Mom!

     I loved Skyping with you guys on Christmas!!  Our Christmas day was spent visiting and eating.  I ate soo much food!  A couple of houses that we went to served pig. Pork is literally my most favorite food in Malaysia.

     We have had rain non-stop for the last three weeks and it has finally caught up with me.  I woke up on Sunday with a terrible cold and today I don’t feel too much better. I AM SO SICK OF THE RAIN!!  This week was also rough because everyone went back to their kampung  (village), so no one was home!! But on the brighter side of things, I’m going to Singapore next week for our zone leader meeting and Elder Wilson from the Seventy will be there.  I have also been reading the King Follett talk by Joseph Smith this week; it’s way long, but it is for real AMAZING!!

     I had to teach Gospel Doctrine class yesterday while my companion played the piano for Primary.  The lesson was about the Atonement and out of nowhere I started getting bombarded with crazy questions.  At one point, I referred to Jesus Christ as a God and all the members disagreed!! So, we spent almost the whole class talking about how Christ is a God, and that we worship Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. It was just a mess, but I managed to get through. 

     But anyway, I love you mom and cannot wait to see you in 6 months time!!

Elder Madsen

Mom!

     The work is going really well.   We baptized a girl named J this week!  Unfortunately, it only took us six attempts before she was official--it was soooo stressful! We got to the chapel early so that we would have plenty of time to fill up the font. We had it completely filled an hour before the baptism, so we thought we were in pretty good shape.  Then right when the baptism was going to start, I went to check on the water again and someone had drained it!! We turned it on really fast, but by the time it was ready for her husband to baptize her, the water still wasn't very high.  J does not know how to swim and she also has a fear about going under water.   The first three times her husband tried to baptize her was a no go--her feet kept flying up. So, we filled the font up some more and all stood in an awkward silence for twenty minutes until the water level was a little higher.  Her husband then tried a couple more times and boom--she was finally baptized!!  Yesterday, she was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost!  Elder Smith and I were way pumped.  J is wayyyy smart; probably the smartest person that I’ve taught.   She also is an English teacher!!

       You asked me how they determine who is the senior companion.  Even though Elder Smith is leaving in a few weeks, I am still the senior ZL just because I have been zone leader the longest; although, with Elder Smith’s experience, it sure doesn’t seem that way! Elder Smith has been around some great missionaries, so I just sit back and learn from him. He has already helped Kuching a lot.  This week, the numbers were higher and almost everyone achieved their goals! I actually think that the numbers this last week were the highest that they have been all year!!  Being ZL does help me stay focused and not get too trunky, because I have a lot of things that I have to stay on top of.  My last two companions have been finishing their missions, so that makes it hard for me to not think about home.  But, I have six months before I leave and six months is as long as I have been in Kuching--and that didn’t seem that long!

     Today was really fun.   We went to a member's kampung and got durian! Do you remember durian?  (“Durians smell like road kill wrapped in sweaty socks and have the texture of rotten bananas.” – Gadling.com)  It’s for real the best fruit in the world!!   

    

     I am still wondering how I am going to send everything home!??  I have a 4-foot Iban blowgun, a 4-foot hand crafted Iban shield and I recently ordered a sword with a handle made out of bone.  (Can’t you just envision him getting on the airplane with all that paraphernalia?? - Martha)

     I love you momma and don’t worry about me, I am loving life!

Elder Madsen

Mom! 

     My new companion is wayyy cool! He goes home in six weeks, which is a bummer, but I am pumped to have him as a companion. He has been around a lot of old experienced missionaries during his mission, so he helps me out a lot. My old companion threw a lot of the responsibilities on me so I was always very stressed, but Smith has been a ZL before--he is very helpful.  I am very pumped about the Christmas cards that you are sending, the members will for real keep them forever--most will probably hang them up on their walls!

     Dad asks me every time he emails what my plans are when I get home.   Just to let you know, I think that when I come home; I will work and maybe take some classes at JCCC.   Then, I’ll go back to Idaho in January. There are some things that I really miss about home, like my white car and carpet.  When I come home, I am going to lie on the nice fuzzy carpet in the house for a couple hours and then get up and take my white car for a spin. That’s a completely different ride than my bike here!!  Then, I'm going to I lay around the house and play video games for a week, but after that I will grow up and get a job!!

      But, I still gotta stay focused.  It gets harder and harder to stay focused as time goes on.  I only have about 6 1/2 months....the end is getting close!! My companion told me of this legendary elder who had a lot of success.  The President would put him in dead areas and within a couple months those areas were on fire. My companion said the hardest, but most useful attribute, he learned from this elder was how to keep his mind focused on the work 24/7 which really helped to improve his area.  My companion said that when this elder was riding his bike or was lying in bed, he would be thinking of how he could improve his area. So that is something I have been trying....and, yes it is quite difficult! But, I am still working on it.

     I am really pumped for these next six weeks. I think good things will happen in Kuching!!  I am starting my sexy six (last 6 months of your mission which is dedicated to getting ripped for home). I found a cold storage and bought a bunch of chicken; so, hopefully I won’t be fat when I get home. Haha!  This Saturday, we are baptizing this girl named Jennifer who we found last month!! We are pumped about her baptism. That makes number 11!!   I cannot believe that school is almost to winter break!! When I first started in Kuching, summer had just started!!

     This week the 2nd counselor in the Mission Presidency, who is a rich Bidayu (another tribe like Iban), invited us to his house for dinner. It was amazing, I stepped on carpet and ate prime rib....YES, PRIME RIB and mashed potatoes and soup! Everyone looked at me weird when I put 2 pounds of prime rib on my plate.  They asked me, "How long have you been on your mission?" I said 18 months. "How long has it been since you ate prime rib?”  I said, "Eighteen months." They started cracking up! Good thing he didn’t ask how long it has been since I stepped on carpet!

I love you and can’t wait to Skype!! 

Love, Mike

Haha Mom!!

     I can’t stop laughing at your email. We will Skype on the 24th of December (your time).  There is a fourteen-hour time difference between Malaysia and Kansas.  I am so jealous that you saw Catching Fire. I hear the movie was wayyyy good. I also miss Harry Potter sooo much. The other day we watched The RM and it prepared me for life after the mission. It is true that every missionary plans to come home and have their life be perfect; so, I just need to expect the worst. I plan to come home to find my white car gone, my nerf hoop gone, my xbox gone, Ginger dead, and everyone fat.  I figure if I expect the worst when I come home, then I will hopefully find things better than that.

    Yea, I always worry about Kristen and Chris and Meg.  I pray and fast for them all the time, but I know that they will be okay. Mom how are you? I worry about you too. I am fine--the Ibans are taking good care of me.

     I just got transfers and my next companion is wayyy cool. He is from Oregon and loves basketball, but he goes home in six weeks. Why does the President do this to me?  This is two times in a row that I have to finish someone’s mission--it makes me trunky!! The zone is doing a lot better. Miracles are happening all over the place. We have been working sooo hard!!  I ride my bike and daydream.  I even have had actual dreams of relaxing in my cold basement with not a worry in the world!!  But, no time for rest, seven months left!!  If you got me white strips and energy packets for Christmas, I would be a happy guy!! I can’t wait to see the Christmas cards you sent!!

     For real mom, DON'T WORRY. I am healthy, in fact a little too healthy—and, I love it here. I cannot wait for our New York trip; it will be offf the hook!! Oh yea, the other day I found a place that sold nacho's and now the branch is obsessed!!

I love you so, so, so much!!

Elder Madsen