December 3, 2012 Letter

Hello Family and Friends!

 

Its been a great week in Greenville! I hope that you all are doing well! The work moves forward!

 

Christmas has arrived here in Greenville Alabama. The city has put up a lot of pretty lights and decorations around the downtown. The culture is very different different here - very few people have lights and decorations on their houses. The Christmas music that they play in stores is really different - pretty much all country and soul.

 

I forgot to tell you last week that I have a new district. Elder Kaupert is still my district leader but now we have 12 (instead of 4) people in our district. The district is us and Highland Home, and now all the missionaries in the two Montgomery Wards. We have Elder and Sister Aston, the new senior couple who replaced Elder and Sister Blau as Military Relations missionaries. They started their mission just three weeks ago. We have sisters in Montgomery now and their names are Sister Kim and Sister Wilson. Sister Kim is from Korea and has been working with the Koreans here in the Montgomery area, where there are a lot of Hyundai car plants (which are owned by Koreans). Elder Crockett and Elder Smidtley are the Spanish Elders for the Montgomery Zone. Elder Banks (Oklahoma) and Elder Hardman (Twin Falls) are serving as the Elders for both the Capital and Carter Hill wards in Montgomery. The transfer before I got out here they had three sets of english elders in Montgomery and until now they've had two, but Elder Banks and Hardman have been really effective in their area and are covering all that territory on their own now (they've had a lot of baptisms). Elder Kaupert and Elder Cusick are still in Highland Home, and then there is us.

 

Not a lot of new investigators to talk about right now. We're still teaching D-- and S-- and V-- and B--. We've tracted half the city of Greenville (you think I'm joking - I'm totally serious) and we are starting to change focus a little bit. We feel that working with less actives more would be an important use of time. It's something that President Nimmer (Stake President) encouraged us to do from the beginning, but I guess we didn't take the less-active work super seriously. There is a lot of potential for convert baptisms with less active and part-member families.

 

I'm running out of time (as usual) but will email more next week. I thank you all for your letters and packages, and especially your prayers. They are needed, and they are appreciated.

 

Christmas is here, and what better gift is there to give than the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I am grateful for this opportunity I have to spend the holidays here in Alabama teaching the gospel. I miss you all, but I am happy!

 

Love,

 

Elder Coleman Madsen

from Susan - Coleman wanted me to mention that Elder Christofferson will be visiting their mission in February.  A General Authority visits only once every three years, so the missionaries are very excited to have him come.