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!??

 

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 :)

 

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 :)

 

 

 

 

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?