Week 42: Climb Every Mountain

Hey fam!!!

I cannot believe it!!! Jessica is going to the Dominican Republic!!!! what in the world?!?!! I am so excited for her!!!! She is amazing. Keep the Flake Legacy going strong, and remember that when we decide to serve the Lord now, He will serve us for the rest of our lives. Faithful service is the example that Christ gave. Start now, every single one of us, to be a truly devoted disciple of Christ.
 

I am not in Coronado anymore ....Now I am in San Carlos of Alajuela.  I am going to miss those people that I have come to love so much in Coro... my goodness, I was there for 6 months, and the members there have become family. It is so hard to leave them. My comp, Hermana Rubio is now with Hermana Lovell, who entered the MTC the same day as me. My new companion is Hermana Vasquez (she is also from Guatemala, the fourth Guatemalteca that I´ve had as a companion). She came in the same group of missionaries as me to Costa Rica but she goes home a transfer after me because she didn´t have a month and a half in the MTC. It is amazingly beautiful here in San Carlos. I thought that it was amazingly beautiful in Coronado, and it was, but it was the terrestrial kingdom and it is the celestial here. my goodness. The only thing is that there are 600 members, and only an attendance of about 70 each Sunday.....a ton of inactive members. We are going to be reactivating a ton. Just reminds me how important it is to remember that we are disciples of Christ until the end of our lives, not just when we´re baptized, or when we have time, or when we feel like it. This life is short, and Satan works on us especially once we´ve come to the knowledge of the truth, through laziness, pride, or putting other things first. 

So, my comp, the zone leaders, and my district leader and his comp and the Corrales Family did a surprise party for me. Our p-day was filled with interviews with President Wilkinson, so we were getting back from San Jose at about 5pm, hadn´t eaten more than saltine crackers for breakfast and lunch, and we hadn´t really had a p-day. I open the door and they all start singing feliz cumpleaños :) We had hamburgers and cake. Couldn´t ask for more  Seriously, I am going to miss them so much. My companion cried. I love her so much. We´ve been through a ton together, as well as some of the hardest parts of the mission, pretty much every single holiday (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, new years day, valentines day....etc.) and we´ve both grown a ton. 

In my interview with President, he asked me if I had any questions. I asked him how he always kept such a positive, go get ém, attitude. He told me, being happy is a choice, a decision. We have to make it every morning when we wake up. It is so true. He has been through so many trials. I´ve been through nothing in comparison. He lost both his parents, he just had his hip replaced, just to name a couple things. He is amazing. So is his wife. HIs whole family is such a light and example to the missionaries, Costa Ricans, and especially to me. 

San Carlos is amazingly beautiful. I am already in love. We are writing right now from the church building. It is amazingly beautiful as well, and huge! My companion, Hermana Vazquez says that it is way too empty on Sundays. We are going to have a go at reactivating, reactivating, and maybe a bit more of reactivating. The members need to feel an urgency, for their own salvation as well as that of others. 

I learned so much from Coronado. I learned a lot from the members, a lot from my companion, and from my leaders. I know now, that there is nothing worth getting me down. Who am I to think my load is hard? You impacted me with what you said in our interview, that being happy is a decision. I´ve always known it. But like teenagers who hear the advice of their parents and never quite ´get it´, I never really decided to be happy in the hard times. Clearly, there were times when I said enough, and started smiling despite the difficulties or the rejections, but it was not a daily decision. I´ve been relying too much on my own strength, my own wisdom (which is almost nothing...), my own abilities. But that will not do at all here in San Carlos. If I don´t rely completely on the Lord, nothing will change here. The members will keep staying in the own little world, and those looking for the gospel will stay lost, unless my companion and I rely on the Spirit and do whatever it takes to rely on miracles. 

I love this gospel. I know it is true. I am so thankful for the LDS family that I have in the world, the entire world. Time is short, and I have to let everyone know that I know it is true.
 

Love,

 

Hermana Flake