Madeline Brown

Madeline Brown

Monday, August 12, 2019

Week 41 - Papillion & The Mormon Trail Center

Me, eating the corn I planted and harvested!

Me and Sister Worthington about to eat Banh Mi

Sister Worthington caught a mosquito that had just bit me right on my forehead, so that is my blood that came out of it.

Funeral for the cricket

There are these cocoons that hang from trees EVERYWHERE. We think they are silk worms...

Remember the patch of corn I planted 2 transfers ago?


We found a bunch of "Cow Killers", basically a wasp who's sting hurts 10x more than an average wasp.


We did a service project for the Robinson's and basically weeded their entire yard, if was a big job including a LOT of spiders. But we found a cross in the weeds and a dead cricket on a shovel and so we had a proper burial.

I earned my trail center awards!! One award is the pendant and the other one is the journal. For the journal, you memorize "victory over tragedy" by Heber J Grant and get 3 more precious than gold moments (which is basically when you do something that makes the trail center better). And for the pendant you memorize: 
•The first vision (easy)
• Mark 9:23 (easy)
• Proverbs 3:5-6 (easy)
• D&C section 4 (less easy)
• The standard of truth (less easy)
• The Living Christ (NOT easy) 
And give 25 single tours
I'm proud of myself 


Holding a bearded dragon at a dinner appointment

Harvesting corn we helped plant


Having fun while tracting


Me, harvesting corn

Week 39 & 40 - Transfers, Papillion & The Trail Center

(Transfers were week 39. Madeline is staying in the Cottonwood Ward and giving tours at the Trail Center but has a new companion, Sister Worthington.)

Hello! I am sincerely sorry for not writing "weekly" emails. P days get pretty wild, I end up forgetting. I am alive and having the best time ever though.

Sunday we had the trail center in the morning and I took a family from France around the gallery, they translated the whole tour in french for their kids, so that was pretty cool. I also got caught up reading Saints (my favorite book ever). 

Then Amanda came to church and LOVED it as usual. We had such a good fast & testimony meeting! The spirit was SO strong it was tangible. I got up and bore my testimony in sacrament meeting for the first time since I was probably 12, and cried like a baby hahaha. Anyway, church was really really great.

Then after church we had early dinner with the elders and a less active Hispanic family that speaks little English. They made the best Mexican food I have probably ever eaten. Carne al pastor, SO good. I ate at least 5 tacos. They just kept piling it on our plates and telling us to eat more. 

Then the elders said they had a referral for us that was nearby, so we all walked to her house to do a pass off lesson. When we got there she was outside and let all of us in and her ENTIRE huge family was there for her daughters birthday party. We just sat down and all four of us taught a really powerful Restoration lesson and the whole family was listening intently and the spirit was tangible again. There were about 15 little kids running and screaming around for the first part of it, then about halfway through, all of the kids came and just sat all together quietly and listened as we taught. It was the coolest thing. Then we sang I am a child of God and all the kids tried to sing along. This is one of the coolest experiences I have had on my mission. 

Then when we got home I was feeling really sick and there had been a lot of things that day pointing for me to get a priesthood blessing, so I told sister Worthington I needed one and as soon as I did, the pain in my stomach and my head got 1000 times worse, and I couldn't move from the spot where I was sitting without it pulsing through my whole body. I almost blacked out a couple of times, so we called the elders that live downstairs and they came up and gave me a blessing, after they did, my pain didn't go away but it subsided enough for me to get up and get ready for bed. 
This was a day of miracles.

The rest of the week:

•We had a lesson with a girl named Becky and her kids, one of her kids who is probably about 7 was singing along to a Christian rock song and she is probably going to be famous one day because she was SO GOOD

•I broke my phone taking a picture of a spider

•Chloe's Banh Mi Shop got robbed and she used it as a missionary opportunity, she is my best friend. 

•We saw a spider on a doorstep tracting that jumped at us and we both screamed and ran away from the house then someone walking on the street told us we need to have more faith and we won't be scared of spiders. 

I love all of you! I know that Heavenly Father knows each and every one of you. Trust him, never stop praying. 

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."
(Moroni 7:48) 

Me and Hermana Hansen in matching dresses

A Painted Lady Butterfly that Amanda's daughter found

Papillion Zone

Transfer Day

We told the Meadows family they could smash whipped cream in our faces because they won a game last time we were there, but we had to thaw the cool whip, so we drove around holding it in the sun.

A pretty road we had to walk down to find a house

El Pastor!!

Me and a tiny Chihuahua

Sister Worthington in our new Banh Mi gear

More transfer day...

Banh Mi!

Service project!

The spider and web I destroyed, when I freaked out because the spider moved and a threw my phone, totally shattering the screen.

Amanda's daughter





How we deal with spiders in big webs...

Week 38 - Papillion & The Mormon Trail Center




Recorded this video to send to Will the week of his birthday!


Me and Sister Davis

At the Trail Center

Matching bracelets from Raising Canes

I did this all by myself and was proud...



Last dinner with Chloe and the Elders

Eating grapefruit and weekly planning

Every place we go, they give up water. It's the best!

Making homework for the Meadows family. Their mom asked us to give them homework!

Study doodles

Dinner with Sister Tregaskes

More of my birthday dinner with Chole

I love Amanda!

Old picture I forgot to send... Sister Davis, Sister Sipple, Sister Anderson, Me, Sister Jones, Sister Albrecht

All the Trail Center Sisters and Senior Couples

At Chloe's sandwhich shop

Sister Jones & Sister Albrecht again

At the Banh Mi Shop

Week 36 & 37 - Papillion & Mormon Trail Center - Midwest Madness

6/25 We ate with Chloe and she made us this lemon chicken noodle dish that was to die for. Sooo good. And we had English connect. We met this lady named Lucy who had the coolest huaraches. She told me where to get them here, so I went today and snagged a pair for myself. 

6/26 We were at the trail center basically all day. It was a blast as always. I got to meet this really sweet family from Florida that came through, and I made friends with the oldest girl. She just graduated High School and she is going to Utah State in the fall and said she was debating on a mission. I got to bear my testimony about missionary work to her, and she told me that now she knows she wants to serve. So that was really cool. She just emailed me too!!! We are going to keep in touch. 

6/29 We had trail center training early in the morning so we got to hear from President Johnson and we learned all about the symbolism of the Nauvoo and the Salt Lake temples! Then there was a huge group from Alpine and Highland UT that came in.

6/30 AMANDA CAME TO CHURCH!!!!! She finally came. It was so awesome to have her there, I love her so much and I know she felt the spirit. The talks that day were perfect for her situation too. Everything just went so well.


7/2 We had district council all about how America was prophesied in the book of Mormon and how the way was prepared for the restoration. Also the third verse in My Country Tis of Thee talks about templed hills, so that's pretty cool. 

7/3 We were at the trail center again and it was super slow, so we took a couple of tours and then helped decorate for the bbq we all had on the 4th. 

7/4 All day Pday except I forgot to send a weekly email. Oops. But NOBODY does the 4th of July like the Midwest. Let me tell you, we did not get a lick of sleep that night there were so many fireworks and lightning and fireflies it could have been daytime. 

7/6 We car fasted, which means we went walking without a car for about 5 hours, and it was HOT. We met this super, super sweet lady named Latoria while we were walking, and she was so touched to see us. She had been praying about where she should go to church, and then we showed up! So we are going to go see her and be her friend pretty soon. 
We also had a lesson with the cutest girl, Bianca. She is so ready and wants to be baptized on the 20th!!!! She reads the Book of Mormon every day and we love her so much. 

So the other day, I was reading about planting good seeds in your heart. I was trying to diagram what I was thinking, and I couldn't come up with anything other than the normal tree diagram everyone does. Then I thought about the scene in Bugs Life when Flick is trying to explain something to Dot, and he keeps telling her to pretend that a rock, is a seed. Dot knows that rocks don't grow into trees, so she retorts back "but its a rock..." sometimes Satan tries to trick us into planting rocks, like money or popularity, in our hearts, telling us they will grow into trees. We need to be smart enough to sort out the rocks from the seeds. Good seeds, like the gospel, the scriptures, or the Atonement of Jesus Christ, will grow and flourish and bring lasting joy into your life. They will help you to grow and progress and become the best version of yourself. Rocks that you plant, will just sit and weigh you down....slow your progression. I invite you all to look at the things that you are planting and find out if they are rocks, or seeds. Then make the necessary changes that you need to dig the rocks out and put in some seeds. I know that as you do, you will find the real joy that only comes through Jesus Christ, and you will understand the divine potential that you have. 

I love you all!!! Send me an email, or a letter (My address below :) I miss you!!!! 

68112


Helping Sister Ramos clean



Here is a little picture I drew of Flick. So the other day, I was reading about planting good seeds in your heart. I was trying to diagram what I was thinking, and I couldn't come up with anything other than the normal tree diagram everyone does. Then I thought about the scene in Bugs Life when Flick is trying to explain something to Dot, and he keeps telling her to pretend that a rock, is a seed. Dot knows that rocks don't grow into trees, so she retorts back "but its a rock..." sometimes Satan tries to trick us into planting rocks, like money or popularity, in our hearts, telling us they will grow into trees. We need to be smart enough to sort out the rocks from the seeds. Good seeds, like the gospel, the scriptures, or the Atonement of Jesus Christ, will grow and flourish and bring lasting joy into your life. They will help you to grow and progress and become the best version of yourself. Rocks that you plant, will just sit and weigh you down....slow your progression. I invite you all to look at the things that you are planting and find out if they are rocks, or seeds. Then make the necessary changes that you need to dig the rocks out and put in some seeds. I know that as you do, you will find the real joy that only comes through Jesus Christ, and you will understand the divine potential that you have.  

Another picture from the 4th of July

Taking Jesus on a church tour
We played a Plan of Salvation board game with Izavella's family, it was so much fun!

I just love these shoes...

You use one dice and start at pre earth life, then stop at the earth, then you have to roll an even number to be born. Then you can move on and you stop at faith, repentance, baptism etc. (Later we put random red spaces you stop on and do the same thing to make it more of a teaching experience) and you teach them about what they are on. Then they cant move on from that space till they answer a question about the topic. (If they don't know the answer you just teach it again) then when you get to death, if you roll an even number you go to spirit paradise, and an odd number sends you to spirit prison. Once you are in the spirit world you don't get to move on until everyone is in the spirit world, but you can answer any question asked of anyone and steal their points. Then when everyone is in the spirit world, you take turns rolling until someone rolls a 5, then Jesus Christ comes to earth for the second coming and everyone is resurrected and judged. The person with the most points from answering questions wins and goes to the celestial kingdom, and the second place person goes to the terrestrial kingdom, third to telestial, fourth (optional) goes to outer darkness, and you teach them what it is when they go there. 

Exchanges with Sister Tuala

Three different greens... 

Izavella's Baptism!

Zone Conference on my Birthday!

My Birthday dinner and dessert with Chloe! 

20th Birthday Dinner!


Another Birthday Dinner!