Pictures Week 27:
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Week 26: Amo Coronado
Hola mi familia amada,
Rafaela came to church!!! We´ve been waiting for 3 weeks for her to come to church, but something always came up or happened that prevented her from coming. But she came!!! And she brought her 3 kids, who are a big part of why Rafaela finally came. Andres, her son who is 8, since seeing Ethan be baptized, has wanted to come to Ethan´s church, and Camila also really wanted to come....Rafaela told us how Camila had been sick saturday night (she ate too much candy saturday) to the point where she was vomiting. Her mom told her that maybe they shouldn´t go to our church because Camila was sick, and upon hearing that, Camila suddenly said, "no, it´s ok, I feel fine" :) Thankfully they finally came and loved it. We had asked Karen (the member that we´ve helped to fellowship Rafaela) if she could pick up Rafaela and bring her to church. They did so, but missed the sacarament....but made it in time to hear the talks, including Hermana Rubio´s talk :) She kept telling me how nervous she was to give this talk, but she did great.
Rafaela stayed for all the classes as well, and her kids were given parts for next sunday´s primary presentation....haha yes! She told us that it was "muy bonito" the classes and everything. She even signed her name to come to the relief society activity next month! The ward is great, and everyone, ok, not everyone, but tons of the members said hello and greeted her.
And guess who else came to church yesterday! Heison! haha, yall don´t know who he is, so here is a quick explanation... Heison is brother of a less active member and recent convert, Steven and his wife Katerine. About six weeks ago, we visited them, Steven and Katerine because they hadn´t come to church in months....and lo and behold, Heison was there as well and we invited him to participate. He did, but only after telling us that he is Catholic and that´s that. So we´ve kept coming and teaching him and sharing with him about the restoration, the word of wisdom (which he didn´t take too well...."coffee is NOT bad for us"), and the book of mormon. We recently watched The Testaments with him in the church and it went really well, especially since he was able to meet the bishop and some other ward members who were there in the church as well for mutual. For weeks he´s said that he will come the next Sunday, and the NEXT sunday, and he never came...the cool thing is that his brother and sister-in-law started coming to church with their little daughter when we started teaching Heison, basically because they felt guilty that they didn´t go to church but were inviting Heison to come. WHOOSH haha. Two birds with one stone.....ummmm probably not the best phrase in this situation. But he CAME!!! he arrived just before they started giving the talks. And he stayed in all the classes. And it was awesome. Our mission leader always gives great classes in the Class of Principles of the Gospel, and they all asked good questions and commented lots.. We were so happy, my comp and I, because finally they came.
Enjoy the snow!!! Every single one of my companions latinas (I´ve only had companions latinas, haha) say that it´s their dream to see snow. There is none of that white stuff here, ha, so enjoy it for me while it lasts ;) Thank you so much for the package yall sent!!! I was in need of more socks, haha, and nobody here in central america celebrates thanksgiving, so it was sweet to get some decorations to help me remember that it exists,haha, I just won{t be eating any turkey this thanksgiving ;) The tradition here is pig leg and tamales for Christmas....yum, haha.
I was checking out mormon.org just now, and guess what was the first profile that I saw!?!?! the profile of a member of my ward here in Coronado!!! Irene Monteroso! She is the wife of our mission leader!! haha, wow, it´s awesome! Yall have to watch it, even though it´s in spanish (maybe there is a translation....) She is awesome!
I love you all so much!!! Remember to always put on the full armour of God when yall go out into the world and leave the refuge called home. Ephesions 6:11-17, i believe. the family is under attack always, so be on guard and listen to the words of the prophet and our leaders. Until next week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Rafaela came to church!!! We´ve been waiting for 3 weeks for her to come to church, but something always came up or happened that prevented her from coming. But she came!!! And she brought her 3 kids, who are a big part of why Rafaela finally came. Andres, her son who is 8, since seeing Ethan be baptized, has wanted to come to Ethan´s church, and Camila also really wanted to come....Rafaela told us how Camila had been sick saturday night (she ate too much candy saturday) to the point where she was vomiting. Her mom told her that maybe they shouldn´t go to our church because Camila was sick, and upon hearing that, Camila suddenly said, "no, it´s ok, I feel fine" :) Thankfully they finally came and loved it. We had asked Karen (the member that we´ve helped to fellowship Rafaela) if she could pick up Rafaela and bring her to church. They did so, but missed the sacarament....but made it in time to hear the talks, including Hermana Rubio´s talk :) She kept telling me how nervous she was to give this talk, but she did great.Rafaela stayed for all the classes as well, and her kids were given parts for next sunday´s primary presentation....haha yes! She told us that it was "muy bonito" the classes and everything. She even signed her name to come to the relief society activity next month! The ward is great, and everyone, ok, not everyone, but tons of the members said hello and greeted her.
And guess who else came to church yesterday! Heison! haha, yall don´t know who he is, so here is a quick explanation... Heison is brother of a less active member and recent convert, Steven and his wife Katerine. About six weeks ago, we visited them, Steven and Katerine because they hadn´t come to church in months....and lo and behold, Heison was there as well and we invited him to participate. He did, but only after telling us that he is Catholic and that´s that. So we´ve kept coming and teaching him and sharing with him about the restoration, the word of wisdom (which he didn´t take too well...."coffee is NOT bad for us"), and the book of mormon. We recently watched The Testaments with him in the church and it went really well, especially since he was able to meet the bishop and some other ward members who were there in the church as well for mutual. For weeks he´s said that he will come the next Sunday, and the NEXT sunday, and he never came...the cool thing is that his brother and sister-in-law started coming to church with their little daughter when we started teaching Heison, basically because they felt guilty that they didn´t go to church but were inviting Heison to come. WHOOSH haha. Two birds with one stone.....ummmm probably not the best phrase in this situation. But he CAME!!! he arrived just before they started giving the talks. And he stayed in all the classes. And it was awesome. Our mission leader always gives great classes in the Class of Principles of the Gospel, and they all asked good questions and commented lots.. We were so happy, my comp and I, because finally they came.
I was checking out mormon.org just now, and guess what was the first profile that I saw!?!?! the profile of a member of my ward here in Coronado!!! Irene Monteroso! She is the wife of our mission leader!! haha, wow, it´s awesome! Yall have to watch it, even though it´s in spanish (maybe there is a translation....) She is awesome!
I love you all so much!!! Remember to always put on the full armour of God when yall go out into the world and leave the refuge called home. Ephesions 6:11-17, i believe. the family is under attack always, so be on guard and listen to the words of the prophet and our leaders. Until next week!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Week 25: Mi Semana
Hola Familia!!!
Thanks for sending photos of all the halloween happenings! Sweet costumes! en serio :) Good to know that everyone is doing good and enjoying this time of the year. I miss seeing leaves changing color and all the things that come with autumn and halloween :) I never realized how much I love the change of the seasons. Here the only change in season is the beginning of the day is hot and it always ends cold and rainy (but not freezing cold). Haha, I have heard so many people here say that their greatest wish is to see snow....The grass is always greener....
Things are good here in Coronado, Costa Rica! Recently we planned an activity that will be the 29th of November...we´re going to have an open house in the church! We will have ward missionaries and less active members teaching a small part of the Book of Mormon in different rooms of the church, as well as a member teaching about family history and the activities and programs of the church, as well as the opportunity to watch mormon messages. Then at the conclusion of the activity, we will have Humberto´s baptism. Humberto has been a great example to his family of truly changing. He used to do drugs and smoke and drink and hang out with the wrong kinds of friends in the street. But since meeting Veronica, he has changed completely, and will soon make this sacred covenant with God through baptism. Woo hoo!!! He just has a bit of a problem letting go of coffee....but we´re working on that...adictions are real and terrible....ergh...haha.
Speaking of addictions...Betty is another investigator that we have and we are trying to help her to give up coffee as well as cigarettes....We send her a message every morning at 11am with a scripture or something to help her resist the temptation....But it´s rough.
The other night we shared a quick family home evening with an adorable family in the ward. Familia Martinez have 3 adorable kids, 7, 3, and 1 years old. They are adorbale!!! They are from Guatemala and shared some Guatemalan food with us, for which my companion was estatic...(she´s from guatemala).
I am so grateful for how addresses are done in the states....here is crazy with directions....The streets don´t always have names, and if they do, good luck knowing because rarely are there signs saying what they´re called, and numbers of houses is another story.....they don´t existen, except for some houses have numbers and in no particular pattern or order...haha. In that sense, finding less active or inactive members is super hard because we usually only have their name and the general area in which we can find them....or not find them...haha. Welcome to Costa Rica.... ;) So, sometimes we go in search of inactive members and don´t find anyone, but we knock on doors and sometimes are let in. :) Yesterday we were in that type of situation. It was raining (shocker) and I had left my umbrella in an investigators´s house, so we were sharing my comp´s, laughing because of how ridiculous we look running down people in the street trying to share the gospel...when we decided to knock on a door. First door, the woman said ¨no gracias pero soy catolica¨. The second one finally let us in her house because of how pathetic we looked in the rain and wind practically begging her to just give us 5 minutes....haha. We ended up sharing a nice lesson and she brought us agua dulce and oreos. Then she said that she wanted to pray for us before we left....and she took our hands and began to pray asking God to bless these two angels that came to talk and share a prayer with her...haha. We weren´t complaining, haha. Hopefully she will let us share more of the message of the restoration with her next time.
I just wanna quote my good cousin, Crystal Snow Flake, oops, I mean, Sister Flake....¨I know when i get home i am gonna be the best doggone member missionary out there haha that is my goal!! We need member help SO BAD. we aint nothin without the members!! feed the missionaries this week! invite them in and find someone they can talk too!! reach out!! be brave y'all are already such awesome missionaries- keep it up!! we need y'all.¨ Amen.
For real, members are the only real way to do missionary work. We come and teach, but we need the members to invite their friends to listen to us, or accompany us with those investigators that we´ve found and have been teaching, but who don´t come to church because they don´t know anyone, or probably think they will feel out of place. Members change all of that. I don´t know if I already told y`all or not, but Rafaela is an investigator that we have that came to the baptism of the son of Hermana Karen. Without Karen´s help, Rafaela would have never had a desire to come to church or to see a baptism. But having a son the same age as Ethan, who was baptized, made all the difference.
I was studying today about lesson 1, the restoration, because we have an investigator who believes in prophets, but doesn´t believe that everything they say is true. He doesn´t believe that coffee is bad for us and that sometimes prophets make mistakes or only speak from their own knowledge....but I know that is not true. A prophet is a guide. A guide is worthless if we don´t know when we can follow them or when we shouldn´t listen to their counsel. A guide must be trusted and always show the right way. I love the following quote from Joseph Fielding Smith....
Ït was never the intention of our Father in heaven to leave men to grope and feel their way in darkness and that without any light to guide them,and expect them under such conditions to find their way back into hiskingdom and into his holy presence. That is not the way of the Lord. Alldown the ages from the beginning our Father in heaven has shown hiskindness for his children and has been willing to give them direction.From the earliest times the heavens have been opened, the Lord has sentmessengers from his presence to divinely appointed servants, menholding the authority of the priesthood who have been commissioned toteach the principles of the Gospel, to warn the people and teach themrighteousness; and these men have received this knowledge, thisinspiration and guidance from these messengers from the presence ofGod. This is true of our own dispensation. There is no need for men to shut their eyes and feel that there is no light only as they may depend upon their reason, for the Lord has always been willing to lead and direct and show the way. He has sent, as I say, messengers from his presence.He has sent revelation. He has commanded that his word be written, thatit be published, so that all the people might know it.
I say to you, and to the whole Church, and, for that matter, to the whole world, that a gracious and loving Father has in these last days spoken again from heaven to his servants the prophets.
His voice has been one inviting all men to come to his Beloved Son, to learn of him, to partake of his goodness, to take his yoke upon them, andto work out their salvation by obedience to the laws of his gospel. His voice has been one of glory and honor, of peace in this life, and of eternal life in the world to come.¨
I know that we are led and guided by a true and living prophet. I am so thankful for the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all and hope that we always look for opportunities to share our testimony with others, especially those we care about greatly. Love yall and sorry for not sending pictures.....I forgot to bring the adapter for my camera....Sorry that my emails are always boring....haha ç
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Thanks for sending photos of all the halloween happenings! Sweet costumes! en serio :) Good to know that everyone is doing good and enjoying this time of the year. I miss seeing leaves changing color and all the things that come with autumn and halloween :) I never realized how much I love the change of the seasons. Here the only change in season is the beginning of the day is hot and it always ends cold and rainy (but not freezing cold). Haha, I have heard so many people here say that their greatest wish is to see snow....The grass is always greener....
Things are good here in Coronado, Costa Rica! Recently we planned an activity that will be the 29th of November...we´re going to have an open house in the church! We will have ward missionaries and less active members teaching a small part of the Book of Mormon in different rooms of the church, as well as a member teaching about family history and the activities and programs of the church, as well as the opportunity to watch mormon messages. Then at the conclusion of the activity, we will have Humberto´s baptism. Humberto has been a great example to his family of truly changing. He used to do drugs and smoke and drink and hang out with the wrong kinds of friends in the street. But since meeting Veronica, he has changed completely, and will soon make this sacred covenant with God through baptism. Woo hoo!!! He just has a bit of a problem letting go of coffee....but we´re working on that...adictions are real and terrible....ergh...haha.
Speaking of addictions...Betty is another investigator that we have and we are trying to help her to give up coffee as well as cigarettes....We send her a message every morning at 11am with a scripture or something to help her resist the temptation....But it´s rough.
The other night we shared a quick family home evening with an adorable family in the ward. Familia Martinez have 3 adorable kids, 7, 3, and 1 years old. They are adorbale!!! They are from Guatemala and shared some Guatemalan food with us, for which my companion was estatic...(she´s from guatemala).
I am so grateful for how addresses are done in the states....here is crazy with directions....The streets don´t always have names, and if they do, good luck knowing because rarely are there signs saying what they´re called, and numbers of houses is another story.....they don´t existen, except for some houses have numbers and in no particular pattern or order...haha. In that sense, finding less active or inactive members is super hard because we usually only have their name and the general area in which we can find them....or not find them...haha. Welcome to Costa Rica.... ;) So, sometimes we go in search of inactive members and don´t find anyone, but we knock on doors and sometimes are let in. :) Yesterday we were in that type of situation. It was raining (shocker) and I had left my umbrella in an investigators´s house, so we were sharing my comp´s, laughing because of how ridiculous we look running down people in the street trying to share the gospel...when we decided to knock on a door. First door, the woman said ¨no gracias pero soy catolica¨. The second one finally let us in her house because of how pathetic we looked in the rain and wind practically begging her to just give us 5 minutes....haha. We ended up sharing a nice lesson and she brought us agua dulce and oreos. Then she said that she wanted to pray for us before we left....and she took our hands and began to pray asking God to bless these two angels that came to talk and share a prayer with her...haha. We weren´t complaining, haha. Hopefully she will let us share more of the message of the restoration with her next time.
I just wanna quote my good cousin, Crystal Snow Flake, oops, I mean, Sister Flake....¨I know when i get home i am gonna be the best doggone member missionary out there haha that is my goal!! We need member help SO BAD. we aint nothin without the members!! feed the missionaries this week! invite them in and find someone they can talk too!! reach out!! be brave y'all are already such awesome missionaries- keep it up!! we need y'all.¨ Amen.
For real, members are the only real way to do missionary work. We come and teach, but we need the members to invite their friends to listen to us, or accompany us with those investigators that we´ve found and have been teaching, but who don´t come to church because they don´t know anyone, or probably think they will feel out of place. Members change all of that. I don´t know if I already told y`all or not, but Rafaela is an investigator that we have that came to the baptism of the son of Hermana Karen. Without Karen´s help, Rafaela would have never had a desire to come to church or to see a baptism. But having a son the same age as Ethan, who was baptized, made all the difference.
I was studying today about lesson 1, the restoration, because we have an investigator who believes in prophets, but doesn´t believe that everything they say is true. He doesn´t believe that coffee is bad for us and that sometimes prophets make mistakes or only speak from their own knowledge....but I know that is not true. A prophet is a guide. A guide is worthless if we don´t know when we can follow them or when we shouldn´t listen to their counsel. A guide must be trusted and always show the right way. I love the following quote from Joseph Fielding Smith....
Ït was never the intention of our Father in heaven to leave men to grope and feel their way in darkness and that without any light to guide them,and expect them under such conditions to find their way back into hiskingdom and into his holy presence. That is not the way of the Lord. Alldown the ages from the beginning our Father in heaven has shown hiskindness for his children and has been willing to give them direction.From the earliest times the heavens have been opened, the Lord has sentmessengers from his presence to divinely appointed servants, menholding the authority of the priesthood who have been commissioned toteach the principles of the Gospel, to warn the people and teach themrighteousness; and these men have received this knowledge, thisinspiration and guidance from these messengers from the presence ofGod. This is true of our own dispensation. There is no need for men to shut their eyes and feel that there is no light only as they may depend upon their reason, for the Lord has always been willing to lead and direct and show the way. He has sent, as I say, messengers from his presence.He has sent revelation. He has commanded that his word be written, thatit be published, so that all the people might know it.
I say to you, and to the whole Church, and, for that matter, to the whole world, that a gracious and loving Father has in these last days spoken again from heaven to his servants the prophets.
His voice has been one inviting all men to come to his Beloved Son, to learn of him, to partake of his goodness, to take his yoke upon them, andto work out their salvation by obedience to the laws of his gospel. His voice has been one of glory and honor, of peace in this life, and of eternal life in the world to come.¨
I know that we are led and guided by a true and living prophet. I am so thankful for the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all and hope that we always look for opportunities to share our testimony with others, especially those we care about greatly. Love yall and sorry for not sending pictures.....I forgot to bring the adapter for my camera....Sorry that my emails are always boring....haha ç
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Week 24: DAME ESTE MONTE (Give me this Mountain)
Hola mis queridos amigos y familia,
Things are great here in Coronado. We had a baptism this weekend, of Ethan, son of Karen and
Roger. Ethan turned eight this last week and decided to be baptized. His mom told us how he prayed for 100 days to know if the church is true and if he should be baptized. He was so nervous the day of his baptism that he had to go to the clinic because his nerves caused him to have somthing like rocks in his stomach. But he felt better by the time of his baptism. Pobrecito :) Lots of people came, including Humberto (novio de Veronica, y nuestro proximo bautismo) and Rafaela and her three kids (they are also some of our investigators). Karen really helped us with the fellowshipping of Rafaela, and it´s perfect because she has a son the same age as Ethan, a daughter the same age as Camila (other daughter of Karen). They are awesome, and I look forward to teaching them even more and preparing them to make the decision to become members of the restored church of Jesus Christ.
The holidays in the mission don´t really exist...jaja. Halloween came and went. As well as dia de los muertos....I think that Christmas will at least feel like Christmas because the members want to invite us to make tamales and lots of pig leg.....oh yeah, Christmas time the ticos have a tradition of eating lots of pig leg....yay me jaja. It´s not too bad, if you avoid all the fatty parts and skin....haha.
Estoy muy feliz para estar en la zona Toyopan. Yo quiero esforzarme a ser una misionera que trabaja mas diligentemente y que es siempre feliz pero nunca satisfecha. I feel like I´m at the bottom of a mountain right now, and that I just have to start climbing it to reach the top and to be able to see a bigger picture and have a better view. I know I´m where I´m supposed to be. Each companion that I have had has taught me something (or a lot of things) about who I am and who I want to be. I want to be a missionary that is happy and that has faith to move mountains....haha. I want to be able to say to my companion, after having citas fall one after another, no importa, trabajamos, y vamos a encontrar una familia. I want to have the faith, obedience, and diligence to witness and be a part of miracles. I never feel like I´m capable of being a servant of the Lord. But the Lord qualifies those He calls, and I just have to be willing to give my all and let Him do the rest. Hermana Rubio is a great example of having fun and being happy, and I want to be able to help her enjoy her mission, but also that together we can learn to give OUR ALL to the Lord. This is His time. We are His called servants. I love this ward in Coronado. Even if there are challenges, I know that everything will play out how God wants it to, if we listen to and act according to the Spirit.
Humberto had the date for his baptism change....Our mission leader talked to us and explained how there are activities each weekend this month, and that only the 29th of November would be a good date for the baptism of Humberto....My companion and I, of course, both want it to be earlier, as well as our zone leaders, sister training leaders, district leader....but Humberto is convinced now as well that the date should be the 29th. I hope and pray that this is according to God´s will. I trust in the leaders of the ward, who recieve revelation for the ward and area. But I also know that some things shouldn´t be delayed. We plan to teach Humberto more about the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and the importance it can have in helping him avoid temptation, or overcome it. We are excited for this ward and know that God is preparing many people, we just have to find them and teach them.
I love Costa Rica. I love the ticos. I love being a missionary. I love my companion.
I am thankful for the trials that we have because through them we become stronger and more dedicated to the Lord. Remember to always give thanks for those mountains in our lives, and even ask for them. Bring it on jaja. :) Dame este monte. It´s only going to make us stronger.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Things are great here in Coronado. We had a baptism this weekend, of Ethan, son of Karen and Roger. Ethan turned eight this last week and decided to be baptized. His mom told us how he prayed for 100 days to know if the church is true and if he should be baptized. He was so nervous the day of his baptism that he had to go to the clinic because his nerves caused him to have somthing like rocks in his stomach. But he felt better by the time of his baptism. Pobrecito :) Lots of people came, including Humberto (novio de Veronica, y nuestro proximo bautismo) and Rafaela and her three kids (they are also some of our investigators). Karen really helped us with the fellowshipping of Rafaela, and it´s perfect because she has a son the same age as Ethan, a daughter the same age as Camila (other daughter of Karen). They are awesome, and I look forward to teaching them even more and preparing them to make the decision to become members of the restored church of Jesus Christ.
The holidays in the mission don´t really exist...jaja. Halloween came and went. As well as dia de los muertos....I think that Christmas will at least feel like Christmas because the members want to invite us to make tamales and lots of pig leg.....oh yeah, Christmas time the ticos have a tradition of eating lots of pig leg....yay me jaja. It´s not too bad, if you avoid all the fatty parts and skin....haha.
Estoy muy feliz para estar en la zona Toyopan. Yo quiero esforzarme a ser una misionera que trabaja mas diligentemente y que es siempre feliz pero nunca satisfecha. I feel like I´m at the bottom of a mountain right now, and that I just have to start climbing it to reach the top and to be able to see a bigger picture and have a better view. I know I´m where I´m supposed to be. Each companion that I have had has taught me something (or a lot of things) about who I am and who I want to be. I want to be a missionary that is happy and that has faith to move mountains....haha. I want to be able to say to my companion, after having citas fall one after another, no importa, trabajamos, y vamos a encontrar una familia. I want to have the faith, obedience, and diligence to witness and be a part of miracles. I never feel like I´m capable of being a servant of the Lord. But the Lord qualifies those He calls, and I just have to be willing to give my all and let Him do the rest. Hermana Rubio is a great example of having fun and being happy, and I want to be able to help her enjoy her mission, but also that together we can learn to give OUR ALL to the Lord. This is His time. We are His called servants. I love this ward in Coronado. Even if there are challenges, I know that everything will play out how God wants it to, if we listen to and act according to the Spirit.Humberto had the date for his baptism change....Our mission leader talked to us and explained how there are activities each weekend this month, and that only the 29th of November would be a good date for the baptism of Humberto....My companion and I, of course, both want it to be earlier, as well as our zone leaders, sister training leaders, district leader....but Humberto is convinced now as well that the date should be the 29th. I hope and pray that this is according to God´s will. I trust in the leaders of the ward, who recieve revelation for the ward and area. But I also know that some things shouldn´t be delayed. We plan to teach Humberto more about the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and the importance it can have in helping him avoid temptation, or overcome it. We are excited for this ward and know that God is preparing many people, we just have to find them and teach them.
I love Costa Rica. I love the ticos. I love being a missionary. I love my companion.
I am thankful for the trials that we have because through them we become stronger and more dedicated to the Lord. Remember to always give thanks for those mountains in our lives, and even ask for them. Bring it on jaja. :) Dame este monte. It´s only going to make us stronger.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Week 23: Este Semana....que era super chiva
Hola querido familia y amigos!!!!
Lo siento a los que solo hablen español....tienen que traducir el resto de este carta...pero no voy a escribir una vez en español y una vez en inglés....jaja.
This week went by way too fast... We had some great noches de hogar with some awesome families of recent converts, who, despite their circumstances or the daily challenges that come with being human and having to care for a family, press forward and have great desires to start creating habits and traditions in their families that will have eternal consequences for the better. I love being with these families because I feel at home surrounded by lots of little ones, haha and gives me so much desire to base my future family on the gospel and the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We started to have lots more help from members who want to go on visits with us to visit our investigators! That in of itself is a miracle, haha. It helps SOOO much to have a member that bears testimony in a lesson or that invites the investigator to come to church with them (especially when they have kids of the same age as those of the investigator)... Or if they are converts as well, and share of how they came to know that the church is true. I love it.
Humberto is awesome! He has changed so much (he used to be into drugs and had those kinds of friends and huge earrings....) and this sunday he came to church in white shirt and tie. His mom is amazed at the change in him in just 3 months since he met Veronica, who is a member and is his girlfriend.
Oh, and I fell. So I was walking along, texting investigators at the same time, and I felt into a gutter...like one that is 4 feet deep....ok. i didn´t fall in. but tripped and one of my shoes fell in....and it was before lunch (we always head out of the house after our studies before we come back to the house to eat lunch) and it never rains in the morning (only in the afternoon, or night) so we didn´t bring umbrellas in order to use to reach my shoe....haha. but luckily a kid and his older sister walked by and he offered to jump in and retrieve it. haha. thank you kid. So now my knees are all scratched up (but for those who know me, that is a norm).
This sunday I had a talk with the topic of sharing the gospel through sharing my testimony. Basically took like 10 minutes the night before to think of what I was going to say....for a talk of about 8 minutes....haha. The mission has sure been a quick way to get over my fear of public speaking.
I love Coronado! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to learn and adapt and grow with Hna. Canales, even if it was just 4 short weeks. I am so grateful for my new companion, Hna. Rubio, who I know is awesome and will work hard.
I feel like things are all fitting together. I know my way around Coronado, for the most part. I have lots of people who have helped me to learn how to open my mouth, how to work with members, etc. and now I just need to help people make their way to the waters of baptism and to the doors of the temple. I love being a missionary.
Sorry for the brevity....we had half an hour less to write today because my comp had her interview with President Wilkinson, so we returned late to Coronado to do internet....and now off to work.
Love you all! Keep up your good examples! Be happy! Share the gospel! Let your light shine! Thanks for the pictures Dad! Thanks for all the letters yall sent me kiddos!! especially Laura, Emma, and Darrell!!! Sorry I coudn´t reply to each of them individually! Jessica, it means the world to me that you took time to write me and send photos. Sounds like life is more than great back home.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Lo siento a los que solo hablen español....tienen que traducir el resto de este carta...pero no voy a escribir una vez en español y una vez en inglés....jaja.
This week went by way too fast... We had some great noches de hogar with some awesome families of recent converts, who, despite their circumstances or the daily challenges that come with being human and having to care for a family, press forward and have great desires to start creating habits and traditions in their families that will have eternal consequences for the better. I love being with these families because I feel at home surrounded by lots of little ones, haha and gives me so much desire to base my future family on the gospel and the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Humberto is awesome! He has changed so much (he used to be into drugs and had those kinds of friends and huge earrings....) and this sunday he came to church in white shirt and tie. His mom is amazed at the change in him in just 3 months since he met Veronica, who is a member and is his girlfriend.
Oh, and I fell. So I was walking along, texting investigators at the same time, and I felt into a gutter...like one that is 4 feet deep....ok. i didn´t fall in. but tripped and one of my shoes fell in....and it was before lunch (we always head out of the house after our studies before we come back to the house to eat lunch) and it never rains in the morning (only in the afternoon, or night) so we didn´t bring umbrellas in order to use to reach my shoe....haha. but luckily a kid and his older sister walked by and he offered to jump in and retrieve it. haha. thank you kid. So now my knees are all scratched up (but for those who know me, that is a norm).
This sunday I had a talk with the topic of sharing the gospel through sharing my testimony. Basically took like 10 minutes the night before to think of what I was going to say....for a talk of about 8 minutes....haha. The mission has sure been a quick way to get over my fear of public speaking.
I love Coronado! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to learn and adapt and grow with Hna. Canales, even if it was just 4 short weeks. I am so grateful for my new companion, Hna. Rubio, who I know is awesome and will work hard.
I feel like things are all fitting together. I know my way around Coronado, for the most part. I have lots of people who have helped me to learn how to open my mouth, how to work with members, etc. and now I just need to help people make their way to the waters of baptism and to the doors of the temple. I love being a missionary.
Sorry for the brevity....we had half an hour less to write today because my comp had her interview with President Wilkinson, so we returned late to Coronado to do internet....and now off to work.
Love you all! Keep up your good examples! Be happy! Share the gospel! Let your light shine! Thanks for the pictures Dad! Thanks for all the letters yall sent me kiddos!! especially Laura, Emma, and Darrell!!! Sorry I coudn´t reply to each of them individually! Jessica, it means the world to me that you took time to write me and send photos. Sounds like life is more than great back home.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
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Week 22: I´m getting less and less creative with titles....Just Be Happy :)
We meet once again, my beloved family and friends,
Things are good. Life is great. I´m happy. My companion is happy. Our zone is great. Costa Rica is wet. The work of the Lord moves forward. I tried to take more pictures this week...but I failed once again to take at least 1 photo every day....once again I will attempt..haha
Wow. Things are going great here in Coronado. We had a great week and learned a lot from the especialistas. They did divisions with us and I learned better ways to do LPEs. My companion, hermana Canales learned a lot too from Hermana Cobourn, because when she came back she started to be a lot better at LPEs and initiating contacts in the street or in buses. We are working more as a team now and have better attitudes. Hermana Canales has faith that we can be successful and that numbers are not a bad thing. When we are focused on improving our goals, and the weekly numbers in the key indicators, we´re really showing that we trust the prophet, apostles, and all other leaders of the church who were inspired with Preach my Gospel and missionary work as we know it today.
Humberto will likely be our next baptism. He is novio (boyfriend) de Veronica, a young woman in the ward. He came last Sunday, and then went to the temple and accepted a fecha bautisimal, but the date fell through when he didn´t come this sunday because he went to visit his uncle. But he is great and we are going to work hard to help him have spiritual experiences and to come to know that this is Christ´s church here on the earth. He shared with us how he has changed so much since knowing Veronica, but that she doesn´t want him to be baptized for her. He wants to do it only if he feels that this is where he should be, and not because his novia is part of it.
Well, I really love this ward and am impressed at how many activities they put together and are always thinking about how they can help less actives, as well as investigators. We still have a ton of work to do and will always have a ton of work to do, but I feel like we are finally getting the hang of working together and improving each week. This next week will be the best ever and will be better than the last week.
Two funny experiences that happened recently. We were knocking a few doors the other week at like 7pm at night, because our district leader promised us that if we did, we would witness miracles. Well, we were being rejected left and right, until the last house on the street....the guy answered and started speaking english....very slow and choppy english....so my poor comp just sat there because she doesn´t understand english....and this guy was basically cortando mi jupa (literally means ^cutting my head¨^ but it´s like chastising) for knocking on their door on a sunday night....but eventually I asked him how long he´s lived in Costa Rica (because I figured that he didn´t know spanish, that he was from Germany or some other country) and he said that he has lived in Costa Rica all his life! so i asked if he speaks spanish....and he does! I don´t know why, but he figured that we didn´t know spanish so began to speak his choppy englsih with me.....hahaha we laughed about that for quite a while, because hermana canales was just listening wondering what in the world he was saying....haha.
The other one we were doing kiosco in the park with our distict. Kiosco is basically when we run people down , haha, no we calmly walk up to them and start introducing ourselves or asking them if they´ve ever met with missionaries and then giving them pamphlets and taking their numbers. one lady starting practically yelling at me telling me that all churches are terrible and only want our money. I hardly got a word out and she was practically watering at the eyes because she felt so strongly about this. haha. part of being a missionary.
Well, things are good. Life is great.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Things are good. Life is great. I´m happy. My companion is happy. Our zone is great. Costa Rica is wet. The work of the Lord moves forward. I tried to take more pictures this week...but I failed once again to take at least 1 photo every day....once again I will attempt..hahaWow. Things are going great here in Coronado. We had a great week and learned a lot from the especialistas. They did divisions with us and I learned better ways to do LPEs. My companion, hermana Canales learned a lot too from Hermana Cobourn, because when she came back she started to be a lot better at LPEs and initiating contacts in the street or in buses. We are working more as a team now and have better attitudes. Hermana Canales has faith that we can be successful and that numbers are not a bad thing. When we are focused on improving our goals, and the weekly numbers in the key indicators, we´re really showing that we trust the prophet, apostles, and all other leaders of the church who were inspired with Preach my Gospel and missionary work as we know it today.
Humberto will likely be our next baptism. He is novio (boyfriend) de Veronica, a young woman in the ward. He came last Sunday, and then went to the temple and accepted a fecha bautisimal, but the date fell through when he didn´t come this sunday because he went to visit his uncle. But he is great and we are going to work hard to help him have spiritual experiences and to come to know that this is Christ´s church here on the earth. He shared with us how he has changed so much since knowing Veronica, but that she doesn´t want him to be baptized for her. He wants to do it only if he feels that this is where he should be, and not because his novia is part of it.
Well, I really love this ward and am impressed at how many activities they put together and are always thinking about how they can help less actives, as well as investigators. We still have a ton of work to do and will always have a ton of work to do, but I feel like we are finally getting the hang of working together and improving each week. This next week will be the best ever and will be better than the last week.Two funny experiences that happened recently. We were knocking a few doors the other week at like 7pm at night, because our district leader promised us that if we did, we would witness miracles. Well, we were being rejected left and right, until the last house on the street....the guy answered and started speaking english....very slow and choppy english....so my poor comp just sat there because she doesn´t understand english....and this guy was basically cortando mi jupa (literally means ^cutting my head¨^ but it´s like chastising) for knocking on their door on a sunday night....but eventually I asked him how long he´s lived in Costa Rica (because I figured that he didn´t know spanish, that he was from Germany or some other country) and he said that he has lived in Costa Rica all his life! so i asked if he speaks spanish....and he does! I don´t know why, but he figured that we didn´t know spanish so began to speak his choppy englsih with me.....hahaha we laughed about that for quite a while, because hermana canales was just listening wondering what in the world he was saying....haha.
The other one we were doing kiosco in the park with our distict. Kiosco is basically when we run people down , haha, no we calmly walk up to them and start introducing ourselves or asking them if they´ve ever met with missionaries and then giving them pamphlets and taking their numbers. one lady starting practically yelling at me telling me that all churches are terrible and only want our money. I hardly got a word out and she was practically watering at the eyes because she felt so strongly about this. haha. part of being a missionary.
Well, things are good. Life is great.
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Monday, October 13, 2014
Week 21:
My wonderful family,
We have a wonderful ward here in Coronado! And each time I am in a new ward I feel the same way, Like we are one big family as members of the restored chruch of Jesus Christ. And i shared my testimony which I have done more in my mission (like officially over the pulpit) than combined in all my life. I never was very good a public speaking...haha. And i was always a nervous wreck when I finally did decide to share my testimony. But for all you reading this, don´t ever give up! Keep on going up there even if you feel like your heart might just jump out into the congregation. I actually enjoy sharing my testimony now (and what´s more, its in spanish...). This ward is adorable, lots of older couples, as well as young families with lots of little kiddos. I´m in heaven. haha. This saturday was the baptism of Argentina. She has been investigating for 3 months, and finally decided to enter the waters of baptism....which, funny (sad) story....So Argentina is an older lady, and an adorable one at that. She was really concerned about being baptized because the water would be cold. And for some reason my comp and I told her that we would heat up the water for her. So she was expecting warm water.....and that is definitely not what she got.....So we were told to not even try because other missionaries had tried boiling pots of water, but they were never successful, so we didn´t bother....my comp was convinced that God would heat up the water....because one missionary in our zone told us a story of how they were unsuccessful in heating up the baptismal font, but when their investigator entered the water, he said thank you elders for heating the water for me. But lo and behold, this miracle did not happen for us....she was moaning as she entered the water because the cold water hurt her joints.....I felt SO BAD.....but after the ordinance and when she was changing she told us that she didn´t feel cold anymore, and that she actually felt kinda hot. We were trying to help her dry off as fast as possible and brought her a cup of hot agua dulce....never will promise hot water again.....only in the temple is the water heated..haha.
( I hope yall don´t mind, but I always insert a part of my weekly letters to my mission president, into these weekly letters....so this is the excerpt that I wrote to my mish president)..Well, two weeks have gone by here in Coronado, but it feels like 4 days....I´m not going to lie, I took a back seat and was complacent for about a week, because honestly didn´t feel a lot of pressure because i felt like my companion needed to teach me the area and help me to meet our investigators and members, etc. But i´ve realized that she needed me to take charge. She has a strong personality, but I do too, its just harder for me to take charge when I don´t have the best control of the language. A couple days ago we came home after working all day, and our district leader called as always, and really was telling us how we need to improve and giving advice and telling us that things have got to change. Afterwards we talked a lot and we´re both really honest with each other, and we expressed our thoughts and I flat out told her that she has got to start trusting that I know a little bit about what I´m doing and that even though she knows the ward, the members, the area, etc. that I´m not just a piece of meat sitting in the refigerator....haha I didn´t use those words, but I want her to know that I am going to start taking charge. We have felt moments where we were guided by the spirit, and I hope that now she has faith that she can be successful. She still has a hard time believing that numbers are a good thing....but we´re progressing. I love her so much, even though she can be frustrating at times (and walks EXTREMELY slow)....haha. But i´m working on patience and want to teach how to be diligent and work HARD. I love being a missionary even though sometimes i just feel like a kid placed in another country with GREAT expectations....but that´s what it´s all about. Christ didn´t have it easy when he preached the gospel, or when he sacrificed for our sins. but he did it. now that is my motto....just do it (sorry NIKE...haha). OUr goal is to find 20 new investigators this week......we have an awesome district leader who pushes us to reach our potential. And great especialistas who know how to encourage and push us as well.
This week we got the new liahona (it´s like christmas when we get new liahonas, haha, at least I enjoy reading them cover to cover, in spanish and english, hahah) There is a powerful article on THE PRAYER OF FAITH. wow. en serio. yall should read it. One idea that I really liked, and that I´m trying to put into practice, is reflecting before praying. It even suggests writing in a notebook to write down blessings, how you have seen the lord´s hand, or names of people that we want to pray for. And keep that notebook close, and whatever thoughts come to us as we pray or after we pray, WRITE THEM DOWN. this is revelation. and then ACT ON THEM. or we can´t expect to recieve more. we should pray for the prophet and every leader of the church. pray that we can overcome temptation, including the temptation to be complacent. as i was studying this theme, the prayer of faith, i came up with a circle thing, haha, or a life cycle of recognizing the impressions of the spirit. it starts with gratitude,----> love for God and charity----> desire to be obedient to the commandments and to god´s will----> prayer, meditation, service, magnifying callings, sharing the gospel, reading and studying the word----> the holy ghost tesitfies and speaks peace and joy to our soul-----> Revelation or thoughts, good ideas, knowledge, light and truth------> gratitude :) that´s the circle that I came up with. Thought it was pretty neat and felt very enlightened, hahah, but just goes to show that we can all recieve personal revelation :) I love you all so much and invite you all to read the articles in the Liahona, the ensign, friend, new era, etc. Especially maybe yall could use the idea of having a family night focused on having more thoughtful prayers. And the activity can be found on lds.org (i believe) just look up prayer sandwich.....I thought it would be a good idea for family night, and yall could make sandwiches, with each part of the sandwich signifying a part that should be in our prayers....just an idea. Ok. now i am ranting again. Sorry that These are not the most interesting letters. I just kind of ramble and ramble. I will improve one of these days....haha. Love you all so much!
Love,
Hermana Flake
( I hope yall don´t mind, but I always insert a part of my weekly letters to my mission president, into these weekly letters....so this is the excerpt that I wrote to my mish president)..Well, two weeks have gone by here in Coronado, but it feels like 4 days....I´m not going to lie, I took a back seat and was complacent for about a week, because honestly didn´t feel a lot of pressure because i felt like my companion needed to teach me the area and help me to meet our investigators and members, etc. But i´ve realized that she needed me to take charge. She has a strong personality, but I do too, its just harder for me to take charge when I don´t have the best control of the language. A couple days ago we came home after working all day, and our district leader called as always, and really was telling us how we need to improve and giving advice and telling us that things have got to change. Afterwards we talked a lot and we´re both really honest with each other, and we expressed our thoughts and I flat out told her that she has got to start trusting that I know a little bit about what I´m doing and that even though she knows the ward, the members, the area, etc. that I´m not just a piece of meat sitting in the refigerator....haha I didn´t use those words, but I want her to know that I am going to start taking charge. We have felt moments where we were guided by the spirit, and I hope that now she has faith that she can be successful. She still has a hard time believing that numbers are a good thing....but we´re progressing. I love her so much, even though she can be frustrating at times (and walks EXTREMELY slow)....haha. But i´m working on patience and want to teach how to be diligent and work HARD. I love being a missionary even though sometimes i just feel like a kid placed in another country with GREAT expectations....but that´s what it´s all about. Christ didn´t have it easy when he preached the gospel, or when he sacrificed for our sins. but he did it. now that is my motto....just do it (sorry NIKE...haha). OUr goal is to find 20 new investigators this week......we have an awesome district leader who pushes us to reach our potential. And great especialistas who know how to encourage and push us as well.
Love,
Hermana Flake
Week 20: Welcome to Coronado...not in Kansas anymore
Hola familia!
This place is gigantic! And cold! I never thought I would say that I¨m cold here in Costa Rica...but here in Coronado we´re in the mountains and it´s cold in the evenings and getting out of bed is freezing. Yesterday I had my first hot shower here in Costa Rica....apparantly right now the water heater is broken, so we´ve got cold water, but when the members we live with fix it, bingo, we´ll have hot water. Yesterday the members we live with let us use their shower so that´s how it came to pass my first hot shower here in Costa Rica ;) haha. anyway, on to important things....
Yesterday and Saturday we had the wonderful opportunity to listen to General Conference--I hope you all had the opportunity to really listen and find ways to put into practice those things that they taught us. Of course, we listened to all of the conference in Spanish....I missed hearing the real voices of our beloved prophet and apostles, but it was still amazing. And really tuanis that 4 talks were in other languages...what did yall think of that? when the speaker started speaking in chinese, spanish, or portuguese? haha. I loved the two talks that were in spanish because we got to listen to the real voices of those two speakers, but the rest were translated over.
So Ojo de Agua is a lot different from where I am now. Pretty much every one here in Coronado has a car. and the houses are mansions compared to what I´m used to in Ojo de Agua...It´s city, so people don´t greet each other like we always did in Ojo de Agua. Apparently this area has been really low in numbers, lessons, new investigators, and baptisms....yay me, haha. I don´t know the area still because my companion hardly knows the area as well, so this will definitely be a learning experience as we learn the area together and look for new investigators (because we barely have anyone...). We are going to rely alot on faith, and being obedient so that we can see miracles here in Coronado (because we desperately need some). Today we had a great activity that the Sister Training Leaders put together for all the sisters in our zone, and we talked a lot about having faith and working hard and being obedient and talking with everyone, so that we could witness miracles in our areas and have baptism--- how to have faith and really endure and be postiive even when it seems like we´re not having success, because if we still work hard, and are obedient, the miracles will come, we just have to be patient and really believe that they´ll come. Hermana Cobourn is one of our especialistas (sister training leaders) and she is awesome. She is in her 19th month because she extended her mission for another month and she was in my first ward at BYU.
My new companion is Hermana Canales; she is from Honduras. she is 19 years old. She has almost 3 months in the mission (just barely finished her training), and she is fun-loving and loves to talk. I hope that I can lead by example how to work hard and that I can learn lots from her and that together we can be successful tools in the Lord´s hands here in Coronado.
I hope that I can get to know this area well enough to be a better help for my companion to know where we should go so that we use our time more effectively. This week should be a week filled with talking to everyone, looking for nuevos, and praying fervantly to be led in the right direction, so that we can find those who are ready to accept the gospel and enter the waters of baptism.
I love being a missionary!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
This place is gigantic! And cold! I never thought I would say that I¨m cold here in Costa Rica...but here in Coronado we´re in the mountains and it´s cold in the evenings and getting out of bed is freezing. Yesterday I had my first hot shower here in Costa Rica....apparantly right now the water heater is broken, so we´ve got cold water, but when the members we live with fix it, bingo, we´ll have hot water. Yesterday the members we live with let us use their shower so that´s how it came to pass my first hot shower here in Costa Rica ;) haha. anyway, on to important things....
Yesterday and Saturday we had the wonderful opportunity to listen to General Conference--I hope you all had the opportunity to really listen and find ways to put into practice those things that they taught us. Of course, we listened to all of the conference in Spanish....I missed hearing the real voices of our beloved prophet and apostles, but it was still amazing. And really tuanis that 4 talks were in other languages...what did yall think of that? when the speaker started speaking in chinese, spanish, or portuguese? haha. I loved the two talks that were in spanish because we got to listen to the real voices of those two speakers, but the rest were translated over.
My new companion is Hermana Canales; she is from Honduras. she is 19 years old. She has almost 3 months in the mission (just barely finished her training), and she is fun-loving and loves to talk. I hope that I can lead by example how to work hard and that I can learn lots from her and that together we can be successful tools in the Lord´s hands here in Coronado.I hope that I can get to know this area well enough to be a better help for my companion to know where we should go so that we use our time more effectively. This week should be a week filled with talking to everyone, looking for nuevos, and praying fervantly to be led in the right direction, so that we can find those who are ready to accept the gospel and enter the waters of baptism.
I love being a missionary!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Week 18-19: The only thing constant in this life is change
Hola querido familia y amigos!
Wow.
That went by too quickly. Fastest cambio ever. And now I´m leaving the area where I started my mission....not going to lie, very hard to leave the people that I love so much there. The members. the investigators. our cocinera y ¨ma¨. The area that I´ve grown to know and even the taxistas. I knew my way around and loved being there. And now I´m off to embark on a new adventure here in Toyopan. Miguel´s baptism was great. It was early before Church this sunday. We had Maria, a recent convert and an angel gave one of the discursos about baptism. She is awesome. Miguel really understood what step he has chosen to take and will be a faithful member of the church. I loved Ojo de Agua so much. Right now I´m probably annoying my ex-comp so much (Hermana Tordecilla) because I just sent her an email reminding her to tell everyone how much I love them and am going to miss them, and to tell her not to forget taking care of my recent converts and the other new members, menos activos, and our investigators....part of me will always be in Zone Heredia. It was a privilege. Well. Off to another chapter in a new area....It terrifies me and is thrilling at the same time. Mission life is crazy. I am honored to be numbered in the ranks under my captain, President Wilkinson. I want to be a more worthy and diligent instrument in this great work.
I´m so glad that I was finally able to catch up on all the emails and photos that yall sent me of Grandma´s funeral. Last week we weren´t able to send emails because we ran out of time with our zone activity. I know that Heavenly Father is working in our family on both sides of the veil, that grandma and grandpa flake are reunited at last and are smiling down on their huge, happy family. It´s not perfect, but our family knows how to love one another despite our differences, arguments, trials, misunderstandings, hardships, etc. I know that families can live together forever if we stay true to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful so much to be a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, and for the opportunity we have coming up to listen to a living prophet and his apostles and other
leaders of the church. I know that if we listen and apply what they teach us, that we will be more able to remain faithful and be anchored when the storms and tribulations come (and they will come). Yet again I am short on time which means that I go straight to my preachy self instead of sharing the funny, sad, happy experiences that I´ve had this month and a half (that literally felt like a week).
Every single day it rained this month. Literally. And everyone says that it rains even more in
October.....yay...haha. Thanks for keeping me updated! I love hearing about the ward at home! This may sound cheesy but anything related to church, church callings, missionary work in the ward, family home evening, members in the ward, less actives, leadership in the ward, the growing testimonies of Troy, Tyler, Travis etc. I love that stuff so much because that is my life right now 24/7 focused on helping wards grow (Que Chiva that now we have a bigger ward!!!!) reactivating less actives, finding new families and converts, working with the members to find new investigators, and trying to help people gain their own testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. So keep it coming ;) I love you all so much and am so happy to hear that you are all having consistent family home evening, scripture study, prayer morning and night. Literally makes me want to cry, because I see too many examples here of families that don´t do these things and they are not active and dont have strong testimonies and their children are wayward. THe little things are SO important, especially always having the temple as a goal. I hope that yall always look for ways to help the missionaries in the ward by giving them references and hosting family home evenings for their investigators, or offereing to feed them every once in a while. I realize now how much strong families are needed in helping the work of missionaries in pushing forward the work of the Lord. I´m gettting too preachy....sorry. I love you all more than i can explain, and I´m not going to lie.....every once in a while I break down and cry myself to sleep (i promise it´s once in a blue moon.....but stilll) It was an accumulation of the funeral and not being able to be there and tears of happiness at the same time because yall were able to have a ¨family reunion¨ even though it wasn´t really planned. I miss yall, but I wouldnt trade being here serving the people of costa rica for anything.
I´m doing good. don¨t worry about me :) I am just grateful to recieve weekly emails from yall
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
Wow.
I´m so glad that I was finally able to catch up on all the emails and photos that yall sent me of Grandma´s funeral. Last week we weren´t able to send emails because we ran out of time with our zone activity. I know that Heavenly Father is working in our family on both sides of the veil, that grandma and grandpa flake are reunited at last and are smiling down on their huge, happy family. It´s not perfect, but our family knows how to love one another despite our differences, arguments, trials, misunderstandings, hardships, etc. I know that families can live together forever if we stay true to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful so much to be a member of the restored church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints, and for the opportunity we have coming up to listen to a living prophet and his apostles and other
leaders of the church. I know that if we listen and apply what they teach us, that we will be more able to remain faithful and be anchored when the storms and tribulations come (and they will come). Yet again I am short on time which means that I go straight to my preachy self instead of sharing the funny, sad, happy experiences that I´ve had this month and a half (that literally felt like a week).
Every single day it rained this month. Literally. And everyone says that it rains even more in October.....yay...haha. Thanks for keeping me updated! I love hearing about the ward at home! This may sound cheesy but anything related to church, church callings, missionary work in the ward, family home evening, members in the ward, less actives, leadership in the ward, the growing testimonies of Troy, Tyler, Travis etc. I love that stuff so much because that is my life right now 24/7 focused on helping wards grow (Que Chiva that now we have a bigger ward!!!!) reactivating less actives, finding new families and converts, working with the members to find new investigators, and trying to help people gain their own testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. So keep it coming ;) I love you all so much and am so happy to hear that you are all having consistent family home evening, scripture study, prayer morning and night. Literally makes me want to cry, because I see too many examples here of families that don´t do these things and they are not active and dont have strong testimonies and their children are wayward. THe little things are SO important, especially always having the temple as a goal. I hope that yall always look for ways to help the missionaries in the ward by giving them references and hosting family home evenings for their investigators, or offereing to feed them every once in a while. I realize now how much strong families are needed in helping the work of missionaries in pushing forward the work of the Lord. I´m gettting too preachy....sorry. I love you all more than i can explain, and I´m not going to lie.....every once in a while I break down and cry myself to sleep (i promise it´s once in a blue moon.....but stilll) It was an accumulation of the funeral and not being able to be there and tears of happiness at the same time because yall were able to have a ¨family reunion¨ even though it wasn´t really planned. I miss yall, but I wouldnt trade being here serving the people of costa rica for anything.
I´m doing good. don¨t worry about me :) I am just grateful to recieve weekly emails from yall
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake
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