First baptisms at Patriota chapel!
Oi pessoal!
Helena, who we've been teaching, was the first person to ever get baptized at our chapel! This is a big deal for us because in the past we had to make a long trek and pay for a few taxis to get people to a church with a baptismal font. Helena chose the Bishop of the Patriota ward to baptize her. 9 people were baptized in all, such an awesome experience. The spirit is always so strong at baptismal services, when our Bishop gave a talk during the service, he almost broke into tears because of how much this means to him. Every day the spirit confirms to me that we are doing the Lord's work, there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now. Some other fun things that happened this week:
Elder Korsten (the tall red-haired Missionary) got really sick this week, so Elder Lima and I did an exchange with him and Elder Taveras, so they could go do a baptismal interview while I stayed with Elder Korsten. He slept for 15 hours straight, and his apartment didn't have much food, so I read some books and listened to a few talks he had on a pin drive. That day was nice for an hour or two, relaxing, and then I realized, doing nothing is boring! I want to be outside teaching people and helping them meanwhile I was stuck inside. In one of the books I picked up, the author talked about how laziness is a sinful behavior. That didn't help at the time, but it made me realize how much I’ve grown on the mission. In the past I would've been so excited to do nothing all day but knowing that "this life is the time appointed for men to prepare to meet their God" and that this life is "the time for men to perform their labors"(Alma 34:32-33) has changed the way I go about every day. Every day is a chance to DO something good, and as a missionary, to change someone’s life forever.
If you can't tell I'm really excited about what happened this week, we finally got a baptismal font at our chapel! It's not a magnificent sight or anything, but it works just fine. On Friday Elder Lima and I cleaned it out and then filled it for baptisms that would happen the next day. Elders from lots of other areas baptized at our chapel on Saturday, since it was a historic day for our chapel and ward.
Helena, who we've been teaching, was the first person to ever get baptized at our chapel! This is a big deal for us because in the past we had to make a long trek and pay for a few taxis to get people to a church with a baptismal font. Helena chose the Bishop of the Patriota ward to baptize her. 9 people were baptized in all, such an awesome experience. The spirit is always so strong at baptismal services, when our Bishop gave a talk during the service, he almost broke into tears because of how much this means to him. Every day the spirit confirms to me that we are doing the Lord's work, there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now. Some other fun things that happened this week:
Elder Korsten (the tall red-haired Missionary) got really sick this week, so Elder Lima and I did an exchange with him and Elder Taveras, so they could go do a baptismal interview while I stayed with Elder Korsten. He slept for 15 hours straight, and his apartment didn't have much food, so I read some books and listened to a few talks he had on a pin drive. That day was nice for an hour or two, relaxing, and then I realized, doing nothing is boring! I want to be outside teaching people and helping them meanwhile I was stuck inside. In one of the books I picked up, the author talked about how laziness is a sinful behavior. That didn't help at the time, but it made me realize how much I’ve grown on the mission. In the past I would've been so excited to do nothing all day but knowing that "this life is the time appointed for men to prepare to meet their God" and that this life is "the time for men to perform their labors"(Alma 34:32-33) has changed the way I go about every day. Every day is a chance to DO something good, and as a missionary, to change someone’s life forever.
Lots of drunk people talked to us this week, one guy begged me to take him to the US, and others asked us if they could be missionaries like us. The problem with that is that people here think being a missionary is a well-paying job, when in reality I paid every cent I had to serve a mission and I'll have no money when I get home! The real reward of being a missionary for Jesus Christ's church is seeing people's faces light up when we bear our testimonies, or seeing them understand more during lessons, or hearing a heartfelt prayer from someone
we're teaching. Seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ touch hearts and change lives is what this work is all about.
I am sure beyond a doubt that what I am teaching here in Angola is true and will help every person and family find true happiness. I invite you all to read the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ and pray about it for yourself. Don't just focus on what you read or what you say, focus on what you feel. In this way the Holy Ghost testifies to us of truth with feelings of "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith"(Galatians 5:22). Every day of my mission I have been happy, even with trials and struggles, and I know that if you search for these things, you can find this happiness too.
In the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 2:25 it says "..Men are that they might have joy."
The Lords living prophet today, President Nelson said in October 2016 that...the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
Eu amo cada um de voces!
Elder Madsen
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