Hello!

Hi family and friends!

This week was CRAZY! So much happened so I am just going to bullet point everything!

Miracles in the Visitors' Center:

-Before our shift at the Visitors' Center on Tuesday, we prayed that we would be able to have a miracle! A man named Ron came into the Visitors' Center and so we took him around.  He started out not wanting to change any of his bad habits and thinking he was too deep in sin to change. It was really cool to see the change in him as the tour progressed. Right in the middle of the tour we realized HE was our miracle. We took Ron into the 'Because He Lives' exhibit and that was when we really saw Ron have a change of heart. It was so cool to see Ron gain hope through Jesus Christ. Towards the end of the tour he was in tears and had such a strong desire to live a more Christlike life.

Change can be so scary, but when you help people know that change is good and comes from Jesus Christ, it gives them more hope! At the end of the tour, Ron asked us if we could send missionaries to him! This was such a neat experience for us! Change is how we use the atonement of Jesus Christ!

- Jessie McClain. She called into Mormon.org and I answered her phone call in the teaching center at the Visitors' Center! She wanted to have a free copy of the Book of Mormon! I started asking her questions and getting to know her and she told us that she wants to know more about our beliefs. She said she was driving and was in the process of finding a new church to attend. She said a silent prayer to herself, opened her eyes and then saw 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' right in front of her! I called her local missionaries and they went and visited her that night! It was so neat!

- Last night we got to teach a group of people from Ethiopia, and a group of people from China! The people from Ethiopia came in and told us "We had to come in and learn more about the Mormons!" They were so sweet and so willing to learn! The group of people from China came in and wanted a picture with us... Haha and were so interested in learning more! There was a little bit of a language barrier but the gospel and the spirit still got through to them and touched them!:) I love getting to meet people at the Visitors' Center that come in!

Investigators:

Tara and Reza Ghanadan- they are the couple who are not members, but have a son serving a mission in Australia! We had a lesson with them and they are doing so well! We brought a member with us and they had so many comments that helped them. They are progressing pretty well and love learning about the same gospel their son is teaching!

Doris- She is one of our new investigators!!!!! She requested a Bible, so we went and delivered it to her and she wanted to learn more! I will keep you all updated on her!

Well I love you all!:) Have a great week! I wish I had time to write more!:) 

Sister Freeman

Dinner at Sister Lin's house! She made us yummy Asian food!

We found this horse...

Korean noodles!!!

They are cleaning up angel Moroni!

Us and Tara Ghanadan!

Ten Months and Baptisms!!!!

Hi everybody!

This week was super great! Sorry this email is so long, there is just so much good news! I can't believe it has already been 10 months!! Time needs to slow down just a little bit! So the temple is closed for about a month for maintenance, so the Visitors' Center has been slow these last couple of days, but there has still been lots of spiritual experiences and miracles! Yesterday, a couple from Albania came in and were super nice people. They were so curious about our beliefs! After explaining everything, we asked if they would like to meet with missionaries in Albania to learn more

about our beliefs, and they said YES! So we are super excited to follow up with them to see how things go!

This week we met with some incredible people who are progressing really well but before I talk about them, I just want to say that AJ AND KAYHLIA GOT BAPTIZED! I taught these fantastic people in my last area! AJ was the 13 year old boy that I always talked about and Kayhlia is the girl who was dating a member in the YSA branch! I am so proud of AJ and Kayhlia who made this important decision! I will try and send pictures of the baptism that the missionaries sent me! 

Okay so Sister Rishi- She is the greatest lady ever! She is in the ward that we are serving in! She tells us to call her our mom! She is always looking out for us! She is such a huge example to me! She says that she "died 4 times" and God has kept her on this earth to finish her journey. She has had so many trials in life but is so strong. She gives us the tightest hugs every time we see her to the point where I think my eyes might bulge out! ;)

Lily- Lily is doing fabulous! She is recovering well from her surgery. The last time we met with her, we had some men from the ward come and give her a priesthood blessing!  She said that really helped her and that she knows everything will be okay!

Rachel- We had a cool experience with Rachel! So She is the one who really wants to get baptized, but her parents are not on board with it at all. My companions and I decided to fast for her that her parents might have a change of heart and guess what! Her parents allowed her to come to church with us on Sunday! We were able to have a really neat discussion with Rachel's parents! She is making slow progress, but I know that it will all work out.

Iniba- So we met Iniba while we were out tracting one day. When we got to her door, Sister Shin LOVES to sing and so she asked Iniba if she could sing her a song! Iniba agreed and when we told her what it was called (Families Can Be Together Forever) she said, "Oh hang on, I need that song, let me get my phone so I can record it!" She really enjoyed the song and wanted us to come back! We are super excited for that! I know that music is a great way to bring the spirit into a lesson.

Carter- So we had dinner at a members house last night and they invited a boy named Carter to join us. Carter is 9 years old and is such a sweet boy. We were able to teach them about faith with an object lesson for the kids. Carter told us how he wants to learn more and see us again! He is a cute little boy!

Ah man there is so much more to write about, this week was just so great! I love you all! Here is a quote to leave you all with, "Pray for the spirit's guidance and valiantly follow the promptings you receive."  I know this is so true! The spirit can and will guide us if we only follow it! 

Sister Freeman

 Kayhlia's baptism!! 

(I'll send pictures from AJ's baptism when I get them!)

Our zone went and did service for an organization called A Wider Circle. This organization helps out homeless people! We organized and went through things that can be given to the homeless!!

 It was a neat opportunity!

Sister McArthur had us comb out her hair...  

Haha!

Zone activity today!

We got to play indoor soccer and make pizza!

The member meal last night. Carter is the boy in the middle with the long hair. 

(Sorry my eyes are closed haha!) 

A lady came into the Visitor's Center and gave us these sunglasses... Haha!

News From The Field On Sunday!

I got a sweet email from a sister in the Bethesda Ward in Bethesda, Maryland, where Megan is serving.  Here is what she had to say...

We love these wonderful women who are serving us and inspiring us in Bethesda Ward.  Thanks for their service!

Love,

Anne Golightly

Thank you Sister Golightly!  Mom's just eat this kind of stuff up!!!

What a thoughtful lady!

Weekly Email! :)

Hello! :D

We had a good week with lots of ups and downs! We had interviews with President and Sister Johnson! They are just the greatest people ever!! They both are so kind hearted and always say exactly what I need to hear! Sister Johnson is such an inspired and incredible lady! I love them so much! They are making a ton of changes in the mission but I think it is so great and I continue to see the blessings flow into the mission from these inspired changes. I know they are changes from God to help us all improve.

The spirit led us to this man named Fayiah!!!!! We found out that he is  actually a less active member in our area and that the rest of his family were nonmembers! On Wednesday we had the wonderful opportunity to go over and teach his family about the plan God has for us. They all really enjoyed it and agreed to getting baptized! It was such a cool experience. This family is so amazing. They have two kids that were there and they are angels! It was so great! I am so excited to see what happens with them!

On Thursday I got to give a workshop on bearing testimony... Which was really funny because right when they asked me to give it, my companions and I just had a wonderful experience with bearing testimony...  we were out tracting and kept feeling prompted to talk with people who ended up not wanting anything to do with us or our message! We were all so confused why we kept getting prompted to talk with these people who clearly weren't interested. Right as we were wondering this, God told us very clearly and very powerfully to testify. The next person we talked to after this was very argumentative as well, but we all decided to testify and show him a spiritual video. The guy started to cry and shake and ended up just staring at us. The spirit was so strong, and we knew he felt that. It is amazing, the authority that missionaries are called to have combined with testimony is truly unstoppable. Testifying will always bring in the spirit.

We got to teach a lot of wonderful people this week! Things are picking back up as summer ends! I love you all and want you all to know that I have a strong testimony of our Savior. I know that He lives and each and every day I feel closer and closer to Him through the acts that invite the spirit. I am so grateful to be back in the visitor's center and to see the miracles that happen each and every day! Have a wonderful, spiritual week!

Love, Sister Freeman

We were walking to our dinner appointment AND I SAW DANI!!!!

Dani is a member from my first area!! She is so great!!!!!

One of our sweet investigators (Lily) and her son (Liam).

Our trio with Lily and Liam.

Marty!!! He is a really awesome recent convert!

We found Sister Shin a Korean market!! She was in heaven!!!!!!!! ;) 

We went to the city today...

and went to the National Museum of the American Indian!

It was SO COOL!

Tender Mercies!

The following was emailed to Bill today from Jen Sharp in our stake:

Our good friend Laura Gutzwiller just moved to Virginia and sent me this today! Dave actually baptized Laura on his mission in Illinois. Here is what she had to say:

"She is radiant - and seems sooo happy!  'A perfect missionary - please tell her parents!  She was so excited to have the 'Sharp connection', and I think it made her feel close to home. Tender mercies. 😇😇  She was at the Temple Visitor's Center, when we met her. Isn't it always remarkable/amazing, how we are put in people's paths?!  It wasn't a chance meeting, by any means. She works at the Visitor's Center half the day and then works in her area the other half of the day."

So sweet. And what a great report. You and Mindy are great parents!!

 This is the picture Laura took of Megan! 

My response to Jen:

Jen,

Bill just forwarded this to me.  Thank you so much!!  It does a momma heart good to get emails like these!  Thank you!  I’m so glad that this sweet woman forwarded this experience on!  We are definitely not put in each other’s paths on accident! I know Megan loves your girls and the Sharp family! ;)

Thank you!!

Mindy

Mindy,

It's interesting what a small world it is. We find that over and over. It gives me comfort too knowing the Lord watches out for us. I just got this back from Laura: 

"If Sister Freeman has a birthday, etc, and they want to surprise her with something, please let me know - we can be their 'legs on the ground'. I'll check on her, when we go to the temple! (It's not close, by any means, but everything is relative, isn't it?!  We could be journeying country borders to reach a temple!)"

Laura is a great second mom to anyone and really means it! 

Jen,

Ah this is so great!!  Tell her thank you so much!  What a sweet offer!!

Great Week!:)

Hi everybody!

We had a wonderful week! I will first start out by saying that it is so incredible to be with companions that speak pretty much every language;)!! (French, Haitian Creole, Korean, and English). There were so many instances this week when Sister Shin and Sister McArthur were able to use their native languages!! We had a cool experience where we were knocking on a lady's door. We introduced ourselves as missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She looked at us like we were crazy and with her broken English she told us she wasn't interested. Right then, Sister McArthur said something to her in Haitian Creole (Sister McArthur is from Haiti) and she just lit up and gladly told us to come in! Turns out this lady is from Haiti as well! It was so cool! They were able to communicate and connect really well. We are going back tonight to teach them more! It was so awesome! There was another time where we were walking and there was this Asian couple.  Sister Shin stopped to talk to them and asked where they were from and they said Korea! So they were able to have a wonderful conversation as well. It is so cool to see the Lord working through his missionaries!

Tuesday we had specialized training for Sister Shin! It was a long but very good training! Sister Shin is doing so well! She is adjusting so fast and is such a powerful and strong missionary! I just love her to death!

Wednesday we went to the temple! That was so special! I love the temple and the personal revelation you are able to receive when you go! I am so grateful that we get to go so often in our mission! We also met with Rachel on Wednesday. She is this really sweet girl who has such a strong desire to do the right thing. Her parents don't agree with her desire of getting baptized but we will pray super hard!

Keep her in your prayers! I know everything will work out and that everything that happens is on the lords timing!

On Friday we were out contacting and we met two really awesome people! The first man is named Tom. He was waiting for his son by the metro station and agreed to hearing our message! He is super neat and so family oriented! We are so excited to be able to meet up again with him! The second man is named Ali. He was smoking when we approached him and was standoffish at the beginning but his interest grew as we were taking with him! I love love love getting to meet all these new people and the influence they have in my life.

Kadia and her family are doing so great! We were able to meet with some more of her family and give them a tour of the Visitors' Center!! They are all just ready to accept Jesus Christ and take His name upon them!

Well, this week we had a lot of trainings with a similar theme, which is Missionary Work and the Atonement. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the role that the Atonement plays in Missionary Work. The Atonement truly does cover everything big or small. 

Love you all!

Sister Freeman

Adam and his wife got baptized!!!! They are people who I was teaching 

on Mormon.org at the Visitors Center!!

The temple grounds are so pretty!

(Sister Shin)

(Sister McArthur)

 Kadia and some of her nieces and nephews who we are teaching!

Haha, we all wore black!!

Sister Shin, Sister Larson, Sister McArthur and Sister Freeman

Goofin' around...

 We ate chicken feet.... Haha it is an African dish!

TRANSFERS!

Hey everyone!

Ah, so much happened this week! I am going to miss Montgomery Village so much! It has been such an amazing area to serve in! On my last day in the area, Sister Greenhalgh and I met with Kayhlia! She accepted a baptismal date for August 21st! She is so amazing and has such a strong desire to follow Jesus Christ. I am going to miss everyone so much!! 

We had transfers on Wednesday! I am going back to the Visitors' Center and training Sister Shin! She is super cute and from South Korea! She is the most humble person I have ever met! She is constantly serving others. I love her so much! We both came to Sister McArthur in the Bethesda area! Sister McArthur is so awesome! She is from Haiti and is so funny! She goes home at the end of this transfer! I am so grateful for the wonderful companions I am able to be with this transfer! It is so funny to have all the cultural mixes in our trio, there is never a dull moment. It is so great!

We got to meet a super awesome member in the Bethesda ward. Her name is Kadia and her and her family are from Africa. She has had a lot of really cool spiritual experiences. She told us how she had a dream where Jesus Christ told her three times to "Preach my Gospel" and she was called to be a ward missionary three days later! She is such an incredible missionary and was able to bring her 9 year old nephew, Claude, into the church. Claude is the cutest boy I have ever met! When I met him at church, he just had the biggest light around him. He is a very special son of God. We met with him on Sunday and he shared some of his experiences with us that were so special and so spiritual. We met at Kadia's house and she brought her niece, Gian (11 years old), and her Nephew, Kenji (12 years old), for us to teach on Sunday as well and they were so touched by Claude and his example. They told us how they wanted to get baptized just like Claude. They are so excited. After we set a goal for them to work towards, they were running around the house saying how excited they were to get baptized. It was such a cool experience.

We met with Tara this week. She is such a wonderful lady. She has a son that was baptized and then left on his mission about a year and a half ago. She isn't a member but she has been really interested in learning more with her son being out on a mission. She is really open to the missionary discussions. Her son is such a great example.

Well I hope you all have a great week! I am so happy to be out here on a mission and to help others come closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Love you all!

Sister Freeman

Lots of Pictures!!

Our last lesson with AJ before I left the area! I am going to miss him so much!

Our last District picture for the transfer.

 Haha, when 4 Sisters leave an apartment for transfers...

Sister Shin and I with President and Sister Johnson on Sister Shin's first day!

This picture was taken on transfer day as well... right before 

Elder Branson Squire returned home to Peoria, Arizona!

Sister Shin's group the day they arrived.  Sister Shin is standing to the right of 

Sister Johnson, holding the Book of Mormon!

Sister Shin and I!

Sister Shin brought Korean face masks for all of us!

 Sister Minguito, me, and Sister Baird... we all matched!!!

    Our little trio!