Megan's Letter on 11/30/15 - Happy Thanksgiving!!!! :)

This week was so great!! :)

This mission is the best mission ever!!! Thanksgiving was so fun!! My companion and I got to work in the Visitors' Center during Thanksgiving. The Senior couples all brought food for us and we got to have this big fun Pot Luck!! :) I missed having Thanksgiving with my family, but it was so great spending this special holiday with the sisters in my mission!!! They are so great! :) I am so grateful for this Church!! I am so grateful for Jesus Christ who made everything possible for us, who paved the path for us to follow. I am so grateful for all of you guys and for your love and support!! 

We had exchanges the other day (which is where you are with another companion for the day). I was with Sister Simpson! She is so awesome! She is a Sister Training Leader! It was so fun to be with her and to learn new things from her!! We went out contacting and got to talk to a lot of people! We went on Black Friday… so it was a little chaotic but some people listened to us. ;) 

Christmas is coming!!!!! :) I love this time of year and for this time we have to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. "On a quiet night, long ago, the Savior Jesus Christ was born. Born to Change all hearts. End all goodbyes. Reconcile all debts. Atone for all sins. He is the only one who can bridge the lonely gap between God and Man, and bring us home. This is why He came. And this is why we celebrate." I LOVE this! The birth of Jesus Christ is so important! If He was never born, He could have never done the things Heavenly Father needed Him to do so we all could have eternal life! Christ was born so we can return!! :) I know this to be true. It is not just some story that was made up. :)  Remember the true meaning of Christmas and I challenge you all to watch the new Christmas video, "A Savior is born".  It is on lds.org!!! It is so great!! I miss you all and I hope you have a great week!!

Sister Freeman

         FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AT THE DC TEMPLE IS COMING SOON!! SO EXCITED! 

THANKSGIVING!! :)  

THEY HAVE A CAFE RIO HERE!!

hehe Mom… I saved you the other half :) ;) 

Megan's Letter on 11/23/15 - President Nelson Shook Our Hands!!! :D :D :D

This week was so great!!! I have officially been out for a month!! It is so awesome :) 

The Visitors' Center is such an amazing place to serve in everyday! PRESIDENT NELSON CAME INTO THE VISITORS' CENTER AND SHOOK ALL THE SISTERS HANDS!! It was so incredible! He spoke at a Stake Conference here so that's why he was in DC. The other day Sister Griffin and I gave a tour to 50 people that just spoke French... haha they had translators that translated everything that we said! It was super awesome! So far, I have met people from 8 different countries!  It is so awesome! 

This week was super great! We stayed very busy! We have 6 investigators, and 4 of them are planning on getting baptized soon! We are so happy to teach them about this gospel and helping them come closer to Jesus Christ and to Heavenly Father. So our first lesson with Victor went super well! He drew us a picture before the lesson of two doves that represented Sister Griffin and I and he said that we were the pure birds that flew to him to help him. It was super sweet. :) We have the picture up in our apartment. 

Something that I learned this week would be the importance of following Christ. I chose to follow Christ and I will bring others with me:) Elder Holland answered a common question we have, "Why isn't life easy?"  He said life was not easy for Christ, so it is not going to be easy for us. We have to feel some of the pain He felt and shed one of the tears He shed for us. We have to pay a token of that same price that Christ had to pay. When we ask ourselves why isn't this easy, we have to remember that we are not the first person to ask ourselves this... Christ was. The Atonement of Jesus Christ will carry us more than we know. The Saviors example gives us the courage to press on and to keep going. We have to be persistent in prayer and act with determination. We are standing shoulder to shoulder to Christ, so we have every reason to stand tall!!! :D Stand up for what you believe and always strive to improve through the atonement of Jesus Christ. :) 

I love you all and keep me updated with everything new in life!!! 

Sister Freeman :) 

The DC Temple is gorgeous!!

My companion Sister Griffin and I :)

We went to the city today and got a picture with our good buddy Abraham Lincoln! :D :D :D We got to see the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial and all that fun stuff :)

SOOOOO My roommates and I all went to the grocery store to get our food... and our apartment is on the 17th floor... and we didn't want to have to make a ton of trips up and down... SOO we did an assembly line where we took all the groceries out of the car and put them by the elevators... THEN we took them all into the elevator... THEN we got up to the 17th floor and took them all out and pushed them to our room! haha it was genius! I would highly recommend this technique ;) We were elevator hoggers for a little bit but its okay ;)  *Note: the Diet Coke is not Megan's! :)

HAHAHAHA I think we bought the wrong tights!!!! I thought they were black and grey tights.... but they were black to grey ombre tights ahah!!!

More Pictures...

I found this picture on fb... it was taken on November 11th-- the day after she arrived in DC.

(She's the 2nd row of sisters from the top, the 3rd one from the right in red sweater.)

Another one off of fb... a "Why I Believe" fireside.

...and another...from the day she arrived...a selfie on the Metro elevator...NICE!

Megan's Letter on 11/16/15 - DC!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

The Visitors' Center Training at Temple Square was so great! My companion for that was Sister Ramos! She is so great! I learned so much from her! It was so awesome to get to talk to different people on the train ride there and back! :) I sat next to this cute homeless lady and she had a cat that was kind of scary but I tried to look past that and get to know her! I am so glad I got to know her and be there for her even if it was only for 5 minutes! She has my heart and I hope the best for her!! Make sure you keep her in your prayers! I gave her my email address and we have been keeping in touch! :) 

I don't have a lot of time to write today but THE WASHINGTON DC NORTH MISSION IS THE BEST MISSION EVER!!!!!!!! It is so great and our mission president and his wife are the best!!! :) 

The first night in the field (in Washington DC) we ate dinner at the Cooke's house (our mission president) and then we spent the night at a member's house! They were so nice! It was so awesome to get a home cooked meal!! :) The mission is hard and it is crazy hard trying to adjust but the happiness serving the Lord brings overpowers any sadness.

The DC Visitors' Center is so awesome! AND THE TEMPLE IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND HUGE!!!!! I love it!! My companion is Sister Griffin and she is so awesome! She is the best trainer ever!!! She is so incredibly smart and the nicest person ever!! :) She is from Colorado Springs!! We are in the DC 2nd ward and that is our zone as well! We are in a singles ward! At first I was bummed I wasn't in a family ward but it is so awesome to be in this ward! They are so solid and have amazing stories and experiences they share from their missions! :) We were out contacting a couple days ago and we saw this man sitting on a bench, so we go up to him and noticed he had a Bible by him and so we went over to him and talked to him and asked him about his Bible... and he said he found it in a garbage can!!!!! He said he is trying to better his life and is looking to come closer to God and Jesus Christ.... MY COMPANION AND I WERE SO EXCITED!!!!! We gave him a Book of Mormon and told him that it was another testament of Jesus Christ and that it goes hand in hand with the Bible! It is like a coin where one side is the Book of Mormon and the other side is the Bible. It's funny, a lot of people think that the Book of Mormon is big and scary but it is just another way to come closer to Jesus Christ! It doesn't take away from your beliefs... IT ADDS TO THEM! :) After we gave Victor (the name of the guy) the book of Mormon he said he believes we are a blessing to him and an answer to his prayers and exactly what he has been looking for! We have another appointment with him tonight! :) It is so amazing how the Lord puts people in your path that need to hear from you! 

So...  a lot of crazy things happen on the Metro.... haha!!!

I guess you could say my companion and I are fluent in sign language now... and by fluent I mean communicating on an iPad with people who are deaf. Haha!! We got to talk to these two guys  by typing things on the iPad and them typing stuff back! It was so cool! We got to introduce them to the ASL missionaries! :) 

And then another time on the Metro a guy asked me out on a date.... that was a little bit awkward!!! I had to explain to him that we don't do that while we are on a mission haha it was a good missionary opportunity to share our message!!!!!! When our stop came up I went to shake his hand and the metro slammed on the brakes.... lets just say I was glad to get off that Metro! Ahahaha!!

AND THEN another time this group of drunk men came onto the Metro at night.... yaaaaaaa we got off on the next stop haha!!! It was kind of scary!

Well that's pretty much my week in a nut shell! :) I'll have more time to write next week but read 3 Nephi 22:4. WE ARE NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST!!! I will defend Christ and his teachings until the day I die! I will take a bullet any day to defend this gospel! It means so much to me and I am just so happy to share this sweet message with all who will hear it! Also read 3 Nephi 21:10 and substitute servant with missionaries!! We are so protected as missionaries!! The Lord takes good care of us and I know first hand for this to be true! (I would tell you more but I don't want Mom to worry jkjk;) Haha!!! You guys are all great and pray always that you may come off conqueror!! Love ya!!

Sister Freeman :) 

My temple square companion Sister Ramos

Last day at the MTC

FOUND A LADY BUG!!!

Travel group to DC

Back row L-R:  Elders Woodis, Tetuaapua, Bias, Mellon, President and Sister Cooke, Elder Talbot
Middle row L-R:  Elder Cowan, Sisters Sigauke, Piutau, Freeman, Gomez and Elder Vermeulen
Front L-R:  Elders Wilcox and Granger

Missionaries get their new Metro cards

With Sister and President Lorenzana, Sisters Freeman, Gomez, Piutau and Sigauke

President and Sister Cooke

First companion in the field... Sister Griffin

Note a member left us!!!

THANKS FOR THE PACKAGE MOM!!!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!

My favvv...HAHAHAHAHA I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD!!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Megan's Letter on 11/6/15 - Last Week at the MTC

Hello everyone!!! :) 

IT HAS BEEN SNOWING HERE!!!!! :) 

This week has been kind of sad... my sweet companion left for the Long Beach California Mission and the rest of the Elders in my district left for the Baltimore, Maryland Mission! It was so sad saying goodbye to everyone! They have been like a second family to me here at the MTC! I have one more week for my Visitors' Center training (we go for three weeks instead of two). SOOOO now my new companion is Sister Starling! (She used to be in a trio companionship with Sister Miller and Sister Losada.) All these wonderful girls are in my room and we all are going to Visitors' Centers! Sister Starling is probably the strongest person I know! Her mom has been having heart problems and had to have surgery and it didn't really go as planned... so she has to take a bunch of medication (keep her in your prayers). Sister Starling decided and felt like she needed to go out on a mission! She seriously has the most faith! She knows that this gospel truly does bless families and that her mom will get better as she is serving as a full time missionary! Her mom is already getting better slowly. Ahh I get the chills every time she tells that story! She is an amazing person! "I never said it would be easy... I only said it would be worth it." That is so true! I'm not sure who said that quote but I know that everything will be worth it in the end!

So this week I started my Visitors' Center training! There are SOOO many different Sisters here from ALL AROUND THE WORLD. In my class there are 20 Sisters in the training and they are all  from either  Mexico, Korea, Chile, Argentina, Switzerland, Peru, or the US!! Our teacher was telling us that out of the 87,000 missionaries they call, only 600 go to the different Visitors' Centers around the world! The training has been so great! We get bused up to Temple Square in Salt Lake to do some hands on stuff tomorrow! We all are SO EXCITED! Something cool that we got to do this week was answer the chats from Mormon.org!! It was such a cool experience! If you ever have any questions, go to Mormon.org and chat with someone!! :) 

For the Sunday Devotional, it was all about families! Brother Zeidner (my Mission Prep teacher at BYU for Summer Term) gave the devotional! IT was so awesome. I miss my family SO MUCH but I know that this is the right decision for me right now and that the blessings will flow to them as I am serving the Lord. We are all members of God's Eternal Family!!!!!!! We are all in this together. :) 

It was super sketchy... A couple days ago at dinner........ALL THE LIGHTS WENT OUT!!!!!!! Haha it was such a weird experience! None of us knew what to do.... They had to put on the emergency lights!!! :0 Later that night... all the fabulous girls in my room and I went out to brush our teeth... and no one brought a key... (because we normally keep our door unlocked BUT we just had a cleaning check and had to lock our door because that was one of the things we had to do to pass it) haha so ya just as we were thinking how we all were going to have  to go all the way to the front office (WITH NO SHOES ON) in the freezing weather in our pajamas to get the spare key.... a lovely sister and her companion volunteered to go out and get it for us! They were still dressed in their warm clothes! We were so happy! Everyone is seriously so nice here and it makes me want to be a better person and to go get people's spare keys when they lock themselves out!!! :)

Something that I learned a lot about this week was obedience. We CANNOT be successful missionaries without EXACT obedience. I always heard this but never really thought much of it! Obedience affects missionaries in every aspect. As a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we have authority! We get that as soon as we are set apart to be full time missionaries... HOWEVER the power comes from God and we get that power by being obedient. That power is all up to us. More importantly, we have to be obedient to Heavenly Father and align our will with His. This is HIS gospel and HIS work, so we have to do it HIS way:) "God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability"  (Neal A. Maxwell).

Well I miss you all and just challenge you to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him (Moroni 10:32). A way you can do this is by striving to follow His example and be like Him! He is humble, obedient, a healer, kind, a teacher, courageous, a servant, submissive, selfless, full of love, and the list goes on! Pick a Christlike attribute to work on this week! Jesus Christ can heal us physically and spiritually if we just exercise a little bit of faith! How are you using Christ's Atonement to overcome your weaknesses/trials? Come where Jesus Christ always was and is and overcome your  fear and have faith. Everyone has to be strong because Christ was strong!:) Love you all!!

Love, Sister Freeman!:) 

MY FABULOUS ZONE :)

So sad saying bye to them!! :( :(

Here we are with Sister Bertaldo.  She was the best teacher ever!!

Gunna miss Sister Bradford!! :(

I love Sister Miller

These girls are amazing!!  Sis. Starling (my new companion) is the one sitting next to me!

Sister Freeman's First Care Package

Missionaries LOVE mail AND packages!!  Here's her Greenie Box!  It will be there waiting for her in DC when she arrives on November 10th!!  We love you Megan!!  (Kermit the Frog was right!!  It's not easy being GREEN so we need lots of candy and goodies!!)