Hay un abudancia de Zancudos en Bolivia

Zancudos is the word for the freaking mosquitos here that are eating me alive. We were in a lesson on Friday teaching an older man, and we couldn't close the door to his living room because we were teaching him alone. So all the mosquitos came in and drank up all my blood. 35 mosquito bites just on my legs. 

#MisiónBoliviaCochabamba. But I still love it here=)

This week was my birthday! My day honestly started out terrible. All of our appointments that are usually always there no matter what fell through, none of the doors we knocked on were interested, and it was very hot and we had no water. BUT we had an activity planned that night to get references from the members. When we got there it was 7:00 and the activity was supposed to start at 8. At 7:45 nobody had shown up to the church... I was just thinking negatively that we would not have any success just like the rest of the day and my birthday would just turn out a dump. BUT finally at 7:50 everyone showed up and they brought tons of food and tons of investigators! We finally started the activity at 8:40... haha Bolivia=)

The activity was a talent show, and the first number we sang as the missionaries. Once we finished singing, our ward mission leader surprised me and had the entire ward sing to me. Then, yes, I was submitted to the cruel tradition here of getting my face smashed in cake. It was wonderful=)

We also got to go to the temple grounds with a new investigator named Giovanna. She has listened to the missionaries for YEARS but finally decided that she was going to accept it and take it seriously.  She has a baptismal date in December that I am just hoping and praying that she will reach=)

Everything is great in the mission and I am so grateful to be here even though it is hot and hard. I love my mission.

Fun Facts:

-There is no such thing as taxes here!

-They have a tradition in some catholic families called Umarrutucu. It is as follows... Babies grow out their hair until their first birthday, then the godparents of the child organize a party in which everyone brings money, and the godparents tie the baby's hair in a bunch of ponytails and every person who cuts off a ponytail has to give the baby money. And at the end they count the money. If it is not evenly rounded to the nearest  thousand, the godparents have to give how much money it will take to round it off. Never seen it, but I heard about it this week!















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

~Hermana Madsen

¡Yo te esperaré!

{New companion, Hermana Retamal from Chile!}




There was a young guy who yelled out to me from his car, "I will wait for you!"... So if all else fails, I have him to fall back on... hahahah!

This week was HOT! We were outside a lot, contacting, and looking for new people to teach. While my family is looking forward to snow, I am here waiting for the rain to come and save us from the heat! But I love it=)

We went to a wedding this week! It was for two investigators who are ready to get baptized, all they needed is to get married. It was really cool to see how they get married here in South America. The Lawyer came and not only recited what she had to to make it official, but she explained the responsibilities of being married. She explained that they would have to make decisions together and support each other in life until death. It was a beautiful thing to see, and they were so happy=) It also made me a little trunky (aka homesick) because I wanted to dance at the party after so bad!! Haha!

Something I learned this week is the importance of humility. When we are humble, we are willing. We are ready to do whatever the Lord might tell us to do. When we accept His help we are blessed. He understands perfectly what our weaknesses are and what we can do to overcome them.  2 Corinthians 12:10 says, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong". When we take on the pressures of the world for Christ's sake we are strong. 

Take on your struggles one at a time and trust in God=)

Fun Facts:

-My companion loves playing with Tarantulas but she is deathly afraid of Cockroaches.

-The ground here is burning my feet through the bottom of my shoes!

{Miranda uploaded this same picture without her in it, which brings out the incredible sunset, the foliage behind her, the barbed wire... all the details.  But this one is much better with her cute self in it.  =)}

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

~Hermana Madsen

¿Sus dientes son originales?

{Are your teeth original?}







Super fun week this week with Hermana Retamal. The title comes from a very interesting conversation we had with a drunk guy. He came up to us while we were talking with an investigator outside a pub. He started flirting with us, telling us how pretty our eyes were, and then he stopped and said "pardon me, one question... are your teeth original?" HAHAHA! For those of you who are wondering, YES all my teeth are mine, and I am proud of it!






{her guitar she bought over there for her birthday}

This week we taught a lot. There are a lot of really good people progressing, and the ward is helping us a lot. It just doesn't show in our numbers. Although numbers don't determine success, they're there for a reason. They are there so we can learn to make goals and work to reach these goals. For those who don't know, in the mission there are 4 numbers we have to report every week.  How many baptisms we had, how many investigators have baptismal dates, how many investigators attend Sacrament meeting, and how many new investigators we found during the week. It is difficult when you don't have high numbers to show your progress, but you just have to remember the good you did, and the difference you made in the lives of others during the week.

Something I can look back on this week is sitting in the park waiting for an investigator to arrive. He never did. But while we were waiting, we saw a woman with special needs crawling in the street pushing her own stroller. We looked at her with pity as many people passing did. But then we remembered how special she was to God, and who we are here representing.  We went over to her, helped her into the stroller, and asked her where she wanted to go. She did her best to express herself, and we figured out she was headed to Catholic mass. We helped her over to the church, and everyone welcomed her and asked US why she hadn't been attending for so long. Of course we had no idea, and we'd prefer that she attend the church with us that is literally less than a block away, but we just did what we knew Christ would have done if he were here.

I didn't see a lot of success in numbers this week, but I saw the power of God working in many lives, and that is what matters most.

Fun Facts:

- My area is right next to the Airport, so I have learned the difference in the sound of an airplane taking off, and one landing.

- Here they drink more Coca-cola than they drink water. My teeth are suffering from all the soda they give me.

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

~Hermana Madsen

Día de los Difuntos

{Miranda's vehicle she drove in high school was a red Jeep Cherokee that she named Rocky}



Ok this week was crazy! To start, we have transfers! Hermana Pastillo is leaving me behind in Jaihuayco and I am getting a new companion named Hermana Retamal! I am super super sad that Hna Pastillo is leaving. She has come to be one of the best friends I have ever had. But I know that even the best things come to an end during this life. I also know that she is a friend I will have for eternity=)

So the title is because of Halloween. Fun Fact: Halloween still isn't very big here in Bolivia. What is big is what they call Día de los difuntos. It is the 1st and 2nd of November. They say that it is 24 hours when all the spirits are released and can come visit the earth again.  So to prepare for their visit, they set up tables with pictures of their dead loved ones, and put flowers, breads, cakes, drinks, candies, etc. to give them when they come. Then at night, the kids all go around with their backpacks from house to house to collect the treats from the tables. But to receive something from the table, you have to pray the Catholic prayers a certain amount of times. Super cool and SUPER different from our culture=)

My week was filled with miracles every single day. The biggest miracle for me was meeting Maribel. We contacted her mom a few days before, and when we went back for our appointment, she told us that she was busy because she was taking care of her daughter who had gotten in an accident. We asked if we could bring her an ice cream to cheer her up, and she accepted! When we met Maribel, I just wanted to cry. She had an accident on her motorcycle that left half of her face completely disfigured. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and let her know that it was not the end, that God gives us really hard trials to test us and to help us draw closer to him.  I know that she really might have gone through the accident just to find the gospel. She may have been too busy to ever listen to us. But now she has more reason to believe there may be something better after this life.

We also went to the temple this week. I absolutely love the temple, and I know it is the house of the Lord. I know that it is the only place the adversary cannot enter. I know I am safe there, and that I am so blessed to have a place where I can be closer to God.

I love you all and I hope you have a successful week!

Fun Fact: There is a sweet lady here that always sits outside her house all day, but when we turn onto her street, she runs as fast as she can to hide inside her house, or if she doesn't notice us in time she covers herself up with her shawl and won't say hello to us even when we greet her hahaha!

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

~Hermana Madsen