Mother,                                                     March 28, 2016

I love you! Get better! There is definitely stretching involved. I
still work a ton with the French Sisters. So we are not in our areas
often, but we still have a ton of baptisms. We had a good one on
Saturday. President spoke. It was powerful. I will probably be
training the first French Elder. When he gets here in June. It should
be fun! I want to share what I usually wright to President S!
This is what I wrote:

President S,

What a miraculous week. And looking back, what a miraculous mission so
far. I am overwhelmed by the blessings that I have experienced in this
way-to-short little part of my life. The mission has been
indescribably amazing. I heard so many wonderful things about
missions, and how delightful it is to know that they are all true!
Please extend my call as much as you are permitted.

Between meetings and French Work, the proselyting time in our area has
significantly decreased. Fortunately, it provides a perfect
opportunity to show the Lord how hard we can work in the little time
given. We continue to see miracles. We just found an ordained minister
who said that ever since he met us, his life has never been the same.
He choked up and said that we and the church was an answer to his
desperate prayers. He says he has never felt the things that he feels
now, in his life time of searching out the truth. He choked up a
little and expressed his overwhelming gratitude for the truth and
goodness he has found. He will be baptized in a few weeks, and will be
a wonderful addition to Central Ward. His biblical knowledge is
unparalleled, and the additional people that he will help accept the
gospel is endless. I have never met or even heard of a man more
prepared than this man. His name is J. And he is a man of
God. I am excited to see the wonders the Lord will work through him.
This is just one of the many miracles that happened recently. We will
be marrying a Spanish Family in about a week and a half, so that they
can be baptized on April 16th. Concerning W, I understand
that you are aware of his situation. We we're wondering if there is
any way that he could be baptized sooner. W wants it so bad.
More than anything. He is 24, Valedictorian of his graduating class,
amazingly talented, and spiritually mature. He is living the gospel
and wants to be more involved. There are high chances that the charges
are false, and his lawyers are working on getting him completely off
the records. President A mentioned that he noticed a huge
difference in W compared to who he usually interviews. He comes
to church every Sunday, wants a calling, and wants the blessings of
the Holy Ghost. He says that he is willing to wait however long it
takes, but we honestly feel that he has repented. We believe that he
meets the qualifications of Doctrine and Covenants 20:37. Please
correct us if we are not on track. If possible, it would be wise for
you to talk with him.

We want to thank you for your help and participation in M's
baptism. That. Was. Perfect. She was very moved, and she will remember
it forever. It will be exciting to see the things she does and the
places she'll go!

The zone is alive and well! I am more than grateful for the advice and
vision you shared. It confirmed the similar feelings and thoughts I
was already having. I hope you don't mind, but I have already shared
your vision with the zone leadership, and we plan on sharing it during
Zone Training Meeting! I am so passionate about making this work
happen. Things need to change. And they will. The culture here needs
to change. We need a little fire behind this zone. And we will get it.
We are in the center of the 5th largest metropolitan area in the
United States. We should be baptizing hundreds every month, and I
don't feel that that is an exaggeration. This zone, including myself,
is going to learn how to work!!! We are going to break barriers and
live outside our comfort zone. And we plan to face resistance. From
the adversary and from well-meaning missionaries. We have already
shaken things up! With something new! And there was some healthy
discussion and opposition! Starting today, Monday March 28th, all the
zone leadership will begin what we call "prime-time." It is going to
be awesome! Every day, from six to seven we contact. Every day. We are
doing a week trail run with the zone leadership. And we will keep you
updated on the progress. We believe it was clear revelation for our
zone. And it is rooted in sound doctrine. If you want further details
of our vision, goals, plans, and the doctrine, I will gladly share! We
hope and expect that we will find that ripened fruit and baptize,
instead of waiting for them to germinate. Council and advice are
welcome!

On a personal note, how am I to balance obedience? What is the Lord's
vision for obedience? I struggle to really understand the balance. I
know that there is really no such thing as too obedient, but I find
that it feels wrong and the spirit is gone when obedience becomes
obsessive. When we focus on the tiny little rules, more than we focus
on those we are teaching or the true spirit of the law. I struggle
articulating my question. Does it make any sense?

You are in our prayers. Love you!

Elder Flake