The miracle of moving a baptismal date back

Hey everyone! I hope you all are having a great week!

So far, this transfer has been amazing! Elder Nielsen and I get along very well. He is a very good missionary and I am excited to be his companion. 

Because our area split in half, we are only covering the Enoch stake. Though there is a great deal of work here, we stopped teaching everyone who wasn't progressing when we were super busy last trasnfer. Now, we are spending much of our time finding, which is okay because I love finding!

I wanted to share with you a miracle that happened this week. First, a little background. In our mission, we teach a lot of youth from ages 9 to 17. We are currently teaching two such youth and they were on date for December 21st. The baptism is getting close and we have been putting together all of the information. As we have been teaching them and getting everything for the baptism ready, I have just felt kind of off about it. I felt almost as though one of the girls was not ready for baptism, but I had no real evidence as everything seemed to be really good with her and she was super excited for her baptism. The only thing she still needed to do was go to church at least one more time.

This past Sunday, we had everything set up to help her get to church. We had a ride, we texted her mom, we got people she could sit by in the ward, and so on. As we attended church that day in her ward, we saw her younger sister who we are also teaching come, but she did not. We were in a panic as, if she did not come, we would have to move her baptismal date back. Sufficient to say, she did not come. At first, I was extremely stressed and partially discouraged that we were going to have to move her baptismal date back, cancel all of the things we had set up, and tell everyone that it was off all because she did not come to church. Then, I thought about it from a different perspective. 

I decided to look at it as a blessing. I had felt that this girl was not quite ready for baptism, but I didn't have any valid reason to feel so, so I didn't call off the baptism. With this event, there was my valid reason to call off the baptism. It was hard and stressful, but I know that moving the date back will help them more in the long run because they will be better able to understand the covenant that they are making with Heavenly Father. We stopped by their house last night to talk about our options. Both the girls still wanted to be baptized and they were not only willing, but seemed a little happy that we would get to teach them more before their baptism. they were a little upset at first, but they understood after we explained it. I am very thankful that Heavenly Father was able to help me with this situation.

I think that there is another lesson from this miracle. The other lesson is that, no matter what, Heavenly Father's will will be done and that that will is far more eternal than our limited perspective and knowledge. This lesson does not just apply to when we don't get what we want, but it also applies to trials we receive. When we have to go through hardship, stress, and anxiety, it is most likely because the Eternal Happiness is more important to Heavenly Father than our momentary happiness. As we continue in this Christmas season, I invite all of you to view your trails differently. I invite you to see them not as a burden, but as a blessing, a miracle even. 

I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

A present my parents sent me!

My new companion and I 

There can be miracles when you believe.

Howdy everyone!!!

I hope you are all having a great week! Our week has been fantastic! 

We had a baptism for Kevin this week! I feel bad because Kevin was already on date and had been taught all of the lessons when Elder Hanson and I got to the area so we really only set up the baptism, but I feel so blessed to have been able to help this family, even just a little. They are such a solid family. Kevin has a great support system.

We had quite a few amazing miracles this week. I want to share just one of them. It was close to the end of the day and we had run out of things to do. I started driving home thinking we could just do some planning or something else productive. As we passed this neighborhood, I remembered that we had received a referral for a man that lived there. We had stopped by and talked to this guy twice and each time he set up a return appointment at the door and then wasn't there when we came back.

I figured we had nothing better to do, so we decided to knock. This was yesterday, meaning that it was labor day weekend and they probably wouldn't be home, but we decided to knock anyway. As we knocked, he answered the door and let us in. We ended up talking to him for 45 minutes asking questions and listening. He explained how he had met with missionaries 5 years ago and had been thinking about coming to church lately. He is not a member and his 10 year old daughter is not a member. He said he would want to meet with us so we were able to schedule an actual appointment and get his phone number. 

I believe that this event was completely inspired by the Holy Ghost and the promptings it gave to us. When I think of why we should deserve miracles such as these, I think about all the amazing saints who are praying for us every day. There are hundreds of thousands of prayers everyday said on behalf of the missionaries. I firmly believe that we, due to our decisions, have qualified to be apart of these miracles, but those prayers, along with the Love of our Heavenly Father, is the true cause. 

Thank you all for your continual prayers and support in behalf of the missionaries. I can feel it. Lives are being blessed because of it. This work could not be done without you.

I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Enoch West Stake

Hello all of you wonderful people!!!

This week has been amazing! I met my new greenie on Wednesday and he is from Chester, Idaho. Yep, like an hour away from where I live. So that's been kind of fun. 

Enoch is about 20 degrees cooler than St.George, plus we have a car. This means that I am basically living the life of luxary. The saying, "You never know what you have until it is gone" has taken on so much more meaning. Biking in the heat of St.George in an apartment without A/C has made me greatly appreciate being here.

Not only this, but Enoch is full of work! Our first full day in the area, we talked with someone the previous missionaries had been teaching. We just casually asked them if the other missionaries had talked to them about baptism and they said, "Yeah and we decided we wanted to be baptized on August 31st"!!! I had to turn to Elder Hanson afterword and tell him that things do not normally go this well hahaha. 

We are very excited to be in this area. Everything around here kind of reminds me of Idaho. There is farm land just outside the city and everyone here likes to hunt. I was sad to say goodbye to my last area, but I am very excited to continue moving. The members in this area are so kind to us. I think my mom has already recieved five pictures from nice members who have had missionaries out on missions. I know that, even if I end up hating this area, my mom is definitely going to love it haha!

Well, that's about all for this week. There is not much more to add. The work continues to move forward and I am very happy to be apart of it. Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

A rare quarter I found this week.

Some pictures members took of Elder Hanson and I 

Transfers and my birthday!

Hello everyone! This week has been amazing!!

First of all, we have transfers tomorrow. I am heading to Enoch! For those of you who don't know, that is right next to Cedar City Utah. I am really excited because I am going to also be training! I have not met my greenie yet, but I am sure that he will be awesome! 

My birthday was also this week. The big 2-0. I was able to have a great birthday celebration with the family shown below. They are a recent convert family. It is always hard to say goodbye to an area, especially when I have been there for 4 and a half months. I know that this is the Lord's work and that I will be able to find people to help in my next area as well. 

I would like to talk about my experience with calling my brother on my birthday. He left from the MTC today and I got to talk to him yesterday. As I talked to him, I was able to share with him my experiences and help prepare him for his mission. I was able to bring peace to him as well as help our relationship grow. The change in the communication policy has made my mission so much better. I was never one who felt homesick, and so, when calling home, I get to focus on bringing my family closer to Heavenly Father through my experiences. 

Sorry for the short email this week! We are super busy with packing and getting ready for transfers. I love you all, have a great week!

Also, my new address is 315 E 3600 N Enoch, Utah.

Elder Francis

Pictures:

A family bought me donuts for my birthday cake and threw me a birthday party. 

What a Wonderful week!

Hello Everybody!!!

This week has been fairly eventful! To start off, we had the 24th of July! We got to go to a party at the park and watch fireworks that evening. 

Thursday, we had Zone conference, our first one with President Kaluhiokalani! It was really good, and I was able to learn from my new mission President. It was definitely different than President Smith's Zone Conference's, but it was still really good.

The rest of the week, we worked really hard and spent most of our time finding. It was a blast!

We did have some problems with our apartment. Our A/C went out. With it being 100° outside, it is about 10° cooler in our apartment. If any of you have not tried sleeping in a 90° room, I cannot recommend it hahaha. Even though it has been hot and uncomfortable, it is still the best thing I have ever done.

My life is good, really good! Next week is transfers so p-day will be on Tuesday.

Thank you all for the emails and prayers! I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Francis

1. Zone Conference 

2. Hermit crab

Lasagna

Hello Everyone!!!

I hope you all have had a great week! It has been pretty great here, except for the fact that it has been over 100° every day hahaha. Also, we had lasagna three times this week hahaha. Luckily, I like lasagna, but three times in a week is quite a bit. It was still really good!

Other than that, nothing noteworthy has really happened. We have been working hard, but have not seen many results yet.

With all this spare room in my email, I would like to talk about something that I feel is very important to missionary work: Member missionary work. Now, this does not have to be a big scary topic haha, but it is so incredibly important. It is my firm belief that we cannot do any real work without member support. Sure, we can tract, find someone to teach, and baptize them through our own efforts, but what then? The new member goes to church where they don't have any friends and then the missionaries get transfered. Imagine being a brand new member to the church and not having a single friend there. It's unthinkable. Not only does true conversion require the members, but we can find so much more with member help. 

I don't mean to say that the members are not doing enough. The members that I have worked with are amazing and have helped the work progress so much. No, I more mean to say thank you to all of you who understand that, to truly love people, we must invite them to come unto Christ. This is our callings as disciples of Christ. I love these people, and that love is my largest motivator for this work. We can't do this work without love, and we can't do this work without you. 

Thank you guys so much for your service in the Lord's vineyard. Whether you have invited non-members to an activity, encouraged a less-active member to come back, or even just shared your testimony with someone who is struggling, I know that you will be blessed.

I hope that all of you have a great week and a happy 24th of July (pioneer day).

Love,

Elder Francis

I was stabbed in the middle of the night!

Hello everybody!

Today is my 11 month mark! It is crazy how fast time flies! 

I don't have a lot of time this week, but it was a really good week! We got to meet with our mission President on Tuesday when we had our interviews with him. President Kaluhiokalani seems to be a great man and I am very excited to have him as my new mission president. President Smith taught me so much and showed great care and love to all of his missionaries. I know that President Kaluhiokalani will do the same.

This week, I also got to go on an exchange with my district Leader Elder Beazel. He is a really diligent missionary and we had a great time. 

So, now, about the heading. 4 am this morning, I woke up with a stinging pain in my right thigh. I grabbed the spot and felt something there! My first thought was that I had been bit by a spider, so I crushed the bug and laid on the bed waiting to see if I would die or not. I didn't. After about 3 minutes of just laying there, I my thigh begining to swell and so I went and checked it out in the bathroom. It looked kind of like a spider bite, but I had also not put my glasses on. I went back into the room to see if I could find what kind of spider it was so I could know if I was going to die or not. As I searched, I found a bee dead on the ground. I don't know how, or why, but that bee somehow found its way into my bed and decided to stab me with its stinger in the middle of the night!! Hahaha, it all turned out okay and my leg is completely find. 

Anyway, sorry for the short email, hopefully the pictures will make up for it.

Love you all! have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

This was a super cute dog we met at a dinner appointment.

This is a small bird I found in the street and it was so tired that it couldn't fly back into its tree so I picked it up and moved it to somewhere safe.

This is my District Leader Elder Beazel. We saw a bunch of raccoons cross the street and run up a tree and Elder Beazel wanted to take a picture with them.

Happy 4th of July!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a great Independence day!! We sure did! Well, we didn't really do anything special, in fact we didn't really get to see the fireworks because we were supposed to be in our apartment by 10:15, but it was still a great day!

Elder Vann and I have been struggling to find more people to teach in this area, but that does not stop us from going out and walking around for a few hours in the sunny 100 degree weather! I won't lie, this work is hard. It is especially hard when you aren't seeing a lot of numerical success. I'm sure everyone who is a missionary or who was a missionary can attest to how easy it is to get discouraged on your mission.

This is something that I had always heard, but you cannot truly understand until you are out here working. I've had my fair share of discouraging times, maybe when someone you love decides not to meet with you anymore, but I have never let that get me down or stop me from getting back up! Missions are not easy, but they are worth it. In a talk given by Elder Holland at the MTC he said:

"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?

You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary.

Now, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about anything anywhere near what Christ experienced. That would be presumptuous and sacrilegious. But I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way."

I apologize for the long quote and the long email this week, but I feel that this was needed. To any of you missionaries who are struggling, to any of you members who feel the burden is too heavy, and to any of you who are discouraged, disappointed, or depressed there is someone who knows how you feel. I echo Elder Holland in that, "Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way." 

I hope all of you have a great week, and I thank you for your continual prayers and support. We cannot do this work without you!

Have a great week

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

Elder Vann did this puzzle!

A nice member fed us home caught, breaded, and cooked rainbow trout.

Wow! It's hot out here!

Well hello all you wonderful people! I hope you all have had a great week!

We have had a fantastic week here in Sunny St.George. It has been over a hundred almost every day this week, at least it's not humid... oh wait it has also had some humidity. Hahaha, my past two companions have been from Texas and they always tell me, "Well, at least it's not humid." This week has been the start of monsoon season though so it's actually been fairly humid hahaha. It's fun, you just have to get used to sweating.

Elder Wood is transfered up to Gunnison and my new companion is Elder Vann. We have had a fairly busy week and so we haven't gotten any pictures together yet. 

We also had a baptism this Saturday for Kennedy! I have a goodbye picture with Elder Wood, he transferred right before the baptism, but we haven't gotten the picture we took at the baptism yet so you might see that in next weeks email. I am very thankful that I was able to be part of teaching Kennedy and helping her get baptized.

In other exciting news, we got a new mission president today!!! We get to meet him tomorrow, so I don't really know anything about him. I am going to miss President Smith though. He blessed my life so much and gave me valuable counsel that I will remember for the rest of my life, but I know that President Kaluhiokalani will be great leader and I will come to love him just as much as I do President Smith.

That's about it for this week! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Transfers

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a good week!

Things have been heating up here in sunny St. George. So transfers are tomorrow and we know what's happening. Elder Wood is gone. He is going to be heading up to Gunnison and I am staying here. My new companion is going to be Elder Vann! I am excited for this next transfer!

Our new mission president also comes in next week so that is super exciting! As far as miracles this week, we have seen too many of them to count. 

I would like to share my experience with my Book of Mormon study. I made it a personal goal to read the entire Book of Mormon in the month of June. I finished it yesterday. I decided to take Moroni's challenge again and ask Heavenly Father if the book is true. 

I testify, yet again, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that anyone who truly studies this book and opens their heart to its message may receive this same confirmation. This work is the best work I have ever done, and I would not trade it for anything in the world. 

In the word's of our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson when speaking of the Book of Mormon compared to jewels and all worldly wealth, "Honestly, which is of greater worth to you?" I know that, for me, the Book of Mormon is worth more than all sums of money. That is why, not only do I not get paid to be out here telling people about it, but my family and I pay a total of $10,000 to do it. I am grateful for all the sacrifices that have been made for me to be here and for this great Book to go forth. 

I hope you all have a great week. I will talk to you all next week.

I would also like to give a shout out to my brother, Josh Francis, who leaves for the MTC tomorrow and is going to be serving in the Texas Fort Worth Mission Spanish speaking. I love him and am so proud of this decision which he has made. You'll do great out there brother.

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

We saw this super small praying mantis so I somehow got it to climb on my thumb and we got a cool picture.

The Book of Mormon

Howdy everyone!!! Just so you all know, transfers are next week and so my p-day will be on Tuesday.

This week has gone by so fast and I also hit my 10 month mark!!! It's crazy how fast it has gone. 

This month, I have been reading the Book of Mormon trying to finish it in just a month. It has been incredibly fun to read through it this fast, but I am also receiving so much revelation! It definitely shows that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I would like to share a little bit from my studies this week. 

I was reading in Alma chapter 8 where Alma, after having much success as a missionary, goes to the city of Ammonihah and the people spit on him and kick him out of the city. As Alma is walking along "being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul" an Angel appears to him and says, "Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God."

This scripture hit me very powerfully. Though I have not had to suffer nearly as much tribulation as Alma, or as many missionaries, there are always times of discouragement and disappointment on your mission. Though things may not be going your way, and you may be wading through your own furnace of afflictions, remember what this angel said. When we are keeping the commandments, we have "great cause to rejoice." No matter what is going on or how fierce your storm in life is, we all can find some reason to rejoice. 

I apologize for the long email this week, but I also wanted to share a story about a girl named Summer. A few weeks ago, as we were doing our weekly planning, we felt a prompting to head out to the edge of our area and contact a former investigator. We followed the prompting eventhough it was over 100 degrees outside. As we got to this door and knocked, no one answered. Though we were confused, we did not give up there but talked to some people who had just been talking outside. They told us about a young girl named Summer who was not a member of the church. 

We knocked on the door, met her, and set up a return appointment. Yesterday, we had our first lesson with her. In the lesson, she basically taught us the restoration and then said she wanted to be baptized. What is crazy to think about, is that we would never have even known this girl existed had we not followed the spirit. I know that Heavenly Father prepared this girl for us to be able to help and he guided us to her at the moment she was ready to receive us. 

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

We made some sugar cookies to give to one of our investigators.

This is our new mission president who will be coming in at the beginning of July.

Zion National Park

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a fantastic week! I appologize for my crappy email last week, we did not have a lot of time because we went to Zion National Park with a member family! It was so much fun and I have decided that I am definitly going to go there again sometime after my mission.

Not a lot happened this week. We have been spending quite a bit of time trying to find more people to teach. So far, it has yielded no fruit, but we have seen so many miracles. I would like to share one of them. 

It was near the end of a long day and we were doing some of our weekly planning. After doing about 1/3 of our planning, I felt as though something was wrong. I was confused and so I was about to pray and ask when I felt that, though what we were doing was good, it was not where we needed to be. I jumped right up and told my companion that we needed to head out to the edge of our area and talk to some leadership in one of our wards. My companion was confused because the temperature was about 95 outside and we were in the middle of planning, but I was already up and leaving so he had no choice but to follow.

As we ride down to the edge of our area, we tried to contact some of the people we had planned. None of them answered. I was confused because I knew that the Lord had led us to this area and so I wasn't ready to give up quite yet. I saw of group of people talking and so we went up and just started talking to them. They were all members, one of which was less active. As we got talking to him, he told us about his neighbor who had her sister living there and she was not a member. We decided we had nothing else to do, so we stopped by. This girls name is Summer. As we got talking to her, she said that she was really interested in having us come by and teach her. I don't yet know if this will lead to anything, but I know that the Lord is directing this work.

Other than the cool miracles, we had our interviews with our mission president. This is possibly the last time I will see President Smith on the mission, maybe ever. It was very bitter sweet.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Francis

Zone Conference

Hello everyone!!!

Things are continuing to be really good here in Washington!! The weather has been below 90° which is unusual. I think the Lord is just looking out for Elder Wood and I who are walking hahaha. We are still struggling to find more people to teach, but everything else is going really good. 

A few cool things happened this week. We had Zone Conference and I think it was a mission president's last one. When he and his wife got up to bear their testimonies, we all felt the spirit so strong. I know that they truly love us and I know that our new mission President coming in at the end of the month will love us as well.

Other than that, I went on an exchange with Elder Beazel and we took a fun picture. That's pretty much all that happened this week.

We are going to Zion National Park today so I'll have a bit more to talk about next week!

I hope you all have a great week!

Love

Elder Francis

Baluut!!

This week has been a great week!!!

Not much really happened, but we did get a great dinner this week where they fed us Balute (pronounced beh-loo). It is a Filipino meal where they fertilize a duck egg and then cook it kind of like a boiled egg. It is an interesting meal, and I took pictures and videos so all of you can experience it with me hahaha! 

This week I read a great scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that hit me pretty hard. It is in D&C section 105. A little background: Jackson County Missouri, the place where the Lord told the Saints to gather for Zion, has faced much persecution and most of the saints have been driven out. In Secton 103, the Lord told the saints to form an army battalion later called Zion's camp. These 200 men, after marching almost 1000 miles from Ohio to Missouri, recieved revelation in section 105 telling them that they should stop the March and go back. Many men did not like this, but the Lord told them this to help ease that:

"19 I have heard their prayers, and will accept their offering; and it is expedient in me that they should be brought thus far for a trial of their faith."

That is the context of the scripture, but it hit me very powerfully. Elder Wood and I have been working hard and praying even harder that we will be able to find the elect for Heavenly Father. This scripture seemed to me to be an answer to our prayers. Heavenly Father has accepted the work which we have given Him and he has consecrated it for our good. 

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!                                                            

Love,

Elder Francis

9 months already!?!?

Yep, if I was a sister, this would be my halfway point. With that in mind, I hit 9 months last week and I can't believe it! It doesn't even feel like I have been out that long, though I'm sure if you asked my mom she would say it has been an eternity hahaha.

This week was also transfers week, neither Elder Wood nor I got transfered! We are staying in Washington, together, and on bikes for another transfer! And no, I am not really that excited about the bike part but I'm staying optimistic.

I want to share a scripture from Ether 12, "6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I share this scripture because of the living proof we have of the principal. Last transfer, it seemed like everything was falling apart. Elder Wood and I were praying and working so hard trying to get things going, but everything kept falling through. We fasted, prayed, and knocked more non-member doors than you would think there are down here in Utah hahaha. We felt as though we were being tested, that our faith was being tried.

This week, being the start of this new transfer, has been amazing! It seems as though all of our hard work is paying off and we are able to run into all the people we have been trying to contact. The Lord is showering down a multitude of blessings upon us, and I know that it is, at least in part, due to our continual faith during our trials.

I don't have any pictures this week, but I do want to tell you all something. Don't give up. As Christ says to Joseph Smith in his furnace of afflictions, "7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." (D&C 121) 

Fortunately, none of us have to go through the amount of adversity and afflictions that Joseph Smith had to, but our trials, in light of our own circumstances and lives, can be just as serious and in as much need of divine help. I invite all of you to, when you are suffering your own few steps on that way to Calvary, to turn to him who walked the whole path even Jesus Christ. I have done so and I know that he can help.

Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Francis

Wait, the transfers almost over?!

That's right everyone. My first transfer with Elder Wood is almost at its end. It has been an amazing transfer full of miracles and growth on both of our parts. We have no idea whether we will stay together another transfer or get moved to a different area. We find that out tomorrow.

I want to talk to you about my experiences this transfer. We are on bikes which has increased my health quite substantially. Because we are on bikes, every day is physically demanding and I have truly learned the meaning of working hard and being diligent. Elder Wood and I have worked incredibly hard knocking doors, making contacts, teaching people, and just trying our hardest. 

What I want to talk about is discouragement and how it has no place in this work. Though we have worked very hard, prayed and fasted often, and been the most efficient we can be, our numbers continue to spiral downward into an all-time low. Many a missionary believes in the saying that "Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles" but I am worried they do not truly understand what that means. I know I didn't. 

We have the tendency to think that it means we will convert everyone. We will be a star missionary with the best numbers in the mission and the most "success". This is not true at all, and it is something I have been learning my entire mission so far. Our blessings do not always come in a physical or temporal manifestation. Looking back on the start of my mission however, I can see how those blessings have brought me to where I am. I have been able to grow exponentially spiritually and I attribute that to the ability to repent as well as my sincere desire to be obedient and diligent.

Does this mean I am perfect? Yes. Hahaha just kidding!! I am very far from perfect. There is and will always be only one perfect person.

Other than that thought, I just wanted to give a Mother's day shout-out to my mom. I'm sure most of you reading this can claim to having the best mom in the world, but my mom is the most perfect person I know in this world. No one has shown me more Christlike, unconditional, unwavering love. Even when I am far away, I can feel her love through many wonderful memories and experiences. I pray often that my future family can have a mother as great as mine was to me. I ascribe any success I have in my life to her who truly deserves that credit, my mother. Thank you mom for everything you do.

I hope you all have a great week! Sorry for the long one this week.

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

We had a baptism this Saturday for Braxtyn. Even when everything else seemed to be falling apart, there was light in that moment.

I found an albino Ladybug!

LARPing

This week has been super great! It's also flown by! We did not have any super cool experiences this week, but we did have zone conference!

President Smith will be finishing his time as mission president and will be released in early July, so we only have a couple more zone conferences with him. Man, I am going to miss him. He truly is such an inspired man. 

The highlight of this zone conference was Role Plays. To any of you who have served a mission, you know how awkward role plays can be. You either love them or you hate them. I am one who loves role plays and see the great value in them. My companion hates roleplays and doesn't like to do them hahaha. A good chunk of zone conference was devoted to how to have a successful roleplay. Elder Wood and I are excited to try and implement this into our teaching.

I do have a cool story about role plays that actually happened in my last area Richfield. We were talking to this active member family who had a next door neighbor who had an unbaptized 9 year old in the home. The member was telling us how she was nervous to talk to her neighbor because she didn't know what to say or how the conversation would go. A thought then popped into my head that we should tell her about role plays. We did and she and her husband practiced a few times before she went over. The unbaptized 9 yr old got baptized last week due to, in part, role plays.

A role play is where you act as someone, a non-member or someone else, and then your companion acts as a missionary and you practice a conversation. It does feel kind of awkward at times, but I have a great love for role plays and I know that they prepare us to feel the spirit. I can't count how many times we have done a role play in preparation for a lesson and had the lesson go exactly like the role play.

Anyway, that's all for this week! Keep on keeping on! Have a great week!

Elder Francis

Another Day of Sun in Sunny St. George

The title is a shout-out to my sister who loves the movie LaLa Land.

Not a whole lot happened this week, but we did go to Gun-Lock Reservoir for P-day and that was soooooo much fun!

I can't believe that April has already flown by. It seems like time just keeps flying by. It is also getting hotter here. Almost everyday was 90° outside. As it turns out, it is not a whole lot of fun to bike outside when it is that hot and you are wearing pants.

In my last area, one of the people I was working very close with were able to get baptized. His name was Jordan and I have a picture of him and the person who baptized him below. I mention this because it teaches two important lessons. First, someone is not converted by a missionary or missionaries, he is converted by the spirit. Our job as missionaries is just to help the spirit be present so that He can teach them. Second, a missionary is called into or out of an area for specific reasons. Though I worked very closely with this family, I left the area trusting that everything will work out because the Lord was watching over them. 

I wish I could have been there for the baptism, but I am so incredibly happy that he was able to make that decision to be baptized. I have grown so much in my faith and trust in the Lord because of this experience.

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Francis

Pictures:

This is some bread I made.

This was a big wolf spider we found outside our apartment.

This was Jordan at his baptism.

This is a gila monster (I think)

Those are some pictures from our hike.

Happy Easter!

This week has been super good... but not a lot has happened. This week has actually gone by super fast. 

We went on exchanges with our District Leader, and that's about all the really notable things that happened Haha. 

Easter Sunday was super cool! It was my first Easter on the mission and so it was very different than what I expected. My entire Easter was focused on the Savior and what he did for us. Though we always talked about the Savior during Easter time, it was never as much as on my mission. 

Sorry for the short email this week, but I got a few pictures to compensate

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Francis

Pictures:

A member took a picture of us on our bikes.

Another member took a picture at dinner.

We had a district p-day last week which was super fun.

Me holding my packages from my mom.

8 months already?

Today is my 8 month mark! I can't believe how fast time has flown by!

This week has been kind of busy, but really good and really rewarding. 

We had interviews with our mission president this week and they were uplifting and good as always! I can't get over the fact that I get to spend time with and receive advice from a truly inspired man. Before he was a mission president, he was a seventy, so he has some experience with revelation and the spirit hahaha.

After that, we had a fun experience where we were in a trio for a day or so. Elder Kitchen was with Elder Wood and I for a day while his companion had to go up North for some medical stuff and so we got a car for a whole 24 hours! Best 24 hours of the transfer, hahaha just kidding, but it was really nice. 

We also had a baptism this Saturday for a young boy named Jaerick! His dad was able to baptize him which we were really happy about. They had over 70 people, both family and ward members, attend the baptism. It was a really cool baptism and I'm glad I got to be apart of it, even if it was just the last few steps.

Elder Wood and I have been getting along very well and we are working hard together! I feel so happy about the work which I am able to give to the Lord. I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Transfers and Conference

This week has been crazy busy!

So, transfers were this Wednesday and I got transfered to the Washington stake!!! That's right, the neighboring stake to my first area!! I didn't think I would be so close to my alma mater, but I'm not complaining! My new companion is Elder Wood, he has only been out for one transfer which means that this is a new experience for the both of us.

It was hard saying goodbye to all the great families I got to work with in Richfield, but I am so excited to be down here in Washington! Elder Wood and I are very excited to work hard and teach repentance.

Speaking of teaching repentance, how did everyone like General Conference?!?! I loved President Nelson in the priesthood session when he said, "We all need to repent." Haha! It seemed like there was so much needed chastening this conference which makes me think that the second coming is near! Although conference was great, it was not what everyone was expecting, but that's because everyone was expecting a major change to missionary work and nothing happened Haha! 

Overall, I have had a pretty great week! It has been a lot different because we are now on bikes and this is my first biking area, but it has been really good.

Turns out, the church is true! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Francis

Pictures:

That is my new district.

That is a goodbye picture with the Steele's and elder Harper.

That is my new companion.

That is my new mailing address.

Those are our bikes.

18 month missions?

How is everyone doing?!

We have had a great week here in Richfield, Utah! We had a baptism for Braxton and it went very well. He is such a fun kid to teach!

So transfers are this Wednesday and I have a feeling a might be getting transferred. We won't find out until Tuesday what is going to happen, but I have a sinking feeling. I would love to stay in this area, but I'd also be okay with leaving. I have been here for 4 and a half months so far and it keeps getting better. If I stay, I will get to see some of the baptisms that I have worked so hard toward. If I leave, I will get to see some change and I won't have to worry about a lot of things anymore. So, it's a toss up hahaha.

General Conference is only a week away! I am so excited to hear from inspired Prophets and Apostles of the true church of Jesus Christ. We have heard many, many rumors about big announcements that might be made at conference. The biggest of which is that Elder will serve for 18 months instead of two years. This is still a rumor, so we don't put a lot of trust in it, but it is possible. 

We have seen many miracles this week and it has taught me a few things that I want to share with you. First, the Lord blesses Diligence and Obedience. Elder Harper and I have been working hard this week and it is because of that that we have seen many miracles. Second, the Lords ways are not our ways...

I have a story. So, we stopped by this non-member household to see if they would be interested. It was a good contact, but they were super busy and so we left. As we were driving away, Elder Harper and I looked at each other and we said, "Are you feeling like we need to go back?" We pulled over and prayed and felt like we really needed to go back to that house and knock it again... so, we did. We had no idea what we were going to say, but we did it. As we made the contact again... nearly the same thing happened and they were still not interested hahaha. So, why were we asked to knock on the door again? Well, I do not know the exact reason but I do have some theories. We were showing Heavenly Father that he could trust us and that we would listen to his promptings even if they seemed illogical. It also might have been to give that family another chance to accept the gospel in their lives. It was still a good contact, so I know that it was inspired, but it wasn't what we expected hahaha.

Other than all this, the work is going good!

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Francis

That is Elder Harper and his Chinese food.

That is Braxton at his baptism.