Nebraska, home of...Arbor Day??

February 20, 2014

Greetings from the land of Nebraska! And yes, you read that right, it's the home of Arbor day. Is that the one about trees? I don't remember, because it's not a real holiday... anyways. Hope that made ya laugh :)

So, what's happening with me right now is that I'm a District Leader here in the Hiawatha branch, (Hiawatha Kansas) but Elder Peterson and I are stationed in Falls City Nebraska. Also, I am training Elder Peterson, a brand spankin' new missionary! AND, we're opening up this area for Elders! So it's a MASSIVE responsibility, and I would ask all of you to pray for us, because it's definitely very stressful to have all of those things at once. But I do know, and take comfort in the fact that the Lord is with us, and he called us here specifically. But prayers from you all wouldn't hurt. :)

I think my dad would be happy to know that this area is a full time car area, AND the car that we have is a BRAND NEW 2014 corolla! And it's white too, just like his! The only difference is my dad's car has just about every optional item for the car, whereas the one I get to drive is completely stock. But that's OK :)

The branch boundaries here are fairly large, very similar to when I was in Concordia, if any of you remember that. There are about 20 active members here, and there's 9 full pages to the branch roster, so there's potential for a ward here. Hopefully we can get that rollin'!

Things are a little slow around here right now, with starting a new area there's a lot of groundwork to lay before you can really get into the heavy lifting of missionary work. So I'm trying to be patient with that. Hopefully this week we can get out and start to work hard. The doctor did mention to ease into some things, so I'm trying to be careful with me knees, we may need to take the occasional break every so often in the day, but that's alright.

It's really cold out here! I forgot just how cold it can be with the wind chill and everything, the temp. says around 7 or something but it definitely feels colder. But we're doing alright, we take breaks when we need to so we can get warm, can't knock doors if you're literally frozen! Haha, but it's good, we're having fun out here.

Our apartment here is HUGE! I'm fairly certain that it's the best apartment in the mission, it's really nice! We have a ton of space and not a whole lot of stuff to fill it, so that's kind of funny. But we love it, it's really sweet!

Anyways, I think that about does it. We're about to go shopping and then probably play some board games or something. The church here doesn't have a gym, and it's way too cold to play ball outside.

Love you all, and please remember, "Every member a missionary!"

Elder DeFreese

 

Elder Peterson and I

The District! Sister Cassady, me, Sister Lueders, Elder Peterson, and Sister Forsgren

 

Guess who's back!

February 3, 2014

IT'S ME!!!!

Anyways, I want to write real quick because, quite frankly... I don't want to be e-mailing right now. I want to go out there and DO STUFF!

So, the plane(s) were awesome!!! I had a TON of leg room, so I wasn't in any pain at all. The two hour layover wasn't bad at all, I had lunch at Quiznos. It was good.

When I finally got to Wichita, President and Sister Bell were about 20 minutes late to pick me up, that was fine. I needed some time to think I guess.

On the way back to the mission office President Bell told me that I had 2 options, serve in Bel Aire with some REALLY frustrating, disobedient missionaries, or serve in the Office with Elder Kempter and Egan again! So I chose the lesser of two evils, and I'm with Elder Kempter now!

But, the good news is that I'm going to make Mission History this coming transfer! I'm going to train a new missionary, Elder Peterson I think, I'll be a District Leader, but most of all, I'm going to be the first missionary from the KWM to be assigned to NEBRASKA!!!!!!! I'm super stoked!

Anyways, with all this excitement I need to get up and do some stuff!

Love you all, thanks for your support!

I'll try and talk a little bit more next time I guess :)

Elder DeFreese

 

Elder Kempter and I



Pres. Bell and I

 

This just in... from The Office

September 2, 2013

So... yeah. This weeks title is obvious. Moving on!

This past week has been really... fast. The Office keeps us really busy all week long. I don't really have too much time to really think about what's happening around me. I don't even know what to talk about really, but we'll see how this goes!

So far, in the Office they've been keeping me really busy. I'm in charge of the mail every day, I get to sort everything, print labels for them, and send 'em on! Also, I have been in charge of going through the missionaries phone records, lookin' for disobedience and such. That's really boring! I look through thousands of pages trying to look for discrepancies... it's really boring actually. Also, I'm in charge of the supplies that go to all the missionaries in the Mission. So the Zone Leaders will call or text me with the numbers of supply needs, and I'll package it up for when they come to the Office. It keeps things interesting.

Elder Cannon, my comp. is really cool. He's from Orange County California. And I suppose to tell you a little bit about him, he started his mission in Honduras, spent about 20 months there, and now he's here because of a parasite he picked up there, and now he needs some doctor attention here in America. Hes' real cool though, we get along really well. He plays the ukelele a lot, and makes up songs. We have a bunch of fun with it though!

Elder Egan is... he's a bit tougher to deal with. I love the guy, but his personality and mine don't really mesh well. But he's a good Elder, And I love him for sure. He's from Idaho Falls, and he LOVES Idaho. Good guy :)

But I think that about catches all of you up!

Oh! Also... no news about my knees yet. The medical information is in SLC with Missionary Medical, and they're still looking it over. I haven't heard anything yet from them, but once I do I suppose I'll know what to do concerning surgery or Physical Therapy or... whatever. I have no idea what's going on. But I'm moving on and doing my best!

Last bit of information, an investigator that we're working with, Kevin Pizarro, is on baptismal date for the 21st of this month! I'm really excited for him, and we're working hard to keep moving forward! Kevin is cool, his GF is a member, and their whole family is fellowshipping him, he's coming to church all the time, and going to the activities, this kid is SOLID! He'll be a member of the true church in no time!

Well everyone, that should do it. I sure love you all!

This church is true, I know that without a doubt, and I challenge each of you, this particular week to bear sincere testimony of the truthfulness of this church. That's your assignment this week. That's it. And if you come back with, "Oh, I was too busy." I'll call you out on it. You've got 7 days, I know that you can do it! Put your faith in God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ. And I know that you can do it. 

Love,

Elder DeFreese 

Holy Moses!

August 26, 2013
Hey everyone! I've used this subject line quite a bit, but I think it's my favorite. I may just switch to using that one every week, who knows!

First things first, TRANSFERS! I have been transferred to Wichita, Kansas. I'm an office Elder, and I am a part of a tripanionship, trio, tripod, whatever you want to call it. 

I don't have a whole lot of time so I'll try and give you the good stuff and skip the details that don't matter. K?

K.

So before transfers, we met with the Johnson family, KC is real less active, and his wife, Chelsea, is not a member. We talked with them and they knew that transfers was coming up soon, so they asked what was happening. Well, it turns out that both myself and Elder Heppler were being transferred! They were SUPER bummed, because Chelsea had decided that she wanted to take the lessons and be baptized a member of the church! BUMMER! They stated that we were the reason that they had thought so hard about it, and prayed about it. So that kinda hit me in the heart real bad. But we taught them the first lesson, and then had to get outta there. Hard to do, but it happened.

Transfer day, we arrived in Dodge city at 10 in the morning, and we didn't get to Wichita until around 11 P.M. or so. Allergies hit me WAY hard, and they still are. Those wheat fields and all that crap in the air is getting to me! 

So now I'm an office Elder, I am officially in charge of all of the incoming and outgoing mail, and I am in charge of the supplies for missionaries, as well as for the office.

I am thoroughly enjoying this work, it's very much different, and it'll take some getting used to. But honestly, right now, I have no time left on the computer. I wish I could get a bit of an extension or something on my time, but I gotta go and get to my p-day activities!

My companions are awesome, Elder Egan and Elder Cannon, Elder Cannon actually came to this mission from serving in the Honduras mission. That's a story and a half. But I gotta run.

WRITE ME!! I'm watching all the mail, so I'll know! >:( 

Also, keep up on those challenges that I've extended to you, eh?

Love you all!

Elder DeFreese

Goin' to Wichita!

August 19, 2013
Hello all! My subject line should tell you what's happening. But I'll backtrack a little bit to the doctors appointment on Thursday just to let you know what led up to this event.

The doctor looked at my results, asked me some questions and then basically told me that he thinks it might be a patellar tracking disorder. He didn't sound confident that it was the problem. He went on to say that I can either do Physical Therapy to help strengthen the muscles around the knee. Or I can do surgery so that he can get inside and see what the damage really is, and fix it. So I called President Bell and talked to him about it, and he wasn't happy at all with how confident the doctor sounded and everything, so he told me that he was going to bring me over to Wichita, so that I could get a second opinion, and hopefully find out for sure what the problem is. So that's what's going on with my knee and everything. 

So, going to Wichita, I'm going to be serving as an Office Elder, from around 10 to 5 every day, and then go out and work. I'll have full time car, and be able to work in our area until the regular time to turn in. I'm excited but also a little apprehensive about it, I'll be in a tripanionship again, if you all remember the last time. We had a lot of fun for sure, but teaching situations were difficult. But I'm sure that we'll make it work! 

This past week has still been difficult for me, staying inside a lot, not knowing what's going on. BUT! I'm trying really hard to be more upbeat and positive about what's going on, I know that the Lord has a plan for me, it's just a bit harder for me to accept that and move forward with faith. I'm sure trying though! When we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders this week, I had a fantastic experience with Elder Allen, he gave me a lot of good advice, and he shared some personal things with me that I will treasure forever. Him and I have gone through some very similar trials, and he has helped me immensely in the time that I have been here. 

I'm sorry that this week is going to be a short e-mail, but I hope that you'll all forgive me. I promise to get you a bigger e-mail this next week. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers on my behalf, I know that it is because of you, that I feel as good as I do right now.

Love,

Elder DeFreese

P.S. I'm finally moving EAST on Transfer day!!!! Hahahahaha, good stuff! :)

 

1. The last District Meeting! 

2. Elder Heppler and myself

3. Elder Allen (my Zone Leader) and myself after Exchanges

 

 

And it came to pass...

August 12, 2013

This subject line is probably the most self explanatory of them all. It's scripturally based. And if any of you didn't know that then... I suppose you're still a son/daughter of God, but you should study your scriptures more. K? Seeing how it's a commandment and everything... anyways.

This past week has been very tiring, frustrating, and rewarding. In that order.

So let's go in order shall we?!

Tiring: This past week I have had several Physical Therapy appointments to strengthen the muscles around my knees. Each appointment lasts between an 1 hour, and 1 1/2 hours. In that time we do a ton of different exercises that push me to my limits, until finally he says, "alright that's it!" After these appointments, I am so sore that I literally can't go out afterwards. The day after, when the soreness really hits, we have been getting out and working just a little bit more each day. It's been really hard. It's also tiring because, since we've been stuck inside for a while, we have done a LOT of organizing, LOTS of cleaning, and we have even organized/cleaned the area books of the other missionaries in our ward. Super tiring because it's busy work. But it is work, and I am grateful that we were able to get it done, because it was sorely needed. And now we're really tired of doing those things, but we had a bunch of fun too! 

Frustrating: This past week was frustrating for me mainly because of the whole knee situation. I got a call from the doctors office Friday morning. The test results had came back from the MRI, and apparently they couldn't see any abnormalities at all. Nothing wrong. No reason at all for my pain. So this has put me in a complete tailspin, to be quite frank. I have no idea what's going on now, whether it's all in my head, or the tests are just wrong, whatever. Don't know. It's very frustrating. Another reason why this week was frustrating, is that one of our investigators, Kim, does not want to be baptized. We have explained to her why we need to be baptized, and why it needs to be done by the proper authority, and all of these things, that should have helped her. We felt the spirit strongly when teaching her, and yet she still refuses to accept the truth. This is the most frustrating thing that has happened this week, it's very sad when you know you have done all you can, and yet the person you are trying to help, won't accept it. 

However, her boyfriend, Jesus, is very willing and very open to the church, he has accepted Baptism, not a set date yet, but he knows that he needs to be Baptized. He is doing very well reading his scriptures, and doing what he can to come closer to Christ, hopefully as this goes on he can help Kim to see the truthfulness of it as well.

Rewarding: This past week was rewarding because of Zone Conference! We went down to Dodge City, where 2 Zones met, and we had a great conference, and learned a lot about working with members, and teaching them. It was awesome! Also, after Zone Conference, I went on exchanges with some of the members in the District, Elders Arend and Birch. I got to work with Elder Arend here in Garden City, while Elder Heppler went with Elder Birch to Scott City. Exchanges went great, and I learned a lot from Elder Arend, he's an awesome missionary, and he'll make a great Leader in the mission sometime very soon, I'm sure.

Anyways, I think that about sums up the week! 

Hope to hear from all of you soon, and don't forget the challenges!

Invite someone to church this week, the Lord will help!

Bear Testimony! It helps yours grow just as well as others!

And read your scriptures OK? 

And... make some brownies. :)

Love you all!

Elder DeFreese

Colorado!

Hey everyone! This title will be explained in the coming paragraph. Prepare yourself...

So this past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to go out with another missionary to his area in Lamar, Colorado! So now, on my mission, I have had the chance to go to 3 different states! SWEET!!!!!!!!! I was unable to get any pictures, we were on a very tight schedule, but it was really cool.

Also, this past week I went to the doctor! So... what happened Elder DeFreese? Well, I'll tell you. Through SONG!!!!!! 

Ha, just kidding. Why would I make up a song about that? Everyone who knows me, knows that I don't really do anything musical.

Anyways! Now that I've stalled for a little bit, I'll tell you. I went to the doctors at around 7:50 A.M. and I did a couple of tests, and the doctor told me that because I was so young, and had been having these problems for a long time, he was going to forgo the usual, slower treatment, and be aggressive with it. So he got me an MRI scheduled immediately, which I went to right way. After the MRI, I went and got lunch, and then had to go right back to the doctors. We did a bunch more tests, and talked more, and as of right now, the doctor told me that I can either do physical therapy, or surgery. Recovery time for surgery would be anywhere from 4-7 months. They also had me get some knee braces to help with my stability and everything, and when I get those I can get out and work a little bit. However, they will not get rid of the need for either physical therapy or surgery. There is no official diagnosis of what's wrong with my knee, that will come in a week or two. So that's the update there, any questions? No? That's strange...

Anyways, I just want all of you to know that I love you. I want you to know, that I know that I am here for a reason. I don't know why, but I do know that the Lord has a plan for me. I know that when I put my faith, and trust in Him, I can accomplish anything. So please, while I'm out of missionary work for a little while, please do your part and do some missionary work of your own. I hope and pray that you do.

Love,

Elder DeFreese

P.S. Anyone wanna give me some reading material while I'm out of work?! We've done so much cleaning, and organizing, and calling people that we may just start to watch paint dry for a "fun activity" just saying.  :)

 

1. Stratego!