Holy Moses!!!

August 18, 2014

It's been another dang week already?!?!??? What the heck!!?

OK, guess I gotta hit you up with another e-mail or somethin' eh? 

Here goes...

FIRST, I have to give a shout out to my little bother, Elder DeFreese, again. HAPPY STINKIN' BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! He's just turned 19 today, and he's a missionary!!!!! I'm so dang proud of my little bro. I can't even really describe the type of relationship that him and I share, it's something real special. Whenever I think about heroes, I honestly think about Superman or Batman, but when I actually think about who my heroes are, I really think about my family. In particular, my little brother Braden is one of my biggest heroes. One reason why is because of the things that we share, and how we've overcome our problems. He is a great example of acknowledging fault, and fixing the problem. He's a hard working person, and I love the crap out of him. Happy Birthday, glad it landed on a P Day!

Alright, now I can get into my week. Running out of time like usual, but I'll try and catch you up to what's going on. 

On Tuesday we attended our own District Meeting, and it was great! We talked about inviting people for baptism, but more particularly, inviting everyone to baptism! It was great, the role plays really helped us to see what we can do to better teach these things, and now we're starting to see miracles in the district because of it!

On Wednesday we had a lot of people to visit, and lots of contact to try and make, most of the investigators we tried weren't home, but we found 2 new investigators! It was great, we're working hard at both the ZL things, and our own area. We're definitely seeing the Lord bless us! 

I want to add a quick disclaimer, unless it's something cool I'm going to try to not mention all the boring spreadsheet work and stuff that I do all day, and try to focus on the other things... unless the usual boring stuff was actually exciting...

On Thursday we had a great miracle!!! We went to try and visit a couple investigators with Bro. Webber (Secretary in the ward) and nobody was home, so at the last house we tried, I turned around and saw a grey house that looked reeeaaally busted up. I felt like we ought to knock it, so we did! We found Michelle, her husband Angel (pronounced ahn-hel) and their daughter (I don't know how to say/spell her name... it's cool though). And they want to learn more, they're looking for a church. Aaaand they're praying about Baptism!!!!! So stoked about them, they're great!!!

Basically this week has been pretty great! Lots of miracles, finding tons of new people, member presents, all that good stuff!!!

Uhmm...... yeah! I think that's all I got!

Love you all so much, don't forget to read the Book of Mormon, and invite someone to come to church!!

Elder DeFreese

P.S. Something cool that I learned yesterday in sacrament meeting when the Stake President spoke was this statement that he made... he talked about how "People will say, and it's true, that the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He went on to say that, "It is also true that, when the Spirit is strong, the flesh is willing" So... think about that. K? K. :) 

 

 

1. Elder Nicholes and I! (He's a DL in the Zone)

2. Richard Sharp (Guy I taught in Harrison Park who got baptized recently)

3. This is what ZL's do allllllll day!

 

 

Here we go!

August 11, 2014
So... it's been another stinkin' week! (I don't say that negatively, just like... holy crap it's been another week??!?!? That type of thing...)

First I gotta get a quick shout out to a few people, first to my little brother Braden (A. K. A. Elder DeFreese the younger) he's on his way to the mission field now!!! Super stoked for him, he's gonna be a bomb missionary, what a stud muffin! Love ya brotha!!! 

Next shout out goes to my best pal Hunter Nelson! He's home!!!!! This guy is just the coolest, so proud of him. Aaaand since this is a shout out.... I gotta tell ya to not get married for at least 6 months, K? I have to approve dangit!!!!!!!! 

Anyways................

This past week has been pretty crazy! Starting off with Monday, we went on exchanges right after P-Day with the Arkansas City Elders, Elder Nicholes and MacArthur. I went to Ark with Elder Nicholes, and Elder Turner stayed here. 

On this particular exchange I learned really only 1 big thing. And that is how to keep your dang mouth shut when you have some stuff to say. On Tuesday we had a District Meeting, and Elder Nicholes was setting goals. The sisters in his district started to disagree with the goals that he set and they started to tear him down hard core. I got really really upset. I wanted to rebuke the crap out of them, and tell them to go home. Luckily, the spirit constrained me and I didn't say anything. Finally Elder Nicholes turned to me and asked me if I had any input and I lovingly rebuked the sisters. They now understand that he has been called of God, and dangit what he says ought to be what goes. So that's good. :)

Then on Wednesday we had MLC's, where we talked for a good while about all sorts of stuff! It was great, we met up with all the ZL's and STL's (Sister Training Leaders.... dunno if I've mentioned them). And talked about a lot of policies and different things we can do as a mission to improve. 

On Friday we had a Zone Training, where I trained on the Fundamentals. It's basically got 8 basic things that everyone should be doing all the time, you learn these things in the MTC, and the first 12 weeks of your training in the Mission Field. 

My training was focused on actually studying and becoming the Fundamentals. I likened it to Tim Duncan, who is Mr. Fundamentals in Basketball. To do so effectively, I played a bit of one on one with one of the members in the zone. It was great, got the point across, and I think the Zone is about to do some really great things, I'm excited!

So the biggest news is what happened on Friday after Zone Training. Some missionaries were having some problems within their companionship, so we had determined to talk with them after Zone Training. We were going on exchanges that day with another companionship though, so we decided that I would stay and Elder Turner could just go ahead and start working with his exchangee. 

We had a great talk, talked about planning, charity/love, getting lost in the work, etc. And it went fantastically! They were completely changed! Elder Riddle and I got back to our place afterwards, and right when we knelt to pray to start our exchange, these Elders called. The Elder on the other end immediately started yelling at me saying that his companion had run away!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAAAP!!!!!!! So we bolted for the car, got in and started heading their way. On the way I called the AP's, got them involved, and we started looking. He had run away starting on a railroad track. We walked for miles on that thing, and never saw him. We had started searching at about 3:30, eventually we got the entire zone involved, and then even the Police. FINALLY we were told that we had to go inside and get to bed. But the Police kept looking, and they found him at about 10:45 or so. He's doing fine, he had sort of a.... mental breakdown. Super sad. He's alright though, so we're all happy again!

That about catches you up though, and I gotta run! Love you all!!!

Elder DeFreese

P.S. Don't forget to invite someone to church today! Also, I would challenge each of you to hand out a Book of Mormon with your testimony written inside. Who should you give it to? Let the Holy Spirit guide :)

Holy Moses!!!

August 4, 2014
Good morning everyone!!!!! 

This week I'm going to keep it nice and short, mainly because I don't want to take the focus off of my lil bro!!!! He just went into the MTC this past Wednesday!!! So that's super exciting, also he got made a ZL in there as well! So I'm super proud of that guy, love the crap out of him.

That's the big news....... uhmmm.... 

This past week has been pretty great! 

The only real big info that I could share this week other than my stud of a brother going on a mission is that I went on exchanges this week! I went with a brand new Missionary, Elder Christiansen, in Harrison Park ward!!! It was awesome! Super fun to go around and see all the people and meet some new ones!

While there, we were able to teach a couple people, we found a family, the Canada family. Super spiritual moment, we taught them the Restoration and then put the Mom, Tori, on date for baptism! It was awesome!!!

Other than that, this past week has been lots of phone calls and paper work. BUT, I will say this, I can see SO much how the Lord is truly hastening this work. I know that this is what He wants us to be doing, and I know that He is with us every step of the way. 

Love you all so much! Talk to you soon!

Elder DeFreese

P.S. You best be invitin' someone to church this week! :)

Derby Zone!!!

July 28, 2014
So, transfers took place, we're now the ZL's of the Derby Zone, and Elder Kempter is in the new Andover Zone. 

So now I'm with Elder Turner, and he's actually from Atlanta, Georgia! How cool is that?!?? (It's cool because my oldest brother Jason served there as a missionary.... for those of you who don't know). He's also the second youngest child, just like me. So we get along real well! 

I guess to try to catch you up on all the craziness, we'll start with Tuesday! Tuesday was spent doing apartment checks, setting up programs and different stuff on the Andover laptop so that they could hit the ground running. Aaaaand we also got to work with the new missionaries coming out this transfer! Super fun! One of the new missionaries, Elder Telford, asked to be my temporary companion as we got out to try and find some new investigators at an apartment complex. Elder Telford is actually from Springville, Utah as well! And he knew my other brother Don, from scout camp! (Timberline, if you know what that is) So that was fun.

Wednesday was crazy, Transfers is big for ZL's because we have to set up the church, make sure everyone gets there on time and has their luggage ready and everything, and we have to stay until everyone else is gone so that we can clean up and stuff. So that was fun!

Then pretty much the rest of the week we have been trying to figure out what in the world we're supposed to do here! Haha, I have little to no knowledge of this Area, so we've been running around trying to visit as many names as we can from the Area Book and from the Ward Roster. So it's been real fun! We've found a couple families so far who are pretty receptive. 

Other than that... I'm not really sure what to talk about.

OH! Remember how I spent like, 2 weeks in Manhattan? One of the investigators that I taught there just got baptized this past week! (Adrick, not quite sure if I mentioned him, he's Sabrinas Husband, who we baptized while I was there). SUPER cool! Love it!

Anyways, I think that about does it, thank you for all your prayers and support!

Love,

Elder DeFreese

P.S. Please make sure to utilize the power Heavenly Father has given you, that power is the power to choose. So choose to invite people to come to church, choose to read your scriptures, choose to bear testimony! And if you're not motivated to do those things, remember that Motivation is not an emotion, it's a decision. So do it! I promise you won't regret it, the Lord will bless you!

Holy Moses!!!!

July 21, 2014
Hi everyone! Let's get started! I don't have a whole lot of time left, so I'll make it as informative and quick as possible.

On Tuesday this past week we had Zone Conference! It was my first one as a Zone Leader and it was suuuuper stressful!!!! We had a lot of things to talk about and train on and we had to make sure that all of the District Leaders bought in to certain new policies and such, so that we can have unity within the Zone. But it went really well, we talked about Finding New Investigators though the Rescue. (Working with Less Active members of the church). I feel like it went really well, Elder Kempter and I have a great teaching pattern and it's always really spiritual.

So... yeah! On Thursday we had District Meetings! Elder Kempter and I split up again so we could go to 2 District Meetings, and they went really well! I enjoyed them thoroughly. Afterwards we went on exchanges!!! I went with one of our District Leaders, Elder Hughes, he's from Bountiful Utah! Super cool guy, we had a lot of fun! We found 4 or 5 new investigators, taught a few member present lessons, and really enjoyed it! It was a lot of fun. However, our exchange had to get cut off early, because of some dang Zone Leadering things that we had to do. But it was still good, we had fun!

 

On Friday we had another District Meeting! This one was with (technically) our district! So it was really nice, Elder Kempter and I both got to attend! Lots of fun, we always learn so much. 

On Saturday we had 2 Baptisms in the Zone! So cool! The first one was a Sister in the Harrison Park ward that the sister missionaries found and taught. But it was cool, because we still attended that one. The only scary thing was that a few hours before the Baptism, the sisters called and asked me to sing a solo for the musical number...! WHAT?!?!??? I said yes, and started praying my stupid heart out. But then those crazy sisters called back like an hour later and told me that they were kidding! I almost released them on the spot!!!!!!!!!!! Ha, like I can do that... but seriously! I was upset! 

Anyways, then the other baptism was supposed to start at 4:00, but the investigator was getting cold feet because her family was reeeeaaallly against it. BUT, after waiting for 2 hours, she showed up! Then, after waiting for another half hour or so, she was finally ready! It was really cool.

I think that about catches you up on this week.

The big news is that this week is transfer week, and I am staying here in the Derby Zone! Elder Kempter is going to open up the Andover Zone, which consists of the northern half of the current Derby Zone. So that's cool! I'm gonna miss him again. My new companion is Elder Turner, and I've never met this guy, so it'll be cool! 

Talk to you all soon! Love you so much!

Elder DeFreese

P.S. "Motivation is not a feeling, it's a decision" So my challenge to you is to motivate yourselves to invite at least 1 person to church this week. I know you can! Love ya!

Are you kdding me?!?!??

July 14, 2014
It's been a whole week already?!?!? What the crap!?!?!!

Man... time goes by way too stinkin' fast.

Anyways, so this past week has been pretty awesome! Let's walk through it just a bit.

Tuesday is District Meeting day, so Elder Kempter and I attended 2 different District Meetings. (We split up, and each of us takes a meeting because they start at the same time... but we always have a companion)

Anyways, after District Meeting we went on exchanges! I stayed in our area with Elder McGiven! He's a super cool kid from Arizona, and we had a blast! At first I got lost, because we only have a couple hours a week to really work in our area. But that's OK, I finally got my bearings and figured out what the crap I ought to do. So it was good!

Then on Wednesday we exchanged back, did lots of zone stuff, and then we had dinner with the Bourms! It was some really delicious chicken with bacon and honey mustard, super good. BUT, they were playing Christmas music all day!!!!!!! If any of you know me, you know that I only listen to Christmas music AFTER Thanksgiving! So it was physically painful. But it was good :)

Thursday was fairly uneventful except for one thing, Takra. Elder Kempter and I have this ghetto called Oaklawn, in it are lots of Laotians. They play a game called Takra. It's kind of like volleyball, 3 hits per side, except it's all done with your feet and heat, etc. Kind of like soccer. The net is like 4 feet high. So Elder Kempter and I are really good because we're so tall, so they'll set us up to spike it with our heads! Hahaha, it's a ton of fun! And we're teaching a few of the guys there, I don't have their names down though. But that's ok!

On Saturday we had a meal at Sister Ellis' home with the Sister missionaries in our ward as well. It wouldn't have been so bad if we could have gotten over the fact that there were roaches all over the walls. BUT! We had lots of fun, and it was actually a really good meal, just gotta get over the fact that it might not be clean. But none of us got sick! So it was real good :) Gotta love those missionary memories! Haha!

On Sunday, we had one of our super solid investigators, Jason, try to drop us. Well we didn't let him! He had just broken up with his Girlfriend (she's his tie to the church) and so he was trying to get rid of all memories associated with her. But we told him that he was being silly. We walked him through everything, and he still wants to be baptized. The only sucky thing is that now he's single and he needs to be going to the singles branch here. So we don't really get to teach him anymore. But that's OK, he's still super solid and he will be baptized!!!! 

But that about catches you up on what's happening here! I gotta run!

Love you all so much, keep inviting your friends and family to come to church eh? And if it's not too much trouble, help them read the Book of Mormon and pray alright? K. Sounds good :)

Love ya!

Elder DeFreese

1. E. Kempter! Haha

2. The zone attempting a zone picture... :)

3. E. Kempter again!

4. Should I?.....

 

 

Happy Birthday!!!!

July 7, 2014
Alright, alright, alriiiiiight!

Another week come and gone, and I didn't get transferred! Who would have guessed?

So this passed week was pretty great! Elder Kempter and I are working together really hard, we haven't lost a step at all. We were able to just jump right into it! So things are going really well!

One of the big things to talk about was MLC's (Missionary Leadership Council) which was this pastTuesday..? Maybe Wednesday. Can't remember, but anyways. It went pretty well, It was cool being in such a council with all the leaders in the mission, setting goals and stuff to work on, it was great. We had a lot of fun too!

Also, the other big news to share would of course be the Fourth of July! It happened to fall on our Zone Training day! So we had a 3 hour meeting that Elder Kempter and I led and trained on several different things. I had to train on Revelation Through Church Attendance, it went pretty well. I hope they learned something.

Also, there were lots of fireworks! However, we had a 9 pm curfew and so we didn't really get to see any of the good fireworks. But we got to see some! So that was good!

Also, Just gotta get a shout out to Don and Andrew, Happy Birthday!!!! Love you both so much, keep bugging the crap out of Mom for me!

But I think that about does it, sorry my e-mails aren't the most  informative. But I'm trying to balance all sorts of things! Love you all! If you want to know about something, ask me and I'll include it next week!

Make sure to do some missionary work of your own, you WILL be blessed, that's a guarantee! 

Elder DeFreese