Week 17: Mountains to Climb

Flakey Family,

I´m sorry to hear about Grandma. I hope Dad was able to make it to see her, but even if he didn´t, I know she is proud of him and all her children that have taught their kids to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa Flake and for all the memories that I treasure of them and for their faithfulness to the gospel unto the end of their lives. I am so happy that Grandma and Grandpa raised up Dad to be the worthy priesthood holder that he is and taught him how to work hard, serve others, and be a real dad. I am grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and for a merciful Father in heaven who designed a way for us to live again one day in His presence and with the potential to learn how to become more like Him.  I was reading something today that is interesting and so true. It´s in the April General Conference, a talk from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf....

"In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings.
Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless13 and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny.

The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They are merely interruptions—temporary pauses that one day will seem small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.

How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings."


I love you all and wish I could hug each and every one of you!!!

This week has been....rain, rain, rain....haha. Seriously we are walking in rivers of water pretty much everyday. There has been so much rain this week and everyone says that this is nothing compared to October...oh well, all part of the mission in Costa Rica. We are still working with Miguel to quit coffee and smoking. Saturday he had one cup of coffee and one cigarette...but yesterday we had a lesson with him and we brought a member who was baptized only 4 months ago, Rafael, who had to give up coffee, smoking, and alcohol in order to be baptized...after being addicted for 25+ years! We finished teaching the restoration and watched the 20 minute video of the first vision, and then Rafael told Miguel about his conversion story, and how he had desired a change and then came knocking two elders at his door. He explained how it is much more effective to go cold turkey when it comes to addictions and not just lesson the addiction a little at a time....Having Rafael there was so key to how that lesson went. Instead of it being us missionaries coming yet again and giving him even more information to take in, he really took it to heart and it gave him esperanza (hope) to see that he´s not the only one. Even though it´s hard to get members to come with us sometimes, and they usually make the going slow, I have a strong testimony of the importance of members with similiar experiences or who underwent similiar challenges and changes.

 I love being a missionary. It´s hard. Really hard. There is so much pressure and so many different things we have to do and we´re just kids really. I´m learning a lot from trial and mistakes...and I hope that I can reach my potential and that I can be a powerful tool in the hands of the Lord, that I can learn to follow the impressions of the Spirit and act on them...This week I lost our phone....which had all the numbers of our investigators and members etc. I left it on a shelf in the supermarket and someone stole it. I felt like Martin Harris when he lost the 119 (?) pages of scripture....Now we will have to use a cheap phone that is so much harder to use and we will have to find all the numbers again. I know that even though we make mistakes, we can learn how to change and become better because of them. I know that my Savior lives and that this is His gospel and that only through Him can we be saved and achieve exaltation. I want to be more worthy to bear His name and preach His gospel to everyone who will hear it.

 Happy Independence Day for Costa Rica!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake

Pictures Week 17:

Week 16: Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Querido familia mia!!!

EMMA!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! AND CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING BAPTIZED! you are now a member of the only true church with the entirety of the restored gospel. How do you feel? Sorry for slacking on the birthday cards....maybe they will be there before you turn 9...haha....and before Darrell turns 6....I love you both!!! And Tyler soon will be 14, right? Man, time is flying...thanks for sending me pics of Emma´s baptism, Tyler!!!!

This week we have been working with Miguel and trying to help him quit drinking coffee and quit smoking so that he can be baptized the 20th of this month. I wish I knew better ways to help people quit addictions or habits... We did divisions this past week with Hermana Starke and Hermana Martinez, and I loved it. I always love teaching with Hermana Starke because she knows how to teach to the level of the investigators and be very simple and not teach too much. That´s something that Hermana Tordecilla and I need to work on. I want to be better on focusing on the investigators and not on the lesson. I was bummed when we couldn´t get anyone to come to the iglesia this sunday except for Miguel...We went to all of their houses and called them and they still didn´t come (half of them didn´t answer the phone and weren´t there when we went to their houses). It is depressing when you feel like you do everything you can, and you don´t see results.... I want to be a better instrument in the hands of the Lord, but I feel so inadequate because I´m not so great at teaching. I want to be better at teaching according to the spirit. Hermana Flake is not a good teacher...therefore I NEED to teach with the spirit.

This week we had planned to visit Rogelio several times and he kept on canceling on us :(  Two of those times we had called a recent convert to come with us to the cita, but we had to tell him nevermind. Finally, yesterday we were able to have the lesson with Rogelio with the member present and I look forward to the next lesson with him. We reviewed over the first part of lesson restoration (we had already taught that) and then we watched the 20minute video of the restoration and afterwards, Abraham (the recent convert) shared his conversion story. It went well, though I would have preferred to have heard Rogelio speak more (he is kinda shy), so I know that we need to work more on asking questions that allow the investigator or share his or her feelings and thoughts.

I love being a missionary, and I want to be a better one and work more on having a positive attitude. When it´s always raining and our citas are always falling (or at least the last couple of days) sometimes I find it hard to be positive. But that is my goal. I am so thankful for all letters, and pray that we can all work harder push the work of the Lord forward.

¨Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.¨ D&C 78:18

Remember what covenant be made when we chose to be baptized into this church...
7. And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him. And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.

 8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

 9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

 11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts. (Mosiah 18:7·11)

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake

(From Troy: the pictures for this week did not send correctly on the e-mail, (; so I will get them next week and add them to this post)

Week 15: Just Keep Swimming

Hola!!! First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARRELL!!! I love you so much and cannot believe that you are 5 years old!!! I miss you and know you are being a good boy for mom and dad and your siblings. I´ve been meaning to send a card....but it will be a while before he gets it....and oh my goodness, Emma is turning 8 years old soon! (it is 8, right?) haha....I got your envelope with the drawings of Laura, Emma, and Benson ! they are on my wall now ;)  I love them!!! Thanks! 

I love being a missionary. It´s hard and there are lows, but there is something so rewarding about going to bed dead tired and being excited to teach certain investigators. I am finally getting the hang of LPEs (lecciones para encontrar, which basically means talking to random people in the street, in front of their houses, knocking on their doors, in taxis, or in buses), and feel comfortable making conversation with pretty much anyone, even the drunkards...but we try to avoid them haha. This week has been a week of rain, rain, rain, but we keep on trucking on even though we get soaked almost everyday. We´re finding new investigators and trying to use the members more because we know that it is WAY more effective to teach people who have connections with members. Daniel Jimenez is a recently returned missionary who helps the missionaries whenever he can, and he told me that his goal is to see my family of recent converts (familia Vargas) sealed in the temple in a little less than a year :) That made me so happy to know that someone in the ward has the same goal as me, and can take over when I have to leave Ojo de Agua someday. In fact, we have a noche de hogar with familia Vargas tonight and Daniel is going to come too and we´re going to talk about the Temple and the things we have to do to prepare for this remarkable opportunity. 

This Sunday, my companion and I were a little bummed because none of our investigators were there initially. However, Deyver (amigo de miembro and investigator) came and he stayed for the second hour as well in the class of principios del evangelio. Also, Wendy (friend of Carmen Vargas, new convert) came for the first time with familia Vargas, and she stayed for 2.5 hours. And then, towards the end of the sacrament meeting, an older gentleman walked in and sat down in the only available seat, and we later found out that he, Miguel, decided to come to our church (he thought it started at 10 so he was late, but he stayed for the second hour as well) because he read the folleto of his son, which we had contacted in the street about a week ago....he is awesome and we have a noche de hogar with him as well tonight, in the home of familia Campos. YAY! I love being a missionary, and even though it´s way out of my comfort zone, I am beginning to love talking to random people, in spanish, haha.

I am grateful for a companion who puts up with my ways and my sometimes strange behavior ;) She has a personality very different from mine, but the amazing thing about missions and companionships is that it really doesn´t matter what your companion is like, you can work together and enjoy serving together when you have the same goals. Hermana Tordecilla is a great example and I am trying to be a better companion for her, because she deserves it. That will always be my goal, to be the best companion that I can be, because jamás will I be someone that my companion cannot tolerate. I am confident that we are being obedient with exactitude because when we don´t cumplir with all that we should be doing, we recognize it, repent, and try to change the next day. For example, we had a rough few days of LPEs where it wasn´t our priority and we blamed our slack on the rain and weather...but when we really try to meet our goals of LPEs, we are able to see the blessings of being obedient in LPEs. We will always have much to improve on and I am grateful for the leaders that we have that help us to cumplir with our metas. Our zone, district, and especialistas leaders keep up on us and expect us to improve always and check up on us.  I am proud to have President Wilkinson as my captain, and to be enlisted in this amazing work.

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake

P.s. I´m pretty sure the Elders in the ward here think I´m a freak, haha. We were returning from our multizone conference and it was raining cats and dogs, and we saw a toad...and it was huge, I mean as big as a big mac (bigger than a big mac because the hamburgers in fast food are shrinking, ha). I will have to send the picture next week because Elder Harrison (the new gringo in the ward) took the photo and he is not with us this pday to send emails...stay tuned :) until next week

Week 14: Siempre Feliz, Nunca Satisfecha

Hola familia y amigos!

Whew. Life is great. The mission is great. I´m always tired, sore, and sweaty, but hey, I´m a missionary and have been called  by a prophet of God. I love my new companion, and hope that I can be a better companion for her. She is completely different from my other companions and we have a lot of things that aren´t in common, as well as many that are....it´s all part of the mission life, learning how to work diligently with all different types of companions. I feel a lot of pressure to fill our planners with lessons because I´m the one who knows the area and members and investigators, but I feel like I hardly know this area at the same time. 

Our area is the largest area in our zone, and to give you an idea, we could walk from one point to the other in maybe 3 hours....I´m not sure because I haven´t even been to all the parts of our area yet...The bishop says that you could drive from one end to the other in a little under an hour....yikes! Anyway, you can imagine that we really have to plan our days wisely or we end up with no where to go at 7 or 8pm at night, which is the hours least productive for knocking on doors (or gates) or talking to people in the street. For that, I´ve been a little discouraged the past couple days when we´re rejected from houses, people cancel their citas (usually as in we get to their house and they say that they´re busy), or people don´t answer their phones....but when that happens, I try to remember the big picture, and that I´m serving this mission for me, my family, and most importantly, for God. He knows that we will have ups and downs, but only if we prove that we can stay positive through the negative times will he provide us the way to see miracles. I´m still in the waiting for miracles point, but I´m working each and every day to be happy, and to smile, and to pretend I have energy to talk to people. Sometimes, when we´re studying, I realize that I am just dead tired and I think to myself....just ignore it and pretend you have energy. That´s really all to it. It´s all mental ;) haha. 

Each and every day of my mission adds to my assurity of the importance of members in missionary work. We can work until we fall down dead and still not help these areas grow if the members don´t have a part in fellowshipping, teaching with us, magnifying their callings, and expecting us to work diligently. I want to help this ward so much, and the only way to do that is to help the ward help itself. 

We had a ward activity last friday, and part of our service for the week was to help hermana and hermano Castillo cook arroz con carne for the activity. It was fun and the activity was great because lots investigators and menos activos came. Lots of people shared talents, and Daniel (a return missionary in the ward) made us missionaries get up and sing a hymn.....haha. what talent! not. haha. 

The other night we had a noche de hogar with our family of recent converts and they invited Alejandra, who is one of our investigators. We talked about eternal marriage and the temple and the importance of being sealed as a family so that we can live as families for eternity. It´s never easy to have a lesson when there are younguns present, but we managed and the spirit was present at times ;) 

Remember to always stay positive and to keep on looking for ways to improve each and every day! Siempre feliz pero nunca satisfecha!

Happy birthday Jessica!!!! 19 years old!!! crazy! I´m glad you were able to spend the week at home :) Keep God first siempre and everything else will fall into place.

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Flake

Week 13: Cambios!

Querido familia mia! 

Today was cambios, and now I'm with Hermana Tordecilla and I"m still in Ojo de Agua. I am very happy because I feel that she has a great desire to be a hard working missionary and follows the spirit. I can not explain how happy I am here to stay here in Ojo de Agua because it hasso much potential! This úlitmo Saturday we had the baptism of Aurora, who was one of the first investigators I met here with Hna. Morales andHna.. Escobedo. She is a fighter and her and her two children are going to progress together now That They are all members. I'm going tokeep Working with them, and helping them be more Comfortable with spiritual things (Sergio and Fernanda are very shy and dont like to cometo mutual or get to know people) but i know that its a process.

I'm not going to lie, these first 3 months here in costa rica in a trio with Hna. Morales and Hna.Escobedo was very difficult for me. I came to costa rica gunho to hit the pavement, knock on doors, and work my tail off... And then I realized that I my companions didnt see things the same way. I dont think they realize how hard that it was for me to have two mothers/trainers that didnt always have their heads here in costa rica, and I couldnt express my feelings because of my limited spanish for fear of offending or insulting them... But I know that they were meant to be my trainers. I learned un monton. Some things I learned because they are things that I know I never want to do when I'm a trainer or ending my mission. I never want my companion to know that I'm ending my mission, until 2 weeks before, and even then I dont want her to notice a difference in how I work (unless its to notice that i'm working double time, haha).          Among other things, I learned most that youve got to be yourself, no matter what, and that when you open up and laugh, your companions will put up with you enough to work and teach in unity.  I learned that there is a lot of types of pride, not just the pride that consists of those who are high in ranks who think they are all that, but also, the pride from those who nit pick leaders or who are always saying,"no me caie bien con este hermana, o este elder". There is type of pride that consists of those who think that those who try to be exactly obedient are haughty or full of themselves. But that simply is wrong. I believe that those who arent trying to be exactly obedient are truly the ones who have pride because they fear what others think of them more than what God thinks or wants us to do. I am working on that type of pride, because i don{t open my mouth with everyone. I've improved a lot, but I still have fear sometimes, which means I'm worried more about how others think of me more than what I've been called to do. 

Anyway, another thing I learned from my comps is to love. When things are tough, serve your comps. And also, i was humbled a lot, because they may not want to "hit the pavement" and work there tails off, but they are successful and know the doctrine and know how to work with people. I can apply that always, because being dead exhausted from working all day isn{t necessarily a sign of effectiveness. Its how many people you help bring to the waters of baptism and build their faith in Christ. 

Sorry this is so long.....If you get anything out of my ramblings, just know that I know that every companion that I recieve is for inspiration and meant because I need to learn something. we should never think "i hope my new companion is good", it should be " I want to be the best companion that I can be for my new comp". I've got a long way to go, but here{s to another chapter.

Sorry, I still dont have interesting news...I am not keeping up too well on my journal writing...

I just want to say that so far I{ve eaten (or at least tasted a bite) Mondongo (its like intestine or something of a pig i think), Lengua (cow tongue), sope con huevo de tortuga (turtle egg soup), rice with a bunch of shrimp type creatures, and more, but I cant think of what they are right now....its crazy, and we have to eat everything so as not to offend anyone...

I love you all so much!!! continue to let me know about the going_ons in your lives and please keep up those things that build up our family, such as scriptures and prayer as family every day and family night every week! Get to know the missionaries in our ward and help them by giving them referrals! haha, I{m probably preaching to the choir, since you already do these things and I badger yall like every week, but they are so important! Jessica, let me know whats going on, I want to hear about college life without me :)

Mucho amor,

Hermana Flake

Pictures Week 13:

Week 12: Life is Short--the Mission is Shorter

I´ve already been in Costa Rica for two and half months! Yikes! Time flies....

This week has been a downpour pretty much every day. It´s great fun being soaked and walking in muddy water (especially when we have planned to visit Los Lotes, which is a kind of a ghetto, for lack of a better term...Some of the houses are made of cement, but others are just shacks) and when it rains, the street is just a mud bath haha. I´m grateful for my rubber shoes now, that´s for sure. We had a noche de hogar with Familia Vargas (our family of recent converts) and we brought María and Dianita (little sister of novio de María). It went really well, especially since Genesis (13 años) planned the lesson and did really well and even had activity planned, and then Yahaira and Carmen made some kind of fried bread for the treat and Agua Dulce. Loyda and Valerie had a hayday with my hair (they remind me a lot of Laura and Emma, especailly when they go at it with my hair, haha)

Aurora, one of our forever investigators, is going to be baptized this Saturday! Her two hijos are members, but are kids and don´t like to talk about religion or come to mutual or church. But she is finally fed up with the way her life is right now. Her husband abuses her, and she told us that she only feels better when we visit or when she comes with us to church. She is separating from her ësposo (they´re not married), and is going to be baptized! This week we had a huge attentance in the ward (128!) and the ward is getting stronger. In fact, our new ward mission leader is very enthusiastic about helping us,and wants to do his best. Things are looking up. I really have no idea what is going to happen next week when my companions go back to Guatemala, if I´m going to stay in Ojo de Agua or move to another area. I really want to stay in Ojo de Agua becuase I know my way around and LOVE the members here and want to keep helping this ward grow, but of course, I will be happy whereever the lord wants me to go. I love you all and hope you all work hard in school now that it´s starting again. Remember the things are truly important, and put God first before everything else. Life is too short to procrastinate the day of our repentance, or the day in which we truly study the scriptures and pray to our heavenly father. We need to do all we can to grow and become more christ like in this life. Until next week folks!

Love,

Hermana Flake

Pictures Week 12:

Week 11: The Field is White (and Muddy)

Hola mi familia!

Sounds like yáll are having a good time. Take lots of pictures :)

     This weekend we baptized María!!! She is so cute and her testimony is so strong. The baptismal service for her was perfect. Lots of people came (including investigators) and the spirit was strong. My companions and I and Stephany (a member of the ward who is 18) sang a special song for María, which is called Feliz Para Siempre. It´s a beautiful song and we´ve been practicing over the past couple weeks. Yall should look up the lyrics :) It starts with ¨hace un tiempo atrás¨ and then ya´ll can plug it into google translate. María really was a golden investigator. It all started a few weeks ago at our weekly portuguese class that is held in the church every thursday and taught by Daniel, a member who served his mission in Brazil. Maria´s boyfriend, Michael, has been inactive for years, but he is now actively trying to quit some addictions and is coming to church. The two are adorable together and have been a light in their family. Michael´s family (the ones who introduced us to Maria) have seen how the missionary work has affected María and are more actively engaged in the work of salvation now. They all want to be missionaries! Maria and Michael both want to serve missions, as well as the younger sisters of michael. Every member a missionary!!!

     Recently we´ve been visiting a lot of inactive or less active members and trying to help them come back to church or do the things like praying and reading scriptures as a family. It´s great to see these people remember why they were baptized and have a renewed energy to come to church. And on the downside, we also see a lot who just don´t get it. They think that they´re good since they´ve been baptized, and they don´t worry so much about praying, reading, or coming to church. These three things are so important! One member, who was somewhat less active a couple months ago when I first arrived, has, since we´ve started visiting her every week or two, started to become a member-missionary. Not only has she started coming to church regurlarly again and bringing her daughter to mutual, she now actively magnifies her calling and teaches lessons to the youth and sometimes primary every sunday. She also asked us missionaries to help her to do her visiting teaching, since her companion never can be contacted or has no desire to do her visiting teaching. So I went on divisions with this Hermana and we did her visiting teaching together. This last week, we had planned a noche de hogar with this Hermana, and she invited all her neighbors. However, no body showed up. But we told her that her efforts will be rewarded, in the Lord´s way and timing. She shared with us a story that bishop shared this sunday, about a man who was told by the Lord to push a boulder evrey day. The boulder never budged, and the man grew dissatisfied because he never saw the results of his labor. Yet he continued to push the rock like the Lord commanded him. Eventually the Lord came and talked to the man and the man expressed his concern about how he cuoldn´t move the rock. The Lord simply said, Ï only asked you to push the rock every day, I never said you had to move it...and now look at you. You´ve grown healthy and your muscles are strong. This was the end goal.¨ So, even if we don´t see the fruits of our missionary work, we can know that our own testimonies and conversion process are getting stronger through sharing the gospel with friends, family, and neighbors. 

     There are so many people out there waiting for something that can only be found in the restored and full gospel of Jesus Christ. The field is white already to harvest, so thrust in your sickles and get to work! :) Talk with everyone even if it´s just chatting about the weather. As you talk with people, they will feel or see something different in you guys. I love you all and promise that one day i will write down the funny things that happen to me in the week  (Trust me, there are plenty...) that´s my goal, to remember and write down embarrasing, funny moments so I can send them to yall so that I´m not always just preaching. haha. 

Mucho amor,

Hermana Sarah Flake

Pictures Week 11:

Yo y Ishmara 

Two young men that the elders in our area baptized this Sunday.

family of the boyfriend of Maria (the girl we baptized) . 

They were integral to the conversion of maria ;) 

Week 10: Every Member A Missionary

Hey Yáll! 

I´m terrible and I didn´t write in my journal very well this week so my letter is going to be really short...sorry...

We still have María who is progressing extremely well. Her baptism is this saturday and she is simply precious. She is only 17, but she is very mature and spiritual. 

We have been trying to teach our main taxi driver, Oliver, and his wife, but so far have only had one lesson so far, which was basically get to know who they are. We are good friends with Oliver because he drives us around a lot, but it was the first time we met his wife. I will keep you posted on their progess.

I loved reading all the emails yáll sent me this week! Thanks for the pictures as well! I promise that next week I will write a more fulfilling email and include pictures. It´s just that this week, literally, I took no pictures.....estoy malo! perdon. Haha. Thank you for your prayers and keep me posted on your going-ons. Love yall bunches,

Hermana Flake

P.S. I wish I had infinite energy, but I swear I am dead tired a lot. All part of the mission I suppose, ha. I will just have to work harder on eating more veggies in order to have energy :) 

P.S.S. Keep enjoying your summer break! And Jessica, make sure you are balancing the work and the fun :) Sounds like you are doing good though, since you still like your job even though you´re working like a horse ;) Love yall!

Week 9: Nothing Exciting This Week...

Hello my wonderful family!

This week my companions and I had to travel to San José to get my huellas (fingerprints) done. So that means we stayed at the ¨sister house¨ and all the other gringas and two of the latinas that came to costa rica the day I came, were all there :) It was nice to hear about how the work is moving in their areas and to finally speak a little bit of English, ha. With that finally done, I´m not at risk of being thrown into prison anymore...haha. Now I´m completely legal here.

We¨re still working with Familia Vargas, because they still need to be guided and helped a lot. They came this Sunday, but they have been slipping on some things that I won´t go into detail, that members shouldn´t do, so we´re going to have another family night with them on top of our other visits with them. They just need help quitting habits and forming new ones. Don´t we all?

Ok, so we have another investigator who is a gem. Her name is María and she is dating a member who is inactive and addicted to marijuana. His name is Micheal, and his Mom, Dad, and two sisters are active in the church (his mom is a counselor in the Relief Society), and since meeting María, has a renewed desire to quit using drugs. The way we met María was at our weekly Portuguese class that we hold on Thursday nights in the capilla, which are taught by our good friend, Daniel (return missionary who served in Brazil). Anyway, Micheal and María both came as well his mom, and they really enjoy learning Portuguese. Then after the hour-long class, we talked to them and planned a Noche de Hogar in their house. Last sunday we had the noche de hogar, and it went really well, and we committed María to a baptismal date :D We taught her again this last Thursday right before the portuguese class and plan to have another noche de hogar tonight. We are hoping to prepare Micheal to be worthy to be the one to baptize her, but even if that isn{t possible (I´m not sure the rules about how long someone has to wait after having used drugs to be worthy of the priesthood again...) we hope to help him change his life around. I love them a ton and they are always smiling! Pray for them :)

Sorry I don¨t have any picturesthis week....just one of a delicious fruit that looks really cool and a pic of Carlos, an awesome 10 year old who is a great example in his less active family. He practices magic tricks, so that´s cool :) He also made me a bracelet with those little rubber band things.

Jessica! please tell me about your life! I want to hear about school, dates, funny stories, hanging out with family, embarrasing moments, everything! Troy, Tyler, Travis - you all too. Happy Birthday Laura! in a week!!! Tell Emma, Darrell, Benson, and Brian how much I love them! I love yall!

Week 8: Nothing like a family all dressed in white

Hola Buenas familia amado mio,

Sounds like y´´all are having a blast visiting Jess and fam in Utah, and now yáll are driving to st. george to visit Grandma Flake. Tell her I love her please! And that I´m thankful for her faithful example that she has always been to her huge family and posterity. She is awesome.

Thanks so much for praying tanto for Familia Vargas! They really needed it because it´s a huge change for them---Juan to stop smoking and drinking, Yahaida to commit to be faithful to her husband, and all of them to be members of this church which is something that will always require much effort from them. The wedding was a little awkward at first, not a whole lot of people (including the abogada (lawyer lady)) didn´t show up right away, but eventually they got there. We had quite a few investigators come that were family of the Vargas family, so that was good. The baptism was much less awkward. It was directly after the boda, and so the turn out was great. Me and my companions shared a poem and song about knowing people before this life and commiting to finding them and teaching them the gospel. We brought lagrimas to the parents eyes. They are wonderful and I am so grateful to have witnessed the change in their life.

We have a lot of work to do now that Familia Vargas is baptized. We need to keep on teaching them all the lessons again, and work our tails off to find another family to teach as well as teach those investigators we already have. We have a lot that aren´t really progressing, so we´re going to determine this week if they´re going to progress or not and if not we will have to drop them....I feel really bad about it because some of them I feel like we might have neglected a bit, and that´s why they´re not progressing.

One of my comps straight up told me that she is expecting me to take charge now and to tell my comps what we´re doing each day (to an extent) and to put all of the baptismal dates on our investigators and to initiate every lesson. Phew. It´s hard, but it´s good for me. Definitely making me be less focused on myself and very humbling. They keep telling me that this is MY area and that since they´re leaving, they´re not obligated to do anything anymore. So, here goes to another humbling and hard week (not to mention sometimes awkward, like when my comps just stare at me expecting me to start, haha) and did I mention humbling? Still trying to find ways to serve them (if you have ideas, give them to me por favor...) but doing the dishes and buying some necessities for our quarters just isn´t quite enough. So true that having companions prepares one for marriage (i´m just glad I´m not going to be marrying two women who can be emotional rollercoasters sometimes, haha) I´m so grateful to have my two missionary moms who have been teaching me a lot about myself and what I need to change. And not to mention spanish and how to teach using examples and stories. They´re great and I am glad I have them as my trainers.

This Sunday, after the confirmations of Familia Vargas, Elder Tobar and I gave quick 5 minute talks, mine about Fe and his about esperanza. We found out the night before that we had the discursos this sunday.... luckily they only had to be 5 minutes. I wrote half of it down and the rest I just shared a personal experience, which was actually easier than I thought it would be. yáll know how bad I am at giving talks verbatum without reading...but that part was actually better than the part that I wrote. haha.

The longer I´m here, the more I realize just how important our attitude is. People are intrigued in those who are happy, smiling, and positive. I´ve realized that talking to people on buses, or just in the street. They will want to hear what I have to say when they see that I am happy to be here sacrificing time, education, employment, memories with family, etc. to be here sharing the gospel with others. And another thing is the importance of unity, in my case with companions, and in yalls´case, within the family. When we are united in purpose and attitude, we can have the spirit with us in our lecciones. Like I said, it´s been a humbling experience. Turn outward and look forward with faith!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Sarah Flake

Pictures Week 8:

Hermana Morales curled my hair for the baptism and wedding....it was kind of loco....

haha, and this is a pic my comp took at the end of the day after we had planned

A quickly thrown together wedding, but extravagance isn´t important. 

what´s important is that they acted on their faith and got married even when 

hardly anyone here in costa rica does that....perdon for the inmodesty of Carmen....

we have yet to teach modesty in detail...

The beautiful family was baptized and have made that step
        to take upon them the name of Christ! woohoo!

The baptism and wedding went off without a hitch 

(not sure if that phrase means what I´m intending, but you know what I mean...ha)

my comp took a pic of me brushing my teeth...

Remember to brush your teeth everyday to prevent tooth decay!

 and read your scriptures everyday to prevent truth decay! haha I´m really preachy, perdon

zone pic

Week 7: Change is Hard (and so is Lice)

Hola familia!

I loved reading all your emails about your weekends to Utah :) And I´m glad yall did something for the fourth of july, because I didn´t....haha awkward, but it was my companions from Guatemala that reminded me the day of...not me...oh well, I´m proud of my country and don´t always have to show it :) Like the ticans here when costa rica was playing in the copa mundial...they are PROUD of their country :) and I am too, they worked hard to get to the final four, first time in history (this was often my way of starting conversations with people on the bus, ha).

Our wonderful little family, the one with Juan Antonio, Yahaida, and their four daughters, is progressing well. Juan smoked a cigarette this saturday...but he´s trying to quite, and he fasted this fast sunday like we taught him. We taught them the Law of Chastity in full detail yesterday because they´ve struggled with this in the past (Carmen is 16 and has an adorable 2-week-old baby) and the parents have pasts as well. But overall, it went really well and we also went through all the baptismal questions with them to clear up doubts or misunderstandings since this saturday is their scheduled baptisms...and their wedding (two in one, ha). we also went over Palabra de Sabiduría (WoW) with them since the parents have been struggling with coffee and Juan with cigarettes, and they gave us their can of coffee to throw away. I sure hope they can be ready for their baptisms this saturday, but if juan keeps smoking, or yahaida drinks more coffee, or if Carmen can´t commit to chastity, we´re going to have to push some of their baptisms back...<but I have faith in them. they´ve made so many steps and are really trying to change their lives. They´ve come the last 4 sundays (menos Juan last sunday for work), and have had a family night with us missionaries and the Bishop´s familiy. Pray for them.

This past week, a young man who was a less active member, got in an accident on his motorcycle (he was doing a wheelie and was hit by a car). Apparently they all thought he was going to die for sure, but the next day he made signs that he might live. I´m not entirely sure since I only get bits and pieces from the conversations and my companions are at the end of their patience for helping me know what´s going on (they leave in a month and sometimes their heads are more at home than here...). Anyway, this sunday during fast and testimony meeting, the mother got up and bore her tearful testimony and of course with my luck, I had gotten up at the same time as her, so i was directly after her. So my idea of what i was going to share changed a bit as I sat on the stand, but it wasn´t bad. I bore my testimony about our blessing of having the knowledge of forever families and live after death, and a merciful heavenly father. And how I´ve witnessed the gospel change lives and families, so with this great knowledge we need to share the joyful news with our friends and neighbors. or something like that, in simpler words and in spanish, ha. The spirit was really strong in that meeting. After sacrament meeting, we had the Principles of the Gospel class where all of our investigators attend, and guess who was teaching....me...ha. The elders, who are also the zone leaders, delegated the teaching of this class to us sisters, and my companions delegated it to me. yay. but really it wasn´t too bad. I just had to think of some questions on the spot, delegate reading the sections, and ask the elders to write answers on the board. They (the missionaries)all helped to answer and give input, which really helped. Juan even told Elder Zelaya afterwards that he learned a lot. Phew. glad at least one investigator got something out of it :)

Things are better with my companions and it´s all because I decided to change my attitude. I had a lot of pride because I wanted to be exactly obedient and was ffrustrated when my comanions were anything but exactly obedient...but I realized that I was judging really harshly. they´re good missionaries, if a bit lazy, but they really love the people and explain things in a way the investigators can relate and understand. As i´ve focused on the positive, and tried to humble myself to serve them in any little thing even if I sometimes feel like the odd one out, I see where they´re coming from. They´re best friends and are both leaving back to Guatemala together in a month and a half, so of course they´re trunky and like to talk about everything together. I understand now, and am not letting things bother me so much. plus, if i want to help us be more obedient, I´ve got to be on good terms with them or they won´t want to change their ways at all (who am I, the newbie gringa to tell them what we should be doing?) I went through a bit of despression the last few weeks off and on, but not anymore. I´m here to show people the happiness the gospel brings, so I´m going to be happy and positive no matter what. If nothing else, at least i can be productive in that aspect :)

Hey dad, I´d love to hear some exerpts from your mission journal if you could type some and send them in an email. Maybe for when you were a newbie? I know you´re really busy, so don´t stress, I definitely won´t, but just a thought.

Ok, so the other day, saturday actually, my head was itching a montón! So I told my companion hermana morales that I thought i might have lice...and she said it was very likely. SO we checked. and lo and behold there was a whopping 25ish bugs in my hair! que asco! literally it was disgusting and kind of fun (i´m not going to lie, i like when people comb my hair, and killing lice is rewarding in a weird way) haha. But we covered my hair in vinigar and washed all my bedding, and now i´m good. was pretty funny. we discovered the culprit to be Loyda, and possibly the whole family Vargas (Juan, Yahaida, etc...) and since Loyda is always with me when we see them (I´m her favorite, haha, and when I´m not there because sometimes we do splits, she annnoys my companions to death asking where is hermana flake?, haha). So yeah...I´ll probably get lice again if since I´m not going to just push her away. I love her and her family. Vale la pena

Well, six weeks has come and gone, and it flew by. None of us here in Ojo de Agua had cambios yesterday (every six weeks there is the possibility of being transferred) so here´s to another six weeks learning as much as I can from my two mothers as they call my comps. I love you all so much and hope you all are trying to share the gospel each and every day, whether it be talking about it or just being positive, helpful, and happy. Until next week folks!

Con mucho amor,
Hermana Sarah Flake

Pictures Week 7:

cool lizard we found in the washing machine

 of the member we live by

photo below is of our zone minus one elder 

who somehow got cut out of the photo

Week 6: "Forget yourself and get to work"

Dearest Familia,

This week was different...we had a baptism :) The thing is, Laidi (the woman we baptized) was baptized when she was eight, but we have no record of it, so she had to be baptized again. It was a good thing though, because she is less active and hasn´t gone through the temple yet, and this gave her another chance to feel the spirit strongly in her life. Her husband, Pablo, baptized her, so that was precious. Juan Antonio and his two younger daughters came and watched the baptism, so that was awesome. And Yahaida (the soon-to-be-wife of Juan Antonio) and all her daughters came to two hours of church this sunday, but Juan had to work. I desperately don´t want to lose this family, so we are visiting this family almost every day of the week. In fact, we are having dinner at their house tonight. I love them so much, but Satan works super hard on those families that are preparing for baptism...pray for them.

So I decided that I am just going to do my best to be exactly obedient to the rules, but I´m going to serve my comps and be as helpful as I can to them. I cannot do my work here as a missionary if I cannot even get along with the people I´m living with 24/7. Though I feel like the only way I am ever able to get a long with them is when I am not being focused in missionary work, I am going to stay positive and just do my best. I need to forget myself (and even my desires to be the best and most effective missionary I can be) and get to work serving my companions and my investigators...

Costa Rica is progressing in the Copa Mundial and let me tell you, the ticos here will let you know how proud they are of that :) It´s awesome, but the day of the game was loco here in the streets. Remember that we should always have goals that we are progressing towards. And these goals should be specific and written down and somewhere where you can see them often. Continually be trying to improve something each and everyday. Never be content, but always be happy. People are watching, and if we want to be effective in sharing the gospel, we have to show that we love to live it! Energy and attitude are everything. I love yáll and want to keep hearing from yall! Tyler!!! send me an email once in a while, will ya? haha ;) 

Thanks so much for your desires in being a forever family! Continue to be missionaries and share the gospel with everyone, through words and actions. Help the missionaries in the ward, and even go on splits with them, or have a family night in our home with some investigators and the missionaries. It helps so much to have help from the members in this great work of giving the world the truth. Sorry for being preachy. I just wish I had known all this before my mission, so that I could be more helpful in our ward at home and I wish I had gone on splits with the missionaries. It is so effective. I love yall and pray for yall always :D

mucho amor,
Hermana Sarah Flake

Pictures Week 6: