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. :)