to protect their cars.

~Hermana Madsen

No cuenten los días, haz que los días cuenten.

Un Cambio en la Clima

So first off, all of a sudden it is winter and I am wearing my winter coat.  But then some days are like up in the 80s.  As is Sucre.

Also, something changed inside of me this week; I realized how weak I am.  Not in a bad way, in a very good way! I realized I am not the missionary I should be or that I can be.  I realized some of the goals of my mission were selfish and that this mission is not about my progress or how others view me.  This is about the people I am serving. 

One thing I had in mind before I came is looking 5 feet in front of me.  This week to me that meant focusing on the people right in front of me like my companion, my investigators, and the people that are placed right in my path. When I focused on that, all of a sudden we had so much success. 

Hermana Cardoza and I were able to grow so much closer as a companionship this week, and we set some goals that are going to make us so much better and more obedient missionaries.  And through that we saw some incredible things.  

First, the story of Limber.  He was introduced to the church a while ago and was attending institute, but didn't have any of the lessons.  He found us during some of our meetings and basically asked to be baptized.   So we visited him in the house of a member and set a baptismal date for 2 weeks and now we are teaching him everything super fast for his baptism.

Second, we were walking to go visit a contact, when a man sitting on the side of the road called out to us.  We started talking to him, and he said he had seen people like us in pairs, one white one latino, and always super friendly.  He had always been curious but never had been inclined to ask who they were.  As we talked, he was very curious about our religion and about the second coming of Christ.  I felt strongly that I should give him a Book of Mormon right there, which we don't normally do. I found out later that my companion had the same impression. He lives in Argentina, so sadly we won't be able to teach him, but it is so cool the miracles that happen to missionaries.

These and many other amazing experiences have helped me grow so much this week.  I am learning more the importance of being obedient and being focused.  I chose to come out on a mission for a reason, and I am finding more reasons every day to stay out here.




{getting desperate - street contacting the wild dogs}


{looks like they don't want to listen, either =(  }


{This photo bomb pic was so much better than the sterile nice ones that followed without this sister in them. =) }

I love my mission!!

Fun facts:
- For Easter here in Bolivia they make 12 dishes! I only had the opportunity to taste 3.  Arroz con leche, papas rellenas, and umintas.

- Also I was offered beer for the first time in my life this week! woot!

{And this one is that moving day, helping the woman move to another apartment; loading her things onto this trailer-looking thing with Hermana Baltran on exchanges}

Don't count the days, make the days count!

~Hermana Madsen

"...Fuerza como no se conoce entre los hombres"

{Translation of post title:  Strength as is not known among men}












{the blessed pensionista who cooks the noon meal for Miranda every day.  I appreciate this woman so much}



Every morning during companionship study we recite D&C 24:12 which says, "And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night.  And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men."  I always knew it meant spiritual strength, but I didn't know it could mean physical strength as well... until this week.

First off, this week was another hard week emotionally.  Out on a mission if my thoughts start being directed towards home, it is very hard to stop.  It is really hard to not think of the future and what it might hold.  It is hard to not make plans for when I get home. One of my goals starting the mission was to "keep the future foggy" and let God direct my life right now.  I used this phrase a lot this week when I would start thinking of home.  Sadly, at times I pleaded with my Heavenly Father to help me just forget home, forget my family, forget my friends so I could focus on opening my mouth and declaring the word.  And guess what?? Prayer works! Honestly God gives and gives and gives to those who have faith that they will receive.  I learn that more every day.  One thing that was commented to me was how much I seem to love prayer, and I do! I receive so much personal revelation and strength through prayer, just as promised.

Second, I found out that God supports His missionaries physically.  Saturday I was on intercambios with Hermana Beltran (who is amazing) and we had a bunch of lessons planned during day.  But right after lunch our investigator Heidy (The one looking for a room with her baby) called us and told us she found a room and she was moving that day and she would like our help.  We gladly accepted the offer to provide service, and figured it was okay to skip some of the lessons that weren't really set in stone. This is where our physical strength was tested.  We helped her move all of her belongings from her room on the third floor to the ground floor, from there down two more flights of steps to the moving truck, and from the moving truck up to her new room on the fifth floor.  Yep.  Us two sister missionaries.  We didn't go change into service clothes because it was such short notice, so we helped in our dresses. We also didn't call the elders to help for this reason.  But I know that we did not do it alone.  God promises us angels as missionaries, and there were definitely angels keeping us from falling and supporting our strength. And through it all I was just happy.

I invite you all to study this scripture and ask God sincerely what you can do to receive this kind of strength, too.

I seriously love you all!  Each one of you. Se lo prometo con todo mi corazón.








{don't miss the lighted cross on the hill}

Fun facts:

Cholitas like to go to the bathroom on the side of the road.

I hate chuño. 

I finished one cambio (or 6 weeks) here in the field!!!

Don't count the days, make the days count!

~Hermana Madsen

Cuando toca toca, pero. ¿No ve?

Wow! I love Spanish and I love Bolivia! 












{fried chicken feet!}

Cuando toca toca is something that our zone says all the time and I really like it because it translates to when he knocks, he knocks. 

This for me really means that when the Lord has work, it is on His timing. There were a lot of times this week that our plans changed according to promptings of the spirit and "convenient" sequences of events (aka: God set it up to be that way).

One example is after general conference on Saturday we had a lesson planned with an investigator family, but when we got there they had left, so we were wondering what to do (because we hadn't made a back up plan.. whoops).  And into my mind popped the name of our investigator Andrea, who we hadn't been able to visit for a long time because she was always busy.  Since she had always been busy, my companion doubted she would be available, but when we called she said she was free and just hanging out at her house.

So as we changed our route to walk to her house, we came across this woman on a street we would not have previously taken.  We started talking to her, and my companion realized she had contacted her before but hadn't been able to meet with her.  She had just been taking a rest from walking when we encountered her... she didn't need to, but something made her stop in our path!!! 

So after helping her to her house we continued to Andrea's, and really we came at a perfect time in her life to share our message that day.  It also gave me the opportunity to gain her trust a little more, which I am grateful for, because when my companion leaves, I am the one in charge of being the friend of our investigators.

One thing that stood out to me in General Conference is the importance of listening to the spirit.  I know that God has His hand in every event in our lives.  How we respond to it is our choice, and if we are in tune with the spirit we will never choose the wrong path.

Also if you haven't already, you should go look up the church's video for Easter... Prince of Peace! 

Love you all!


{I think they're flying back for zone conference}

{those are 4 different languages}

Fun facts... Here in Bolivia they kinda just add "pero" to the end of everything.

They also say "¿no ve?" where we would say "right?", so... a lot.

The Cholitas speak a different language... Quechua! and I am learning a little in order to communicate with them what I can!

{and a "twin" banana" - the peel had 2 fruits in it!}


Don't count the days, make the days count!

~Hermana Madsen