First, I just want to say that General Conference was SO
GOOD. It was such a huge testimony builder to me. I loved the strength and
courage it gave to us all. I hope you all got the chance or will get the chance
to watch it!!
This week has been so good! I just wanted to share this
one experience that changed my life. On Saturday night, Sister Larson and I had
an experience I will never forget! We were driving back to our apartment from
General Conference and Sister Larson told me how she got this pinching pain in
her stomach and could hardly move. Sister Larson is a trooper and insisted we
keep going for the night. We had planned to go metro contacting that evening
but thought it might be good to stay in the car and drive to check up on some
potentials due to the pain Sister Larson was feeling. She took a couple minutes
to think about what she could do and prayed and then instantly said, "Nope we
have to go metro contacting." So we parked and went. We got on the metro right
in time as it was coming. We both felt prompted to sit near this girl named
Mary. She was from Cuba and was so nice. She was 24 and looking for direction
in her life. Sister Larson started talking with her and told her about General
Conference. She got super excited to hear that the prophet would be speaking to
us and agreed to come for the Sunday session! She said she really wanted to
learn more and was anxious to learn more about God's plan for her. We got her
contact information and were grateful for this miracle. As they were talking, I
kept looking over at this other sweet old Hispanic lady. I noticed she had lots
of bags and a small cart with a broken wheel. I wondered how she would be able
to carry all that she had. I got a sweet prompting from the spirit to offer
help. I saw her get up at the metro stop and Mary ran over to her to help. We
went over as well to help her with her bags. We got off the metro and placed her
bags down for her near the elevator. Sister Larson and I both felt we needed to
keep helping her all the way to her destination in the city. So we did. She
must have been carrying rocks or something, those bags were not light haha! We
asked her if she'd ever met missionaries and she mentioned she did in Bolivia.
She told us she had been to the Visitor's Center over Christmas time. We tried
sharing the gospel with her and haha, in the middle of the journey, the sweet
little Hispanic lady stopped us. We put down our bags and she broke down into
tears. She said in her cute broken English, "Sisters, I am a member of the
church in the Mt. Pleasant Spanish branch. I was just so embarrassed I needed
all of this help. I didn't think I needed help but after the wheel on my cart
broke, I realized that I desperately needed help." She then went on and
said she needed to tell us something, she said, "The whole time I was on
the metro I was praying with my whole heart that God would send me someone to
help me with these bags. I knew I could not do it alone. I am so grateful God
sent you to help me!" At this point we were all just feeling the spirit so
strongly. We kept walking and I suddenly remembered that Sister Larson had not
been feeling well. I looked over at her and I will never forget the look of deep
pain that was on her face. She kept going to help this lady. She put her pain
aside, and the needs of this lady over hers.
The spirit was so strong and I felt Christ so close to us helping us.
Prayers were flowing to help Sister Larson and all of us make it to Clara's
destination. When we finally got there (after many wrong turns haha) she
sincerely thanked us. As we were walking back, I felt an overwhelming peace and
gratitude towards my Savior. I felt so happy to be a missionary. So happy to be
able to serve others. We were reflecting on our night. What if we never went on
the metro? Our agency depended on that sweet lady's answer to her prayers. We
were thankful all night for the promptings we received to not only talk to
Mary, but to also be able to help Clara. Sorry I don't mean to make this super
deep, but our thoughts then were drawn to the Savior and His Atonement. What if
He never atoned for us? We, as missionaries, are here to be Jesus Christ's
representatives. We are here to do HIS work, not to stand in the way, and to be
His instruments. A lot of times in life we have bags we feel we cannot carry,
but as we pray for help, Christ has already chosen to help us. Sister Larson's
face of pain gave me a glimpse of how the Savior felt as He carried our bags
that were much heavier --heavier than I could ever imagine. That lady could not
physically carry those bags alone, haha we were struggling just carrying one
bag haha. Similarly, we physically and spiritually cannot get through life
alone without Christ. Christ is waiting to carry our load. I will forever be
grateful we chose to go out despite Sister Larson not feeling well. I am so
glad we were able to be an answer to that lady's humble prayer. Never doubt
impressions. Go and do. God answers
prayers as we act on our agency. This life is not about us. I am grateful for
the example Sister Larson has been of this! She will have completed her mission
on Wednesday and I am so grateful for all she has taught me. She is such a great
example to me! I love her so much and am going to miss her immensely. The
Sisters in the Mt. Pleasant Branch told us yesterday that Clara (the lady we
helped) told them all about our journey on Saturday night haha! They said she
was so grateful! Ah I love the mission so much! I love everything about it!
I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember to pray
with the faith that your prayers WILL be answered because Jesus Christ IS there
waiting to help. He has already chosen to help!
Love you all!
Sister Freeman
All of our sisters
I LOVE SISTER LARSON
DC 2nd missionary (and Mary Clare) family picture!
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