Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Week of December 23, 2013

Brennan did not say much in his E-mail because we get to skype on Thursday....YEAH!!!! so excited to see him.  He did send pictures of him.  He also wanted me to tell you all 
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
and that he loves you all.

Here are pictures of his Christmas Party with the Mission President and his wife and Elder Franks zone.





Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Week of December 16, 2013

Dear Family,
Hey it's super good to hear from you guys.  Boy what a week we've had.  So this past week we went to Barranquilla Monday and Tuesday, we went to a clinic there all day.   My companion has been pretty sick but more than anything its been his mental state.  I've called the president almost every night to talk to him about Elder D, he the good thing is he is doing much better.  I believe that he has decided to stay but we will just have to see what Christmas brings.  He is a really good Elder and has a good spirit. So on Wednesday it was normal day, Thursday we went back to Barranquilla for my toe and returned the next day. The rest of Friday and Saturday we worked normally and yesterday was Sunday. It's been a little of a challenging week and to top it all off we have like 5 investigators. I know I shouldn't be but I've been a little stressed. So I hope that this week will be a little better.  I've just got to keep working, there is just not any other solution but work work work. 
Well thanks everyone for telling me that I'm fat ha ha, no I am but I've also lost alot of weight in the past week or so. Everyone tells me including some of the missionaries that I came out with, have said that I'm skinner.  I'm really trying to go back to the way I was before. 
Yes the girl got confirmed and we are teaching another lady named Maria and she is doing really well, she has stopped completely drinking coffee, but she needs to go to church, so we are working on that.
So with skyping.  I would really like to do it on Christmas but I'm not sure if there is a place that is open that day,  Mom I will talk with you more about that and we have till the beginning of January to skype.  I want to be sure to see you ALL there.
Anyway's I know that this is not the best letter in the world but I love you all.
Love Elder Franks

Monday, December 9, 2013

Week of December 9, 2013

Hey my grand family,
So first off I want to say that we had another baptism this weekend but the girl didn't get confirmed. She had alot of problems with her family and she didn't want to do it, but after alot of help from some members she is ready and we are going  to finish next Sunday. Her name is Brigite PiƱeros.
We had a big meeting and all of the missionaries met with a general authority but he is just the president from the area it was really good. With transfers well my new area is........Cartagena buenos aires......haha its the same. I'm still in the same area after 6 and a half months.  
I'm training. my "son" is from Guatemala. which is sweet. He is 22 years old and he is a man of faith. He has been struggling alot, oh his name is Elder Diaz. Anyway I say that because he and his grandpa are the only member in his family.  His mom passed away one month before he came out and he doesn't have any support from almost no one. its been a good learning experience for both him and me.

So I wanted to send some pictures of the food we eat here. So one is of some chicken that I ate in a passion fruit sauce. It was really good
and the other of fish, it is probably my favorite food here.
I also ate one of a fish fillet, it was incredible.  And this is my "hijo" too.


love you guys and I'm always thinking about you.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Week of December 2, 2013



Dear Family,
Hey so how is everyone doing? First off I forgot to tell you that we had a baptism like two Saturdays ago, it was the mom of the two teenagers that we had taught and baptized. She was sooooo ready ha and the cool thing was she asked me to baptize her. She didn't even ask her son which would have been better but it was still really neat. They are almost an entire family baptized, a family that can one day go to the temple. I really love this family a ton, it's going to be hard to leave them.  





Another thing this week is transfers, I don't know if I'm staying or going but we have them and for sure my companion is leaving, hes super!!!!!!!!!! trunky. It's been hard to work this past week and he just doesn't care about any of the rules anymore, so it's been hard. 
Oh ya so our big thanksgiving here........ oh wait we didn't have one haha,  they don't really celebrate that here, everybody knows what it is but its not important, that's alright I really don't need a whole lot more food, I'm already fat as it is, I don't know how much I weigh but I have a neck chin thing like Elder Holland, haha maybe it just for those people who are super wise. Today we are going back to the restaurant to eat again and then we are going bowling. Should be fun.
I love you guys and I

will tell you all about transfers next week. love you lots
LOVE from Cartagena,
Elder Franks

Monday, November 11, 2013

Week of November 11, 2013

Hey my Family,
so as I'm sure you all know, we were stuck in our house all this week. and had nothing to do except for watch movies and study........ and lets just say that I'm glad its over. no but i liked it. i was able to study alot and we got to relax alittle. really i learned even more the importance of being obedient. i also got to watch a few new movies that I've never seen before or I watched when I was like 5. 
The best part of the week was Friday, we have a friend I guess you could say, that works in the offices for institute and the offices are in our church building. Anyway we planned to have a BBQ with him and the first counselor of the bishopric. it was sweet because it was a mix between a Colombian and an Argentinean BBQ. In Argentina they basically only eat meat and so we ate, the 6 of us, ate 3 kilos of meat and ya that was it, it was spectacular. 
Sunday as well was nice, really peaceful. I got to study Jesus the Christ for most of the day. 
Oh ya it was kind of a good thing that we were in the house because we basically didn't have any members here the whole week. Its way different here with trips to the temple, the people here can only go once a year. and it costs alot to go. They sacrifice so much, that's another thing I have learned alot, is really how lucky I am to live where I live, to speak the language I speak, and to be able to live in a town where almost everyone is active in the church.
I love you guys alot and can't wait to hear from you next week. Thanks for all your love and support. Until next week,

Love from Colombia,
Elder Franks

P.S. sorry I know its not the best but i am just terrible with writing.


Monday, November 4, 2013

Week of November 4, 2013

Dear Family,
Just so you know we had p-day Saturday, we are going to be locked up in our house for a week, so we won't be able to write on Monday or anything.
Hope all is well with the family.
Talk to you next week.
Love you guys so much.
Elder Franks

Week of October 28, 2013



Hey my grand family. 
How is everything?  First off I am still in the same area, Cartagena. I've been here for 6 months now. I am excited that I didn't get transferred, I didn't want to leave para nada, so it's all good.  We haven't had anything grand happen this week. but are investigators are progressing pretty well. We should be having some bautismos coming up.
   Next Monday until Friday or Saturday we will be in the house because here in November they have a huge celebration in Cartagena and its dangerous for us to be in the street, but all is good and don't worry so we will either be in the house for that week or we will go to Barranquilla for that week. we don't know yet. 
   Brit asked me some questions and I will answer them to everyone. the weirdest things I've eating here is first, cow stomach. and I've eatin shark, alot of fish, they eat iguana here as well, but I haven't eatin it yet or ants.
   As for my best experience so far. We baptized a young man and two weeks later he was able to baptise his sister,  that was a moment that all I could think of was. "this is why I'm serving a mission"  I've really had alot of cool experiences that I will tell you about when I get home.  
   The worst experieces that I have had is probably what all missionaries experience and that is when you talk to someone about the church and they accept a Book of Morman and they read the whole thing but than they don't want anything to do with the church.  You think they are golden but than you get disappointed because they quit and don't what to hear any more. That happened to us in one of my area's, it was in my second area I don't know if i told you guys about it but we had a guy read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the conference issues of the Liahona from last October and all the pamphlets that we have and he didn't want to pray about it, so we had to stop teaching him.  Hopefully one day he will want to learn and get baptized.
   The family I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, the father has decided that he doesn't want to learn any more about the church but his wife wants to get baptized so we are still working on him so that they can get baptized together.  
  All is good in Cartagena. It is p-day none of us elders have any money, so we are at the church playing ping pong and killing time.  We have done our laundry this morning and now we are just writing letters.  I hope all is well with my family.
Elder White says hi,he's an elder from my group and we are really good friends.
Love you all.
Love from Cartagena,
Elder Franks

Monday, October 21, 2013

Week of October 21, 2013


                                       I am guessing that this is his zone. What is up with the hat?


Buenas mi Familia,
a mi familia toda hermosa. so im good. we have transfers this week and im feel that ya me voy(that im leaving) but no if i go it will be really hard and sad. We have some really strong people that we are teaching and I would really like to be here for the baptisms but its not my work but the Lords.
Oh so I have to tell you, we started to teach this guy, he 22 and he can speak almost perfect English. He is way cool and really has some good desires. He just works all the time and so attendence will be hard, but we are working on it.  He is reychevere(really cool).  It will be interesting to see what happenes. 
Not much is new here, the time is just going by so fast that I feel like I just don't have time to take it all in but I'm loving every second of it.
I love you guys and Im so thanksful for your support. 
I will talk to ya all next week.
Love 
Elder Franks

Monday, October 14, 2013

**THE START OF YEAR TWO** October 14, 2013



Dear Familia,

So I have a great story this week, we have been teaching a family for along time, a wife, husband and a little 2 year old girl who is just as precious as can be. Anyway before, we weren't putting forth much effort to teach the husband but now we are and they both are progressing. the only thing is that they have a problem going to church, it is super frustrating anyway we visited them on Saturday at 3:00 and everything was good. Then the husband went to work at 5:00 later that day. They love feeding us and the wife, Ena made something for us but it want not quite done. She told us to return at later on that night.  When we returned,she was just bawling and wailing. I thought, you've got to be kidding me what happened with Foustino her husband. We talked to her and through her tears she told us that Foustino was killed.  I can't even begin to describe the feelings I had,  here we had a really great family and the unimaginable happen.  So we comforted her and left because she went to the clinic to identify him.  The next morning, sunday, we tried all morning calling her to see if it really was true because the night before we didn't have any evidence. So all morning she didn't answer her phone. All through church we were worried and all I did was think about them. After we ate lunch, we went directly to her house, we rounded the corner to their street and we saw the bishops motorcycle outside. We walked alittle closer and we saw Foustino sitting outside. Again I can't begin to tell you the relief that I had.  Turns out that it was all just a misunderstanding. todo bien.
anyway Im fine, happy and healthy.  It's crazy that this week I will have one year in the mission. it's so fast.
I gtg but love you guys and can't wait to hear from you next week

Love from Cartagena,
Elder Franks