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