"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

And all these things shall be added unto you

Hello everyone! We've had such a fantastic week here in Anaheim! We
got to go on two exchanges and I got to go with some of my good
friends Elder Beddes and Elder Porter. One of my favorite things about
this assignment is being able to serve around such incredible
missionaries who love the Lord and know how to serve Him. We talked
with everyone we saw, and I saw a pretty awesome blessing as a result:
We saw a woman at her car and approached her. She tried to ignore us
and wasn't giving us much to work with. I Began asking about her
family, but she interrupted me, "What is your shoe size?" Honestly, I
wasn't expecting that. Confused, and a little stunned, I hesitantly
responded, "uhhh 10&1/2". "Perfect," she said, "Elder Francis, these
are for you." She proceeded to pull a brand new box of Adidas out of
her car and place them in my hands. I was kind of in shock, and tried
to refuse.  She was very persistent, and eventually I complied. I
mean, they were exactly size 10&1/2!
As it turns out, she wasn't interested in the gospel in the slightest,
but the scriptures were fulfilled which say, "Therefore take no
thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things shall be added unto you."
Last night we found a young couple, Eric and Jasmine, who just moved
from New York, are about to have their first baby, and want to find a
new church. They received the Restoration with such humility and
sincerity, and the Spirit was powerful. They were so so grateful that
we came by, and are eager to learn more! The Lord has led us to some
truly prepared individuals that we are working with right now, and we
have several that will hopefully be baptized in the next month.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thanks for reading everyone, I love you!
-Elder Francis

1) my new shoes
2) hike with the Santa Ana South Zone this morning

And He shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Happy Easter everybody! We had a fantastic Easter holiday sharing the
good news that Christ overcame sin and death and rose on the third
day. A special spirit attended our work this week and we saw many
miracles.
We had some awesome experiences this week with the investigators we
are working with. Our two most progressing investigators came to
church yesterday, and they both loved it. One of those is Michelle.
Michelle and her father have been living in motels for the past few
years. Her father has muscular dystrophy and is unable to walk, but
they both want to be baptized. This last week they were unable to pay
their rent and were homeless for a few days.
Eventually they were able to find a place to stay and we visited them.
They were sunburned and aching, and Michelle's dad had gotten sick
from being outside for so long. We read Mosiah chapter 3 with them. We
got to verses 7 and 8, and Michelle read, "And lo, he shall suffer
temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more
than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh
from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and
the abominations of his people.
And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of
heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and
his mother shall be called Mary."
 She finished that verse and began to cry. There was a reverence in
the room as the Spirit witnessed to each of us the pain and anguish
that Christ suffered in our behalf, pain and anguish that was fresh in
the mind of Michelle and her father. She bore a powerful testimony
that Christ suffered for her, and how badly she wanted to follow His
example by being baptized. In the closing prayer she plead with the
Lord and asked for the strength to be obedient. That was humbling for
me. When was the last time I prayed with such sincerity and fervor to
be able to be obedient to God's commandments? Michelle came to church
on Sunday as an expression and evidence of her desires, and I know
that as long as she is willing, the Lord will prepare a way for her
and her father to be baptized next month.
I know that God loves His children so much. I feel a portion of that
love and  it fills me with faith and with hope that each one of God's
children can return to Him. I have a hard time expressing how much I
love being a missionary, but I truly do. My mission has changed my
life forever! Jesus Christ lives. He rose on the third day with
healing in His wings and the power to bring all of us back to Him.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
-Elder Francis


1) We went on a hike last week!
2-3) Anaheim 3 ward missionaries at the ward Easter picnic

#PRINCEofPEACE <---Check it out!

What a fantastic week it has been! Elder Perez and I have been working
hard and have seen the fruits of our labors.
Tuesday morning we dropped off the departing missionaries at the
airport, including my last companion, Elder Wilson. It was
bittersweet. The only thing that made it better was the fact that we
got to walk down a flight of stairs and pick up 7 new missionaries! We
spent the rest of the afternoon with them, got to hear their
testimonies and feel of their spirit, and that picked us right back up
and we've been up ever since!
On Wednesday night we were visiting someone with a member of a
bishopric and met a man while on the way. He seemed interested and
said we could call him. On the way back, we saw him again and he asked
to if he could come to church! We told him we could meet before the
service and have a lesson, and he accepted. A member brought him this
morning, and we taught him the Restoration. It was the kind of lesson
that missionaries dream of. We sat in the church with him and the ward
mission leader and began our lesson, and the Spirit started working on
him. He began asking questions like, "Why are there so many different
sects?", and, "The scriptures teach to beware of false prophets, how
can we tell a false prophet from a true one?" We could hardly keep up!
By the time we got to the Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph
Smith, the Spirit was powerful. One of us said the word baptism, and
he stopped us and said, "What does one need to do to be baptized?"
Long story short, Josh is on date for May 20. He stayed for sacrament
meeting and loved it. He has already read the reading assignment we
gave him and is eager to meet again. What a miraculous experience.
I love Elder Perez! He has such a cheerful countenance and attitude
that brings a great spirit to our work. We are striving to talk with
everyone and have had some very tender experiences sharing the Prince
of Peace video to people whom the Lord has led us to. We shared it
with several people this week who have lost loved ones recently, one
woman lost her husband last Sunday. I know that the greatest peace in
this life can only come through Jesus Christ. As we celebrate Easter
this week, I invite you all to ponder how you might receive greater
peace by following Jesus Christ. I love you all!
-Elder Francis

1-3) dropping off departing missionaries
4) you know your area is ghetto when...