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| A "selfie" at the Christmas party. |
Tonight is the Francis Family Christmas Party. Every year we gather and eat sandwiches, play bells, sing carols, and exchange homemade gifts. This year the computer was open and everyone took a moment to sit down and email a short note to Ben. Here are the wonderful messages everyone sent. Thanks, Francis Family, for your incredible support!
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| Playing bells and singing carols. |
December 20, 2015
Dear Elder Francis,
Ben:
We’ve all finally gathered for the Franci Christmas Party. We are so excited to write you tonight and wish you a Very Merry Day today! Here we go!
Love
Aunt Debra
P.S. I copied your mom...I hope that was okay. We had a fun time tonight writing you!
We are here at the Francis Christmas party. Everyone is saying “Merry Christmas” in different languages, but we don’t know how to say it in Danish! Please tell us when you Skype this week. We are all remembering to have pickles and chips as a side dish. J We love you!
Love,
Mama
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| Good food! |
Dear Ben,
I love you. How are you doing? I had your name for Christmas. I hope that you got your present. I have been praying every night that you would get it. I can’t wait to talk to you on Christmas! I love you!
Love,
Naomi
Dear Ben,
I miss you a lot. I hope you are doing a good time with your companion. How do you say ‘Merry Christmas’ in Danish? I love you! I wish you a merry Christmas!
Love,
Avi
Dear Ben,
Today is the family Christmas party! Wish you were here. I hope you have a great Christmas in Denmark. I miss you! We all do! The Christmas season is a great one and I hope you remember all of us as well as what Christmas really means. You are the best!!! Have a fun Christmas!!!! Keep the spirit with you!!!
Lots of love,
Sarah
Benny,
We are so proud of you. We are at the Francis family Christmas party right now and everyone is talking about you and hoping that you are having a wonderful Christmas in Denmark. Before we started to eat we were reminded that pickles and olives are not the main course. Then we found out that it is Aunt Debra’s birthday is today so we sang happy birthday to her and then everyone said she should eat first. We are having a fun evening.
Love,
Papa
Dear Ben,
You are doing a great job. I love to read your letters. You inspire me to be a better member of the church. I am not brave enough to talk to others about the church, but I do pray for the missionaries everywhere to have success and for those who are searching that they will find the truth. I hope you are staying warm and dry. Missionary work in bad weather is difficult I know from the cold and snowy days in Canada. You will be a better person for working through the difficulties of serving the Lord. Keep a smile on your face at all times and the spirit will inspire others to wonder why you are so happy. I wish the best for you this holiday season and hope you have many happy days to come.
Love,
Uncle Tom
Dear Ben,
I love you so much! I hope you have a good day at Denmark. I hope Santa comes to your stake. I hope my family can visit you at Denmark.
Love,
Autumn
Dear Ben,
I hope you are having such a good time in Denmark. I hope you and your companion are having a very successful Christmas season. Don’t miss home to much during this amazing season. Don’t get to cold in the very high snow. You are such a good example for me, and hope you keep being an example to me. Thank you so much.
Love,
Parker
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| Uncle Allen conducting the music. |
Dear Ben,
You are so great! You are such a great example to me. With you going on a mission that is setting a great example for me. You are so amazing! I hope you are having a very wonderful time. Don’t get to cold there. Have the best Holidays! Merry Christmas! I hope you have the best two years in Denmark!
Love,
Holly
Dear Ben,
You are so awesome! I hope your mission is going well. You made a great choice. I think you are doing great wonders for the people of Denmark. Keep going strong!
Love,
Allison
Dear Ben!
I love you so much! I hope you are having a wonderful time! I know it is hard to be away from your family during Christmas, but we have not forgotten you!!! I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! We miss you! Good job Ben!
Love, Anna
Hey Ben!
This party is not complete without you. We do hope you enjoy the traditions over there so you can come and teach us. We pray every night for you to find those ready for the message of salvation. We think of you lots, and hope the Lord will continue to bless you. Gpa Joe
Ben,
Joyeux Noël! We’ve been having our family Christmas party and we’re missing you! We’ve talked a little about the Christmas traditions in Denmark. I’m excited to get to read about it. Christmas on the mission is wonderful. I hope you can really feel the spirit of the season. We love you and are so grateful for what you are doing. Best of luck this Christmas season. We’re praying for you. Love you!
Love,
Heidi
Elder Francis,
Happy Christmas! We’re having the Francis Christmas party, which you probably figured out, and it’s like you are here because we are thinking so much of you. Hopefully you feel our spirit and love as you love and serve the people of Denmark. Thanks for your service and sacrifices, and especially for the love and hope you are giving the people you talk to. We pray the Lord to bless and keep you.
Love, Aunt Linda
Ben!
Merry Christmas! I hope you’re having a wonderful Danish Christmas! We’re having fun with the family, but we miss you for sure! Can’t wait until we can hear all about your Christmas adventures! I hope you are feeling the spirit, and spreading the spirit because that’s what it’s all about! It’s like that song from a Muppet Christmas Carol, “Wherever you find Love it feels like Christmas!” Love that! Spread the Love cousin! Love you!
Love,
Becca
Dear Ben,
Are you doing well? How many people have you served? I love you!
Love,
Eli
Dear Ben,
I feel like I’ve written so many notes to you this Christmas and I usually say the same things, but I just really want you to know that I love you and miss you a lot. The other night Sam and I were talking about how different it really is without you. We should have been more forgiving because being one of the oldest in high school is definitely stressful and I really need to watch my words towards the little kids :). I hope you have a wonderful Danish Christmas. We will miss you so much, and I hope you still have a happy day even if we’re not together. You are such a good example to us all, and I love you.
Love,
Emma Rae
Hey Benny Boy!
Hope that you are having great Christmas in Denmark! I am so excited to talk to you on Christmas Day! We have 2 weeks off of school for Christmas Vacation. Baden and I are in the process of building a HUGE snow fort. It is going to have 2 huge piles of snow with caves inside and a huge wall on both sides. We’ll send pictures. The Hammers are coming the day after Christmas, so hopefully Hyrum and Joe will help us build it. On Monday was the biggest snow I’ve seen in Utah. There were 12 car accidents in front of Davis. Luckily I didn’t have to drive. We had a two hour snow day on Tuesday, but it should have been on Monday. From the weather app on my iPod, it looks like it hasn’t been snowing there in Denmark, just raining hard. Is that right? Well, I really am excited to talk to you on Friday. That is I what I am most looking forward to. I’ll try to get up in the morning to email you. Merry Christmas!
Love,
Sam
Dear Ben,
How are you doing? How many people have you served? I miss you so much. I can’t wait to skype. The hammers are coming the day after Christmas.
Sinserly ,
Baden
Hello Ben!
We missed you but thought of you at our party. We enjoy your letters. Remember that God loves you and we can make it through this life. Keep the faith! :0)
Aunt Amy
Dear Ben,
Your are the best!
Jacob
Hi, Ben,
Grammy here. We really missed you at the Christmas party this year. It is truly the noisiest party in the whole world. You may have heard us on Sunday night. This year Parker played his snare along with all of the chimes and the other drums. Gpa Joe and I wish you the merriest of Christmases. Note in your journal all of the things that are different this time of year so you can share it for the whole rest of your life with your family. We love you and pray for you. Love, Grammy Elaine
Ben,
How are you? The Christmas party was so much fun. During the party Uncle Allen would always ask about Christmas in Denmark. I hope that your Christmas packages get to you. This week on Saturday the Hammers are coming. I am so excited. I will hopefully get up tomorrow to email you. I am sooooooooo excited to skype you on Christmas day. I am so glad you are on a mission. I hope to go on one someday too. Have a merry Christmas. I love you so much and miss you. Love, Riah
Hi Ben,
How’s it been roughing it in the mission field? You are such an example to me and I hope to serve a mission in the eastern hemisphere as well. I hope that you have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. From, Shane
Ben,
We missed you! I hope you are enjoying your time in Denmark. It is always so fun to hear what is going on. Keep up the good work! Love, Steph
Ben,
I hope that you’re having a great mission. Christmas time is always precious on the mission due to the increased Spirit that you feel coupled with the love from members in the area that you are serving. I wish you much success this year as you labor to bring others unto Christ. Remember to find joy in the work and to love those that you are serving. Be believing, pray always, and all things shall work together for your good. Have a Merry Christmas. –Matt
Dear Ben,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I MISS YOU!
from,
bella
Elder Ben,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We had a lot of fun singing carols tonight at the family Christmas party. You need to find out if there are any carols that have a Danish origin and let us know. I know that Europe is where most of our Christmas traditions come from. Tonight all of the family members that have been away from home got to tell about a Christmas tradition that happens in that area. It was fun. We look forward to hearing about Danish traditions. Know that you are loved and missed. We know that you are doing a great thing. Remember that the greatest gifts ever given came from our Father in Heaven – His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. They are gifts that are present all year long yet we do not consider the nature of the gifts and sometimes are a bit complacent about them. Please work on teaching others that these gifts help us every day. We pray for you to have success on personal conversion and on teaching and converting others in your mission.
Love, Uncle Allen
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