A New Companion!

My new companion - Elder Nickerl 

 

Saying goodbye to Elder McWhorter

" Some photos by a sweet tree"

Family and friends all over the world!!

Well my new companion is Elder Nickerl from Carlsbad, California and my mom has some pictures so hopefully she will attach them or they'll be on the blog. We are getting along great so far and his spanish is getting better everyday!

Monday we headed off to A Coruña and spent the night there. It was really fun and a tooon of members came to the bus stop to see Elder McWhorter off. Thats when you know you've done a good job.

Tuesday we woke up early and took Elder McWhorter to the train station. He was nervous about getting all the way to the temple safely but he figured it out eventually haha. It was actually pretty sad to see him go. He has been a great companion of mine. After that I worked with the A Coruña elders and we had a good amount of lessons!

Wednesday morning we woke up in A Coruña again and headed to the train station to pick up Elder Nickerl. He seemed a little shocked at first but it was a good day. We had district meeting and met all of the new elders in our district. Elder Fausset is our new district leader and he is such a humble missionary. I'm excited for the next transfer with him! After, we ate at Wendy and Guillermo's, went out contacting for a while and then ate at Irina's for dinner. It was a pretty successful day and we had a few lessons in the street.

Thursday we planned the week which went well and then went to play volleyball with some investigators and memebers for a bit. After, we met a lady named Maria Luz knocking pisos and she seemed really interested in our message and accepted a Book of Mormon. Gotta love the miracles with new missionaries haha. Elder Nickerl was stoked! After we had clase de ingles and then went to Irinas to end the night.

Friday was an awesome day! We had three lessons in the morning and all of them were in the door way with single ladies. Then we went to eat at Wendy's because she invited us again of course haha and we shared a message with them about Jesus Christ. After we went with Wendy's mom, Doli and had two lessons with her friends Roger and Soren! They are Cubans and seem really interested in the church!! After we went out to contact for a bit in this huge building and then ended at Patricia's. She has been having a hard time finding her testimony but that night she was sharing an experience about charity and at the end she said, "I guess thats my testimony" It brought tears to my eyes as she looked at me smiling and almost crying herself. Great night.

Saturday was good as well. Three solid lessons. First with Marlene and Nati came with us again. It went great and she seems excited to continue on. After medio dia we went out contacting for a while and then had a lesson with Daniel finally! He's back to full health and basically has a testimony of the church. He told us he is sick of the Evangelical church and wants to come to ours instead! After we had a great lesson with Luciano and Jose Martinez helped us out. We understands a lot more about repentance and loved the lesson.

Sunday we had a decent amount of people in church which was good and the second hour went great. Elder Nickerl spoke a lot and is learning little by little. After medio dia at Irina's, we went out with Wendy, Guillermo, and Doli to visit Antonio who is sick. We found him in the street actually with his wife and said that he is feeling better. We then went to el Parque Reina Sofia and found some people contacting there with the whole crew working together. After we went to visit a member and found two more people! Guillermo wanted to knock another door and we met Isabela who accepted a Book of Mormon and wanted us to come back and then we met Ani in the street and she also accepted a Book of Mormon and gave us her address and phone number! It was awesome to see Wendy, Guillermo, and Doli bearing their testimonies of the church and explaining our beliefs. It was like we didn't even have to do anything! They are awesome.

Today we are going to play volleyball of course and clean the piso up a little bit. I am excited for this coming week because we will be doing a mission tour in Madrid and I'll be able to see all of my friends!! Love you guys so much and I hope you are all doing great. I'll pray for some rain in California this weekend!!!

love,

Elder Franklyn

Transfers and Castillo de San Felipe!

February 17, 2014

 studying!

the brownies turned out "great"

Guilermo's Birthday

This is Luciano!

We went to Castillo de San Felipe today...

Well another transfer down in España!

On to transfer 6. My companion is going to the Canary Islands (lucky...) and I will be having another son!!! (Aka training). I am quite excited and will love the chance to show the new elder everything about Spain. It will be exciting! I still have no idea what his name even is so we will find out this Wednesday when we pick him up. Gotta love being a dad!

This week was crazy. On Monday we went and played volleyball and I even got a little skateboarding in!!  A member brought a few boards and I have a video of this sweet ollie and 180 over a cone. I'll never give it up! I'll try and send the video but who knows if it'll work. After we had a noche de hogar with Wendy and Guillermo and then headed to Armando's to eat and share a message.

Tuesday was good! For the morning we went out searching for new investigators. In the afternoon we went to Cedeira which is a local city about 45 minutes away in car with Wendy and Guillermo to visit some less active members. It went really well and we made it back in time to go to Irina's.

Wednesday we had our last district meeting with everyone together which was sad but good. Elder Ortiz., our Zone Leader, came too and got us all excited for the next transfer. After that we came back and went to Juan Jesus' house. He was finally home and was really excited to see Elder McWhorter during his last week. We shared a message and it sounds like he wants to start meeting with us more often. Then we shared a message about the Book of Mormon with Marichú and she enjoyed it but isn't looking to change. After we went to Antonios and had a boooomb lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went sooo well and I felt the spirit really strongly.

Thursday we planned the first week of the next transfer and then cleaned the piso a ton because it needed it. After that basically everyone cancelled on us so we went out to look for some new investigators. We knocked a tooon of pisos and were quite unsuccessful but thats just part of the experience! We did have clase de ingles though which was fun. We made it into a lesson by watching the restoration video in English.

Friday was rough haha. I laugh because just looking back makes it seem funny. The rain and wind picked up a tooon and for the morning we knocked pisos for a while. We finally found a girl that told us she is okay with listening to us but is about to get baptized with the Jehovah's witnesses annnd another man who has spoken to missionaries before. We will see! After medio dia we had a lesson with Armando and we got him to recommit to come to church. He seemed pretty set and so we decided to pass by on Sunday morning just to help him out a little bit more. Then we had a church Valentine's day activity and had a good time playing games with the kids and eating food.

Saturday we went knocking pisos again of course and were a little successful. At 1:30 we had a lesson with Marlene and it went suuper good! She committed to coming to church and invited her husband to come too! After that we went to Ada's to eat and had a great time. After medio dia we had another branch activity in which we were going to visit less active members to excite them to come to church. Elder McWhorter and I did splits so we could teach two lessons at the same time. We both came back without teaching a lesson because the people weren't home haha. It was fun though and I enjoyed it. Zorkan finally got a phone and so we tried to talk to him too but he was busy.

Sunday was awesome!! We passed by Armando's in the morning and he wasn't even home. Andrew said he left or something. Who knows? Church was great though and we had 97 people in sacrament!! The fullest I've ever seen!! It was branch conference but so many less active members showed up it was great. We ate at Irina's after and then had to go to the hospital to visit a members grandma who is quite sick. We gave her a blessing and she said she felt a lot better. That night we passed by Ada's again to say goodbye and then Wendy's and then Irina's. It was a good night but a little sad!

Today has been awesome! We went to the Castillo de San Felipe and took a bunch of photos and had a great time with Wendy and Guillermo. My mom has the photos so she can put some up. We leave tonight but I think we are going to get one more volleyball sesh in before Elder McWhorter leaves. Sad to see him go but excited for the next transfer!!

Love to you all,
Elder Franklyn

February 10, 2014

 Kevin's Birthday Party!

 Making Music w/Elder McWhorter

 A great dinner!

 Me playing with Sharon's scooter

 An awesome futbol court we found the other day....


¡¡¡¡Hola muy buenos días!!!!

Well it has yet to stop raining here.  Just thought I'd let you know.  I'm kind of getting used to it though. I got sick this week which was rough but I am feeling better today. A ton of the members were worried about me so just know that I am in good hands here in Ferrol.  We had 28 lessons this week which is my mission high so far and we continue to see miracles every day.

Well last Monday we came home from A Coruña and had a lesson with a less active member named Flor in her house with Wendy and Guillermo. It went really good and they served us some Peruvian food that was really good. After that we cruised over to Armando's and had a good lesson with him on Alma 5:14 and 26. Look it up!

Tuesday was kinda rough but we went piso knocking and found some cool people.  Hoping to get some lessons with them soon. After medio dia we had a lesson with Fernand, a new investigator, and it went well. He's really logical though and told us that we are wasting our time here in Spain and that the people here don't want to listen to us.  At the end of the lesson he said that maybe we could meet after May but I'm planning on giving him a call this week haha.   That night we had a lesson with Leonardo and ate at Irina's.  He is going to receive the priesthood soon  - which is super exciting! He's ready.

Wednesday we had the district meeting in A Coruña which was great and then found two new investigators!
 One is named Alex and he is 20 years old and from Columbia. He is really cool and we have some high hopes for him. After we went to Wendy and Guillermo's because it was Kevin's birthday!! Kevin is Wendy's little brother by the way. It was fun and we had a great time.

Thursday we worked hard and had a lesson with Enrique in the morning, planned the week and then went to Rosa's for lunch. We taught her kids some more about missionary preperation since two of them are starting their papers soon and it went good! then we had a lesson with Armando which went well and then Luciano too.  Luciano is super awesome and loves everything we teach but still doesn't want to commit to getting baptized. After we had Clase de Ingles which we taught some people how to pray in english which was cool and after we went to Irina's again and taught Leonardo.

Friday we finally got in the door of Daniel and gave him a blessing because he has been sick for the last two weeks. He is doing better but had something called Gripe A and was really really sick. He is still super ready and excited about church. We then had a lesson with Leandro and he told us that he doesn't have time to meet with us and isn't really interested which was a bummer but he said maybe later on down the road.  We will see.. After medio dia we had a lesson with Alex and taught him about the Book of Mormon. He liked it alot and said he would like to read it! Then we met up with the Branch President and went to an investigators house in Fene which is about 15 minutes away in car. Her name is Angela Estela and her daughter got baptized a while back. She is really nice and wants to hear more from us. We talked about the Book of Mormon and she told us that she thinks its true! We made it back just in time to head to Patricia's and we shared a message and ate with them. I have some photos of us in their house.

Saturday we did work and taught Armando again in the morning with Andrew. We got him to commit to us to come to church and he seemed excited about it. That same night he dislocated his leg playing soccer and couldn't come to church. Satan!  After we had a lesson with Marlene and Nati came with us. It went really great and she acccepted to be baptized on March 1st!  Just gotta help her get to church now. Then we went to Ada's and shared a message on attending church which was good. After that we had a lesson with Flor and Jose Martinez came with us. She told us that she isn't willing to read the Book of Mormon or come to church even though we explained it so well and promised her soo many blessings. Maybe just a little more time. After we headed to Antonio's house and had a good lesson with him. He's such a great guy.

Sunday was good! We planned really hard and ended up having a 7 lesson day which was the most I've ever had. Church was good and Luciano showed up to church but no one else.  Kind of a bummer. It was fast and testimony Sunday and it was really good.  After we went to Irina's and ate with them and then went to Gracian's house with Jose Martinez.  I was sick and on some medicine but Hermano Jose and Elder McWhorter said that they didn't feel good during the lesson like something was wrong. Gracian  doesn't really want us to come back any more so maybe thats a good thing. I was just trying to hear straight. After we went to Hermana Victoria's house and had a sacrament meeting with them since they can't leave the house. We had a little testimony meeting too which was awesome. Then we headed to Enrique's and talked about coming to church. He says he doesn't feel comfortable in the church because he's been an investigator for almost 20 years and doesn't like the way people look at him but he promised to come next week with us.  His testimony is amazingly strong.  After we ran by the house of a lady named Marichu and we had a little lesson in her doorway and then headed to Wendy and Guillermo's to eat dinner. They are such an awesome family.

Today we are going to play volleyball again and I'll try to take some photos to show all of you what its like.

I hope you are all doing well and know that I am praying for rain in California too! Love you guys so much and keep up the work wherever you are!

Elder Franklyn

Rain, Rain, Rain

2/3/2014

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Well, the rain hasn't stopped here in El Ferrol haha. It has gotten a bit colder too and hails every now and then but I don't think it will snow anytime soon. The work is going good, although a bit slow these days. This week we found four new investigators who all have some potential to progress! Two of them are a couple named Henry and Sandra who are really awesome. They should be leaving in March to go back to Columbia but we will see what we can do until then. The branch here is going good and we had a District Conference this weekend which was awesome.


On Monday we played volleyball with the members again which was pretty awesome. Then we had noche de hogar which was almost perfect. We watched the Restoration video and right as Joseph Smith had the first vision this little girl spilled juice like everywhere. It was pretty funny but the Spirit wasn't very strong. After we went to Armando's and ate a toooon of food. Leonardo, Monica, and Emiel were there too so it was a party.

Tuesday was pretty awesome. We started knocking pisos (apartments) and got 7 referrals and had a lesson. After medio dia we met with Enrique and had an awesome lesson with him. Then we headed to a less active lady's named Victoria. She and her husband were baptized a few years back and he is really sick recently and so she can't come to church. She really liked the visit though! Then we had a lesson with Antonio and we watched the Restauracion video which was awesome. We ended the day at Leonardo's and taught him about the temple. He told us he might be taking a trip down to Madrid on the 6th!

Wednesday we had District Meeting which was great. I did a little practice with the missionaries on answering questions directly and it went well. Lesson wise was rough because a lot of people bailed on us. We has a lesson with the less active member Flor and her husband which was really awesome. We had a noche de hogar with them and then Guillermo's parents came over and we sang some songs and played the guitar a little haha. It was fun.

Thursday we had a lesson with Manuel in the morning which went well but he still doesn't want to do anything. Then we planned the week which was good. After medio dia we had a lesson with Luciano which went really good. He seems a lot more ready but the only problem is that he is not married to the woman he lives with... Bummer... Then we had clase de ingles which went great. We taught some members how to pray and they seemed to enjoy it. Then we walked to Henry's house to see if he was there. It was like a 25 minute walk. He wasn't there. Haha we set up another appointment with him though and headed to Irina's. We taught Leonardo a bit more about the temple and it went well.

Friday we had a lesson with Armando the investigator in the morning. It went really well and he committed to come to church. Then we fiiiinallllly had a lesson with Henry and Sandra. They are soooo awesome!! Henry is soo interested in the Book of Mormon and had some awesome questions for us. We explained everything as clearly as we could and he told us that he wanted to read it. Over and over again he said: This is really interesting. This is really interesting. Sandra as well was interested and they both know exactly how to find an answer! They are awesome. Then we went to John Alexanders house with Guillermo and Wendy but he wasn't home. After that we had a lesson with Patricia and Jose which was awesome. We read some scriptures and they gave us some amazingly good food. They are awesome.

Saturday was pretty good too. We had a lesson with Jacobo in the morning. He has been really sick like everyone else here recently and told us he wants to find an answer. Then we went to Marlene's with Nati and taught Marlene about the Atonement of Christ. It was kind of a wing-it lesson but it went soo good and Nati and I both started crying because the spirit was so strong. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes. She is trying to change her work schedule to come to church so big hopes for her. Then we went to Nati's and had lunch and she gave me a haircut which was something I needed. After that we had the District Conference. It was televised from Santiago to all of the chapels so we didn't have to travel. They had a priesthood session and then an adults session. We watched both and it was really good although the camera was suuper ghetto and we could barely see anything. That lasted like the whole afternoon basically.

On Sunday we had more of the conference and they actually had a special message from Salt Lake!! Two members of the seventy spoke and Elder Ballard!!!! It was awesome! I loved it and felt the spirit strongly. Henry and Sandra didnt come though and Armando didn't come either. After we went to Irina's and ate some bomb food. After medio dia we had a lesson with the guy we met on Tuesday named Gracian. Then we visited Victoria again and gave a blessing to her husband, Jesus. Her friend Nelly was there and she told us she would like to hear more!! Sweet! We passed by Enriques at night but he was dead tired so we just chatted with him for a bit. Then we headed to Wendy's and had an awesome lesson with Kevin and Nicole about sharing the gospel. It was perfect!

Today, well right now, I'm in A Coruña because President Jackson came up here to have interviews with us! It was rad! Really short but it was good to see him. We ate some food here and are emailing and then we are going to head back soon. Might play volleyball again tonight which will be fun.

The work goes on!

Love you all and I hope you all stay safe whether you are battling the drought or freezing in Idaho/Utah. Keep it up!

Elder Franklyn