Oi
pessoal!
It feels like I've already been in the Valley for so long, but it's only been a week. If you know me, you know I forget stuff pretty easily, the transfer down to the Valley was pretty stressful. I left a bag, so we had to drive an hour back to castle rock to get it, but hey, that means I can say I drove through nearly the entire mission all at once! The drive was really pretty, lots of mountains, snow, and open space, the only thing similar to Castle Rock was good views of the mountains.

Even though this area is called the Valley (rightfully so, we're in between mountains) it's actually super high up, about 7,600 feet of elevation. Thankfully I was already in a high elevation area but running is still a bit of a struggle. Our church building has one of the only full-size wooden basketball courts in the entire valley (lots of courts are carpet for some reason), so we've been able to play quite a bit. Our area is almost all members of our church, which is new for me. We've actually met the most people by playing basketball with members and their friends, and you know I'm all for that. The best compliment to me is being asked if I played basketball in high school, #swimszn.

I'm now in a trio, with Elder Anderson and Elder Dunn. Somehow, I'm the shortest companion, so this is pretty weird for me. I'm almost Elder Anderson's height, but Elder Dunn is 6'5, so I don't think I'll be catching up any time soon. They're both super awesome guys, we've already bonded quite a bit, especially for just one week of being together. I've been out way longer than either of them, so they call me their grandpa. They also tell me I'll be married before either of them goes home, which I highly doubt. Since we don't have cell service or Wi-Fi in our house, we have to go to the other Elders' apartment or the church to teach or communicate so we get to see the other missionaries in our district quite a bit.
We got 8 inches of snow, which is about the most at one time I've seen in my lifetime, but it's been a while, so that was super fun. Thankfully our Tacoma can handle the snow pretty easily so it’s much safer to drive.All in all, everything's pretty great here. Every area has its challenges, but I'm excited to serve the people of La Jara and bring the glad tidings of the message of Jesus Christ. Talking about basketball and how I was a swimmer with others has made me think of Mormon's description of himself. Mormon was a military leader from a young age, a chosen man of God, but he never chose to describe himself as such. Instead he says: "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."(3 Nephi 5:13)

That's a description I want of myself, above all else a disciple of Jesus Christ. Being a missionary is challenging, but it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I know that as each of us read the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ with the Bible and words of our living prophets you will feel this love for Christ that Mormon and so many others had, and come to know your Savior better than ever before. I invite you to watch this brief video about our Savior Jesus Christ and his healing power!
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/book-of-mormon-visual-resources/2012-08-2040-the-healing-power-of-the-atonement
Eu Amo cada um de voces!
Elder Madsen
https://fletchermadsen.blogspot.com/
fletchermadsen@missionary.org
Uggh, Motion sickness kicked in, not feeling too well
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