take me to church November 28, 2016

There is an elderly couple in the family history center with us right
now doing things for cyber Monday and the wife keeps talking about how
they don't need a kayak and she doesn't want to go on a kayak and
he keeps trying to explain to her that it is a travel website but she
just doesn't understand and I am dying #relationshipgoals

Thanksgiving? GREAT
I am just going to cut to the chase here. MEGAN CAME TO CHURCH!! it
was great! and so did baby Megan! and Steve (they got back together)
and Micheal!! (Micheal is the one who came conference an hour early
thinking it was church and then he stayed for 3 hours and the ward
potluck afterwards). He is really close with a member named Bert in
our ward and last year she invited him to thanksgiving and he came.
This year she had us over and extended the invitation to Micheal again
but he never responded (which is very much classic Micheal. we aren't
sure why he doesn't like using the phone..) BUT HE CAME he came like
three hours after we left but he came all the same. and then he came
to church as well. It was insanity. But we were able to lock down a
lesson time with him.
A couple days before church we had a lesson with Megan and Steve and
baby Megan who came over and sat between us and we soon realized why.
It turns out she has a thing for hair, specifically pulling it. My
eyes were welling up with tears that lesson. Partially because of the
spirit and partially because of hair loss.
But she came to church and it went really well! There have been a lot
of new missionaries who start out their mission here and I think it is
partially because of the members here. They are so welcoming and
loving and I remember when I first came here and how loved I felt. I
LOVE this place.
Baby Megan was pretty quiet during sacrament except when it came time
for the hymns. Then she got REALLY loud. Sister Duede said she was
singing along. It was really cute. They stayed for all three hours and
we talked with them afterwards and they said they had a good time.
Megan sat next to me during relief society and I snuck a peak at her
and she was asleep. But Sunday is a day of rest soo
have a good week and please just JAM out to some Christmas music for me.

🎄Sister Madsen🎄

Do or die is dead November 14, 2016

Well this past week was our Do or Die week. We had a lot of investigators but none of them were progressing. We ended up dropping Tarrone and Duane. We were never able to set up appointments and they kept on telling us they would do things but then never followed through. It was sad but hopefully one day they will be ready to make and keep commitments!

We did a lot of work this week with Megan and Steve. We brought one of the members from the primary presidency to both of our lessons with them and she has just been so amazing. She has gone completely out of her way to do everything she can to make sure they all have a good experience despite baby Megan's disabilities (have I explained this? Baby Megan is Megan's daughter who she named after herself. She has some mental challenges and some of the churches Megan has taken her too have asked her not to come back soooooooooooo). Anyways she bought toys and games and books she would like, Made a good lesson for her, and set up her own primary room in case she couldn't handle being around more kids. She literally went so above and beyond. Even stopping by the members of primary during the week explaining to them what would be going on and how they should act. It was amazing she is great. They were so set on coming to church and all of the members were so excited to meet them! We found someone to even pick them up and drive them to church. 

And then.

They slept in and missed church. It was really disappointing but we are just going to have to be patient.

So it was a little bit of a frustrating week where we worked hard but no one was following through. Thankfully we got to stop by and see Sister Alberts. This woman is the happiest person I've ever met. She is so beautiful and made us smile and laugh when we were feeling a little down. We took pictures with her. She is so full of charity. We showed her the Conference talk Joy and Spiritual Survival because it is literally her. She is 95 years old and just the nicest and happiest lady I have ever met. and dresses to the 9s every time we see her. Watching her watch that conference talk made both Sister Corbett and I cry. She was just so happy and laughing and really excited. I'm not sure when the last time was that she saw General Conference because no one in her family comes around to show it to her. That made me cry. And seeing her happy made me cry. I love old people. There are a lot of them waiting for me in Heaven.

I am really learning how beautiful and important charity is. Christ loves us even when we don't keep the commitments we make with him, so we need to be patient with others too and just keep on loving them. Ultimately that's all we can do as missionaries. No matter how hard we tried we couldn't force Megan and Steve to come to church but we can always love them and charity never faileth!

P.S. Transfers came and Sister Corbett and I are BOTH staying in Freeport!!!!!!!! #HALLELUJAH

which means Thanksgiving and Christmas in the promised land. Which also means we bought matching Christmas onesies at Walmart to celebrate. pictures to come.

Sister Alberts!

In the background is a painting THAT SHE PAINTED

And also she didn't understand what a selfie was and the reaction was gold

Illinois = bugs

And Sister Corbett snuck a pic at church of our comp unity 

play ball November 7, 2016

Everyone's hearts here in Illinois have been so soft. And I thank the Cubs for that.

It is truly an honor to be here at such a time when God has so much in store for the great and flat state of Illinois.

This week we had a lot of appointments cancel on us. Which is never fun. But after a lot of studying about the whiteness of the field, and the mention of our call to build up Zion in these last days at Zone Conference, Sister Corbett and I have prayerfully decided to call this up coming week "Do or Die" week. We currently have 10 investigators and none are progressing. Some have been investigators longer than others, but it is just time to sit down with all of them and have some #realtalk and see where they are spiritually and where they want to go We really want to build up the ward here in Freeport and have been praying to find a family to teach, as well as finding people who are ready to keep commitments. and we know that there are people in Freeport that God has been preparing who are ready to hear the gospel. The field is not brown ready to plant or yellow ready to water it is white ready to harvest and WE are ready to harvest as well haha. It has been cool to see as we have committed ourselves more seriously to this work and are doing the will of God He has put more people in our path!! There are always people who are prepared, sometimes we just have to make room for them. Which is sad for the people that we have been teaching and growing close to, but their time will come when they are ready.

This week we decided to stop by a man named George who Sister Peterson and I found awhile back while tracting. He is a total cowboy and has this great mustache. He told us he was a member of the church when he was a teen (he is now a grandfather... at least.) we talked with him around conference time and he told us he had been there live and maybe he and his wife Wanda (who is not a member) would come. Well they didn't. But we felt like we should go see him so we stopped by and talked for him for a little bit and he says to us "this is the 5th time this week that someone has told me that I need to go to church, I probably need to go." can you say PREPARED. It was awesome. He told us that he still had the card that sister Peterson and I had given him with the time and address of the church and he had asked Wanda if she would want to go and she said yes! So he said they would either come this week or next week because they were going to go to a couple of churches before deciding on one. We talked for him for awhile and it was really good. Afterwards I just felt really happy and grateful to be able to talk with George. Because he is just so normal and understands and you don't have to explain anything to him. The people of Freeport are great and I love them. But sometimes they are insane. And say crazy things like "if you stare at the sun long enough and then blink a lot and fan your eyes you can see the celestial kingdom" or how they remember being a butterfly in their past life. WHICH. is very entertaining, but sometimes you just want to talk about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And George let us do that. And so did a lady named Pam, and a man named Robert with his cute daughter Jayla. Who is probably 3 or 4 and we gave her a restoration pamphlet and she looked at the picture of Jesus and then hugged it and said "I Love This" in her cute 4 year old voice. Sister Corbett and I are PUMPED and have been and will be tracting (and other finding activities) our brains out and talking with everyone. and although the more people we talk to means the more crazy people we will talk to it also means the more prepared people we will talk to  

ANOTHER THING

I was going to end the email right there but I remembered a cool thing. This entire transfer Sister Corbett and I have been looking for a service project to do in the community and haven't been able to find anything. But last week we stopped at the Salvation Army and asked about volunteer opportunities and the lady there told us to come back at 8 in the morning, but we had a couple appointments and things going on so we weren't able to do it until Friday. so we went in on Friday and there was a lady standing in the office and we asked her about serving and she got really excited and hugged us and thanked God for answering her prayers! It turns out that two of her cooks for the soup kitchen had called in and weren't coming so she was going to be two people short. and then tada we show up. it was really cool. God answered her prayers but guiding us to come when we did. and he answered our prayers by helping us to finally be able to find a place where we can serve 

A side note for that, there is a cool app that you can download called JustServe that shows a lot of service opportunities in local areas. It is church based I believe so there should be a TON of people and companies using it in Utah, so if you ever want to volunteer or stop wasting time lounging around this app is a great way to help other people!!

See ya l8tr

🐻Sister Madsen🐻

Rockford South Zone! 

We went to see a potential and he had taped the card we gave him the last time we saw him to his door. 

And Sister Corbett took this picture after our 3 hour planning session and..yeah..

In honor of the Comeback Cubs we went to one of Freeport's many treasures...Little Cubs Field

Harry Caray himself 

Awktober is over October 31, 2016

In the spirit of Halloween the light in the family history room keeps turning itself on and off. its fine.

But I am here, and I am eating fried cheese curds so I'm not complaining. 

This week was really weird, we had a lot of meetings and missionary things going on and lessons which means we didn't really talk to a whole lot of new people. however minutes ago we did meet a man named Joe when we stopped at his pumpkin patch to browse. we were talking with him for a while and then he asked us if we had any reading material from our church. so we loaded him up!!!! we got his contact info and we should be talking with him later this week!! Very exciting. and very classic Freeport. always Farmers and Gangsters

Since its Halloween, today we have to be back in the apartment by 5 because....just because. and then tonight we get to study or clean or whatever we gotta do to get extra prepared for the week. And I will say, I have never been so excited to study and clean.

The mission has changed me.

Anyways, I am trying to think of something spiritual to put in here, this week has been very spiritual and we have been able to hear a lot of amazing thoughts and trainings from our leaders, but nothing is sticking out to me really to talk with you about. so that's my bad. 

maybe just go and read Alma 5 and give yourself a reality check. its always good to do that every once in awhile haha 

 15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

 16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

 17 Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?

 18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?

 19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

If you scrolled down and didn't actually read those verses go back and reread them bc you need them in ur life. In my scriptures there is a lot of highlighting and underlining and big question marks all over this page because these are some pretty soul searching questions 

The beginning of the process of change and repentance is recognizing that you need to change. and that can only happen if you are honest with yourself and admit where you struggle and where you can improve. So when I ask myself these questions I am able to identify what it is that is keeping me back from looking forward to that day of judgment when we will stand with God at that final day. What it is that keeps me from serving him fully, or from following him and his commandments fully. President Griffin talked a little about that at New Missionary Training and letting go of the things that hold us back from serving our missions with an eye single to the glory of God. it was great

The primary program was this Sunday! it was, eventful.

We ate dinner with the Reid's on Sunday as well and Sister Reid actually writes ghost stories so it was really fitting for this time of year. Except that she talked all about how Freeport is a ghost town because so many people have been murdered here.. and that the Freeport church building is haunted. With that information and the flickering lights and Sister Corbett leaning over to me every couple of minutes and asking "did you hear that" all going around in my mind I would definitely say that Halloween can still be spooky on a mission haha 

In a couple of weeks this election stuff will all be over and we will know who is president. weird. remember, our choices determine our destiny ;)  

Also my former two week old companion, Sister Turner, and I went on exchanges this last week and it was awesome to be back together in Freeport. But we didn't take any pictures because we are idiots 

Also also. Sister Corbett invited two people to be baptized this week!!! Megan and Steve! And they said yes. She did really great. Steve started to say no but she kept talking and bearing testimony and then asked them again and they both said yes. It was great!! Not at all like my flop, I swear each batch of new missionaries is just better and better. God's work is hastening 

Sister Madsen 

Actually my mission twin Sister Turner and I did take pictures together so I guess am the idiot. We got to teach Aaron! Who is someone that Sister Turner was able to teach and baptize while she was here in Freeport. 

When you are in the Land of Lincoln you are going to run into Abe graffiti. It is inevitable.

As many Freeport sisters as we could find at new missionary training 

Sister Corbett, Sister Turner, Sister Peterson, Sister Smith, and sister me