Charity Never Faileth

Posterity picture (Elder Ogle , grandpa, Me, dad, Elder Cortez, Son) and the last time I will see Elder Ogle before he goes home this month :(( 

Hi,

Here are a couple to start out...

Q:  Who puts the leaves back on the trees in Spring?

A:  The Re-leaf Society. 

Q:  Why didn't the BYU football team have a good season?

A:  Every time they earned 10 yards, they had to give one back for tithing. 

Well here in an update from the week:

1. On Tuesday we had the mission wide Christmas conference at Kirtland and it was awesome but sad at the same time... I realized that I won’t be seeing a lot of those people again because I will be home before next year’s conference and a lot of the people I have served around go home in the next two transfers :(( It was pretty cool though, we got to have the big main meeting in the Kirtland temple which is always a cool experience.

2. Let's see, Mike, Lisa, and Kenji are doing great right now! Mike got interviewed for the priesthood yesterday and next week he will be receiving it... Lisa did family history with the Bishop and found a bunch of names and a line that goes all the way back to the 1400's and Kenji is still Kenji. They are really excited to be able to go to the temple in a couple weeks with the ward. It is always so cool to watch as the ward continues to welcome them in as a part of their ward family.

3. Sonja is still the most prepared person I have ever met... It is crazy that within the short time I have been here, that I have watched her go from non-member to fully involved active member who is fulfilling a calling. She is excited to be able to go to the temple with the ward in a couple weeks as well.

4. Jonathan Bozman got confirmed on Sunday and it went really well... His cousins Nikki and Savannah , the 2 new investigators we picked up a couple weeks ago, came as well. We have been able to teach them half of the discussions this week and they have kept all of the commitments we leave. They told us how they feel so much better when they read and pray every day and how they are excited to be baptized in a couple weeks... The simple things of just reading and praying a little bit each day can make a sudden impact in our lives and yet so many of us cant make time because we are too busy to do those things. 

5. Longhui and Angelina... They are both progressing really well and this week we have been reviewing lessons we taught in the past and their mom said she will be in town next week and wants to talk to Longhui first about being baptized before it happens.  She said that she feels it would be a good decision for him to make. So hopefully she will continue to feel that way. 

6. Last night Elder Cortez and I got to go to the Toledo zoo lights with a member’s daughter and husband because a couple weeks ago we were over at the mom/s house doing service and got to talk with the daughter and helped her with some stuff She said that she wanted to do something nice for the missionaries so she took us with her family to the zoo Christmas lights and it was pretty sweet... Who knows, maybe ten years down the road they will run into some other missionaries and they will be ready then to learn more and what not. 

7. It snowed a little bit this week and it was the first time that Elder Cortez has seen snow.   Let's just say after about 5 minutes of it he decided that he doesn’t like snow, Hahaha Poor kid... I can’t wait to see what he does when he wakes up one morning and there is a foot of snow outside on the ground. 

Well that is all for the week! It went by really fast... But then again so have the last 17 months. Something that stuck out to me from my studies this week and for the previous couple weeks is the importance of charity in all the things we do. Moroni 7:40-48 teaches me something new each day as I think about it and what it means and how I can apply it. If we aren’t doing the things we do each day for others out of charity, then it is for nothing and we are missing the point. When Christ asks us to become more like him and our father in heaven, he talks before that about how we need to love, so as we strive to become more like Christ we will become more loving and care about others and not just about ourselves. I am grateful for the scriptures and all the things that they have taught me. 

Love you all! Don’t forget to read your scriptures :)

Until next week, 

Elder Frandsen 

​Picture with President Brown

Home town pride (Sister Green is from Spanish Fork) 

​Tongan pride and some of my favorite people

Twinkie Regan

Thanksgiving… some change of plans... and some more change of plans...

November 28, 2016

This wonderful family had Lafe and his companion for Thanksgiving dinner.
Lafe sent a message through them:
Hey Ma, Tell the fan I say Happy Thanksgiving and I miss and love all of you.
Thanksgiving was great and I am doing well :)
Love Ya!   Lafe

Hey fam,

Hope the Turkey and pie treated you well!

Q: How many Mormons does it take to change a Light bulb?

A: One to preside... One to conduct... One to say the opening prayer... One to bring the jello salad.... 

I’m running out of jokes here... (probably a good thing) 

Anyways, Here is a run down of how the week went:

Sonja: Still killing it.. She is super awesome. 

Mike Lisa and Kenji: Well... It was an interesting week to say the least. Mike is struggling with an illness right now and so it is making things pretty hard for him and this week was a struggle to say the least. Full of up and downs but at the end of it all, he was able to come to church and get confirmed. It was a good experience for him and will hopefully be something he can rely on to get him through all of this. He has definitely made a lot of changes as he found the Gospel and he is grateful for the support of everyone and he said it came right at the perfect time, because if it hadn’t he probably wouldn’t have made it through the last couple months. Keep him in your prayers. Lisa is doing awesome despite all of the crazy things going on around her.  She has been able to find peace through the Gospel and her new found faith... It is really cool to see someone get it, to just understand that the gospel won’t all of a sudden make life perfect but it will make it so we can find peace through our trials and rely on Christ always. She asked us for 4 books of Mormons to give out to her friends and family and keeps telling us how it is so frustrating because she wants to just give it to everyone, but she knows that she cant force it upon everyone, lol. Kenji as always is just being Kenji and doing great. I am glad that their confirmations went well and the ward has welcomed them in with open arms

Longhui and Angelina: So last week at this time all the plans were set and everything for them to be baptized this last weekend, but as with most things nothing quite ever goes as planned, but that is okay. We went over on Wednesday and Angelina said that they had talked to their mom who lives in Virginia and she had said no to them being baptized, and Longhui would have to wait until after he graduates from college... :( But there is more! So we shared Ether 12:6 and talked about how at times we have trials in our faith, but if we stay strong and trust in the lord that good things will come and we will understand why things happen the way they do and encouraged them to pray that their parents hearts would be softened. Well we saw them again on Friday and at the end of the lesson Angelina offered a really cool prayer and very simply said, "Please let my mom understand why we want to be baptized and that she will be okay with it.” It really touched me so I offered a short prayer and asked that if it was God’s will that her prayer would be answered... so later that night they texted us and said that their mom had said yes that Longhui could be baptized first and see how it is and then Angelina could follow after if it is what she wants! The only thing is that she wants them too wait until she comes home for christmas. I know God answers prayers but I wasn’t expecting him to answer that fast... Pretty cool. This week we will find out more about that. 

Jonathan: He got baptized!!! It went really well and lots of the ward came to support and two of his aunts who are members who havent’ been for a while both came and so that was another Cool little miracle. Jonathan afterward came up to me and said " I am clean! I feel good" So I would say for a 9 year old kid that is a success!  But, all in all it has been cool to meet with him and his mom each week and see them start coming back to church. Another miracle that came from meeting with him this week is that he has invited his cousins to come to church and one of them has come twice now and we have started teaching her and on Saturday when we were there, her mom came as well, and she asked if she could be baptized and her mom looked at her and said if that is what you want you can do it. Five minutes later her other sister came in and asked the same thing and her mom answered the same way. So now they both have baptismal dates one for December and the other for January... So that was another cool thing from the week :) 

Other: Thanksgiving was awesome and I think I am going to have to wait to eat any more pumpkin pie for another year... But the family we had it with was very nice and we got to relax and enjoy the day and so with all of the crazy things that happened this week it was really nice to have a break for a day. We won the turkey bowl. We are biking 20 miles a day and it is cold so we dress up like marshmallows and about 5 minutes into it we are both sweating way too much because it is too hot, lol. We have probably raked about a million leaves and we are extremely busy, probably the busiest I have been on my mission.  A busy missionary is a happy missionary. So life is good.

Love y'all :)

Until next week,

Elder Frandsen

Bringing others unto Christ and a bad translation.

November 21, 2016

They Got Baptized!!

Hey Fam...Hope life is treating you all well. 

To start off as always I got to include a joke or too so you dont get too bored! 

Who designed Noah's ark?

An ark-itect 

How long did Cain hate his brother?

As long as he was Abel.

anyways, Here is the run down for the week:

Sonja: She is still pressing forward as strong as ever! we weren’t able to go to the temple with her this week because something came up but we pushed it back to the 17th of December when the ward is going... But other than that she is seriously a real strength for the ward even though she is only a member of about a month and a half. The gospel is pretty cool when you watch it in action

Mike, Lisa and Kenji: THEY GOT BAPTIZED!! It was seriously so cool, a couple months ago if you had asked me when we first met them if they would be baptized while I was still here or if it would ever happen I would have been skeptical but they obviously have more faith than I do and God prepares those whom he prepares and knows are ready. He truly knows us all perfectly and knows exactly what we need and when we need it and it is just up to us to accept those things and act on them and that is exactly what Mike, Lisa and Kenji did. The gospel of Jesus Christ is truly for the sinners and not the perfect, for the Broken hearted and not the whole. I have been able to watch a transformation of a young families life right before my eyes as. There have been so many miracles I can’t even count. I don’t know, it is hard for me to put into words how I feel about it all and how to describe the experience, other than it truly was a miracle and it not only changed their life but has changed mine as well. About half the ward if not a little more was there to support them in this decision and it was filled with the spirit. Pictures will come :) 

Longhui and Angelina: So, These two hadn’t told their dad prior to this week that they were being baptized, and on Saturday morning they finally approached him and asked him... and he said no. So when we came later that day with the singles branch president and they told us that we were definitely a little surprised... but oddly enough I wasn’t all that worried and I felt inside that it was going to be okay for some reason. So we asked them if we might be able to come by with a member form the singles branch who speaks mandarin, who has a very similar background as they have, to talk with their dad so maybe he could see what we were actually about. So later that night they asked him if we could come over and meet him and he said no he didn’t think that was necessary... but the thing is that Angelina had asked him in English if we could be baptized... and he doesn’t speak English very well... so he plugged baptism into google translate and when he saw what it actually was he said "oh, that's what it is.. well yeah you can get baptized." Lol, who knows what he thought she was asking before but I am glad we got all of that figured out because it was a mess putting it on hold then replanning it... But finally it is all settled and everything is well in Zion. I will give you an update next week of how the baptism goes :) 

Bozman fam: We have reviewed most of the lessons with Jonathan and he is still on track to be baptized this coming Sunday, We also invited his cousin to sit in on a couple lessons when she was there and she has been interested in coming to church and actually came with them a week ago. Her mom is a member but has not been to church in who knows how long but she has been talking with Jonathan’s mom and said she wants to be baptized as well.. and for being only 10 she has remembered everything we taught and is really interested. So hopefully this next week we will meet with her mom and see if it is alright if her daughter is baptized and comes to church with Jonathan.... we will give you updates on all that next week as well :)

Other: Well, The members have been very pro active recently about coming teaching with us and we have definitely seen the fruits of all that. Elder Cortez is still learning lots of English and teaching more and more of how we need to love everyone. He is a good example for me even though I am supposed to be training him, he is teaching me. I am very grateful for all the opportunities and what not that Heavenly father has blessed me with whether it be here on my mission or back at home.. I truly have been blessed with so many great things, especially my family and parents, that I have nothing to complain about when I think things are hard. I hope Y'all have a great Thanksgiving and can recognize God’s hand in your life. 

I would love to hear from You all!

Philippians 4:13

Don’t forget to read your scriptures and pray daily :)

Love ya!

Elder Frandsen

1 Thessalonians 4:16 Trump card

The Kirkland Temple

Hey Fam, 

It's been a minute (a week) So hopefully you have had some time to recover from last weeks jokes.. :) Here are some new ones to keep you going for the week:

Q:  What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why they no longer lived in Eden?

A:  Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Q:  Who was the worst sinner in the Bible?

A:  Moses.  He broke all of the 10 commandments at once. 

Alright here is the run down for the week:

Sonja: We were able to print off some names for the temple to prepare for this Friday. I am super excited to be able to go to the temple again with a recent convert as last time I went for that it was one of my favorite experiences on my mission and I don’t think that this one will be any less special. Give you some more updates on how that goes next week. 

Mike, Lisa and Kenji: It is crazy how everyone that is preparing to be baptized the two weeks prior always has something happen that tries to deter those people from following through with that, and Mike Lisa and Kenji have all felt that Satan has been throwing things at them constantly to make them turn back but as they shared with us, one night they were having a rough time and they flipped open the Book Of Mormon and it opened to helaman 5:12 (look it up if you don’t know it) and they said that was what helped them to put everything else to the side and they all said that they wanted this too much to give up now. It is always awesome to watch as we prepare lessons for them to see how it was exactly what they needed or a certain member we bring out is just the right person that they needed. So even though Satan is trying his hardest, God is there in the midst giving them exactly what they need to get through this to receive the blessings (Mosiah 24:12-16) (Ether 12:6). They are holding strong to no smoking and no coffee and have been staying strong. Their baptism will be Sunday night, so I will send some more updates on that next week :) They are awesome. 

Longhui and Angelina: They have had all the lessons and really it seems like they have no concerns as they prepare for their baptism (keep our fingers crossed). But they have both made lots of progress in the past month especially as they finally both decided that they should be baptized. They both continue to read and have awesome questions. All is well in Zion here... 

Jonathan Bozman and Co: Still Chugging along and is still decided on being baptized on the 27th, sometimes it is hard to gauge with younger kids what they have actually taken in from what we taught them, so we have been re-teaching the lessons and he has remembered most of it and been able to tell us what it is all about, so that is always a good thing. I am excited for them to follow through with this.

In other news: This week Elder Cortez and I went to Kirtland for my Doctors appointment and were able to stop by Charrise and her family on the way back! Ahh man, I Love that family they will always have a special place in my heart and Charrise will always be my mama in Ohio, what a good lady.

This week we also got certified in CPR, there is a guy from the RLDS church that is really nice and loves having the missionaries over and offered to teach us the CPR stuff for free and certify us... so if anyone ever goes into cardiac arrest during a lesson because, they felt too much of the spirit, then I guess I will be able to bring them back! (or if they have a heart attack over the election results)

 

Last District picture

I came to the Toledo area with an elder Wheelwright 41/2 months ago and we have lived in the same apartment since then and he has become a good friend of mine and he is getting transferred which, is sad :( and since he is leaving president has asked me to be the district leader, which is also sad :( lol I enjoy being a regular missionary, but if the lord wants me to do something, then Ill do it. 

Remember, God loves you and knows what you are going though. Talk to him through prayer and he will answer you. 

Read ur scriptrues.

Happy post election week! 

Love y'all.

Elder frandsen

The moooooon

#Mormonmafia

We got to be Zombies and help out with Sonjas Halloween stuff. The Clown dude is her husband.
It was pretty fun! They are such cool family.

Sup fam,

Hope things are going well! if not maybe one of my really cheesy scripture jokes will (en)lighten things up for ya,

Q:  Did all of the creatures on Noahs ark come in pairs?

A:  No.  The worms came in apples.

Q:  What did Noah say as he was loading the Ark?

A:  "Now I herd everything".

Tune in next week to hear more!

Well here is the update for the week!

Sonja: We got permission to go and help her and her family with their Halloween activities they do each year (pictures will be included). Later on in the week we went over to do family history work with her and her daughter to help Sonja get ready with some names for the temple and they were able to get one of their family lines all the way back to 244 BC and it was super awesome! We are going to the temple with her next week to do baptisms :)  She also spoke at a fireside Sunday night for new members and investigators.  She has the coolest testimony and at the end said she will always be grateful for "her" missionaries and what they have done for her. When she said that it hit me that I, the 19 year old from Utah that still feels like he has no clue what he is doing, has actually made a lasting impact on someone’s life for the better and it was pretty cool to really see and realize that. Because, we as missionaries are getting moved around so much and I know that I have been able to help others but sometimes it is hard to really realize just what we, as missionaries, are able to do for other people, because it is what we do all the time. I am grateful that I have been able to help her and many others because they in turn have made big impacts on my life that are for the better. 

​Pic taken of all the cigarettes
 they gave us to throw away 
right before we threw them away...
oh the joys of being a missionary hahah

Mike, Lisa and Kenji: 
 Kenji is so smart for being 8 years old, he asks better questions than most adults that we teach do. He is already in Alma of the Children’s Book of Mormon and tells us every little thing that happened and why he liked it each time we come over. Mike and Lisa both had a really great week as well! We were able to teach them about Temples and families and focus on the priesthood and how they will be able to go to the temple as a family a year after their baptism to be sealed together for time and all eternity. They were so excited about that and have set a goal to go to the temple in a year to 

Pic w/ Mike, Lisa,Kenji and Mike jr :) They are awesome. 

do that. It is cool to see the added peace hope and direction that comes when we realize that family relationships can continue after death. The other cool thing was that the ward fasted with Mike and Lisa this week so that they would have the strength to overcome the addictions they are trying to quit. We gave them Priesthood blessings on Saturday to help start their fast to be bale to quit smoking and be ready for their baptism on the 20^th.  Right after we did that they gave us all their cigarettes and told us to go and throw them away because they were done with that stuff. They are on day 3 now and still going strong. The power of faith and action are real. They are doing really well. 

Longhui and Angelina: Longhui has been attending the singles branch and Angelina has been coming to the ward with us. Longhui is set to be baptized on the 26th and Angelina says that she has received the answer that she needs to be baptized as well, but doesn’t know if the 26th is right for her, she committed to fast this week, to know if the 26th was the right day for her as well. We will be seeing them on Wednesday to see how it went. It has been cool to watch as they once had no knowledge about religion what so ever and now they are at the point where they pray and read from the scriptures daily and have even fasted and been able to recognize God speaking to them.

The Bozman Family: they are a Part member family we have been meeting with for a little while that has recently started to slowly come back to church and the 9 year old boy, Jonathan, finally committed to baptism and said he feels he is ready now and his mom was excited about that and they set the date together for the 27th of November and they were also at church yesterday. She feels that this will help the rest of her family feel the spirit again and give them a desire to return, we are praying that as well. That would be really cool to watch and help out with. 

Well that is all for this week! The other Elders in the ward are doing really well and we both have lots of people to teach and the members are coming out with us almost every day. That really is what has helped these people progress from gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon, to gaining a testimony of church attendance, and all in all gaining a testimony of Jesus Christ. Member missionary work is the best way to do missionary work.. so just because you aren’t a full time missionary doesn’t mean that you can’t do missionary work and be able to help others come unto Christ as well. 

I love my mission, I love my companion and I love being able to serve the lord and for all the great experiences that I have had.

Read ur scriptures and say ur prayers

Love you all!

Elder Frandsen

SpOoKy

One

Two

Three

To Whom it May Concern;                             Oct 31, 2016

     Well here are two really cheesy, typical Mormon jokes:

Q: Before Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, how many letters were there in the alphabet?

A: 24, There was no D&C

Q:  Why did the Lamanites have sore knees?

A:  Because of all the (K)Ne(e)phites. 

Alright that last one might have been a stretch.... I guess we just all press on, right?

Another week down in the service of the Lord! I'll try my best to remember the highlights.

Jack Jr. :)

1.Sonja: She is doing great! She already has a calling after only being a member of the church for one week... and she is already magnifying it. She is the secretary in the Young Women’s and it is a perfect calling for her. We were also this week to do family history with her and we only had 30 minutes, but in that 30 minute time frame we found 20 names that she can take to the temple. We are doing it again this week and we will see what else we can accomplish there. I love being able to help people prepare to go to the temple and find their ancestors. Tonight, since it is Halloween and we aren’t allowed to go out tracting we are helping Sonja and her family with their Halloween activity they are doing(pictures to come next week).

2. Mike, Lisa and Kenji: Another great week for them, last week we had given them the Families and Temples pamphlet and invited them just to read the first part.  When we came back to cover it they had read it all and could have taught us the lesson. Then they told us of how they had already set it as their personal goal to be able to go to the temple a year after their baptism, to be sealed together as a family! That is always a cool thing to hear as a missionary :) Lisa, in the middle of the week, texted us and told us she was struggling with something and would like a priesthood blessing. So we went over and were able to give her a blessing and afterwards she texted us and told us she felt 'That feeling again" which was the holy ghost comforting her and letting her know that it was going to be okay and she was making the right decisions. She also said that the things she was struggling with went away and she was doing great. The power of the priesthood is real. Kenji is already half way through Mosiah in the Book of Mormon and doing awesome! They are such a great family and I am grateful to be able to teach them.

3. Elder Cortez and I were able to find 2 new investigators this week, set a baptismal date with a part member family that seems pretty solid, and have members out teaching with us 6 days this week. He is starting to feel more confident about speaking English and participates more in the lessons. The other Elders in the ward are seeing lots of success right now as well and it just seems like this ward right now is the place to be and I am glad that I am able to be here. 

4. Other than that, Elder Cortez and I were Mario and El Chapo for the ward Halloween party. Poor Elder Cortez doesn’t really know what cold weather is like and has been sleeping in his new giant winter coat every night because he is cold. 

Another day another dollar

Well that’s all for this week! Tune in next week for more from Toledo Ohio

The church is true, God loves us and Jesus is our Savior.

Don’t forget to read ur scriptures and say  ur prayers

Love, Elder Frandsen

Ward service project

P Day

Pretty Scary, huh?

Q: whats would be scarier showing up at your door step...
a killer bear and bunny or two mormon missionaries?
A: recent polling shows that here in Toledo Ohio it is a toss up!

Elder Wheelwright and I offered to help some people carry some stuff in side and
we just happened to pick the cart full of alcohol... its not what it looks like I promise