Mini-America!

Mom!

      Hey!! We just got back from Singapore!   It was amazing!  Singapore is so much like America it is unbelievable. I ate at Dairy Queen, drank a Monster, and ate Mexican food...sounds like my life before my mission!!  Singapore did destroy me money wise, it was like 60 sing!!! That’s 120 RM!!!!  (120 RM is $38.72—the missionaries get 200 RM a month from the Church to live on - Martha)

     We had a crazy experience with one of the missionaries this week.  He become possessed in the middle of the night (note to self...do not mess around in Chinese Temples.) So, we had to bless the house and the Elder, but he is okay. It is so true what you said about as you come closer to the Spirit, you also become more sensitive to other things too!!

      Things in our area are still a little rough! We work with the less active members way more than we work with investigators.   It is hard to get motivated because we don’t have any new people to teach; but, whatever, I like working with the less actives too. We have this one family who hasn’t come to church in a couple years, but they came to fast and testimony meeting this past Sunday.  When I bore my testimony about the Atonement and about how we can all change, the mom just started bawling. Afterward, she said that she missed the feeling of the Spirit so much and that she wanted to have that feeling again. Over the past years, the husband has gone back to drinking and smoking, but he for sure felt the Spirit too!  Hopefully, we can get them going.

     We baptized Koko last week and afterwards the senior couple bought everyone KFC! It was a solid night!  The elder senior couple is kind of a loose cannon. He consistently makes the most debatable comments I have ever heard!! I was translating his talk for everyone at Koko’s baptism.   In his talk, he told Koko that when you are baptized, you enter into the family of Jesus Christ, so now Koko could call himself “Koko Jesus Christ." I was like nope...I am not going to say that! But the senior elder insisted, so as soon as I translated what he said everybody just sat there with the most shocked look on their faces…it was pretty embarrassing.

    We also saw the family of the mother that passed away last week and it was amazing to see the change in them.   I remember that she was just a mess when her mom was dying, but after the blessing she said that she felt at peace.  She said that she knew it was her mother’s time to go, but that everything would still be okay! It is so amazing to see the power of the Priesthood.

      We went to some longhouses deep in the jungle this week and partied with the Ibans for Gawaii...98% of the Ibans were drunk, but other than that, it was sooo fun! They really know how to party!! I ate and ate and ate some more. Person after person kept inviting us to their house. The Ibans in this area would totally accept the Gospel, but unfortunately they live three hours deep in the jungle and don’t have a car...so we have to wait till the President authorizes a church building there.  But, this week was wayy fun!!

     I am still loving my mission and only have two weeks till transfers!!! I love you guys and miss you!!

Elder Madsen