Friday:
-I got to have companionship scripture study with Sister Taufa OUTSIDE!☀ It was so nice to get to sit in the sunshine and enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains. God's creations are sure spectacular!
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| Look at this view!! This is from the 6th floor of the building t4, where classes are. And dad, I thought of you when I saw that freshly-cut-looking crisscross pattern grass ;) |
-Sister Taufa and I had 2 baptismal invitations accepted today!!!!! We taught Karisa that morning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how important it is to be baptized by someone holding God's proper authority. She is such an honest truth seeker and has a desire to come closer to Jesus Christ. I knew I was supposed to extend to her the invitation to be baptized when my heart felt like it was literally going to POUND out of my chest hahaha. The Spirit was so strong, and she started tearing up when she accepted the invitation. I know she felt the Holy Ghost testifying to her of the truth of our message! She said that she would be baptized, and that she felt this was something God wants her to do. So cool right?!? Additionally, one of our teachers has been role playing an investigator named Georgia the past few days. She has tried to be as authentic of an investigator as possible. We taught and testified to her of the importance of faith, and invited her to take a step of faith by following the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized. She accepted. There was such a powerful spirit present! The Holy Ghost is the perfect teacher.
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| Sis Severe is such an amazing teacher!! |
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| The district with Sis. Severe (she is on the top left) |
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| The district with our other teacher, Sis Sheffield (top right) |
-After working out, while we were changing, Sister Payne looked over and said to me "do you have abs?!???!" I was like "uhhhh..." and she was like "You do!!!!" hahaha... idk why I found it so funny but it tickled me😂😂
Sunday:
-I met Elder McKay Flake from Snowflake haha! We figured out we are fourth cousins through James Madison flake. Small world☺
-We listened to two Elder Holland talks today (we dissected his conference talk for our Sunday devotional, and my Sunday night film of our choice was "missions are forever" from a 2006 MTC devotional... both were so good:) and then the next night I dreamed that I met Elder Holland hahahaha!! #justmissionarythings I loved learning more about repentance, and how we can repent daily, even hourly, by praying for strength, changing your attitude, recommitting to be more obedient, saying sorry for mistakes, etc. All of those things are repentance! Constantly seek to align your will with God's.
Monday:
-We got TACO BELL for dinner😍😍😍😋😋😋 It was amazing❤😂 Seriously though I was so pumped about it hahaha...
-This was kind of a sad highlight, but it was our last day with our district elders. I'll miss them as they go out to serve the people of Wisconsin and Missouri!
Tuesday:
-There's a tie for the food highlight: Sister Arnold's grandma sent a package of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies made from scratch in the mail and they are SO GOOD holy cow!!! And for dinner I ate talapia and rice, and the seasonings just made it taste divine😍 I've only mildly gotten sick of the cafeteria food up to this point! I've really enjoyed it actually. I've only survived because of the huge salads they make for lunch and dinner every day #blessed.
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| District sisters enjoying some DELICIOUS pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (made from scratch) from Sis Arnold's grandma! YUM!!! |
-The choir piece we sang as a large MTC choir for the devotional tonight was "Testimony" and it was absolutely beautiful. (arrangment of I Know That My Redeemer Lives). The Spirit was so strong as hundreds of missionaries bore testimony of Jesus Christ through song!
-FIRST APOSTLE VISIT: Elder D Todd Christofferson spoke at the devotional tonight!!!! It was a humbling experience to be in the presence of an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He talked all about the publication process of the Book of Mormon, and it was sooo educational and interesting. The Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. I KNOW it! The past several days have really allowed me to slowly begin actually understanding what is meant when people say that the Book of Mormon is tangible evidence of the call of the prophet Joseph Smith, and that if the Book of Mormon is true, all the rest is too! It's one of those concepts that you hear a bunch of times but one time it actually clicks. The Book of Mormon is incredible.
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| My companion and I in one of the "ponder spaces" that have a music box playing beautiful instrumental ponder music |
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| Here's a better view of what the ponder space is. The box to my right with the little green light on top is where the music comes from. This is my favorite one (there are 12 total) because it has palm trees!!! |
-First day of Visitors' Center (VC) training! It was great! It's been awesome to learn more about what I'll be doing in the VC. The purpose of a VC is to invite and help people to live the doctrine of Christ. I really appreciated understanding that 1. we have the EXACT same purpose as full-field missionaries, but we just have SO many more resources available to help us fulfill that purpose, and 2. We DO have soo many opportunities to stay connected and help people on their path of conversion (it's not just a one-and-done plant a seed and never hear of them again... we have opportunity to follow up and help them come closer to Christ, even after they start meeting with local missionaries). Also, God really trusts VC missionaries to work so hard, even though He brings many people to us to teach (other missionaries have to work extra hard to FIND people to teach). He trusts me to remain so motivated and diligent. As a VC missionary I will give "walking lessons" (aka tours) to guests that come through. They really are walking lessons though. We pray (we begin and end the day at the vc with a prayer), teach principles of the gospel, testify, invite action, and follow up. Isn't it so cool that because VCs are dedicated ground, the Spirit is just already automatically there??! We have a home field advantage in our walking lessons! Another aspect of VC missionary work is online teaching. We have the opportunity to teach people about Jesus Christ from all around the WORLD online! How neat is that?! We can teach via skype, email, phone call, text, or online chat through mormon.org. It's nice to have such variety as a VC sister missionary in how I invite others to come to Christ!
-One cool ah-hah moment: I've always wondered how to "apply the atonement" (people use that term a lot), and I came to understand this week that the purpose of the doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to the end) is to tell men how to be saved, and how to apply the atonement! We apply the atonement in our lives as we live the doctrine of Christ!
Thursday:
-My tic tac container says "less than two calories per mint"... mom, don't worry, your legacy lives on. I crossed out "less" and wrote "Fewer" on the container hahaha. You'd think a company as big as theirs would be able to get it right!!!!😉😂 Thanks mom
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| hahaha :) |
Friday:
-I SAW 2 MORE APOSTLES THIS MORNING!!!!!!!! The MTC dedication this morning was incredible! President Eyring and Elder Oaks came and spoke for the dedication. They spoke of how we are the Lord's fellow servants, and that He is hastening His work! Pres Eyring said that this dedication marks a new era of accelerated work as the end of the harvest draws near. He said that we can't delay or accelerate God's timing, but we can choose to be joyful servants. Pres Eyring gave the dedicatory prayer. It was absolutely perfect. It was powerful and profound and inspired and full of the Spirit. There were so many blessings promised. I was so touched and will always remember, and feel honored, that I got to be a part of the dedication.❤
-Last week I received a letter that I was selected to sing in a small choir at the MTC dedication! There were only 36 members of the choir because they had to be able to fit us in a smaller room and sing standing up. The meeting was broadcast from the smaller room to the big auditorium where the rest of the missionaries were. It really was an incredible thing to be a part of! I feel so privileged. Our small MTC choir number was Hark All Ye Nations. It was an absolute joy to get to rehearse throughout the week in preparation to share my testimony through music at this dedication. I love the lyrics of the song. They remind me that I have been chosen by God to serve His children at this time on the earth. Sister Young said that I looked (and we sounded) like an angel as we sang. She told me that President Eyring started crying while we were singing. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience! It was an honor to bear testimony with 35 other missionaries through song. 🎶
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| I bought this necklace from the MTC store the other day! I thought this one was so fitting as a missionary in remembering how great God is! (phrase from "How Great Thou Art") and that music allows me to feel God's love and peace. |
Wow, just a random side note: I'm so glad I'm speaking English on my mission!! It would be cool to learn a language, but I looove getting to focus on learning gospel principles and doctrine more deeply than I would if I were focusing time and efforts on learning a new language on top of everything. It also has helped me so much in the transition to missionary life to have language stay constant!
I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!! It is so full of truth and light and goodness and peace and joy. I was reading Alma 37 the other day and it is such a good chapter about how by small and simple things are great and marvelous miracles brought to pass. Vs 12 reminds us to trust in God's purposes and plan. He's got it all under control. Vs 16-17 confirm that God does indeed fulfill ALL promises He makes. Vs 33-37 help give me direction as a missionary and future mother. Vs 44-47 encourages us to look and live.
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| Here is one of the 12 murals found in T4. It's Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. Such a powerful story! God is a God of miracles. |
I've been feeling like I need to do better trusting in the Lord. I was praying for help to understand how to do that. I listened to Pres Uchtdorf's talk from Conference and he shared Proverbs 3:5-6 and I was like DUHHHH!!! One way to trust in Him is to acknowledge Him in everything! I'm going to try to do better with that this week:)
Well, by the time I email again it will be from the sunny island of Oahu!!!☀ I am so excited to serve the people of Hawaii.
I love this Gospel and know it is true!
Always trust in the Lord,
Sister Flake
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| Hey, look at this cool leaf I found!!! |
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