"Following Up"

   I was thinking the other day, "I'm too young to feel..." (all you George Strait fans can finish that one). Thankfully, the people here say I look 18-20. I would like to thank my parents for my good genes, my grandparents for reminding me to wear sunscreen, and anyone else I may have forgotten about.

     This week has been nuts! On Wednesday morning we dropped off Hermana Dando in Galt. Yup...definitely could have watered the grass with my tears. But, asi es la vida misional. I love her SOOOOOO much! Sister Potter came up to me in church yesterday and asked how I was. I went to say, "Great!" Because it's true. But then I had to choke back some tears when she hugged me. Transfers....some days you love them, and some days you hate them. But hey, "A Donde Me Mandes, Ire Senor..." Hopefully we can see each other before she flies home in August.

     We picked up Hermana Cardullo and came back down. She is from Provo, UT. Her dad is Italian. If I could pick one word to describe here it would be: Fabulous. She loves everyone and always says the funniest things. She is very in tune with the Spirit and you can feel it every time she opens her mouth in a lesson. I've never seen any other missionary do that. She started her mission here in Stockton so the people here have been really excited to have her back. It's been really fun. We hit the pavement running-which is good because I like to wallow in self-pity sometimes and she didn't let me do that. We've been teaching like crazy. Hermana Cardullo is really good at talking with everyone and we have seen many blessings from that. We have added some cool new investigators and we have some super solid lessons set up for tonight! I love her and I know that I am going to learn a lot from her :)

     Hermana Cardullo and I have decided to really try to push working more effectively with the members to strengthen the ward here. We were counting up our less-active families and there is something like 24. To quote myself, "We have a buffet of less-actives to chose from." I never realized how important members are until my mission. I have officially made a resolve to be a better member when I get home. I WILL do my visiting teaching...no matter how many excuses I can come up with not to.

     We have had a really great week overall. I think one thing that I have noticed is that promising blessings to people when you invite them to keep commitments. And the great thing is that it doesn't just apply to investigators. It applies to us too. God has promised us so many blessings that we can't even count them. We just have to do our part. So this is me being a missionary. I am following up with all who may be reading this letter. Last conference Elder Ballard followed up/challenged us to do 3 things:

1. Use the full name of the church when stating which religion you belong to

2. Extend the invitation to hear the missionary discussions to 1 person quarterly (4 times per year/every 3 months for those who are a little mathematically challenged)

3. Every member-regardless of current activity level in the church-to obtain a copy of Preach My Gospel

     How are you all doing on that? Good? Bad? Ugly? I encourage you all to do these things that a representative of Jesus Christ has asked you to do. If you do these things you have been promised that many blessings! Here is the link to the full talk by Elder Ballard "Following Up". Seriously though. The work is hastening. We have been hearing that for ages now. With the new age change and the technology available to missionaries that work is expanding faster than ever. There is no greater time than now to heed the call of President McKay "Every member a missionary." As Elder Christofferson put it, you don't have to have a black badge on your chest to be a full-time missionary. And, as my daddy's good buddy Mark Schweppe says, "Do it. Do it right. Do it right NOW!"

     I love you all so much and hope that you have a fantastic week! MWAH!

Love always, Hermana Freestone

   

Quote of the week comes from Hermana Cardullo's trainee, Hermana Moffett: "Do your best until you know better. Then, do better."

1. me and my comadre

2. me and cardullo at sushi :)

3. the lake-thingy

4. the dynamic duo of awesomeness

5. our thug hats on 8-mile road :) Long live Eminem :)