when I went to change and get ready for bed, my hand froze as I reached into the closet. I came face to face with a spider the size of my hand.
"I instantly was transformed from a 19 year old elder to a 12 year old sister, and I set a new land speed record in my escape. Elder Johnson and I returned to photograph our foe and take him captive. We quickly emptied a tin of Danish Biscuits and attacked with reckless abandon. We trapped him. He's still in our kitchen in the tin. We're waiting until he dies and then we're going to stretch him out on a dinner plate and take a picture of him.
"The spider in the bathroom, still unidentified, remains our tenant. He may have to go soon; there are ants here too, and he's not carrying his weight.
"Tonight we went to Haycock point and had a picnic with some church members and some investigators. The waves were crashing over some volcanic rack we hiked on, and kangaroos were hopping across the beach as the waves rolled in. I learned how to play rugby 'footy.' What a day. You can't make this stuff up. The wind almost knocks you over.
"I had my first 'barby.' They throw every kind of meat on the barbecue you can think of and make you eat it all. In the Polynesian wards, you eat even more.
"New missionary training was great. President McMaster, Sister McMaster, and the sisters all gave lessons. Then we headed to the mission home for a testimony meeting and -- what else? -- a barby.
"I got to spend the night at the assistants new flat. They're great guys. We missed our train to Canberra, so I got to know them really well when they drove us down to the ACT (Australian Capital Territory). Sydney is scary, huge, ghetto and crazy."
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
"Merimbula is as beautiful as ever.
"It is peak tourist season so the population tripled after Boxing Day. I had new missionary training in Sydney last week. I traveled up to Canberra and stayed the night there. Then we took a train up through the country to Sydney. I love trains. Central Station gives any international airport a run for their money. It's multiple stories and confusing. I loved it. You meet the funnest people on trains.
"I fell in love with Sydney. It is so busy and crazy. It is huge. Hopefully, I will get to serve in the inner city someday. It is the polar opposite of Merimbula. I just wanted you to know that I am alright. I just sent the other letter so I dont want to spoil it for you. I will right next week with some news that will actually be interesting.
"I love being a missionary and although it is a trial of my faith it is the only thing that I should be doing right now."
"I fell in love with Sydney. It is so busy and crazy. It is huge. Hopefully, I will get to serve in the inner city someday. It is the polar opposite of Merimbula. I just wanted you to know that I am alright. I just sent the other letter so I dont want to spoil it for you. I will right next week with some news that will actually be interesting.
"I love being a missionary and although it is a trial of my faith it is the only thing that I should be doing right now."
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Andrew's been in Australia for a week now,
and he's doing great.
Missionaries telephone home every Christmas and Mother's Day, so Andrew arose at 4:00 a.m. Sydney time to chat with us -- his parents, grandparents, and his older brother (me).
Before receiving his mission call, Andrew dreamed of the ghetto. A family friend of ours served in inner city New Jersey, and Andrew is always riveted by stories of his street adventures in the Lord's service. Today, however, we learned that Andrew has been stationed in Merimbula, a ritzy resort town on Australia's Sapphire Coast.
Check out these stunning snapshots from sapphirecoast.com. It's not exactly ghetto, but Andrew loves serving there.
He and his trainer, who is only four and a half months in the field himself, are being richly blessed in their efforts. In January, one of their investigators will enter the waters of baptism. Because the Merimbula branch meets in an old Pizza Hut building, their investigator will be baptized in the ocean.
Andrew also shared the following miracle:
Missionaries often take the message of the Restoration from door to door. The rejection level in such tracting is high, yet behind the first door Andrew knocked on was a family receptive to the Gospel message. He and his companion are ecstatic to teach them.
As a family, we express our love for Andrew, our gratitude for his diligent service, and add our testimony to his that the fullness of the Gospel has been restored to the earth. We greatly look forward to Andrew's next email.
Missionaries telephone home every Christmas and Mother's Day, so Andrew arose at 4:00 a.m. Sydney time to chat with us -- his parents, grandparents, and his older brother (me).
Before receiving his mission call, Andrew dreamed of the ghetto. A family friend of ours served in inner city New Jersey, and Andrew is always riveted by stories of his street adventures in the Lord's service. Today, however, we learned that Andrew has been stationed in Merimbula, a ritzy resort town on Australia's Sapphire Coast.
Check out these stunning snapshots from sapphirecoast.com. It's not exactly ghetto, but Andrew loves serving there.
He and his trainer, who is only four and a half months in the field himself, are being richly blessed in their efforts. In January, one of their investigators will enter the waters of baptism. Because the Merimbula branch meets in an old Pizza Hut building, their investigator will be baptized in the ocean.
Andrew also shared the following miracle:
Missionaries often take the message of the Restoration from door to door. The rejection level in such tracting is high, yet behind the first door Andrew knocked on was a family receptive to the Gospel message. He and his companion are ecstatic to teach them.
As a family, we express our love for Andrew, our gratitude for his diligent service, and add our testimony to his that the fullness of the Gospel has been restored to the earth. We greatly look forward to Andrew's next email.
"After the first few days of the MTC,
time begins to race. Days blend together; days seem like weeks, and weeks seem like days. I have labeled this phenomenon the "SDS." As the spirit envelops your life, time does't hold its value quite the same. Your mind is occupied with joy, not sadness; diligence, not sloth; and obedience, not homesickness.
"You'll be glad to know that my longing for home has been minimal. When asked if I have been homesick, I tell them I was girl sick. I was sick of girls, so I came here. The odd sense of humor you gain between these ancient walls, concrete floors, and hollow aluminum beds that make up my experience.
"Spiritual Development Syndrome (SDS) is the result of losing yourself. It's not that any day in the MTC is bad; it's that the next day is so much better. Constantly, my testimony strengthens and my desire, my passion for service. As we learn and teach the principles of the gospel, the process becomes clear; you tell what you know is true.
"I find it so easy for Elder Beckert and I to teach the first lesson. Our compatibility and our shared internal desperation to make peoples' lives better through faith in our Savior Jesus Christ makes for a formula unrivaled. We are complimented on our teaching ability, but it is pride that will destroy our message.
"I personally have to study humility and thank the Lord for his constant influence in my life. This is the key to success: "I can of my own self do nothing."
"I used to be terrified of the future, especially college. But if I were to work half as hard there as I do now, there is nothing that could falter my potential with the gospel on my side.
--Elder Andrew Madson
"You'll be glad to know that my longing for home has been minimal. When asked if I have been homesick, I tell them I was girl sick. I was sick of girls, so I came here. The odd sense of humor you gain between these ancient walls, concrete floors, and hollow aluminum beds that make up my experience.
"Spiritual Development Syndrome (SDS) is the result of losing yourself. It's not that any day in the MTC is bad; it's that the next day is so much better. Constantly, my testimony strengthens and my desire, my passion for service. As we learn and teach the principles of the gospel, the process becomes clear; you tell what you know is true.
"I find it so easy for Elder Beckert and I to teach the first lesson. Our compatibility and our shared internal desperation to make peoples' lives better through faith in our Savior Jesus Christ makes for a formula unrivaled. We are complimented on our teaching ability, but it is pride that will destroy our message.
"I personally have to study humility and thank the Lord for his constant influence in my life. This is the key to success: "I can of my own self do nothing."
"I used to be terrified of the future, especially college. But if I were to work half as hard there as I do now, there is nothing that could falter my potential with the gospel on my side.
--Elder Andrew Madson
Thursday, December 6, 2007
"Everything in the MTC is wonderful,
but the field is going to be so much better.
"We are all so excited to finally begin the Lord's work and teach real investigators. Our branch presidency is constantly reminding us that it is not uncommon for wards to go on splits up to five nights a week. That means that, your first night there, you could very possibly have to go out with a priest and teach a lesson. I would like that. I love to teach. It becomes easier as you go -- not because you have the lesson memorized -- but because the more you study, the more ingrained the doctrine is in your testimony, so all you have to do is communicate what you know.
"Class for fourteen hours a day just flies by. It feels like I've been here a day but have grown ten years spiritually.
"Tuesdays and Sundays are amazing. Tuesday is the night we have a devotional by a Seventy or Apostle. This last Tuesday, we had Elder Christiansen of the Second Presidency of the Seventy. This Tuesday, we will probably have an apostle, as it is two weeks before Christmas.
"I do have to play the piano on Sunday. Last Sunday, I informed them that I could play, and they asked what I can play. I confidently answered that I could play any of the hymns -- which is true, if given fifteen minutes to look it over -- and they seemed excited. Sunday came, and I had three hymns picked out The meeting started, and the counselor of the presidency announced hymns that I hadn't even fathomed playing. The Spirit must have guided because there is no way I played very well. The next day I did a personal study on humility.
"Wednesday is my preparation day in the MTC, but I will have only one more before I leave [to the Australia Sydney South mission]. I... would not want to be doing anything else. I know what I am doing is what the Lord wants, and that makes it so much easier. Perhaps I will get homesick at twenty-two months, but so far all is well. 'I can of my own self do nothing.'"
--Elder Andrew Madson
Quotes from the MTC:
"If you can't be good, be good at it."
"It takes a great meeting to beat not meeting."
"Be the missionary that your mother thinks you are, and you can move mountains."
"The secret to success in missionary work is WORK."
"We are all so excited to finally begin the Lord's work and teach real investigators. Our branch presidency is constantly reminding us that it is not uncommon for wards to go on splits up to five nights a week. That means that, your first night there, you could very possibly have to go out with a priest and teach a lesson. I would like that. I love to teach. It becomes easier as you go -- not because you have the lesson memorized -- but because the more you study, the more ingrained the doctrine is in your testimony, so all you have to do is communicate what you know.
"Class for fourteen hours a day just flies by. It feels like I've been here a day but have grown ten years spiritually.
"Tuesdays and Sundays are amazing. Tuesday is the night we have a devotional by a Seventy or Apostle. This last Tuesday, we had Elder Christiansen of the Second Presidency of the Seventy. This Tuesday, we will probably have an apostle, as it is two weeks before Christmas.
"I do have to play the piano on Sunday. Last Sunday, I informed them that I could play, and they asked what I can play. I confidently answered that I could play any of the hymns -- which is true, if given fifteen minutes to look it over -- and they seemed excited. Sunday came, and I had three hymns picked out The meeting started, and the counselor of the presidency announced hymns that I hadn't even fathomed playing. The Spirit must have guided because there is no way I played very well. The next day I did a personal study on humility.
"Wednesday is my preparation day in the MTC, but I will have only one more before I leave [to the Australia Sydney South mission]. I... would not want to be doing anything else. I know what I am doing is what the Lord wants, and that makes it so much easier. Perhaps I will get homesick at twenty-two months, but so far all is well. 'I can of my own self do nothing.'"
--Elder Andrew Madson
Quotes from the MTC:
"If you can't be good, be good at it."
"It takes a great meeting to beat not meeting."
"Be the missionary that your mother thinks you are, and you can move mountains."
"The secret to success in missionary work is WORK."
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The Road to Wales
Anticipation-the call, the mission, the large manilla envelope addressed to Elder Andrew Colin Madson. Just like when mom drops your middle name: you know it's serious.
A letter:
A map:
A long road to Wales:
A REALLY long road:
A letter:
A map:
A long road to Wales:
A REALLY long road:
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