Fletcher Madsen formerly in Africa

Oi pessoal! Transfers happened again, and I lucked out, so I'll be staying here in Castle Rock a little bit longer. Sadly, Elder Armstrong was transferred, all the way down to th e bottom of our mission  boundaries in Raton, New Mexico. My new companion, Elder Jex, was in that area before coming here, so I'm sure he'll be glad for the change. Elder Jex is from Arizona and has 5 sisters. The weather here had been pretty crazy. Lots of smoke because of fires so we don't go outside all that often. For a few days though, the temperatures dropped from 80s to 30s and we got a little bit of snow. Another missionary dropped off a sled at our place, so we were able to sled ok a hill near our apartment for a little bit. Neither of us thought to bring gloves, so after crashing a few times, we decided that frostbite wasn't worth it, so we went back inside. Thankfully we got almost all the wipeouts on camera, you're welcome. I love the members in our ward so much. For ...

Oi pessoal!  If any of you are wondering what's happening with me, don't worry, I'm alright, mostly. It's been long enough that my sprained wrist that I haven't mentioned yet is practically healed. If you know me it shouldn't be a surprise that I'd be the one to get hurt while playing whiffle ball, but hopefully that makes you laugh at least. As far as service goes, we've been able to help a lot more people in our church as well as those in our neighborhood. Sadly, I haven't been able to help as much due to my wrist, so I became the photographer. Although with most services I ended up just being the comic relief, whatever I can do to help I will do. One of my favorite services was when a lady asked us to demolish her wooden playground set in her backyard. It's not often you get to destroy things as a missionary, so we had fun with it. Seeing others become more willing to let us serve them has been amazing. Oftentimes we don't like others he...

Oi gente! I know it's been a while since I've sent an email, but don't worry, I'm doing fine.  With quarantine still going on, we haven't been able to do much(not even playing basketball at the church buildings sadly), but things have opened up enough so that we can do service. We help out at a food bank, and have been able to help members in our ward move in, and were able to help an older lady paint her backyard deck. I'm definitely a much better mover than painter, but it's an awesome feeling to be able to help out anyway we can. One day, we were doing service for a member of the church in our ward, helping him clean up a trail on his property, when we saw a rattlesnake. I don't know how big those things are supposed to be, but this one was about 3 feet long and sounded angry. The member had a shovel so he was able to cut off the snake's head. Even though the head was cut off, the snake's body kept moving for more than half an hour afterwards...

Meghan getting baptized Oi pessoal! Meghan and her family For starters, it's been over a year since I left on my mission! It's definitely been one of the craziest years of my life, and one of the best. I'm so thankful for the time that I've been a missionary. I've learned so much about myself, about the world, and about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have seen his gospel change hearts and help people find happiness and joy wherever I have served as a missionary. No matter where we are, God loves his children and wants the best for us.  I've seen many blessings and miracles throughout this year. Some of my favorite experiences have been seeing the changes and effect the Gospel of Jesus Christ has on those that we teach. Being able to see God's children overcome bad habits and realize that their Heavenly Father loves them and wants the best for them are some memories that I won't ever forget.  As missionaries, we help others learn ...

Oi pessoal! Sorry for the lack of an email last week, don't worry I am very much alive, I just forgot to write last week. Most days as a missionary in quarantine are pretty much the same, but we've been doing our best to be a light to others. My favorite thing that we've done here has definitely been service. Elder Armstrong and I volunteered at Goodwill, helped a few people move, and helped a few members dig holes and set up new fences over the last 2 weeks. One day in particular, we helped someone move into her new apartment from 9am to 2pm, and since the other Elders aren't as strong, Elder Armstrong and I got to carry all the heavy stuff. Then from 3pm to 6pm, we helped a member of the church in our ward with his fence. Many trees were near the boundaries of the yards, so we dug through lots of roots and rocks. Needless to say,I slept very well that night, even with my back feeling like it was on fire. Transfers happened, and Elder Armstrong and I will...