He Know Each of Us INDIVIDUALLY - July 18, 2016

 Hello everyone! I hope y'all had a fantastic week and saw the hand of
the Lord in their lives!

    I felt so blessed this week; I know the Lord truly loves me. This
week we were able to have our first Personal Interviews with the new
Mission President, President Polley. I've been thinking a lot about
the things that were talked about in my interview, and I'm really
starting to see just how much Heavenly Father knows me. The area that
I'm currently serving in is a test of faith, there is A LOT of
finding! But the Lord knew that I needed an area like that right now.
Before my mission I was all about very instant-gratification. I wanted
what I wanted, and I wanted it without delay! My Heavenly Father knows
me well enough to put me in an area that instant-gratification maybe
isn't the "type of missionary work". I most definitely had some
patience, faith, and humbling to learn! ;) And now that I've been
learning and practicing my faith and patience, missionary work is SO
precious to me. When I do have my first baptism, I will treasure it so
dear to my heart instead of just having it be a normal expectation.
Heavenly Father knows us better than we even know ourselves! We are so
blessed to have President Polley as our Mission President, he is truly
incredible!

    My area, Palo Alto YSA, is still coming along! As far as
investigators and baptisms go, we are still trying our hardest to find
every day. We are doing a lot of work in the branch right now, there
are a lot of members who need shepherding to come back to church.
Right now we are trying to work on making our branch more unified; we
will be having a devotional this upcoming Sunday evening, and we are
so excited. Our main focus will be on unifying the branch through
reverence and feeling the love of our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus
Christ. I really feel like as the branch gets more and more unified,
we will start to find investigators to teach and help prepare for
baptism! There's just a lot of inner work that has to be built up
within the branch itself first. I know that as we continue to have
faith and trust in the promises of the Lord, we will continue to see
miracles!

    My sweet companion, Sister Martin, is still doing great too! Being a
trainer and a Sister Training Leader has really helped push her to her
full potential. Sister Martin is such an excellent example of
consistent faith to me. All throughout this big finding time we are in
right now, her faith is unwavering; I love learning from her amazing
example. And she is HILARIOUS!

    Let us always remember that everything happens in the time of the
Lord. Sometimes we want very blessings and miracles to happen, and we
want them now! But we often forget that our Heavenly Father and our
Savior Jesus Christ are all-knowing. They know what we need, and when
we need it. As we show our faith and love consistently, they will
bless us with even greater things than we could have imagined. Never
give up hope, your Heavenly Father knows you, and has a plan for you.
We must always watch for the hand of the Lord in our lives, because He
is always there!

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true
church on the earth. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and had
unimaginable faith. He translated The Book of Mormon through the
Priesthood Power of God, and restored the true church upon the earth
by that same power. The Book of Mormon is true, and as I read it, I
feel the spirit so strongly. I know that I have a Savior, Jesus
Christ. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the great Plan of
Happiness can be fulfilled. We have a loving Heavenly Father who knows
us and loves us. I am forever grateful because I am so blessed.

    I hope y'all have another fantastic week! The time is flying here, we
have transfers already coming up AGAIN next week! I cannot even
believe it. So y'all will know in my email next Monday if I'm staying
in Palo Alto, or getting transferred to a new area! I'm so excited to
see what the Lord has in store!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Freeman

Pictures:
-Zone Conference with President & Sister Polley
-Sister Martin & I in the car, waiting to be picked up by a member
-We had a few chances this week to eat dinner with families (which
usually never happens since we work with YSA, we rarely see families
and children!), and one of the little girls drew us this cute picture.
She was adorable!

Heavenly Father Love YOU. - July 11, 2016

 Hello everyone! I hope your week was incredible, and your 4th of July
was fun & safe!  This week I learned how blessed I am to be here. We
attended a Zone Conference where we learned how much we are loved by
our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. Our Mission
President, President Polley, taught me something so profound. I'll
share with y'all some of my thoughts on the things he said. The Lord
is perfect, He can do ANYTHING. He could do the mission work of every
missionary in the blink of an eye. So why does He have us serve
missions? Why does He have us do His work? Why doesn't He just snap
His fingers and have everyone be baptized right now? It's because He
loves us. He loves me so much, that He's giving me this opportunity to
learn, grow, and serve Him. He prepares people in our area to receive
our message, but He leaves the work up to us. (Of course guided by the
Spirit.) Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us beyond measure to
our human minds. It is so incredible, it brings tears to my eyes. Just
felt like I should share that this week.
I am beyond grateful for this opportunity I have to serve in the TSAM.
Choosing go on a mission was the best decision I could have made for
my life right now. I NEEDED to come here to learn and grow, and to
GIVE EVERYTHING TO THE LORD.

    Our area Palo Alto YSA, is doing really good. Sister Martin and I are
in a really big finding time right now. But we are also working very
hard to strengthen and unify the current members of our branch. I am
really coming to learn that missionary work is not just about the
investigators, but it's all people! Members, less-actives,
non-members, everyone! We all need the light of Christ in our life, no
matter who we are. We have a new investigator named Samantha, who
really wants to get baptized! We taught her the Restoration on Tuesday
evening, and she LOVED it. She said that she has always felt the bible
was true, but there was just something missing. And that something is
The Book of Mormon! We were amazed at just how prepared and elect she
is! I am learning that we must always trust in the promises of the
Lord, faith is essential in the work! My faith has grown SO much while
I've been out here serving my mission. I am truly grateful to say,
this mission has changed my life forever.

    My companion, Sister Martin, is doing really good! She's such an
incredible leader and example. The sisters that she's over for her
Sister Training Leader calling, look up to her so much; I am one of
those sisters. She never ever gives up; her faith is absolutely
unshakeable. She KNOWS and TRUSTS in the promises of the Lord, and it
really helps me to do the same. She is the best example/trainer I
could have learned from.

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church.
It was restored by a faithful prophet, Joseph Smith through the
Priesthood Power of God. The Book of Mormon is true, and is evidence
of this perfect gospel. Jesus Christ is my Savior, and through Him I
can try my best each day to be better. Through Him, I can live with my
family forever in the presence of my Heavenly Father. We are so
blessed. Heavenly Father loves us beyond measure, and I will never be
able to do enough to show my gratitude and love. But I can do my
absolute best in this life to turn everything to Him. I know that here
in the TSAM, that's what being "All In" is about. Turning everything
we have, to our Savior! I am so filled with pure joy. The Gospel of
Jesus Christ IS pure joy. And I feel so privileged to share that with
the people of Texas.

    I love and miss you all so much! Thank you for all of your examples
of love and faith. Always remember who you are, a child of God. Your
Heavenly Father knows YOU. Your Heavenly Father loves YOU. Never let
anything distract you from this knowledge of who you are. Know who you
are, and act accordingly!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Freeman


We had a little too much fun with the Glow Sticks our members gave us
on the 4th of July😉

Happy 4th of July Everyone! 🇺🇸❤️💙 - July 4, 2016

Hello everyone! I hope you've had the greatest week ever!

Oh how great is the Work of the Lord! We were able to have an
incredible week this week. I am really starting to learn faith in
finding; our area is in a big finding time right now.

The area (Palo Alto YSA) is slowly starting to progress. We are
starting to see the members help more and more each day with the
mission work. We have been trying to find ways to make the branch more
unified; after many prayers and discussions, we've decided to have a
fireside/devotional on Sunday July, 24. My companion, Sister Martin,
and I will be speaking- along with another returned missionary in the
branch. We know that as we get everyone feeling the spirit together,
that our branch can become stronger! We are still working with a lot
of less-actives. I love to see the light of Christ enter back into the
lives of these people, it's incredible! For example, one of my first
days in San Antonio, we taught a less-active named Nick. I thought
Nick would NEVER progress! He was taking the lesson so lightly and was
trying to draw away the spirit. He said he liked his lifestyle and
didn't want to change! Well this past week we met with Nick (and many
many other times prior) and extended the commitment to meet with the
Branch President for a limited-use Temple Recommend to do baptisms for
the dead! I just felt so privileged to see the Lord and the Holy Ghost
work with this young man's heart. The work is truly incredible! We
will still continue to look for investigators to teach, but we have a
LOT of work to do within the branch to build up the unity!

I am so excited that today is the 4th of July! Last Pday, my companion
and I went shopping for Red, White, & Blue outfits to wear today. I've
attached a picture below of the us Lake Vista Apartment Sisters in our
4th of July attire! Sadly I forgot my Red scarf at home, so for right
now- my outfit is just White & Blue. Of course we will be going back
for the Red later!

Today on this spectacular 4th of July I want to talk a little bit
about how this glorious holiday that we celebrate has to do with the
gospel. We are so blessed to live in a country where we have such
religious freedom! Our forefathers were truly inspired to fight for
all the freedoms we have today. This religious freedom that we so
greatly fought for, opened the doors to the Restoration of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. It's so incredible to see how in control of
EVERYTHING, our Father in Heaven is. In Preach My Gospel on page 35,
under The Great Apostasy, it reads: "This Reformation resulted in an
increased emphasis on religious freedom, which opened the way for the
final Restoration." Heavenly Father prepared this land, the promised
land, for Joseph Smith to Restore the true church, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the earth. This holiday is a lot more
than just fireworks and hotdogs; we celebrate the freedom of this
incredible country given to us by our Heavenly Father.  And all of the
incredible freedoms we have, including religious freedom! We are so
blessed, how glorious it is to live in America! ❤️💙❤️💙

I'd like to leave you all with my testimony.  I know the church is
true. I have a burning Testimony of this Gospel.  I know with all my
heart, that we have a Savior- Jesus Christ.  I know that we have a
Heavenly Father who loves us beyond measure and He wants us to
progress and succeed.  I know that this mission I'm serving is not
mine, but it is His.  And I am learning over time that because this is
His work, things will happen in His time.  I know that the Book of
Mormon is true.  And that we can become closer to God by reading it,
and acting upon the things we are prompted to do when we read it.  I
know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, to restore this
gospel we have on the earth today!  The most important thing in my
life is my sweet family back at home in Santaquin, Utah.  And the
knowledge that I have, that I get to spend eternity with them- bring
me joy beyond words.  I love them so much.  I am thankful for the
opportunity that I have to share the knowledge of Eternal Families to
the people here in Texas!  I am growing so much as a person, and as a
missionary.  I am truly blessed. I say these things, in the name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.

I hope you all have an incredible week, and a fabulous 4th of July! Be
safe! I love you all, and want to thank you for all of your thoughts
and prayers. I pray for you as well.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Freeman