Nobody's Perfect

Sawadeeka family & friends! :)

What a wonderful week in Charlestown! 

This week has brought a renewed appreciation for our Saviour, Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I will never get tired of testifying of Him. The fact that he understands exactly how we feel continues to fill me with gratitude and wonder. I know that it is through covenants that we are able to have full access to His Atonement. The doctrine of Christ, as simple as it is, allows His purifying & enabling power to pour into our lives.

This week, I was blessed to go on trade off with the lovely Sister Spainhower. Her feelings for the Saviour are deep and moving. She knows who He is, and who He can help her to be. She taught me something really beautiful (besides nine of the musical transitions from Hannah Montana) as we spent time together.

She taught me that when the Saviour speaks to us in the scriptures and uses the word "perfect" it can often be replaced with "whole". In this life, we will never be perfect like Him, but as we live the Gospel, we can be made whole. I believe that the doctrine of Christ, doesn't just help us, but it completes us. I'm so grateful that Sister Spainhower beautifully unfolded this principle about the Atonement of Christ.

It is my prayer that we will never lose faith that we can make it. We can obtain eternal life. The Saviour has provided a way for each of us. Please don't lose sight of the basics. Faith, repentance, keeping covenants, and enduring to the end. It's that simple. If we can master that, we can see Heaven.

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-Wow this week the hilarious side of Sister Panmongkol came out and I love it. I think she possibly made me laugh so hard I cried THREE TIMES in 48 hours. That is a record. I adore her!

-I was blessed to spend the day with the beautiful Sister Shen from China. WOW!! She is the most positive person I have ever met. She shared so many special things she has learned with me. Two of my favorite Sister Shen quotes: "Our shared belief in Jesus Christ unites us as family." (said to a potential investigator in Chinese. He translated it back for me and I was like wow she's good.)

and "Overcome trial, increase ability." Her motto. She's incredible.

-The day finally came where Sister Spainhower and I were on trade off together. I've been waiting for this moment since like the pre existance. Honestly, it was everything I'd dreamed and more. "We laughed, we cried, we felt the spirit" #JesseClarkFUN

-Hey guess what? I'm 20. I still feel like I'm simultaneously 14 and 45 so nothing much has changed. BUT it was a wonderful birthday! The missionaries that I love so dearly took great care of me. I was on trade of in the Tuggerah/Toukley flat and Sister Koi and Sister Toroca decorated the flat and baked me a cake and I woke up to a birthday present. Sister Spainhower helped me open my lovely birthday gift from my family! I was also blessed to see my mum and my pepe (Sister Hosea & Sister Eteaki haha) at a zone activity. Then Sister Panmongkol came back to Charlestown and taught one of Luke's friends, Jason. Jason brought me a cake and we ate that together and then had a wonderful lesson & all shared our feelings about the Saviour. To finish it off, Sister Panmongkol & I came home to a beautifully decorated door from the Newcastle sisters. And we ate New Zealand corn beef (aka gold) and rice. Rest assured, it was fantastic. I love being a missionary!

 

(My birthday card from Tahiti!)

-Easter was wonderful. To see the world (even Australia!) slowing down and taking just a few moments to remember Jesus Christ was very special. I love Him. & I know that He truly is risen.

I hope you all have a fantastic week. Thank you so much for your love and support.

Chan rak kun,

SF

Hallelujah!

Sawadee ka  family & friends! :) 

(Sawadee ka is the female version of a greeting that can be used to say hello, good day, good morning, good afternoon and goodbye)

I hope you have all had a fantastic week! 

Charlestown has been wonderful! I love my companion, Sister Panmongkol. It's amazing how well we work together. She is so patient with me. We come from very different places, but we are united in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 

Being with Sister Panmongkol has brought a lot of reflection. We arrived in Australia at the same time, so we've been catching up on each other's missions. We've been comparing how we've changed since we've arrived. Once we got past the obvious (mission weight, and eternal under eye bags) we began to really see the change that we've had in our hearts. And it has been so gradual that we almost didn't realize it was mighty.

I can honestly say that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is transformational. When I look back at who I once was, I hardly recognize myself. And I see it in so many others too. I think of the beautiful investigators, less actives,recent converts, and missionaries I've been so blessed to know over these past 10 months. Each of them are living proof of the power of Christ's Atonement. 

I testify that there is no "too far gone". There is no "this is just the way I am. There is no "they will never change." 

There is always hope. 

I hope you can feel the fiery spirit that I feel about this. Repentance is real. The enabling power of the Atonement is astonishing. I experience it on an almost minutely basis (I'm working on experiencing it secondly but I'm not quite there yet). I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is for everyone. Everyone needs it. Everyone can use it. None of us deserve it, but that's how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. 

I want to invite you all to apply Christ's Atonement more fully into your lives this Easter. Please, use it. Let Him heal you. (3 Nephi 9:13-14)

I feel it is so inspired that as I was typing this up, I received an email from my beloved Brother John Harrison. He simply sent me a scripture, one of my favourites, from John chapter 13 versus 34 through 35. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

I pray that as we all resolve to feel Christ's love and forgiveness more in our lives, that we will be able to extend more love and forgiveness to those around us. I know that as we love those around us, we invite divine mercy into our lives. (Matt 5:7)

He loves you & so do I.

https://www.mormon.org/easter/hallelujah

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-We've met so many incredible people this week. Honestly it's unreal! I've really just fallen in love with Charlestown. There is so much to work with here! 

-My companion is the classiest Thai human being I've ever met. She's so amazing! She's been a member for two years, before she was Buddhist. (Mormons can be Buddhist too #SonsofProvo) and she's travelled the world! She is such a loving, peaceful person. I just love to be around her.

-Last week was stake conference and also Luke was able to receive the Melchizedek priesthood! This is a huge step for him in his journey. At first, he was going to have to wait until September, but President Whiting and Elder Riordan (of the Seventy who Luke calls Andrew lol) visited him. They saw his real intent and the effort that he is making and decided he is ready! It was a great day for everyone.

-Also our investigators Kurt and Jamaya came to stake conference! This was a huge step for them and they loved it! :)

-I got to jump in on a FaceTime conversation with Sister Mapuhi which was pretty wonderful :)

-Sister Panmongkol and I are getting to be pretty fantastic cooks. 

Have a fantastic week everyone!!!!

Chan rak kun, (I love you)

Sister Froemming

Till We Meet Again

Annyung ha se yo family & friends! :)

I hope you had a fantastic week! It has been a crazy and wonderful one here in Charlestown. 

I'm sad to report that everyone's favourite Tahitian is now in Sydney, ready to leave for Tahiti tomorrow morning. That's right, Sister Mapuhi has served a beautiful 18 month mission and it's time for her to go. It's sad to see her go, but we are both so excited for the future! It was amazing to see her preparing to go. Every time she cried, she said "These are tears of joy. Because no matter how great the past was, the future is even greater." I learned from her that if you live a good life and trust the Lord you are granted to the divine gifts of peace and hope. 

She has become an eternal friend. I have learned so much about missionary work, life, love, sisterhood, and many other cheesy wonderful things from this adorable prophetess of a human being. Ua here au ia 'oe. :)

But I am happy to report I have a FANTASTIC new companion coming into the Charlestown ward. She is the beautiful and delicate Sister Panmongkol. She is from THAILAND!!!!!!! And we came in at the same time. I can't wait to continue the Lord's work in Charlestown with this lovely sister.

If I have learned one thing this transfer it is that love is powerful. Love has the power to change others. I think about why I am here on a mission, and I remember the day that the Saviour's Atonement pressed into my soul. I began to feel this overwhelming love from my Saviour and my loving Heavenly Father who sent Him, and it caused me to want to change more than anything I had ever experienced. 

Mercifully and beautifully, the same principle applies within our human relationships. As we grow to love one another as He has loved us, a miraculous thing happens. We allow Christ's perfect love and Atonement to pour into our imperfect relationships. We form a bond that is centered on divinity.Then, and only then, do we have access to the greatest power to assist in the perfecting of others: Charity.

I testify that the work of salvation is for every one of us. And for me personally, the most crucial part of this work is developing pure, heavenly love. 

I love you all so much.

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS! 

-I forgot to mention a huge weekly highlight from last week. We got to sing for Elder Nielson's conference as a district. We sang "How Great Thou Art". One verse in English and one verse in Maori (NZ's indigenous people's language). The spirit was so strong as we began singing in English, but when we switched to Maori, it grew so much stronger. One of the elders in our district is Maori and sang by himself for a part of the song. When he began singing, I finally looked up from my hymn book at all the people. I was amazed to see many tear filled eyes. It was a very, very special experience. 

-I was so blessed to be able to spend Sister Mapuhi's last birthday mission with her. She turned 22. It was such a special day! :) We had our whole day planned but last minute we got called into a meeting with Elder and Sister Nielson in Sydney. It was an incredible experience to be able to spend the day with her. As we drove for 2 hours to Sydney we shared spiritual experiences and she shared things that she's learned in her 21st year. It turned out to be a fantastic day. And since it was also President's Birthday on Saturday, they had a cake for her. :)




-I got to spend the day with this little ray of sunshine. It was a delight to spend the day with Sister Casperson. #eternalfriends



-If you are wondering why I'm speaking in Korean today, it's because I'm blessed to be in a trio with the Newcastle sisters, Sister Casperson and Sister Pak until my new companion arrives tomorrow. :)

-It was also Luke's birthday this week! He has been clean from drugs and alcohol. And he shared some amazing things that he's learned in this last year. It's amazing to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ working in him.

Sister Mapuhi going home.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Sarang hae yo!

SF

Je Suis Enfant de Dieu (I am a Child of God)

Bonjour family & friends!

Comment ca va?  (How is it going?)

I hope you have all had a fantastic week! It's been AMAZING in Charlestown this week! 

If there's one thing I want to share with you this week, it's that Heavenly Father truly loves us. We are really His children. Do we continually feel the weight of those words? I want to invite you all to pray to feel anew who you really are. We've sang the words of I am a Child of God countless times, but we often do not live according to that knowledge. There is no need to fear, there is no lasting sadness. God lives. He is our Father. He sent His son Jesus Christ to sacrifice for our sins and to overcome our afflictions. Let this knowledge sink deep into your hearts and be joyful!

I love you all as my brothers and sisters because every day that I do this work I feel more sure that we truly are all one big heavenly family. 

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-WE WENT TO COFF'S HARBOUR!!!!!!! It was gorgeous and wonderful. It's full of beachy Aussies, and African refugees. It is a place FULL of potential. The sisters who work there are absolutely incredible. I was blessed to spend the day with the lovely Sister Shelley from Utah. She is such a light! I love Coff's and the sisters who labour there! :)

-Sister Mapuhi & I had an amazing lesson with one of the recent converts. He's starting to love the Book of Mormon and it is the best! :) 

-We also had a chance to spend the day with the Grafton sisters. I GOT TO SEE SISTER PIUTAU!!!!!! It was soooo amazing to see my old flat mate again. We were like Alma and the sons of Mosiah rejoicing getting to meet with one another again. Grafton is a dream. It's a country town with heaps of absolutely lovely people. We met some amazing former investigators who were so happy to begin learning about Jesus Christ again. Also all the members of the Branch are so kind! It was such a blessing to be in Grafton with such amazing sisters.

-Elder  and Sister Neilson from the Pacific Area Presidency came to visit our mission and it was incredible. We learned so much from them. They really helped us to gain a vision for what we are here to accomplish. It was a revelatory day! 

-We got to play soccer with all the sisters this morning and it was too funny. Running through the sprinklers and having a photo shoot also might have happened.

I love this work, I love these people. I love you all so much! Please stay close to Heavenly Father through daily prayer and scripture study. Great things await us all.

Have a great week.

Je t'aime!

Sister Froemming

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