#cantstopwontstop

[that awkward moment] when your first investigator with a baptismal date is now in Jail...

..kind of puts a damper on things :(

Sister Bean and I were just sitting in Sacrament waiting for Michael to show up and he never did, after church Bishop told us the bad news.. It seems he got in an argument with his neighbor and things got out of hand. We're not sure exactly what went down but I guess we'll find out soon..

 

Besides that little blunder it's been a splendid week in the Madison 4th Ward! I feel so blessed to be here! Especially to be with Sister Bean, she is the best trainer ever! I would literally die without her, that is for sure! And I'm 100% positive our ward is the absolute best ward ever! The members are all so member missionary oriented, everyone wants to help, everyone wants to come to lessons with us, and everyone feeds us.... WAY - TOO - MUCH! (surprisingly still haven't had any Wisconsin cheese, I know.. it's a little disheartening) Sister bean and I are both new to the area, it was an Elder only area but President decided it need to be changed so he kicked the elders out and we took over. Even their apartment... scary right? But I guess the last few Elders just haven't been working very hard, they left no investigators so Sister Bean and I have totally had to start fresh, which has been insanely hard but insanely rewarding. We've had so many people tell us we are so different than the Elders, we had 5 people at church on Sunday.. I guess there hasn't been any investigators for a while so it's way different. I'd be lying if I said this difference was because of us, because it totally isn't! it's because of the Lord! He guides us to everyone!  I am just feeling immensely blessed! I know this is exactly where I am supposed to be and I have truly never been happier in my life. Amazing things happen when you "forget yourself and get to work". This is the Lord's work.

 

Okay so Tim, the less active we visit with is going on 9 days without smoking!! This is the guy who used to smoke 6 packs a day! It is literally a miracle! he is reading the scriptures daily, praying, and coming to church! he is so awesome!! We celebrated his week mark with him on Saturday with Martinelli's.. haha we walked up to his apartment with the bottle of Martinelli's and everyone who drove past us was giving us the weirdest looks... he is so awesome!! It's amazing the difference I can see in him just over the three weeks I have known him. He's like a different person! The gospel changes lives :)

 

We are also teaching this guy named Rocky... you can only imagine how awesome he is with a name like that! He is a retired school principal, and for anyone who remembers me in high school I was BFF with the principals so I love Rocky! He is an inactive catholic and he says he is just looking for more in a religion. He took the Book of Mormon and has already started reading! He's awesome!

 

We are also teaching this lady Kim, she is so awesome! She has been through so much! She has three children, all from different dads and the last one is in jail. She just feels lost and doesn't know her way, but she wants to follow Christ she just doesn't know how.. It's amazing to see the Lord working with her and in her home. She is African American and she told me she likes me cuz I act black... I told her thank you! haha my older brother Justin would get a kick out of that! She is great though! She is reading and praying and she is trying to keep the word of Wisdom!

 

We are also teaching Jim, the guy from the bus.. He has read the whole BOM!! but hasn't gotten a confirmation that is the word of God... but he won't pray about it.... BAH!

 

Sister Bean and I are working with so many amazing people! I wish I had all the time in the world to tell you about our other investigators but time goes by so fast on these computers. But we meet the most awesome people every day and as terrifying as it is to go up to complete strangers and start talking to them about Jesus Christ it is truly amazing the light we can see in people's eyes. The Gospel is true, I know it is. I know it with all my heart! The church is true!

 

I cannot wait for Conference this weekend!! AHHH! It's like Christmas!!

 

I love you all so much!!

I am so happy out!

 

With all my love, Sister Askerlund

 

Ether 12:4

"wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, year, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast always abounding in good works being led to glorify God"

Taking the sin out of Wisconsin...

one person at a time.. So far SO great in the Madison 4th Ward!We are seeing miracles every single day! We have met so many amazing people here and the lord is definitely helping us find them.

I have learned to follow the spirit because he knows so much greater than me! He has led us to find people that are searching.. searching for something they don't even know they are missing.

There are miracles every single day and I can see the Lord's hand in all of it. The lord leads us to these people, the lord teaches these people, the lord testifies to these people and the lord answers their prayers. I can sit and bear my testimony until I am blue in the face, but it is useless with out the spirit. 

We were on the bus the other afternoon with all these people who had headphones in/talking on their phone/ etc. and I felt helpless, I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone. and I had this thought/message come to me that said, if you can't speak the gospel, show with your actions. So I got out my BOM and was barely even opening it when the man standing above me said WOW I've never seen a mormon bible that big before... so i explained to him that the first part of my quad was the bible, how we use the bible and the book of mormon hand in hand as one. He was amazed, he had never heard that before. He told us how he knew about the Mormons, he had had a few mormon friends who had talked to him about Joesph Smith. He had even seen the Restoration movie, he asked us if we had a copy he could borrow. IT WAS AMAZING! We set up an appt with him for the evening and we're going to talk more about Joesph Smith/BOM/Restoration!

One of our investigators, Micheal committed to Baptism on Saturday!! My first one! He is so awesome! He is african-american and almost 70 years old.. and he is a jazz player (are you picturing him?) he has such an awesome spirit with him. So we have been teaching him that last two weeks and Saturday me and Sister Bean decided we we're going to commit him to baptism so we planned to ask him about May 10th. At the end of our lesson we we're talking to Micheal about goals and how we wanted him to set a goal date that he wants to work towards, and he was like.. "well my birthday is May 10th, I think the Lord wouldn't want me to get baptized May 10th" Micheal saaaaay whaaaaa?? We showed him our planners and how we had already written May 10th down for him, he was amazed and said the Lord must have told us. He is so awesome! He has come to church the last two sundays and talks to EVERYONE! Everyone loves him! 

One of the other people we teach is Tim, Tim was baptized like 20 years but was only active for a little while. He lives in our complex and is a very, very very heavy smoker... like 6 packs a day kind of guy. so you can imagine how his apartment smells.. Well over the last week we challenged Tim to lessen his smoking and to eventually stop. He started out with small changes, like a cigarette every hour... and so on until it was every 2 hours.. every 3... and he said when he ran out he was going to be done. He ran out on Friday morning.... AND HAS NOT HAD A CIGARETTE SINCE!! it's literally a miracle! Sister Bean and I and a few ladies from our ward helped him clean his apartment Saturday... words cannot even discribe what his apartment looked like... or smelled like. he has a dog (which is so cute, but probably has long cancer from his smoking...) who just goes to the bathroom where ever... We cleaned for two hours, took out seven, YES SEVEN garbage bags full of garbage. there was cobwebs everywhere, mountains of beer cans, (that's next on the list), a very very scary microwave and an even scarier bathroom, scrubbed the walls to get the smoking stains, his dog ripped his bed spread so there was feathers EVERYONE it looked like it had snowed on the ground. They say the Lord is with you during times of trial, he definitely was with me Saturday, there is NO way I could have cleaned that apartment, with my gag reflexes without him. My mom would have a heart attack in this guy's apartment, just setting foot in there. She would walk to clean everything haha... but two hours later it was beautiful. I honestly think if I go the rest of my life and never do another good deed I will still go to the Celestial Kingdom for what I did on Saturday at Tim's apartment... but it was so worth it. He came out of cleaning his bathroom and looked around and started to cry. He just kept saying I don't deserve this, i don't deserve this.. and all i could think was what Heavenly Father would say, "of course you do, you are a son of God"

Being out here has truly already changed me. I feel this overwhelming desire to see people how the Savior does and to treat them like the Savior would. 

We also met this guy Mark in our complex last week who we schedueled an appt with this week. When we texted mark he said he didn't remember us but still agreed to meet us at the mall to talk. When we met him there.. it was definitely not the guy we met at the complex... he had tricked us and given us his friends name and phone number.. but turns out... the REAL Mark is AWESOME!! We taught his the first lesson right there in the food court of the mall and he wants to learn more! He is so sweet and loves God and Jesus Christ and said he feels something with us he has never felt at his church....!!!! MIRACLES every day!

Our ward is amazing and so member missionary oriented! It's been amazing to have such support and so many people express their desire to share the gospel!  We have this lady in our ward that is like 30, and likes the missionaries to call her Momma Lee. She takes such great care of us... so don't fret! There's amazing people out here taking care of us! 

We stopped by one of the Elderly couple's house the other night just to say hi after one of our appointments fell through and we had barely walked inside when their phone rang and the wifes friend was upset and on the phone. Sister Cue told her to come over. We met her, explained what we are doing out here and taught her the first lesson. it was amazing!! We taught her again Wednesday and are seeing her this week today. 

We are blessed to be here!

This work is life changing. and life saving. 

the fields are WHITE, especially in the Madison 4th Area!

I am sorry if I am not replying to some of your emails... I don't know why but they like get hidden so I don't find them till weeks later. If you do reply to any of these maybe start a new message instead of replying to this one because when you reply directly to this one they all get jumbled together and I miss a bunch of em. Also sorry if I don't send you the emails every week. every time I copy and paste the emails it messes a bunch of them up so they won't send.

I love all of you guys and appreciate all the letters and emails and love and support! I am so blessed!!! 

I KNOW THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE I AM SUPPOSED TO BE! 

The gospel is true!! I am learning that more and more every day out here as I am seeing it bless so many lives, especially my own. I thought I had a good testimony of this gospel when I left, but after just a month I have come to realize that was just a tiny building foundation of what a real testimony can be. I rely on my Savior, I love my Savior and am trying to be like him.

On an even brighter note... I found Fresca here... FINALLY!! After two weeks, tons of gas stations, walmarts and groccery stores I finally found Fresca!! HALELUJA!!!

Love you all! 

-Sister Askerlund

The Askerlund Fam

 Sister Wood & Sister Askerlund