Sister Madeline Brown

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Week 26 - Papillion - Hermana Marrón

Hola!!!!

This week it was 87° and miserably humid. Bugs are EVERYWHERE. We aren't sure where spring went, it just skipped right to summer.

We are teaching some awesome people here in Omaha!

Francisco is a younger guy who's first language is actually Spanish, but he speaks super good English, so we get to teach him instead of the Spanish Elders. He has a friend/co-worker who is serving her mission in Las Vegas and she sent him a Book of Mormon a while ago which he started reading! Then we knocked on his door and told him about the Book of Mormon and he was like, "oh yeah I'm reading that and trying to figure out if its true." So we set up a return appointment. We've been teaching him since then and he is AMAZING! he feels the spirit so strong and has a great testimony of the Book of Mormon and really wants to just follow the savior. When it's the right time, it's the right time. This is truly the Lords work, I am just being his hand here on earth to help guide his children.

We also had a baptism on Saturday for Kim and Savannah!!! We worked with them for a long time and they both have such strong testimonies. You can feel the light and love of Christ so strong through them and their desire to serve and do what's right.

Unfortunately, Nicholas, the crazy one we were teaching hasn't been showing up to meetings or answering his phone, and he told us if that happens he might be dead. So we pray that he is alright...that's all we can do.

I seriously love being a missionary. I love sharing the gospel with everyone and every day I learn more and more about Jesus Christ. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Brother.

Love you all!!!

Me in a bonnet

Pretty Tree

Pretty Spring Blossoms

Captain America at Service?

Kim, Sophie, Savannah, Sister Miller, Sister Soares

One of Madi's original designs

Baptism Prep

Baptism Day

The Tripanionship

The Programs that Sister Miller made herself!!!

Sister Spencer and I with Bleach

Me and Kim

Behind the scenes of the #askme video

87 Degree Day!

Me and Sophie

At Lunch

#askme

Dancing with Sophie

Monday, April 15, 2019

Week 25 - Papillion

Hey everyone! I'm in Omaha now! In a trio!!! The city is WILD!!!

We are teaching this guy named Jeffery and he is just obsessed with getting baptized and receiving all the ordinances he can. It's great but we are like okay slow down you can't just jump in like that. But he used to live in Vegas for a long time and he managed Caesars Palace and used to be a multimillionaire, (!!!???!?!) Then he lost everything (probably gambling on horseraces) and now he lives in Omaha in this tiny apartment. But he is like 70 and has a gold mine in Europe that he is trying to cash in so he can buy a mansion again or something (sometimes he gets random calls from London he has to answer in lessons) He also was good friends with Elvis and Cher and tells us lots of stories about Elvis cheating on his wife, but always assures us that "it's just the way it was" and how he was still a really great guy.

We also invited this other crazy drug dealer we are teaching named Nicholas to come to church and he didn't come, but he called us after and informed us that the reason he couldn't make it was because he didn't feel like stealing another car. At least he's kind of keeping the commandments. He also told us that for our next appointment he could meet us at the house where "Stutters shot Big Head" which is apparently the house we met him at, which is apparently the house of a drug lord, where a guy named Worm threw a machete next to us because "he can't have weapons around women it's just impolite" and where a couple people were murdered (RIP big head)

Omaha is crazy town. Missionaries truly have protecting Angels hahahahaha.

I love you all!!!!

The squirrel obsession continues...

Martinelli's Miracle (Every Monday we buy a bottle of Martinelli's and pray for a miracle that week. When the miracle happens, we open the bottle and celebrate)

Flower in my hair that a little kid on the street gave me

Savannah...an awesome 12-year-old that we are teaching who is getting baptized this weekend

A Vietnamese member who is a chef made us oxtail pho for dinner

Jeffrey! Getting baptized on the 27th

Bigfoot Sighting #2

Savannah at church!

Jeffery

Weeks 22, 23 & 24 - Nebraska City and Papillion

(Written by Mom as told by Madi)

P-Day of week 24 was crazy. They had a sudden transfer and only had a few hours to prepare. Madeline is now in the Omaha area (Papillion in the Cottonwood Ward) in a Trio with Sister Miller and Sister Soares. It was a crazy, emotional day, having to leave so suddenly and not have a chance to properly say goodbye to the area and the people she grew to love there, especially after being in Nebraska City for so long.

Madi is loving Papillion and loved the opportunity to serve with Helping Hands Cleaning mud out of homes the first week in Papillion. She is enjoying both of her new companions, and meeting new people and exploring the city of Omaha.

Weeks 22 & 23, Nebraska City:

Corn Mailbox

Flood Cleanup

Introducing Sister Church to Sushi! (She's terrified)

Last pictures with Harley, she moved to Missouri.

Just another house in Nebraska City!

"The Good Life"

At the Temple with Nana and Ayden

Cleaning Sister Mendoza's rug at the car wash

Week 24, Papillion:

Cottonwood Sisters!

Guy we met walking, we don't know his real name because he gave us 3 fake names while we were talking to him. We helped him clean out his garage and gave him a Book of Mormon

Running in the Rain...

Exchanges with Sister Spencer

New companions, Helping with flood cleanup

Flood Cleanup

Monday, March 18, 2019

Week 21 - Nebraska City - The GPS Knows!

Hey everyone. People here in Nebraska are driving into rivers all over the place. I'm sure you heard about the floods in the news, it's all true. The Missouri River is out of control.

We had a baptism! Ayden was baptized, he's 12 and loves the gospel so much. We are so lucky we got to teach him. Now he's headed to the temple on the 27th and he is as stoked as ever.

This week I studied about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, the whole parable is about preparing our hearts for the savior to be planted there. I'd definitely consider giving it a read.

• When the seeds are planted by the wayside, the ground is hard and packed together so the birds just come and pluck them up and they don't even get a chance to grow, the bird in this scenario is the adversary. When our hearts are hard we dont have any room to hear the word.

•When the seeds are planted on bedrock soil, they grow a little, but the roots dont have enough hold because of the rocks underneath and so the sun just scorches them. Some people are able to hear the word and accept it enough to have it planted, but when they have that underlying doubt, they arent able to endure. The roots cant grow.

•When the seeds are planted near thorns/weeds, the thorns choke out the seeds and they cant grow. People can plant the word in their hearts but if there are lots of distractions around and they have their focus set on worldly things, the word isn't able to grow like it should or like we want it to.

•When the seed is planted in good ground, the seed grows and produces fruit. This is what we all want. We want the word to flourish when its planted in our hearts and bring us increase, but it takes work.

We have to pull those weeds, and dig out that bedrock in order for the roots to be able to take hold and spread. And we have to keep it up, we cant just let the weeds grow back, we have to keep preparing the ground and keep pulling the weeds and deflecting the birds. Keep preparing our hearts. Then when the word grows, it can only bring us increase. Never will it bring decrease.

I hope all is well with everyone. Email me, I miss all you're cute faces. Love you all so much. Remember that your Heavenly Father loves you more than anything though. Never stop praying and talking to him.

-Sister Brown