Sister Flake's Mission Blog: Two Months??!?!?!!!

Aloha everyone!!! Happy 2 months on the mission! I can't believe it's already been two months... holy cow. Looking back on it it's gone by super quick, but SOOO much has happened. I've learned and grown so much!

Well, happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day full of gratitude for your many blessings. God blesses us all so richly! We are forever indebted to Him. I love Alma 34:38: "That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." Strive to have that spirit of thanksgiving DAILY! When we focus on what we are grateful for, and what is going RIGHT in our lives, we are sooooo much happier than when we allow ourselves to get down about what goes wrong. Your happiness is really up to you!

Breakfast before our Christmas Devotional song practice. Thanks Goodmans! The devotional is on Sunday!
I'm in a quartet singing "The First Noel." Super fun!

Food highlights:
First of all, I was realizing that the majority of my pictures have to do with food hahaha, not sure what that means exactly, but I sure love food.

-I bought my first jar of Peanut Butter in Hawaii!!! I know... quite the milestone achievement hahaha but it makes sense when you know about my obsession with peanut butter haha. Also, I've got THREE cottage cheese containers in our fridge right now that are mine hehe...

First time trying Chop Sui!!!!!

-We had lunch at the Swintons this week!! It was sooo yummy!!!! It was refreshing to spend time with them--they are INCREDIBLE! I feel honored to have the chance to get to know them. Their faith is rock solid. Having lunch there felt like eating lunch at grandma's on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Loved it! ❤ It's cool to learn more about the prophet, President Monson, through Sister Swinton's eyes. She knows him quite well. Prov 3:5-6 is one of his favs! #twins😉

Swinton lunch!

Spiritual Highlight:
-"The 4th Missionary" by Lawrence E Corbridge from June 2002 is AMAZING holy guacamole!!!!! You can find it online (click here), PLEASE study it for fhe or something!! It's definitely one of those life-changer talks, especially for a missionary. A few fav quotes from it:

"To believe that weaknesses and deficiencies in your character are unchangeable is to reject the central truth of the plan of salvation."
"Everything is stacked in your favor to become like [Christ]"
"The process of change, this process of evolving, becoming, is the object of the gospel."
"In the end, your heart and your will is all that you have to give that the Lord does not already have. ... Everything that you have to give the Lord has its origin in Him, except one thing: your will... it is the only gift you have to offer that He does not already have."
"But you and only you can place yourselves in those masterful, loving hands."

You've gotta read the whole thing! It's amazing! It's up to us how much we get out of life!

My shirt-style tag I ordered came! This is my homemade scripture case for my mini scriptures.

-This week I met Doina from Vancouver (originally Romania). She had such great faith, holy cow. Her mom taught her the importance of prayer, and she in turn has taught that to her daughter. Family seemed very important to her, especially her daughter. She was so open with me and shared several meaningful spiritual and life experiences. I feel like we really connected well... she was the sweetest! The time came for them to return to the PCC on the tram, and I offered her a copy of the Book of Mormon in Romanian as a gift. She looked hesitant and I said "you don't have to feel obligated to take it." She then looked up at me and said "no no it's not that... how much??" I said "it's free! It's a gift for you!" and WOW did she LIGHT UP or what!! She accepted it, held it close, and exclaimed "this is the BEST gift!!!" She was sooo happy😊 I'm so excited to stay in touch with her! She filled out a guest card. WOW it's crazy what can happen in 15 minutes with someone! I felt the spirit, and I felt God's love for her so strongly. It was such a spiritually edifying experience❤ It made me consider how important the Book of Mormon (BOM) is to me. It truly is one of the best gifts that God has given us! It is able to bring us SO close to God. I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is God's word, and that Joseph Smith translated it by the power of God. This is Christ's restored church on the earth today, and I feel so blessed to be a part of it... so blessed that I can't help but desire to share it with everyone I meet! Missions are the best!!!!!!!! I'm so lucky to be serving in a visitors' center😊

The new guest cards for this Christmas season! So cool huh?! That's an ornament you can peel off and put on your tree!

VC highlight:
-SETTING UP CHRISTMAS TREES AT THE VC!!!!! (before Thanksgiving!! *gasp*) Wow, I know I say I'm in the best mission like every week... but I'M IN THE BEST MISSION!!!😉 Seriously! Specifically because I get to be in the VC though. We set up a BUNCH of Christmas trees all around the VC (about 20 trees). We decorated some, but most of them will be decorated by nearby stakes/wards! What a fun tradition! They are all fake trees and it made me think of home to 'fluff' the branches. Mom taught me well😉 Unfortunately we couldn't listen to Pandora while we set up and decorated, BUT I hummed/sang all of the traditional Christmas songs instead (who needs Pandora when you've got Sister Flake?!?!;) It was so fun!!! I love getting in the holiday spirit😃 The Swintons bought us pizza for lunch too>>>😍 It was such a fun morning!!

Swintons bought pizza>>>

I was a super good light tester haha😉 I got the lights that worked!!

pros!

Well, time is going by so fast, but I'm doing my best to soak in every single day😊 I feel so blessed by the Lord for the amazing experiences and growth I'm seeing. I know that the Lord is beside me, every day, just like it says is D&C 84:88.

Trust in the Lord. Keep being amazing missionaries and lights unto the world! God is oh so good❤

Aloha! Love you to the moon and back my ohana!!!
Sister Flake