We be crazzy

Okay so my new comp is amazing. We both have the same energy to work and to do all that we can to help this ward grow and to help people change there lives and really come unto Christ. 

So heres the deal. I have been studying a lot about sacrifice and how sacrifice brings us blessings.. so i have been thinking what does sacrifice mean then? After much study I have learned that sacrifice is doing something that costs you something. Sometimes that means losing or exchanging something you want for something that is more in accordance with the Lords will and what He wants.  So this week after much talk with my comp. we decided we needed to make some changes and sacrifice something.  

So after much thought and prayer we decided to put my theory to the test.  And we decided to sacrifice sleep. So, this week we have been getting up at 4:30 so that we could have the ability to work more and get more done. as we made this change the first day. we had so much energy. Even the days that followed we had extra energy. So we knew that the lord was blessing us. with this blessing we were able to see and be apart of SO many miracles!! 

We have been able to start teaching more than 30 new people about the gospel in just this week. And we have been able to help 12 of them decide on a date to be baptized. I am so excited beccause they will be changing their lives with just simple steps of reading praying and keeping the commandments.

I am the most excited and grateful for the opportunity to teach Lucia. She got baptized yesterday and I have never seen someone so happy and full of light at their baptism. As we were singing the musical number she started tearing up and then as she got out from the font she was crying and I asked her what she felt and she was like I don't know. It just feels so good. I don't know how I can feel better than right now in this moment. This girl is now helping all 6 members of her family change and decide to be baptized. Shes just incredible.

So my comp is the best!  We did facials and we got all pretty. She convinced me to buy my new shoes... they were 10 mil or 20 dollars which is cheap here.. but i did it because it was my valentines present and I really needed shoes for church that are pretty. They aren't just pretty but really comfy. best decision of my life. hahaha. Happy Birthday to me. hah.

Okay so we went to the interview with the elders for Lucia's baptism and we walked 1 hr to get there.. us running.. because it was all up hill and we wanted to show the elders that we could do everything they did even though they were saying it was too far for sisters. haha. It was a blast. 

today was chequeo de mes. It was really really fun. i met a missionary that is really really really good friends with dads cousin who worked at snow college.

This is the true church. We had a lot of lessons with people that wanted to fight and argue and all I said every time was my testimony that I know that Christ has restored HIS church to the earth today and that we have a prophet and apostles who have HIS power.  We then left because the spirit doesn't work with contention.

Well there were lots of miracles this week. I would like it if you could keep David, Erica, Lillian, and Marylin in your prayers.   They should all be baptized on the 2nd of March for dads birthdayyy. : ))

This week just try and sacrifice a little and you will see miracles as you put the natural man behind you and begin to put your will in line with the Lords will. I cant believe how time is flying! AWWHEHAHADKSFJADFJ! Thats how I feel ..... a mess of words and feelings. haha.  Anyways. I love you to the moon and back.  Thanks for all you do and all you are.

I love you all!!!  Maddi 

Fantastic Adventures

So Noche De Hogar.. or for you gringos... family night. So we were in a part of town called Arco Iric.. or Rainbow and we must have been lost because the bus didn't come.  So I look at my tiny little companion and tell her that we are going to have to use what we've been learning in the mornings.  She's like what faith... and i was like.. no it's what we learn before the studies... we have to run. 

Our area is just hills and i mean HILLS, so we tighten our backpacks and just start booking it up one hill and then the next and then the next and then we start running down a hill until we get to the taxis. I knew we had to make it to our family night activity that we planned and we couldn't be late.  So after missing our bus and 20 minutes of sprinting with our scriptures we were able to make it to the taxi.  We were able to share a lesson with him..(the taxi driver) and make it to our family night. Let me just tell you that my companion is the best, because I'm not sure others would have done what we did. .. and I know that the lord blessed us with the promise of run and not faint and walk and not be weary. haha. This was really fun and super exciting.

Adventure number 2... So we go to visit a less active that is now being reactivated. This family is just so awesome.  When we get there we climb up the stairs to get to their house and we knock and knock and the door cracks open like an inch and a deep man's voice says.What do you want?  And I was like it's us the missionaries. He said, well the Sanchezes aren't home. So then I said ok, fine then what's your name. He said Juan.  Then I asked what are you doing here? He was like I'm watching the house. My companion at this point was like this is weird!  The door isn't opened and the voice sounds creepy but i was like no let's baptize this guy.  So I ask where the family is and he's like gone and I was like but I just saw their kids at the church.. this is when I started knowing something was fishy. So then I said where do you live?  I want to teach you about Jesus Christ and the voice gets angry and is like I told you they aren't home. My comp is like lets go but I'm like one moment something isn't right, don't worry.. and then the man yells do you want to see me in my underwear! and the door FLYS open and my comp in less than a minute moves from one side to the next and flies down the stairs and I'm just watching her run all in a matter of seconds I turn back around and I hear bursts of laughter and I see Hermana Sanchez just dying laughing. I was like oh my and my comp just about died.

 I think it would've been a funny story seeing a guy in his undies but I think her trick was something even funnier especially because of my companions reaction. If y'all  can think of ways that we can get her back it would be much appreciated. hah.

Ok family, ready for miracle number one.. We did it. we reached our goal and we had 80... I repeat 80 lpes. One of the miracles of this lpe is that we went to visit a girl who is in a wheelchair. This was our first time to visit her and she was one of the people that we just had talked to on the street. So we get to her house and we just start talking and the spirit was so thick you could cut it with a knife... it was really just incredible. We were talking as prompted by the spirit and as we started talking about baptism but before we can invite her to be baptized she says.. i want to be baptized. I would really like that. i was like in three weeks we have a baptism would you be baptized this day and she was like yes, I will.  I  know that this is true. This just reaffirmed to me that the Lord has prepared people and we just have to open our mouths and he will help us find them. So always just share little gospel truths with everyone because you never know where it might lead.

This sunday we have a baptism and we are so excited because she's so great! Her name is Lucia and she's just radiant and so excited about the gospel. 

I went to San Jose on Tuesday and got two huge suprises. one a package from Becca McCord and two a package from my poppy and of course everyone else back at home. I'm so lucky to have such amazing friends and family. I loved my valentines present and i have been very good with self control because I haven't worn my new outfit yet. I got to spend time with Hna Starke and that was totally fun. And oh yeah one of the new elders... had a teacher... and his teacher was Bethany Kimokeo. My cousin in Hawaii! Sweet! hah. 

Okay well thats all!! I love y'all lots. Thanks for the support and the love and the examples that you give me. Y'all are the best!! 

Perfect First Week

We went and picked up my little baby newbie Colombian on Tuesday. President said she was really awesome and a hard worker so i'm like FINALLY someone like me. hahah. jk.. she's better.... but only by a little bit. haha. jk. anyways, so Tuesday we spent a lot of the time in the office because we went and I got to have my interview with pres. I love these interviews because they are so amazing and because they really make my life. He talked to me and helped me feel good about having to be on my own training in a HUGE area... that is nothing like Santa Cruz. So that was really awesome. We got back and started our hard work.

There's this thing called LPE.. lecciones para encontrar. or lessons in order to find. They are really easy to do if both missionaries are doing them. It's basically just talking to people and the goal is to do 10 every day.Well I've never heard of a missionary meeting the goal of 70 a week. I've heard of a high being 30-40.. so me and my comp.. starting on Wednesday decided that since its a fresh start why not. So we end up talking to EVERYONE and I mean everyone whether they want it or not. We knock on the doors of huge houses and we talk to everyone that we see and with this there is the promise that you will find new investigators... well this week we have found 3 new families!! And they are all married and we were able to get 22 new investigators (from just Wednesday to Saturday) hah. It was amazing.The Lord really blessed us. I know that talking to everyone,will help you find the people God has prepared for the message of the restoration.

My comp is Hermana Zapata.. she's awesome! she's bubbling and loves to work. She is 23 and she makes fun of my Spanish and its cool because i make fun of her too. Shes teeeny tiny. and she's just the most adorable thing. She's got 7 brothers and sisters so that's always really fun and its a blast getting to train her! She's gonna be a rockstar leader right after her training. So there is a thing you say to get into a house its Ope- its like the doorbell.. well there's also the word Tuanis... which means cool. so these words are only here in Costa Rica so i was trying to explain them to her and she goes up to a house and yells as loud as she can TUANIS!! and i just died laughing it was so funny. 

So We got to finish the elders work in this area and got to see Ruth be baptized this past Sunday. It was beautiful and with her baptism and teaching her we've been able to put fechas for 6 of her relatives and they are all getting baptized on the 16th. it'll be a white Sunday. Ruth is one incredible girl! It was a perfect end to the perfect first week here.

Okay so we are teaching a guy who's a little special. I think he has autism or something but at the end i was like, "When can we see you again?" and he said as serious as possible.. In the reincarnation........ i died. my comp couldn't hold it in and left laughing/crying and I had to make up a lie for why she walked away so that he didn't feel bad. but he'll be baptized on the 16th as well.

We got lost so much this week, but every time we got lost we were able to find people. It was so incredible that all accepted the challenge to be baptized. It was an incredible tender mercy.

My area is so beautiful. and my hot showers are so great! They aren't like hot but they're like real american hot showers. Also I get to see hna Stroud every morning as we get up at 5:30 and go to our private stadium.... haha. It is so beautiful! and I love it. I get to do the 20 min. interval run and then i get to do push ups and abs and I get to really work out in the perfect climate in the perfect field with super awesome comps.. wanna here the best story.. I DOUBLE lapped my comp.... hahahaha. i'm getting into such great shape here. not just with working out in the morning but all we do is climb hills and walk up steep streets. hah. its great. and my cook, she's great and we actually eat really yummy healthy food. haha. 

Today we went to this awesome WATERFALL!!!  and we went with some members and with a menos activo. HE SAID HE'D COME TO CHURCH! so that was awesome. and it was just so beautiful. i'm in the best area seeing SO many miracles and I'm so grateful.

This is the good life. I love the mission. I love the work of the Lord. 

Lets just say that when I got to call and report my numbers, no one. .I mean everyone.. was thinking that we were going to have some awful or just below average numbers for the week. When i called in the district leader was like----- whatttt----- you just dropped an atomic bomb.. (So I could get a big head) but the thing is i don't think it matters who the missionary is, if there obedient they can be an instrument in the hands of the lord and i know that this is only possible through the lord.  I love that I just get to apart of this work and help people in there lives...

Alma 26.