Tuna grows on Cacti

Good week this week=) Honestly one of the best that I have had in the mission. Not only was the weather perfect all week and the night sky the very most beautiful, but we had a ton of success in the work!

I went on exchanges this week with Hermana Pardo and I love her so much. I learned a ton from her and am so grateful I got to know her=) She is from Chile, and we would've been dang good friends if we had been comps.

Then a miracle happened. We met Byron. He is from Colombia and had listened to all the missionary lessons twice and decided to get baptized, but had some issues in Colombia so he was headed to Chile to get baptized. Then he ran into a member from our ward here when he was leaving Colombia, and started talking to him about the church and the member found out that he was headed out to be baptized, so he invited him to be baptized in Bolivia!!!! And we have the privilege to be the missionaries to lead him into the water=) He really has a stronger testimony than many of the members I know. He is so ready for baptism and I am so lucky to have known him during my time here.

Also we went to the temple with some investigators this week and it was so special. We went around in the temple gardens, and with a bunch of the younger members in our ward we sung hymns. Even though Bolivians can't keep a tune, and it sounded awful to my ears, the spirit was definitely there=)

Love you all!

Fun Facts:

- There is a fruit that grows on the cacti here and it is soooo yummy. It is called Tuna!

- Even though there are "seasons" here, the trees ALWAYS have leaves. They never turn red and yellow, and they don't fall off!

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

~Hermana Madsen

nt the days, make the days count!

~Hermana Madsn

--

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

ermana Madsen

Short one =)

{looks like flood cleanup still}




{lunch at this member's house - Hermano Denis}

{I know Hna Piguave's eyes are closed, but it was the best one to show these goblets? I can't tell what they're used for, but they are distinctly animals' hooves!}


I'm basically out of time, but I wanted to share a short spiritual experience.

This week we arrived at an appointment to teach an investigator named Nicol. There, we invited her sister to listen to us too, and she loved what we had to say, and accepted the invitation to pray about the church and the plan of salvation. She didn't do it the first time, but after we taught the first lesson, the restoration, she prayed, and said she got an answer that yes, the church was true. She accepted a baptismal date for March 23 with her sister. 

And then at the end of the lesson I asked her how she felt, because I was feeling the spirit very strongly. Her exact words were, "I feel really happy... because I am going to get baptized." That absolutely made my week. She recognized that she was going to do the right thing, and was very happy with her decision.

I am not doing any work. I know that the Lord is working through me. I can feel it in every lesson. That the words that come out of my mouth are not mine, and they are exactly what every investigator needs to hear.

I hope you all have an amazing, safe week!

{SNOW on their mountain during the summer?!?!?!?!}

Fun Fact:

- All the kids here when they are little get this vaccination shot that leaves a super big scar that looks like a bullet wound that they have for the rest of their lives.

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

~Hermana Madsen

It's raining, it's pouring, we are never boring!

{I made the kids think of some new words to that song, because The Old Man is another way of referring to your dad, and it's such a derogatory, stupid song... but we never got very far, so all they would sing is, "It's raining, it's pouring, we are never boring."}





It continues to rain basically all day everyday. At the beginning of the week, the rain affected Cochabamba in a devastating way. About 10 minutes north of my house, a river became so full and strong that it created a landslide. The muddy earth took out many houses of the people in the town of Tikipaya.

The amazing thing about Bolivia is as soon as this happened, there were people wanting to help. The people of Cochabamba have gotten together and worked to clear the mud and make a pathway for the river. They work all day in the pouring rain, with their own hands. The Church has been a big part of the help. Sending their group of "Mormon Helping Hands," that constantly get caught on television.

I got the opportunity with my companion to go and help them too. We went with the YSA members of our Stake to bring hot chocolate and bread to all the workers and all the people who are in shelters who have lost their homes. 

I have never seen anything like this in my life. The streets are completely full of mud. There are 2 meter high piles of it on the sides of the road where they have already cleared a path. The houses are completely destroyed, and the river is still moving very rapidly. There are hundreds of people that we saw without homes, without food; they are suffering, but they are always so grateful when people bring provisions. That is one of the most incredible things I have seen.

The people of Cochabamba have already given so much for those who don't have anything. They have beds, blankets, water, food, shelter, clothes etc. in the shelters. Even in one of the poorest countries in the world, they give all they possibly can. 

I am so grateful for this experience I had. It was an adventure that humbled me. As missionaries, we serve. The service I lended this week was very unique compared to what I have done the rest of my mission. But I know that I don't have to be giving out food to the needy to consider myself in the service of my fellow man. I will continue serving and helping people in EVERY way I can.

Fun Facts:

- The school bell next to my house sounds like a bombing alert

- CARNAVALES: a time in Bolivia and other South American countries when the people celebrate by throwing water and silly string and foam. They also drink over the course of these 3 days all day long. So we gotta stay inside our house all day tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes! 

{Hermana Jeppson!!}

{I absolutely love this candid picture, probably taken by her companion.  I want to see Miranda in her everyday life!}

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

~Hermana Madsen

"Those were my favorite shoes! I hate this jungle!"

{Yzma, "Emperor's New Groove"}

I attribute this movie quote to my wonderful ex-companion Hermana Jeppsen. It is DANG mucky here in my area. You can't escape the mud. I actually love it! It gives a little more adventure to the work! But yes, I completely trashed my favorite shoes. Also it has been raining basically all week and I was so happy when the sun finally came out to dry it up and give us some sunshine. 

Also because it has rained so much there are floods in some parts of Bolivia and a lot of people have lost their houses. So please keep those people in your prayers.


{Don't miss the Christ statue, "Cristo de la Concordia" on the hill here}

{Miranda's new companion is Hermana Piguave from Equador!}


{This is not her new comp - She must just really like to see her.  Hermana Mendoza}


{Here she is}

I learned this week even more how real God is. He is in all the little things, and I feel His presence so strongly. 

When I most felt His presence were the times I saw little miracles. God gives hope. There is an investigator who we visited this week named Tania. It was a tough lesson because she is still a teenager and doesn't understand a lot of things very well still. I didn't have a lot of hope that she was going to progress, but she was my new companion's first investigator she's met on the mission so I wanted to be hopeful for her. Sunday came around and we went by her house like always to bring her to church. She started giving excuses about her clothes or money, and we came up with all the answers, so she started getting ready to go! THEN while we were waiting for her, her cousins asked if they could come too! They asked permission and got ready to go! They all came to church and I was so happy!

God works miracles. We got to church with the 3 cousins, and they loved it. But also there was, sitting in the chapel, by choice, in her dress, another woman named Patricia. Turns out that her family had talked to her about the church, she moved here, and went looking for the church. Basically she just appeared right in our hands. We get to teach her later this week=)

God is here. With a new companion fresh from the MTC I actually have no idea what I am doing. But I have just put my trust in God and completely give my will to His sometimes. And when I do, I definitely feel Him there. He guides me and gives me the right words to say and how to contact, and make the biggest difference I can in the lives of my loved ones.

Love you all!

Fun Facts:

- As a new missionary my comp hasn't completely adapted to the mission life so she still forgets sometimes that we can't greet the guys with kisses! haha

- I bought new shoes today, but it is so hard to find ones big enough for me because everyone is SO SMALL here!!

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

~Hermana Madsen