Week 8

I made charity a priority this week, and I tried really hard to love everyone that I talked to. And the Lord blessed me so much. I feel like I grew so much spiritually this past week as my capacities to love increased. I am coming to love the ward members so much, as well as the nonmembers in the area, and my companion too haha. And consequently, I haven't really been homesick at all this week. I have had such a greater perspective. And the saying "home is where the heart is" has become especially true for me as I have found that as I come to love the people here with all my heart, I've come to see that this is my home and this is where the Lord wants and needs me to be for the next little while. So things are going really well:)

Lyndsey is still progressing right towards baptism, but she decided to push the date back to the 12th. We asked her what her concerns are, and she said none! She is just having a hard time deciding who she wants baptize her, speak at her baptism, what hymns to sing, etc. She is still extremely self motivated and so I know that she can make it to the 12th. It is just a bit worrisome though because that is just another week that the adversary is going to be doing everything he can to keep her from getting baptized, but I have faith in the Lord's will, and I know that everything will work out.

Nothing major happened investigator-wise this week, just small steps in the right direction, so thats good. I did have some pretty cool experiences though and those are recorded in my journal, so they will be there soon. Here is probably my favorite experience throughout the week: I wasn't content with my consistency of acting on promptings I received from the spirit, and after reading an article about President Monson and how much good he has done by acting on promptings from the spirit, I decided to make a change, and that I would act on every prompting I received. So the other night we were visiting a less active member, and as we are walking up to his house I turn and see a woman sitting at a desk through the window of a house across the street and immediately felt that we needed to visit that house. So I told my companion and we went over! She must have heard us coming because by the time we got to her porch she had opened the door and invited us in! It was a lady named Thelma who is at least 80 years old. She sat us down and told us that she was "the most Mormon non-Mormon you'd ever meet!" And that she has a lot of friends in the church and knows that eventually she will get baptized, it's just a matter of when! I was ecstatic to say the least, but my joy was the fullest as she told us that because her husband had passed away several years ago, she is often very lonely, and at that time it had been several days since she had talked to any other person. She told us how much it meant to her that we came and took the time to visit her. That was humbling, and I was just filled with so much love for this woman I'd only known for 10 minutes! I know that even though Thelma often felt forgotten and alone, the Lord hadn't forgotten about her. She is so precious to Him and He loves her so much! We scheduled a return appointment and she gladly accepted a pamphlet about the restoration and said she would read it so we can talk about it next time. She also asked me to go play tennis with her on one of our Pdays haha. As we were leaving I reached out to shake her hand and she just wrapped her little arms around me and said, "thank you so much! Don't tell your president I'm hugging you! We'll just say it's from your mom!" Hahaha I am so grateful that I could run the Lords errand and remind Thelma that she hasn't been forgotten! And who knows, maybe she'll get baptized! So that was really special for me. 

The new missionaries came in this week haha. It feels good to have a transfer under my belt now, thats for sure. It brought back memories of my first few days and it was really cool to see how far I've come in just this last transfer haha. I'm so much more confident and outspoken than I was when I first got here. These last 6 weeks have been full of growth and learning. I can't wait to see what the next 96 hold!

-Elder Francis

Week 7

Hey! This last week was good, but we fell short of our goal by just a
couple lessons! So close! But that's okay! We taught like 70 lessons
this transfer, which my companion said is the most he has ever had! So
that's awesome!
Mark and Lyndsey are doing great! They have both progressed so much
and have come so far in a short time! It's amazing! Satan is trying so
hard to keep Lyndsey from getting baptized though. Her family is
persecuting her a lot for her decision to join the church, and she
faces a lot of doubts and disapproval from her family, especially her
parents. So please keep praying for her especially! I have faith that
everything will work out as long as she turns to the Lord.
The Flores family is doing great as well! We had two awesome lessons
with Jorge this week. We invited him to be baptized, and he said that
he knows that the church is true and he knows that it will bless his
family, but he just wants to receive a desire for himself before he
commits to baptism. He wants to do it for himself, not for others,
which is good! That is how he will have a lasting conversion! It's
just a matter of when! We gave him the commitment to pray every day,
and he has been keeping it! Which is huge for him!! So I have faith in
him.
Matt  has been coming to church every week and met with bishop
yesterday to receive the priesthood! He is solid! It's so awesome!
Other than them we don't have a lot of people progressing. Except
maybe this guy named Duanne (Dwayne). He has been inactive for 25
years and he is really starting to show signs of improvement. He
prayed during our lesson the other day, and it was powerful! We all
felt the spirit so strong! It was wonderful! He really loves meeting
with us. And I am very hopeful for him.
We also met with a woman named Juanita who we believe is ready for the
baptismal invitation. We will just have to get back into her home. We
just barely got in last week and we've been trying since I got here.
So time will tell, but we have the potential to have three baptisms
over the next couple months at this point! Which would be absolutely
amazing!
Haha we do do a lot of service, and our limit is 10 hours a week,
which we have met a couple times already.
From what dad has told me, it seems like we have had a ton
in common as missionaries, which makes me really happy. Dad is
awesome.
Next week is two months out! I can't believe it! Time is flying and I
am starting to question how much longer I really have haha and that
makes me kinda sad. But I'm sure the next 22 months will be plenty
long haha. So we will see!
I love you guys so much! Have a wonderful week! Thanks for your continued support and
prayers in my behalf and for all you do! Especially you mom!
Love
-elder Francis

Here Is my district for my first transfer! From left to right, elder heinkel, elder Wong, me, elder burks, sister rosenlund, sister burgess, elder burgess(no relation, he is Samoan), elder Cortez is kneeling, elder Purnell, and elder Goodrich! 

Week 6 in California

This week was great! We had zone conference this week! It was awesome! I love every opportunity to hear from my mission president! He just always knows exactly what to say, like dad. And sister Taggart reminds me a lot of mom. But they are great, I love them. This zone conference was about the importance of the Book of Mormon. A lot of times missionaries will use scriptures from the bible with investigators, but the Book of Mormon is what makes us different from any other church! We should always utilize the power of the Book of Mormon in our teaching. 

At the end of the conference they left us a challenge to read the Book of Mormon by Christmas! And I want to extend that same invitation to you guys! You just have to read 4 pages every day! The mission president promised us that we would see miracles in our lives and in our work as we take this challenge to heart, and I want to extend that same promise to you guys! I know you will be in school and studying in the Old Testament and will have to be reading that also, but I can promise that there are incredible blessings that come from the Book of Mormon. It usually takes me 20 minutes, if that, to read 4 pages, so I know you can do it! Then we can finish it together!

This next week is already the last week of the transfer! Whaaaaaaa?!?! I can't believe it! I am halfway through my training and have almost been out for two months now! It's crazy! And it makes me so happy! 

Thanks so much for the package you sent! My companion has started calling you guys his second parents, and that makes me so happy.  

Lyndsey is still on date for baptism and everything is going great with her! Still no word on whether or not we get to keep teaching her, but hopefully we will know by next week! 

We are still doing a lot of finding here in the area, but people are slowly starting to come out of the woodwork! I have full faith that as we continue to try our hardest and do our best that we will be greatly blessed for it! I love you guys!

Elder Francis

One Month Mark! Week 4

This last week was hard haha. Very hard. My companion was out of his medication all week so he was super on edge and there were many times that he wouldn't plan for the next day or go visit someone or do companionship study just because he wasn't in the mood. He got mad at me a ton haha, and we did an emergency exchange last Monday night because he could no longer live in my presence, so another Elder stayed with me at our apartment hahaha. We switched back halfway through Tuesday. We have talked a lot since then, and our relationship is doing significantly better. It is still hard though, and I am learning a lot of patience, but I trust in the Lord that "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.":)

Despite the trying week I had haha, I have some very incredible news...... WE GOT SOMEONE ON DATE FOR BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Her baptism is scheduled for September 5thh!!!! She is the first person my companion has had on date in over 3 months and she'll be the first baptism in the ward in 8 months!!! Her name is Lynzi, and we taught her the first lesson last Thursday. She has already come to church three times with her boyfriend Mark. He was inactive and has started coming back to church with her! When we taught her on Thursday, she was already in 2 Nephi and has already been praying every day!! I can't believe it either!! She has been so prepared to hear our message! At the end of the lesson, we asked her to pray and ask that she can know what we taught was true. She did! And while she did, the spirit was so strong! She finished and we asked her how she felt, and she said very peaceful all over. And that was the Holy Ghost!! And we told her that!! Now she knows what the spirit feels like! We asked her if she wanted to have that with her all the time, and she said definitely! So we invited her to be baptized, and she she said YES!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! We taught her again on Saturday, and she said that she knows that the Book of Mormon is true! We have another lesson with her in a few days!!!

The only catch is that she lives out of the mission haha. We have been teaching her at her boyfriends and she has been coming to church with her boyfriend. So there is a chance that we might have to pass her over to the missionaries in her area. But who even cares as long as she gets baptized?!?!? Ahhhhhhhh it is so incredible. I have never been so happy in my whole life. The Lord has prepared Lynzi to accept the gospel, and I am so beyond grateful that I am privileged to help in her conversion process. 

Another success that happened this week is Matt. He got baptized two years ago, and then fell into inactivity. We have taught him three times and we are working towards the temple with him. He decided that he really wants to work towards the temple. But his job has him work on Sundays so he said he couldn't come to church. We committed him to ask his boss if he could get Sundays off. I was praying for him every day and I fasted that his boss's heart would be softened. Last week we followed up with him, and he said that his boss said that he could probably have every first and third Sundays of the month! I was ecstatic! But I was pretty dang surprised when he showed up at church yesterday!!!!!!! He said that he asked his boss AGAIN and that his boss is letting him work extra throughout the week so he can come to church every Sunday!!! My prayers were answered! Whaaaaa!!! Haha it is only a matter of time before he gets the priesthood and gets to the temple!!! 

I got to do like 20+ hours of service this week! I am truly coming to love service with all my heart. I love opportunities to serve people, which isn't something that I've always been a huge fan of haha. One of
the families we served had a pair of stilts that I got to try out, and they were pretty fun hahaha, I look like an old man though haha.

This is an excerpt from his journal for Friday July 31 that I really loved(Melanie),
The best part of my day was at dinner tonight, which was authentic Peruvian food.  We were at this woman's house who has 6 children, is raising them alone, and is trying to keep them all active in the church.  The youngest of her kids is a perfect little 5 year old girl with Down's Syndrome.  I have never seen anyone so cute and so beautiful.  She has such a happy personality that lightens up the room.  I was eating dinner and she just hopped on over to me and took my hand, patted it gently, gave me a handshake, and then gave me a big kiss hahaha.  It made my whole week haha.  My whole mission!  I'm just so grateful I got to partake of her perfect spirit.  She is 5, but she is already such an incredible example of Christ.

Everything is Awesome! Week 3

Here is Elder Hansen at I in the LEGO store in downtown Disney! Don't dwell on the fact that I look like a total poser hahaha. Him and I were in the same district in the MTC, and now we are in the same zone. He is one of my good friends out here, he is from New Orleans. Downtown Disney was fun!

This last week was good, but it was also rough. We are still trying to find people to teach. We don't really have any solid investigators, but I have full faith that they will come as we continue to try our hardest! 

Several times I have felt very discouraged over the past couple weeks, and I have already seen the blessing I received when I was set apart get fulfilled. At the times when I am struggling the most or when I am the most homesick, I have felt the presence of heavenly angels bearing me up and giving me strength. The Lord is true to every promise and every blessing. I can testify of that. 

The scriptures more than anything else have given me so much support and comfort. I am quickly coming to love them with all my heart, and I turn to them often during times of trial and hardship. I love this gospel with all my heart and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve as a representative of Christ.