It was one of my companions´ birthday this past friday, so we had a cake and piñata (of course after proselyeting and working for the day) And she had her face smashed into the cake...nbd

Some of the sweet kids (and elder Tobar) that are relatives of the couple we live with, watching Tarzan (no, elder Tobar wasn´t watching, he just jumped in when I took the picture)

Today we got to hike a bit to a volcanoe (we couldn´t actually see it becase of the fog....) and a waterfall...super chiva

word.

It´s another glorious day in the mish. It didn´t rain today, so that´s good. Haha. I´m really grateful for the waterproof shoes that I brought: they´ve come in quite handy

We had a Mult-Zone Conference on Friday (they only happen every three months I hear), and it took up most of the day. We had to wake up even earlier than usual (5am for my comps, and 5:30am for me-benefits of short hair and no make-up,ha) to catch a bus and get to the chapel by the temple by 7am. We were spiritually fed and temporally fed (a huge lunch). They talked alot about knowing that we have authority from God to teach the gospel and the doctrine of repentance, being happy and positive because we´re serving the Lord, and to be exactly obedient to the mission rules, in order to have the spiritual power when we teach and to be worthy to witness miracles. 

I seriously wish that I had gone on splits with the missionaries when I was in high school. It would have been out of my comfort zone entirely, but it is so nice when we can cover more ground by splitting with members. We did that the other day, which was awesome. Troy, you should think about going on splits with the missionaries ;) it´s awesome and will help you so much for your mission. It´s awesome to hear that Tyler got his patriarchal blessing. Treasure it, Tyler. I often read mine and have studied the promised blessings and the things I need to do to achieve them. :) And seriously, read your scriptures every day, and pray morning, noon, and night. It´s spiritual nourishment for the soul and is something that must be done as often as you need to eat, drink, and sleep. 

I seriously need to be better about writing in my journal everyday, because that´s what I go off of to write these emails...so sorry, this week I skimped on the journal writing. 

I need to write my mission president now, because I´ve only got 10 minutes left....oops

Ciao!

Hermana Flake

My companions (and everyone that they showed this picture to, ha) think I am loco for catching the sapos (frogs) here. Tennessee girl coming through, ha :) I love the critters, such as geicos, frogs, salamanders, etc. (we even saw a few lightnin´bugs), but I have yet to see a snake...oh well. con tiempo, con tiempo ;)

My companions have gotten sick A LOT lately...which is weird because they told me that it´s usually the gringos who are sick weeks on end. Knock on wood ;)

not all these photos are from this week...just so ya know

the computers here are SUPER slow so these take forever to download...so sorry, but you won´t get as many as <I would like to send....

Our Home: Cute and small

Costa Rican temple!

The zone leaders (who live in the house across the street from us and are in our area...Ojo de Agua) and my companions. We took this yesterday at the member´s home where we ate lunch after church. 

Hola familia amado! (y otros)

Sería mejor si yo escribí en español porque los keypads son en español solamente, y es difícil a escribir cuando hay mucho lineas rojos debajo mis palabras...but I also want yáll to understand what I write, so I will type in ingles.  okay. so first of all, having a nametag in public...so different. As we walked through the airport a week ago, i see people´s eyes stare at me and my nametag. it´s so true that as missionaries, we represent the whole of our church--it´s just a little bit of pressure, haha nbd. Also, sidenote, as we waited in the airport my companion and I saw Russell M. Neilsen, no big deal. ;) We didn´t say anything to him though because we didn´t want to bug him. I want to write my first journal entry in COsta Rica: "Wow...I´m in Costa Rica... It´s amazing and crazy. They drive dangerously here and everything is different, bu I love it! After we got our luggage at the airport, we were picked up by the President of our mjission, his wife and kids, and some elders who´ve been here a while. I haven´t had the chance to really be with all the other Costa Rica bound sisters yet--and they´ve mostly all been together, so that´s kind of hard, but that will come with time. They took us to the temple and talked to us aboutwhat it´s like to be a missionary here in CR. And how we have the goal of talking to everyone--bautizar y retener. That´s our goal--open your mouth and ask for references from everyone. <well Ciao!"

Okay, so that´s cool...but my first day in costa rica, when i actually saw it in daylight was crazy. Traffic is loco! they drive insanely. Signs are mere suggestions and the only thing that really regulates speed here is speed bumps. I´m in a trio by the way (I have two latina trainers who don´t speak english). Hermana Escobedo and Hermana Morales are awesome. One is very tall, and the other is very short. I´m in the middle, ha. I love them.

Have I mentioned...PURA VIDA. haha I always think that whenever it´s raining here (like everyday, ha) because I can´t really think negatively when i remember that I´m in costa rica teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ and his plan for happiness. The other day we went to an appointment in the rain, but the man wasn´t there, but his kids were (and dogs) so we talked with the kids and they though I was funny when I tried to talk to them in Spanish, and they also wanted me to speak English to them. The cute 5 year old told me his colors in english. We taught them about prayer and showed them how...they were Catholic (many of the people here are) so the prayers they know are all memorized. Later we went to another lesson where three were present: Elise, Steven, and their neighbor, Lady. we taught them the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy and about baptism and praying to know the truth through the Spririt. I felt so much love for them as we taught them. We even committed them to a baptismal date. Que Chiva!

Like I said, there are a lot of dogs here (pets and vagabonds), and I enjoy playing with them when we visit members´s houses.

Mission life is hard. <i´m not going to sugar coat it. we walk everywhere, usually in mud and rain, and get super tired (i feel like i get tired faster because my brain is in overdrive trying to translate everything), but I know that I´m already starting to get lost in the work. I love the ward here. it is amazing. They asked me to lead the music...and you know me and music...we´re not very compatible...haha. So I did my best. Good thing is, I´m not the only one here who cannot sing :) I was meant to serve here...jk..ha. So yeah. And it was fast sunday, so we had testimony meeting. I went up and bore my testimony about forever families and how this gospel is one of happiness so we need to share it with everyone :) Lots of people were surprised that I could speak any spanish...haha, but I still sound like a gringa :) Still trying to get used to the way we greet each other here (at least the women) with kisses on the cheek. ha. 

Remember to count your many blessings! No matter what our circumstances are, we can always find things to be grateful for. Attitude is everything. So keep on smiling. Always say hello with a smile to everyone yall meet, and think postively :) Please keep sending me emails. I love reading about your lives. But I definitely don´t focus as much on yall like i used to....haha, no offense...I miss yall, but I also want to bring yall blessings, which means, forgetting my old life and getting to work (a menos que pday...ha). I love yall bunches!

Con tanto amor,

Hermana Flake

p.s. i will try to send some more pictures next time....it takes so long to upload them on these computers....