Happy Christmas and then some!

Welp! Christmas was magical! I had so much fun SKYPEing home! It was so good to see everyone! Best Christmas present ever. I'm so blessed to have such a happy, excited, vibrant, gospel loving family. Thank you for your encouragement and upliftment! I sure do love you guys!!!

So Christmas was fantastic, but that night Sister Clark started getting all achy and feverish. We talked to the Elders who gave us a ride to the Christmas party, and they were feeling the same way. I was still feeling good, but a little nervous, since everyone but me was not looking so good. The next morning we called Sister Ogden - we were her 10th phone call of the morning! Apparently about 1/3 of the mission is sick right now! A lot of it stemmed from the Christmas Eve party - one elder had swine flu! Yikes! And now 40 companionships are out of commission. I eventually got sick the following evening, but not as bad as everyone else. We have fevers, aches, and bad coughs. The branch president's wife, Sister Retallic, is taking us to the doctors today - Hooray! I imagine it will be a joyful time.....waiting in the health clinic, with lots of other sick friends.....she also made us soup and brought us some fruit and other things, which was a BIG help! We talked to Garry Barnes on the phone and he asked us what we needed - we almost had no food. He told us to give him a list of everything we needed or wanted. The next day he and his adorable family showed up with five grocery bags of food - they got all we asked for and more. So....we are staying alive, thanks to the Barnes and the Retallics - such kind people!

There's not much to report on since I've been stuck inside the flat for four days....it's realllllly interesting being sick on the mission. Activities: I read all my journals from the past year; wrote in my journal, listened to the mission Christmas CD on repeat for five to seven hours; learned how to play Backgammon; discussed Korea with Sister Clark; discussed the possibilites of having parcore as a secret talent; coughed; read the longest chapter in Jesus the Christ which included John the Baptist being beheaded, dodge about Mary Magdalene, and some speculation on Beelzebub; read almost the entire Christmas Ensign; looked at pictues; slept; found the courage to shower; read through the area book; made phone calls; made Sister Clark pinky swear that she would no longer support 'In and Out burgers' in an attempt to make BYU less main stream; listened to Brett Raymonds CDs (most kitchy LDS singer of all time-- does the sassy rendition of Book of Mormon stories on "Sounds for Sunday"). Wow! - long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long days. The best part is that Sister Clark sounds like a man when she talks, and I haven't worn make-up for days! Stick out your tongue and say yee-ha!

The church is still true. Please pray for the mission and us so that we will all be able to return to full health soon! We hope to get back out there to teach and preach and do as missionaries do as soon as possible! xoxoxo love, madie

Exercise and chocolate!

It is 23 degrees but feels even worse with all the damp air!!!! Ca-razy. Sister Clark and I salvaged a rowing machine and got special permission from president to wake up a half hour early and work out. We do this intense 15 min travel work out that grandma Sal sent and then we each take turns doing ten min of hard core rowing and stretch and do abs and all that stuff. Our downstairs neighbors/landlords asked if we could please row a little bit later in the morning than 6:00 AM, as their bedroom is right beneath the rowing machine?? So.... president approved us again to rearrange our schedule. Now we study from 6-8, then we work out, then we get ready for the day. A bit backwards, but it works, and our landlords gave us chocolate for being so complying. :)

Love is "owl" you need

Wow, sometimes it gets discouraging! We spend all of our time trying our best to help the members/less actives/investigators/random people, show our love, do what we can, but unfortunately, we are still 21 year old, we still are forgetful, and sometimes we don't realize that our best intentions are going awry. We sometimes get blamed for things that are truly out of our hands. Everyone expects us to be the epitome of missionary, and if we fall short, it really hurts us to get the brunt of it - especially when we are trying so hard and in no way ever trying to offend. If people are feeling guilty about something, about not keeping commitments, or their baptismal covenants, etc. we are def a blatant reminder. As we are representatives of the church, of God, of Christ I think for a lot of people we are a reminder of the things that they should be doing and unfortunately if people happen to be feeling guilty about it, many take out their frustrations, misconceptions, and hurt out on us. It's fine because I know that it's not ME they are rejecting, it's Jesus Christ, but still, it kind of stings, and even worse is that people are rejecting our Savior. We all want to be comfortable, to be able to turn on the heat by a switch, to have our dinner instantly ready, to have our days flow perfectly. The gospel is simple, but it requires our hearts, and that takes work. Christ only asked us to do a few things, and He has done everything else. It's not a lot, but it's a life that requires more strength, more purity, more integrity, more service. In return He gives us so much more. Of course we don't feel good when we fall short of our potential, but that's when we can't give up, (and hopefully not take it out on the poor, poor missionaries) heh heh. As a missionary I honestly do not care if people want to "convert" if they want to listen, if they want to take up their cross, if they want to choose a different way. What matters to me is having a good conversation with someone, hearing what they believe, sharing what I believe, coming away-both sides better for it. Missionaries invite, not convert. Only the spirit can do that to a willing heart. So give someone a break, don't be offended, no one truly tries to hurt another. That goes for any situation in life. But fear not! Because sometimes your fav little brother sends you a postcard of a picture with a purple owl that he crocheted, and then months later your mom sends you a fantastic home made card of an owl, and then you start drawing little owls, and when you go to decorate a cupcake for someone, you make a little owl. And then when you offer a former investigator a cupcake, that person connects with the one that looks like an owl, and later in the day you get a little text that says, “Wherever u are n whatever you may be doing. I thank you for me owl cake. Was much enjoyed.” So It’s always rewarding, no matter what.

A little bird told me......

You can read the Book of Mormon anywhere!

Madison is an Aunt

"I'm so excited about Morgan and Sadi and the baby! John Henry Pope - how adorable is he!!!!!! I love him so much!"

The higher law

The last mission president was very “law of Moses” (hard core rules and crazy numbers), but we are moving to the higher law. When I came in we still did some of the things he started - talk to someone within the first 10 min of leaving the flat, speak to 10 people a day, give out 10 books a week, and have 15 hours of finding. We've done this my whole mission. Last zone conference we dropped it. We were losing focus on the real purpose of doing these things. President Ogden told us, "You are not here to give out Book of Mormons. You are here to bring people to an understanding of the atonement of Jesus Christ." We are responsible for helping people feast upon the word, not just giving out an easy book with little thought to the poor Polish guy who doesn't really understand what you are saying but takes the book just so he can keep moving....It's pretty cool. The spirit is a lot stronger - the mission is changing. We are focusing on finding through the members. 1 in 3 member referrals get baptized. 1 in 1500 doors knocked gets baptized. 1 in 4 of those member referrals make it to the temple. 1 in 6,000 doors make it. wow. Life is pretty good - God is good! I'm grateful for everything. I love you guys tonz!

xoxo

mad skillz.

the bees knees

Missionary work is the bees knees. I've never been so exhausted, but I've never been so happy - evidence that it's truly God's work.
The work is going great. We are praying so much, it's insane! We pray before we get out of the car, to teach, or go tract, and it's changed everything! It's really cool how that all works.

Fall is in the air

*Note - I thought I had published this post for Madie last week but it's been sitting in "draft" mode - oops!

So, it's been fall for quite some time here - the leaves on a single tree gradually went from green to yellow, and then the tips started to turn red. This week they finally started falling off the tree. They held on for a long time!

We live near the River Avon, so we've been walking up and down the banks, talking to fisherman, punks, people walking their dogs, people feeding ducks, etc, etc. And.....there's quite a few rowing teams that come out on the river. It's fun to watch them - it reminds me of my Lesley crew days! Speaking of rowing, we were at one of the other sisters' flats and Sister Clark and I spied a strange work out machine in the corner. We pulled it out and realized it was a rowing machine! They weren't using it so we lugged it out of their flat, down some stairs, put it in our car, and now have sweet morning work outs! Solid!

I took my driving theory test this week - a bunch of multiple choice and a "hazard perception" segment that shows video clips - you have to click anytime you see a potential or developing hazard that would cause you to change speed or direction. Now that I've passed that I have to take some driving lessons and another practical driving license test. Phew!

The heating in our flat are these weird radiator things on the walls. They produce heat by heating up coils and realesing the heat through the top of the radiator. They take 24 hours to turn on and warm up so you have to plan ahead. It's a little sparadic but we try!

The work is going well - we are doing tons of finding! I have always hated finding, but I'm starting to love it now. We've made some hilarious friends and bump into some great people. To help people come closer to Jesus Christ, to help them come to a position where they can now fully access the atonement in their lives, is something that took me a long time to understand, and the poignant significance of that is something that I still marvel at. Godspeed and the Lord moves mountains! Sweet.

Keep knocking until you reach the last door.....

We are really trying to follow the spirit and we've had some awesome experiences. Last week we prayed specifically for which streets to go finding on, neither of us has really, sincerely done that before. The first time, I had the slightest impression to go to a certain street, so we went there and while we were walking around, we bumped into some really cool happy Christian folk who invited us over for lunch the next week. We tried it again the next night. I had a slight impression to go to one street, and Sister Clark had an impression to go to the next one over. So we went to East Street - We got many doors slammed in our faces on one side, but as soon as we made it to the other side, we found a receptive couple who said we could come by anytime, and at the last house we knocked, we found two new investigators. We went to the other street and as we were parking Sister Clark had a weird feeling, like she didn't want to park there, so she drove further up the street until the feeling went away. We got out and started walking, and bumped into a girl walking her dogs (we would have missed her if we had parked were we originally were going to). Anyway, new investigator! She had been taught by elders as a child and wanted to learn more! ¬¬¬ We learned that if we make specific plans, and follow the spirit, the Lord will put people in our path who we are supposed to meet. It's cool how He works. When we first got to East Street, we didn't think we would find anyone, but it wasn't until the last door that we found our new investigators, so we also learned to follow through with the plans.

I finally feel like I'm truly in England!

We are in the wonderful process of whitewashing Evesham! The branch is fa-fa-fantastic! I've never met so many beautiful, happy, loving people in my life! It is a treat! Sister Clark and I spent all of last week driving around, trying to get to know the area better, meeting members, and doing a lot of finding. The ward is soooo awesome, the members are solid, like rocks. The area is gorgeous. I've been walking around with my mouth open most of the time, fighting urges to write sonnets. I finally feel like I'm truly in England. Sister Clark (while walking alongside the river) "look at these trees, and that bridge, and...ahhhh! a lamp post!!" It is so England. bwa hahaha.

Whitewashing into Evesham!

Wellllllll today is transfers and crazy things are happening yet again! Sister Clark and I are being moved out of Banbury and we are whitewashing into Evesham! (We are taking the place of two Elders) We'll be serving in a branch - they meet in a high school! And apparently, it's really beautiful there! Country - very posh. I'm excited. It sounds like there is a LoT of work for us to do! We’re psyched to be obedient and rely on the Lord. (As Morgan would say, Team Jesus) Sister Clark and I came out together, so we are co-senior companions. How do you like that, eh? It's going to be crazy, but it's going to be good.

If you haven't done so, take a bite!

We had a baptism on Saturday - our dear friend Craig Wilson was baptized, he's just the coolest. He started taking the discussions in Oxford with his girlfriend, Ceri (member), and then the Oxford bishop told him that he should start going to his home ward. He's the best! Super hilarious, so excited about baptism, and his eyes were just so full of light. (And we made strawberry jello with chunks of pineapple to serve afterwards - Mormon ethnic food at it's finest. bwa hahha.) As I was sitting there at the baptism, I had this feeling of great joy just fill me up. "And it came to pass that I beheld a tree whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted.... and as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also, for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit." 1 Nephi 8:10-12 Wow, if you haven't done so yet, take a bite, it's really tasty.

football!

We had a mission football! (soccer!) tournament today. At the very end I almost had a goal but totally messed it up! oh blast. But it was super fun.

Pudding, anyone?

The members in this ward are super helpful - there's a lot of Americans since we live right by the air base and they always give us fun food. :) The ward feeds us every night! It’s pretty amazing. They call all dessert "pudding" so after dinner, the give us our "pudding". I used to be confused when they went to get the pudding, but brought out cake or something. :) Anyways. This gospel is amazing; I love to share it with others so they can be happy like our family.

Reading in the "skip"

The picture of me in the dumpster (called a skip here) was part of the "sitting series" - a photographic series that Sister Nadsady and I began of us sitting and reading the book of mormon in interesting seating arrangements. The skip was full of bricks and a chair, irresistable.

It's like a bridge

Wow, the more I understand and learn of the church, the more I realize it is true. The funny thing is that I knew it was true long, long before I truly understood all the logistics of the organization and all the reasons as to why it can stand on it's own two feet and claim what it does. My experience continues to back up the things that my heart has already told me. That's pretty amazing. We don't need to know everything to know that it works. Our stake president, in a singles ward, was talking about a bridge once. He said, "I don't understand how the bridge works. I do understand that it can get me from one point to another. I can use it." We don't have to know everything to know that it works - that it's true. I’m grateful for the sweet spiritual experiences that I had as a child, that gave me faith and I'm grateful for the added experiences I am gaining now.

Welp, I love ya! Don’t let the angry pagans get you down!
ta-ra!
love,
madie

second chances

Yesterday morning we talked to a guy and after walking away, felt like we could have given him more than just a pass along card. After we had gone around the block, we looked to see if he was still there, and he was! We went back over to him, gave him a Book of Mormon, and he set up a return appointment with us. It's so important to try and offer people all that you can. I'm so grateful the Lord gave us a second chance. You don't always get that, and knowing that I would be accountable for not offering a listening ear or whatever is needed is a scary thought! You can't take a single moment for granted, or you might completely miss something of eternal worth.

street art

I loved this "sign" especially because it used words like "rubbish" and "premises" and particularly because it's painted pink. That's a lovely corner of Birmingham for you:)

Ello

Cache Valley Missionaries in Birmingham, England

Elder "Andrew Clawson's cousin" - can't remember his name, Sister Madison Pope, Elder Andrew Clawson

As you can see, I get all choked up about the Book of Mormon!

some good times

It's later at night and I stop a punkish looking girl in the street-she takes out her i-pod and I ask her if she has a belief in Jesus Christ. She looks at me and goes, "do you really want an answer to that?" I start feeling a little nervous, but nod my head. Suddenly she starts reaching down for her pant leg, and all the stories of knives and stabbings in Birmingham start coming to my head. I'm thinking, "What have I done? I'm going to be shanked!!!" (My companion hadn't caught up to me yet) and the pant leg is coming up to reveal..............a huge tattoo of a cross. She shows me, stands back up, and looks at me like, "oh yeah, that's right." word.

We were teaching this guy named Cabbage. How did you get that name? "Well when I was a lad, my father sent me to the store to get some fags (cigarettes) but I came back with a loaf of bread. He goes, 'oh, you've got a cabbage for a brain!' and the name stuck."

We taught a German woman who raises rescue ferrets (frettchen!) and as we teach, there are five of them loose and wandering around curiously. Before I know it, there's this ferret (frettchen!) climbing up my bag, up the leg, up the skirt! AAAAAAHHHHHH!

If you scratch your head long enough.....

Last week in Harborne, we didn't know what to do - our appointments fell through and we had some time but we didn't know where to go. We dropped off our member and sat in the car thinking. We decided to pray and then we sat and thought and thought. We didn't come up with anything brilliant, so we decided to tract an area nearby. We got out of the car and as soon as we did, we ran into a woman who we had given a Book of Mormon to and met with several weeks ago. She told us that she had just had a death in the family and that she had wanted to call us. She had picked up the Book of Mormon that morning and wanted to come to church. It was such a sweet moment. We had had the hardest time re-contacting her, but there she was!!! All b/c we prayed and scratched our heads for long enough that by the time we stepped out of the car, she had come out of her house. Perfect timing. Strange isn't it? :) Wow, miracles are happening here. It’s true. The spirit is so cool. Our mission is particularly being blessed. I love it - I love hearing the success and seeing the fruits of our labors.

I love you!

madie

tripanionship!

I am now in Banbury! I am in a tripanionship! I am with Sister Clark, who came out at the same time I did - she is from California (the Bay Area) - she is super awesome! She was a harp major at BYU. She is brilliant and hilarious. I am also with Sister Necec (pronounced Nemets) who is from...Croatia! Ooo la! She is a convert of two years - she is the only missionary in the world from Croatia! Coool eh? She speaks absolutely perfect English. (American accent included) :) We just had a big “sisters conference”. I am the only sister from Utah! We now have two sisters from Shri Lanka, and that means that 50% of the Shri Lankan sister missionaries are in the England Birmingham Mission! There are thirteen of us total - only four Americans, and the rest are European or Shri Lankan. That's pretty rad! We just received new training from the head hanchos. They are teaching us to slow down when we teach, ask better questions, listen, rely on the spirit, and let the spirit, the investigator, and the missionary do the teaching. As missionaries we have a tendency to plow through the lessons and check off boxes, but they are really trying to teach us to "teach people, not lessons" it's brilliant and inspired of God. The new training really requires us to go off the spirit. It's lovely and hard. :)

a little understanding, please:)

It's always good talking to people on the streets. We started talking to one woman and she said, "No! GO Away!" but Sister Nadsady kept speaking to her and by the end of the conversation, before we left, the woman was saying, "Well, see ya later, keep up the good work!" People often judge us immediatily without taking the time to really see what we have to say. With only a little time, a little explaining, and a little understanding, you will find that LDS missionaries are not so scary :) The only thing that we are really trying to do is share with others something that makes us happy.

flour and family home evening

Last night we had a family home evening with some members and we were playing a game with flour and then the whole thing turned into a massive flour fight and Sister Morgan and I had to run home and change our clothes, brush it all out of our hair, etc. really fast b/c we were heading out tracting that night! So, good times to be had with the English. :)

Woahhhh! That's crazyyyyyy!

Woahhhh! That’s crazyyyyy about Johnny's appendix! Who knew? I guess he had to get at least one curve ball thrown at him before he gets down to business. Poor little guy. Is his side pretty tender? Did he have to hug a lot of people on Sunday? So is he still good to go into the MTC? Does this mean he is leaving tomorrow? Is he going into the MTC all drugged up? Will his companion have to wake up and administer drugs unto him in the strange hours of the night/morning, or will mom just rent out a room next door? Ha! It's so good that Priesthood blessings are so amazing. Sounds like it was a full house at the farewell! :) Can't wait to hear more details.

(Note from Madie's mom - John got his appendix out 6 days before he was to report to the MTC - after many, many prayers and Priesthood blessings, he was able to make it to the MTC on schedule - with a smile on his face!!!!)

incredibly simple

I love the work more and more. The gospel is incredibly simple; most of us try to make it much harder than it is. Sometimes we miss the point by looking "beyond the mark" - trying to see more than there is. (Jacob 4:14) The gospel of Jesus Christ is plain. Christ taught others simply and powerfully without prestige. The gospel works for everyone regardless of nationality, education, or age. That's pretty crazy.

How to speak Brummie

How to Speak Brummie (A "Brummie" is a nickname for someone who lives in Birmingham. So the accent is also called "Brum" or "Brummie"): pronounce the "th" sound as a "f" sound. So "faith" is actually "faif" Also drop your t's and r's. So the name "Peter" is "Pe-ah" Now if you want to say "thirteenth" you say, "fir-eenf"

The other night I was talking with a member with a strong Brummie accent, and she asked me, "was it nos?" I was like, "nos? What’s nos?" She bursts out laughing, and then I realized she was saying "nice" - ha! Just couldn't understand her accent!

There's magic in gold spandex....

This morning I couldn't take it any longer and transformed our 30 min exercise time into a 30 min dance party! (On p-day we can listen to Disney music, so I was pretty jazzed up - It was also due to the fact that I had put my gold pants on to jump rope, but we all know that gold pants can only lead to dancing).

All is well....

Driving is going well, I have not been stabbed yet, and yesterday I gave out two copies of the Book of Mormon. Manna from heaven.

A few tid bits

A Thoroughly British Day
 
I pruned an old woman's hedge in the back garden while a cricket game pursued on the other side. I say.
 
 
Also:
The Senior couple, the Karrens, came to do flat inspecition last night and they gave the first ever 10/10! Tell that to grandma Sal! :) The blind in the bathroom was this horrid grime/must/mold thing going on, but I totally laid waste to it, and it has been preserved to it's original whiteness! bam!
 
xoxox mad

All the previous posts on this blog are excerpts from Madie's emails to me, her mother, but here's an "official blog post" she sent me to publish..

OFFICIAL BLOG POST!!!
This is my first official blog post that I am officially and particularly writing for me Englandia Blog. or should I say
£nglandia? (£££ the pound signs make fabulous "E's" )
 
I am in the heart of Birmingham! aka Little India. So far, so good. My companion, Sister Morgan of Whales, and I walk about every day spreading the good word to any who will listen, and we even talk to those who don't listen. :) If people want to listen more...we teach them! and there have been some sweet experiences. As a missionary, we are easily recognized as religious folk, and that generates some pretty good conversation.
 
The adventure of the week for me was driving! It's WEIRD, but you get used to being on the wrong side of the road. The roads are ridiculously narrow and people park all over the place so it's all a bustle of weaving in and out, waiting for people to come through the narrow bits before you go in, and it's all about the round abouts! Forget everything you thought you knew about four way stops! Our GPS is an Irish man named Sean - "at the end of the row-d, tarn left."
 
We are part of a pretty big ward, and the members are great! It's been fun getting to know them and joining the great missionary work that they already do. We are also in the same ward as our Zone Leaders and a senior couple and they have been really awesome to work with!
 
In our mission about half of the missionaries are American and half European. We have Sister Missionaries from Germany, Whales, Australia, Netherlands, Croatia, Shri Lanka, etc. Pretty rad. Utah continues to dominate the American half! boooo ya utahhhhh!
 
Anywho, there's a few bits and pieces for you to munch on for now. It's been a great experience so far. A lot of learning and growing and all that special stuff that comes with new experiences! so tender. Keep on reading the Book of Mormon :)
 
xoxoxo
 

Kindness and "Wasters"

I'm not as afraid to talk to random strangers as I once was. It's sort of fun, you never know how people will react to you, and it's pretty hilarious. It's amazing how refreshing it is when people thank you for stopping them or for sharing something with them, or just smiling and telling you to keep going. It makes such a world of difference to just be a little bit nice. Kindness goes a long way, and if every one were just a little bit nice, the world would be a lot happier.

"Waster" is a term I've learned in the mission. Like if you don't do something right, or if someone is slacking, you hear things like, "You are such a waster", "I am such a waster", "Don't be a waster!" It's pretty funny. The way that I understand how the church works has completely changed, and the way I see member missionary work has changed. Members truly are the greatest missionaries. If you can bring someone into the church, then you've already created a support system for him or her. Missionaries come, baptize, and go. If a new convert has only been leaning on the missionaries, they don't have all the support they need. And every effort counts for something. It tis amazing. If my mission ended tomorrow, or even if it ended two weeks ago, I would forever see the church in a different way, and I would forever see life in a different way.

English lessons and the World Cup

English lessons - A "gamble" is a summer sault or a cartwheel. They put vinegar on their french fries. "Cheers" means "thanks".

The world cup is starting here on Sat, and all of the missionaries have to be in by 6:00! America vs. England. That would be hilarious if America won! But I think I might get stoned. :) The flag of England is blanketing the city; people are super into this! ¬¬¬ <----Korean for laughing sound.

mission call

We were teaching some new investigators and I was explaining about how I was from America and how the mission call thing works, and the guy goes, "well bless your cotton socks-they sent you to Birmingham!"

"Away with you"

Now for my favorite rejection of the week! A very tall British man comes out from the back garden with dirt all over his hands to find the two of us talking to his elderly father. With a grand sweeping hand motion (almost sweeping into Sister Morgan's face) he says, "Away with you!" (British accent) "we don't want him brainwashed!" I still can't get over the "Away with you!" bit. Oh man. sweet.

Birmingham is kind of short...

England is just like America, except it is smaller and tidier. Birmingham is a pretty massive city, but it is very short, so it's not so intimidating. I say short b/c the buildings and the living areas are...well, they are short (when you compare them to Boston, NY, and especially Seoul). There are only a few high rises that I've seen, and even those aren't particularly tall. I doubted that I was really in the heart of the city for a while b/c everything was so short, but so it is. The city center has a lot bigger buildings though. This area is really a Cambridge/Bostonian feel more than anything, but I guess to be correct we would say Cambridge/Boston have a more Birminghamish feel, since Birmingham was here first. :) Everyone is very proud of their front and back "gardens" or yards. There are little patches of earth with meticulously cut grass (even if it's four feet by four feet) surrounded by flowers and bushes, etc.

The power of Cadbury

Cadbury world was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lovely! Throughout the tour they just hand you bars of chocolate to eat, and at one place they pour warm, melted milk chocolate all over marshmallows (or any other little treat you fancy) in a cup, give you a spoon, and thence, they make the world a better place.

Underwear is called pants so be careful about that one!

May 18, 2010:
Did I tell you that my trainer is from Wales? Cool beans! She teaches me much of the English lingo! :) “All right?” That's what people say instead of "how are you?" or "what's up?". They just walk by and say, "all right?" There are some funny words here - band-aids are plasters, the garbage is rubbish and the garbage man is the bin man. The sidewalk is the pavement and your pants are trousers. Your underwear is called pants so be careful about that one! Jeans are jeans! The accent here sounds more like Eliza Doolittle's from "My Fair Lady" before she learns to "speak properly." It's not too hard to understand but people don't always expect the American accent so I'll say something and they stop and go, "what?"

Love you!
Madie aka sister pope (in an English accent: Sista Pope)

mind your head

May 11, 2010
Heeeeeelllllo!
I mean ello! I'm in merry old England! and the sun is shining! :) I'm so happy to be here! I am in the mission home right now and my trainer, Sister Morgan, is coming to pick me up! The flight over was awesome - we had a stop over in Paris. When we arrived in England we got on the bus from the airport, drove down the wrong side of the road, and I enjoyed little signs like, ~mind your head~ ~don't soil the vehicle~

xoxoxoxo lovelovelove!
Sister Pope!

P.S. Paris was lovely! It rained and I bought post cards and worked on my French! Cheers!

thiskeyboardisn'tworking - grrrrr

May 7, 2010

o ommom! this keyboard is jacked up from elderspoundingon it so sorry for all the mistakes you will suffer on my behalf! than k you so much forthe coooookies !!!! they were a blessingfromthe lord! I told sister lauritzen, "i know my moms gonna send me cookies, i just knowit" and sure enough, you did!

today was crazy!!!!!!!!!!! sis L had hurt her knee pretty bad hiking a week before shecame out, but felt miraculously bett4er the next day,and came to the MTC. this morning we went to the morning work outs that they have especially (and only) for sisters - we get an instructor and do pilates, yoga, kick boxing,toning, etc etc step arobics! so great. well sister L was stretching and when she went to stand up something in her knee just wrenched! So…. to the trainer, to the health clinic, to the mri, back to the health clinic, and we find out she tore her meniscus! crazy! we have been crying, laughing, and hugs and love all day.I have been pushingher aroundin a wheel chair :) luckily I have the utmost sympathies for these ridiculous knee situations! haha. :) but we are so super bummed bc now she must have surgery and might have to go home,be released andthen comeback out.she isso bummed. it's been a rough day.but full of tender mercies, at the sametime. we've bumped into people we really needed to and the timeswe needed to. She will have surgery here, maybe you can give her a home until she can get back to CA. :) she is just like me, only cuter. :)

Ello gov'na!

April 30, 2010

The COOLEST story of the week is this: I noticed a Korean tag on an Asian kid so I said hello in Korean and he was really surprised and asked me how I knew Korean, so I told him about going to school in Hongik, and then he goes, "A sister here went there!" So then I meet Sister Hwang, WHO went to Hongik, AND we have a mutal friend! She is best friends with Arina Kim (who picked me up from the airport when I first arrived in Korea!) It was a Christmas Miracle! So cool! It was such a blessing to meet her, especially b/c she was leaving the next day! You know you are in the right place when you meet a kindred Korean spirit.

What wondrous joy it is to be here!

April 24, 2010

What wonders of the earth the MTC is! I love being here! My companion is Sister Lauritzen, she is going to England to!! Birmingham even. She is so cool it kills me. She loves running and the outdoors and the Lord and being a missionary and memorizing scriptures and we like some of the same music! She is from CA. She is so rad. We are really similar so it's great b/c we can study hard. Shes is el champion and really pushes me to be better! I need her for sure! There are 9 other elders who are going to England too! We have only run into 2 of them so far. The Lord blesses us so much here, we study all day and we are able to focus most of the time and remember things and cram things in. It's the bees’ knees. I'm glad I'm here, I really love the district we are in and I've had so many spank-tastic experiences.

Dropped at the curb

Said goodbye to my trainer who just dropped me off at the curb of the MTC and left!

First Transfer

And so it is. The volcano saga continues and thus they are sending me to el Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center for now! It is true, I must face my fears of Provo, however, we read in Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee, (even in Provo)." It's one step closer to England!

My First Companion

Hey Mom! (notice her missionary badge from when she was in Thailand).

Volcanic Ash.

I tried to fly out of America. Unfortunately, a volcano blew in Iceland! Due to volcanic ash, and the fact that all the flights are super disrupted, I'll be here all week! (unless they send me to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, which would cause me to finally face my fears of Provo, which is scary). The first area of my mission: Cache Valley! My trainer: mom. Other missionaries in my district: Lyle and John.

Henceforth

Henceforth my mother will be posting things for me, since I will be suffering an extreme lack of technology. All for the good word though! Chin up! :)

I'm Moving to England

'ello! I'm movin to merry old England tomorrow to go on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Send me a postcard! Let's get this show on the road!