New Companion, Same Old Area

Hi

Well I don’t know what to talk about this week so I guess ill tell you about my new companion!

So my new companions name Is Elder Drake Watkins from Provo Utah. He is a great guy and he knows more about the gospel and the scriptures than 97% of everyone I know. In the past four days I have already learned so much from him it is crazy. But, I love it and I love learning so it is really fun. In the four days that we have been together we have already found 3 new investigators and taught over 20 lessons! He is a hard worker and Loves what he does, for some reason I have just gotten lucky with my last two companions to get to really good missionaries. 

So we had another cool experience at the Spanish AA meetings that we have been attending. Saturday night they pointed at us and asked us if we wanted to get up and talk again So for some reason I volunteered right away and went up and this time I talked about the addiction recovery program/booklet that the church has and how it goes hand in hand with The AA beliefs and traditions. Then bore my testimony about the love of God and Jesus Christ. By the time I sat down I looked up at the clock and saw that somehow I had talked for 15 minutes again all in Spanish. Then Elder Watkins went up and did a similar type thing and It was really cool because afterwards we had a few of the people come up to us and we talked for a good while about the program the church has and they asked if we could get them some and build some more solid relationships in the Spanish community in this area. Elder Watkins and I have a goal to really push for working with more Spanish this transfer, which is great because I love learning the language and I love the people. 

Tim’s baptism is coming up in less than two weeks and I am super excited for him. He has come so far since we tracted into him in September. He has a different light about him and he is happier with his life even though the trials in his life have gotten harder. 

Doug and Jessica are awesome. We worked with the ward in getting them assigned home teachers and Doug and Jessica are super excited about it! They have come to church the last 13 weeks and are pretty much members of the ward minus being baptized. That will happen in a few months probably after I am gone. But, I have loved being able to teach them. 

Also, the other night I jumped up to grab the pull up bar that we have in our apartment and it came of and hit me on my nose and cut it open, lol. But, luckily us missionaries are experts medics and had super glue and were able to super glue it shut instead of getting stitches ha-ha. Good times. 

Well, Being a missionary is hard but it is also the greatest thing at the same time. I love all of the funny, weird, cool and amazing experiences that I have had. I love the Gospel and the knowledge and blessings it brings. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for our Savior Jesus Christ and his Atonement. 

The Church is true and the book is blue! 

Love you all! 

Elder Frandsen

Transfers... Elder Ogle is leaving me :,(

Hi,

     I can’t believe that it has been 6 months. 1/4 of my time serving the lord has already flown by and I get the feeling that it is only going to get faster from here. Also, It is transfers this week and Elder Ogle is getting transferred:,( I will miss him a lot. He has been an amazing trainer, Example, companion and friend this past almost 5 months that we have been together. I appreciate all he has done. My next companion will be coming tomorrow! His name is Elder Watkins. I have met him one time previously and He was really nice and seemed like a good guy so I am excited to see how it goes. 

Well anyways this week has been all over the place. It has been snowing constantly and we have probably had over 3 feet of snow in the last week. The thing about serving a mission is that it doesn’t matter if it snows 3 feet we are still outside walking around ha-ha. So this past week has been the most tiring week of my life. I have never been so excited to go to bed at night We walked 10 miles in one day to meet with one person and that ended up being our whole day because It took so long to walk there and back in the snow. But that is okay because I made sure to dress warm and I looked like a walking marshmallow walking down the street. So that is pretty much how the week went. Walk. Snow. Walk. Snow some more. Walk some more. Sleep. But we did find a new investigator who has accepted to be baptized near the end of February. His name is Leonard and he is a Former member of the Rlds church and He already has a testimony of the book of Mormon but he has decided that he needed to switch churches because of an experience he had. There are so many people that we are working with right now And It makes me nervous because with Elder Ogle leaving I am the one who knows the area and all the people So hopefully I am able to help my next companion with getting to know these people as well. But I know that if I try my hardest that it will be all right. All of our investigators are progressing and doing great and I pray that it stays that way. 

    This week we also had A Mission Conference and Elder Gong of the 70 came and spoke to us. It is really cool to get to talk with someone like that face to face and ask him questions and learn from him. It helps to rejuvenate all the missionaries and get out and work harder. The gospel is amazing and has some much potential to change us and make us a better, happier person with a sense of peace that can only be found through Jesus Christ and not the world. By being patient and allowing the Atonement of Jesus Christ to work in our lives we can change, forgive, love, find forgiveness, find peace and find help no matter what the situation is. It is something that we use everyday. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and for his patience with me and helping me to change, just as I know he can and will do with any person that lets him. I Know that this gospel is true and that God Knows and loves each and every one of us. His plan for us is perfect and works for every single person.

Well, I love and miss you all. I hope that we can all find our place in this world and come to find out how Gods plan works for us. Have a great week! 

Elder Frandsen

Me, Elder Olgle, 

Well anther week has come and gone.

January 11, 2016

Sunset on Lake Erie

I wish I could tell you all every single that happens every week, especially this one But that would take to long and I would probably bore you all to sleep so I guess I will just tell a few exciting things.

Well here is how my Week went.

Tuesday: It is always a good feeling when people tell us that they can tell we are different and have a different light to us than others. That is always a confirmation that we as a companionship are doing the right thing. But anyways, we met with a less active man named Edson Chavez; he is the brother of Spencer Chavez whom we are currently working with him and his wife. Edison if from Mexico and was very active when he was younger but when he got here and he had that language barrier it was really hard so he hasn’t come to church for a while. But we have a man in the ward who speaks fluent Spanish and can help fellowship and Edson was super excited about that and said he would love to come to church with his little family now. 

Wednesday: We went on exchanges. I was with Elder Bettridge for the day. He is from Cedar city Utah and is the zone leader. He is a super nice guy and he taught me a lot in the short time that we were together. We met with Derek who is one of our progressing investigators with a baptismal date. We had a member come along with us and they got along great. The member really helped Derek to understand the role of prophets. But at the end of the lesson for some reason Derek started talking about his "Pimp Days" back when he was in his 20's and said his friend put some LSD in his drink and the next thing he knew he thought he could perform a miracle and walk on water. Hahaha I love the people out here. But I love seeing how anyone, no matter what walk of life you are from, can be changed by the gospel and how the spirit can touch anyone. 

Thursday: The Bishop Came teaching with us to Doug and Jessica. It was a very powerful lesson for both them and us. Jessica has been trying to quit smoking and had made it a week and then caved and she was pretty sad about it but this is just what she needed. She was ready to keep trying by the end of the lesson and it was awesome. They are such awesome people and again with their background and everything it just tells me that god loves all of his children and knows them personally. 

Friday: We met with a less active for the first time that had moved into the ward like 6 months ago. He came to church Sunday and when we asked him about it he said that he has missed that feeling that comes from going to church and he and his girlfriend both need that in their lives. So they have agreed to meet with us and for her to start taking the discussions here! We hadn’t even planned on going and visiting him but the other elders were sick and not using the car and we had a little extra time before an appointment so we both just felt like we should go visit him. There are no coincidences. 

Saturday: We met with this young Spanish family for the second time and had an awesome lesson! I still have a hard time understanding what some of these people say because they are all from different places and have different accents loll. These people are from Puerto rice and talk 2 million miles an hour but it is all good because somehow I was able to understand just enough to teach the lesson with Elder Ogle. They are super nice people and want to find something good for their family that has good values and will help their children grow up around good people. So they love that our church is very family centered. Slowly but surely our Spanish teaching pool is growing into more solid investigators. I hope I am in this area long enough to see more come of it :)

Sunday: We had Spencer, Raquel, and Doug And Jessica all come to church! We have finally had a Spanish investigator come to church! After all the hard work of finding and teaching it is paying off. They loved church and Spencer was very happy at the fact that there was someone there to translate sacrament for him. 

Well, That’s all I have time to write this week. I know that the gospel is true. I know that the lord knows and loves us and always has his hand reached out to help us if we let him. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that the church is the same no matter where you are at in the world. I am so thankful for the Gospel and the Atonement. I am thankful for a loving family. I am thankful for this opportunity to serve a mission and serve the people of Cleveland. 

Love you all! 

Elder Frandsen

Me, Elder Ogle, Doug and Jessica

Good Start To A New Year!

January 4, 2016

Hello friends!                                   

Hope you all had great holidays. 

Here is how my week went! 

Monday: We met this man named Derek on the way back from Emailing at the Library and he invited us over that night to tell him more about what we do. So we went over that night and had a great lesson with him and we met with him later on in the week and had another great lesson and we committed him to be baptized at the end of February! That was one of the cool miracles that happened this week.

Tuesday: We have been attending these Spanish AA meetings and this time after the meeting we got to talking with one of the members and he said he was really interested to know more about what we teach and invited us to come over to his house to have dinner with his family on new years eve but it was at 9:30 so we weren’t able to go :( but it is a step forward by getting to know more Spanish people in the area.

Wednesday: just another day out in Ohio.

Thursday: New Years Eve! Well it was just like any other day except that there were a few more drunk people outside than usual. 

Friday: We met with Derek and we had a great lesson and we really helped him to understand the importance of the priesthood and why it was restored and what that means for us today and he loved it. So when we explained to him what baptism meant as well he said that he would want to have that so we invited him to be baptized on February 27th and he said yes!

Saturday: So when we went to the Spanish AA meeting again The leader guy in the middle of the meeting looks over at me and elder ogle and says one of you come up here and tell us about yourselves so I ended up going up and this was all in Spanish and I had no clue what I should say because I am not a recovering Alcoholic So I ended up talking about what we do as missionaries and about the beliefs of the church and How I was happy for the opportunity to come to the meetings and be surround by people who are wanting to and changing their lives. Then I taught about the book of Mormon and the power of prayer. I was probably up their talking for 15 minutes and I know the gift of tongues is real because when I sat down I really couldn’t remember what I said and how I said it but it worked out! 

Sunday: We Got to meet with Raquel and Spencer again (the Spanish couple) And after the lesson we committed her to be baptized on march 12th and she said yes! And they want their baby to get a name and a blessing in sacrament in April because Spencer is a returning member and we are working with him to get the Melchizedek priesthood. Also earlier in the afternoon we committed our investigator Darla to be baptized at the beginning of March and she said yes. We met her Two weeks ago out side a gas station and we have taught her twice and she has progressed really fast. 

This week was awesome. We set a goal so that by the end of next week we have 7 people committed to be baptized. We have all these people that we have been working with these last couple months that are finally able to meet more regularly and hopefully this will help the ward to see new people coming in and get them more excited about doing more missionary work. 

Well, I love Ohio. I love this Area and the people in it. I love having a great companion who works hard. And I love being a missionary. 

Esparo Que ustedes todo tengan exito por el año de 2016! Con Amor, 

Elder Frandsen

HI! 12/28/2015

This is a picture of Lafe on our computer on Christmas Day.

         So much happens every week but as soon as I sit down to write about it I just forget everything. Oh well.

So I'll just talk about a couple of the things that I remember really well,

1. On Tuesday we had a return appointment with a Spanish Investigator but he did not end up being home so we just started walking without talking to each other about where we were going and the next thing we know we have walked to this apartment complex that we have knocked every door and had no clue why we had both just walked there but we kept on walking and then the next thing we know we have this lady who flags us down (this never happens usually they walk the other way) and the first thing that she says is " Are you from the latter day saints and if so do you have on of your books that I can have?" and of course Elder Ogle and I were shocked because that never happens but we gave her a book of Mormon and came to find out that her grandma was a member of the church and had just recently passed away a couple weeks prior and she said that her grandma was so at peace and happy with her life when she died that it had made Felicia want to have that same thing in her life and her grandma said it was because of the church that she was happy. So Felicia wanted to know more and we just happened to walk right into her right after all this had happened. In the right place at the right time. I am excited to see how this goes with Felicia and I am grateful for a loving heavenly father that knows all of us personally.

2.  Christmas! Getting the opportunity to talk with everyone and see my family was awesome! I was worried before hand that it would make me homesick for the next couple of days but it actually made me more excited to be on a mission and that I am doing exactly what I need to be doing at this point in my life. I am grateful for such amazing people that support me and I am grateful for a loving family and great examples. 

I am also grateful for ward members who are kind enough to let us come over on Christmas and spend it with them. Christmas Night we went out as a district and went caroling. Overall I would say it was one of my favorite Christmas days. 

3. We had a baptism in the ward this week that we as missionaries were put in charge of getting everything ready for... that was interesting. But it ended up all working out and being a really awesome experience! Elder Strickland and I were in the font to help the lady get baptized and both times that I have been able to do that it has been a really spiritual experience. Elder Ogle and I had to sing a song in front of everyone which surprisingly I wasn’t to freaked out about... If I had been asked 3 months ago to sing in front of 30 people alone I would have probably tried to find some kind of excuse as to why I couldn’t do it but now it wasn’t even a problem. I don’t know where the change of attitude came from but I guess I will just go with it! 

4.Spanish! So a couple weeks ago I rededicated myself to doing all that I can to learn more Spanish and find more Spanish investigators so now when ever I see someone who I think might speak Spanish I will go and talk to them, even if they are across the street ha-ha. But ever since I started doing this I have seen my Spanish grow a lot and we have been teaching so many more Spanish lessons! I know that the gift of tongues is real and it is one of the coolest things I have experienced in my life. I love talking to the Spanish people in their language and being able to just talk to them about themselves and get to know them for 15 minutes standing at their doorstep and then teaching them something about the gospel or teaching them the short version of the restoration. Plus we Met this one guy who invited us to come to a Spanish AA meeting and said we could sit in and just listen if we wanted to and we got permission from the mission president to do this and so now during the week when we don’t have any appointments for the last hour of the night we go to this Spanish AA meeting and we have made some really good friends from this and It helps with learning and understanding Spanish. 

5. We met with the bishop and talked about the ward mission plan this week and he has agreed to let us make some changes and to give the missionaries a 5th Sunday lesson to help the ward to get going with the new plan. I hope that this will help the members to see that they can be missionaries as well and can help the missionaries more than any other tool we have. 

Well it was a good week. I love it here in the Cleveland Ohio mission. I love the people. I love my companion. I love the gospel. 

Stay Classy

Con Amor 

12/21/15 Well I only have like 5 minutes to write today so I don’t have a whole lot to say...

This past week has been really fun even If it is hard to meet with people right now because they are gone or really busy. 

This winter has been really warm which is not something that happens here... I am definitely not complaining though! But it finally snowed this week and we walked all day long and I probably had to many layers on because I was dying of stuffy heat by the end of the day.

Christmas is different as a missionary. No family or friends and you are with a companion all day every day that you have only known for a couple months. But this year has been one of my favorite and not because of presents, family time, or anything that is usually mentioned with Christmas but because I get to tell people about the gospel and a message that can help their families become closer and happier. So that they can have a better Christmas and really understand what Christmas is all about. It is a completely different type of happiness when you serve others but I feel more joy doing it than ever before.

I am so thankful for the gospel and the happiness that it brings to all who are willing to live by its teachings. I am thankful for families. I am thankful for great examples. 

If you haven’t had the chance yet, you should go and watch the two Christmas videos that the church has made this year they are really cool :)

Love you all! 

Merry Christmas! 

Elder Frandsen

Hola ! Un Dia a Vez. 12/14/15

Hola !  Un Dia a Vez.      12/14/15

 Wow another week gone by! The days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days.

Well I finished up my training this past week and I am super excited to get another 6 weeks with Elder Ogle and Hopefully another 3 months in this area.

Well here is how my week went!

Wednesday: Elder Strickland finally got his new companion so now we arent in a triple up anymore! His new companion is from American Samoa  and is awesome! We dont have the car again so we had an appointment at one end of our area in the afternoon and another on the complete opposite side at night so we walked like 15 miles but the weather has been really good so it wasnt too bad. We met with brother Salamone again and again we had another great lesson with him and are making progress each week. He told us his life story and he has lived one of the craziest lives I have ever heard. It is really cool the types of people that I meet each day.

Thursday: We had a lesson with Doug and Jessica and everytime we meet with them it takes me by surprise just how much happier they look from even the week prior! Their friends have been noticing as well and have been asking them why they are so much happier now and they have been talking with their friends about the gospel and they are inviting them to come over and take the missionary lessons with them which is a dream come true as a missionary haha. But it is so cool to watch people change their lives and follow Christ and His teachings. I am so thankful for this experience.

Friday: We started teaching this super baptist lady named Phillis and we were challenged as a mission to invite everyone to be baptized the first time that you really sit down and teach them a lesson. So, Elder Ogle and I did just that and we ended up having a really powerful first lesson and we invited her to be baptized at the end and she accepted! We have another lesson with her later this coming week and we will see what happens from there. Another cool experience, so we had a lesson with Tim and at our last lesson with him we commited him to pray everyday and that he would be blessed because of it. So when we followed up on the commitment he shared with us how every time that he has prayed he gets this super peaceful feeling and he is happier during work and it has been really cool! He is super excited to be baptized. Again it builds my testimony everytime that i see an investigator keep commitments and they are blessed because of it. 

Saturday: So we had a meeting with a Spanish investigator and they called us and said they wanted to have dinner with us which is unusual but super awesome! She had met with missionaries before but she was pregnant and had 2 jobs and her husband was working full time as well so they couldn't find a whole lot of time to meet. So now that everything has calmed down they are super excited to meet with us again and after dinner she shared with us how she has seen the love that her husband's family has for each other and the good values that they have and how she wants that for her young family as well and how she wants to be sealed in the temple with her husband and child! He hasn't come to church for a while because he only speaks spanish but she speaks really good english and wants to translate for him and she also shared how she wants her son to serve a mission. This is a huge step forward in moving the work forward with the spanish work in this area! And it is so cool to find someone who is so ready to hear the gospel! This week has been full of all kinds of miracles.

Sunday: We had another Spanish lesson with a member there which was really cool! We have had 3 lessons in Spanish and my spanish has really improved this week just from having some one there to help teach me more. This week has flown by but there has been so  much that happened and so many miracles. 

I know the church is true and that by living by its principles and teachings that we can find peace and joy. We can find that extra strength that we need to get through the really big challenges in life. Jesus knows exactly what we went through and wants to help us through our challenges but we have to let him. Alma 7:11-13 have come to mean a lot to me as I have been on my mission. I love this gospel. I love this mission. I love my companion. I love my family.

Love you all! Dios Bendiga.

Elder Frandsen