Monday, April 29, 2013

Happy Birthday!!!!

April 29, 2013
Elder Hunter Nelson had a Birthday!!!!!! He's 20 years old, and he's still rockin' it out in the mission field!!!!!!! My Brotha is staying cool, working hard, and preaching the good word of the Lord! I'm so proud to call him my Best Friend, and even though I can't really get him a Birthday package, I'm sending my love! He's such an inspiration to me, and I can't even imagine where I would be without him standing as a freakin BOMB example for me!
Anyways, back to me. Because I'm important to some people I suppose...
So, this week we had a great miracle happen! We are teaching a bunch of investigators right now, and there is one in particular, Gary... he's been taught a bunch of the lessons but he never really wanted to make the commitment to be Baptized. He has always said, I'm not quite ready yet. We affirmed that he knows this church is true, knows Joseph Smith was a prophet, knows the Book of Mormon is true, just couldn't figure out what was holding him back! He is a truck driver and so he's gone all the time, so it's really hard to get a time to meet with him, and we decided to talk to him about it the next time we were able to. He was out on the road this past week and so we were going to call him the next day (this is on Wednesday) So, we were just about to get out to work, and Gary calls. He tells us all about these awesome spiritual experiences that he has been having and then says... "Guys, I want to be Baptized... I'm ready." AH!!!!!!!!!!! Boo-YAH!!!!!!!!!! That was so awesome, we talked a little more, and he was insistent that we do it as soon as possible, so we set his date for the 18th of May. Because it's so hard to meet with him, it'll take a bit longer than usual. But he's really excited and he can't wait to get Baptized!
Then on Thursday we were about to go out to work again, when we received a call from Michaels wife, saying that Michael is going through a very hard time, and we should go visit him. So we got really worried, and went straight over. He was having difficulty with EVERYTHING. The Devil is working VERY hard on him, and he expressed all his feelings to us, we felt impressed to give him a blessing, which helped him immensely. As we prepared to leave, I felt prompted to ask if he needed any service, he said no. I looked around and saw a massive pile of dishes and said, "you sure?" he says, yeah, don't worry about it. I was prompted again, JUST DO IT! So, I started rolling up my sleeves and said, "Nah, YOU don't worry about it!" And we did all those dishes, talked to him, and you could literally see his eyes light up, and the weight just disappeared off his shoulders. After this experience, he expressed great respect and love to us, and we talked a bit about his Baptism, to which he is VERY excited about, and VERY prepared for.
Then on Friday night, we had a dinner appointment with them! We went over and had Fish Tacos, which were REALLY good!!!!!!! I had 7, a house record :) Haha, they wished me a happy birthday because Elder Kempter let the secret out! But it was really fun, after dinner we had a nice sit-down and talked about Baptism, and further prepared him for the interview. It went very well, he knows his stuff! He looks deeper into the questions sometimes, like with the Word of Wisdom we asked what he understood about it, and he just went off about the BLESSINGS that come from FOLLOWING it! And then we said, oh we were talking about what you have to do, so he explained that part to us. He is very smart, and he's SO ready! We're super excited for him!
Then on Sunday, We had 3 of our Investigators come to church! Diane and her Grandson, and Michael and his family, Diane has been having trouble coming to church because her car is very iffy, but she's getting it fixed and she is way excited for her Baptism. She called us after church and told us that she felt the spirit SO strongly, and she just expressed her thanks to us for coming into her life and teaching her in such a way that she could REALLY feel it, it was super nice to hear. Love it! Michael got a lot more fellowship in the ward, he loves the people, and they love him back. Church was AWESOME!!!!!!!
So that's the week's proceedings! Tune in next week and maybe you'll hear another miracle! After all, the Lord does work in miracles! (Mormon 9:19)
Everybody, the Lord BLESSES those who WORK HARD, and do what is expected of them. I am a living witness of it, BUT, don't take my word for it! Go out and do it yourselves! You'll be surprised with how quickly and how often the Lord will bless you with whatever you need! I love this work, and I know that the Lord has sent me here to Concordia Kansas, for a very specific reason. Quite possibly for these investigators that are to be Baptized in the coming weeks.
Keep reading your scriptures, bearing testimony, and inviting your friends and family to church. You will see the blessings, I can guarantee it! (John 14:27) Whatever you're afraid of, quit it! The Lord will be with you!
I love you all, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Elder DeFreese

1. I been to Norway!
2. Birthday package :)

 

Monday, April 22, 2013

You gotta be kidding me!

April 22, 2013
Ok. First off, I want to say, that this week was the HARDEST week of my mission. Elder Kempter and I were having a very hard time getting any work done. This being Transfer week, we weren't able to set any appointments with people because we didn't know what would be happening and so it would just make things worse if we set anything up. So...... we didn't have any plans at all for the week. We tried tracting, we tried visiting the members, we tried it all. Literally EVERYTHING fell through, ALL week. I was getting very frustrated, and very angry with myself. I was constantly praying for guidance and I wasn't getting any. I couldn't help but feel let down. BUT, we kept working, we kept pushing. We truly endured this week. And at the end? It was TOTALLY worth it.
First off, I will tell you about the mud incident on Wednesday. This was part of the reason I felt let down. We were out tracting and I felt super prompted to go and visit one of our members a far ways away, so, I got really excited that I was finally having a prayer answered! I started to think, man, If I hadn't been in the right mindset, this wouldn't be happening.... I started to get prideful. SO, we decided that we would visit this member, who, by the way, is the only member in that particular town, and then we would visit people on the way back to Concordia. We got the GPS, put in the address, and off we went! Well, we got to a certain point where we turned off the Freeway, no big deal, then we were directed to turn onto a county road... gravel road. It has been raining for the whole day, and most of the night before... So, as we turn onto this road I see a sign saying, "Gravel Ends" I immediately felt prompted to STOP and turn around. BUT, inside myself I said, "but I was prompted to go and visit this member, how else can I get to them? The Lord will guide me through this way..." nope. The Gravel ended, and we got stuck in the mud. Elder Kempter got out and pushed us a bit further ahead, where more gravel was. Feeling AGAIN the prompting to stop and turn around I thought, "nah, we're on gravel now! We can make it! The Lord helped us get through it!" We got over the hill and ALL the road was mud. We got stuck. I was very upset at myself, at God, and even at whoever put the signs up. Mostly I was angry with myself. I couldn't believe that I had my very own pride cycle on my mission. I turned to God, and we called one of our members, Bro. Gile. He came and got us out of the mud with his truck and we safely returned home, having spent the entire day stuck in the car, with rain and lighting all around, just wasting time.
So, feeling let down, like the week is going downhill we continued. Working hard and doing what we should, not really feeling much prompting from the Holy Ghost, until Sunday. One of our investigators, Michael, Came to church!! He brought his whole family too! He felt the spirit very strongly, and expressed his thanks to us for never giving up on him, for always believing, and helping him get to this point. We sat with him throughout the church services and parted was very happy and excited. THEN, later in the day we felt prompted to visit them that very night! Up 'til now, Michael has not felt comfortable in setting a date for his Baptism, and we felt very prompted to invite him again today. We taught him various commandments, including the word of wisdom, and we bore powerful testimony and we had a very great lesson. Near the close I felt that it wasn't the right time to invite him to be Baptized, like we had earlier talked about. I felt instead, that Michael needed a blessing. So, we asked him, and he admitted that he would REALLY like one, and that he has a sure need of it as well. Elder Kempter gave him the blessing, and it was very strong, the Spirit was DEFINITELY working through him, Michael expressed his thanks, with tears in his eyes, and both of ours as well... and we invited him. He readily accepted and we have him on date for May 11th!!!
Everyone, the Lord DOES bless us, as we work hard, have faith in him, and do not get discouraged when Satan is working on us! DO NOT get discouraged!!!!!!! It WILL weaken your faith, I can testify of that as sure as I can testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
I love this work, and I know for a fact that I am here, specifically in Concordia Kansas, for a reason. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and I know that through Him, we can live with our Heavenly Father again.
Remember to keep my challenges going people! This time I want you to report back and tell me how it's going! Keep inviting your friends and family to church, even if they say no, they'll know that you're thinking about them, and they'll know that you love them. Keep reading your scriptures, get that spiritual nourishment! I'm going to be trying to finish the Book of Mormon again in 6 months time, maybe you could try with me! And bear testimony! I know that as you do these three things, you WILL get closer to Jesus Christ, and help others to do so as well.
I love you all!
Elder DeFreese
 
1. How in the.....?
2. Big Field :)
3. Quite possibly the best picture EVER!
4. I'm a... master chef.
5. Elder Kempter, hahaha!
6. Bird :)
 


 
 


 

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

You don't know things!

April 15, 2013
Hahahaha, so this one was a line that I used to say. Elder Jones (my cousin) said that he always thinks of me when he says that line. However, I can't for the life of me remember it! But it sure sounds like me so I'll own it!
Anyways, this week has been pretty great! I got a few letters that really brightened my day/week, and we had some MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!!
Ah, I love miracles, they inspire me to look for more! So, on Tuesday we met with a potential, named Diana. After meeting with her for about 5 seconds it became VERY clear that she has been preparing for this for a LONG time. She has been reading the Book of Mormon along with the Doctrine and Covenants, she KNOWS this church is true, KNOWS that Joseph Smith was called of God, and she wants to be Baptized!!!! AND she takes care of her grandsons, Henri and Jason, and Henri is 9 years old... He wants to be baptized too!!! How cool is that?!?!? The only hurdle that we have, is that she lives about a half an hour away from us by car. So the only thing we need is a member to drive us out there, but with Bro. Gile, our Branch Mission Leader, it's not a problem so far. She has been prepared by the hand of the Lord for years, and I am so excited to help her reach her goal, part of her goal is to get the temple work done for her deceased husband. Super cool, I'm so happy to be a part of this change in her life!
Then on Wednesday we had Zone Training, it went pretty well, we learned some things, and we had some fun together. I'm learning to love this zone just as much as my last one, even though the Salina Zone is VERY spread out, we don't see each other unless it's a meeting. But it's all good, I'm lovin' it! Anyways, after Zone Training we got the car to use for the next little while, and as such, we had to drive all the way back! So, we stopped off at Walgreens to see if there was anything they had, that we don't have in Concordia, that we need. After we parked, we witnessed an accident! The person backed into the other, and drove off, staring us down as she did it! So obviously, we wrote down the license plate number and everything, and went and told the manager in Walgreens. They were very appreicative, and so was the driver of the car that got hit. So that was interesting! But now those people see that the Mormons are honest, trustworthy people, so we did some good there.
So Elder Kempter and I have been tracting quite a bit, it's been a very long while trying to build up this area and get some solid potentials and such. But I find that it's safe to say that Elder Kempter and I have now tracted ALL OF KANSAS.......................................... Street. Hahahaha, but we have been doing a lot of tracting lately, and we are definitely seeing success! The Lord is truly blessing us in this area, and it's because we are getting out there and WORKING, day in and day out. We work until we literally can't anymore. Even though we have mainly tracting to fall back on at this point, we don't let that discourage us. We get it done, because that's what the Lord needs, he needs obedient, hard workers.
That's what I want to challenge everyone to do. This week... as you do the other challenges that I have asked, I want to add another one. Working hard, even when it's things that aren't appealing, or things that may seem insignificant... need to get done. And this can apply to your scripture reading, to your inviting others to church, and to bearing testimony. Work HARD for those opportunities to serve, I hope that all of you take me seriously when I say this. And if you don't know how or where you need to focus your efforts, PRAY, ask for guidance, the Lord will show you where you are needed when you let him know that YOU are ready for His influence. I know that as you do these things, the Lord will bless you, He will take you by the hand and help you do what he needs you to. I would emphasize though, you MUST work hard to do it! Really show the Lord that you are making a consistent, concentrated effort to become like His Son, Jesus Christ. He will give you strength.
I love you all, and I'll talk to you soon!
Elder DeFreese

1. Sound logic...
2. I made Bulls-eyes!
3. Conference!
4. Just playin' some Ball on P-Day
5. Oh you want some more? I am quite sleepy...
6. Hm...
7. Pondering...
8. Gotta love studies!
9. So this is what he does in his spare time?










Monday, April 8, 2013

We've had a Birthday (not quite yet!)

April 8, 2013
It's my Poppas Birthday on Tuesday!!!!!!! And he's turning.... at LEAST 50. Maybe more, maybe less, who's to say? Who's to know? Hahahaha, love ya dad! I'm so grateful for the example you are to me, complete and total obedience, and happily working in whatever calling you are given. A true hero of mine. I love my pops! :)
Anyways, Hi everyone! Another P-Day! Although, for all you back home it's just that crappy Monday! Hahaha, SUCKAS! Monday is my favorite now :)
Haha, that was fun for me. So let's get down to the nitty gritty. This week has been SWEET! We had ourselves a meeting with an amazing couple on Thursday, Logan and Lori, they are super inquisitive and really receptive to the gospel. We have taught them twice now, and they are really getting into it. Logan has a lot of questions, but once it's been answered, it makes so much sense to him and you can literally SEE his testimony growing. It's amazing. Lori is a bit quiet, but she's getting a little more comfortable with us, she's awesome! We taught them the plan of Salvation just the other day, and they took it really well, so far that has been the lesson that people have a LOT of trouble with. But they really see and understand it! It's amazing to see.
Then on Friday we had District Meeting! It went pretty well again. I love District Meeting, especially out here in Kansas, because we don't see other missionaries until these meetings! Haha, so it's really fun to catch up with everyone and swap stories and what not. It's awesome. But I got to share another golden nugget again! haha, this time I shared a story about the Book of Mormon, and it was going really well, until a dog outside started barking and yipping like crazy, that really bugged us. But other than that the meeting was awesome!
Then on the way home, we got a ride from Bro. Gile, it was about lunch time and we wanted to eat! So we were thinking of places to go in Salina, and felt like we needed to wait for Concordia. So we did, and as we were getting close, we started to think about places to go, to eat. I kept thinking about different places and my mind kept going to Taco Johns! I love Taco Johns, but I was worried the others wouldn't quite like to go there, because we eat there more frequently than other places, it's SO good! But finally I recognized it as a genuine prompting. We were in line ordering food, when a couple approached us. They introduced themselves and we did likewise, we came to find out that the womans husband (Gary) is an Investigator! He has been reading from the Book of Mormon and praying about it, and he believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet, he's been coming to church, and they're moving here to Concorida! The Lord truly blessed us with a miracle! We taught Gary the message of the Restoration, and he accepted it really well. He already pays, and understands the concept of tithing, and he's a really fun person to be around! I love him. :)
Conference... was.... AMAZING!!!!!!!! I hope all of you enjoyed conference as much as I did! And my Mom was totally right, she wrote me today and asked if I "Loved it more than I ever have in my whole life, and didn't appreciate it when I was home" Apparently that's typical. But WOW! I really did love it more than EVER! And I didn't really appreciate the fact that these speakers are chosen of GOD, that they are directed by the spirit to know EXACTLY what we need to hear. All of those speakers are speaking technically, to the church in general. But in reality, I found that each speaker had something very KEY for me personally. Amazing. Loved every second of it! But the coolest part was that Logan and Lori came to a session of conference, and Gary came to two sessions! That's what really made this Conference weekend special! They felt the spirit so strongly, and they had a lot of their questions answered.
The Lord truly blesses us, as we have faith in Him, work hard, and have fun doing the work! If you look in D&C chapter 4, it mentions WORK 3 times, I feel that it is very important that we realize this life is WORK. And again, as we have faith in the Lord, ALL things are made possible. I cannot even fathom where I would be without this mission. It has changed my life immeasurably.
I hope that all of you had a great week. And I hope that you are ALL taking my challenges, not because I asked you, not because I'm a good person. But because you want to show the Lord that you are willing to work, and show that love and respect you have for Him, to others. Remember, Read your scriptures, Invite people to come to church, and Bare testimony! I can PROMISE you, as one of the Lords chosen servants at this time, that as you do this, the Lord will bless you with more faith, more knowledge, and enough courage to continue on this journey. The last and most important thing we talk about in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is ENDURE TO THE END. This is the final and hardest part that we go through. But it IS possible. Put your faith in the Lord, and I know you will. I love you all, and I hope to talk to you real soon.
Love,
Elder DeFreese

1. Frick!
2. Service, gotta love it!
3. Gotta knock it!
4. The District. Elders Allen, me, Kempter, Maki, Seymour, Sweeten, and sisters Huff and Thompson.
 





Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter!

April 1, 20
Gotta love Easter! Obviously, this week is/was Easter week! So that explains the title, ANYWAYS, lets get down to business!
So..... this week we had a LOT of work that we did. We have been working really hard and doing our best to get out there and let the people know about Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel! We were able to do a lot of tracting, and a lot of contacting people, and we taught a TON of lessons this past week. Let's just say that... opening a new area? Well, it's got some blessings attached. Haha, we had a really great week this past week, and I'm so happy to be a part of the work here in Concordia.
The big things that happened this week were threefold.
1) The third house that we knocked on Wednesday, turned out to be a HUGE blessing for us. We met a nice young lady named Sarah, and she runs a Day Care in her home, she answered the door and we talked for a good 10 minutes about the restoration, and she had a LOT of questions for us. We did our best to cover it and then asked if we could come back to more fully answer her questions and teach her about the Restored Gospel. She then Invited us to come back in a few hours (around 5:30) and she would make DINNER for us, and then we could teach her and her husband! So we came back, and shared with them the message of the Restoration, during which they had a lot of questions. We were able to have a spiritual meeting with them, and they definitely felt it. We were able to get a return appointment as well, for tomorrow. They were definitely an answer to my prayers, they are so cool, and so inquisitive. It's amazing to find people that hold true to their own faith, but also are willing to accept and at least learn about others. They are reading and praying, and hopefully the Lord Blesses them with an answer soon.
2) District Meeting. We drove out to Salina Kansas, where the stake center is, and had our District Meeting! Elder Seymour, our District Leader, is new to this leadership role, and so this was his first meeting. It went fairly well! He was able to give us a powerful training on teaching by the spirit. Straight out of Preach My Gospel. He is a great missionary, and he will continue to grow and become an even better one. During this, he asked me to come and share my "Golden Nugget" He had forgotten to remind us that we needed to prepare one. Oh, a Golden Nugget is just something unique or something that you really like, out of Preach My Gospel, or the scriptures. So I went up there, not knowing what to read or share, and the spirit took over. I shared an experience I had had about obedience. And how I have seen exact obedience bless my life not only out here in the mission, but also back home. We felt the spirit so strong in that room on Friday, it was awesome. A huge testimony builder for me, It goes right along with my challenge to TESTIFY to all of you! As you testify of the truthfulness of this Gospel, you will come closer to our Heavenly Father than you have ever come before. It honestly feels like I have been serving for just a couple days, and yet I've come so far. It's crazy!
3) Exchanges. We were able to go on exchanges right after District Meeting, Elder Seymour stayed in Concordia with Elder Kempter. And I went to Salina with Elder Allen. It was definitely an interesting experience. This particular exchange wasn't the most effective, but we got some work done. The reason it wasn't too effective was because the Salina Elders were moving that day, and so most of our time was spent doing that. Afterwards we were able to get out and see some potential investigators and we contacted a referral, which turned into 2 new investigators! Oh! Did I mention the best part? Elder Allen served with Elder Hayes, my trainer, the transfer preceding this one. So he and I talked quite a bit about the experiences that we had, and all of the crazy stuff that had happened. It was nice to catch up. Elder Allen really looks up to Elder Hayes quite a bit, he was going through a rough time and when Elder Hayes came, he totally turned it around. So I'm glad he was able to get the help that he needed, the Lord is truly in each and every transfer. No matter where you go, the Lord needs you there for SOMEBODY, if not for an investigator, it may very well be for your companion.
Those are the big happenings that went on this week, and I can't believe we are at the start of another one so soon! It's crazy!
OH! My AMAZING mother, sent me an Easter Package this week! Here's the story. We got back to the apartment at about 10:45... ish (Saturday morning). And I noticed that the post office had dropped off a slip telling me that I had a package waiting for me, and that I needed to pick it up! Well, after I had gotten settled back into the Apartment, away we went to get my happiness in a box! When we got there, the post office was CLOSED! It was exactly 11:02 and they close at 11 on Saturday! So I was heart-broken, I wanted that package so badly! Hahaha, kinda pathetic right? Nah, missionaries LOVE mail more than.... ooooh... careful. More than...... Peanut Butter on pancakes! Hahahahaha, anyways. As we were leaving the Apartment again to get out and do some work, we passed by the post office, and I saw one of the workers just coming out of the doors, we politely said hello and kept walking onward. Then we hear, "HEY!" And we turn, and he's got my package!!!!!!! He said that he recognized us, and knew where we lived, (Small town eh?) and he wanted me to get the package before the weekend! So nice. I love the post office even more now.
Anyways, That'll about do it for this week.
Remember the challenges ok? I haven't heard much from any of you sticking to it, so I'll just hope and pray that you DO remember. First, you'll need some spiritual nourishment. Go and read those scriptures! Even if it's a verse, a chapter, whatever. READ! Then, you'll need to TESTIFY! It's really not too difficult, keep it simple if you're nervous or scared. Just tell someone of the truthfulness of this gospel. And Last, Invite someone to church! EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY!!!!!! Remember that, and get some missionary work of your own done this week. I know that as you do so, you will all notice a big change in your week. You will see a growth in your own testimony, and you will be helping other people come unto Christ. Please don't take this responsibility lightly, for it IS a responsibility. Look it up, I dare ya!
I love you all so much, keep up the good work, and DON'T forget to write your favorite missionary! And then you can write me afterwards.
Love,
Elder DeFreese

1. You want some? ;)
2. Let's tract.... somewhere cool.
3. Just lookin' good!
4. Lunch!
5. Big house we knocked, nobody answered :(