Franco, Matthew

Dear Family and Friends,     It's the season to be Jolly! Everything is going fantastic down here in beautiful Guyana!     Randolph is still on track for his baptism and it's super exciting to see his spiritual growth! On the other hand, we ran church yesterday. It was super cool to see the organization of the church first hand.     A lot of lessons fell through this week, but we were able to get in contact with some of our less active members and it was nice to meet them.     It's #lighttheworld time! I invite everyone to follow the calendar or do some of your own activities to help people feel joy and the Christmas spirit. Also watch the Christ Child it's amazing!      That's all I Have for this week! I will have more to share in the coming week! I miss you guys and have a wonderful December!     Sincerely, Elder Franco

Dear Friends and Family, Thanksgiving is upon us! A lot of miracles have happened in Rose Hall! We had a big attendance boost in our branch, less actives came and a few of our friends. I was super happy! I didn't care if the day ended poorly, it was that good! Next miracle happened today actually. Today, we had our branch family home evening and I was super worried. We made some cupcakes and when we got there, nobody was there! I started worrying and doubting in my head until President Hussians' ( Branch President ) car came up and his whole family came! Not only that, some of our friends and recent converts came! I was super grateful and happy, we got to eat and play together! Overall, it has been a good week, I think the big highlight for me is rewatching President Nelson's gratitude video. I remember last year around the same time , I was in Colorado Springs in the Rye District. I felt the prophets' conviction and kindness behind his words. I love rewatching it ag...

Dear Friends and Family! Happy Holiday Season! The season of gratitude and kindness is here and I'm super happy and excited. A lot of things are happening in the rose hall branch! The biggest thing is that Me and Elder Patterson are going to help the branch and provide structure so it can become a sustaining branch! Next we have a baptism that's coming up! Randolph, our friend that we have been teaching for a while, is getting baptized. we might have to move it to next week because he is super busy this weekend! On the other hand we have been visiting some less active people and trying to get them to come back to church and it worked! We saw a less active sister at church, who we have been trying to get in contact with for awhile, surprised us! This past Saturday was also my companion's birthday so we went to the market and celebrated! It was a fun week and I can't wait to share more this coming week! I also am excited for thanksgiving. Sincerely, Elder Franco

Dear friends and family, This past week has been amazing! We had a zone conference and we learned a lot! President Lamprecht and the other missionary leaders talked about Turtles and Jaguars. Turtles represent people who aren't progressing and Jaguars are people who are progressing and keeping commitments.  We want to find some Jaguars! Our area has a lot of Turtles and we want to help them progress as well, but find the Jaguars so they can help build the church with their faith, because the branches need that more.  We had a meeting with the berbice district president, President Moses, and talked to us on how the rose hall branch needs structure. A lot of the callings are empty so we might be getting temporary callings to help the branch have structure. As for me, I'm doing okay, Sunday was kinda sad for me because only one of our friends came to church and in total, only 9 people came to church. I did a lot of scripture reading yesterday in Alma and then I was remi...

Dear friends and family! Happy November! We just started a new transfer down here in the Trinidad port of Spain mission! I have a new companion, Elder Patterson and he's a cool guy. He likes to do mountain biking and outdoor activities. This week, we were able to go contacting and I was able to introduce him to some of the members here in the rose hall branch.  Looking forward to this transfer, can't wait to share more! Sincerely, Elder Franco Pic: me and Elder Patterson