have a blessed day Sept. 5 2016

Sister Peterson and I have had such a blessed week to be quite honest. Since the baptism we have been continuing to teach a lot of the less active members of the Freeport ward but were struggling to find new investigators. There is a quote in preach my gospel about missionaries doing something and then for whatever reason people to teach just start falling from the sky, and when I read that at the first of my mission I will be honest I thought it was a LIE. because Sister Smith and I were working so hard and being so diligent and still nothing was happening. Looking back now I know that there were things that Heavenly Father was teaching us during that time, but I am here to tell you right now that the whole thing about having people fall from the sky is REAL.
 We were able to find three new investigators this week, and what is crazy is that they were all through our own efforts. We have a list of potentials that will possibly become new investigators but all of the people that we are teaching now are people that we met this very week! its killer. The list of reasons that I love Freeport just keeps growing honestly.
Last Sunday a member of the congregation gave a talk about Love and how it is such a beautiful and viscous cycle and it is so true. She was talking about a missionary that she had met that taught her and helped her become converted to the church. She was talking about how much she loved her and how much she owed her for everything. Later in life she had the opportunity to help out this Sister Missionary who by then had gone home and married and had a family of her own. Well her husband had died and the wife was really sick and she had these 3 kids to take care of. Well this member sold EVERYTHING she had and moved from Illinois to California to move in and help out this missionary who had changed her life. She was really excited to be able to serve her and looked forward to being able to serve and somehow help her friend. Even if it was only a fraction of what that sister missionary had done for this members life, she was happy to be able to repay her and help. WELL. She gained so many lessons and experiences that have helped her when she was caring for the missionary that she AGAIN felt indebted to her, even while she was in the process of serving her. She went on to talk about the cycle of love and how you just can't ever seem to repay or help those that you love more than they help you. And I think it is the same with God. In efforts to be more obedient Sister Peterson and I have made a companionship goal to be to bed on time, bc for real there is just SO MUCH TO DO and we never seem to find the time to do it all. But we know that it is a rule and have been putting forth more of an effort to follow the rules that Heavenly Father has set up for us and in turn, he blesses us. NOT ONLY are we getting more (and better) sleep, for keeping this rule, but because of our tiny smidge of an effort to be more obedient God is like here, have three new investigators, and this cute old man is going to let you into his house right as it starts raining and give you popcorn, and that guy sitting on his porch is going to ask you to have a seat and ask you to teach him, and a grandson's friend of the lady you are teaching is going to start asking you questions about the church, and these members you have dinner with? they are going to invite their family members over to eat with you. Oh, here is good weather too. that wayward young woman that you have been concerned about? you are going to run into her as she is telling someone about God and temples And another thing, while you are walking around you are going to run into some former investigators that you haven't been able to get a hold of because their phone has been turned off. and fast Sunday? FORGET ABOUT IT. Heavenly Father answered  my fast during the prayer I said to START OFF the fast. and there were more kids that bore their testimony this fast Sunday than there were adults. which is insane because there are only 3 families in the ward. AND everyone that bore there testimony was someone that we had taught in that week. God is real. and like it says in Mosiah 2 we will ALWAYS BE UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS. I love Him. I love Freeport. when we go tracting people sitting on their porches yell at us to let us know if the person who's house we are knocking is home or not. and everyone tells us to have a blessed day. and we do.

> sister madsen

We went to a fair this morning and I got an elephant ear and it was
huge and delicious