Incredible Week, New Mission President! June 27, 2016

   Hello everyone! I hope your week has been so amazing. Today for the
very first time I wrote to our new Mission President, President
Polley!  President Polley has asked us to think about some ways that
our previous Mission President and his wife, President and Sister
Slaughter, have impacted and inspired our missions and our lives. I've
deceived to share my thought about this with you all in my mass email
this week!

    I have known President and Sister Slaughter for about two months now,
and they have changed my mission and my life forever. I absolutely
love them with all of my heart. The Slaughters are so inspiring
because they have been the greatest example to me of being 110%
consecrated in the work; knowing that this time, is the Lord's time.
This is something I know the Lord knew that I needed to learn from
them.

    Before my mission, I did not understand the value of time. In fact to
be honest, I wasted so much time! I spent most of my time watching
hours and hours of Netflix, or surfing Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram,
etc. on my phone. Putting my the time into a priority category was
something I utterly failed at.  On my mission I have grown and changed
SO MUCH. The Slaughters have taught me that this time is the Lord's
time; and it should be spent accordingly! In all reality, the time we
have here is so short- so we need to spend every second of it as
consecrated servants of Jesus Christ. I've come to learn that all
things I do on my mission relate to how I spend my time. I know that
being exactly obedient means that I need to be doing exactly what the
Lord has asked of me, and not wasting my time by doing other things
that would delay the work. I know that as I spend my time working as
hard as I absolutely can, and being as obedient as I possibly can- the
Lord will bless the mission work even more. Now that I know that this
time is not mine, but it is the Lord's- and I will spend it
accordingly.  Just like the Slaughters.

    This principle of "The Lord's Time" that I've learned from the
Slaughters will not only affect the rest of my mission, but the rest
of my life. When I return home, 18 months later, I will forever
consider my time as the Lord's time. There are so many things we can
do to further the work of the Lord even when we are not set apart
missionaries. We are given this time on earth from our Heavenly Father
as a probationary state.  I love my Heavenly Father so much and want
to please Him to the best of my fallen, human ability. I will always
spend my time according to the knowledge that it's actually not mine,
but it's His.

    Of course this is not the only thing that the Slaughters have taught
me on my mission, but it is one that sticks out very much to me
because it's something I personally needed to learn. The Slaughters
were always so inspiring and in tune with the spirit; they always said
things that I felt were answers to my prayers and my questions. I am
so grateful for them, and for all of their 110% consecrated and
devoted time and service to the Texas San Antonio Mission. They've
truly taught me the importance of being "All In"!

    I've been so blessed to have President Slaughter as my Mission
President thus far.  I know that I am also so blessed to serve with my
new Mission President, President Polley! The Lord qualifies who He
calls, and He calls people to a certain calling for a reason. I am so
excited to see the miracles that will come from this change in the
mission!!

    I love you all! Please remember how much of a gift time is. Choose
how you spend your time wisely, because is it really YOUR time? The
Lord loves us so much! He wants us to succeed, and HE WILL help us!
Have the best week ever!! I pray for you all each and every day.

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I love my
Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ so much. I owe them
everything, for they have given me everything. In the name of Jesus
Christ, Amen.

Transfer 2, Pday 7 in Texas! - June 20, 2016

Hello everyone!

    Literally dying because I can't believe I'm already on my 2nd
transfer and 7th Pday. And that's only in Texas! If you count my time
in the CCM this is my 3rd transfer and 13th Pday! The time is flying!
I can't believe I've been out for almost 3 months. I love this work so
much! Deciding to serve a mission is the best decision I've made for
my life thus far. My testimony has grown immensely, and I've learned
so much!
    
    This week has been great! We had the opportunity to teach a lot of
lessons. Some were with potential investigators, and some were with
less actives! I love watching the Light of Christ change the lives of
these incredible people! We have this new potential investigator named
Tiara! She's absolutely fantastic, and super prepared! A few transfers
ago, my companion and her old companion found her at her apartment
complex. At the time, she didn't seem to be too interested, but gave
them her apartment number anyway. Well last week we were proselyting
in this particular apartment complex, and my companion had a feeling
that we should knock on Tiara's door. As soon as Tiara opened the
door, she invited us in! She was having a little party with some
friends, and she literally said to them, "Can you guys go wait in the
other room? I really need to hear what these ladies have to say." How
cool is that?! She put her life on hold to listen to our message,
she's so elect! We taught her The Restoration, and she LOVED IT. She
asked when she could start reading The Book of Mormon, and we said
now! We gave her one, and invited her to start as soon as she could.
We asked her to attend church, and she literally said, "Of course I'll
come to y'alls church! Can I bring a friend?" All you returned
missionaries out there know the beauty of getting a referral and not
even having to ask for it ;) We love Tiara! Unfortunately her and her
friend weren't able to make it to church yesterday, but we have a
lesson scheduled tonight with them. So we will find out what's going
on, we know Tiara works A LOT. We are so excited for her though! We
are hoping to set a baptismal date very soon.
    
    My companion/trainer Sister Martin and I get along great! She is
hilarious, I just love her. She absolutely just LOVES the work, and I
admire it so much. She's a very good example of exact obedience- all
in all, I am so lucky to have the opportunity to be trained by her!
    
    This week I finally tried "Whataburger". I guess it's this burger
place in Texas that everyone raves over, and the members would like
die when I said I hadn't been yet. It turned out to be pretty good!
Another Texas thing is HEB. It's a store that's like Walmart, but
better! We shop there every Pday. I found a drink called Vernors, (and
for those of you Michiganders reading this email, this one's for you!)
and I was so excited! It reminded me of my incredible Michigan family,
so I just had to buy it! I love all the unique Texas places here, it's
so great! I am already excited for the trip my family and I have
planned to come back to Texas! I am starting to have some serious
Texas pride ;)
    
    I just wanted to take a second and say Happy Father's Day yesterday
to all the Dads out there! And to my dad in particular, Happy Father's
Day, I love you! My dad has been such an incredible example to me-
he's one of the big influences in my decision to serve a mission. And
he is this influence merely by example! My dad is incredible, he is so
selfless. I want to thank him for being a worthy priesthood holder,
and for always being so great in all his callings. My dad has a love
for everyone that is true and sincere. I truly strive to be the kind
of missionary and person, that he was and IS! So thank you for
everything dad, I love you.
    
    Our mission president, President Slaughter and his sweet wife and
family leave a week from today!! It is so crazy! I'm a little sad,
because I have grown to love them SOOOO much! But I know that I will
love our new mission president and his wife, President and Sister
Polley just as much. I am excited to meet them next week! Next Tuesday
we have a mission-wide conference where all the missionaries in the
TSAM get together, and we will meet President and Sister Polley. I am
so excited for that, I know it will be incredible!

    I'd like to close with leaving you my testimony. I know without even
a sliver of a doubt that this church is true. I know that we have a
Prophet on the earth today- President Thomas S. Monson. I follow him,
and I sustain him and all of the other Brethren. I have such a rock
solid testimony of Joseph Smith; I know that he really did see God The
Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was
unimaginably faithful, and because of him we have The Book of Mormon
today. I love reading The Book of Mormon because when I do, I feel the
spirit so strongly. I know that it is true. I testify my witness that
The Book of Mormon is indeed the word of God. And I want to help
others on my mission understand the importance of reading it. I know
that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that because of Him- I can live
again with my Heavenly Father. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect.
I know that I am no where near perfect, but I know that by living the
gospel I can strive to be more like my Savior Jesus Christ.  I am so
blessed, and I am so grateful!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Freeman

P.S. Lol to describe that last Froyo pic... Every Tuesday night my
companion takes us to Menchie's because it's 5 dollar Froyo. And she
wanted to take a pic of our Froyos with our name tags;)

Transfers, Food Poisoning, Wedding Bells- What a week! - June 13, 2016

Hello everyone!!
Here are the Transfer news: NO NEWS! Lol me and Sister Martin will be
staying together in Palo Alto again for this next transfer.  So I have
the same address!
I am actually really excited that she gets to finish my last transfer
of training, and I really like the people here so it's good that I get
another one. I'm hoping to move to a Spanish area within the next
couple of transfers, but we will just have to see.

The Alamo and Mercado were amazing!  I'll be sure to send lots of
pics! It was fun to have an adventurous Pday!

So here's some interesting news for you, are you ready?:
1-  This week we got a call from the district leader saying there is
information from the Mission President's wife that the Zika Virus has
been found in Texas, so we all had to go buy a specific bug spray with
40% DEET that day! Crazy, right?!
2-  I got food poisoning from a Chinese Buffet. Ew.  luckily
it only lasted one night, so it wasn't too long! But it was utterly terrible!
3-  I got a Sty in my eye this past week, so I had to throw away all
of my mascara, wear glasses for a week with no eye makeup. It was
horrid! But it's all better now! So it's been quite the eventful week
for me;)

My cousin Jeffrey and his stunning bride Kristen got married this
week, so quick congratulations to them! Kristen looked absolutely
STUNNING! Mod beautiful bride I've ever seen! I loved all the
pictures, it looked like it was an amazing day! So glad Hollie was
able to attend via cardboard cut out😉

This week we found 3 new potential investigators so I'm super excited
about that!! I'll keep y'all in the update as to what happens.

This week has been great and very eventful, and I have unfortunately
run out of time to email. But I love you all! And want to thank you
for all the support and prayers.

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Freeman

No Time for Mass Email - June 06, 2016

Hermana Freeman ran out of time to write a mass email.  Here's an excerpt of the one she wrote me:

I don't have much time because we're about to get ready

to head out to the Alamo and the Mercado! I'm so excited to do
something fun and adventurous on Pday! This transfer has flown by, I find out a week from
today if I'm leaving or staying in my area! How crazy? 

No time for a mass, so sorry.

Love,

Hermana Freeman

P.S. I tried Sushi and it absolutely sucked! Also the Cupa de Frutas were HUGE!

Hello Everyone from Hermana Freeman - May 30, 2016

Hello everyone!

Ok. I can't even describe how fast this is going by. Two weeks from
today, we will be getting our transfer calls to know if we'll stay in
Palo Alto, or get transferred to another area. On Saturday, it will be
my 1 month mark of being here in Texas. This is CRAZY; I feel like I
was in the CCM just yesterday. Each day I'm out here, my testimony
grows deeper and deeper into this gospel. I know without even a sliver
of doubt- that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is
true. I feel so blessed to share the gospel that brings so much joy in
my life, to the marvelous people of Texas!

I just truly love Texas! (Even if it is ruining my poor hair :'))
This next part will probably only interest Harley, Meganne, Wendy, &
My Mom, but oh well! As I'm typing this part while  I am currently
getting my hair cut by a nice member. Because Texas has FRIED my hair!
Yesterday we were in the car, and I was brushing my hair, and it was
just breaking off! I almost started crying because it was so bad, my
companion thought my temper tantrum was pretty funny though.😂 She
told me to text a member in our phone who cuts the sister
missionaries' hair all the time, and I started to slowly calm down.😉
Needless to say, I'm back to some pretty short hair, and have to do
special treatments to "bring it back to life".  But enough about hair,
I have other stuff to talk about!

We have had the chance to visit so many people this week! We've been
meeting with a lot of less-active members. I love the opportunity I
have to help these people feel the love of their Savior, Jesus Christ
once more in their lives. Sometimes people forget how much their
Heavenly Father knows and loves them, but it's so important to remind
them and help them to feel it all throughout their lives.
This past week me and my companion had a thought that we should
contact a girl named Yadira. She is a convert to the church, but has
been less active for a few years now. We were able to meet with her
and get to know her a little more. She has a lot of stress that has
been placed in her life, and we contacted her at time of much-needed
help! The spirit helped us to reach out to her at this time for a
reason. We taught The Restoration, and she absolutely loved it! The
spirit was so strong, and she had so much to say and add to the
discussion.  I love seeing the Lord's work change the lives of these
people.

On Tuesday, we had our Press on Zone Conference.  It was kind of like
a "Farewell" Zone Conference for President and Sister Slaughter,
because the new Mission President comes in on June 27!  It was really
bittersweet.  I'm sad to see President & Sister Slaughter leave,
because I've really gotten to known and love them!  They have such an
amazing spirit about them- they truly love the work!  However, we got
to learn a little bit about the new Mission President and his wife,
President and Sister Polley, and they seem so wonderful an so excited
to dive into the work!  I know the change will be good, it will just
be a little hard to see the Slaughter's go!

Our Pday a week from today, we will be heading to downtown San
Antonio!  I'm so excited, we are going to see the Alamo, and to shop
the Marcado.  We are so excited to take a little adventure!  As a
result however, I might not have much time to write a mass email!  We
want to have as much time as possible there, so we will be heading off
at noon!  I'll be sure to take lots and lots of pics though!

I love you all, and thank you so much for the love and support.
You've all been so amazing to me, and I really appreciate it!  I still
love to get mail and emails, so please continue to send away!😉
Have a great week, and remember to always turn to the Lord.  He knows
you. He loves you.  And He wants you to be happy!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Freeman

Picture explanation:
-The one of me and the other sisters was taken at the Zone Conference.
-The one of me on the couch with the family was taken with the Johnson
family!  Stephani, the girl sitting in the middle- is the Relief
Society President of our YSA branch.  And behind us is her sweet mom,
and her dad who is the first counselor to the Branch President! They
are such a sweet family, we just love them! They always are willing to
feed us dinner, and they are the ones who let us FaceTime on Mother's
Day from their house!
-The Name Tag- it's actually a hand stitched keychain that one of the
members of the branch made for me!  I absolutely love it!
-The duck sign! There is a duck pond really close to our house, and I
just love the sign by the road😂

The Big Two Month Mark! - May 23, 2016

Hello everyone!  I hope y'all didn't forget about me since I wasn't
able to send a mass email last week.  I ran out of time, but it sounds
like my cute mother was able to pull the least embarrassing parts I
sent from her email, and make a mini mass one!

This week has been SO BUSY!  So many wonderful things have happened, I
am so blessed.  On Tuesday, we had companion exchanges and I was able
to spend Tuesday-Wednesday late morning with one of my Sister Training
Leaders.  (When I send pics, she's the one with the blue
cardigan/black & white chevron skirt.)  Her name is Sister Hardman,
and she is adorable; I love her.  I was able to learn so much from
being companions with her.  During the exchange, it was my job to lead
out the day and lessons for the first time.  I was so nervous you
guys, this was so new to me.  We had a lesson with one of our
progressing investigators named, Carlos.  The lesson went absolutely
amazing.  I tried to follow the Spirit to lead out the lesson and say
what Carlos needed to hear, and it was such a Spiritual time.  I asked
Carlos to be baptized, and he said yes!  We had an amazing lesson
about the importance of putting our Heavenly Father and this gospel as
our number one priority in life.  Sister Hardman and I- and more
importantly Carlos- felt the Spirit so strongly.  I was so thankful
for the opportunity to learn and grow as a missionary.  We are excited
to continue to work with Carlos, and help him to continue to progress
towards baptism!  Heavenly Father has prepared him so much.

On Wednesday we had our weekly District Meeting, and I had to lead out
the TSAM purpose statement which I can finally say I have memorized.😎
So that was a neat experience for me!  I've learned a lot about the
importance of working with members!  Members help the work more than
words can even describe!  The area that I'm currently serving in right
now (Palo Alto-YSA) is amazing with helping the missionaries.  We have
members coming out with us AT LEAST 4 nights a week, and they are
working with their less-active/non-member friends to feel the Light of
Christ in their lives.  The members are so great, I just love everyone
here at Palo Alto!  I am truly learning what it means when people say
"Love the People".  I have so much love for everyone here.  Each
member, investigator, less-active, recent convert, etc.  I have so
much love for in my heart.  I want to share the gospel because I love
them- and want them to have this indescribable joy that The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints brings to me.  There is no greater
Light, than the Light of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I testify of this
to be true; I have seen the Lord's hand in the work and in my life
more times than I can count.  This mission has changed me, and I will
forever be grateful to my Father in Heaven.

On Thursday during the day, my companion and I had our weekly planning
which is just amazing.  That evening, we were able to go out and visit
a few less actives, and have a lesson with Carlos.  While we were
walking from one apartment to another, we saw a lady out walking with
her dog.  We stopped to talk to her, and tell her who we were.  We
introduced ourselves, and started to share a little message.  When she
flipped the little card we gave her over, and saw the word "Mormon",
she goes: "Wait!  Y'all are Mormon.  Is it weird?"  We just kind of
stood there for a second in shock, like did she really just say that?
😂  We explained to her that it is in fact not weird, and that we love
it.  She wasn't really interested, so we said farewells and went our
separate ways.  We've heard people tell us that we're weird, but we've
never had someone ask us if we thought we're weird until that point!
It was a funny little experience.

Friday.  Oh my goodness Friday was an interesting day.  So we had a
member signed up on our dinner calendar for Friday night.  And on
Monday night, we saw a less-active at FHE (Family Home Evening) and asked if we could stop
by at 7 on Friday night!  This less-active, texted us on Tuesday night
and said, "Do y'all have a dinner for Friday night?  I could make some
tasty enchiladas for you if not!"  We being missionaries-not wanting
to offend anyone-decided to tell him that we'd love to have enchiladas
for dinner!  My companion assured me that the member who signed up for
on the dinner calendar to feed us, didn't usually give us a lot of
food, so it would be fine to just have two dinners that night; we
really didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  Well. We show up to our
first dinner appointment, and the member pulls a 9x11 pan of lasagna
out of the oven.  Cuts the lasagna into 4 corners.  AND GIVES US EACH
A CORNER!  Then sprinkles extra meat that she made over the top of it.
THEN pulls out Olive Garden breadsticks.  Me and my companion look at
each other (knowing that we had a second dinner to go to in about an 2
hours) with wide eyes.  The PILES of lasagna were placed in front of
us, and we just had to eat😂  We couldn't offend, so we had to eat the
whole thing!  My companion does thing thing where she'll hiccup when
she's full; literally every time she's full!  After like 6 bites of
this lasagna she started hiccuping, and I knew we were in trouble.😂
WE HAD SO MUCH LASAGNA!  After we finished and left, I had never been
so full in my life!  We had to go to the next appointment though, we
had  already committed and confirmed!  We knocked on dinner #2's door,
and smelled the Enchiladas right away.  We walk in, and he says, "I
hope you're hungry!"  At this point, my companion and I were trying
not to laugh because this funny situation was completely our own
fault.  We sit down at the table, which was beautifully set with our
1ST COURSE- a Caesar salad.  He then brings the enchiladas to the
table and says, "There's another pan in the oven, so eat up!"  Ok.
You guys.  I thought I was going to die.  I only had one enchilada,
and told him I was so full!  But they were so good.  He was a really
funny, cool guy- so I think it was fine!  He then brings out DESSERT!
After we left, my companion and I pretty much just rolled out to the
car.  We had a member with us at the second dinner, and she was like,
"Why didn't you guys want more enchiladas?!"  Once we told her the
story she was dying.  My companion and I literally felt like slugs.  I
cannot describe to you how full I was!  It was crazy, but we think
it's a hilarious story now!

Saturday was busy, we had lessons all throughout the day!  And
yesterday was my 3rd Sunday being in the mission field.  I gave my 2nd
talk.  That's how you know you're a missionary!  It's ok though, I
loved it!

Unfortunately I have to wrap things up, I'm running out of time!  I
love writing letters, so if y'all could please send your home
addresses, I'd love to send some out!  I also love receiving mail
because I'm a missionary, and that's typical;).  But thank you all for
all the prayers and support, I love each and every one of you.  I pray
for you daily.  I am so thankful for this blessed opportunity I have
to serve this mission in the TSAM.  I know this church is true.  I
know The Book of Mormon is true.  If you feel like something is
missing in your life, just open the book.  I promise we can receive
revelation and answers from our Father in Heaven through reading the
book.  Thank you all again, and I hope you have the best week!  I
can't believe I'll be home in exactly 16 months from today, the time
is FLYING!  **Also tomorrow is my Dad's birthday, so don't forget to
wish him a Happy Birthday!  He's the best, and deserves the best day
ever!;)

Con amor,

Hermana Freeman



(P.S. The B&W pic is from Friday afternoon.  We did service in a muddy
field picking onions in the Texas sun, it was great😉  And the one of
me with the 1 cake, is our Branch Mission Leader brought us a two
weeks ago- because I had been in Texas for a 1 week, and my companion
had been on the mission for exactly 1 year!  It was so thoughtful.)

Hermana Freeman's Weekly Mass Email - May 16, 2016

Hermana Freeman ran out of time this week to write a group email, so I thought I'd share from some of her email to me:


This week my actual Spanish was put to the test!  IT WAS SO COOL!  We were knocking on the door, and this guy came out and could only speak Spanish.  So I just started talking with him!  I told him who we were, and that we were looking for his daughter who was in our YSA Branch, and we had a nice little conversation!  It was SOOO cool!  My companion and Stephani(The member who is amazing and always feeds us and came out with us) were just looking at me in awe.  It was so cool; I felt the gift of tongues in that moment.  Then we walked across the street literally a minute later... Ran into another guy who spoke Spanish! Same thing happened again.  I am really learning to LOVE Spanish!  Even though I am English called, I have one hour a day designated to my language study.  So it is definitely a blessing!

Ok so we had a trainer/trainee meeting up in Kyle (Which is pretty close to Austin) this week on Thursday.  It was a pretty far drive, and we were worried about having too many miles and stuff, but I'll get to that later.  So on the way, we saw this gas station that everyone talks and raves about.  Mom.  This thing is not a gas station.  This thing is MEGA!!  You HAVE to look it up on the Internet!  It's literally famous because of how giant it is!  It's called "Buc-ee's".  It literally has over like 40 gas pumps, and the store is bigger than a department store at the mall!  On the way back from the meeting, we stopped off to check it out.  It was magnificent  I was able to grab you a little somethin' somethin' for a late Mother's Day gift.  This place was like souvenir & gift central!  And they sold the BEST.  In the world.  Cinnamon toasted almonds and walnuts.  Oh my goodness it was so good!  It didn't seem like a gas station.  But for reals, check it out!  Buc-ee's.  It's been on TV because of how famous it is here in Texas.

This week we've gotten a lot of rain!  On Tuesday night, we all woke up to the biggest thunder/lightning storm I've ever seen!  Oh my goodness those were some of the freakiest lightning bolts I've ever witnessed!  And the thunder was so loud.  At about 5 AM when we were all looking out the window in awe, the power went out! And it didn't come back on when we woke up.  So mom. That's right. Me. I got ready with no power.  How proud are you of me?!;) I had to hop in the shower, turn on the water for like 2 seconds to get my hair wet- then turn it back off.  Put shampoo in my hair, wash off- then turn the water back on to rinse off AS FAST AS I COULD.  It was crazy, I felt pretty Amish.  Then my hair had to air dry and it was pretty flat to my face.. And that didn't look great.  So I tried to do extra pretty makeup to cancel it out.. But I don't think it quite worked all the wayJ.  Anyways, I was pretty proud of myself for getting ready without power!  We had a lesson to be at right at 12, so the life doesn't stop here on the mission!  The show must go on.


Ashleigh sent home her SD card from Mexico City, so I'm going to attach a few of those pictures along with a few of the pics she  sent me this week from Texas.  Sorry, I can't tell you who every one is, but these pictures made me smile.  In case you were wondering, Ashleigh's email address is still the same ashleigh.freeman@myldsmail.net .  She'd love to hear from you.  She can read emails almost ever day, but she can only write on p-day, which is Monday.