Hello!
Still no baby? Hang in there Danielle! What a wonderful gift life on earth is! And to be able to make it through it as an Eternal Family! The blessings of the true gospel are infinite! We can be sealed as families! Its incredible! And when we put God first He is "bound" to bless us. I worried about leaving my family for so long and didn't want to miss anything back home.....but as i ponder on the forever eternal life that i will be able to have with my family i know that this year and a half is such a small token to give. I mean think about it....forever..... it makes sacrifice here seem so small......think about a trial your having....and now picture that trial in relationship to Forever...... We are so blessed! And everything that is unfair in this life will be made fair in the next. well anyway..... Guess what? we got a new ward mission leader and he is stoked off his hinges to have the calling! we are so happy!!!!!! He is a convert to the church and then served a mission a couple years later. Before he joined our church he was about to start his own church because he didn't agree with the doctrines he was learning in other churches. Then he met the missionaries and the rest is history. So with him and the new things we are applying from zone conference this area is going to fly...and its going to fly high! With faith in Jesus Christ. Also i know that i have so much to improve on....i just want to do my best for the Lord....and you would think that i got it figured out by now since I've been out a year....but i need help. i know i need to relax more and let the Lord take control. I am learning alot and i am learning that i have alot to learn. What have i done with Christs name? The gospel of Jesus Christ is restored to the earth!
Love, sister Flake
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
June 15, 2009 Emal
Hola mi familia!
Thanks to all who supported me in the form of an email this week. It is much appreciated. Sorry bout your experience in Wyoming boys. Glad that your scriptures were safe Dawson. Sorry Justin that your PMG was stolen....priceless i know. But you're all still alive and you still have the gospel. :) Well I'm about to be an aunt and that is exciting. Please tell her hello and give her a kiss for me.
So just a quick update....I'm still a missionary..... We work hard.... We teach and testify often.... Its great! So Jason was baptized. It was marvelous. Remember Dan? Well we had to hand him over to the elders cuz hes actually in their area but he chose July 18th to be baptized. He already has the gospel glow! We are working on some new ideas for getting referrals from members. Any ideas? Begging doesn't work. haha! just kidding!
well today the Sippels are taking Katie, Sister Stevens, and i mini golfing. Wont that be fun?
Well this week I am very grateful for the priesthood. We were going through a bit of a stressful time and were able to receive blessings from Brother Sippel. It helped me feel peace and be reassured of the love and plan that God has for me. And brother Sippel respects and honours his priesthood. Before he gave us our blessings he went and shaved and got on his suit. What an example of respect that we should have for the power and authority to act in Gods name. I will always remember that.
Missionary work is kind of like a pineapple:) Mostly sweet and delicious but a little bit hard in the middle. I'm grateful for the hard parts though. I know its growing me as a person. And I'm grateful to be able to suffer a bit.
"If it so be that we suffer with Him, For i reckon that the suffering at this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8.
The church is true!
Love, sister flake
--
Thanks to all who supported me in the form of an email this week. It is much appreciated. Sorry bout your experience in Wyoming boys. Glad that your scriptures were safe Dawson. Sorry Justin that your PMG was stolen....priceless i know. But you're all still alive and you still have the gospel. :) Well I'm about to be an aunt and that is exciting. Please tell her hello and give her a kiss for me.
So just a quick update....I'm still a missionary..... We work hard.... We teach and testify often.... Its great! So Jason was baptized. It was marvelous. Remember Dan? Well we had to hand him over to the elders cuz hes actually in their area but he chose July 18th to be baptized. He already has the gospel glow! We are working on some new ideas for getting referrals from members. Any ideas? Begging doesn't work. haha! just kidding!
well today the Sippels are taking Katie, Sister Stevens, and i mini golfing. Wont that be fun?
Well this week I am very grateful for the priesthood. We were going through a bit of a stressful time and were able to receive blessings from Brother Sippel. It helped me feel peace and be reassured of the love and plan that God has for me. And brother Sippel respects and honours his priesthood. Before he gave us our blessings he went and shaved and got on his suit. What an example of respect that we should have for the power and authority to act in Gods name. I will always remember that.
Missionary work is kind of like a pineapple:) Mostly sweet and delicious but a little bit hard in the middle. I'm grateful for the hard parts though. I know its growing me as a person. And I'm grateful to be able to suffer a bit.
"If it so be that we suffer with Him, For i reckon that the suffering at this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8.
The church is true!
Love, sister flake
--
Monday, June 8, 2009
June 8, 2009 Email
HI!
What an exciting week! Well first of all today sister Stevens and i got pedicures from a lady in our ward! Wow. What a sweet women trying to share her talents to help the Lords work go forth! and guess what? a women she works with heard her say my name and told her that i called her a few weeks before out of the blue.....when she told me the woman's name i realized that it was this women that we called because we thought we found her cat that we saw on a poster......and it wasn't her cat but i then continued to talk to her and taught the first lesson over the phone....so we are going to try to meet up now to teach her again.... did that make sense? Anyway....the Lord works in mysterious ways. Well guess what? while we were doing surveys and contacting people at the park we received a bit of persecution. Its fun to talk about now...but while it was happening it was not that cool. So this one guy i was talking to i could tell was not interested but just wanted to share his opinion....so i said goodbye and then he walked away and came back later and walked back and forth in front of our survey table singing very loudly this awful Satanic song as he was listening to his earphones. Of course people were wondering whats going on and i was trying to bear my testimony to this other guy who was basically crying as he was explaining his desire to have God in his life.... and i just felt the most terrible feeling.....and i was praying in my heart that he would leave......and he finally left after coming up and interrupting our conversation saying" don't take this personally. i just thought it was the perfect song for the occasion." yikes! evil. and then a couple of other guys said some terrible things about the church.....so anyway....... Satan was trying to get us down because of what was going to happen later that night...... We met 6 Jamaicans who are living in a house together saving up money to send back to their families in Jamaica. Bro. Calvert came with us to the appointment and it was the most spiritual experience of my whole mission. We taught the restoration and the spirit was thick. They are so humble and sincere and by the end of the lesson they couldn't wait to get their hands on a copy of the Book of Mormon. Please pray for them....The Lord wants them.
Also earlier this week we were walking down the street and started talking to a young guy and asked him the purpose of life...he looked at us inquisitively and said that was actually what he was thinking all morning as his close friend died two days earlier.....we walked to the library to talk more..... we taught about God......he didn't know He existed....... until the spirit overwhelmed him as we told him the love that God has for him and that he lived with Him before he came here. Tears streamed down his face.....and mine...... and he then told us he had been walking since early that morning and was feeling so heavy.....and he then said "now i feel so light." Now Gunnar knows God.
I cant express the love and gratitude i feel for my Father in Heaven. There is no greater feeling then knowing that you have been an instrument in His hands. My relationship with Him is real.... and is everything to me. This is His gospel...it is true, no power can stop His work! I love my Savior and Redeemer. He lives and His atonement is real.. its real for me, its real for you..and its real for your neighbor down the street who does not know about it. Go tell them. Love you all! Love, sister Flake
What an exciting week! Well first of all today sister Stevens and i got pedicures from a lady in our ward! Wow. What a sweet women trying to share her talents to help the Lords work go forth! and guess what? a women she works with heard her say my name and told her that i called her a few weeks before out of the blue.....when she told me the woman's name i realized that it was this women that we called because we thought we found her cat that we saw on a poster......and it wasn't her cat but i then continued to talk to her and taught the first lesson over the phone....so we are going to try to meet up now to teach her again.... did that make sense? Anyway....the Lord works in mysterious ways. Well guess what? while we were doing surveys and contacting people at the park we received a bit of persecution. Its fun to talk about now...but while it was happening it was not that cool. So this one guy i was talking to i could tell was not interested but just wanted to share his opinion....so i said goodbye and then he walked away and came back later and walked back and forth in front of our survey table singing very loudly this awful Satanic song as he was listening to his earphones. Of course people were wondering whats going on and i was trying to bear my testimony to this other guy who was basically crying as he was explaining his desire to have God in his life.... and i just felt the most terrible feeling.....and i was praying in my heart that he would leave......and he finally left after coming up and interrupting our conversation saying" don't take this personally. i just thought it was the perfect song for the occasion." yikes! evil. and then a couple of other guys said some terrible things about the church.....so anyway....... Satan was trying to get us down because of what was going to happen later that night...... We met 6 Jamaicans who are living in a house together saving up money to send back to their families in Jamaica. Bro. Calvert came with us to the appointment and it was the most spiritual experience of my whole mission. We taught the restoration and the spirit was thick. They are so humble and sincere and by the end of the lesson they couldn't wait to get their hands on a copy of the Book of Mormon. Please pray for them....The Lord wants them.
Also earlier this week we were walking down the street and started talking to a young guy and asked him the purpose of life...he looked at us inquisitively and said that was actually what he was thinking all morning as his close friend died two days earlier.....we walked to the library to talk more..... we taught about God......he didn't know He existed....... until the spirit overwhelmed him as we told him the love that God has for him and that he lived with Him before he came here. Tears streamed down his face.....and mine...... and he then told us he had been walking since early that morning and was feeling so heavy.....and he then said "now i feel so light." Now Gunnar knows God.
I cant express the love and gratitude i feel for my Father in Heaven. There is no greater feeling then knowing that you have been an instrument in His hands. My relationship with Him is real.... and is everything to me. This is His gospel...it is true, no power can stop His work! I love my Savior and Redeemer. He lives and His atonement is real.. its real for me, its real for you..and its real for your neighbor down the street who does not know about it. Go tell them. Love you all! Love, sister Flake
Monday, June 1, 2009
June 1, 2009 Email New Companion
Hello my dearest people that I love! What a week! First of all, my dear sister Wong has been transferred to Richmond (which is 80% Chinese) to speak mandarin. And yes I did cry when she left. Wow I really love her. Saying goodbye at the airport was difficult. So now I have a brand new missionary companion, Sister Stevens from Tremonton, Utah, fresh from the MTC. She’s teaching me a lot. She is a twin and the youngest of ten children. She is really athletic so that’s nice, and a very hard worker. She really catches on quick. It’s been great so far! We work and forget to eat and drink, and wear sunscreen.....i love that! But we both are pretty burnt from four hours of contacting at the park. But the Lord blessed us with lots of potential investigators.....
Oh yeah! on Monday sister Wong and I finally were able to commit Jason to baptism....I’m not sure if i even told you about him...missionaries have been teaching him for 6 months, and he was really stubborn, his wife is a member but has not been active, they have a cute little daughter named Kaylee... We have been meeting there almost every Monday night....two months ago we told him we couldn’t come over anymore until he went to church, we have always invited him but he never made the effort, so we had to be bold. We were not sure if he would do it.....but he did! and he’s been going ever since....and now he will be baptized on the 13th! Whoo hoo! As he started really trying hard to come to a conclusion about the book of Mormon his life began to change! It saved their marriage and even people at work have made comments to him that he seems different! The gospel really does change lives! Please pray for their family that all will go well till the baptism....Satan likes to stop people whatever way he can.
Keith received the holy ghost at church yesterday :) we also recommitted Tiffany for baptism on the 4th of July (it’s not a holiday here).. So things are going very well here. Oh and something kind of crazy. Katie’s dad kicked her out of the house because of the whole Mormon thing.....so she is living down stairs here at the Sippels house.....so she has joined us for dinner appointment and running in the morning....it’s kind of crazy.... its only temporary til she can find another place. But its fun getting to know her more. and the ward has really reached out to her here. The Sippels are so nice to let her live here. So lots going on here! But i love it! Thanks,
Love, sister flake
Dearest Sister Flake,
I just want you to know how much I love you and miss you! I shall write you soon. I came to realize you did teach me a lot since I am no longer with you. You better write me soon too...lol I miss laughing with you. Hope all is well with you and Sister Stevens.
Love, Sister Wong
Oh yeah! on Monday sister Wong and I finally were able to commit Jason to baptism....I’m not sure if i even told you about him...missionaries have been teaching him for 6 months, and he was really stubborn, his wife is a member but has not been active, they have a cute little daughter named Kaylee... We have been meeting there almost every Monday night....two months ago we told him we couldn’t come over anymore until he went to church, we have always invited him but he never made the effort, so we had to be bold. We were not sure if he would do it.....but he did! and he’s been going ever since....and now he will be baptized on the 13th! Whoo hoo! As he started really trying hard to come to a conclusion about the book of Mormon his life began to change! It saved their marriage and even people at work have made comments to him that he seems different! The gospel really does change lives! Please pray for their family that all will go well till the baptism....Satan likes to stop people whatever way he can.
Keith received the holy ghost at church yesterday :) we also recommitted Tiffany for baptism on the 4th of July (it’s not a holiday here).. So things are going very well here. Oh and something kind of crazy. Katie’s dad kicked her out of the house because of the whole Mormon thing.....so she is living down stairs here at the Sippels house.....so she has joined us for dinner appointment and running in the morning....it’s kind of crazy.... its only temporary til she can find another place. But its fun getting to know her more. and the ward has really reached out to her here. The Sippels are so nice to let her live here. So lots going on here! But i love it! Thanks,
Love, sister flake
Dearest Sister Flake,
I just want you to know how much I love you and miss you! I shall write you soon. I came to realize you did teach me a lot since I am no longer with you. You better write me soon too...lol I miss laughing with you. Hope all is well with you and Sister Stevens.
Love, Sister Wong
Monday, May 25, 2009
Email May 25, 2009
Well hello everybody!
Good to hear from all of you! Congrats on the excellent grades bros! And yea Dawson you are done with high school! How does that feel? I appreciate the pictures you sent. Well i love you all and are so proud of you!
Well this week was the most stressful of my whole mission i think. But the Lord is helping me learn to cope with stress. So basically we changed the baptism date for Keith and Tiffany about five times. We were having the hardest time coordinating with parents and with leaders. Anyway it was a big mess. But what happened is that Tiffany will be waiting for her dad to be prepared to use his priesthood so he can baptise her....probably in a month or so. And we ended up having Keith's baptism on Sunday. So all this stress kind of building up was finally washed away as we watched Keith wash away his sins in the waters of baptism! Beautiful! The service was beautiful! We had the youth do the talks and prayers and it was awesome to see how they are so accepting of him. And Keith's mom was there and was really fellow shipped well so we will be working on her, as well as Keith I'm sure. So Keith bore his testimony after the baptism and tears of joy just filled my eyes! The Lord has great things prepared for him. Last week he told us that his class mates and teachers were all throwing questions at him during class when he announced to them that he was going to be a Mormon. He said he was surprised because he was able to answer all the questions. He has so much courage and i am just so pleased with the strength of character of the youth of the church today! wow!
Also Katie went to six hours of church yesterday. She really just thirsts after knowledge! Teaching her has been such a blessing....and like i said before....shes teaching us too. I love the people here. I love teaching people of their true relationship with their Heavenly Father. There is no other message other then the true restored gospel that could get me to walk up to crazy looking people of all walks of life and bring up something as controversial as religion. This gospel means everything to me! I know that this is Gods church!
Love, sister Flake
Good to hear from all of you! Congrats on the excellent grades bros! And yea Dawson you are done with high school! How does that feel? I appreciate the pictures you sent. Well i love you all and are so proud of you!
Well this week was the most stressful of my whole mission i think. But the Lord is helping me learn to cope with stress. So basically we changed the baptism date for Keith and Tiffany about five times. We were having the hardest time coordinating with parents and with leaders. Anyway it was a big mess. But what happened is that Tiffany will be waiting for her dad to be prepared to use his priesthood so he can baptise her....probably in a month or so. And we ended up having Keith's baptism on Sunday. So all this stress kind of building up was finally washed away as we watched Keith wash away his sins in the waters of baptism! Beautiful! The service was beautiful! We had the youth do the talks and prayers and it was awesome to see how they are so accepting of him. And Keith's mom was there and was really fellow shipped well so we will be working on her, as well as Keith I'm sure. So Keith bore his testimony after the baptism and tears of joy just filled my eyes! The Lord has great things prepared for him. Last week he told us that his class mates and teachers were all throwing questions at him during class when he announced to them that he was going to be a Mormon. He said he was surprised because he was able to answer all the questions. He has so much courage and i am just so pleased with the strength of character of the youth of the church today! wow!
Also Katie went to six hours of church yesterday. She really just thirsts after knowledge! Teaching her has been such a blessing....and like i said before....shes teaching us too. I love the people here. I love teaching people of their true relationship with their Heavenly Father. There is no other message other then the true restored gospel that could get me to walk up to crazy looking people of all walks of life and bring up something as controversial as religion. This gospel means everything to me! I know that this is Gods church!
Love, sister Flake
Monday, May 18, 2009
Well hello! I love you soooooo much! Just a few points of business before I get started...I did receive the memory card...thanks a ton. I hope you enjoyed the pictures I sent you. So did Fusi give you a call? I got an email from her. Which is crazy cuz i was thinking about her the other day? You remember her right. The one from Tonga...or Samoa...can’t remember, she lives in the Boulders and I use to pick her up for church. Well I can’t email her back cuz of the new rules....but can you get her address for me...or give her mine? Thanks so much! Mom I just wanted to say I got the pictures you sent and you look beautiful, and Sister Wong thinks you’re pretty too. You look pretty too dad! HAHA just kidding.....anyway my brothers are huge its kinda scary... how am I gonna keep up on bike rides now? No chance.
So anyway ....life here is great! We had a miracle this week. We met with Keith and asked if we could talk to his mom. At first she said " no he doesn’t need to be baptized, has already been baptized in the Catholic Church." Then we kept talking to her and 5 min later she said she needed to think about it....then we talked a little more about authority and showed her the Strength of Youth pamphlet....and then she said" ok let me check my schedule." Wow! Isn’t that great! She agreed! So Keith and Tiffany will be baptized this Saturday! The Lord answered our prayers...and thanks to all of you who participated in those prayers. Faith in Christ works miracles! So then we had another great miracle from God. Remember about a month ago when I told you I had to buy new Nikes cuz my feet were having problems? well when we were in that store at the mall on Preparation day there was a couple there and the guy was like" hi sisters" and we were like "woa, oh hi" cuz that doesn’t usually happen....so found out he was a member from the states and his girlfriend was not a member from Kelowna (long distance relationship).....so we asked her if she was ready to meet with the missionaries?...haha....and she declined but was very friendly. Well....we forgot about it till last week when we got a call from the office with this girl, Katie Turner as a referral! WOW! So we met with her this week and wow! She is amazing.....she has already been going to church with her boyfriend in the states and came back so she can get a visa and meet with us so she can be baptized! So we asked her how she feels about the church so far....well basically she bore her testimony and we were all teared up as she explained how the first time she walked into the LDS church she was filled with an overwhelming feeling of the spirit....she said she felt like she had returned home! She knows it’s all true.... She is already in Alma and she has notes on every page with things she has learned and questions for us..... she also came to church with us and answered most the questions in gospel principals...the ward members were like" do you want to get baptized after church?" ....she is on fire with the spirit! Amazing! I feel so privileged to be a part of teaching her....she is an elect daughter of God....she grew up in the catholic church...her family is strong catholic....she was frustrated with her church because every time she would ask questions they would tell her "that’s just the way it is....don’t worry about it." so any way she will be baptized in June and she is so amazing and such a great example and faith builder for me! And please pray for her family because they are kind of mad about her investigating the church...The gospel is true and the spirit is real! Love you all!
Love, sister flake
So anyway ....life here is great! We had a miracle this week. We met with Keith and asked if we could talk to his mom. At first she said " no he doesn’t need to be baptized, has already been baptized in the Catholic Church." Then we kept talking to her and 5 min later she said she needed to think about it....then we talked a little more about authority and showed her the Strength of Youth pamphlet....and then she said" ok let me check my schedule." Wow! Isn’t that great! She agreed! So Keith and Tiffany will be baptized this Saturday! The Lord answered our prayers...and thanks to all of you who participated in those prayers. Faith in Christ works miracles! So then we had another great miracle from God. Remember about a month ago when I told you I had to buy new Nikes cuz my feet were having problems? well when we were in that store at the mall on Preparation day there was a couple there and the guy was like" hi sisters" and we were like "woa, oh hi" cuz that doesn’t usually happen....so found out he was a member from the states and his girlfriend was not a member from Kelowna (long distance relationship).....so we asked her if she was ready to meet with the missionaries?...haha....and she declined but was very friendly. Well....we forgot about it till last week when we got a call from the office with this girl, Katie Turner as a referral! WOW! So we met with her this week and wow! She is amazing.....she has already been going to church with her boyfriend in the states and came back so she can get a visa and meet with us so she can be baptized! So we asked her how she feels about the church so far....well basically she bore her testimony and we were all teared up as she explained how the first time she walked into the LDS church she was filled with an overwhelming feeling of the spirit....she said she felt like she had returned home! She knows it’s all true.... She is already in Alma and she has notes on every page with things she has learned and questions for us..... she also came to church with us and answered most the questions in gospel principals...the ward members were like" do you want to get baptized after church?" ....she is on fire with the spirit! Amazing! I feel so privileged to be a part of teaching her....she is an elect daughter of God....she grew up in the catholic church...her family is strong catholic....she was frustrated with her church because every time she would ask questions they would tell her "that’s just the way it is....don’t worry about it." so any way she will be baptized in June and she is so amazing and such a great example and faith builder for me! And please pray for her family because they are kind of mad about her investigating the church...The gospel is true and the spirit is real! Love you all!
Love, sister flake
Click on the link below to see more of sis. Flake's photos from Kelowna.
Monday, May 11, 2009
May 11 Email and Mothers Day phone call
Hi Friends and family,
We had a delightful visit with Sis. Flake on Sunday morning. She sounds like all is going well. She loves her companion Sis. Wong. They go to the church and dance once a week for exercise. Sis. Wong likes to shop and likes Sushi. Good thing that Lindsey likes that too. They are in a very beautiful area and she says that they are just wearing sweaters now that it has warmed up. They live close to the church and there is just one ward in their area. She will have been out one year on the first week of June. She should be returning in November.
May 11, 2009
Oh how wonderful it was to talk to you yesterday! Wow! you are all as amazing as i remembered. Thank you for your much support and encouragement. what a blessing. and i cant beleive that the next time i will talk to you will be face to face. AHHhh! oh yeah before i forget.. .yes mother i do have another memory card and yes please send me the other one and then i will send you more pics. and Happy Birthday mom!
So my companion and I are of one heart and one mind....yesterday at church sister wong introduced herself to someone: "Hello, im sister Flake" haha it was so funny once she realized what she said. And i wrote my presidents letter yesterday and put down her name instead of mine on accident. We definately have unity. Speaking of unity...this is what we are focusing on as we teach members at dinner appts. "Now ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citezens with the saints and of the house hold of God." So we ask: What makes a stranger turn into a friend? we want to help our ward be one and welcome everyone. sometimes we can get caught up in just going and talking to the same people....but we need to make sure that no one at church is a stranger. So we have been challenging every family to say hi to one new stranger every week untill there is no longer strangers or foreigners at church. i extend the same challenge to any of you that may be reading this right now. We are all brothers and sisters. Lets act like it. UNITY! ..........ZION! its a wonderful thing. i just felt like i was making a commercial....ha ha.....anyways....
I dont know what to talk about other then the church is true and we have investigators who are progressing.... after church yestday i was talking to Keith ( the 13 year old investigator) so i said "hey Kieth is this really the true church" and he said "yeah"....and i said " how do you know?" and he said " everytime i pray and ask God about it i just feel to good." and it is my testimony that it is so good....every bit of it. I just love rejoicing in this glorious gospel. Keith also offered a simple and beautiful prayer at our last appointment....." please help my mom to let me be baptised so that i can recieve the priesthood, and the holy ghost, and live with you in the Celestial Kingdom." How beautiful and simple it is. And we have it! Take a minute and think how blessed you are to have this. Who can you share it with? Pray and find someone today. well thats all for now...until next week....love, sister flake
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