#westernSydneylife

Bonjour family & friends!

Life is great. Life is sometimes hard. Life is sometimes surreal. Life is sometimes really slow, but mostly way to quick. I love it.

I just want to testify of how precious this time is. Something we are encouraged to do as missionaries is account to the Lord the events of each day in prayer. To tell Someone who already knows exactly what we did all day (and how our decisions will ripple through this life and the next for that matter) what we have done. At the beginning of my mission, I wondered why I needed to tell Heavenly Father something He already knew. But as I have accounted to the Lord for my actions each day, I have developed a deep gratitude and respect for this opportunity. I have experienced how the Lord has shown me His hand, how He has helped me to repent, how He has encouraged me for the good I've done and brought to light where I could have improved.

This is my invitation to all of you. Account to the Lord the events of your day. How did you use the time you were given? I know that as we do this, making good choices will become even more appealing. I look forward to the time I have to talk to my Heavenly Father about my day. To receive His guidance, His help, and to feel His love. Please just savor the time that you have to spend with Him. Just feel the warmth of His love and renew your testimony that the Father of our Spirits really does hang on our every word as we pray. I love Him. And I know He loves us.

 

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-trade offs! with Sister Uitu and Sister Casperson. These sisters are both fantastic. Sister Uitu and I visited Samoan families and tried to improve our finding skills. We learned so much, especially about following the spirit. Sister Casperson and I were happy even when all our plans fell through. We found two miracle people! I had so much fun with these sisters this week. 

-Sister Vaiho and I are slowly becoming an old married couple who can finish each other's sentences and read each other's minds hahaha.

-There was such a sweet moment this week. Sister Casperson and I just came out of a great lessons and the Baulkham Hills sisters asked us to pick them up from the chapel. We went to go get them, and as they came out of the chapel they ran and hugged us. They were shouting "Peter is getting baptized!!!" Their investigator accepted a baptismal date. We were excited all the way home, and then we went inside and told Sister Vaiho (who had previously taught Peter and absolutely loves him) and Sister Wilson. They started jumping and dancing and we were all so happy. Being a missionary is the best. 

Sister Vaiho, Casperson, Wilson & Froemming

-I gave a talk on Sunday about service. :) 

-This week Sister Vaiho and I went to visit an elderly man in our ward (93 years old) who has been sick lately and unable to come to church. He is so sweet. When we entered into his little unit, he sat in a red sweater with his big scriptures open. We talked a little bit about life and the Gospel. He expressed His desire to be with his wife who has passed away again. The spirit was so strong. Before we left, this sweet man, concerned for us, insisted that we take 3 cans of soup because he wanted to feed us. For some reason this act of kindness absolutely touched our hearts. We burst into tears as we left his tiny home with 3 cans of soup. 

-Sister Tuala has a French/Tahitian hymn book. We decided to sing a Tahitian hymn for Sister Vaiho and she loved it. Then we tried to sing the same hymn in French and we were crying laughing because it was so bad. "You literally did not say one word I understood" -SV #FrenchIs2Fancy

-This morning, Sister Vaiho and I were able to take the lovely Sister Denny to her new area in the CITY! Her companion is going home mid transfer and so she came down from Coff's Harbour (which is like 7 hours north of the city) early. It was so cool to drive her through this beautiful place and see how excited she was. Missionary life is the best!

-I'm falling in love with the Winston Hills ward. I love the people here and I love the work ethic and vision this ward has. Also the stake is amazing. We had a meeting with President Checketts and some of the stake leaders and it was incredible. President's counsel was inspired and the stake has excitedly embraced it. We're not creating programs, we're developing a culture of devoted service. WOW! 

I hope you all are happy. There are heaps of reasons to be stressed or sad or dissatisfied. But what good does feeling that way do any of us? We're all going to struggle. We're all going to have hard times. Why not try smiling? We have to endure to the end anyway, why not enjoy the journey? There is so much more to happy for. 

Have a great week!

Je t'aime,

SF

I Drove Over the Harbour Bridge

Bonjour family & friends!

I hope everyone is happy and safe. Winston Hills is doing great! :)

It's been a wonderful week. Being a missionary is the best. And just being alive is pretty great too. Every time I pray, I thank Heavenly Father for letting me be "here" as a missionary, and also for letting me be "here" as a person on this Earth. With a body of flesh and bones and a knowledge of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is so much to be grateful for.

I have a testimony of pushing yourself. I really believe that true growth occurs out of our comfort zone. Now, if you're anything like me, that sentence probably makes you cringe. I really love my comfort zone too, but it doesn't do much for my eternal progression.

This week we had a zone conference with President Checketts. Many things that he and Sister Checketts shared really impacted me. But there is one thing in particular I want to share with you. 

He taught us in great depth about faith. He emphasised that it is a principle of action and power. He taught that true faith doesn't sit still, it must be manifested by mental and physical action. He then spoke about belief. He said "Belief is a wonderful thing. But, it is not a principle of action and power."

This impacted me. I am starting to understand that perhaps the biggest difference between belief and faith is whether or not we act. So when we get up to the pulpit on fast Sunday to bear our testimonies and begin a sentence by saying "I know...." what follows those words better be something that we are willing to work for. Or else we would be wise to change that sentence to start with "I believe" and try to build our faith in those principles. 

I hope this is making sense. Belief doesn't produce salvation. Faith in Jesus Christ does. May we ever ACT. Heavenly Father has given us the great power of free agency. He has given us His Spirit. His Son has atoned. With these things combined we can truly have faith to move whatever mountains are in our lives. 

We can do it. Set goals, for any and every aspect of your life. Whether it be spiritually, emotionally, physically, temporally, socially, just set some spirit led goals. And then work for them. Exercise your faith. Don't just take life as it comes, do something with what you are given. Our potential is far greater than we can comprehend. 

"Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the fulfilment of the things hoped for. " Bible Dictionary Faith

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-Trade off with the Manly sisters (I know that sounds funny but Manly is the name of their area lol). I went on trade off with Sister Nelson for the third time. She is such a fantastic sister. At the end of our trade off, she said one of the kindest prayers I've ever heard. She made me cry. I'm so grateful for the relationships we develop in this life! It's amazing how the gospel can unite us.

classic Sister Nelson lol

-While travelling to Manly, we had to go straight through the city! Like CITY CITY! I finally saw Sydney even though it was scary and their was heaps of traffic and a GPS was directing me in French the whole time. I loved it! Also Manly itself is beachy and beautiful. 

-Last week Sister Vaiho and I were feeling tired and hungry and it was about time for dinner, but we decided to stay a little longer and visit one more family. We visited this member and we felt so blessed because even though she was by herself on this particular night she took out extra chicken to cook. "I had no idea why I was cooking for more than myself. I normally don't even make anything when I'm home alone." she said. We thought that was a pretty cool blessing and continued to speak with her as we ate. We found out that it was the anniversary of her mother's death, and that all of her children were spending the day with their dad (she is divorced) and so she was alone and feeling pretty down. She told us how loved it made her feel that Heavenly Father sent us to her. We had a wonderful meal and we cried together as we sang "I am a Child of God". We all felt His love.

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Sister Vaiho and I are having so much fun with finding! We've been doing contacting at the train station a lot and there are so many wonderful people!

-a blurry selfie with Tahiti close

Have a great week!

Je t'aime,

SF

Donuti & Good Deed

Bonjour family & friends!

I hope you've all had a great week! Winston Hills is fantastic! 

This week I have felt the importance of reaching out to one another and the impact it can have. Being with a constantly happy, loving Tahitian all the time has really demonstrated to me the power of acts of kindness. A smile, a hug, a hello, a "what can we do to help your family?" can go a long way. 

Those who we see each day are the portion of mankind who we've been given to love and serve. Pay special attention to those in your family, circle of friends, co workers, ward members, and those whom you meet. There is no coincidence in these interactions. 

What comes to mind as you read these words?

Love one another as Jesus loves you.

Try to show kindness in all that you do.

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,

For these are the things Jesus taught

No matter who it is, how well you know them, or how far out of your comfort zone you have to go, I invite all of you to find opportunities to show love to those around you this week. 

Weekly Highlights!!!!!

-We had to go to the mission office, and as we were walking out this man goes "Iaorana!" which is hello in Tahitian. Sister Vaiho looks shocked and excitedly replies "Iaorana!". The man stops and looks at her, and Sister Vaiho stops and looks at him, and then they recognize each other! Sister Vaiho served in his ward when she visa waited in Tahiti. It was so exciting for her to get to see Tahitians because it's pretty rare around here. He said he didn't even know she was Tahitian at first he just decided to say Iaorana to everyone. It was so cute and wonderful and I love getting to hear French all the time. 

-We had a mission wide finding activity on Saturday and it was AMAZING! The whole mission knelt in prayer at 12 and then we did finding in our areas from 1 to 3. Sister Vaiho and I met great people. No one was interested which was a little frustrating at first, but we realized that no one said the miracles would come right away! We did see miracles as we found, but we are excited for the even greater miracles that are to come as we exercise are faith and keep working!

-Making Cook Island donuti with the Pokoina family. Also we had the funniest, most spiritual FHE with them.  

-We are loving working with the members and the less actives here. They are all amazing. Every family we meet, we walk away saying "I just love them!" 

-On Sunday, Sister Vaiho and I got to help Felicity. She is and elderly lady who is deaf, blind, and in a wheelchair. We spent some of our Sunday signing into her hands. Telling her about ourselves, and teaching her from the lessons. She is so sweet and gives the best hugs and we love her.

-My companion is the cutest. We basically spend every spare moment talking each others ears off LOL. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week. 

Je t'aime

SF

The Hills ("Unwritten" Plays in the Background)

Bonjour family & friends! 

Hope you are all doing great!

Winston Hills is wonderful!!!! Physically, it is by far the least appealing area I have served in. But as far as the people go, it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

There are so many different kinds of people here, Indians, Italians, Middle Easterners, Asians, Polynesians, and heaps of Hispanics. It's incredible! 

The Winston Hills ward used to be pretty small, but the boundaries just changed and now there are so many big, wonderful families in the ward. It's such an exciting time! Everyone is trying to get to know each other and have unity. 

Our focus in this ward is to strengthen the members and create a culture of love, unity, and action. Hearts touched by the spirit and knit together. Hands ready to work. As we've discussed our work with our leaders we've been directed by the spirit to just keep it simple. Each of us can work on strengthening our own faith in our homes, and then reaching out to strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters. In the Saviour's words "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:32)

Weekly Highlights!!!!!!!!

-Not really a highlight but saying goodbye to Charlestown. I'm so excited for the work that will be done by the fantastic missionaries serving there. I'm grateful that I had something so wonderful that it made saying goodbye hard. Taken from the train right before the doors closed. 

Goodbye Charlestown

 -The 2 hour train ride. I got to be with Sister Koi & Sister Shen. Arguably two of my favourite people ever. We laughed and I learned some more Fijian and Chinese. When they got off together a few stops before me, I was a little bit stressed. But then I found another missionary who was by herself and we helped each other! (Sister Pongi who I came in with and who was Sister 'Ete'aki's last companion) Such a miracle! 

-My companion Sister Vaiho is amazing! She is so sweet. She is constantly smiling and making me laugh. She is hard worker and she has the best attitude! I am so blessed!

-The Caffarettas. An Argentine family that fed me more pizza than I've ever dreamed of eating. They are inactive, but randomly this week they just called us and asked if we would come over. We had such a great time with them, and they softened their hearts to allow us to share a message with them. 

-Teaching an 8 year old who's preparing for baptism. It was such a sweet experience. 

-Tahitian donuts. Tre bien.

-It's been pouring rain every day here, but we are so happy everyday! To quote Sister La'ulu "It's raining outside by it's sunny in my heart." :) 

-Elizabeth! She was a potential that we visited this week. She's from Iran and it was a huge, dangerous, life changing decision for her to make to become Christian, but she couldn't deny the experiences she had. She is brave and truly converted to the Saviour. We can't wait to share the Book of Mormon with her this week. 

-It's finally Winter and we're losing leaves! 

(Taken while dropping off the Baulkam Hills sisters.!)

Have a great week everyone!!! 

Je t'aime,

SF