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.

 

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 :(

 

 

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!!!

March 25, 2013

That's right, you saw that! My Momma had a birthday, shout, "hooray!" One year older and wiser too! Happy Birthday, to you! I sure hope I got that right, I haven't sang that one in a long time! Haha, Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much!

Now that we have all of the political things taken care of, let's get down to what's going on in Concordia shall we?

First item of business, we had our Zone Conference on Tuesday! We had to drive 3 hours down all the way to Wichita, so that we could sleep over with some other missionaries. One of those missionaries? Elder Hayes! My trainer!!!! Hahahaha, that was freakin' awesome!! I missed that guy, we had some great times together. But we had a lot of time to catch up and have some fun, I really needed that. After we spent the night we had our Zone Conference, it was so inspiring! The Assistants all gave trainings on different things, and then President Keyes came and spoke to us. It was intense, he is such a spiritual power house! At the end we talked a little bit about the mission split and where the boundaries are going to be. From what it looks like, there's a pretty good chance that i'm going to be in the other mission, the Wichita, Kansas mission! So that's pretty exciting right?? :)

After that we got to drive the whole way down, we have a mission car for right now, we are in a part time car area. So I was the designated driver, and got to drive all 3 hours back up to Concordia! So that was fun, I love driving :)

So now with the car, we were able to get out and visit a lot of our members and Less Actives, getting referrals and such. We had a very successful week, if anything we at least got out to visit the members, and helped them to see us and begin to trust us with names. We got a lot of referrals, and hopefully we'll be getting a lot more soon! However, the sad news is that we haven't been able to visit with Bob since our last visit. We think he may have been subject to anti mormonism or something. So that's something that we're going to work harder on. We need to visit him soon!!!!! I feel sometimes like I'm not trying hard enough, maybe we could have prevented this happening to Bob. But that's ok! We are going to keep coming until he tells us what has happened. In all honesty, he could just be SUPER busy! So we'll hope that's the case :)

Just 2 nights ago we were able to meet with a Part Member Family, the Harris'! They are really cool, and they have definitely been prepared! We were able to teach them for a good hour or so and really get to know them. They are super excited and so willing and ready to make a change in their lives! I'm so excited to continue teaching them. They made our week for sure.

One last thing, something of such importance that I almost didn't mention it. Something so crazy, that all of you just might freak out a little bit. Elder Kempter and I had an experience the other day, that will NEVER be forgotten! We had the amazing opportunity to go and to have a meal at Taco Johns!!!!! Not at all what you were expecting right??? Got ya! But yeah, Taco Johns is SUPER delicious and it may just be my favorite place to eat here in Concordia, some of you may remember Pizza Street from my last area? Love 'em both! :)

But anyways, that about does it. OH! In Zone Conference President Keyes made an announcement straight from the First Presidency, we ARE allowed to e-mail friends now. So we have been given extra time every Monday to e-mail our friends. So for those of you who have had an excuse not to write me in the past? Sorry, excuse has just be taken away! Almost everyone I know has a smart phone, you can e-mail me anytime of day now! So I want to see more E-mails in my box next week! Also, hand written letters are still very much accepted, and appreciated. So get writing you lazy people! hahahaha, just kidding. I love you all :)

Lastly, how could I forget my challenges?? Read from the scriptures! I have been reading in the Doctrine and Covenants lately, and it has been super enlightening, I have learned SO much from it! Try just a chapter a day at least, ok? :) Also, don't forget to invite those you know who may be Less Active, or even non members, to come to church! Ok? That's the BEST place to feel the spirit, and to come closer to our Heavenly Father. And Bear Testimony, of all things, this can help YOU just as much as it helps others grow. My testimony has grown so much already, it can happen to you too.

I love you all,
Elder DeFreese

P.S.
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Write me :)

Pictures!

1. Elder Lowry, Johnson, and Myself :)

2. The posterity! Elder Hayes, Myself, Elder Kempter

3. He got an Easter package :)

4. I got an egg! :)

5. My dinner!

6. Just doing some studies...

What?

March 18, 2013

It's been a whole 'nother week! Wow! Time surely flies as you work for the Lord. Anyways, this weeks title is "What?" My father is very familiar with this, as I say it to him ALL the time! It's quite fun to mess with him.

Anyways, this week has been full of a lot of cold weather, some nice weather, lot's of hard work. And some success!!!

First, we had a Zone Training on Wed. which went fairly well. First one here in Kansas, and it went way different than the ones in Independence! But it's all good, the message is the same and it's awesome. I really love going to those, it's a good time to catch up with missionaries, and then to teach and learn from each other. Loved it!

Then on Friday we had a SICK experience! We were out tracting and we were just about done for the day, and we went to the LAST door. A man (Bob) answered, and we gave him our brief message about the restoration and asked him a couple questions, standard stuff. And then he bore HIS testimony to US about the power of the atonement! So we got really excited and started talking more, and we got invited in to his home! Then we taught him the full message of the restoration, and it was super powerful, the spirit was SO strong there! He was getting really involved in the lesson, asking insightful questions and then we finally got to the end. As we were testifying of these truths that we share, Elder Kempter kind of started to wrap things up. Then I felt so strongly that we needed to invite Bob to baptism... but with the training program, Elder Kempter needs to take the lead. So, figuring that he is just too nervous to really focus on the spirit, I just write in big letters, "BAPTISM" on my planner, and I discreetly showed it to him. His eyes lit up and he invited Bob to be baptized, and he accepted!!!!!!!!! It was SO awesome!!!! The Lord really blessed us with him, he's so prepared, it's amazing!

Then on Sunday we were asked to give talks, Elder Kempter talked to the ward all about "every member a missionary" and things like that. Kind of a brimstone and fire talk, helping the members in this area WAKE UP! It was really good, he was supposed to fill about 20 minutes, and he filled about 12. But it's all good, I over-prepared! I gave a talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (really broad topic right?? Hehe.....) So I talked for a good 4 minutes or so on each topic, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. At the close of my talk, I felt again, the prompting from the spirit to testify that the Members are our most important resource. In this course I kind of woke the members up just like Elder Kempter did! Hahahaha, so we are hoping from our combined efforts that the Members Do, in fact, wake up! And start helping us with the missionary efforts here.

Anyways, other than that, not too much to tell. We are just out working hard and getting to know the area and loving the people! For all you people reading this.... WAKE UP! I know a lot of you live in Utah, or areas with lots of mormons around. But EVERY member a MISSIONARY!!!!!!!! Get out there and get it done! The Lord has placed you in your area for a reason, find out what it is! Pray for the strength to find missionary opportunities, pray for strength to take advantage of those opportunities! I know the Lord will bless you with that exact thing, as you place your faith and trust in Him, and let Him guide you where He will. I love you all so very much! And don't forget to Testify! Invite people to church! And read the Book of Mormon! Regain or Strengthen that testimony that you have!
Love,
Elder DeFreese

P.S.

.... Don't forget to write me....    :)



Pictures!
1 & 2. Gambinos Pizza! Sweet!!!
3.Elder Wadsworth (Shortest) Elder Cowdin, And Myself just before transfers
4. On the bus, with my stunna shades on!!
5. Elder Kempter... my SON!
6. Relaxin' In Independence!

 

 

 

 

Concordia, KS

March 11, 2013

Hello everyone! Another week come and gone, as you can see, the title this week is a bit... different. I'm sure you can guess what the title means, but I'll get to that in a minute.

So, on my last day in Missouri (possibly for the rest of my mission, if you haven't heard about the mission split...) we went to Pizza Street for lunch, and Backyard Burger for dinner! It was really great, we did some missionary work and packed pretty much all day. We had a lot of fun though.
Then the next day was transfers!!!! We went to the bus in the morning at around 7:45, left at 8. And we were on our way! The ride altogether took a couple hours. We made a stop at a McDonalds after about 2 hours of driving. As we were there, I found out something insane! One of the missionaries that's out here, is Elder Bartholomew, or... Conner Bartholomew!!! We went to Elementary together!!!!!! What the heck!???? So that was way sweet, we got to catch up and everything, he's been out about 2 or 3 months longer than me. And he actually trained one of the missionaries that I came out with! So that was awesome. Then we got to Wichita, where I was able to catch up with my first comp. Elder Hayes! He's doing really well, and we talked for a little while. Then we got to ride with a member, Bro. Gile, ALL the way to Concordia, Kansas. (another 3 hours or so) A very tiny town, with a HUGE boundary as far as the branch goes, I think we cover 9 counties. Something like that
So the crazy part is this.
I'm Training a brand new missionary. Elder Kempter! He's way cool, super willing to learn and a very capable missionary. So far he's definitely surpassed all that I was at this stage in the mission. If he continues like this, he'll be an AP! Prophesy... yes. It's been foretold! Hahahaha, maybe :)

Also, we are opening a brand spankin' new area! Missionaries haven't ever been assigned to this branch. Also, the branch that we are in is super tiny, about 40 people come to church every week. And it covers that huge area, so we definitely have our work cut out for us! As far as I know, it's supposed to be a part time car area, but I really don't know for sure.
We live in a building that's about 100 years old, we live in the top floor. But it's a pretty big place, I really like it. The shower is kind of iffy, but other than that it's actually pretty sweet. I'll try to get pictures to you all next week. I know it's been a LONG time since you got pictures from me, my bad!

So a funny experience happened our first day here. We woke up at 6:30, got ready and everything like normal. And I decided to make Elder Kempter breakfast, so I made a huge plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and a glass of milk. Later he told me that he HATES eggs! What a good sport though, he ate 'em all, so he's not a bad guy :) haha!

But that just about catches all of you up on what we are doing out here! I really hope to hear from all of you really soon, I could definitely use it. The mission office address is the one you'll still use though, so keep sending it there. Thank you all so much for the love and support you give to me! I love you all! And make sure to Invite someone to church this week, read the BOM and testify! I know as you all do this, you will come closer to the Lord, and you'll find more joy and happiness in your lives!
Love,
Elder DeFreese

Elder DeFreese

March 8, 2013

Hi. 

We have had the opportunity to get to know your son as he has faithfully served in the Independence 3^rd Ward since he came on his mission.  We have been really impressed with his commitment.  Recently we have had the opportunity to have the missionaries move into our home and live with us.  The three of them have brought a great spirit into our home.  We are grateful to be sharing our home with the Elders.  They are so grateful to be out of the apartment the three of them were sharing.  It was very cramped, whereas know they have lots of room to move around in and space to really spread out.  As you may or may not know your missionary was transferred to Concordia, KS to open us a new area and to train a new missionary.  He will be a great influence to the members and those with whom he comes in contact with. 

With the great influx of missionaries, the Independence Missouri Mission has been greatly blessed, as most of the mission are.  As you are aware this mission will be split sometime in July, making the Wichita, KS mission.  What a great blessing it is to have a Prophet here on earth that is able to know our Fathers will in furthering the gospel throughout the world.
   
Thank you for sharing your son with us.

Bill & Jill Ellibee

Phillipians 4:13

March 4, 2013

Well shoot... I don't know why. But this week a lot of the messages that I got from people seemed to revolve around this scripture. The scripture says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" It's a really good one, I like it a lot. I know that this scripture is true, through Him ALL things are possible. I just figured I would put that as the subject/title line this week because it seemed to be the revolving scripture going through my mind as I read some of your e-mails.

So this past week was pretty slow missionary wise, this area is VERY hard to work. But we are getting along pretty nicely with some people. Hopefully progression in the Gospel continues. People get Anti Mormon visitors really quickly around here. It's a bit frustrating, but like the quote goes, "Shall we not go on in so great a cause?" I think that's the quote at least.

Anyways, I have 4 points that I wanted to talk about that were, I guess, the highlights of the week.

First, we went on exchanges on Friday with the Zone Leaders. Me and Elder Wadsworth stayed in our area with Elder Bills, while Elder Cowdin went with Elder Stephens to their area. We had a really good exchange, I learned a lot from Elder Bills and from some teaching experiences that we had. Elder Bills said that i'm really good at teaching simply and clearly so that people really understand what i'm talking about. So that was a huge boost for me, lately I had been feeling like my teaching skills weren't up to par at all. But now I know that I do a pretty good job, not to say that I'm gonna stop working on it! I've still got a LONG ways to go before i'm a very good teacher of the gospel. But that was sweet, we visited a lot of people and taught some lessons, it was good. I really enjoyed it.

The BIG news from this week is this, usually on the Friday night before transfers, the assistants call the potential trainers for the coming transfer. Unfortunately, they didn't call me. So I was a little upset, because I've been wanting to train for a long time now. However, while I was in the shower Saturday morning, they called! We had a trainers meeting at the mission home that morning at 10, and then had lunch. I saw Elder Pack and Elder Lee there, they came out with me from the MTC. They're super cool Elders and they'll make outstanding trainers. The only problem is this, they call us "potential trainers" which means, you'll probably train, but there's a chance that you won't. So I'm really hoping that I train. But anyways, In the training I just felt really good about being there, and I felt like I had been prepared for this coming transfer.

But anyways, on to the other 2. I have 7 minutes left! Let's see if I can do this! Well, I still type around 90 - 100 words a minute so I think I can get there. Just to show off i'm writing this paragraph to show you how awesome I am! Well, really just to be funny, in case someone needs a laugh. :)

So on Sunday we had Stake Conference, which was super sweet. It was a televised event, which Elder Oaks spoke in. As well as Elder Christiansen and Elder Echo Hawk of the 70. It was super cool and i learned a lot. BUT that's not it, the cool thing was as we were leaving, I was walking past a guy who had on a SWEET paisley tie. So to be nice, I told him that it was a real nice tie, and that it looked good. He thanked me and we went our seperate ways. I made it to the car and we were just about to leave, when they pulled up in their car! They asked, "who was the missionary who liked my tie?" and I raised my hand and said, "i am!" And the man pulled it off and gave it to me! I'm wearing it right now, it's way nice! I tried to just swap him real quick with my tie, but he wouldn't take it. So that was really nice of him.

And the last thing, last night just before bed. OH MY GOODNESS! I totally forgot, so... we moved. We're living with members now, and they're super cool. Mom and Dod, youll probably get an e-mail from them real soon. He's in the bishopric and she just got released from the primary presidency. They're really cool and I love 'em a lot. Anyways, they had some company over and they used to live in springville, right on Brookside drive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So that was way cool, and it was super fun talking to them about it.

Anyways, I hope all is going well with my challenge. Remember, invite your friends or family who don't go, to come to church! Read from the Book of Mormon, share your testimony! It's all about Phillipians 4:13 everyone, through Christ we can do ALL things! I love you all, I know this gospel is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder DeFreese

P.S. I'll hear from all of you real soon right?

Wooh! 1 minute to spare :)