Graduation!

May 28, 2013

This particular title is in honor of another fallen comrade. My younger brother, Braden cornelius edwin DeFreese III, has graduated from Springville High School! Congratulations to him, as well as the whole 2013 class, but mostly to my Brother because that's the one that I know best. :) Aaaaand... he's awesome and I love him!

Such talk is tiresome to me, for it shows unto all, my love. Which is not freely given, but more of a reward, for hard work, and obedience.

Meanwhile, in the Mission Field, Elder DeFreese and his Compatriot, surnamed, Kempter, are working hard in their labors in Concordia Kansas. Let us see what they are up to....

This week has been great! Elder Kempter is slowly recovering and feeling better each and every day. So we are getting out and working more and more! It's going very well, and he's loving the fact that we're almost back to normal :)

Nothing too interesting really happened this week until Friday, when we had District Meeting! All the way down in Salina, we met with the District and had a great meeting, and everyone participated and had a good time. It's always fun to catch up with them, and see how the work is going in their own respective areas. Love it!

After District Meeting, the Great Bend Elders (DL) had to come to our area to work for a little while, our DL Elder Sweeten had to interview our Investigator, Gary, for Baptism! The interview was at 7:30, but we got back at about 2:30, so we had some work to do! Good thing we had a few appointments that we could go to! So, we went to the Harris' and had a great time with them, taught Michael about the priesthood, and it was sweet! He's super excited, and will be talking to the Branch President soon about getting that, so that he can help bless and strengthen his family. Then we tried a few potentials, had home made tacos at our apartment for dinner, and then went to Gary's house! We had a great time, and he was interviewed and "passed" for baptism! Then, the Elders Realized that they couldn't make it home in time for curfew, so we called the Zone Leaders and they approved a sort of sleep over, so they stayed the night! Doesn't happen too often, but those experiences seem to follow me around :)

Anyways, that was a lot of fun, we had a good time working, and catching up and such. Good stuff, then on Sunday, Gary had asked me to Baptize him, and Elder Kempter to Confirm. It was awesome! The water was SUPER low though, not even to my knees, and Gary is just as tall as I am! So it was tough for us, I had to let him down kind of slowly and then unbend his knees, but we got it on the first try! Even with the difficulty, the spirit was very strong in that room, it was amazing! Gary was very nervous before, and extremely happy afterwards! He was asked to bear his testimony, which he did, and that was one of the most powerful moments on my mission, this man KNOWS the gospel. He will be an amazing member, and a great leader some day. I love him, and I know that he's ready for this next step in his life.

Memorial Day was yesterday and I just want to give a quick shout out to anybody reading this, who has served, is serving, or who will serve in the armed forces. Thank you. For everything. It is because of you that we have these freedoms to worship the Lord, and it is your efforts that bring us the feeling of safety, and peace that we enjoy. Thank you.

On Memorial Day we were invited to a members BBQ, and we had a really good time, meeting with the family and getting to know them, reminded me of the BBQ's we would have back home, good times!

Anyways, I gotta go, I love and appreciate you all, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Elder DeFreese

1. Tacos!

2. 40 lbs. of new investigators...?
3. Gary's Baptism!!!

Happy Birthday!

May 20, 2013

You people back home must be getting sick of my title having something to do with Birthdays!!! Haha, but this week was my sister Breanne's birthday, it was just yesterday and she turned 37! Go ahead, ask her! She will tell ya! Anyways, just wanted to give my sister a birthday shout out, I love her to death and I'm so proud of her and all she's doing. Can't wait to see my nephew one day soon!

So, missionary things. Y'all want to know about 'em. Well, I'll tell ya!

This week has been a fairly slow week actually, Elder Kempter had a few health issues and we had to stay home for 2-3 days, so we did the best that we could with what time we had. I'm glad for the rest I suppose, Elder Kempter really needed it, so I'm glad that I could help him out. He's a great missionary, and I'm happy to be his trainer.

Anyways, this week we had a Baptism! Michael Harris, definitely a tender moment for me. Michael asked me to baptize him, and I was more than happy to oblige. It was just.... awesome. It's one thing watching the baptism, and it's a whole other experience being in the water. It's so cool, the spirit was SUPER strong in there. The water was a bit too low, just barely above my knees, so I had to really shove him down there, but we got it done on the first try, so I was happy about that. Michael was really excited, nervous, and super happy! While we were changing he just kept laughing and talking to me about how happy he was, and it was just so amazing to me, because we have seen Michael make so many changes in his life, from start to finish. And it's just the coolest thing ever, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the whole world!

Another cool thing happened, we have been working with a couple, Logan and Lori, and Logan came to the Baptism! He felt the spirit so strongly, and when we came to their house to teach them afterwards, he just plain KNEW that it was true. He had felt the spirit so strongly, when before he was kind of wishy washy on the whole idea of getting baptized. Now he knows that this is what he needs to do, and we asked him what's holding him back and the ONLY thing holding him back, is they haven't gotten married yet. So we're working with them on that, helping them as much as a missionary can in that aspect, but really it's just a matter of whenever he makes that move! And he will be baptized, and Lori expressed the same feelings, they KNOW it's true. I love it!

Oh, just thought you all might want to know that I'm getting to be a better cook, just last night for dinner I baked some chicken strips with salt and pepper, and, get this, Doritos spicy nacho flavor crushed on top and bottom of the chicken, and then with about 4 minutes left, I put white American cheese on top. It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!! Elder Kempter and I have been making some really good combinations, he's a MUCH better cook than I am, I usually leave it up to him.

Anyways, that about does it for the week!

I love you all, and I want each and every one of you to know that I know that this church is true. I know that Joseph Smith restored this church through the gift and power of God, and it will NEVER be taken from the Earth again.

Remember my challenges to all of you, read your scriptures, truly feast on the words of Christ, Invite someone you know to church, and Bear testimony! You can do it! "Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, FEAR not" Don't be afraid, the Lord will help you do these things.
Love,
Elder DeFreese

1. Michael at the Baptism
2. Another DELICIOUS meal!

3. Good eatin'!

4. Our wonderful District
5. Elder Kempter with a BIG pancake!

 

 

 

Happy Mothers Day!

Hey Mom!

This letter is to everybody, but I'm going to be writing it, as if I'm writing my Mother. You wanna know why!? Well, mainly because my Mom is the best Mom ever! Even when I was a teenager, I wanted my Mom to come with me anytime and anywhere. Why? CAUSE SHE'S FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Mom this week has been CRAZY! We went all the way to Salina for our Zone Training meeting, and that went fairly well. Elder Kempter passed off one of his lessons, which was sweet! He's working very hard. I saw Sister Stobbe at the meeting as well, she came out with me from the MTC, so it was good to catch up and everything. And I saw Elder Moyle! He's my "brother" in the mission, Elder Hayes trained us both.

After Zone Training, we went on exchanges! Mom I went all the way to Great Bend! It was weird! Haha, but it was fun! I went with Elder Maki, he's from Samoa, and our exchanges actually lasted for like 3 days!!!!!! The Great Bend Elders had a bunch of different appointments that they didn't really account for, so with the ride situations and everything it just worked out best that way. But we did a lot of great work, and we had fun doing it too!

OH! Mom, check this out! We saw a freakin' turtle on the side of the road!!!!!!! It was crazy! We stopped and took pictures and stuff, it was a snapping turtle too! We were going to pick it up and put it in the back of the members truck (this was on the way back from Great Bend) but neither of us really wanted to pick up a snapping turtle. But it was cool :)

Mother dearest, I feel all too strongly that I need to tell you.... I love you :)

*ahem* Anyways, we had a baptism just yesterday! Diane, and Henri. They were both baptized and confirmed, and it was such a great experience. They both went under on the first try! Elder Kempter baptized Henri, while Brother Gile baptized Diane. Then I confirmed Henri, and Pres. Hansen (Bishop) confirmed Diane. It went very smoothly, and I felt the spirit SO strong. it was very cool, I can't wait for next week! Michael and Gary are going to be baptized as well! It's going to be so sweet, I'm very happy and excited for all of them!

That actually about does it Mom, sorry it wasn't too productive of a week for ya, I wish I had more cool stories to share.

Mom I know you're doing the challenges that I give to you, but keep it up! Keep reading those scriptures, Keep inviting others to church, and always bear testimony as you do so. The Lord WILL bless you, I can guarantee it. As a representative of Jesus Christ, I can promise you that you will feel the spirit more fully in your life, and that you will be happier, more full of energy, and you will have power over all temptations that may arise.
I love you Mom, more than I can say.

Elder DeFreese

P.S. Write me soon.......... K?
 

1. Home made mac and cheese!

2. Do you smell... photo bomb!?

3. CHAINSAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hola!

May 6, 2013

Hola! Como estas!? Bien!

That's all I got! Haha, but this week has been pretty great!

It was a fairly slow week to start, Elder Kempter injured his hip while we were out tracting, and so we came back to the apartment and called the medical staff and they said to keep off it for a couple days. So we weren't able to get out and work like we wanted to, but it's all good! We persevere!

This week... we have been visiting our Investigators who are on date a LOT more frequently than normal. When they are this close to Baptism, I have seen time and time again how hard the Devil works, so we are keeping him at bay, and helping them all to grow spiritually.

Our Investigators who are on date for this Sunday are Diane and Henri, they are SUPER cool, and Diane has been waiting for this opportunity for a LONG time! So they are very excited and working very hard to learn this gospel and prepare themselves for Baptism. I know that they're doing that, they're very good people. Love 'em!

We also have been working with Michael and his family quite a bit, he's doing really good, and you can literally see the glow that is in him, he's SO in tune with the spirit, and it's so awesome to look back and to see where he started, and where he's at now. I love him so much, and I'm so glad that they are calling me, "my missionary" It's super cool.

We have been working with a man named Gary as well, we met with him and his family on Saturday and Sunday, and on Saturday Gary asked us to give him a blessing because he was having trouble with the Word of Wisdom. He then asked me to give the blessing, and I happily accepted. When I started it, I can't remember really anything that I said. But I do know, that the spirit was SO strong in that room, that I started to feel a little dizzy, Gary did as well, and he testified right then and there that he felt the spirit. He's so ready for his Baptism, and he can't stop smiling!

I love the people that I work with, and I'm so excited to be here. I know for a fact that the Lord sent me here, for these people. I can feel it. I know that the Lord isn't finished with me either, I've got plenty more to do, and I'm about to get out and do it!

Don't forget about my challenges everyone, keep studying your scriptures, it's a COMMANDMENT. There is no question about it. Invite others to church, it shows your love for them, and your love for the Lord. He will bless you because of it, exercise your faith in him and do it! And bear testimony!! It strengthens your own, while you lift others even higher!
I love you all, and I hope to hear from you real soon!

Elder DeFreese

1. My Son :)

2. Say wha!??