Tatarahapa (A Polynesian Folk Song - Repent)

Bonjour family & friends!

I hope you have all had an absolutely wonderful week! It's been a great one here in Charlestown! 

We are seeing progress with our member work! We had a great meeting with Bishop last week and we were able to align our vision with his. He wants us to be working very closely with the ward and suggested we visit three families each night for 15 to 30 minutes each. Sister Mapuhi and I have been trying to heed his council and we are seeing miracles! These families are incredible and they are so excited to do missionary work. 

This life is a time for us to prepare to meet God. It is a time for us to be proved. It's a time for us to repent. Something my lovely companion taught me this week: "If you're not feeling happy,repent." When we love God and are close to Him, we can't help but feel happy. If we are not feeling near Him, if we are not feeling the fruits of the Spirit then there is something wrong. When something is wrong with our body, it tells us through the feelings/symptoms we have. When something is wrong with our spirit, it tells us through the feelings/symptoms we have. If we are feeling upset, cranky, sad, disconnected from heaven, depressed, unmotivated, ect, ect, ect, then our spirit needs help! We need to heed the Great Physicians orders when He says: "Return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted that I may heal you" (3 Nephi 9:13)

Repent has become such a joyful word to me. Each time we repent we draw closer to Jesus Christ. We accept His sacrifice and show our desire to be like Him. 

I love you all and want you to be happy. I know that true joy comes as we make and keep covenants with God, as we repent often and thoroughly, and as we rely on the Saviour Jesus Christ. 

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-I was privileged to spend the day in Toukley with Sister Taroca this week. It was amazing to see some of the families and investigators we were working with. Including Lisa, who is getting married and baptized in March! :) Sister Taroca is incredible! She is so hard working and so others focused. She is Fijian as well and so she is really grateful to have Sister Koi as her trainer to help her learn English and adjust to a new country. I learned so much from this beautiful sister!

-One of our members is on 5 acres and
 let us help them feed their horses.

-Sister Mapuhi cut Brother Luke John Doyle's hair
(He is a recent convert as of December
and one of the funniest people I've ever met.) 

-We had an amazing FHE last night with one of the families in the ward. We made "member missionary calls" for all the kids and they LOVED it! 

-A blurry shot of us training down to Sydney for a special conference. There were some pretty amazing views going down the coast.

Sister Taroca left, Sister Eteaki, me and Sister Mapuhi's forehead walking from the train to the chapel in Sydney! We were trained on family history and it was incredible! Finding with family history is SO fun! :) 

-We went to eat dinner at one of the Tongan families in our ward. They made Lu and sapasui (sorry don't know how to spell it in english, and I'm probably spelling it wrong in Tongan), and we sang to them in Tongan. After we left we took the left over food to Sister Eteaki and she was so happy because she hasn't had this food in months :) 

Have a great week everyone!

Je t'aime,

SF

Like a Fire is Burning

Bonjour family & friends!

I hope you all have had a fantastic week! It has been an exciting/exhausting/AMAZING week in Charlestown. 

There have been so many times where the natural Sister Froemming wanted to be overwhelmed, or tired, or intimidated but I was able to feel the enabling power of the Atonement sustaining me. 

The spirit has become such a crucial part of my day to day life and I have felt the reality of the words "that they may always have His Spirit to be with them." (D&C 20:77)

We constantly have the opportunity to be nourished, guided, and lifted by the Saviour through the spirit. It is just up to us to claim this gift through personal worthiness. 

Sister Mapuhi taught me a valuable lessons this week. We came out of a lesson where we had struggled to feel the spirit as strongly as usual. We discussed and tried to figure out what we could've done better. We were silent for a moment as we both pondered, and then I heard my companion whisper these words to herself: "take upon us His name, always remember Him, and keep His commandments." I looked at her and I knew she was evaluating where she could have improved in keeping her part of her covenants. I was amazed at her pure understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It really is so simple what we are asked to do. 

Please evaluate how you can invite the spirit more fully into your lives and make the changes that are necessary. John 14:26 

"If we are humble and teachable, the Holy Ghost will prompt us to improve and lead us home" - Larry R. Lawrence.

Weekly highlights!!!!!

-Tradeoffs with Sister Nelson and Sister Ah Hoy! They are amazing and we were able to see miracles together. Love these sisters!

-Birthday surprises for the members.

-So Many Beautiful Sunsets

-Sister Mapuhi taught me how to make a lei (#TahitiTrip2017)

Have a great week everyone!

Je t'aime,

SF

(NOTE: I am adding these pics below to the right blogs: But in case you don't go back and read old blog pages I will put them here for a while.)

The Love affair starts

Lovin on a Kangaroo at Reptile World

Making a friend for life! Favorite missionary picture so far

Can  you tell who loves animals?

Another Relaxed Beast

I don't know what that bird is, I am just glad it didn't peck her face.

Saying Goodbye to Toukley

No don't make me go!!!

"You Can DO IT!" -Sister Mapuhi Every Day

Bonjour family & friends!

I hope everyone has had an amazing week.

Look, let me be upfront. I don't have pictures again. I'm so sorry. It kills me because I have the cutest pictures with kangaroos and my new companion and beautiful Australian landscapes. But in the words of Chelsea Nadine Wiser "Patience is the key to life." & I anxiously await getting a new SD card reader so that I may overwhelm you all with heaps of pictures.

(Note: Finally got the pictures:)

Charlestown is INCREDIBLE! I am in love. The people are so friendly, the ward is fantastic, the work is picking up quickly, my companion is a delight, and the views do not disappoint. It is such a blessing to be in this area! 

Sister Mapuhi and I are really focusing on working with the members. (Emu Plains flashback anyone?) They are so lovely and so ready to do missionary work. We are just focusing on how we can help them develop the skills that will help them feel confident to get started. 

I have clung to the words of Doctrine and Covenants section 1 verse 23 this week: "That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world.."

I have come to know more than ever that I am so weak. I am so simple. So easy to err, so quick to emotion, so inclined to doubt. But I have also come to know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can make something out of a sinner like me. Without His Atonement, I am nothing. With His Atonement, I can be anything He needs me to be. I have seen miracles worked as I have accepted my flaws and allowed the Saviour to work through me. 

Sister Mapuhi has taught me so much about humility. She glows with love for the Saviour. When we walk out of a great lesson, her first words are gratitude for the power of the spirit, not praise for herself or her companion. She has reinforced what I have learned by revelation and painful experience: we CANNOT do this work by ourselves.

I know that missionary work is the most eternally significant work in time and eternity. God's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. We all need to be engaged in supporting Him in this work. I know that if we will simply desire join the ranks and submit our will to our Heavenly Father, He will make devoted disciples out of fallen flesh. 

I love you all so much. Please remember your potential to change the lives of those around you. 

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-Thank you all for the halfway mark photos!!! I love you so much and am so grateful to be from the PCB ward. Can't believe we're already half way!

-My companion is absolutely adorable and teaching me so much.

-So many miracles. One is that we went to visit a former on Saturday and ended up doing service for him. We mowed his lawn and helped him prepare for the storm (that still hasn't come). He then came to church on Sunday! We were so happy to see him.

-Charlestown is beautiful.

Have a great week everyone!

Je t'aime,

SF