Eduardo's Baptism

Well this week has been another hectic crazy week! But somehow I am still alive. The most exciting news was that Eduardo was baptized! He is so great! He is 20 years old and his girlfriend is in our ward. He started coming to ward activities around September and then we were finally able to begin teaching him in November. We taught him like two times and then he fell off the face of the earth. We tried calling and seeing him, but he was obviously avoiding us. So we just gave him his space. He showed up to church with his girlfriend in February and came to all 3 hours. In the Gospel Principles class he came up to me and told me he was ready to be baptized. (Sorry if I've already written about this story, can't remember). But we set up a date and it all went off super well! It was such a special time to see him making these covenants. We had his baptism on Friday and then a crazy crazy weekend.

Right now I am here at my mission president's house, President Wright. I have gotten pretty sick out here and so my president wanted me to come be with him and his wife for about two weeks to see if I can heal and be ready to work. So it has been an interesting weekend living with them and see what our president does. It has been pretty neat. I like living in a real house again! It's been so long. I have gotten used to these little apartments here. But the adventures will continue. There is another Hermana who has gotten sick so she came over today and will be with me for a bit of time! Her name is Hermana Rodriguez and she is from Guatemala. I am happy to have the company. President gave me the challenge to memorize all 100 Scripture Mastery's in Spanish by the time I leave. Don't know if my mind is capable of doing that. But I've got the first 3 from the Book of Mormon done! I feel accomplished :) I hope to be a bit better this week and if I am I can go into the mission office and help out in there. It would be a cool opportunity! I am excited for the work that is going forth. I hate that I am not out working everyday.. But I think this break will help me heal up and be ready to work even harder than I could before!

Love you all! Thank you for your prayers and love!

Hermana Flake

1. Eduardo's Baptism!

2. Pastel de Choclo!

3. Hermana Fernanda y Hermana Trincado

Sometimes There's No Light at the End of the Tunnel

But literally, we have no lights. Where to begin? How about with the fact that our apartment doesn't have electricity! That was a fun surprise. We got a paper a few weeks ago saying that we hadn't paid. So we called the office and got everything straightened out and they paid it. But apparently not... Because we got a phone call about a half hour ago saying that the man was at our apartment to cut our lights! We were freaking out calling everyone we could but because it's p-day no one is in the office. Hermana Christensen and I took off to write our families, but I am pretty sure we won't have lights tonight. Yay... Adventures... haha

This week has been great! We have been visiting and progressing a lot with investigators! I've still been pretty sick and not able to leave much, but we try to take advantage of the time when I feel good and get a lot accomplished. We were able to have some great lessons with Francisco and Camilo! Both of which have baptismal dates coming up soon. We had a Ward Family Home Evening for the two young men that left on their missions this week, José Manuel and Jonathan. We were able to teach Francisco before the activity and then he came! It turned out super well and the members were great and made him feel really welcome in the ward!

We saw Eduardo this week and he is really excited for his baptism too! He is so great and keeps learning so fast. He tells us about the studies he has when he is on breaks at the hospital. I love seeing his progress everytime we see him!

On Sunday we had a great day at church! Camilo came! Yay! He hasn't come to church since the beginning of December, but he came! It was so great. We have taken a lot of members to lessons with him and they all went to say hi and he looked really comfortable. The Gospel Principles Teacher didn't show up, so I decided to teach an improvised lesson on the 10 commandments. It turned out pretty decently. Camilo was the only one in the class with us for about 20 minutes and then a man Jorge came in. Hermana Ferreira contacted him last week in front of the church and gave him a Gospel Principles Book. He shared an incredible story about the affect the book had on his life in the week. He was into drugs and had been kicked out of his house and onto the streets. But after meeting Hermana Ferreira he found two other companionships of LDS missionaries during his day. He was able to pray and read almost the whole book and found a job. He walked all the way to church from almost the center of Santiago. It took him more than 6 hours. He is truly incredible! We are trying to help in in all that we can. The Spirit was so strong as he was sharing his experience in the class. Camilo got his phone number and was trying to find ways he could help him throughout the week. It was a great thing to see.

This week has been long, but super wonderful. I am grateful for all of the blessings and miracles I have seen in the mission. The Lord really has His hand in the work and is helping us in every moment. Love you all! Hope you have a wonderful week.

Love,

Hermana Flake

Sick + Summer = Sad Hermana Flake Feb. 23, 2015

Well, this week was kind of a bummer. I got a crazy virus or cold or some crazy disease of Chile. Sometimes I think this country is just out to get me or something! I got way sick and couldn´t leave too much. My companion says that my body hates Chile or that Chile hates me. She doesn´t know which it is, but is certain that it is one of the two. Anyway, we didn´t get to visit too many people. But we did divisions a few days so that Hermana Christensen could go visit our investigators and I could sleep some more.

Yesterday was the first day that I got to leave for the whole day! I was sooo excited! I struggled through church, but no big deal. I almost fell asleep when I was playing the piano during Sacrament Meeting.. yeah, it was an adventure! But then I got way better as the day went on. We had a great lesson with Carlos! He is an interesting person. On Friday Hermana Christensen went with Hermana Fernanda y Hermano Manuel to visit Carlos. Poor thing! They got there and he had this anti mormon video ready to watch. She said that the members helped her get out of the trap and that they didn´t fight with him but tried to invite him to pray. Needless to say, when we had another lesson with him on Sunday, I was a tad bit nervous. We went with Hermano Manuel. It went super well! We were able to teach the Restoration and how to pray. He was very humble and willing to try. He said the closing prayer and is going to pray about everything we have taught him.

We had a lesson with Francisco this week and when we invited him to be baptized he said yes and now he has a date! We are pretty excited with the investigators in our sector who are getting ready for their baptisms. There are so many miracles happening everyday. I am so grateful for my sector, ward, and leaders who help me so much! Being sick has been pretty lame, but I have felt so much love from the people here. The members are great and are willing to help in any way that they can! I love it here in Chile! Being a missionary is the best :)

Love,

Hermana Flake

1. Food here is crazy cheap in la feria. All of this celery cost like 75 cents in the street market. We eat so many fruits and vegetables here. It´s sweet!

2. The Familia Calderòn and I at church yesterday! Josè Manuel gave his last testimony in the ward and leaves on his mission on Thursday! 

Happy Valentine's Day! (Guess what, this holiday means nothing here) Feb. 16, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAREST MOTHER!!! I couldn't stop thinking about you yesterday! So Sorry I didn't get a letter sent to you... I sent one today, but it won't get there for a month or so.

Nothing too exciting has happened this week. Just trying to stay sane in the heat and walk a whole lot... haha. I don't know how our bodies are able to do this, but they can walk and walk in the heat. We had a pretty cool experience contacting this week. We have these lists of old investigators that we're cleaning out. We were down in a street contacting at like 3 oclock, when it is so hot, and I had a feeling we should go to a street that is really far away. It was weird. So we decided to go. We had forgotten our water bottles at home and I was so dehydrated. I told Hermana Christensen that the next person to open their door we HAD to ask for a glass of water. We went to find the 5 houses we had on our list. We went to one house and an angry old woman came out and told us to leave. We went to the other 4 and no one was home. I felt pretty annoyed. But as we walked to the next street we passed by the house where the woman yelled at us. A man came out and yelled "Hey! Do you guys want some water? It's hot out here!" We said yes and then had a great conversation with him. His name is Carlos and he talked to elders in 2003. We set up another appointment. We were able to go and teach him yesterday and now he's a new investigator! Pretty great!

Yesterday we had a great Sunday! We called everyone on Saturday and everyone told us that they were either out of town or busy. But we went and passed by before church started for hermana Francisca. And no one was there. We went to the church without anyone.. We felt pretty disappointed. But when we walked in we saw a less-active couple who hasn't been to church in like 4 years sitting on the benches! I was so happy! And then Elsa came in even though she said she couldn't come. And then Eduardo walked even though he was supposed to work today! And Luis came up to me after sacrament meeting and said that he was going to go get a date to get married today! So he can get baptized right after he gets married! And right after the sacrament Hermana Francisca walked in! It turned out to be a great Sunday in El Parque. We felt very blessed. Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Flake

1. I love this stray dog that lives in our sector. I named him "Wolfie"

2. We went to the Birthday Party of Hermana Mittleman today :)

           3. Happy Birthday Mom

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No Cambios! February 9, 2015

Yay! We didn't have changes! I get to stay in El Parque at least another change! I am so happy. I absolutely love this sector and my ward. It is a privilege to be here with Hna Christensen again!

We had another great week! We were able to teach Eduardo and set up a baptismal date. He is planning to be baptized on March 1! He is so excited for everything and just wants to learn everything he can. I love teaching someone who has just got it. I don't know how to explain it. But it's like his mind has just clicked. It is so different to teach him now, than before. It is like I can see the desire he has in his eyes to be a better person. He just wants to have an eternal family!

We were also able to go to the temple on Wednesday! We get to go through for a session once a year. And because Jose Manuel got his mission call, Hna Christensen and I decided to go with him. It was so great! I love the peace there. It is so interesting to be in the temple with Spanish all around you and everything. And inside is so special and then we go out onto the streets and the buses and metros and it feels completely opposite. I love being so close to the Santiago Temple! 

Today, for Pday we played tennis! (Dad, you will be so proud!) We played for about 3 hours in the church. There is the soccer /basketball court. But it also has posts to put up a tennis net! We found some raquets and played with Jose Manuel. It was so fun! I haven't played in forever. I was pretty bad.. But hopefully with some practice I can get better again. Hna Christensen played in high school and is super good! I like playing with her. 

Love,

Hermana Flake

1. Felipe and I! He is so darling!

2. Jose Manuel when he got his mission call.

3. Margarita and Montse

1. We went to get hamburgers last pday!

2.  Sometimes you just have to have a nap...but only on pdays!

3. We finally got a fan! And I had to put it together. But the 

instructions were in Spanish, go figure and made no sense

It t ook a bit of work. But I did it!

1.  Temple!

2.  After Jose Manuel went through

1. Hermana Ximena. She is practically my mom here 

in the mission. She takes such good care of us.

2. Tennis today at the church!

Miracles Happen! February 2, 2015

Wow, I do not even know how to describe this week! It was full of so many miracles that I don't know where to start!

Miracle 1. We went to see Felipe last Tuesday, he is the adopted son of Hna Francisca, a less active. He is 10 years old and so adorable! He is such a gentleman and always goes to get us juice and ice cream! We taught him the Restoration and invited him to be baptized on February 15. He said yes! He was so excited. When we saw Hna Francisca later in the week she said that Felipe was asking all about her baptism and how it was and how she felt. We then got to teach him the Plan of Salvation. He is so dang smart! He has had a rough life. Hna Francsica took him in because his real mom couldn't raise him because they were too poor. But Hna Francisca pretty much is his mom. They are so sweet!

Miracle 2. We finally got to see Camilo! I wrote about him in the beginning of December. He is a golden investigator, he just is never home! But we found him this week! We went and taught him the Plan of Salvation and invited him to be baptized on February 22. He said: Yeah, I've never been baptized before, I would really like that. He is so great! He has this crazy cat named Leon and it acts like a lion! He always bites me during the lessons... 

Miracle 3. Our Zone leaders randomly called us this week. They told us they had an investigator for us. Apparently they had been visiting a less active sister in their ward and her boyfriend isn't a member. His name is Francisco and he actually lives in our sector. The zone leaders told us that yeah, he wants to be baptized. So they set up and appointment for us to go to. We went and he said that he wanted to be baptized! Pretty sweet! They're going out of town right now, but when they get back he'll be getting baptized!

Miracle 4. Eduardo! He is the boyfriend of Sharon, a member in our ward. We had taught him the Restoration in December but could never find him again. He was kind of avoiding us. But he showed up to church today and came to all 3 hours. After the Gospel Principles class he was talking the Sharon and she was telling him that He had to talk to us, that she wasn't going to say anything. I was a little worried, he is so awesome and I didn't want him to reject all of the blessings he could gain from the gospel! He came up to us and said: Okay, so here's the thing. I want to be baptized. Is that ok? Haha! I was freaking out inside and let out a little "Sí, está bien!" We got a lesson with him right after church. And we asked him what he was feeling. He said that he didn't understand before. But know he just understood. And he couldn't deny it and he couldn't wait to be baptized. He said that now that he knew he didn't see the difference from being baptized today or tomorrow, just as soon as possible! We just have to teach 2 more lessons and then he can get baptized! 

So yeah, pretty much this week was crazy!! Oh, I guess there is another miracle. Miracle 5. Jose Manuel! He got his mission call! He was really inactive before I came here in the sector. And for a few weeks during my time he was still considered less active. But he got his life figured out and got his mission call! He was called to Argentina, Cordova! He was supposed to leave in April, but had to go sooner because of school. So he'll be leaving in 3 weeks! 

This week was great and reminded me of the love the Lord has for every single one of us. He always wants to help us. We are never really alone. I love being a missionary! I feel like I can feel a little piece of the Savior's love for these people. It is an amazing feeling. I love the gospel and know that true joy can only come to us as we live obediently to the commandments of the Lord.

Love, 

Hermana Flake

This computer won't send me pictures... so lame. I'll send a bunch next week!

Another Week in Good Old El Parque! 26 Jan. 2015

Hola!

Not much has really happened this week! We had some great times walking and working hard! We have been trying to find new investigators a lot this week. It is so hard with everyone being on vacations here.. Everyone went to the South or the Beach for like 3 months. But it's ok! The work continues, because nothing can stop the Lord's work from progressing! We decided to look into our area book and see what we could find. Apparently no one has cleaned that thing out in a while.. Because we found investigators from 2005.. yeah, 10 years ago. So we found 17 pages of New and Future Investigators. So we started organizing and making lists. We have been trying to stop by all of these people's houses and see if we can teach them. We have a list of about 300 houses in our sector. It is crazy! We got started working on it this weekend and found one new person! It only took a few door slams and about 15 people who didn't answer. But we keep going!

We had interviews with President this week. It was great to go and talk with him. One of my favorite parts about interviews is that we get a cookie. Like a real, homemade cookie from Hermana Wright. It was the highlight of my day! I think I will eat chocolate chip cookies for a month straight when I get home! But it was so great to talk with President. He is so smart and helps so much! 

Yesterday was kind of crazy in our sector. It was the birthday of Carlita so we had an once with her and her family. And we also went and had a family home evening with Rodrigo and Nayibe. But there was this weird concert that was going on right by the chapel. Rodrigo and Nayibe wanted to take their kids to walk around in it for a bit so we got to see what was going on. It was like a carnival/rock concert! In my little sector! They were selling potato chips.. on a stick. That seriously exists... But we had a great lesson with them! Nayibe will be starting English classes in about a week. We got her a Book of Mormon in English so that she can practice with that. They have most of their plans set up to move to Canada in a year. It is incredible to see the change the gospel has had in their lives. A year ago they were here in Chile, completely miserable not knowing what to do with their lives. Now, they are baptized, Rodrigo is the Elder's Quorum President, Nayibe is able to use the Perpetual Education Fund to learn English. And they are progressing in their lives. They are such a sweet little Colombian family! 

Today for P-day we went to San Jose del Maipo. It was pretty interesting. We went with two of our investigators, Connie and Patricio. We took a little bus up there and walked around and had a picnic at Connie's Uncle's House. I like exploring Chile! Our mission is pretty little, so sometimes we don't know what to do. But we always have fun when we go out and find new places! It was great to be with Connie and Patricio, too! They are so great! This week was pretty calm, but always fun down here in Chile :)

Love,

Hermana Flake

1. Carlita's Birthday Party with some other Beehives in the ward.

2. Nayibe and I at the weird street Concert last night.