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.