Elotada

Hey everyone! Another great week in the service of the Lord. The
reason this is coming out so late is because we got to attend two
Memorial Day activities! The first was an awesome picnic with our
ward, and the next was the Elotada! Elotada basically means corn
festival, and the Spanish stake holds it every year. However, it is
outside of the English mission boundaries, so we were the only ones in
the English program who got to attend. Booyah!
This week was an AMAZING one with our investigators! We have another
two investigators who are also progressing well! They are the
neighbors of a family in the ward, and we are teaching them in the
members home. Brianna, a little 8 year old, and her mother Blanca have
both accepted a baptismal date. Brianna comes to church every week,
but Blanca hasn't been able to make it yet. She has been very
skeptical about the church, but last week we had a powerful lesson
with her where we read from the Book of Mormon and spent a lot of time
addressing her concerns. The Spirit was so strong!! Since then, she
has been so much more committed! Today she came up to us at the Ward
picnic and talked about how she has been reading on her own, and is
coming to love the Book of Mormon. She has been praying to know if
it's true and has felt like she has received answers!! The Spirit is
everything in this work!! Man, I wish I could express how much I love
these people and how incredible it is to watch the Lord work miracles
before my eyes.
No updates on Carlos, except that he is still the man, but please
continue to keep him and his wife in your prayers so that his wife's
heart may be softened and he can be baptized.
I was able to go on three exchanges this week with three amazing
Elders! I learned that an appointment where the person is not home is
much more devastating when it is 90+ degrees outside and you are on
bike. But the work rolls on!
On one of my exchanges, we were in a young single adult ward looking
for a young adult member in the wealthiest place in the mission (one
of the wealthiest in the nation, seriously, these houses were in the
hills of Anaheim and were huge). The young adult wasn't home, and as
we were walking back to the car, we received an impression to knock on
a specific door. I thought to myself, "Look where we are, Spirit! How
could there possibly be a young single adult behind that solid walnut
15ft door?!" But because we are obedient, we knocked anyway. Sure
enough, a young adult girl opens up and greets us with a smile. We
talked about the Restoration of the gospel, gave her a Book of Mormon,
and she invited us to come back. This truly is the Lord's work!
I hope you all have a fantastic week everyone! Thanks for your love
and support! I love you!
-Elder Francis

¡¡La elotada!!

"And the Lord said: Go to work"

Hello everybody! This has been just an incredible week here in
Anaheim! We had the opportunity to find and teach a lot of people, and
were able to continue working with the amazing people that we already
have. We taught a woman this week from Egypt, Emily, who was taken
advantage of financially when she came to America, and is now
struggling to support herself and her family back in Egypt. She has so
much faith! She came to church yesterday and has been reading from the
Book of Mormon!
Our investigator Carlos is doing so well and wants to be baptized, but
his wife refuses to give him permission to do so. He can't be baptized
without her consent. Please pray for Carlos and his wife, and that her
heart will be softened so that he can be baptized.
This last week I had a meeting with all of the other missionaries that
are departing at the end of this transfer. We received some training
from the mission president and some counsel for how we can prepare to
return home and to continue our discipleship after the mission. It was
good and all, but I found that after spending several hours talking
about what home would be like, thoughts about home continued to linger
with me throughout the day. In my nightly prayers, I voiced to the
Lord my concerns. I finished my prayer and remembered that I hadn't
yet read from the Book of Mormon that day, so I opened up my
scriptures and began reading where I had left off in Ether chapter 2.
I began on verse 16, and the very first words that I read were, "And
the Lord said: Go to work..." immediately after reading that I
received a prompting from the Spirit saying something like, "In case
you missed it, THAT is the answer to your prayer!"
The Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is the most powerful
tool in conversion! I received a witness AGAIN that the Book of Mormon
is the word of God, and that my Father in Heaven is ever mindful of
me. I feel strongly that the Lord was telling me as I go to work and
lose myself in His service, I will find myself. I will be fully
prepared to continue my discipleship after my mission and continue to
be of service to Him as I work as hard as I can now. In the words of
President Benson, “I have often said one of the greatest secrets of
missionary work is work! If a missionary works... he will be happy.
There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all
time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the
ministry. Work, work, work--there is no satisfactory substitute,
especially in missionary work.”
And there you have it! That's my plan! Thanks so much for all of your
love and support everyone, have a beautiful week! I love you!

-Elder Francis
1) Just enough seats for all of us!

To know of love, pure and divine

What an incredible week it has been! This last week was the final one
of the transfer. Today marks the beginning of the last transfer of my
mission, and I will be staying in the Anaheim 3rd ward! This will make
6 transfers (roughly 8-9 months) in this area and assignment. I'm so
blessed to be able to finish my mission here! I love it so much!
Not only will I be staying with Elder Perez, but we are adding a
missionary to the companionship, Elder Salyer! We will be in a trio!
He and I have served near each other in the past, and he has always
been a fantastic missionary. I'm so excited to be one of his
companions.
Our investigator that I talked about last week, Eddy, is progressing
sooo well! He came to church again and we actually moved his baptismal
date FORWARD to June 3!
On the other hand, our investigator Carlos is facing some serious
opposition from his wife. She threatened him with divorce if he were
to get baptized... "I don't think she really means it though," said
Carlos, "I still want to be baptized. Look at Nephi! His brothers
wanted to kill him, but the Lord provided a way for him to be
obedient, and I know that He will for me too."
Carlos is man of great faith. But we are not to baptize someone
without the consent of their spouse, so Carlos will need the agreement
of his wife if he is to be baptized. Everyone please keep Carlos and
his wife in your prayers, so that he can be baptized and his family
can receive all of the blessings that come from having a priesthood
holder in the home.
Yesterday I got to talk with my amazing family!! It was so wonderful
to hear from them and to hear their testimonies. I'm so grateful for
my incredible family. I am especially grateful for my beautiful
mother, who has supported me throughout my life and my mission.  Her
faith and love for the Lord have changed my life, and it is because of
her and my father that I am the missionary I am.
I find it truly beautiful,
To know of love, pure and divine.
It rests on one, out of the soul
Of an angel mother such as mine.
Thanks for reading everyone, and thanks for all of your love and
support. Have a great week!
-Elder Francis

1) the Korean district!
2) Garden Grove Zone!!
3) Transfer calls with Elder Perez
4) Happy Mother's Day
5) Welcome Elder Salyer

The righteous don't need rest and the wicked don't deserve it!

What an awesome week we've had! Soooooo busy though! We had Zone
Conferences throughout the mission on Tuesday - Thursday. Friday we
had a training for the missionaries who are halfway through training.
Saturday we had a tour of the Newport Beach Temple grounds that we
spoke at, and yesterday we had a meeting with the mission presidency!
"The righteous don't need rest and the wicked don't deserve it!" Haha
I'm not at the point where I don't need rest, so we do our best to
keep up amidst the meetings and assignments and responsibilities.
Despite being insaaaanely busy, I am just loving life!! Being able to
hear the comments and testimonies of all the missionaries throughout
the mission is such a blessing, and so is being able to work with
President and Sister Taggart, a couple who are completely devoted to
following the Savior. The mission motto is "covenant keepers joyfully
bringing souls to Christ", and I would like to put an emphasis on the
word "joyfully". There is no work that brings greater joy than the
Lord's! I love serving a Him and I love being a missionary, it fills
me with the sweetest joy I have ever known!
Even with our demanding schedule, we've been blessed enough this week
to have some time to proselyte every day. We found a new investigator
named Eddy this week! After inviting us in and receiving the message
of the Restoration, he committed to read and pray about the Book of
Mormon. When we went back a couple days later, he had done it! But he
didn't feel like he had received an answer. We opened up to Moroni
10:3-5 and read together about how we receive answers to our prayers.
While discussing real intent, Elder Perez asked, "If you receive an
answer that the Book of Mormon is true, what will you do?" Eddy
enthusiastically responded, "I will repent and be baptized!" Whaaaaa?!
After recovering from being blown away by that answer, we had Eddy
read verse 5: "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the
truth of all things." As he read, the Spirit filled the room. We could
feel it, and we knew that he could feel it. We asked him how he felt,
and he responded, "I feel so good right now. This is amazing." We
helped him to see for himself where those feelings came from, that is,
God. Eddy is on date for baptism for June 17! Eddy also came to church
on Sunday.
We went to the temple grounds tour with the Lozano family, who are
returning to activity. They are preparing now to go to the temple
themselves. Hopefully they will be able to within the next month.
There was a wonderful Spirit on the temple grounds, and I just didn't
want to leave.
Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful week! I
love you all!

-Elder Francis

Zone conferences with the Taggarts

Temple tour with the Lozanos

He who reads it oftenest will like it best!

We have had a fantastic week here in sunny California!
We got to do a fun service this week called Love Anaheim where we got
to serve around the community. We got shirts that say "I love
Anaheim", and are a prized gem among the missionaries because you can
only get them once a year at this service. Score.
On Tuesday we had our Mission Leadership Council, and Elder Perez and
I got to give a training on using the scriptures in our teaching. That
was an easy training for me to give, because I love the scriptures so
much. The scriptures have become a constant and powerful source of
strength, motivation, direction, and guidance for me as I've gone
throughout my mission. I don't want to go a day in my life without
studying the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. In his last
conference talk, President Monson said, "I implore each of us to
prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day." I took that
as a personal invitation I intend to accept for the rest of my life!
Daily scripture study is essential to continuing conversion to the
gospel. The Savior Himself said, "It is written, man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God."
I have seen hearts softened and lives changed by the word of God, the
most forefront and prevalent being my own. I love the scriptures so
much. True was Elder Richard G Scott when he said, "A memorized
scripture becomes an enduring friend that is not weakened with the
passage of time." The scriptures have become some of my most trusted
and reliable friends. I can turn to them at any time and in any place
and can find solace, peace, and counsel. If you are not already
studying from the scriptures every day, I personally invite you to do
so. I promise that you will come to love them and treasure them, and
that the time you spend in the scriptures each day will become a time
that is precious and sacred to you. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "He
who reads it oftenest will like it best." Its true! Have a great week
everyone! I love you all!

-Elder Francis

We ❤️ Anaheim

MLC

Cody Hackman