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

3/21/16

Dearest Family,

This week was crazy. Way to much happened! AHHH!!! This week was
transfer week, and there were a lot of new changes and added
responsibilities for me. We had a lot of good service, and a lot of
good lessons, and a lot of priceless memories. I love this gospel and
this work. I love actually DOING IT THOUGH! My new favorite hobby is
finding complete strangers, loving them, and then watch their lives
completely transform. It is the most beautiful thing in the world...
As long as they accept it, and put some work in. I used to think that
the most beautiful thing was a sunset or the stars or something, but
really, the most beautiful thing is people changing. We have a lot of
good people at that point. One of our investigators, who we found and
taught is now being baptized, but, more importantly, she is converted.
She is TRULY converted and it is beautiful. It was so cool to watch
her through the entire process! It hasn't been easy! She has had a lot
of grief and a lot of tears, but she wants it and she will be baptized
this week. She will be an AMAZING CONTRIBUTION to the kingdom of God!
There was a nice Easter pageant that we had to "take out" all the
anti-Mormons protesting the performance! That was a lot of fun! We
killed them with some love and kindness. They had nothing, and we made
some good friends! We were contacting all of them and teaching them
the gospel! We've been teaching a lot of Spanish families and some are
beginning to come to church! HALLELUJAH! My French is coming along. I
have definitely been blessed with the gift of tongues. I can now teach
the gospel in French. It is fun. We spend about for nights out of the
week with the French sisters preaching the gospel! We have been
singing a lot and doing a lot of meetings. I am not a fan. I like to
actually be in the thick of it, but since becoming a zone leader, I
become responsible for a lot of missionaries! The emphasis of my ministry
is more for missionaries now. Which, is wonderful as well. It is hard
to be a missionary. All missionaries struggle, myself included. Some
big problems, some small problems. But missionaries are wonderful.
Every single one of them are beautiful. Same with you. I love you all.
I apologize for the short letter! I love you! More responsibility
equals less time. Be good. Run hard. This life is short. But it is
glorious.

Elder Flake

Hello Friends!                                                            3/14/16

Wow! What a WONDERFUL! BEAUTIFUL! MARVELOUS! WORLD! GOD IS GOOD!!! He lives. He really does. I know that I say that over and Over and OVER and OVER again, but it is true. Oh, IT IS WONDERFULLY TRUE! This week we had ADVENTURE. We didn't have too many proselyting hours, but we still had miracles... We always have miracles. We have a really awesome investigator by the name of W. For some reason, we find a lot of Ws and they usually all get baptized! This William is very faithful. He comes to church every week. He wants to get baptized... He is 19... Only problem... He is a sex-offender. Oye. But! He is still going to get baptized, and soon! He says that he doesn't really know what it is, but there is something different. Something special that he feels when he comes to The Church of Jesus Christ. He doesn't know what it is... fortunately, we do. It is so amazing that Heavenly Father is so trustworthy and consistent. We don't have to worry about Him just not answering prayers. He Always does. 100% Dependable. It is like gravity. He is simply always there. It makes missionary work pretty awesome, pretty easy, and really simple. 

Oh family, I love you and I really feel for you, with everything that is happening. I am sorry. But all will be well in the END! That is the wonderful promise that comes with faithfully living the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Nothing can PERMANENTLY go wrong. We have to really believe that. Missions really are not easy. I know that you don't hear very much bad, but that is because I have been blessed with optimism. Missions. Are. Hard. It is, by far, that hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But, my friends, that is what life is for! We signed up for all this stuff! We signed up to have heart brake and shed tears. We agreed to have pain and sorrow. We wanted to pass through this earthly horror. But there is a reason we said yes, and that is in Jesus Christ. Please look to Him for relief. He didn't suffer unimaginable things without a purpose. He did to help us through them. If we ever think we have it bad, we probably do, but He had it worst. He descended below all, so that he could carry is above all. And I am living proof that He carries us. I would not be here without Him. I can't do this mission. The task and responsibility is too great, but He has carried me through... And He will carry you. He will. I promise. I testify with all my heart that He lives. I know it. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I put my name and my life behind his good name. He saw what he said he saw. And that is the truth. I know this is Christ church. I am were He wants me to be, and He lets me know that often. I Know that families are together Forever. We are in this together, and we will end it together. And one day, we will all be safely together forever. We are all going to look back on this life and laugh and cry about all the ridiculous adventures that this life had in store for us. That day will come, and I expect to see each of you there. Every single one of us have something that we can do to make sure that we all  end up there together. I want you all to JUST DO IT. I love you. Hang in there everyone:) see you soon.

Love Elder Flake

Dear Wonderful Family,                                                        2/29/16

This week was....... AMAZING! Are you catching the pattern?!? Every
week is....... AMAZING! That is just the way missions are. You have
ups and downs and then you sky rocked up and then you nose dive, but
when all is said and done and you look back at the week it is........
AMAZING! I am growing and changing sooooo much. You are going to
hardly recognize me when I get home! By the way... Can I extend or
not? :)

This week, again, was supper busy. We started off with an exchange
with the zone leaders on Tuesday. It was awesome... For our exchange
Elder A, who was previously the Assistant, came into my area. He
is this massive Samoan guy who weighs about 315 and is 6'4"ish. So we
went to little Ir's restaurant, and he barely fit in the kitchen! It
was so funny. Irma, who is from Guatamala is about 4 feet tall. It was
pretty funny to see the two of them working together in a tiny
Guatamalan kitchen. Irma and her family are progressing quite nicely.
Irma is reading ssssooooooooo much of the Book of Mormon, and they are
finally becoming committed to our gospel message! Mo is getting
baptized the day before Easter on March 26th. That will be cool! Could
you email me everyone's exact birthday? I hope Kate liked her
Mexican candy! Everyone eats that stuff down here! It is crazy! We
also briefly met with B the one that gets into lots of fights,
this week. And now she just carries brass knuckles on her fist
everywhere she goes. She has been really sick and in the hospital
lately, which has halted her progress a little. We also had a super
intense lesson with an old man professor of theology. We started with
what he believed, which, was faith. Then we moved to repentance. Then
once he agreed there, we moved to baptism. And then we got to
priesthood authority, and that is where it got intense. It is a bold
message that we bring: none have authority besides us. We say it a lot
nicer, but that old brother came to that conclusion on his own and it
about knocked his sox off. The spirit was so powerful, Elder B
and I were teaching in perfect unity. The spirit was there. He was
just to afraid to try our promise to find out If the bold message that
he recognized was true. Friday was fun! We picked up B
Rn, and then went straight to the temple to meet with M.
With M, we watched about eternal families, and then had a short
discussion about the priesthood, and we came across the exact same
concern that the old theology professor had! It was so hard to except
that all her friends who are wonderful people, did not have a valid
baptism. It was brutal on her. But instead of leading with her doubt,
like our old theology brother did. She lead with her faith. She said
that she didn't understand it now, but that she would definitely
understand it in the future. And then we watched Joseph Smith prophet
of the Restoration, and she was floored. It was so cool to see two
different people deal with the same concern so differently! "Doubt
your doubts before you doubt your Faith!" So that was cool. We also
came across and old investigator, and we decided to baptize him next
week. His car got attracted by people so we helped him clean all the
glass out of it. He is super prepared and ready for this step in his
life. I hope! And that is the best thing we can do as missionaries.
Hope for the better. Have faith in people. And have charity for them.
He even got his interview on Saturday. On Saturday as well, we went
and cooked a massive meal for the Mwanamulinda family. We made some
chicken Alfredo, and I also marinated some pork! They were thrilled.
Rafael said that he is never ever going to forget what we did for
then. It was pretty special, and we just made some food! Usually, the
kids don't really get fed. At their house, all the kids eat on the
ground and, basically, get all the crumbs. They scarfed all that food
down. Church was nice and stressful... As usual. But lots of people
showed up! Including Elder B's less active brother. We dropped
B off Sunday. He loved his few days with us! And I am not going
to lie! It was pretty awesome! I played the piano for the French
fireside. It was fun! I love you all! Remember who you are! Sometimes
it is easy to forget that these days. See you on the other side :)

Love Elder Flake

Oh, yeah, and I officially got switched to be a French Elder on Thursday. My mission language is No longer English or Spanish, but French! President will most likely keep me In A Spanish area doing Spanish and French.

(NTo: mlflake@hotmail.com

Dearest Family,                                                                                                                          2/22/16

What an AMAZING WEEK! LIFE IS SO GOOD! I feel GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys gotta try this mission thing! Words can not describe the experience of a mission. It is exciting! It is hard! It pushes you! You laugh. You cry! Tears of pain. Tears of JOY! Tears just because sometimes the spirit moves you so powerfully to say something or do something or go somewhere or talk to someone! It is adventurous. It is dangerous. Not a single day is the same. It is never boring! It is heartbreaking! It is Fun! Way Fun! And it is about 50000000000000000000000000 million other things. OH HOW I LOVE IT! So you'll need to try it! And you can! Right now! Today! Be a missionary! Share the Gospel!!! Why does a name tag seem to make such a big difference? I promise that you will lose no friends! But you will gain many! But only try it if you are one who likes Adventure and Timeless memories! Because that is what you'll get! Oh, and ask dad about his experiences! I had no idea what I was getting myself into! The mission was so unexpected. But now that I've tasted a little bit of it I have some questions about Dad's mission. Ask him about his recent converts! Or his miracles! Or how he met people that were prepared. Or some funny or awkward or awesome stories about the people he talked to! Ask him how frustrating it was to learn a foreign language and how he relied on the Lord to do it. Ask him about his mission president and his companions. Some weird foods he ate or what he did for Christmas or what members just adored him. Those are just a few starters. The stories and experiences that come from a mission are endless and priceless and I am not even halfway finished with mine... I dread that day. But I am super excited to see you all again! This week we taught A TON of lessons again. We have one investigator that really wants to be baptized, but is on probation so we are going to start working with the first presidency to get him approved for baptism. He is cool. The guy on america's got talent! We also met this awesome French man from the Congo. His name is F and when we started teaching him that there are REAL LIFE prophets on the earth again, his eyes lit up and he said: " I have never heard that before." It is so EXCITING TO BRING THE GLAD TIDINGS OF THE RESTORATION TO THoSE THAT hAvE NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE! Oh it is wonderful. We have been having a lot of success with the youth down here! Because they actually listen! They are humble and teachable and not set in their ways! Because of this, they actually hear the message that we tell them! And those who hear this message... After they put forth a little effort... Inevitably come to the conclusion that our message is true! After they figure that out they are like DUH WE HAVE PROPHETS ON THE EARTH! It is so obvious for those who are sincere. I interviewed two youth for baptism Saturday, I was impressed at how simple and powerful the testimonies of these young ladies. They both had undeniable feelings that the church is true, and they are 11 and 13 years old. No wonder we are supposed to be like little children! With that being said, I want to invite each of you to do something, and report back to me by next Monday. I want each of you to ask Heavenly Father if Joseph Smith really did see Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Pray specifically for that, and see what happens. God will answer. It may take a little while, but he will answer. For one of the young ladies, she said that she got her answer in the middle of school while she was sitting in her desk. She said she felt it. The other said that she was thinking about it one day and

 she felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart. Let me know how each of you feel! I expect a report next week! And don't think I'll forget! I am excited to see what happens! And don't expect to get the same answer as someone else. God talks to each of us a little differently, in our own special way!

This week we also had zone conference which was lovely! Several hours with the President S! We also spent several hours lost in a hospital, but I think we were supposed to be lost or that God made us lost, because we ran into a man that I truly believe we were supposed to meet. And we wouldn't have met him if we wouldn't have gotten lost in this MASSIVE hospital. He was a good guy. We taught him a lesson right then and there, and he was very interested. He is going to start reading the Book of Mormon ASAP. So that was pretty cool! But things like that happen ALL the time. That is why the mission is so much fun and easy because we are not really the ones making it happen. We just smile wherever he leads us and talk to everyone! He is the one guiding our path! It is so cool to watch days and events unfold in a divinely directed way! We just do our best to be ready for every person, lesson, and opportunity that Heavenly Father miraculously puts in our path. I love you all. You are the best!

Dearest Family,                                                                                                      2/11/16

This past week and half has been wonderful! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! It will forever be a highlight if not THE highlight of my life. It is so exciting! With all the miracles and crazy things happening it really does feel as if we are in a fairytale. It is indescribably joyful work. The passion I feel for this work cannot be contained. I am so excited for each of my brothers and sisters who will decide to make that life changing and best Decision to serve the Lord in such a powerful and dedicated way! OH, IT IS GOING TO BE AMAZING FOR YOU! It is already devastating that it is a third over. Oye! Where has the time gone?!? I feel as if I just arrived! But then I look at all your pictures and see how much is changing and how much ya'll are growing! It is crazy. I miss you all more than ever! I just want to hang out with you all and talk! But, that day will come soon enough. This tiny portion of my life in the service of our God is way too short. We owe Him so much more. I know that the church is true. I KNOW IT. I will defend it and share that good news with every last breathe that I breathe. Until I cannot open my lips one last time. I regret the 18 or so years of silence that I did not do all I could To declare this Wonderful Message! I am changed. I am different, and I am never going to stop. Not in 16 months not ever. This has changed my future. It has changed my destiny. The course of eternity has been changed for me! And it will NEVER BE OVER FOR ME. I will not go back to who I was!  I am a new man! God Lives! Christ is His Son! He Rescued Us! We Can Be Happy Forever! HE DID IT! CHRIST WON!   How wonderful. And I am so exhausted. And it feels so good. It is so great to wear yourself out in the service of the Lord. This week we had so many lessons and miracles. Numbers wise we lead the mission. Spiritually, we helped a lot of souls get closer to Christ. And that is the one that truly matters! It doesn't matter the numbers!!! There are people behind them! There is this one 19 year old girl we are teaching who wants nothing more than to be baptized, but her family is COMPLETELY against her. She doesn't care! She is going to do it! She moved out and has her own place. But it isn't the nicest place. She got beat up walking home one day by 5 ladies... For no good reason. And then she got jumped and robbed in jack in the box the next day. The day after that, she saw the guy that punched her in the face and took her money. She walked up to him and said: " excuse me, you are the man that hit me." And he started calling her not very nice things, so Che decided to punch him in the face with all her strength. And knocked him out. So we had to discuss that... She said she won't do it again! And that about some up are area! We also started teaching some gang members. And we are teaching at a halfway house, and we have a big group that gets together when we come to teach. We get to like stand on boxes and preach the gospel Brigham Young style! It is pretty cool, a lot of folks are coming around. I hope all is well. I love each of you, and think of you daily!

Elder Flake

Dear Family,                                                                         2/1/2016

Life is awesome. Always is as a missionary. Right now I am sitting at
our kitchen table and boiling a massive pot of potatoes. Because I
love potatoes! And people here do not eat very many potatoes. Just so
you know.

I also got a knew companion! His name is Elder B.  He has been out about 18 months, but has
served in the mountains his whole mission, so down in the city it was
a little bit of a shock to him. He is learning Spanish, and likes to
have a lot of fun! We are going to get things done! He likes to fish,
and he played football in college  before he came out
on his mission. He is pretty cool. Other than that, I am still down
here in central Phoenix working as hard as I know how. We went to the
Gilbert Temple with W. It was good. We have been continually
been working with the French sisters, so that is good. I am steadily
learning French. I an not learning french, Mother, so that I can marry
a French sister. NICE TRY THOUGH! Spanish is good. It fortunately
comes really easy for me!

It was very interesting to see Greg and Noni at church yesterday.
There was one point after we taught primary, that I actually had to go
on splits with Greg, and we taught pat parts of a lesson. It was
pretty awesome. It sounds like he interviewed one of the recent
converts as well. Interesting experience.

We got to go to the Gilbert temple this week with W. We are
working our very best to talk to everyone we see, and basically be
balls of sunshine in a very depressed and dark area by shouting glad
tidings from the rooftops, on the street corners and EVERYWHERE. It is
so important to not forget how overwhelmingly important the message
that we bring is! THE MESSAGE THAT GOD LIVES! AND HE STILL LOVES US!
AND PROPHETS ARE ON THE EARTH AGAIN TODAY! Can you feel the joy in
that message?!?!? IT IS WONDERFUL! We have actual prophets who
actually communicate with God. We can know exactly what he wants us to
know! This is His church! IT IS WONDERFUL! Nothing else matters!
NOTHING. One of the Spanish investigators we taught yesterday said it
best. We asked her what it would mean to her if she knew a REAL-LIFE
prophet, like Moses or Abraham or Elijah or ANYONE, was on the earth
today. And she put her hand over her heart and exclaimed with joy: " I
would give anything to know if that was true. I would give up all I
had to just follow him!" I AM SO HAPPY! I love you all so very much.

President S also wanted me to help my new companion to
see some miracles. So he sent him to our area, because we
have been having an endless supply of miracles! So, on Saturday, we
went to this half way house full of lots of good and humble gentlemen
that have committed some sort of crime. We were teaching one guy
there, and then this other guy came out, so we started teaching him,
and then another guy came out, and then another! And they kept coming.
And then there was a jogger running by, and he came up and said some
things about how he has been searching for religion in his life, and
that he wants to learn more. One of the soon-to-be managers wants us
to come back and teach everyone that stays at those houses! He said
that he would make it a requirement! My new companion was floored. It
was pretty cool, but, honestly, if you are being obedient and working
as hard as you can, those things happen more often then you'd expect.

I love you. Please don't forget it! Have a great week my friends.

Love Elder Logan Spencer Flake