New Year's Resolutions

Hello Everybody!

This week has been great! I got the wonderful opportunity to see my beautiful family! I'm so grateful for the chance to talk to them! I know that they are proud of the great choices I am making. Though I loved talking to them, I know that the work I am doing here is incredibly important and I am happy that I can!

Last week, on Christmas eve, we got to go to Bryce Canyon with the Workman family for our P-day activity. It was so much fun! It was absolutely beautiful there. I recommend going in the winter because it is absolutely beautiful. Something cool that we realized was, when you are down in the Canyon, you can not see the full perspective of the Canyon but just small beautiful parts. In the the same way, when we are in the midst of trials during this life, we are not able to see the full picture. We catch small glimpses of beauty that help us push forward until we can make it to the view point of our Heavenly Father and see everything.

With the new year right around the corner, I have decided that it is important to look at things with that greater perspective. How do we do this? Through the Plan of Salvation. Joseph Smith has said, "The great plan of salvation is a theme which ought to occupy our strict attention, and be regarded as one of heaven’s best gifts to mankind." 

Proclaiming the wonderful truth and comfort of the Plan of Salvation is one of the main reasons I came out on my mission. I am committing to further my studies of this wonderful, complete plan that was created for each one of us individually to make it back to our Heavenly Family.

Seeing my own family, I take great comfort in my knowledge of eternal families. I hope I can share the great comfort that I have with others.

Have a great New Year's!

Elder Francis

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hey all you people!

With Christmas so close, one of the most common questions I get is, "Are you feeling pretty homesick?" Hahaha though I love my family more than words can describe, I have not felt homesick in the slightest. I'm sure it's because Utah is not too different from my hometown plus we are too busy to think about it. 

Christmas on the mission is a different kind of Christmas. It's far more centered on Christ and giving to others. I feel like this is the first time in my life that I am truly experiencing Christmas as it was supposed to be. I focus nearly all my efforts on serving others and helping them come closer to Jesus Christ. I know that the Christmas spirit is real because I am truly experiencing it!

We had a baptism this week for Ethan! He is a 9 year old and is super shy. He was so nervous about being baptized but he did great! His dad baptized him and his whole family became active again. Its situations like those that make me so happy. I know of quite a few people in my home ward who are less active members and I want to be able to help them so much. Here, we have been asked to only work with nonmembers and less active families are supposed to go to the ward or our senior couple. It was hard for me to accept that at first, but I see the wisdom in it now.

I hope you all have a great Christmas! I am super excited to be able to talk to my family tomorrow! Remember to love your family, especially during this Christmas season. I am lucky enough to be able to send them packages and to receive packages from them. I also get to video chat with them during Christmas and Mother's day! I am very blessed here in Richfield, Utah!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Have a great week! 

Elder Francis

P.s. 

My mom sent us some matching ties for Christmas and so me and my companion wore them this Sunday.

This picture was taken at stan's Christmas party which is legendary.

Jolly old St. Nicholas

This week has gone by so fast!

We have had quite a bit of things happen. We went on exchanges with Monroe on Tuesday and I get to meet a family that has some pigs! Thursday was a blitz with the Zone Leaders so that they could do a baptizimal interview for us. It was also my first time having to do some planning for the area without help. It was really good! We have great Zone Leaders who do a good job of inspiring us to work harder.

Then, this Saturday, we had Samantha's baptism! Samantha is awesome and, even though I was only there to teach the last few principals, she was ready for baptism. It was really cool though because her whole family came to the baptism and none of them are members of the church. It was a really good baptizimal service. 

That following Sunday was a very busy day. We went to two wards sacrament meetings, stayed at one for the rest of the classes, and then had a special Christmas dinner with the Dorm branch. After that, we went over to the Dorm (the Dorm is a building for high school age kids to have the opportunity to go to high school here in Richfield) and helped in their Christmas program. Elder Lane played the piano for one of their songs and I sang Jolly Old St. Nicholas. It was not a great performance hahaha but it was good enough.

The work here is exploding! Elder Lane and I have been finding some great potential as well as started teaching quite a few people whom I genuinely think will be baptized. Untop of the already good sized teaching pool we had, we are now teaching so enough people to keep most of our days full. This, combined with exchanges, district meetings, and blitzes of the other areas means that we have absolutely no time which I absolutely love!

We have already been invited to some really awesome houses for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so I am very excited for this coming week. Work has been great with everyone so open to hearing a Christmas message, but we honestly have done much door knocking because we have been so busy.

Life is good here in Richfield! It is getting cold and I am not quite prepared for that Haha, but it will be good. 

Have a great week!!

Elder Francis

Give me this mountain

This week has been slow. We did have zone conference on Thursday and it was very good! We emphasized the importance of maintaining a good attitude during this Christmas time and using this season to proclaim Christ's message! At nearly every dinner message, we have been sharing the #lighttheworld message.

It is so important for us to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Try and do some service to those around you. I have found that, as I look outside of myself and try and serve others, I am much happier and my trials seems easier to bare.

Speaking of trials, I got extremely sick this week hahaha. I got the stomach flu Thursday night and was still recovering all day Friday. I prayed so much hahaha! Saturday morning I was still feeling kinda sick and I was seriously contemplating staying home, but then I remembered the bible story of Caleb.

Caleb and Joshua are the only two original generation of Israelites to receive their inheritance after 40 years in the wilderness. This meant that Caleb got to choose what land he wanted as his inheritance. The Anakims, the giants, were still inhabiting part of the promised land, and they still had to be taken out. Caleb, now at 85 years old, said, “Give me this mountain” (Josh. 14:12).

The story of Caleb has always been a very cherished and loved story for me because my name is also Caleb, but I also feel like it is my job to maintain the honor of my namesake. When at my lowest of low, mentally and physically, I simple said to my Heavenly Father, "Give me this mountain" signifying that I willingly accept all the challenges and trials that I am given. I have a sure testimony that Heavenly Father does not give us any trial without also giving us a way to get through it and grow because of it.

The Church is true and the book is blue!

Have a good week!!

Pictures: 

We got a new car!! It's a 2018 Nissan Rogue.

We set up a Christmas tree in our apartment!!!

This is a super decked out house that we saw.

Elder Francis

How are all you wonderful people doing?

This week has been super crazy! So I got to my new area, Richfield, and it rained for the first two days... I did not come out with any rain jackets or even a coat hahaha so we had to go buy one. It has since snowed a foot or two hahaha. Let's just say it is a little different from St.George weather.

Turns out, the Richfield stake is coveted among missionaries in this mission. There is this one man named Stan who is the best member I've ever met in my life. He is around 80 and is a Bachelor and he loves missionaries. He's what other missionaries call a "hang out" house. Sadly (well sad for my companion), I will not be hanging out there hahaha, but he is super cool and has given us a key to his home and had a fridge that is always stocked with food just for missionaries. Let's just say, I am very blessed to be serving here in Utah.

On top of that, we have three freebies which means that they will give us food for free and one of them is Papa Murphy's. I don't have to worry too much about money this transfer hahaha.

We had a baptism this Saturday for Devin (the one on the right)! I feel like I cheated because I just walked into the area and got a baptism but I am still very excited for Devin. So, Devin shared a cool story. He was extremely discouraged because it seemed like everything was working against him. He was so frustrated he asked, "God why are you doing this to me?" It was then that he heard a small voice in the back of his head saying, "Devin, be thankful." He stopped complaining and started being thankful for everything. At the end he said, "You know what, I'm thankful for you, God." Right then, he looked up and saw a cloud in the shape of a heart. That was all he needed. His faith grew and he was baptized this Sunday.

This area is so amazing and my new companion is so awesome. We get along very well and are both obedient and diligent. I know that this transfer is going to be amazing!

With Christmas right around the corner, the church has started the Light the World initiative! I invite all of you to participate this year in this wonderful opportunity to serve our fellow man and be a light to the world. 

Remember: "14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."    

- Mathew 5

Hope you all have a good week.

Elder Francis