Heavenly Father Will Help if I Put In My Half February 15 2016

hey family! 

this week was good. so first off. dad i loved loved loved the stuff you sent about oil. i LOVED it. and it sounds like a busy week. wow. 

so a report of this week. the weeks we go to kumasi seem to go the fastest. its insane. but this week was a little scarier. my comp and i were asked to do a role play of teaching in front of everyone. the mission president. the ap's. and every other zone leader and sister training leader in the mission. it was scary. but it went really well. lately ive been noticing the heavenly father is really helping me out. when i have to do something scary, i just do it with faith that he will help me and it always turns out well. as long as i am putting in my half. 

i also feel like, and this is just how i feel personally, that sometimes heavenly father prompts me and lets me know that something will happen before it does. i think the reason it happens is because he knows me. and knows that i HATE not knowing what will happen, and it prepares me a little. before i was called to tamale, i was sure i was going. and even before leadership council i felt that we would do the role play.  its just something i have noticed. i love the feeling of doing something successfully. its the best. 

also i was thinking about something this week. in the temple, when we watch the video of the creation. Heavenly Father says, "return and report." i was thinking about that. i think it teaches the best lesson on accountability. heavenly father can see everything. he knows everything. so why would he tell them to return and report? because he wants us to be accountable for the things we have done. to recognize we have been given certain responsibilities and then to account to him on how we have carried them out. i just think its really cool. 

dad i cant tell you how much i want to meet some of these apostles you work with. you're truly lucky. and i cant tell you how much i want some rain. its coming soon i think. things here are getting harder but better. harder because my time is coming closer. i think about home more and more. i think i am in my last area. the only thing is, president can move me on my last transfer. and if im released as a zone leader and im not in kumasi i wont be able to buy anything. unless i rush on the last day when i go to the mission home. thats why its nice being a zone leader. we go down every month. 

anyway. i cant wait to apply the things ive learned here in my life back home. im so scared of the world though. i dont want friends and others to try and take me out of my faith. i know the church is true. and i want exaltation so badly. i want to be good. i'll need you to help me! anyway. thats all for this week! love you all.

elder madsen

Thinking About Obedience February 8 2016

hey family! 

here are some extra pics from last week. me in a tree.

wow this week was busy for you. momo im glad you are working. thats awesome. i cant wait to see you too. one of my favorite memories of mo is when dad and i were working outside in the cold. we were hot though because we were working. and mo warmed up some water, and brought it to us to drink so we wouldnt get too cold outside. ;) love you so much! tenny i cant wait to see your dog. she sounds amazing! bridger i hope you get a sweet job. fam i cant wait to see you! question, did easton get taller? he looks a little taller. i cant wait to see him. 

so dad right after i asked the question on the spirit world an elder just came to our apt with tons of quotes like that on it. it helped a lot. and i love the ones you sent. i cant wait for that time. its going to be incredible to see. ill print and read about the oil. 

so one cool thing this week. two brothers, john and jonas, have been going out a lot and teaching with missionaries. the sisters in our branch are awesome. john and jonas are both security guards, so they are both very careful when it comes to being safe. they are worried for the sisters being out at night in certain areas. well, jonas had a dream the other day that was pretty cool. he said in the dream he was proselyting with the sisters. and as they were going from place to place, there were angels from heaven following them. and just moving with them. i thought it was really cool. maybe given to him to help ease his mind. or maybe it was just a dream. 

this week i was thinking about obedience. and realized that there are four things you can do when you receive a commandment. you can either disobey, obey out of fear, obey out of a desire for the reward, or obey out of love. this is one reason i want to come to know heavenly father more. so i can love him more. and obey because of that love. 

anyway. dad its not because of the added responsibilities that the area is harder. the area is just really hard. it has struggled for a long time. we are working hard though. so thats all for this week. love you all so much! talk to you next week.

elder madsen

Monkey Village February 1 2016

hey fam!

lets start with some pictures ;) today fam, one of my biggest dreams was fulfilled. i got to go to a place called monkey village. the senior couple here wanted to go so they took four of us along. here in monkey village, there are wild monkeys just running around! you can take food in with you and they will just hop right on your arm and you can feed them. i took more videos of me feeding them. so i actually dont have a pic of it. but you'll see when i get back. ill send more in a sec.

here are more! there are two types of monkeys here. one of the types is super shy. so they dont come down. they stay high in the trees. the other though...they'll come right up to you. it was so fun feeding them. they just climb up your body! there are elders and sisters in the zone that want to go. so we'll go again in a couple weeks. i cant wait. you all know monkeys are my favorite. this was HUGE for me.

this is how we rode there. my comp elder botha and i sat in the back. the sisters they took in front. #thethingswedoforsisters.

anyway. dad i am super happy your face to face events are going so well...however, i am INCREDIBLY JEALOUS that everyone is meeting all of these apostles and celebrities. so i am confident, that you will be able to arrange a huge lunch with all of these people so i cant meet them too! ;) right? haha just kidding. for reals though thats awesome. im glad you have had some stress taken off as well. 

so before i forget, there are a couple things i wanted to mention. first.  the guy who makes ties can do a pure white one for the temple. i have ordered two. if you would like me to get more i can. they cost about 2 dollars. i havnt seen them yet. but bro baah does a good job. ill get the ones i ordered next week from him in kumasi. and second. i have some really cool news about ema and afi. they are doing so well!! an elder leaving there said they are the most powerful members of vitin. he said that they said they were going to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. if they go i will be so happy. one of my allllll time dreams is to go with them when they go through the temple for their endowment and sealing. that is my dream. if/when i come back, that would be the time i would want to come. 

today we saw a really sad wreck. a guy on a motor cycle hit a dog. the bike flipped and he was thrown off. luckily it was right when we were passing to pick up the sisters so we were able to take him to the hospital. it was really sad. 

i wasnt too sick last week. kind of. but im better. dad i know what you mean with thinking about home. i have been a lot. but my comp and i are making it a goal to work even harder this transfer. we just got transfer news. we will be together for another 8 weeks (this next transfer is extended two weeks). so im pretty sure this is where ill finish my mission. i like the place so i wouldnt mind. anyway. not much happend this week. love you all so much! your week looked awesome. mo and tenny you guys looked like you had a lot of fun! keep it up ;)

-Elder Madsen

Short & Sweet & Sick Again January 25 2016

hey family! 

so the face to face looked awesome. my sisters are growing up so fast. easton looks great! thanks dad for your words. i am really interested to hear everything about work. the hunting looks great. 

so this week was good! the specialized training went so well. i was nervous. but when we started talking it just flowed. i was helped for sure. the reason i love experiences like that, they are humbling, and they help me grow. i know i'll regret saying this, but i need more experiences like that. we even went over time. 

one really cool thing that i found out as well. grace, afi's oldest daughter, was interviewed and i think baptized this past sunday. she is in kumasi though. she kept going to church after she left tamale and she was taught by missionaries there. and president did her interview this past week. 

dad i really appreciate your words. mom that is a really cool lesson with christ being the center of our lives. sorry i might have to cut this email short dang it. my stomach is acting up. i dont want another experience like i had in kumasi :) my comp was super sick last night. i hope i dont get it. sorry love you!! 

elder madsen

Techiman Has Been the Hardest Area! January 18, 2016

hey family! 

thank you all for the encouraging words. i am doing better

this week. a lot has been on my mind. i wish i could see the pics you

sent. the computer wont let me. i had to use the basic HTML version of

the website. 

two things. one, i've realized as a zone leader, being a junior comp is not easy sometimes. you dont call the shots. so if you want something done you have to go about it in a different way. i love my comp though. he is

awesome. and two, this week is kinda scary for me too. im not doing something as big as you. but my comp and i will be giving a half an hour

instruction to two zones and the mission president. im super nervous.

sometimes i dont feel qualified to do these things. but i will do it

either way. The Lord qualifies who he calls! ha i really am trying to

trust in that promise. it will be good though. 

this week i am also going to cut all sugar out of my diet. it will be nice to try. my comp and i have been working out every night before we go to bed. i sleep SO much better. speaking of which, momo, i hope you're still

interested in the boxing thing. because when i get back im going to

need someone to do it with me! for reals though. 

today we went to kintampo falls. it was fun. didnt really do much. but we got to see the water! my area is doing alright. to be honest, techiman has been BY FAR the hardest area that i have had. i dont know why. its just

different here. the church was even here before tamale, and now tamale

is a district. its doing well. techiman has just been slow. but we

will keep working hard and we will do our best. 

Reading "Jesus The Christ" is awesome. its also helping me get my reading level back to normal ;) It has so many amazing insights. time is flying. sometimes it feels like it is going slow. but i look back and its going so fast. Anyway fam. sorry i dont have too much to say this week. i love you all! continue to keep me updated. talk to you next week!

elder madsen

Lessons on Leading January 11, 2016

morning family! 

this week was good. i had a lot of fun in kumasi for

leadership council. i learned a lot and i am becoming better friends

with the other zone leaders in the mission. one thing i learned. its

something, once again, that i already knew. i just hadnt internalized

it. its that in order to be a good leader, you first need to learn how

to be a good follower. if you cant obey, you cant lead. i was just

looking around at all of the zone leaders in the council. they're all

awesome guys. super obedient and hard working. and i just realized

that in that moment. one cool scripture that adds more to our daily

walk, just living the gospel simply, is DnC 59:23. its so simple.

another thing i think about a lot. i want to become more like the

savior. but for some reason i feel like if i do then i will just have

to lose my sense of humor and other traits. and just be serious allll

the time. obviously thats not the case. but thats how i feel. i want

to try hard every day and become more like the savior. i know that

will be the best thing.   

Pounding fufu

so dad this week elder snow was talking about what it would be like if i came to weber state with him. i would probably move out into this condo of his dads. but i would still pay rent. at first i loved the idea. but it doesnt feel right. i want to stay home for the first little while and just do school from home. what do you think about it? i'd say uvu is still good. for a little.

and dad i love the scriptures you sent. i have been thinking about evidences of the restoration. and the one that came to mind a lot, which is obvious and i know you've probably already got it down. but its a living prophet, and modern scripture.

those two are huge for me. anway love you guys. i cant believe that

jess is going to be a mom. and i'll be an uncle.

-elder madsen