What a wonderful world!

Well, this week has been the craziest, most eventful week of my mission! It was so wonderful to witness 2 baptisms, 1 confirmation, and 5 recent converts attend the temple! Add on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and whoa. The work is on fire. Plus we have achieved our mission goal of getting 100 recent converts to the temple this month with their own family names! 

So Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were the greatest! We had a baptism on both days and we went out to a specialty pizza place with the Williams (a senior couple serving in our ward) on Christmas Eve. I loved it. PIZZA. Afterwards they drove us around town to drop off gifts in the pouring rain to our investigators. Bless their hearts. On Christmas Day we had dinner with the Benjamins and their friends. I got to play Christmas Carols on their super nice grand piano and everyone sang along. It reminded me a lot of home. :) Later we visited a lady in our ward who lives in a nursing home, and I'm glad we did because she was pretty lonely. So yeah, all in all, it was the best Christmas of my life :) Skyping home was so great and I love you all. Missionary Christmases are the best Christmases. 

To prepare for the temple trip on the 27th we helped multiple people get on FamilySearch and build their family tree. On Friday we went over to the DeLaRosa's house and helped Sister DeLaRosa find names to bring to the temple the next day. We started from scratch (her and her husband were the ONLY names when we started) and we started inputting her parents' names and so forth. When we inputted one of her grandfather's names we found a link! And all of a sudden her tree BLEW UP. There were names all the way back to the 1800s all ready to be taken to the temple! And even more amazingly, we found that some of the ordinances were already done. Someone in her family is doing the work in the Dominican Republic. She was so excited and started yelling at her mom (who speaks NO English) "Mama! We have family Mormona!" Haha. It was such a great experience and the Spirit of Elijah was VERY alive and well. I hope to invite the grandma to take the discussions in Spanish next time we are over there. 

The next day at the temple was absolutely wonderful. I got to see Hermana Heileson (my last companion) along with Rodrigo and some other peeps from Bridgeport. I just love them so much. Our recent converts had such a great experience and many of them were in tears throughout the day. Since the Boston Temple doesn't usually get 300 poeple in the baptistry in 5 hours the laundry was SUPER backed up, so we got to serve in the Laundry Room for like 4 hours. It was the BEST. :) Haha, I'm serious. Plus, I learned the celestial way to fold towels ;) 

Anyways, gear up for more miracles in the upcoming months because the MBM is gonna baptize THOUSANDS! Our goal is to baptize 500 people as a mission in the first 6 months of 2015. Then if they all take multiple family names to the temple we will baptized thousands :) Sister Batschi and I are so stoked and we would love your support and prayers. Have a great week and know that we are working HARD. 

I love you all! If you haven't thought about a New Years Resolution, now would be a good time to think of your "weapons of rebellion" that you need to bury like the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Have a great week! Happy New Year!

Con Amor,

Hermana Frei

Pic 1: Glamour Shots on our walk from the bus stop to the temple. Working that public transportation like you wouldn't believe

Pic 2: The DeLaRosa's family tree. Loco.

Pic 3: Baptizing thousands. It's a lifestyle.

Holar!

Some of my fondest memories of Christmas back home have been chilling with the fam. And the greatest part is it never has to stop! I'm so excited to skype home on Thursday! Also, thank you EVERYONE who has sent my Christmas cards and packages! Holy smokes! So my last 2 transfers I got like a total of 2 packages and 3 letters maybe. And this transfer I get something in the mail EVERY DAY. Keep up the good work everybody! :) Haha, jk. 

But really though, I have felt so much support and love from all of you. I hope to one day be as loving and giving. Sister Batschi and I made Christmas cards and we will send them out soon... Sorry if they come a little after Christmas. I am my mothers' daughter. :) 

(sorry, that was a low blow, mom)

Anyways, the missionary work is rolling forward! I love this area and these people! They are the best and I have learned so much! Update: we had a baptism yesterday for Miranda, a 14 year old girl who has been investigating for like 6 months. It was such a beautiful service! She had so much support from her part-member family (don't worry, we'll get 'em) and the ward! In addition, yesterday we got a mini missionary! Her name is Sarai and she is 16 and from Rhode Island. Plus she speaks fluent Spanish so it's way fun to contact Hispanics with her. I have so much to learn from her as well. I'm so excited :) 

We are currently working on getting a bunch of our recent converts to the temple on Saturday the 27th to do baptisms. Please pray in our behalf so that the mission can get 100 people there with their OWN family names. Por favor. 

So basically this week is going to be one big party because there are so many birthdays for missionaries in our zone, plus Christmas, plus the temple trip! And of course, shout out to my little sister, Jamie, for turning 13 on the 26th! What a solid age. 

Merry Christmas! God loves you and all of His children! There are eternal truths and God will let you know if you ask him.

Have a fantastic week and I will LITERALLY talk to you later :) 

Con amor,

Hermana Frei

Christmas explosion

I honestly have zero ideas of what happened in the beginning of this week, so from what I remember of the weekend... (Wow, I sound like a drug addict or something. Just high off the gospel of Jesus Christ I guess.) Between Friday and Saturday we received 3 Christmas packages in our apartment! I got one from Ashley and D and the Chongs (thanks guys!) and then Sister Lowenthal (one of the Portuguese sisters that I live with) got one from her family, and Sister Batschi got one from her family. So in like a 24 hour period we had Christmas explosions going off about every 8 hours. It was so great :) We now have a tree all decked out with presents underneath and everything! We have stockings and a cardboard fireplace! It's pretty sweet. 'Tis the season :) 

Also, last night the Boston 1st Ward had its Christmas Party! And man, was it a party! We had several investigators there and we didn't even have to worry. Once they stepped in the room, our ward did the rest. We have some pretty awesome members. There was a musical portion of the party and it was way cool. There was a couple that played a jazz version of "Mary Did You Know?" on the saxophone and piano/vocals. I was in awe. But yeah, it was a great party. Lots of food, tons of cool people, very successful. 

I feel like I still don't know this area very well at all. But it's cool. I'm still meeting investigators that I didn't know we even had. It's kinda fun. Haha. Boston is great. The library is way sweet. Someday when I get a camera I'll have some cooler pictures. But until then, I'm at the mercy of my companion and roommates. But we've gotten some pretty sweet shots lately so esta bien. Btw, I miss Spanish. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Season! I love this time of year! There are tons of lights and wreaths all over the city. It's absolutely beautiful. We are having such a great time passing out the #HeistheGift cards. They are so easy to share and nearly everyone is ok with a Christmas message. Until you start talking to a Jewish family on the T. And you don't realize they are Jewish and don't believe in Jesus Christ/celebrate Christmas at all until after you hand them the card... Haha good times. Sometimes you just assume that everyone is Christian. Whoopsies. Haha, I love awkward moments. 

Anyways, I love you all! If you haven't had the chance to watch the He is the Gift video you totally should! Especially if you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed by all the things that "need" to get done. Just remember the reason for the season! 

Have a great week!

Con amor,

Hermana Frei

Becca actually in Boston

Hello hello! 

You know what's weird? English. 

Anyways, I made it to the big city and it's crazy. Everywhere we go we just talk to EVERYONE. The T is the subway system here in Boston and it's a lot like the Metro system in DC. So sweet. I've only been riding the T and buses for a few days and I've already seen my share of crazy, wacked out things. People are so great. And we just try to hand out as many #HeIsTheGift cards as physically possible. It's so fun! I was never the kind of person to talk to random people on the bus, but it's actually a lot of fun. Plus we get to walk/run everywhere. We run at least 3 times a day to try and catch a bus. Haha. 

So basically this is my dream area. My companion, Sister Batschi is so great. I just love her to death. She is from Renton, niece of THE Batschis, and we were in the Dance Festival together way back when! We have a lot of fun together. Plus we serve with 2 other companionships of elders in our ward. Our church building also has a Haitian-Creole ward, a Spanish branch, and a Portuguese group. So there are about 20 missionaries roving around our chapel ALL THE TIME. This building has the highest number of missionaries in the world probably. It's insane. So fun. I just love being a missionary. 

The work here is very fast-paced and we pick up new investigators and baptismal dates like candy. We will probably have at least 2 baptisms this month. I've learned a lot about opening my mouth and sharing the gospel with EVERYBODY. There is so much going on all the time, it's a little overwhelming, but so good. 

At church on Sunday during 3rd hour the fire alarm went off. So that was fun. Basically some little kid pulled it as a "get-out-of-church-free-card" and it worked pretty well. The fire trucks came and church ended 30 minutes early. Can't complain. Haha, jk. But really though, it was really funny. 

The members here are awesome! There is a really good mix of young married couples in graduate school and a bunch of elderly/middle age African American families. It's an interesting demographic. Teaching in English is so easy, it's not even funny. You don't even have to put any effort into it. I feel like I'm serving a completely different mission. I love being able to freely express my feelings about my Savior Jesus Christ to the people here. 

I love being here, I love these people, and I love my Savior. 

Have a great week, and Merry Christmas! 

Love, 

Sister Frei

Sister Batschi with the fire trucks on Sunday

Obligatory Companionship Pic

It's Been Wet

Hola Querida Familia! 

Or should I say, Hi dear family. Because I'm being TRANSFERRED. To the Boston 1st ward as a Sister Training Leader speaking ENGLISH. That is not the language I learned in the MTC... Haha, but hey, I think I'll be fluent soon enough. No worries. But really though, all joking aside, I've never been so taken by surprise in my life. Hermana Heileson and I have been telling our members and investigators the past couple of weeks that we'll be staying in town for a while. Note to self, NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. I'm just gonna shut my big fat mouth from now on. After we went to the Boston Temple on Saturday (we did a session in espanol! CRAZY) we checked our phone and we had a missed call from President Packard. We freaked out, and lo and behold, Hna Heileson is training, and I'm heading off to Boston. And just like that, my life was changed. There were many a tear shed, and I'll probably cry several times a day until Wednesday night. So yeah, it's been wet. 

MORE WETNESS: Thanksgiving was great! and it was supposed to snow a million inches, but instead it just rained. Good times. Thanksgiving with the Borjases was great! It was very American, not what I was used to, but great nonetheless. It was probably the least amount of food I've eaten for Thanksgiving since the womb. 

THE BEST WETNESS OF ALL: On Friday Rodrigo Tello was BAPTIZED! #B4Bautismo Everything went really well. If I never have another baptism for the rest of mission then it will be totally chill because it was so perfect. We had a bunch of our members come and support Rodrigo and his family, we had some good food afterwards, and the whole family participated in the service. Yesterday Rodrigo was confirmed in Sacrament meeting and he is preparing to be ordained a deacon very soon as well as attend the temple next month. Leaving the Tello family will be hard, but I know that they are in good hands. Plus, their cat loves me now, so no worries. 

All in all, it has been a great week full of so many great memories. It has been so hard saying goodbye to people and this city that I know and love so well. But on to bigger and better things! Boston has been my dream area since I opened my mission call. Plus it's a walking area so I will get to do a LOT of street-contacting and riding the T. I'm SO STOKED. Also, my new companion is Sister Batschi! She is some sort of relation to THE Batschis. I'll let you know what relation exactly next week. So stay tuned. I am so humbled to be called as a Sister Training Leader and help lead this mission to greatness. WHOA SPEAKING OF GREATNESS. Last night the final baptism count rang in at not 70, not 80, not 90, but 100 BAPTISMS. We didn't just meet our goal, we EXCEEDED IT TO THE MAX. So yeah, pretty exciting times! It's been raining miracles!

I love you all so much. I love the Lord. Who can say too much of his goodness? Miracles are happening and the work is moving forward. 

Con amor,

Hermana (para siempre) Frei

Pic 1: T-day selfie in the slushy snow/rain.

Pic 2: #B4Bautismo with Rodrigo and Jose De La Cruz

Pic 3: Hna Heileson and I at the Boston Temple. And there was snow :D

Pic 4: The Tello's cat being my buddy obvi

(sorry it's sideways!)

Balaclava

Well folks, 'tis the season! It has been quite chilly this past week. I have been very grateful for my big, warm coat and wool socks lately. When we had service at the zoo on Wednesday it was a balmy 25 degrees and I don't think I've ever been more cold in my life. We were working outside taking down fall decorations around the grounds and I couldn't feel my face. It reminded me of the Vampire Weekend song: "In December, drinking horchata. I look psychotic in a balaclava." No, I was not drinking horchata (but that stuff is way good), and no, I wasn't wearing a balaclava. BUT I THINK I NEED ONE. That probably wouldn't be very becoming of a servant of the Lord, but at this point, I'm not sure I really care... (jk) But really though. Today is kinda weird because it's like 60 degrees. But reports are saying SNOW for this week. So yeah, exciting times!

More exciting times in the Missionary Department:

Rodrigo and fam: We invited his mom to officially investigate the church.... AAAAAAAAAND SHE SAID YES! Rodrigo is all set for his baptism for Friday at 7 pm, so if I could get a blast of prayers that day that would be awesome! The whole family came to our open house or casa abierta on Saturday which was excellent! Which leads me to my next point...

CASA ABIERTA: Woot. It was basically one big chapel tour. We were able to have the PVC (portable visitor center) Sisters come to the event and bring all the portable visitor centers that they had in Spanish. I don't remember if I've mentioned these at all in the past, but I have some pics that I will include for sure. The description is in the name. Basically they are visitors centers that are very much portable. They are designed specifically for chapel tours so that people can watch a video clip and learn more about the church. They are very professionally made and look just like something you would see at a temple visitors center. So awesome. Hna Heileson and I were in charge of the Jesus Christ one and we got to show people the "Because of Him" video and bare our testimonies of Christ. It was super powerful. When the Tello family came and watched the video they were all crying and I was able to testify that what they were feeling was the Spirit. So powerful. If you haven't seen that video, stop right now and look it up on Mormon Channel. And the best part of the Casa Abierta was that afterwards everyone came together for a big, potluck dinner. Everyone. The members did such a great job mingling with the people who came to "come and see" and I was especially touched to see the Tellos integrate into our ward family. That's how it's done, folks. 

Temple Trip 2.0: So excited for my 2nd temple trip! We are going this Saturday and the best part is that the wife of one of our investigators is receiving her endowment! So we will get to be a part of that special event. It's gonna be an all day trip and I am so excited to spend my entire Saturday in the house of the Lord. Plus the Boston temple is cooler than life. No big deal. 

#November2Remeber Update: So far our goal for the #MBM70 is going great! We are now sitting comfortably on 63 baptisms with one more weekend left. And there are still about 60 more dates set, including Rodrigo's. This has truly been a #November2Remeber or #NovemberToBecomeAMember. We have felt the support of your prayers in addition to every missionary in the mission, the Packards, and Elder Holland. We have truly called upon the powers of heaven. 

Well, in honor of Thanksgiving I think it's clear that I have so much to be grateful for. This week take some time to reflect on the many miracles in your life and eat some delicious pumpkin pie for me.We will be eating with the family of our Ward Mission Leader so I have no idea what to expect, except that it is going to be great! I love that family, and I'm sure that the food will be delicious as always. 

Love you all. And remember that I am grateful for you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Frei

Casa Abierta with the PVC

MORE Casa Abierta con la Santa Biblia

Hna Munoz with the family history center

The Tellos and Hna Eastmand 

Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles

Well folks, here we are again. Writing a mass email is weird. I feel like I'm writing an entry into my journal and then sending it out into the void. It's kinda fun, actually. I'm just in my own little bubble called "mission" trying to get people to come closer to Jesus Christ. It's great. 

Exciting times are happening in the MBM! And so many miracles are happening here in Bridgeport. My first transfer was great and I learned a lot about myself, but this transfer I am seeing real life, honest to goodness miracles. The kind that people share in their home-coming talks. Haha. But really, what is a miracle? A miracle is a time when God intervenes to change the outcome. They happen all the time.

So anyways, I'll share a few miracles I have seen this week. But rest assured that you will have to come to my homecoming talk in approximately 15 months to get the full lot. So I have a huge testimony of member-present lessons. And sometimes you can't find a member who is available to save your life. And as I have learned it is better to reschedule your appointment with your investigator than to go ahead and try to teach by yourself. But it was an appointment with Rodrigo, and we can't afford to reschedule lessons with him because it is crunch time. We've got T-minus 11 days to his baptism. So Hna Heileson and I called the entire ward directory. Nada. And we were at our wits end. So we knelt down and prayed and asked for a miracle. Plain and simple. So when we got to Rodrigo's we called our last hope. And he answered his phone (a miracle in and of itself) and said he could come in 1/2 an hour. So we waited, and BAM. MIRACLE. 

Then the other night we had a goal to get 1 new investigator from our appointment and we rolled out of there with a solid 2! No big deal. Just call me Ammon. Jk, MIRACLES. OR AS MY HISPANIC FRIENDS SAY, "MILAGROS."

Also, update on the #MBM70 we are sitting on 39 baptisms so far for the month. And we have 101 baptismal dates set for the rest of the month. So lets get more faith and prayers up in here and watch the Lord do his good and mighty work. 

I love you all! Now is the season to start counting your many blessings. Because literally you have no idea how much you are blessed. Every day I walk into a home and they basically feed me all the food in their fridge. They give us everything. So go out and do something nice for someone else. Be nice to the missionaries. :)

As our member tells us every time we see her: "Be good!"

Such love,

Hna Frei

Fun for the whole family

Que tal? I don't have much time to email today since we are going to the zoo for non-service! Yay!

Anyways, HAS THE DAY OF MIRACLES CEASED? (Moroni 7:35) I can answer that with a resounding NO! Basically we have started teaching the entire Tello family and Rodrigo RECEIVED AN ANSWER TO HIS PRAYERS. Forgive me for the all caps, but I am so excited. It was so awkward a few weeks ago when we asked him if he had received an answer from God and he said he prayed and he felt... NOTHING. And then this past Tuesday we were ending our lesson and he was like WAIT! And he shared with us that he received an answer to his prayers. He said at first he felt a pain in his stomach (and at that point I was thinking that sounded more like indigestion, not the Spirit) and then his heart got all warm and fuzzy like God was hugging him. (ok, that sounds more like it) And he now has a baptismal date for the day after thanksgiving! Yay! #MBM70

If that wasn't a miracle then I don't know what is. 

MORE MIRACLES: the entire family came to church! WEEEEEEEEEEEEE

So yeah, things are pretty great. Life is good. Please pray for the Tello family and for the #MBM70. God is working miracles out here guys. No joke. The gospel blesses families, and it is so awesome to be working with an entire family and to see them support one another in their studies and prayers. 

To my family: gosh, I love you guys. And it is because I know that we can be together forever that I want to share that message with every family I meet. It is such a beautiful promise. FAMILIES ARE LITERALLY FOREVER.

Anyways, have a great week everybody. Remember the #MBM70 in your prayers.

Truth will prevail!

Con amor,

Hermana Frei

We're Going Global! #MBM70

As many of you probably saw, I'm back in the Facebook world! It's something I thought I wouldn't have to do for another 18 months, but here I am... Because I'm now a digital missionary! The fabulous MBM (Massachusetts Boston Mission) has a force of about 30 missionaries who proselyte on the world wide web. It's pretty exciting. Just this past week we had a skype appointment with a guy from Brazil. This is all very new for our mission, but we have had one baptism come out of it already. Some guy from Uganda. So yeah, all sorts of exciting things going on. But just remember that I can't talk to any of y'all on Facebook.

Gracias.

But other than that, this week has been all sorts of crazy busy! And on Halloween we celebrated by attending a Zone Conference all day! We had a member of the 70 with us and we learned all about the Abrahamic Covenant, the House of Israel, and beyond. 

My mind has been blown. 

Also, we have set a mission goal to get 70 baptisms for the month of November! It is so exciting, and we pray for help for this goal in EVERY. SINgle. Prayer. So if you would all like to unite with our efforts and include the #MBM70 in your prayers this month that would be awesome! 

(And yes, it's a trending hash tag (at least it should be. (gmail does hash tags, right? (#MBM70))))

 We already have 9 baptisms down. So the ball is rolling for sure. I LOVE GOALS. Literally they are the best. If you don't set goals and something good happens then it's just a nice coincidence, BUT IF YOU SET GOALS then you get all sorts of happiness and satisfaction from knowing that you accomplished something awesome. And in our case, we know that God accomplished something awesome through us. 

Another exciting thing that happened on Saturday: our phone died! And somehow we lost it in the middle of Bridgeport without us knowing... So Hna Heileson and I were nightly planning, frustrated that our phone was being dumb, thinking it was in one of our bags... And the English Sisters walked in to our apartment and presented us our phone! And it was working! Apparently some guy called them up and brought it to them. Haha! God works miracles and is watching out for you-- even when you don't even know you need a miracle. 

Anyways, the work is rolling forward! Especially in little baby Bridgeport, but also throughout the whole world! I love this time of year, and I got a little excited by all the fall leaves (see attachment). I love our Savior, and for all his tender mercies. 

Tenga una buena semana!

Con amor,

Hermana Frei #MBM70

DO YOU WANT TO EXPLODE?

It doesn't really matter if I want to or not, because Bridgeport 2nd Ward is EXPLODING. This past Wednesday we had transfers, and I said ciao to my dear baby trainer, Hna Kemp. We only had 6 weeks together, but she taught me so much. And now with my new companion, Hna Heileson, I find myself saying things exactly how Hna Kemp would say things. SO WEIRD.

But Hna Heileson is so AWESOME and I love her to pieces. And so do our members. I have seen such a great outpouring of love from our members. FOR EXAMPLE: We passed around a dinner calendar on Sunday for the month of November, and literally only 3 days weren't filled. It's gonna be crazy. I might have to start letting out my skirts. Haha, jk. maybe. 

But dang, we found a part-member family in our ward that we are going to start working with, and they are Peruvian. For those of you who haven't been blessed to know: Peruvian food = the best food. So we feed them spiritually and they feed us physically. And also spiritually. It's a win-win. 

Guys, this week has just been so amazing. We have been going around meeting with the auxiliary presidents in our ward and having "interviews" with them. We ask them about their vision for their group of people, how we can help, and who we can focus on. And wow. Just wow. Our Relief Society President had the most touching vision. And everyone has given us specific assignments, and it's just great. Every night when I go to bed I can hardly sleep because I'm just so excited! But no worries, I'm sleeping fine. Because we run around like crazy all day every day. 

Fun event this week: we almost got into a car accident! My comp was driving and she didn't check her blind-spot, and we almost side-swiped him. But instead we forced him off the road. Good times. Thankfully we were both only going like 25 mph, so nobody got hurt. His car got a little banged up though. And I saved the day! I got all the info we needed from him, and got him calm, and Hna Heileson calm. We'll probs bring him cookies or something. 

But other than that, I am alive and well! No worries, God is watching over me. And His hand is helping guide our work. This area is such a crazy melting pot. In one day I heard Amharic (Ethiopian), Turkish, and Mandarin (ok, and spanish too) all in one day! And I'm gonna learn them all! Hahahahaha. yeah no. Anyways, God bless you all. And remember to give thanks for all your many blessings! 

Con Amor,

Hna Frei

I may have found the best pizza in the world

Hola,

I don't think I've ever eaten so much delicious food in one week all my life. And as my subject line states, I think I've found the perfect pizza. The pizza place is called Frank Pepe's Pizza and it's only in CT. But WOW. A member took us out to eat there on Saturday for lunch and we each ate an entire pizza. And I loved every minute of it. But brace yourselves for 500 lb Hermana Frei... It's great. 

But really though, our members just love us so much, so they feed us their entire kitchen every time we come over. It got so bad one time that Hna Kemp hid some nasty plantains in a napkin, shoved 'em up her skirt, and ran to the bathroom to flush it down the toilet. It was quite the circus act. She has skills, what can I say? Haha, it was so funny. And people will give us food to take home with us as well. Like right now we have a million cupcakes and Brazilian bon-bons in our fridge. The struggle is so real. 

The other day I knew that we were going to eat A LOT. So that morning I prayed that I would be able to get through it all and not feel terrible. And lo and behold, that night Hna Kemp was moaning and groaning and I could have eaten another Hispanic meal! God provides, and he helps us bear our burdens. He really does care about us, no matter how trivial the problem may seem. 

But other than that, the work is moving forward! Mostly we have been visiting people so that they can say good bye to Hna Kemp, but our lessons have been great! We have Rodrigo committed to pray about a baptismal date, and we are now teaching his sister as well! So pray for them! We have had 2 members at each of their lessons this past week, which is so awesome. Sometimes it's hard to find just 1 member, and now everyone wants to help! Gotta love it! 

But this next week should be interesting. It's time for the changing of the guard in Bridgeport. Saturday night the text came, and my new companion is........... Hna Heileson! She is serving in New Haven right now, but she is in our zone, so I already know who she is. I'm thinking that this next transfer is gonna be full of miracles. And we are going to work HARD. But yeah, I will officially "kill" Hna Kemp on Wednesday, and then on Thursday Hna Heileson and I are gonna hit the ground running. 

I appreciate all of the love and support I receive from all y'all! This church is so true. And like I said before, God cares about us. No matter what our circumstances may be. Whether you're an over-fed missionary in Bridgeport, or [insert your circumstances here] God loves us all the same. He may not take away your burdens, but He will give you strength to bear them. 

Con amor,

Hermana Frei

I love to see the temple and went inside Wednesday…

Sorry about the corny title, but it's true! We got to go to the Boston temple this past Wednesday at it was absolutely beautiful!

But first things first, last p-day we went hiking as a zone at Sleeping Giant State Park here in CT. It was amazing. We hiked the sleeping giant "mountain" (slightly exaggerated hill) and we also went to the weird castle thing that was on top of another hill. Good times. There were lots of fall colors everywhere, and beautiful scenery. I JUST LOVE HIKING. And even though it was pretty wimpy, it fulfilled my urge to get outside and become one with nature (call me crazy hippy lady I guess). 

This past Tuesday was CRAZY. We ate SO MUCH food and had a bazillion appointments, including teaching both of our investigators. We met with Emily who is 17 and wants to get baptized. But she is waiting for support from her parents. But she is dating a guy in our ward and she's basically already Mormon. Like she has already been to Palmyra and the pageant there. WHO DOES THAT?! So we had a really good visit with her. And we also taught Rodrigo who is 13. Something crazy happened when we got to his house though. His mom answered the door, and we were like "oh no! she doesn't want us here!" But it was the EXACT OPPOSITE. She was like "Take my son to church, he needs to go. He needs a positive influence in his life." And we said OK. And he went to mutual last Wednesday! HAHA! So exciting! We are trying to teach his mom now too. Pray for the Tello family, por favor. 

But ok, the crowning event of this past week was RETURN AND REPORT. It was a meeting we had in Boston in the chapel right next to the temple. All the greenies and their trainers met together and we got trained by President and Sister Packard. They taught us, they chastised us, they fed us. It was wonderful. And after the meeting we all went to the temple! I couldn't find a family name ready to be printed, so Sister Packard gave us some of her family names. It was such an incredible experience. The Boston Temple is GORGEOUS. Probably one of the prettiest I have been in.

Of course, after the meeting we went out to eat (what is missionary life?). We went to Chiptole and the manager there paid for Hna Kemp's food. It was so nice! We were car-pooling with some elders in our district and the trainer, Elder Lefthand (let the record show that he is right handed...) had served in Boston for a while so we drove around Boston. IT WAS SO PRETTY. HELP IM IN LOVE. We drove through Harvard and MIT campuses...

Sorry Mom, I'm never coming home. 

But wow. Just wow. New England has my heart. That's all. I hope eventually I get to serve in Boston. Because it is literally the coolest city I have ever been to. And I've been to some cool cities, ok. Gah. Ok, I'll stop. But Boston. Just dwell on that. I have to remind myself that I'm not here to be a tourist. But I've got some mad charity in my heart for the people of Boston. 

Anyways, truth is prevailing here in Bridgeport! This Friday I get to know who my new companion is! Hna Kemp leaves me on the 22nd... No bueno. But it's fine. God is taking care of us and his children. 

Love you all! Sorry about the novel, I know. 

Con muchisimo amor,

Hermana Frei

Strength Faithened!

Hi, I'm just going to warn everybody now. I will probably mention general conference like a bajillion times in this email. So BRACE YOURSELVES. Also, the subject of this email is my favorite quote from #LDSconf EVER. When the guy prayed in the Sunday afternoon session he had a bad case of the switcheroos, so he said "strength faithened" instead of "faith strengthened." But you know what? It works. I know that I have been given a lot of strength from God throughout my life, and especially now. But I could really enhance that strength if I only FAITHED HARDER.

But yeah, I learned more from conference than just a mess up in a prayer, don't worry. Haha. For those of you who don't know what General Conference is, it is the BEST SEMIANNUAL EVENT OF THE YEAR. I'm trying to think of other awesome semiannual events that occur throughout the world to compare it to, BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S JUST THAT GOOD. But in all seriousness, it is a time to gather and listen to the prophet and apostles of our church give us counsel and instruction from God. It's awesome. And it's for the entire world, not just members of our church. So I would invite you to check out mormon.org and come and see what it's all about. 

My favorite talks were by Jeffery R. Holland and Henry B. Eyring for sure. It touched me so much when those two great men started tearing up at the pulpit and testifying of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. HE LIVES. And His is a mission of perfect love and compassion. If you are feeling down and in the dumps I would suggest you go take some time to read the scriptures, pray, and then go serve someone. And it doesn't need to take up a huge amount of time. Just a smidgen. I know that because I get to read the good word, pray, and serve all day, everyday that I am infinitely more happy than I have ever been in my life. It's crazy.

Yesterday after conference Hna Kemp and I got stranded at the chapel and decided to walk back to our apartment... Which is only 2 miles away, but it was getting pretty dark and we had an appointment in 1/2 an hour. So we were speed walking. And it was so fun. I pulled a Bilbo Baggins and clicked my heels and yelled, "I'M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!" Rest assured that we were very safe, since we were walking through the good neighborhoods of Bridgeport. And now I wish I lived in a walking area. Cars just separate you from the people and nature. But I am thankful for our car. No worries. 

Anyways, I don't have any pictures this week since I'm a bum. So that's sad. But I love you all! God cares about each and every one of you! 

Have a good week!

Hermana Frei

Rhubarb cake and living in the ghetto

Well, it's been a wild ride, folks. This morning I ate rhubarb cake for breakfast and I almost started crying. I. LOVE. FOOD. And who knew that I would love rhubarb cake so much?? The senior missionary couple in our zone made it for us and I need that recipe. But let's just let the record show that I love rhubarb cake and America.

Last week on P-day after I emailed you guys we went to downtown Bridgeport and took pictures of the vast collection of graffiti. Complete with our matching Bridgeport tshirts we bought. I don't think I have ever felt so white in my life. But it was so fun! I feel like I fit in here in Bridgeport because I'm used to living in the ghetto. Some YW in my ward said that they go to the ghetto schools, and I was like HEY ME TOO. Haha, good ol' B-town. Gotta love it. 

Something that I did not expect at all when I came to New England was the large number of giant, ancient churches on nearly every corner. There are like 30 HUGE stone churches all over the place. And they all look like they have been there since the beginning of time. It's crazy! They are just so pretty and awe-inspiring. Also, there is the cutest old cemetery in the middle of town. I just want to stroll through it and read the names on the ornate headstones. But Hermana Kemp thinks I'm weird. So we haven't added that to our list of P-day activities... YET.    

Update on the zoo service: WE FINISHED THE ROOF. And we took a picture, but Dave hasn't sent it to us yet... But it is coming. It looks so awesome! 

Update on the work: it's coming along. Bridgeport is a little sleepy when it comes to missionary work, but we keep ourselves busy. Yesterday at church we had 100 people at Sacrament Meeting though! It was a Christmas Miracle if I've ever seen one. We found our lost investigator named Rodrigo and started teaching him this week. WHICH IS AWESOME. Just keep him in your prayers if you can. 

Also, if you guys need any help getting motivated to share the gospel at home I would recommend my favorite book: "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" by Clayton Christensen. READ IT. It will change your life. LITERALLY my life is changed right now. (I forget if I've already advertised this book, so if I have just know that I am absolutely LOCO about it.) 

I love you all so much. As President Uchtdorf said in the Women's General Meeting the weekend, we are all God's children with divine potential. And if you are wondering if you need to keep EVERY commandment, he suggests it... Haha, I just love our apostles and prophet. Especially when President Uchtdorf mentioned "eenstergram." They are adorable. SO STOKED FOR #genconf RIGHT NOW. 

Ok, but really though, I love you all. Sometimes I try to pray for everybody individually and then I realize I've been praying for 20 minutes and it's way past my bed time or half way through personal study... But I really do try, and I really do love you. 

Love (because I can't say that word enough!),

Hermana Frei

Last day of summer!

Check your calendars, folks, because it's the last day of summer! Wow, that's so weird. And New England is beginning to let us know, too, because the trees are starting to turn color! It's so exciting! I can't wait for everything to be so colorful. 

Little baby Bridgeport is doing fantastic! We work a lot with members and less-actives here, so that has been way fun. This past weekend we had stake conference, and it was great to listen to Elder Snow from the Quorum of the Seventy talk about hastening the work. The entire weekend was all about hastening the work in this area! Which is so exciting to hear everyone want to get on board and serve alongside us missionaries. One lady gave a brief history of the church in this area and like 70 years ago there wasn't even a group meeting in New England! There were literally no Mormons! And now there are 14 stakes in the New England area, and the Hartford, CT temple is under construction. Truly the Lord is hastening the work here and I just LOVE being apart of that effort. 

For service on Wednesdays we get to volunteer at the Beardsley Zoo! For everyone that knows me, you know that I LOVE ZOOS. Holy yes. We don't spend time with the animals sadly... But we are currently putting a roof on a shed that previous missionaries have built. And get this, we are shingling a tiger face on the roof! It's so fun! I have pics. It's about 1/3 of the way done, and I can't wait to see the finished product. The zoo employee who works with us, Dave, took us to the carousel inside the zoo and let us ride for FREE. I LOVE CAROUSELS. So fun! Service is the best, and not just because we usually get free food and carousel rides. But hey, it does come with it's perks :) 

One thing that I have been focusing on while I have been in this area is loving people. I want to be able to see God's children through His perspective. And it is the most rewarding thing! On Saturday we went to McDonald's to use the bathroom and pick up a 99 cent cone, (because McDonald's) and a random old man stopped us and started talking to us. He said he used to be a professional hobo (he looked like he might still be...) and he hopped on trains and lived in SLC for a while, so he recognized our tags. But he just LOVED to talk with us about really random things. So we just sat there and listened to some wild stories for like 1/2 an hour while we ate our ice cream. Afterwards we gave him a mormon.org card with our phone number and said that we would love to talk to him more. He surprisingly knew a lot about the church, actually. I have no idea if he will ever call, but it felt good to make him feel appreciated by listening to him. I could tell that he was a very lonely man, looking for attention. And I could feel God's love for him. Also one day this week we were riding the elevator in our apt complex and there was another man in the elevator. And I fought the urge to just be silent and stare at the ground, and I asked him how his day was. And he thanked me profusely for even caring. I didn't think it was a big deal, but for him it meant the world. And I am so grateful to be placed in the paths of God's children to make their days better. 

Our ward is so cute and all the members are so nice. However, our YW and YM groups struggle a little bit. Are there any mutual activities that you guys have participated in that made church more fun and enjoyable? But other than that, I am loving my time here and enjoying it all. If you guys know of anything cool to do while I'm in the New England area I am open to suggestions, because we can do all sorts of things on our pdays! 

Anyways, the work is going forward. This church is true. I can see the blessings of the gospel in my life literally every day. In Stake Conference one of the speakers asked "where would you be right now without the church?" And I can tell you one thing is for sure, I would not be in Bridgeport, CT. And I am so grateful I am a member of this church and that I am here sharing this happiness with everyone.

I love you all! 

Tenga un buen dia!

Hermana Frei

The haunting in Connecticut

Jk, it's not haunted, but I am in Connecticut! Good ol' Bridgeport, Connecticut. It's the cutest.

Anyways, as promised, this week has been way interesting. My flights from Mexico to Boston were long and uneventful. At my layover in Atlanta Hermana Webb and I parted ways. It was weird. We had an awkward hug and that was that. And we both flew off into the sunset. Actually there was no sunset because it was like 1 pm. But that's besides the point. At the Boston airport Hermana Bybee and I found the rest of the group of new missionaries from Provo and our mission president! The Packards are way awesome. I laughed and I cried on my first day. It's the usual.

On Tuesday night we stayed in the mansion of the Boston Stake President. Literal mansion. Think MTV cribs. It was so gorgeous. Like they had a pool house. I thought that was only a thing in the the board game "Clue." But I have been wrong before. And I HAD A REAL AMERICAN BREAKFAST. You have no idea how special it was to me. Wednesday we had a bunch of information about mission rules and what-not thrown at us, and we went to the Boston Common for an hour and talked to people. Hermana Bybee and I gave away a Book of Mormon and several mormon.org cards. Mostly it was just fun to talk to people. There was one guy who was street performing and playing a hurdy-gurdy. Look it up. It was the coolest little thing. And the City of Boston is so pretty! And yeah, it was a fun little baptism by fire. 

To get assigned trainers Pres. Packard had to interview all 30 of the new missionaries to decide who to put them with. It was way cool, And my interview was very special. He gave me some great counsel and I am way excited to be here. And I told him my plans to become a doctor and now he calls me Dr. Frei. Excellent. :) 

That night was transfer meeting and got my trainer! Her name is Hermana Kemp and she only has one more transfer on the mission! But she isn't trunky, or doesn't appear to be, so that's good. But that means I get my training squished into 6 weeks instead of 12. But it's good times so whatever. We had a 3 hour drive to Bridgeport that night and didn't get home until 2:30 am. And we had to get up at 6:30 so I am still catching up on sleep from that. But here in Bridgeport we have a full Spanish ward. And it is the cutest! The past few days have been kinda slow, but we have this week all filled up for the most part. We work a lot with less-actives, we have like 2 investigators, one I just met last night, and one with a baptismal date for the middle of October before Hermana Kemp skidaddles. So yeah. Basically fun for the whole family. On Thursdays we get to play Bingo with old people in a day care for the elderly. It made my day last Thursday! And one of our recent converts is from Spain and he doesn't form complete words. So I have no idea what he is saying ever. 

So yeah, the work is moving forward here in the MBM (Massachusetts Boston Mission) and it's starting to get cooler here. I am just bracing myself for the leaves to turn. BRACE YOURSELVES!!! Sorry I wasn't able to take any cool pics this week, but you get what you get I guess. 

This week I started reading the Book of Mormon with an emphasis of Tender Mercies of the Lord. And it is amazing. I recommend. I know that God has blessed me with so many tender mercies in my life. It's insane. And He does it because He loves us. I literally stand all amazed. 

Have a great week! 

Love,

Hermana Frei

P.S. I met the Vails! They are so nice. 

Stop da party

Holar! (Once again, the unconjugated form of hola)

Since this week has been pretty uneventful, and everything cool is going to happen in the next few days, I have decided to dedicate this email to all my favorite things about the Mexico CCM. 

1. CHOKIS

The most delicious little cookie in this world. Imagine Chips Ahoy times a million. They have the perfect ratio of chocolate chips to sweet savory cookie. And we have bought them at least 2 times a week since I have been here.

2. Pedal flush toilets

En verdad. It´s exactly what it sounds like. Once you are done doing your business, you just stick out your foot and flush goes the toilet, and you don´t have to feel creepy about touching something that millions of other human beings have touched. It´s fantastic. Of all the shortcomings of Mexico, this just makes everything alright. 

3. Funny Latino Teachers

All the teachers here are hilarious. I imagine my Spanish sounds like their English. Maybe even worse. But I won´t dwell on that... My teacher, Hno Polo, yells ¨Hey, Stop Da Party" whenever he wants us to focus and be quiet. Just imagine Nacho Libre saying it, and you get the idea. 

4. The Slide Shows by Elder Jones

Elder and Hermana Jones are a senior couple here at the CCM and they are the cutest. Every Sunday they make a slideshow of the departing missionaries. And Elder Jones uses every Mac video maker effect possible. It´s great. We all just sit there and laugh, as the pictures twirl onto the screen, and slowly fade out. You find ways to entertain yourself here...

So there you have it folks. The best CCM in the world. Complete with fake rocks! Wow... That felt real (Madagascar anyone?) Anyways, I leave tonight at 3 AM, so that´s exciting. I can´t wait to go to Boston and start the real stuff. Today while we are preparing to leave the other Hermana (Hna Bybee) that is going to Boston with me is hanging out with Hna Webb and I. Rocking the tri-panionship. We are literally the only 2 missionaries going to Boston from the CCM. Maybe more will come from Provo? If not, we can dig it. 

I love you all! Next email: Boston!

Hermana Frei

Boston or bust!

Hola!

This week was great and I leave for Boston in less than a week! Fantastico! As much as I have loved the CCM, I am ready to get the heck out of here. It´s been great playing missionary, but it´s time, my friends. This past week my district celebrated our 1 month mark! We had some brownies and bubbly (sparkling cider) to commemorate the event. And, like, what happened to August?? Because I LITERALLY have no idea. 

This week has been a week of lasts. Today is our last p-day here, we had our last noche de pizza last night. We had our last Tuesday night devotional... And Jeffery R Holland did NOT come. It was a little sad. It´s been a hope of ours that he would come ever since the first week. I don´t know why. It was a far stretch.  But oh boy, am I ready to move on to bigger and better things. AKA Boston. Technically Mexico City is bigger. But lets not get nit-picky. 

This last Sunday was SO GREAT. Except it was like the Hermana Frei show. I taught the zone meeting with Hna Webb, I sang a prelude hymn, I played the piano for sacrament meeting, and my district sang a special musical number. I was scared my Branch President was going to ask me to speak too. Good thing that didn´t happen. AWKWARD. Anyways, our lesson went really great. Hna Webb went all relief society on me so we ended up making handouts for our entire zone. We made 60 little paper feet that said "get your feet wet.  Joshua 3." They were actually pretty cute and our Branch President thought we were the best things ever. We initiated the help of the Elders in our district to cut out the feet. And Elder Valentine got a little carried away and made a competing handout. See the attached pic. Hermana Eddy gave a talk in church about the Restoration and she wanted to read Alma 17:11 but ended up reading Alma 16:11. Look it up. We were all busting a gut. It´s an honest mistake because when you read the scriptures in spanish it´s hard to understand them sometimes. But wow. Best thing of my LIFE. 

Oh and also guess who is here at the CCM?! Joy Purnell! My roommate from BYU! It´s been so fun to see her here on campus. 

Anyways, the church is true! I have learned so much here and I can´t wait to get to Boston. Can you tell I´m a little excited? I just want to start working with real people. Also, the address for my mission home is 182 West Central Street, Suite 203 Natick, Massachusetts 01760-3799. Send me letters! And packages! Actually, do what you want. I´ll still love you regardless. 

Have a great week!

Hna Frei

the white elephant in the room

¡Hola mi familia amada!

Well my time here in the CCM is running out and it´s a little weird and I´m not sure how I feel about it all. But it´s casual. And District 16B is the oldest district in zone 16 now! (That´s my district btw) This week has had some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows so far. And probably my lows will get even lower and my highs will get even higher in the actual mission field. But lets not think about that, ok?

This week was Hermana Eddy´s 20th birthday and we went to town. We all made her some pretty great cards. I wrote a very touching ode to her. Probably my finest work... Haha actually it was really dumb. But everybody thought it was pretty funny, so that was a win. We even got to play Signs with our favorite teacher, Hermano Polo. 

In other news, I ate 6 peaches in one day. Yeah. The peaches here are out of this world. I´m gonna miss all-you-can-eat-peaches for basically free. 

Today we celebrated Christmas for real. Complete with a Merry Navidad sign on our door and everything. Elder Richardson even made a construction paper tree. It is adorable. We all wore our best sweaters and we had a white elephant gift exchange. It was probably the funnest thing we have done yet. For my gift I gave away our district´s ugliest tie. It usually hangs on our bulletin board, and every day the Elders in my district try to "cambiar" with the Latinos. It never works. So I stole it last night. And I wrapped it in one of the big water jugs. The wrapping was absolutely classic. Remember that one time I gave Steph a headband for her birthday and it was wrapped so obviously? Yeah. Imagine giant water jug. Wrapped in notebook paper. I have pics. So it totally happened. Go big or go bigger. Everyone had a good laugh. And it was the best wrapped gift for sure. 

But anyways, seriously, this week was a little tough. I had a hard time feeling like I was measuring up to expectations. A couple days I had a mental block with Spanish, and I wasn´t being very Christ-like. However, we had a really great talk about it last night with our sister training leaders (Hna Eddy and Andrews) and we have all been struggling with this apparently. Hna Andrews reminded me that patience is an act of faith and hope. And it reminded me of the lesson that Hna Webb and I are teaching on Sunday about faith. If you guys want to look up the talk by Elder Bednar "Learning by Faith" I would suggest it. It´s a good one. Basically we are all acting on faith right now, taking steps into the dark. And we are messing up and stuff, but it´s ok. Learn and move on. Literally repentance is so great. And the Atonement is the best thing EVER. And I was reminded of something Elder Holland said in one of the devotionals we watched here: The biggest lie from Satan is that we cannot change. I am so grateful for the chance to improve everyday, and to become more like my Savior everyday.

I hope you all have a fantastic week and that everybody has success in their various sports and activities. The gospel is true! I am having the best time ever. If you are thinking about serving a mission I have one thing to say: GET YOUR BUNS OUT HERE. That´s all.

Love,

Hermana Frei

Escape! (It´s funny because it looks just like the word escape...)

Hola mi familia!

So just more exciting times at the CCM. Today for P-day our district got to take a trip to the temple and hangout at the visitors center. So we got to leave the CCM!! It was so great! Mexico City is so crazy. and the temple is so beautiful. and closed. But we won´t dwell on that. Also all the Hermanas got matching Mexican Camisas at the little gift shop. We are adorable. 

This week was a turning point in my Spanish for sure. One lesson I was completely unprepared for and I totally crashed and burned. Luckily Hermana Webb is a jedi master in español so she basically gave the entire lesson on the atonement by herself. But after that I vowed to never be unprepared again. So I was super diligent, and the last 2 lessons I have basically taken the lead, and actually made some complete thoughts. But really though, if we are prepared then God will make up the difference. I know it.

Even more exciting times: Hermana Webb and I gave away our first REAL el Libro de Mormón this week. We were studying outside and we were saying a prayer, and I thanked Heavenly Father for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And after we were done, an elderly gentleman who works at the CCM as a gardener stopped us and thanked us for our testimony of Jesus Christ. We struck up a conversation with him and learned that he is a Jehovah´s Witness. So we were like HEY! WE HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU. And we gave it to him. And he promised to read it. I was pretty skeptical that he would, but we prayed that night for him that we would be able to have a follow up conversation with him the next day. So the next day... (I think this was yesterday??) I had this feeling that we needed to study outside again. And so Hermana Webb and I went outside and there was our friend Julio! He said he read the beginning of the Book of Mormon, and that he enjoyed the testimonies of Christ. I don´t know if anything will come of it, but it was such an awesome experience. Hermana Webb and I couldn´t knock the silly grins off our faces all day... Missionary work is SO FUN!

Also, we are in our 4th week at the CCM now and it is kinda weird. I leave for Boston on September 9th. Which is CRAZY close. I feel so ready and eager to go, but also so nervous and humbled. Who am I to attempt to speak Spanish to real Latinos? But God qualifies those he calls. And I know that I wasn´t sent out here to fail. 

Literally, every day here is better than the next. Except for the one day when I thought I had a concussion from playing soccer. But hey, false alarm! Also, this week has been our district´s self-declared Shark Week. Or la semana de tiburón. I think our teachers think we are nuts. But they love us. Also, last night our district sang in the MTC choir for devotional. It was such a fun experience singing How Great Thou Art in español. And in the devotional we learned about the importance of including members in missionary work. It really is so important. And I am so grateful for the sisters in our ward who included me while I was at home. 

Anyways, I love you all! I am having a blast. And I am feeling so much better now! Thanks for your prayers!

Hermana Becca Frei

​See: matching camisas

​el distrito outside the temple

Mas pictures. Sorry. Not sorry.

​Welcome to the district. We are very hard working and studious. Except maybe Elder Olsen. 

​This is the epitome of Mexico. Note the flag. 

​Hermana Eddy and mango friend. 

​Our district leader and companion. Elder Valentine, me, Hermana Webb, and Elder Olsen. We are buddies. 

The Chronicles of Nacho Libre

¡Holar! 

(the unconjugated form of Hola... (I have no life))

Let me just say that this week Nacho Libre has been a very real part of my life. "Do you not realize I have had diarrhea since Easters?" (If by Easters you mean last Thursday, then yes.) Haha. Ohhhhh good times. Apparently some scrawny new missionaries last week brought the Bubonic Plague or something. So EVERYBODY got sick. And we are still feeling the aftershocks every once and a while. On Saturday and Sunday half my district was at home in bed. Luckily, I was among the living for the most part! So hey, that's a perk. But now, we are all good. God answers prayers. And Priesthood Blessings are just that. A blessing. 

But don´t you worry, there were other good times to be had! For gym on Monday we played soccer with all the other Hermanas in our zone. And of course there was a torrential downpour! It was great. There was even some thunder and lightning in the distance. (In the FAR distance... we were being safe) But we were like the only missionaries to stay outside during the storm. And we enjoyed a little Mexican puddle jumping. 

Last night after dinner we had a very important district meeting. We identified each other's spirit animals. Apparently I'm The Eagle. Yes. 

And my Spanish has improved LEAPS AND BOUNDS. You don't even know. And we got 2 new investigators this week (our teachers lol) and Hermana Webb and I taught without ANY notes. Just from the heart and soul baby! And it went really well! I struggled through teaching "Jorge" how to pray, so it's still a work in progress. But leaps and bounds. Let me tell ya. 

More Spanish fun: our first week when we were still teaching our first investigator Roke, our District Leader and his companion (Elder Valentine and Elder Olsen) thought that the word "primavera" meant "the best". (It does NOT (it means the Spring (like the season))) So they taught Roke that the "¡el Evangelio es la primavera!" Haha so the gospel is the Spring. Like some sort of deep metaphor I guess. So now our District just jokes about that all the time. Good ol´español.

On Sunday we watched a recording of a devotional by Elder Bednar that was probably the primavera thing I have ever seen. (haha, but really) It was mostly about missionary work, and he invited us to buy a new paperback copy of the Book of Mormon and read it all the way through and mark it up with a specific question in mind. So on Monday I went to the tienda, bought one for 14 pesos, and it has been the best experience ever. If any of you want to do it, I would recommend it with two enthusiastic thumbs up. 

But seriously, I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. Once in a while we will be doing stuff with our district and somebody will be like, "whoa guys! Were missionaries!" It´s so unreal! And it´s so great! There is nothing. Literally nothing. I would rather be doing right now. The Mexico CCM is so beautiful and peaceful. And the spirit is everywhere. I know that this is the place I need to be right now, and I have never been happier. I feel like I was born to do this. Maybe I was. Who knows? God does. And trusting in the Lord is the best thing. Because His plan for us will make us a bazillion times happier than our plan ever would. 

I love you all! The church is true! 

Hermana Becca Frei

P.S. Shout out to my cousin Joe for getting engaged! you´re the man! When´s the wedding? 18 months? Please. jk. but really.... please. 

​

Also, shout out to Grandma Duncan, Po, and B! Happy (late) Birthday!

​

Also, plot twist: Narnia is in Mexico City. We have proof. 

Look who I found in Mexico?? Hermana Rachel Stoddard! But she has left me for bigger and better things. Like Seattle.