Elder Johnathan D. Francis: HOT and HUMID

Monday, January 18, 2010

HOT and HUMID

Johnathan has been in Nicaragua 2 months now and is starting to really understand the language. He says it's HOT and HUMID! He has to laminate his planner because the ink runs all over his shirt from sweating so much! His companion is a native from El Salvador and doesn't speak any English. Johnathan is trying to help him learn English while he is learning Spanish. They seem to get along really well and work hard all day. They get around by walking, and by the sounds of it, they walk a lot! They have already had many interested investigators and have had several baptisms. In only 2 months he has learned so much and has grown to love the people of Nicaragua and wants so much to help them. As his mom, I'm so pleased with his desire to serve the Lord and willingness to put up with the physical challenges so he can teach them about our Savior and His plan of happiness!

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Provo Missionary Training Center

Elder Johnathan Francis entered the Provo MTC on September 16th of 2009. It was a bitter sweet goodbye knowing we would not see him for two years and only get to speak to him on Christmas and Mother's day. As hard as it was, it was also a pay day knowing he had willingly accepted the call to give up two years of his life and enter the MTC prepared and ready to serve the Lord. Johnathan is an example to us and we know he will be blessed for what he is doing. He will spend 9 weeks in the Provo MTC learning the Spanish language and studying the lessons out of "Preach my Gosple"

Life in the MTC

Johnathan says life in the MTC is not too bad. He likes the food and says the chocolate milk is the best! He has become great friends with his companion, Elder Thrope and feels like they have known each other for a long time, even though they've only just met. They work hard and keep them busy from early morning till night, studying, studying and more studying!

He tells us in his emails that Spanish is a lot harder then he thought and sometimes feels very overwhelmed, but is not going to let that get him down and will continue to work hard!

He told us of some advice given to the missionaries from Elder Bednar (member of the quorum of the twelve) about becoming overwhelmed and stressed out when trying to remember and memorize the language and the lessons. Elder Bednar said, "Just don't worry about it!"

Johnathan gets one day of the week to prepare for the rest of the week. They call it P-day. That's when he can do his washing and ironing, attend the temple, write letters home, play baseball or other sports. He is also able to get on a computer for 30 min to send a weekly email home. That's my favorite part! It's so good to get that email each week. He is learning so much and is always positive!