Big Hole – Latter-Day Harvest

This has been a full week. President Wadsworth called us on Wednesday. Told us that we are now converting the Sheridan and Whitehall and Big Hole and Dillon areas now! Like holy cow. What a load. I’m just praying we will be able to cover everyone we need to. I am praying we will be able to handle it and find time for those who need us. And for miles conservation. It will be like that until at least the end of the transfer which is December 14th. There are quite a few people we think we can put on date for baptism.

Yesterday when we were at Jackson, we prayed about if we should go north to wisdom or south to Polaris. We have had limited time and miles. Elder Crockett and I prayed. I felt the biggest urge to go to Polaris to talk to a woman we met several weeks ago. We decided to go to Polaris and she wasn’t home. In fact no one we visited opened the door. We didn’t know what was up. I wondered why the Spirit would tell me so strangely to go to Polaris when He knew we were limited on time and miles. We went home after that and I thought about it. And I figured that there would have been some problem we would have ran into in Wisdom. Some danger He wanted us to avoid. Or perhaps it was just a test of my faith and willingness to obey. No one knows. Nor will anyone know. But He does. And that is all that matters.

We have interviews tomorrow in Butte with President. Sick :). And we get a truck today!!!!!! Just for the transfer but still!!!!!!!! I am so pumped. I get to drive a truck!!

Yesterday was a great day. We went to the Big Hole Branch and we spoke. Elder Crockett talked about faith and hope and missionary work. I talked about missionary work and the atonement. It was awesome. The spirit was pretty strong as each of us bore powerful witnesses of the truths we knew. However “I don’t boast in my own strength. I boast in my God. In the [MBM] we hold to the rod!” Haha yeah 🙂 but anywho. I was happy that we could go to see the branch. It had been a long time. But I was sad that we missed church in Dillon. It was the primary program and one of our investigators, Beau, did a part and his less active grandma showed up also. However his mom doesn’t think he is old enough to get baptized (or rather old enough to make that sort of decision and commitment) but he really wants to. So we’re continuing to work with him. Amara showed up to church. Cory didn’t. That’s okay. We’re still working with them. I think Amara’s daughter was in the program too. She’s adorable. But crazy too. She likes untying my shoes when I go to her house. Teaches me patience 🙄😉 but no one else showed up 😕

Saturday night was even better than Sunday! We taught a lesson to two of our investigators; a couple, Matt and Tami in Brother and Sister Hildreth’s home. That was the epitome of flippin awesome 🙂 we knocked the Restoration out of the park! Tami was taught before. Years ago. And her two daughters were baptized and I believe they were both sealed in the temple. But Tami wasn’t baptized because she had some WoW problems but really wants to be baptized. Matt, her boyfriend, is Catholic but is really open to our message. We keep praying he will continue to stay that way. I think baptism and later, temple marriage is totally a realistic hope and dream. The only thing is is that she is moving up to a city called Conrad. We will be working closely with the Elders up there. They will teach her and we will be also teaching her via phone or FaceTime or Skype or something. We also want to teach Matt while she is gone. Which actually works to our advantage for a few reasons. One is that they are on different spiritual levels. Another is that, because she is living in Conrad, they are not living together and we could potentially baptize him before they get married (which is a plan of theirs).

Other than that, the week has gone pretty decently. The second I stepped out of the shower this morning we got a call to go to the hospital and give a blessing to a member who went in early this morning because of kidney stones. They took her to Bozeman in an ambulance right after. But it was a good experience. We give a lot of blessings which is a super cool experience. I seriously felt the spirit just speak through me as I laid my hands on her head. It’s a magnificent experience for not only those getting blessed, but for those who bless. It’s incredibly humbling to have that kind of responsibility to hold the priesthood. But I’m grateful the Lord trusts me enough to have me hold His priesthood. “It is better to be trusted than to be loved” Elder Christofferson. It helps me always strive to be better 🙂

We met a super less active person and his Catholic wife who want their baby blessed. We talked a lot about that with them. And set up another appointment 🙂 sick! Speaking of which, Elder Crockett got sick. And then I got sick. So that’s fun. But nothing stops us! We kept going. We are getting over them now. My cold is almost gone. Amazing! Because it’s only been a week. And colds for me always last like at least a month. The Lord is looking out for us 🙂 He cares about every one of us, His servants. And that means everyone. If you have desires to serve God, you are His servant. Simple as that. Isn’t that wonderful? 🙂

The rest of the week has gone pretty alright. Ripple still gives us so much food! It’s kind of ridiculous. But we’ve started to give it away to those who don’t have as much. So we are still being grateful and helping at the same time! Boom missionaryed!

Other than that, I’ve had a great week! I love recognizing His hand in my life. I encourage you all to study Enos and prayer in the BD. It is wonderful. I love this Gospel. I love you all and I’m so grateful that I am on the errand of the Lord :

And also, thanks for the Thanksgiving package. I loved it! I hung the garland by my bed. I had a wonderful conversation with Father last night. I just spent about an hour on my knees just pouring out my soul and just talking. I didn’t know it was an hour or so until my knees began to hurt. Time just flew. I loved it. I felt such peace and comfort.

We are going to several places on thanksgiving….. Serving at the Catholic center, and then going to Whitehall. And then back here to Dillon. And then yeah. Hopefully I finally get snow! Not a single flake last week. 😦 sad.

Love you so much!

— Elder Madsen

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Well. I really dislike deep clean Monday. Transfers are next week so we literally have to make everything perfect in our apartment just in case. Ugh. Oh well. I’m more just bummed that it takes away precious time to write family and friends. So we’ll do it like this:

Monday- we went on exchanges. I stayed in Dillon with Elder Cardiff. Elder Crockett went to Butte with Elder Merrell. That was cool. We also had district pod ball game. Fun stuff. We saw a few less actives and met a super young couple (young as in she’s my age and he is a few months older) in our ward who just got married and are looking to get
sealed. So that’s freaking legit. I’m so excited for them. 🙂

Tuesday- Exchange day part 2 saw more less actives that Elder Cardiff taught while he was here in Dillon last year. Found out that there is a family nearby that just barely lost their son last Thursday night. That hit me hard. We paid them a visit. I talked to the sister of the boy (she’s only a junior). Her parents weren’t home but I had the wonderful opportunity of being filled with the spirit and testifying of the simple truths that God is there and that He loves her and that she’ll see her brother again. The spirit was quite overwhelming on that doorstep. She started crying. I started crying. Elder Cardiff didn’t because he has no soul. I felt humbled and rather inadequate that the Lord would have me be His hands in that kind of way. She told me that she and her parents were Catholic. I reassured her that we were not here to convert or convince her that our church was right and hers is wrong but that we are only here to help heal. I gave her my number. She gave us hers. I hope they call. Because this message can and WILL heal them.

Wednesday- pretty uneventful. Elder Crockett and I reunited. And we began finding again.

Thursday- early morning we were called to give a blessing to a nonmember at the hospital who had two heart attacks in the last week. Yikes. I had the opportunity to give the blessing. It is a blessing to those of us who use the Priesthood to bless others. It’s so interesting. The Priesthood, like other things in the church, IS a blessing to those who use its holy power BUT not in the way we think it will. “No power or influence can, or ought to, be maintained by virtue of the priesthood…” But when we use it the way it is intended, God blesses us too. It’s wonderful. And so unfair. Unfair as in we don’t deserve anything He does for us. But He does it anyway 🙂

Friday- kinda uneventful. Some service here and there. We helped out some old Catholic ladies with their thrift store. That was pretty dang fun I’d have to say. We LOVE service opportunities. We jump on them 🙂 more finding. No teaching. Ugh. At 10:45 that night I was finishing up writing a letter when we got a frantic call from a brother who was here from Utah to come and give his fiancée a blessing, also at the hospital. She had been trapped under a car that had rolled on her (!!) And to make things better they were getting sealed next week. Awesome. So we flew. We got dressed so fast. We were on the road in 8 mins. Which seems like a long time. But we were in full pjs. We went from pjs to full suit and everything in 8 mins. Record timing.

Saturday and Sunday we went to Jackson (Big Hole) and worked there. Church was cool. Small branch. And it was a farewell. How’s that for timing? We’d never been out there so that’s cool. We got back late last night. Those roads are sketchy. We had no idea where we were going once the sun went down. We blew thru 200 miles yesterday. Not even kidding. We saw several deer and elk and “Californian elk” and a raccoon the size of a pony and a skunk and a pretty big coyote all last night. And hardly any cars. So that was fun.

Monday- today we did laundry. Worked on another roof. And cleaned. And that’s. It. I know. I hate how fast this day goes by. But it was fun working on the roof.

Elder Madsen