"i gave him the lesson, not that he deserved, but the one, that he needed"

August 18, 2014

Hey everyone!!!!

Well it's my first week, and my first letter in the field. You must be pretty excited to read this letter aren't you? Wondering what i might say huh? Well let's find out!

I'll start with where i've been assigned. I've been assigned to the Altoona Zone, the State College District, In the Huntingdon area. :) 

Our area is about 10 cities, that are all pretty big and spread out. My trainer and I are the only ones in this area, and the only Elders in our District. They're not big enough to be a ward yet, and they don't have enough priesthood  holders for most things. I think I counted about 60 active members this week. We live pretty close to a lot of different churches, most are on, you guessed it, Church street. ;) I'll attach a picture of a couple of the churches. 

The people: The people here do not like us. They all avoid us like the plague, and that makes it really hard to find people without referrals. The members here love us to death though. We are constantly given food to take home and we've aquired a pretty large pile. 

My Trainer: Is very obedient and very smart. He's pretty shy though, doesn't like to start the lessons, or to talk to random people on the street. So I kinda have to step up there... but that's okay, i'm learning a lot! He's really nice, and we get along really well. 

The Work: Is slow. And hard. And rewarding, Amazing, Life Changing, and Soul Saving. 

I'm learning a ton, and i'm a lucky guy to have so many examples back home to look up to. 

I opened my birthday package today, and that was the best way to start off a P-Day in the history of forever!!! haha 

I don't get to see Pittsburgh much. But the area i'm in is much prettier than Pittsburgh. This state is the most green place on the face of the earth! You can't look anywhere without seeing a thousand trees. 

Well unfortunately i gotta go! People to see, lessons to teach, lives to save! 

-Elder DeFreese

1-4. Overlooking Pittsburgh. Day 1. On the way from the airport to the mission home.
5. Trainer
6. Apartment
7-8. Churches on Church street