> Dearest Family,                    1/11/16
> 
> This week was crazy awesome. There has been so much excitement down
> here lately! The big college football championship game is being
> played in our area. And so there are people from all over the country
> here. Everything is packed! Lots of people, big blimps in the sky,
> little airplanes flying around with advertisements trailing behind
> them. That has been fun.
> 
> This week, Elder W and I decided to try to teach a person of
> every ethnicity, and race. Just because we can. We ran into this
> Viatnamease guy, who was really interested, and said he believed in
> Jesus Christ, that he would love to meet with us, and all that stuff.
> So we went back the next day. And we talked to the son, and we find
> out that they were very astute Buddhists, it just happened to be that
> the dad didn't speak English. Yeah, that didn't work out so well! We,
> found A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE TO TEACH. The work is hastening. We have way
> to much to do, and way to little time to do it. We need about 20 more
> missionaries in our area alone! The work is really picking up.
> EVERYWHERE. I had an interview with President S and President
> says that it is not so much the area that is granting us so much
> success. He thinks it's me. But it is definitely not. It is God. And I
> am scared to accept even a little credit, because I don't want to lose
> the overwhelming success and miracles that we are having. God has made
> the area that I am now serving in, go from one of the worst, to now,
> one of the most successful in just a few short months. I had an
> exchange with one of the Zone Leaders on Thursday and he was just
> floored by the miracles and things happening in our area. The
> hierarchy for the mission is President, Assistants to the president,
> zone leaders, district leaders, trainers, senior companions, and then
> junior companions. On Wednesday, we also had the opportunity to feed
> homeless women at this kitchen in downtown Phoenix. Since I talk the
> most, they assigned me to give all the ladies their food. That was one
> of the most interesting experiences ever. The things that they told me
> were so strange. We gave exceedingly many priesthood blessings this
> week as well. And it still never, ever gets old. It so cool to just
> walk into hospital rooms without anyone even knowing you, give a
> blessing, someone is healed, and then walk out without saying a word.
> We truly are on the Lords errand. Yesterday, during church, I was
> talking to some Spanish folks, and all of a sudden I see this familiar
> face. It was brother P, a man and family that I knew well from my
> last area up in Eagar. They came to Central Ward because a few weeks
> before I left, their 8 year old daughter had something go severely
> wrong. She was flown down to Phoenix, and on the way down their she
> flatlined twice. This was an amazingly kind family, and one that I ate
> dinner with often. I remember playing and talking to that little girl.
> There is a children's hospital here as well. It is a massive hospital,
> and it just happened to be the one that they went to. Before I left
> Eagar, I felt as if I needed to give her a blessing, but I got
> transferred before I had the chance. As soon as I saw Brother P,
> I went and found Sister P, and when she saw me, she just started
> crying. And she didn't stop. But I hardly even recognized her, since I
> had last seen her she had lost way to much weight. Which she didn't
> even have to loose in the first place. It was sad. The situation has
> been pretty rough on her. Her daughter lost almost all mental
> activity. It was a miracle we found them. We have strengthened them at
> a time when they were alone. And I look forward to giving her a
> blessing. Much more has happened, but no time! I love you all and will
> see you soon!
> 
> Love Elder Flake

Dear My Mostest Favoritest People Ever,  1/4/16

This week was fantastic! I have no idea how I can possibly have so many consecutively fantastic weeks, but I really haven't had a bad week yet! It just doesn't happen! Sure I have bad moments, we all do, but by the end of the day, week, or month it is FANTASTIC! I hope that everything is working well with each and every one of you. So, today is the first day back to school. Man, it feels weird not following the normal schedule, and not even being in school! For 13 years I have had the same annual schedule. But now, NOPE! And I couldn't think of a better way to break the pattern. 

This week was sort of crazy with New Years and things happening. We weren't really supposed to even be out side starting about 6:00pm. New Years Eve. Mostly because downtown Phoenix turns into a drunken mess. But, with our luck, we had some set appointments that we got some special permission to go to. One of those appointments was in downtown Phoenix, and that was quite an experience. It also didn't help that we had the lesson outside. There was this one drunk guy who came over and started trying to bash the Book of Mormon in front of our investigator, but he was so drunk that he made absolutely no sense, and made a pretty big fool out of himself.  But we might try to teach him sometime if he ever gets sober. We had to cancel that lesson and reschedule because it was such a mess. New Years was awesome. We got some haircuts from this really interesting Spanish sister. Hen we went and had a double zone activity. It was awesome, we played sports for about 5 to 6 hours. Then we went home, got ready, studied us some Spanish, and then went and picked up a French man who was recently baptized in the Phoenix Mission, and then drove him to a lesson with the French Sisters that are in our district. He didn't speak English, but I was determined to figure out a way to communicate with him in the car, which, just ended up making him confused. Oye. We sat in that French lesson. And I decided that I really do not like not being able to communicate. ESPECIALLY, when we are taking about gospel principles! But that, combined with learning a new language has made me realize how long and tedious and how much work it takes to learn a language, and to be able to understand and speak. It has given me a new perspective on learning the language of the spirit, and of prayer and revelation. I believe that the language of the spirit is the hardest language that we, as sons and daughters of God, can come to understand and speak. Becoming fluent in that language is the ultimate feat of communication, because that is the UNIVERSAL language. I language that all of God's children can feel and not just hear. Many times in Spanish lessons or even English lessons, the people often remark how they have no idea what we are saying ( probably every Spanish lesson!), BUT they can FEEL what we are saying. That is the language of the spirit speaking to their spirit. And that is the Language that convinces and converts people. It is NOT all the fancy words we say and use. It is the simple feelings that the spirit gives as he speaks to their hearts.

Also, In our area in Downtown Phoenix, there are A LOT of massive hospitals. And because of that, everyone who needs a blessing calls us. So we have the wonderful privilege of giving MANY blessings. They are usually always special and powerful, regardless of how many we give in Acea, the potency of the blessings does not diminish depending on how many we give to those that we do not even know. There was one that we gave yesterday for a man that is 25 years old, had 2 little kids, and who has been in the hospital since September. He has severe condition. And has received over 5 brain surgeries recently. He had hundreds of tubes in him. We could hardly find a spot to lay our hands, but when we laid our hands on his head his eyes immediately opened, which should not have happened due to his sedation and condition. And they stayed opened through the remainder of the blessing. When we finished, there was a light in his eyes. We then left. More happened, but it was so special that I will share it with you privately when I get home. The priesthood is real. It is so wonderful to be able to use it. Like Elder Bednar, I know when there is a power beyond my own, that works in me and through me. The priesthood is real. It grants access to God's power, and if it be in line with His will, you can move mountains. 

I love you all so very much, and I wish you a happy and success full new year. This is the only full, complete year that I won't see you all, but that is it! I will see you next year! See you soon.

Love Elder Flake

12/28/15

 Dearest Family,
> 
> I love you, Despite my
> imperfections, my Heavenly Father still condescends to use me. And you
> wouldn't believe the powerful experiences that he has allowed me to be
> an instrument in. One of them happened Saturday: We were personal
> studying when we got a call from one of the sisters in our zone. She
> said that she had been talking to President , and that he had
> told her that she needed to receive a blessing. (I am not sure why she
> called us, because we aren't even in the same district, and that is
> usually a district leader or zone leader type of deal.) But she asked,
> so I called President and got his permission, and then we went and
> picked up her actual district leader. We gave her the blessing, and
> the words that were spoken were powerful, not because of me, but
> because of the goodness of God. It was, honestly, one of the most
> powerful blessings that I have ever been a part of. The spirit was
> very strong. I know that it may seem boring or a common thing to all
> of you, but it was a powerful spiritual experience that I will not
> forget for a very long time, one that fortified my faith and
> significantly helped it grow. But I think that is the point of grand
> spiritual experiences. They are to personally help you grow. To
> others, especially nonbelievers, the significance is hidden, and it
> seems ridiculous. But to those with faith, they are miracles. The rest
> of the week was really good. It was especially nice to see all of you
> on Friday. I hope the Holiday break is going well for all of you! It
> was, honestly, such an awesome Christmas. We went to the Mesa Temple
> lights with a Mexican cowboy . He is pretty cool. He loved
> the visitors center. And he told me that in two weeks he was going to
> make me a leather Mexican suit like he was wearing, we see what shall
> see. We also met this baptist priest, whom is willing to hear the
> message. That was pretty fun, he lives in the church that he preaches
> at. And so teaching him in a baptist church might be a little
> interesting.
> I love you all,
> Elder Flaco
> 

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