Serving a mission. BEST DECISION OF. MY. LIFE.                                     12/21/15

HELLO FAMILY! FELIZ NAVIDADES!!! 

What an awesome week. It was a PARTY! I know it has only been about 5 days since I last emailed you all, but so much has happened. So, I will give you a day by day of what happened this week.

Wednesday (after I had emailed you and P-day was over)- we had THE BEST DAY EVER. It was so cool. So, at 6:00, we went to Jo's house and fortified him with the good word, for his baptism on Friday. He still hadn't smoked! But it was pretty hard on him just quitting cold turkey. After that, we went out of our mission with the French Sisters to teach some French Investigators that they have. It was so cool! All of them are refugees from The Congo. A pair of Elders have to go with he sisters because the culture of the Congo is very oppressive of women. They treat them worse then animals. I was not very happy about they treated the wife. If I would have understood what they were saying. I might have shown him what is up. AND HOW TO TREAT A LADIE! ¡QUÉ FREGADOS! And so, a lot of times we have to go so that the men will listen and not do/say anything inappropriate to the sisters. We basically are the French Sisters' body guards! But besides that! I love the French guys! They are pretty cool. After that lesson we were late to a lesson with Wil, so the French sisters drove us straight to downtown Phoenix and just waited for us in the car while we taught Wil. Oh man, Wil's lesson was awesome. We went over his baptism and how it was going to work and all that jazz, and at the end, he told us that it might not have worked as it did, if it had not been for us, his specific missionaries. He said that it could have gone either way. I didn't know about that though, because he was literally the most prepared person that I have ever met. But it was kind. Then we left. OAnd this is where the huge miracle happened... We were walking out, just smiling to our selves and thinking about how wonderfully prepared Wil is and how he truly is an elect of God that did indeed hear and respond to the masters call. A miracle in itself. But we got to the elevators that went down to the parking garage, and the only other person around was this woman. We could tell she was sort of avoiding us, but we both got in to the same elevator. She was trapped:) We simply asked her how her day was, and, not even answering our question, she said rather abruptly, "I feel like I need to talk to you guys." And with that we all stepped out of the elevator onto a secluded floor and talked for some time. She claims that God has been leading her towards the Mormon faith for a long time now. She claims that there have been so many instances and encounters in her life recently with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There is no way she says that it could be happening by coincidence. She says that she sees missionaries EVERYWHERE now. And that all her conversations among friends and coworkers are all about the Mormon Faith, and they aren't even members of the church... Yet;) she says that in these conversations, which are mostly negative and criticizing, she finds herself instinctively defending the church! She is an incredible successful business owner and marketer. She has many homosexual friends and her husband is an episcopalian priest. Plus, many, MANY other things going against her. She mentioned that she foresees herself joining the church, but didn't think it would happen for another couple of years. The events of late have changed that. She said much more, but you are just going to have to read my journal sometime if you want all the rest of the details! But the truly amazing part is all the events that lined up perfectly for us to meet in that elevator at that exact moment. First of all, we try to get members to every set lesson that we have. And we easily could have gotten someone to Wil's lesson, but for the first time on our mission we felt that we shouldn't invite a member with us. Which, is so weird because we've got to have a mission record for the number of member presents. We use members all the time! But we felt we shouldn't, and we didn't, and because of that Wil didn't stop to show  his house, gym, and pool like he always does. If that would have happened the timing would not have worked. Also, the day before, Tuesday, we had had a lesson with Wil as well. And for that lesson we decided to bring someone that we do not usually bring to lessons (because he is a loose cannon in lessons, takes over, is out of control, and sometimes speaks false doctrine). But for some odd reason we felt like we should take him, so we did. And the lesson turned out all right, but he took over and we were not able to teach Wil the lesson he needed right before baptism. So at the end of the lesson Wil was a little overwhelmed by the member we brought and asked us if we could come back the next day, Wednesday. If we wouldn't have brought him, we would have completely missed the woman we met in the elevator. In addition to that, had the French sisters not asked us to go to a lesson with them, we would not have been late to Wils, and the timing would be all off. Plus, he fact that the day was already packed for us when the French sisters asked us to go with them, but, yet again, we felt prompted to go with them. Another thing that happened was that the only reason she was in the elevator at that time was because she forgot her workout shoes in her car, and she had to go get them! And the list goes on and on and on. Explanation: Miracle. Cause: Our Heavenly Father. Conclusion: God indeed lives, and He is, always has been, and always will be a God of Miracles. And parting the Red Sea is a far lesser miracle then the salvation of one of His children. So that was Wednesday. 

Thursday- we went to the temple most of the day. It was amazing, and there were some pretty sacred and special things that were shared by the temple presidency that I am hesitant to write about. Just know that Our Savior does go to His temples spiritually and physically. 

Friday- Jo got baptized! It was a powerful experience. And his brother-in-law who baptized him really struggles with memorizing things and can't read was really struggling with what he had to say. But when he got in the water, he afterwards recounted that he felt this calm, a warmth, and then he recited the words perfectly, which, he had never done before. Explanation: Miracle. Cause: Our Heavenly Father. Conclusion: God indeed lives, and He is, always has been, and always will be a God of Miracles. It was very special. Right after the baptism we hurried to a subway where we met with the woman we met in the elevator. It was a great lesson. She bought us some fancy water. She had some really deep concerns about God having a God. And the Validity about the people that came to Joseph in the Kirtland temple. But she is willing to doubt her doubts before she doubts our faith. We told her that all her concerns would be worked out. And she completely trusted us. At one point she said: "in your faith, which I am sure will soon be our faith," and then she said what she was going to say. She is so ready! 

Saturday- we had another investigator get baptized. Wil! He got baptized and we only started teaching him a couple of weeks ago! He wanted it so bad. And he got his answer, and is going to be a wonderful addition to the church. He is solid and intelligent. How did it happen? Explanation: Miracle. Cause: Our Heavenly Father. Conclusion: God indeed lives, and He is, always has been, and always will be a God of Miracles. These are powerful experiences that I will remember for A LONG time. After the baptism we went and rescued someone from this martial arts guy. And we actually learned a few Korean martial arts moves. After, we taught them. We went and met Wil downtown. We met at his skyscraper and he took us to this restaurant that was on top of this massive hotel. HUGE HOTEL. The restaurant is called the compass, and each plate we had, must have costed over one hundred dollars. It was crazy. The restaurant also slowly rotated as you ate and was so high up that by the end of your meal you had seen all of Phoenix. It was amazing, I was stunned. Fanciest place on earth. I was in full suit and still way underdressed! He said he just wanted to show us his appreciation. It was shocking going for this slum we were teaching in moments before, to this restaurant. And they were minutes apart from each other. Sunday- was awesome, but I will save that for another day. No time! 

I know that God lives and that He is in the details of our lives. He is there, and he is always near. He really is. 

Elder Flake

Dearest                                                      12/16/15

 I am growing a lot. I feel completely different then the man I was just a short six months ago, but we will see! How different was Jacob? 

Well I did get your package, thank you very much! It was much appreciated! But the letters were the best part:) except for the fact that I have not heard from a few of my siblings for a while! But it is all good. As for Christmas, I really do not want anything, so please don't worry about it! I don't need food or clothes or anything, so really, please don't send anything, BESIDES a nice letter from all of you and for my family to just be a little kinder and much more focused on Christ than we have been in the past. If you just want to spend some money on me, please just buy some things for a family in need. Please understand and then live the fact that "It is more blessed to agive than to receive." Acts 20:35. That is, honestly, all I really want. Even though it may not seem much. I promise that these things will make this Christmas the best Christmas that we have ever experienced. Think about it. 

The weeks have been amazing, I have so much to share, and such very little time. But, we have been singing and dancing and performing so much. We wrote the coolest arrangement of Angels we have heard on high! Sometime you'll have to hear it! We are baptizing two of our investigators this week. Wil and Jo. They are both 27 years old and live in completely different worlds. Wil, I am sure is a multimillionaire and lives in about the third tallest building in the state of Arizona. His room overlooks almost all of Phoenix. He is a CFO in the rich part of Scottsdale (Which is saying something because all of Scottsdale is rich) and says that he could easily live there. He is EXTREMELY intelligent and is so knowledgeable about the church already. I think he knows more than I do already! And we have been teaching him for 3 Weeks! And then there is Jo. I LOVE Jo. He is such A GOOD GUY. WOW. Jo, on the other hand, struggles with work, education, and is living with his sister on the same street with one of the local gangs. We have taught him for about three months. We recently caught Jo smoking outside before a lesson one day. AH! That was discouraging. But the. We had a lesson with him, and we talked about if he wanted to quit and if he would quit. And then right after, he took out all his tobacco and poured it into the trash! ON THE SPOT! MIRACLE! And we promised him if he didn't smoke all that week before his baptism he could still get baptized! And so far so good! But we keep going over to help him out, They are the same age and being baptized this weekend, but they are complete opposites and they live just down the street from each other! Only in Phoenix does such diversity exist! It makes for VERY Exciting fast and testimony meeting! In fact the first fast and testimony meeting down here was the first time on my mission that I DIDN'T bare my testimony in English, because I was so shocked and somewhat scared at all the testimonies shared at that meeting! But I still bore it in Spanish;) And I was just in a completely different universe when I was up in the Mountains! Life is crazy, but awesome. We had transfers this week and I am still with Elder W. We are DOING SO MUCH WORK SAVING SOULS! President said that he hadn't seen this much progress in central Ward for A LONG time. We live on the very edge of our mission so sometimes we go out of it on accident. But all is well. We are also, like the only zone in Arizona that has French speaking missionaries, and so we have to go out of the mission a lot and help those sisters out! But that is about it! Oh, except I am a district leader now. Life is good! 

This work is real. It is our Heavenly Father's work, and He is doing it. He doesn't need us, but He lets us help for our own good. There is nothing better to do in the world. The happiness I feel is not normal. Not should I expect it to be, because it is of God. If ever you are sad... Be a missionary and it will change your night to day. I want to be the best I can! I want to be perfect just like Our Savior has asked us to be. And it seemed so impossible, until I got some advice from Elder Lynn G. Robbins last week. He talked about something that he called "spiritual reflexes." That is when having Christlike attributes is instinctive and natural. You do not need to think about it because it is part of who you are. It is a habit that is noticed only when you do not do it. It is a reflex! And so that is the goal. To gain as many Christlike reflexes as possible! I love you much! And I will see you soon! 

Love Elder Flake

Hello Friends!                                                       12/09/15

This week was AWESOME! It was so incredible refreshing and
educational. We are working hard and baptizing lots of people. I think
we have like half a million people in our area, and before we leave we
are going to baptize ALL of them! So send me some prayers would you?
Whatever you have been doing it is working! Keep it up! Miracles are
happening every day, and I hope that they are happening in yours as
well. And, even more so, I hope that you can SEE the miracles that ARE
happening in your life! Because they are there and we just need to see
them! WE MUST WAKE UP! AND OPEN OUR EYES.

I apologize for writing this Wednesday, but today is our Preparation
Day, and next Wednesday as well. Then it will be back to Monday for 6
weeks. Every transfer we have a P-Day on Wednesday. Some miracles that
happened this week were that we found some wonderful people to teach.
We brought a family to the temple: The Visitor's Center and then the
lights. One of them is about to get baptized. Then we had an amazing
conversation with another investigator about repentance for a Huge
issue that he had in the past. But he is getting baptized in a little
over a week. He is amazing. He understands so much and he wants it so
bad. And he is EXTREMELY Intelligent and wealthy. That is extremely
rare. But he is going to be one of my best friends for life. He is so
awesome. Easiest person that I have ever taught... I means it helps
that he took four days off of work to read the entire Book of Mormon,
and the pearl of great price, and he is reading it again. I mean that
helps, but God has really been building him. Before us, he had never
talked to missionaries in his life. He said that he first read the
Book of Mormon skeptically to prove it wrong, but he couldn't put it
down, and by the end of it he knew it was true. He said that he was
inspired and uplifted, and that, when he finished the book, he was
very confused and was looking for the "rest of the Boom of Mormon" to
find out where the other things that people have told him about the
book were. But he couldn't find them. And so he was hooked, and he
went to church, and God touched his heart, and I am pretty sure that
he is going to be an apostle some day! He is willing to give up
EVERYTHING that he has to join this wonderful church. It is quite
touching, seeing as he is a CFO at 27 years old living in the middle
of a city full of prostitution and crime on every corner. And there
are SO MANY MORE MIRACLES! I just don't have time to talk about them
all! I am sorry! I will tell you when I get home!

One of the greatest honors this week was to sit and learn at the feet
of Elder Lynn G. Robbins. What a pleasure. There were 2 different
conferences with him: one in the mountains for the mountain
missionaries, and one for the valley missionaries. I got to go to
both. On Sunday night, all the leadership in the Mission headed up to
the mountains for a special leadership council and training by Elder
Robbins. I do not know why, but President Sweeney invited me. Meaning
that I got to see Elder Robbins every time he spoke while he was on
his tour of the mission. I got to go and stay the night up in Eagar
again and it was AWESOME. I had to go up early to practice a song for
Elder Robbins. All three times that he spoke he spoke for about 4
hours straight, and it was phenomenal. He spoke of things I've never
even thought of. He is an extremely successful businessman, and he
made a lot of really good connections between the two. For the
mountain conference I played for him that armies of Heleman
arrangement that I did. It was awesome, but one of the scariest things
that I've done in my life. It was just awesome. He talked to us a lot
about 100% agency connected to 100% responsibility. But he mostly
talked about love, marriage, raising a family, how to parents, and
some really amazing applicable things. There was just something so
special and different about that man, and about all those men. They
are so dignified and flawless that I sometimes feel that they are not
human. Their intellect is extensive in any subject. He would blow your
mind in any subject that was brought up or every question that he was
asked. Everything about him was stunning.

God knows us all. He is our Father. He loves us, and always will. I love you.

Love Elder Flake

Dearest Family,                                                                         11/30/15

How are you all?!? I love the holiday season, and I hope that you all
are enjoying it! This Season is a little different for me... It is
super strange! I mean... At is very moment this is a picture of what
we're doing!

We are golfing! And I am not going to lie! It is A LOT OF FUN! This thing is more like bowling than golf, but I love it. Notice how sunny and nice it is... And we are outside on the last day of November! Weird... It is kind of uncomfortable. It definitely does not feel like the Christmas season! Plus, being a missionary, you sort of do the same thing year round. But it IS AWESOME because people are more receptive to the message of Jesus Christ! It is Wonderful. We definitely do not and should not need a reason to celebrate and remember Christ, but it works! 

His week has been super crazy. We have taught SO MUCH! And people are being baptized! It is so exciting. We brought an awesome Spanish couple from Guatemala to church and the wife started crying during la Santa cena. It was awesome. She really liked it and wants to come back next week. She is also the sister that fed us thanksgiving dinner, and made me a cake for my birthday and wants us to come by and get free food from her restaurant ALL THE TIME. And I met her last week. She is so sweet. We are definitely going to get her the gospel. She has tasted it and felt it and now she cannot resist! We, also, have been I meeting with our CFO friend. He has committed to be baptized as well in the 19th of December! He lives in the Almost exact center of Phoenix. The exact center is an intersection, and the skyscraper that he lives in is on one of the corners of that intersection. It is so fancy and nice. It is way up in the air and is outside wall is seamless glass overlooking the entire city of Phoenix. The first time we taught there it was sort of uncomfortable for me because it was so high up and out of my element. But now it is cool! He is awesome, and incredibly intelligent. We are meeting with many other families as well. All are doing amazingly. The Lord is hastening his work. This is for real. I hope y'all are doing so good!!! Tell Jacob hello for me. I love you. See you soon!

Elder Flake

11/23/15

Dearest Family,

So life is awesome. It always is. I am exhausted. I am hot. And just
about everything else. BUT I LOVE IT! AND I DO NOT WANT TO BE ANYWHERE
ELSE. All I need more in life is you guys to be here and then I would
be the happiest man alive. It really is incredible fun and happy out
here, but it is by far the hardest thing that I have ever done in my
entire life. I am so excited for the rest of you that still get to
look forward to two years of this wonderful service. I am already so
sad that 6 months have already passed. And honestly, I feel like life
has already been going so ridiculously fast! I do not even know what
to do about it!

His week was very nice. We had a zone conference, and so we had the
wonderful opportunity to be taught at the feet of the President
Sweeney. He taught us about how all things testify of Christ, and,
also, about the Holy Ghost and having it teach us what we need to work
on. Yesterday, there was a French fireside that I was going to play
the piano at, but then a French man decided to play instead. So, I
missed the Spanish fireside that was running at the same time. But it
was so cool! I couldn't talk to these people, and most of them were
from the Congo, but I loved them! They are so cool! They taught me a
little bit of French as well. President Sweeney was there as well.

We have been teaching so many people, but we have been talking to even
more! We talked to sooooo many people this week, and we got a lot of
not very kind things said to us. BUT I LOVE THAT PART! It makes me
respect how precious of message we have. And how we are fulfilling
prophecies, and walking and experiencing things very similar to the
prophets of old. It is awesome! There was this one man that we were
trying to get ahold of, because we felt like he was really important.
And this last Sunday, right before we were supposed to contact him. He
showed up at church! IT WAS AWESOME! It turns out that he is a CFO in
Scottsdale, and that he has already read the Book of Mormon and the
pearl of great price and is reading the Book of Mormon AGAIN! But he
has never ever met with missionaries! He is awesome and ready for the
gospel.

I have, also, experienced the gift of tongues! It is awesome. So the
Elder I am training is an English Elder who I am teaching Spanish, so
I am pretty much on my own speaking Spanish and teaching Spanish
lessons. AND I DO IT! Well, I obviously do not do it. Because I can't
really speak Spanish so good yet, but I can communicate and speak it
and hear it. It is a miracle! And now our Spanish work is picking up
again! We have an awesome family that we are teaching that is SO going
to be baptized, and a few other Spanish families that we have taught
that already have invited us over for Christmas! We helped put some
lights up for them, but they still do not compare to ours! This really
is a miracle!!!

Please know that I am watched over, because I am. Every moment. You
would not believe the places we go. The people we meet. Or the things
that happen. And yet we remain untouched, and healthy, happy, and
strong. God IS with us. We do indeed have angels walking with us and
guarding us. It is dangerous. But we are fine. Thank you for your
prayers of faith. God is watching you as well. BE STRONG. I love you.

Elder Flake

11/16/2015

Dearest Family: I Love You. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?!?!?!?!? I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH. It is UNBELIEVABLE. I don't know where it came from or where it came from, but I. DO. LOVE YOU. EACH and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. You are my Family, and will be FOREVER. You are my favorite people in this entire world. I love you. For Real.

So Mom, I like your haircut. It is very nice. You look very nice. I, also, have a story for you about a very faithful member in my last area. So we were out teaching lessons on my last day in Eagar, and we were swamped. There were so many places we needed to go and people we needed to see, so we were teaching and biking around, and I felt a tugging towards a members house that was in the block. But we try not to see members, especially when we have a lot of investigators we need to teach and baptize and such, but we listened. So we went to the house, and we sat and talked, but we couldn't go in because there was no other male there. But we eventually got it out of her that she was struggling. So we offered a blessing, but she kindly turned us down. So we left, and I was really confused because I KNEW we were supposed to go there for something. So we had a lesson with another investigator, and then we looked at our phone and there were several messages asking us to come back and give a blessing because she had been praying, and she couldn't take her mind off what we had offered: a blessing. So we gave her a blessing. Now this sister has about 4 children of her own and 3 foster children. 4 of those kids are under the age of 5. There house is about the size of a trailer. And her husband is never home. Her foster children recently got diagnosed with some sociological problems dealing with attachment and such... AND THEY ARE HARD CHILDREN. BUT SHE IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE AND DOING GREAT. But she needed help, and God knew that. He always knows. The blessing that I was privileged to be an instrument in answered specific questions and gave her the strength to fight. MORAL OF THE STORY: God knows. If any of you ever need a blessing... ASK. It will bless your life AND the person giving it. IT IS NEVER AN INCONVENIENCE TO USE THE POWER OF GOD. It is an honor.

I did not like your DETAILED email! That was not funny! But I still love you! Alright, I will give you a few more details. So central Phoenix is very strange. There is no grass, in fact, there is not even dirt for grass to grow on! Besides that dirt in the air! There are almost NO open places ANYWHERE. Massive buildings everywhere. It is very tricky to get around especially with training a new missionary who doesn't know the area very well either. But the most important details are the people. The people are wonderful, and humble. They have different ideas and ways of doing things, but they are wonderful. In our area there is exceedingly much poverty. This week has been heartbreaking and soul searching for me. The homeless and the mentally impaired, who are found, by the dozens, on every block has taken me back. Even to crying to God and asking Him why and How these horrible things happen to such helpless and unable children of God. And I understand now. All will be well I the end. I have felt that truth confirmed in my heart. All will be fair and well in the end. We must, simple, Trust God, and Hope in Good things to come. I was comforted and felt that God knows each one of those children and that He is watching them closely, and that He does indeed Love them. Oh the Comfort and Relief and PEACE I felt when I understood this. God lives and does know all. He does not forget is. He does not leave us. HE WILL NEVER ABANDON US. Even if we try to run away and hide!

I love you and hope the best for all of you.

You are in my prayers!

-Elder Flake

Dearest Family,                                                         11/11/15

Well this is my predicament. I have recently come from the farthest
eastern area of the mission known as Eagar, but we also covered ALL of
New Mexico in our mission. We were the only Elders in New Mexico. It
was crazy! So one day I was biking in snow and the next day I was
transferred to Central Phoenix!!! It is AWESOME. It is interesting,
because my new area is the very farthest west area in the very
farthest west zone in the ENTIRE mission! There is no area in the
entire mission that is farther from my last area. So a little bit
about the central Pheonix area. It is known as he center of the city.
We are dead center in the middle of Pheonix, and I have never seen so
many people in my life. The area I am serving in had been pegged as
the poorest and most dangerous and rough part of the mission. It is
interesting how all those things fit together! So don't worry mom! I am
in the most dangerous part of Arizona! There are places here we can't
even be around! (But don't really worry, I will be fine. Check my
patriarchal blessing for proof) IT IS AWESOME. But also quite sad. The
people are not normal. BUT THEY ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT TO GOD AS HIS
COWBOY CHILDREN UP IN EAGAR! I love them and I really will do ALL THAT
I POSSIBLE CAN to bring them to Jesus Christ and make them happy. But
it definitely is going to be work, more work than I have ever
attempted in my life. AND on top of that, President has entrusted me
to train a new missionary. So I am training in a new area. And he is
in an English elder who I have to teach Spanish, because here in
Pheonix THERE IS A LOT of Spanish people and all the others are black,
not so many white people (besides a few Hoboes) here in Pheonix. So
this transfer is supposed to create stress and foster growth and I
think it will! It was quite a shock going from freezing and snow to
SUPER HOT and sunny. It honestly shook my body up, which, was a
strange feeling.

My new companion's name is Elder W. He is from Utah and is the
Oldest of three. He is on a mission because the gospel makes him happy
and he thinks, and I agree, that the gospel has made him happy and he
wants everyone else to be happy too!!! His favorite color is blue. He
plays basketball and is really good at the guitar. He is going to be a
great missionary and I sincerely hope that God will use me to help him
get on a path to reach his full potential as a missionary. But we
shall see. With God ALL things are possible! I believe that. I really
do, and that is why I am going to be able to do any of this. It is
wonderful that He is willing to help!

Well, I love you all. And I know the church is true. It is. See you soon!

Elder Flake

11/2/15
HELLO MY FRIENDS!

Alright so I guess I have some catching up to do! Alright so last week was AWESOME! We didn't get too much ground time in our area, but we did a lot of service. We chopped some more wood in the forest, we had to cut down a massive tree and we almost got killed by a metal cable, fortunately God was watching over us, and no one was hurt! I'll have to show you the video when I get home! We also went and did some service out in New Mexico for a Baptist Deaf and Youth camp! I got to buck 150 pound bails of hay for about 4 hours. It was one of the most exhausting things that I have ever done! We also went to St. John's for our monthly Spanish sacrament meeting that we hold for the Spanish. It was a wonderful experience! We sang in Spanish, on the spot. And God sent angels to be sing with us.

This current week was really good. We worked hard! I got to hang out with one of my favorite people Thursday. His name is Chuck. Every once in a while we get to eat lunch with him. He was a mission president In the Ivory Coast several years back. And he is fiery. He has so much good advice for everything and I just love being in his presence. He gave a talk at a stake thing that we sang at, and I thought for a second that Elder Holland was up there speaking. He is awesome. We sang at a volleyball game, and we are becoming quite popular in this cute little town. It really helps people to let us in and trust us. We are trying to get in and teach the ENTIRE Football team. We have a couple of the star players that we are already teaching and so it is going to be sweet! But. I am about to be cast down from the Garden of Eagar. I have no idea where I am going or what is in-store for me, probably down to the valley to finally learn some Spanish! But it is really going to be hard. I have come to love all these cowboys up here. I am really going to miss them. But the Lord knows what He's doing. I will trust him with my life.

Last week The temple was an interesting experience. I was putting on some socks in the dressing room, when all of the sudden I hear: "it is a pleasure to have you here Elder Flake." I looked down and my name tag wasn't on, so how could anyone know my name? I looked up and it was good ole grandpa. He also ended up calling me through, and then my grandma was there in the celestial room. And then on Halloween, we got to go to the temple again! For 8 hours! It was AWESOME! We did intatories. Two endowment sessions. But my very favorite part was when we got to go and do some sealing. Oh, it was wonderful. The feeling that I had as I acted for a son being sealed to his parents was INDESCRIBABLE. It was amazing, I couldn't help but smile and almost start laughing for joy while it was taking place. I felt like an overjoyed little boy again. I AM SOOOOOO GRATEFUL that our family will be together through the waves of time and  the difficulty of this life. We are together. FOREVER. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!? We are an eternal family. No matter how far we go or how split up we become we will be ultimately together in the end!!! AHHHHHH!!! That makes me so happy! We decided to come here. We were predestined, each of us, for greatness. And we were destined to be together FOR EVER. Out of infinite number of children, us 11 were chosen and ordained to be together. We will always be together. We can always lean and depend o. Each other for anything and everything! WE WERE CHOSEN FOR EACH OTHER. Our Family will last to INFINITY and BEYOND. BUT. We do have a responsibility to up help each other out. I have already told Daniel this, but we were in Heaven once, all of us together. And we were all standing up there waiting for our time to come down here. And as we gave each other our last hugs, we all, with tears in our eyes, promised to look out for each other. We PROMISED to help each other out, because we knew it would be hard and we knew that we all were going to make really dumb choices, but we also knew that we would have each other to depend on and to remind us who we really were. We need each other. 

Brothers and sisters, mom and dad, I want you to know that I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that will not EVER FAIL. In my life before it has. But now. It shall not. I have experienced to much. I have tasted the fruit, and I cannot nor will not ever go back. And so Lathan, Michelle, Daniel, Katelyn, McKay, Tyson, Isaac, Alisha, Dallin, and Caleb if you ever feel weak in testimony... YOU CAN DEPEND ON MINE. Because I know God lives. He is real, and He cries with us when times are bad and smiles with us when we are truly happy. This is why I love the gospel: because it makes us happy. It really does. And that is true for EVERYONE. I have seen it work every time, WITHOUT FAIL. Now it is important to know how this works, and why some people feel that the gospel and church DO NOT make us happy. And the reason some think this is due to something called guilt. We all mess up in life. We all sin. And that sin causes guilt. However, if we keep sinning or don't repent we avoid that guilt. BUT, When we go to church, pray, read the scriptures, or do anything else really spiritual the GUILT that all of us have is brought out and made really intense. THAT IS BECAUSE GUILY IS GOOD! Guilt in spires repentance. And repentance is all we have to do to feel the joy of the gospel! Repentance is the only thing that stands I the way of Happiness. And so every day I cry: "REPENT ALL YE ENDS OF THE EARTH! Come unto Christ and be happy!" We really have an easy job. Anyways I love you all and pray for you always! Be Good. 

Love Elder Flake

10/26/15
So the super long and awesome email got deleted before I sent it. So I
will update you all next week. Unless you want to pray it to show up?
:) but I am happy and good. I love you all.

Elder Flake

10/19/15
So as you have seen I have recently been spending a lot of time in the mountains and trees of the Crazy Wildlands of ARIZONA! I mean, it's no Africa or anything, but it is still pretty cool, it looks a lot like Garden Valley, or Cascade, or almost ANYWHERE in Idaho, but it is nice. This time of year everyone in this little town are either hunting, getting wood, or doing some more hunting, so we get to spend a lot of time doing those same things! We usually have to drive quite a ways to get to those areas so Elder Bowns and I are becoming masters of truck lessons! It is amazing how grateful and different people treat us when we just go once to get a quart or two of wood for someone. We, also, taught a lesson in the bar. That was exciting... but I wouldn't recommend it. You know how I sometimes feel that I cannot feel the spirit... Well I can DEFINITELY tell when He is NOT there. And teaching a lesson in a bar does not bring the spirit.

Elder Bowns is awesome. He plays about 30 different instruments and is really good. He played a solo in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and for some apostles before he came out. He wants to be a psychologist when he grows up, and plans to get married right when he gets home, to a sister missionary he met here! But he is pretty awesome. He has a lot of really good insight and knowledge that I am gleaning!

Sorry, it is short! GOD IS REAL! He watches you every day! Don't forget about Him! I love you all, and will see you soon!

Love Elder Flake.

10/12/15
Hello again! Wow, these weeks are flying by so fast that I hardly even notice how long it has been! Isn't crazy! I have been out almost FIVE MONTHS! That is a lot of months, it hardly feels like I've been out here for more than a couple weeks! How fast is time going over there in Idaho?!? This week was FANTASTIC! We had a lot of really good progress with one of our investigators. She has been going to church for about 20 years. Her husband is a member, and she knows all the stuff, but she basically refuses to be baptized! But we had a really good lesson where she got emotional, and then we asked what she had to lose with getting baptized. She will lose nothing, but gain everything: the Holy Ghost, Eternal Marriage, freedom from guilt, deepened faith, deepened testimony, EVERYTHING.

We had dinner and a lesson with one of the members that was baptized last month named Billye . Her husband is not a member(yet), he ate with us and was super nice, but as soon as she started talking about churchy stuff, he kindly excused himself. We tried to hold on to him, so he would stay for the lesson, but it didn't really work. When that happened, our hearts sank. But the next Sunday, we went to church and Billye (his wife) said that he had been sneakily listening in the kitchen and that he was very impressed!! So we will see what the future brings. LIFE IS GOOD! God is real!

Yesterday was fast Sunday and for missionaries with a lot of wards, fast Sunday is quite exciting, because you end up Baring your testimony A LOT. As I bore my testimonies, combined with what has taken place this week, I have really been pondering WHY I actually decided to come out on a mission. And I think it's time that I shared it with you. MY DECISION TO SERVE A MISSION CAN BE SUMMED UP IN ONE WORD. Hope. Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. But I did not come to increase hope in my own life. No, I came to give hope to others and to show them the NEVER-ENDING hope that comes through the atonement of Jesus Christ. HOPE for a better world, HOPE that we can be freed form the paralyzing chains of guilt, HOPE of someone ACTUALLY loving  them in ALL TIMES and in ALL PLACES. THIS IS WHY I CAME! I didn't not come because of the social pressures to do so! I did not come because I wanted to pass the Return-Missionary test in order I date that cute Mormon girl back home! I did not even decide to serve and to consecrate my all to the Savior and His marvelous work in order to improve my self or to become a better person! I CAME TO SPREAD HOPE. And by connection, to spread Faith and Love. There is NOTHING that breaks my heart more than seeing the loss of Hope in the eyes of a child of God. Oh, Family, it hurts to see someone so lost in sin and so beaten up by the world that they. Give. Up. If only they could see who they really were... Their REAL Potential and Destiny. If only they could see the savior standing there. With tears running down His cheeks and Reaching out. And THAT is why we can ALWAYS have Hope. He is there. Is arms are ALWAYS there. That Is Our Hope. In His arms and safely in His embrace. That is where I have come to take the people of Arizona, into His arms. There is always hope.

I love you and pray for you. You guys are my world.

Love Elder Flake

10/5/2015

Life............ IS GREAT!!!

Logan Flake

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5:39 PM

To: L and M Flake

Hello Dear Family,

Oh what a WONDERFUL few days. I hope all is well in EACH and EVERY ONE of your lives. I pray for you, and pray is real thing it actually works, and so I have full faith and confidence that all is well, or that soon all will be well. I love you all! You are probably sick of that word love because it has become such a part of my vocabulary since I left, but I really do. I do not dwell in my regrets, but I wish I would have cut out all those nights and time with friends and just devoted myself to hanging out with all of you, my family. You older ones, remember that there really is no happier place nor more important and beautiful place within the home were the gospel is taught and practiced. It might sound lame or boring and may not be the thing that you expected all true meaning and happiness in life to come down to, BUT IT IS TRUE. The family is everything. 

We got to go to big lake today. We caught some crawdads, but no fish. Life is good. 

Man, this week has been pretty eye opening. We had exchanges last week, so I got to go work in the middle of a pile of dirt, commonly known as St. Johns. It is quite brutal out there. When Brigham Young first sent settlers out to St. Johns there arose a lot of problems between the already present Catholics and the Mormons. Lots of Shooting and Killing each other, and a lot of those problems still remain today. I got to spend some time with the most broken people that I have seen in my life. Meth abusers that are so sad and so lonely and desperate that they cry just to have someone to talk to! And young people that have no homes, because all their families have been murdered or disappeared. St. Johns is a sad place. Most of these people were born into situations like that, they didn't choose it. They didn't want to do drugs or be lonely or have no family, but they BORN into it. And now, they have lost their bodies and minds to it. How am I so lucky? Why are WE so lucky? We could have so easily been born into these situations, but we were not. We were blessed. And because we are blessed, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE. We are responsible to reach out and help all others who were born into more dire and less favorable circumstances than ourselves. Imagine those of our brothers and sisters who got assigned this lot in Heaven. We were there and we promised we would get to them, and look out for them. We can't brake our promises. Ever. 

You are all AWESOME. Do you think each of you could send me your favorite quote from general conference? Mom, I hope you look at Elder Hollands again. That was beautiful, and know that I feel the same way, and cried over that talk. I LOVE CONFERENCE!

Love Elder Flake

missionary swimming

9/30/15

YOU KILLED MY DOG? I'm just kidding, it is alright, it probably alleviates some stress! Well, we'll see you in a couple of years skittles! Just know that it really doesn't bother me too much, I just feel really bad for the kiddos! Especially, because they saw it all happen and everything. Just let them know that they really will see that little doggie in heaven, if they want to. 

I AM DOING AMAZING! Life is so wonderful that I can hardly bare it. I do not know why He is so good to me. This week was actually the best week I have had on the mission. It was the most stressful, and exhausting, and everything else, but it had the most fruits tied with it. So, Transfers were this week, that is why I am writing today, and not Monday. Every six weeks, our Preparation Day switches from Monday to Wednesday, just so you know. So, last Tuesday, Elder Strike was picked up because he is going to be an assistant to the president. Which, is kind of awesome. However, he was picked up a week early so that he could go down to the valley and train on how to be an assistant to the president, which meant that I was alone for a week. I was supposed to just hang out with the other elders in there area all week, but I DEFINITELY was not up for that. There is so much work to be done!!! Who has time to throw a week away, by just tagging along with some other missionaries! No way. So for the entire week, I called and called people, and made it so that I had members for every hour of the day and each day of the week to go with me. IT WAS AWESOME! I had more lessons than we've ever had in a week, and, also, the most people agree to be baptized than ever before. The lessons were all powerful, because God made them that way. It was exhausting though, because I had to ensure that I was never alone and that the transitions went smoothly, combined with teaching mostly all of the material in all the lessons. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT! 

I do miss Elder Strike though. You can probably tell from the fact that he is an Assistant to the President of what caliber of missionary he is. We got along so well. I have definitely made a friend for life. The new companion is an elder from Orem, Utah, He is AWESOME. His Spanish is basically flawless to my unpracticed ears, and I am looking forward to speaking much more Spanish. I will tell you more about him next week, but I am pretty excited to work with him. 

When I first got to Eagar I met this non-member young man who is a big guy. He's like that star football player and everything. I had never seen this guy before we knocked on his door. We talked to him a little bit, and eventually found out that he sings. So for some reason, I just asked him to sing in church with us... AND HE SAID YES. So last week an investigator sang with us in church. In front of everybody! It was funny because he showed up in shorts and his football T-Shirt. But he still sang, and he wants to come back and do it again. So that is pretty weird and awesome. I didn't even know this guys name and he asked if he'd sing with us. 

Also, this past week I had the opportunity to drive with some investigators to Snow Flake and back. They said that they needed some help so we found a member, and I drove to Snow Flake with them. It was sweet. On the way there, I taught the restoration along with some other stuff, and then on the way back, I taught the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then invited them to be baptized and THEY SAID YES! So that was a fun five-hour trip. 

There was, also, a cool spiritual experience that I had as I was going to appointments with the old stake president. He speaks Spanish, so we were trying to only do Spanish visits, but something told me to turn around and go to this very large and quite intimidating  Ex-communicated member with his  Wife's home. President  knew him as well... and you could tell he was a little timid as well, BUT WE DID IT. We went, God is in control not us. We talked for a little bit, and then I just had these questions come to my mind, and I just started asking away. And these were BOLD questions, that were Specific and Personal. I thought President  was going to have a heart-attack that he was so scared, but eventually... He and his wife started to cry. He opened up, and bore such a powerful testimony that I was tearing up as well. It was powerful. God woke him up that night, and I believe that he will start working towards the necessary changes that he knows he knows he must make in life. God answers prayers. I know He does. He answered mine with this couple. I have been really struggling to know if I am Doing, Going, and Saying what and where God wants. I didn't know what I could possible do, but God heard me, He always does. Through all the storms, and changes, and trials, and transfers in life. He is the one constant. If you have Him with you, you need nothing! Please Family, use Him, and build a relationship with Him now that when hard things come, you know He's there. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! WITH ALL MY SOUL! Let me know how you all are.

Love YOUR ELDER FLAKE!

9/21/15

Oh mom! My heart is full. I am so overwhelmed by the goodness and mercy and greatness of Christ the Lord that I don't even know what to say. Mom, I love Him. He has given everything to me. My very life. And he has given me such a wonderful family to be a part of, especially you. The mission is a brutal place, a refiners fire for sure. Out here, children of God are forged and sculpted and most importantly Cut Down, so that we can be what God intended us to be. Oh, mom, it's hard. But I know it is supposed to be. I have been cut down. Over and over and over again. It hurts. There is so much to learn. So much to do. And most importantly, so much to be. Mom, I am trying, but the progress is slow. With the help of our Lord Jesus Christ we will ALL get there. But being forged and sculpted and cut down is quite a painful process. One I am thankful nevertheless. Just know: I will never quit. Ever. There is not a chance of me giving up the fight, and letting down the Lord our God as well as all of our brothers and sisters that have the potential to be happy, and just need a little help. Mark my words: I WILL NOT FALTER. I WILL FINISH. I promise.

So Elder Strike is leaving tomorrow. Which is sad. He is going down to the valley to be an assistant to the president. So he's pretty cool. I am getting a new companion, but I will be alone for almost a week because Elder Strike is going down a week early to learn how to do assistant stuff. You all are definitely going to need to meet Elder Strike sometime. He is pretty cool. Instead of dinner one day, we both made oil vials out of king's wood with an awesome guy named Jim-bob. I am really going to miss Elder Strike, but SO BE IT! He says that this is the first time that he has actually been sad for transfers, so I must have done something right! I am more than excited for the challenges that lie ahead!

Now for some miracles this week: the first was the temple. It was strange to go to Snowflake and drive past and SEE grandma and grandpa's house on the way to the temple! It was just ridiculous! We even almost stopped there for lunch. But the temple was quite the experience, it was wonderful, and it was cool to be in a temple that was built because probably due to the faithfulness of our ancestors. Grandma and Grandpa are famous among the missionaries. They really do put in good effort in attempt to move the work forward. I have learned to love them, even though I have not seen them yet. Our investigators are wonderful! There was a cool experience with a sister that just got baptized. She was older, and really REALLY enjoyed her wine. She liked the church and everything, but I don't think she thought it was even possible to give it up. So one day, she was praying, and the next day she got up and her husband offereher some Wine and she just didn't feel like she wanted it. He offered coffee, and she didn't feel like having that either. Maybe tomorrow she thought, but on the next day she didn't want ANY OF IT! And the next day was the same. She was baptized soon after. And still has no real desire for her drinks. AMAZING! GOD LIVES! And He answers prayers. If we have a true and sincere desire to do that which is right, HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY. Just like with this fine sister. Another miracle took place at a Baby's blessing this past week. We arranged for a two year old to receive a baby blessing in a less active family. They have not been to church and years, and the parents of the daughter live with the daughters Grandma and are not married. In fact, the father is not a member at all. He has tattoos all over is body, and has been drinking every time we come over.....but he's awesome. After the baby blessing, brother Truley (the presiding bishopric member) pulled the dad aside and said that this ordinance had been done by the power of the priesthood and that he expected him to receive the priesthood to bless his family. He asked if we could come back tomorrow and teach him. AND TEACH HIM WE DID! We taught about the priesthood, and his only question was: "when can I get it." He is so sincere and earnest. He is one prepared by God. 

There are so many other miracles that happen almost daily, but I am running out of time. I am sorry, I love you all. I know I say that a lot, but I didn't really understand or realize how much I treasured you until you were taken out of my life. I miss you, and pray for all of you, all the time. You guys are my heroes, and each of you are way to valuable and precious to not feel loved. You are loved. Know that you are! DEAL WITH IT! BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE... EVER. I may be a few miles away, but I am here for all of you: . I love you it is true. Be kind my friends. See you soon.

Love Elder Flake

9/14/15

Hello Ma',

Alright, so the guy who just joined the church is named Juan, and He is Wonderful! We started playing soccer with him at the beginning of August, and he was baptized by the end of August. He is the sweetest guy. He was talking about how he was going to get baptized to one of his friends at work, and his friend was like: "Don't you think you are getting baptized a little to soon and a little to fast?" and he was like: "No WAY! I have been waiting for this forever!"  

Some of the others we have been working with include this sister named Kristi. She is wonderful! She really sincerely wants to be baptized, but she is pregnant and does not want to get baptized until after she has the baby.

We are working with two people that used to be in the military. One was a Navy Seal who has been shot... a lot. And the other is someone that struggles to stop smoking. With the latter, I had the opportunity to teach her and commit her to be baptized while we were on splits. It was the coolest lesson. We all were pretty emotional. It is amazing how instinctual and recognizable the gospel is to people. It is in there core, BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE! And when we bring it up, there eyes sparkle, and they utter the most beautiful words that I have ever heard: I believe. 

Up in the mountains one of the biggest problems is the Word of Wisdom. We have helped a man get to the point to quit Alcohol AND NOW HE CAN BE BAPTIZED! We have helped a few others quit tobacco, and it is SO rewarding! But even with these things, Elder Strike and I were talking about how we feel like we cannot take credit for ANYTHING, because it really is all God. Sometimes we even feel like we are useless, because He is the one that really does all the important stuff. He is the one that works the magic!

We are teaching this one Spanish family that is AMAZING! They are wonderful, and I really hope to see the family baptized and sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. The son, who is like my age, is the all-star of the Round Valley Football team. He and his sister are so Sincere in there quest to find spiritual knowledge. IT IS BEAUTIFUL! We teach lessons, and at the end we ask him what he thinks, and he basically says that he has to ask God! then we come back when they have prayed about it... AND THEY LOVE IT! 

Elder Strike had been pretty sick lately. so he asked for a blessing. I know I have not given very many blessings so far, but this was a pretty strange little blessing. When I tried to open my mouth to speak all I could say and all I could think of was to command him to be healed. I tried so hard to think of somethings else to say, but that was all I had... so that is all that was said. Honestly, after the blessing I was kind of embarrassed. I shouldn't have been, but I was. Later that day, I learned that Elder Strike felt better. It was a miracle. We must never doubt the Lord nor His spirit no matter how strange or out-of-place it might seem. 

We also had another baptism in Second Ward this past weekend of this older sister. She is powerful. The way she was introduced to the church was through a member who simply invited her to General Conference. It works. when we fear not, the Lord will use us. Because when He commands, we respond regardless of the task and how afraid we might be. Remember what He has said! "FEAR NOT, I AM WITH THEE, OH BE NOT DISMAYED, FOR I AM THY GOD AND WILL STILL GIVE THE AID. I'LL STRENGTHEN THEE, HELP THEE, AND CAUSE THEE TO STAND!" Be fearless my friends.

Love Elder Flake

9/7/15

How are you doing? I am doing well. Life is good. I am learning so much, but I still want to progress faster! But I sin in my wish, I know that Our Father in Heaven will take care of me and guide my where I need to go.

So this week was great!  Oh, and almost everyone in this town know Lathan Flake and Grandma and Grandpa. A few Sundays ago, this older sister called me over in church... I thought she was going to give us a referral or something, but when I walked up to her... She gave me the BIGGEST bear hug that I have ever had in my life!!! And she said it was from Grandma and Grandpa! That is ILLEGAL! I am not suppose to hug (or be hugged by) girls on this Mission... I'm surprised she didn't kiss me too! I was pretty shocked, but it was fun. It is still raining like crazy here, but I kind of enjoy being drenched! It is the closest to swimming I can get! We have been teaching A LOT like always. Yesterday we taught Relief Society, and Sang for them, It was pretty powerful! THE MISSION IS SO FUN! AND SO HARD! AND SO EXHAUSTING! AND SO HEART BREAKING! I LOVE IT. 

Do you all know what else I love? You. Yep. I, also, have come to love and really appreciate the priesthood. God is so good in permitting us to receive His holy priesthood! It is AWESOME. Just the other day I was called on to exercise this power, and OH THE JOY I felt when I was Able to Feel because my Heavenly Father Honored and Authorized my Priesthood!!! The mission, so far, can be summed up in three words: I. AM. A. TOOL. THAT IS IT! That has been my entire experience! AND WHAT A JOY AND A SACRED HONOR IT IS TO BE AN INSTRUMENT IN THE HANDS OF THE MASTER! As missionaries, we do nothing of ourselves. HE works through us, if we let him. And when we and when YOU submit yourself to Our Heavenly Fathers Control HE WORKS MIRACLES! I always knew miracles were possible, but I never actually believed that I would see ONE!.... IN REAL LIFE! My testimony has grown because I feel and I recognize a power that is not my own work through me and in me. God is REAL! OH, HE EXISTS! And He LOVES us to INFINITY and BEYOND! Some may believe that submitting to God's Will, by keeping ALL His commandments is WEAK or ENSLAVING. IT IS NOT!!! It Is Completely Liberating and a sign of absolute strength!!! It all comes down to our agency to chose. LET HIM GUILD YOUR LIFE! He is willing to do it, all that is required is obedience. President Packer informed us that Sacrificing our agency, through obedience to the commandments, is the ONLY thing that we can truly give to God. Everything else is already His, and is taken and given at his discretion. And when you are OBEDIENT, you must BE OBEDIENT because you WANT to be OBEDIENT, due to your TRUE and SINCERE LOVE for God. NOT FOR ANY OTHER REASON. And to all who say that they don't want to be controlled or that want to be so-called FREE to do whatever they want... I am sincerely sorry for them. What an awful way to live and what AWESOME blessings they are missing out on. It is AMAZING to be used in the hands of our Father in Heaven. What a joy. What an honor. 

 YO OS AMO CON TODO MI CORAZON!

Elder Flake

 

8/31/15

Well, I hope you all are taking my advice to heart! So this week has been quite AMAZING... As usual. We enjoyed a baptism on Saturday of a Spanish Man! YES! The Spanish work is going to start rolling people! We also had a zone conference and it was AMAZING! It is weird how excited I get about things that would have bore me to death before my mission. But it really was quite amazing... President Sweeney is an AMAZING man. I love him, but I am pretty sure that mission presidents do not get called by themselves, when the quorum of the Twelve Apostles decide to call a mission President I am pretty sure that that half of it is due to how amazing their wife is. I have a testimony that sister Sweeney was called of God, just as President Sweeney was! Women are powerful tools in God's hands as well. Sister Sweeney is an amazingly powerful and bold speaker as well! Zone conference was in Eager this time around and so The night before Zone Conference there were about 17 elders in our cute little cottage hime for four. It was a party. It was so crazy even the assistants to president were at our house. This week has been wonderful, the Spanish work is really picking up, but is sometimes difficult without transportation, but most of the time we can get rides. It is just that our Spanish speaking members are limited as well. But the Lord has provided, and we have been having a lot of success with the Spanish of the area. We are planning on getting most of our progressing investigators on date very soon! I gave a talk in Spanish, and have been singing a tun, and have been riding a bike a ton (during flash floods), and have been crying a ton just because I love God.

I have been thinking a lot this week about Jesus Christ, and what we really have to do to follow him and what it actually means to follow him. And I found out that it is all about OBEDIENCE. The other day me and Elder Strike ended up reading the entire Gospel of John, and in it we found that the entire purpose of Jesus Christ and the most prevalent doctrine that He taught was to do the will of the Father! And if Everyone in this world strives, as they claim to, to be like Jesus Christ... Then they must submit to the will of the Father... JUST LIKE JESUS THE CHRIST DID. But submitting entirely to Gods will is SO HARD, and he tests us to prove our obedience!... Think of Nephi having to kill Laban! Nephi didn't want to kill anybody! He was such a good boy, and he had never killed anyone before, so why did God tell him to kill Laban? Surely He could have killed Laban Himself and Surely He could have made some other way for Nephi to accomplish his purposes, but He asked Nephi to kill Laban. I believe that that was the hardest thing that the Lord could have asked of Nephi. For Nephi, I do not believe there could HAVE POSSIBLE been a greater test of faith and OBEDIENCE. But Nephi did it, he PROVED himself, and he saw God and became a POWERFUL prophet because of it. We all are going to have times to prove ourselves! God said that that is the purpose of life! "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;" THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE! To subject ourselves to God. And if we do that we will be powerful. We will be able to do miracles. We can work miracles as long as they according to the will of God. So the more that we will line up our will with the will of God, the more miracles we will be permitted to perform. That is the reason why Jesus Christ was able to perform so many mighty miracles! Because His will was PERFECTLY in line with the will of the Father. He was able to raise from the dead, and perform miracle after miracle, BECAUSE day after day He did the Fathers will. As missionaries and Priesthood holders we hold the same power that was in Jesus Christ. MIRACLES ARE POSSIBLE. I HAVE ALREADY SEEN MANY! If we can just show unto God that He can trust us, by being EXACTLY OBEDIENT to the commandments He has already given AND EXACTLY OBEDIENT TO THE SPIRIT, Then He will work miracles through you for the benefit of OTHERS. So I decided that most of the time I am basically Deaf to the spirit, but more so I am just Blind to RECOGNIZING when that soft-spoken-member of the Godhead is talking to me. SO I HAVE DECIDED THAT EVERYTHING THAT I THINK COULD EVEN POSSIBLE BE THE SPIRIT I WILL FOLLOW. That way I don't risk ever doing or ever not doing something that God would have me do. Try it! It is awesome! Miracles will come your way, and you will learn how much your Heavenly Father loves you more than ever before! 

I love you! And this mission thingy is going by WAY TO FAST!

Love, Elder Flake

8/24/15

HELLO FAMILY!!!

I love you. Yep, it's true. I really do. So now that that is
established. What can I do for you? What do you really need right now?
I can't do much, but I know someone who can! This life is gorgeous,
and WONDERFUL! However, most of the big things that we experience in
life are not what life is all about! THANK GOODNESS! God says he works
by the little things to make Great and Marvelous things come to pass!
So in order to really be happy and to find joy in this life IS TO SEE
THE LITTLE THINGS that happen every single day! And not only see the
WONDERFUL little things that happen every day, but to remember them
and thank our Father for them! Oh, he is wonderful and is constantly
giving us little things to enjoy. To smile at. To laugh at (our
Heavenly Father does have a sense of perfect humor... Trust me... He's
funny!). Just today, I was thinking about how wonderful it is just to
exist and have a body! Or when we get to ride through the Ferocious
storms that go by, and the delightful opportunity to just ride your
bike in the rain and lightening! It is wonderful to just be. It truly
is a BEAUTIFUL world and every moment is precious. But the thing that
makes it all so wonderful and the thing that makes all the HARD things
EASY or maybe just BEARABLE is that we have a loving Heavenly Father
that is ALWAYS Watching over us and who is ALWAYS aware of us. HE
KNOWS EVERYTHING WE DO. HE KNOWS EVERYWHERE WE GO. HE KNOWS EVERYTHING
WE SAY. He knows every cry for help that we utter. He is there. He is
ALWAYS there. I didn't truly understand this before, but now I know,
that he is with us, and when I speak his words it has a knew meaning.
He is right there. We are never alone. OH, HOW WONDERFUL HE IS! WE ARE
NEVER ALONE! Even if you feel alone: YOU ARE NOT! Just because you
cannot see him does not mean He is not there! He is! Talk to HIM! If
the person that you loved more than anyone in this entire world moved
away for several years, and you had NO WAY to get ahold of them, how
would you feel if they never called you, or never emailed you, or
never even wrote you letters? IT WOULD BE AWEFUL! If you guys didn't
talk to me even for a month I would be heart broken. Completely. How
do you think our Heavenly Father feels when we never even tried to get
on our knees and tell him what is happening in our life. He wants to
talk to you, and he wants to help you! He sees what you need! And
knows the perfect way to help you, but He cannot help unless you ask
him. He wants so badly to give you what up you need, and it hurts Him
to watch us go through so many difficult things. If you pray, you will
feel Him close by. I promise. .

Love, Mr. Elder Flake

8/19/2015

 could you do me a favor?
Will you please send me an update on all the not so good stuff
happening with the family? It worries me more when I don't know what
is going on. And everything cannot possible be PERFECT back home. So
please tell me all the problems and issues going on too! I promise it
will not distract me! You couldn't get me unfocused from this work if
you tried! . So please tell me what is going
on.

So my journal is mostly just thoughts about God, and His
investigators, so I do not know how useful it would be! So... You
might never believe it, but the work here is intense. We have so much
to do that me and my companion could honestly use like four other
missionaries in our area alone! It is unbelievable! Are days are
completely stuffed full of lessons. We have close to a dozen people
that we plan on baptizing by the end of September. And we would have
more, but there is a few that just WILL NOT give up there substance
addictions and one that is going to get baptized, but refuses to do so
until she has her baby that is due in a few months! OYE! Come on
people! Yeah, I guess I have been slacking on the stories. So the
Spanish Work is BOOMING! Like we can't possible get to all the people
that are ready to here the Gospel! Are schedules are so full that for
the past two days we have had to go on splits in order to cover all
the set lessons we have had. We have a goal to create a Spanish Branch
and I think we will be able to do it! The members are wonderful, and
treat us way better than we deserve. The spirit of missionary work is
truly alive in this town, people are accepting our challenges to go
out and find their lost friends and bring them to the fold of God! Oh
it is wonderful! How long over the two year mark will you let me stay
here mommy?

That is really kinda funny that Kennedy Haskell enjoyed her mission so
much... Because I AM TOO! I honestly never want to go anywhere
different, this mission is perfect. I get to learn a new language, but
I also get to really see and understand how the church really runs and
operates. I, also, get to really learn the Gospel. Here in the states
a lot of people are quite hardened, and have some really good
arguments against the church, and if you aren't deeply in tuned with
the spirit and really studding every day, you won't stand a chance out
here! It is also amazing to see such different aspects and opinions
and struggles and questions and cultures. I work with the the most
real Cowboys that you will ever see in your life one day, and the next
I will be talking to some Indians about their ancestors in the Book of
Mormon, then there are normal well educated individuals, and then the
next I will be eating chillies, that are so hot I literally sweat
until I am soaked, with a Spanish family that tells us how much they
believe the commandment not to worship idols and then prays to the
Virgin Maria every night! Every thing is so different! We have helped
a guy give up smoking and that was probably the most rewarding
experience yet.

We had a really neat experience with a new Spanish investigator
earlier this week. We stopped by and started just getting to know her,
and what she believed. And we found out that she doesn't really know
who God is or Jesus Christ or anything about any religion. We asked
her to pray and afterwards we asked her how she felt and she said: "I
feel just like lighter and I don't know just like something special."
She tried really hard, but she just couldn't explain it. This is
stunning to me, because the first time that I felt that actually
recognized the presence of the Holy Ghost working in my heart was
probably half way through my junior year inHigh School! And this was
someone who minutes before we knocked on her door didn't even know
there was a God that existed! We hadn't even told her about the Holy
Ghost or ANYTHING! SHE JUST KNEW. IT IS AMAZING! We have taught her
daily since then, and I am sure that she will come into the waters of
baptism very soon and finally be free from the guilt that living life
always inflicts!

Miracles really do happen. God is among us. He is concerned with the
details of our lives. I know He is there. And that if we pray the
right way with all the energy of our heart, than we will feel him
close to us daily. This world is Beautiful. You just sometimes have to
look up to see it. I love you all so much. Do not be afraid to share
the wonderful and exciting message of the Gospel. Our fellow brothers
and sisters NEED IT in there lives! If you really love your fellow
brothers and sisters you would share this Gospel of Jesus Christ that
we have been so Mercifully Born into!!! Open your mouth. And change
the lives of those who are around you! This is one of my biggest
regrets! I WISH WITH ALL MY HEART THAT I JUST SHARED WHAT I KNEW WITH
EVERYONE THAT I KNEW! People need that freedom from guilt. That guilt
is awful. It is unbearable, and it makes life depressing and
discouraging, even with those that don't even think they feel guilty
about anything that they have done! Just try it! I love you all and
will see you soon!

Love you!

Elder Flake