Christmas is coming!!!

Aloha Ohana!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving luncheon at the PCC with all of the young and senior missionaries, elderly in the community, and homeless individuals, hosted by the Ah You family. Junior Ah You is the grandfather (he was a pro football player).

We sat by some cute people from a Kahuku elderly community

We got to learn the hula dance for the hukilau song!

We hosted a 1st Annual Visitors' Center Turkey Bowl!!! It was our bonding activity Thanksgiving evening. We did a series of group party games, in teams by district. We all had a wonderful time together, and had some good laughs. My personal favorite round was the companionship pie eating contest. One sister was the "hands" and fed the other sister her pumpkin pie from behind her (sorry, poorly explained, but the point is that it was funny to watch)😁


Sister Nield, a senior sister, got luau tickets for me, my companion, and two others, so we went to a Luau today with Sister Preslar and Sister Boyce. It was so fun! I love the PCC😊

Thank you Sis Nield! She gave us the luau tickets😃

Sure love these sisters! Front row seats.

Look at the pigs leg hanging off the side haha

Oh! I realize I haven't even told you about Tiana and Treasure! They are the most precious girls that we are teaching. They are 16 and 11, and their mom is a member of the Church, but hasn't been in quite some time. The girls have been taught by missionaries in the past, but it just didn't seem to be their time to accept the gospel because of some reservations. Sister Taufa and I were really able to connect well with them. They are pretty shy, but are starting to open up with us. Tiana is a great example as a big sister, and she has had several experiences with having prayers answered and knowing God exists. She really wants to find more strength through Him, and she wants to learn more about Him. They are definitely prepared! My favorite question of the evening was from Tiana. At the very end of our lesson she asked "how did God know that Joseph Smith was the right person to restore His church?" We were able to explain that we lived with God in heaven before we lived on Earth. Each of us on the Earth today chose to follow God's plan of happiness, centered on Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith was chosen before he was even born because of his pure, sincere faith in Jesus Christ. We were impressed with her question and understanding of the experiences of Joseph Smith we'd shared with her.

Treasure and Tiana!💗

On Saturday we got to attend a baptism of two 8-yr-old kids in our ward in Hauula. The best part was that we had Tiana and Treasure with us! They'd never seen a baptism before, so we were excited to get to watch one with them. Hopefully it will help their desire to be baptized to grow. Now they've seen that baptism is so exciting, and not scary at all! There is always such a special feeling of peace at baptismal services.
On Sunday the Aunas picked them up and brought them to the first hour of church. We were so excited that they came! We'll be teaching them again this week, and we are so excited to continue getting to know them!

Christmas is coming!!! On Sunday we had the first Christmas musical fireside of the season at the VC! This one was the VC Sisters' fireside. Sister and Elder Luker have organized all of the musical firesides for each Sunday leading up to Christmas. Sister Preslar and I sang a duet of "The First Noel". I just love sharing my testimony of the Savior through music!

Sister Preslar and Sister Luker. Thanks Sister Luker for all your work on the fireside!

Funny highlight: On exchanges with Sister Wong, we talked to a lady over the phone who had some questions. Sister Wong was talking about the gift of the Holy Ghost at one point, but the lady thought she said "give up the holy ghost". The lady was SO surprised and confused, and thought Sister Wong was referencing death or something hahaha! The lady's tone of voice was the best part as she said "give up the holy ghost?!?!??" Sister Wong and I were cracking up😂

Exchange with Sister Wong!

This week I was reminded that everyone is in need of something. No one has a "perfect" life. Everyone has concerns or questions inside. I feel so grateful that for a year and a half I get to focus entirely on helping other people on their earthly journey. It is such a special experience getting to meet people and build such deep connections with them so quickly as they share the desires or concerns in their hearts. There's something about missionaries that makes people feel comfortable opening up--I guess it's that they can feel that we are special representatives of Jesus Christ (even if they don't recognize that, or know about our Church or our call as missionaries). This week we met Tiffany from California. She was recently laid off for the second time, so she has decided to go back to school for nursing. She is seeking direction in life. She's been reaching out to old high school acquaintances and asking them if she can go to their churches with them. She wants to find the right one for her. There's just been a lot that's been changing in her life right now, so she's trying to find some strength. She told us that her grandmother recently passed away as well, and it's been really hard for her family. As she opened up about her life experiences, I just kept feeling over and over and over again that she needs the Book of Mormon in her life. So many verses were popping into my mind that would help her! I know the Book of Mormon would help her find answers to her questions. Earlier in the day I actually felt prompted to bring my mini BOM with me to our tram tours, so I stuck it in my trusty muumuu pocket. At the end of our time with Tiffany, I felt like I should show it to her. She thought it was so cool! She looked at the various questions on the inside cover, and chose the one "how can I find peace and joy?" as her most pressing question right now. My life without the Book of Mormon would be vastly different than how my life is with the Book of Mormon. It brings me a stronger sense of direction.

Tiffany from California. She was super cool and definitely searching in her life for something more.

I just love online teaching so much! This week I met Kevin from Indiana. He requested a copy of the Book of Mormon online. I had a wonderful, 20-minute conversation with him where I was able to really get to know him and some of his concerns. He is definitely searching for guidance at this time in his life. He said he wants a church that will help him learn throughout his entire life. He said he appreciates his church, but it feels like it's the exact same thing every single week. He wants a church that can help him get closer and closer to God. I shared how I feel that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has done that for me. I told him of Joseph Smith's experience with the first vision that ushered in the restoration of Jesus Christ's original Church. I told Kevin he could know if it was true or not by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, and he told me he definitely wants to know!! The thing that stood out to me about Kevin is that he was so willing to ACT. He understands that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is really a lifestyle, it's not a Sunday-only thing. I was able to conference call the local Elders in and they set up an appointment to meet with him tomorrow afternoon! Woohoo!

Well, the Christmas season is fast approaching! I can't believe Christmas is less than a month away. I am SO excited for this month! The Light the World campaign for this year is soooo awesome. Check out lighttheworld.org for some great ideas of how to spread Christ's light! There are so many creative ways to spread the light.

Keep smiling! Love the pace of life God has given you this week😊💗

Love, Sister Flake

This is a family that's stationed in Hawaii. They were open to attending a church service near them woohoo!

Here's the dress I bought at Ross for 7 bucks!👏

Happy Thanksgiving!

Loved my exchange with Sis Withers!

Aloha Ohana! Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!! My invitation to you all for Thanksgiving is to only offer prayers of GRATITUDE that day. I know we get in the habit of asking for things through prayer (which is not a bad thing at all!), but it's good to occasionally have a day where you only give gratitude in your prayers😊 We'll be having a lunch at the PCC for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and a get together with the Sisters in the evening.

This week we set up the Christmas trees at the VC!🎄 It looks so good! The VC is magical around Christmas time😀 It's weird being one of the only ones who was here last Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Sister Wong and I😊 She is a cutie... and so loving

Last Thursday I went on an exchange with Sister Shirley from Washington. It turns out we are actually super similar, and we really connected well. We learned a lot together, worked hard, and really saw miracles! She reminded me to celebrate the little things--she got SO excited about the simplest things, and it really made me consider how much happier life is when we celebrate the little successes and joys. For Sis Shirley, she felt so excited to simply have someone accept a copy of the Book of Mormon, or even just give a phone number to stay in touch. We met a really neat family from California. The parents are Monica and Mike, and they've got two teenage sons. Monica wants to have a church that can help her boys rely on God their whole life, and surround them with good people. Monica really opened up and shared some of her concerns with their current Christian church because their pastor can't preach on certain topics like abortion or gay marriage due to a tax law (not sure I fully understood why exactly). She asked if our "pastors" were able to preach about those subjects, and we had the opportunity to explain the "lay ministry" concept, which she thought was REALLY cool. Sometimes I think I overlook how special the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is. I know that it really is Christ's church on the earth today. We helped Monica understand that the way she can know if this is Christ's church, and if it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, is by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. We gave her a copy and will be keeping in touch. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families💗

Sis Shirley from WA!

Monica and Mike and their family (with Sister Shirley on exchange)

On Saturday we had the AMAZING opportunity to hear Elder Quentin L. Cook speak to all of the missionaries in Hawaii. It was a meeting I will always remember. We also got to hear from Elder Kearon and Elder Klebingat. They shared incredible messages. The part that was most powerful for me was Elder Cook's final testimony and blessing to us. As he bore his special witness of the Savior, Jesus Christ became more real to me. The Holy Ghost bore witness to my heart that the testimony Elder Cook shared was true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. He DOES live today, and He DOES direct His Church through Prophets and Apostles. I can say more surely now that I know Jesus Christ lives. What a special thing--to have the Holy Ghost bear witness of something to your heart! I also think of the lyrics to the song we performed for the special musical number. We really do need the Savior every hour. 7 of us VC sisters sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" for the devotional. We prayed that angels would sing with us. It was a neat experience! 

Here's the group of us who sang and accompanied (piano and flute) for Elder Cook's song at the Devo

I met a distant relative at the VC on Saturday! Just kidding, I'm actually not sure if we are related or not, but her last name is also Flake! She is from Hungary, living in England, and on vacation in Hawaii. It's so cool to meet those people who you know God has placed in your path for a reason. She is traveling on her own, and she is trying to find out what she is supposed to do next in her life. I know I say this all the time, but it really is the neatest thing to meet someone and just instantly feel so much love for them. The love of Christ is able to make us instantly connected with people! This distant relative is really into family history work. She also wants to know more about what I meant when I told her that the Book of Mormon has brought me a lot of clarity about what happens after death.

Noemi Flake from Hungary

Sis Taufa had a dentist appointment in Kailua today, so we drove down with Sis Preslar and Boyce. The dentist apt took about 15 minutes (we weren't sure how long it would take), so we walked out to the car and called the other sisters to tell them we were done. They answered the phone, we told them we were done, and there was a pause on the other end of the phone, then a hesitant "...we're getting pedicures right now." WHAT?!!?! Sister Taufa and I couldn't help but roll our eyes and laugh that they decided to go and spontaneously pamper themselves with pedicures... oh brother. Those two crack me up. 

While we waited for their pedicures to be done..

Also, it turns out that we are actually in the Hauula THIRD ward haha... there has been a bit of confusion with some of the areas, but everything is resolved now. Guess what? William the tram driver is now in my ward!  It was fun to have a familiar face in the congregation. The Hauula 3rd ward is so awesome though, and we can't wait to love and serve the people there. We have a lesson with Tiana and Treasure tonight, their mom grew up in the Church but did not raise her Tiana and Treasure in the Church. We are pumped to meet them, and we feel like God is really preparing people for us to teach and help make covenants😊 Keep them in your prayers please! Brother Auna is our ward mission leader and he is AWESOME. He's lived here for 30+ years and is super hard working and outgoing. He's the guy for the calling for sure! 

Can you believe I've been out for 14 months? Crazy... time flies, especially when you're doing the Lord's work. This Thanksgiving week I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. I'm grateful for the growth I've seen in myself and others. I'm grateful that I get to share the gospel with everyone I meet! Most importantly, I'm grateful for Jesus Christ, my Savior. Life is happier when we keep Him at the center of our homes and our hearts. 

 

Love the pace He has given you this week!

Love, Sister Flake

 

The pumpkin spice milkshakes from 7 brothers are AWESOME>>>

Denny's lunch! A sweet family from Laie paid for our meal💕

It's raining Geckos

Here's a wooden tag I had a missionary order for me from from the big island❤

Aloha ohana!

Wow this week zoomed by!!!
-I just wanted to take a second to have a companion appreciation moment haha. I am soooo grateful for Sister Taufa! She's helped me a lot this week to not overthink things or take things personally. She is always cheering me on, and she has so much love in her heart. I'm slowly understanding how important your companion is! Rely on the Savior and on them😊

-Funny moment: Sister Taufa sent a referral for someone who spoke the language "hakha". We called the local missionaries after sending the referral to explain more. When she said the man spoke hakha, the Elder confidently said, "No way! I think that's what they speak in the pacific islands!!! I think it's like a chant or something before rugby games too!!" Sister Taufa was DYING of laughter because hakha is actually a language spoken in southeast asia, NOT the language of New Zealand hahaha. But hey, I'm sure if I hadn't served my mission in the islands I'd think it was a language too😁

Also, this morning when I opened the screen door to walk outside for exercise something fell on me from above our front door. It startled me because I had no idea what it was!! It jumped from my shoulder down to my leg, where I could finally see what it was... it was a GECKO hahaha! Gecko's are falling from the sky here... I'm just glad it wasn't a cane spider👀

-Last Thursday we took two couples through the video 'God's Plan' at the VC. After the video we were talking to them. We had a wonderful conversation where many hearts were touched. We asked them what advice they would give to us, and the first thing one of the mom's said was "don't be hard on yourself. God isn't." It was a tender mercy to be reminded of God's true nature. Yes, He is just. He wants us to be obedient. But He does not expect us to be perfect. He simply expects us to do the best we can at this point in our lives 😊 Easier said than applied.

-Also, the new Sister Flake is my fourth cousin! It goes back to William Jordan Flake (she is through Joel, then Dennis). It's fun to have two sister Flake's!

Sister Flake x2!

-MLC was awesome! We will no longer be fed by Church members, but we will provide our own meals. There are a lot of details to come with that, but the purpose is 1) so that we can find more people to teach (5-7 pm is prime finding time because families are home and together), and 2) so that members don't feed the missionaries and then check off "the box" for missionary work for the month (instead of feeding us we hope they will share the gospel with their friends, or have us do so!). I'm excited to see the blessings that come from this change! 😃

Lunch at MLC

MLC. Here is Sister Hoffman, I look up to her as a missionary. She's a hard worker! Full field sis

"aa-aa-aaa... watch out for that tree!"

-Yesterday I was doing a role play on shift at the VC with Sisters Kim and Malan (Sister Malan is new). I was evaluating with Sister Malan afterwards, and while so doing, a couple walked into the VC. I welcomed them and Sister Malan joined me. We took Mark and Sue from New York around the VC and had an incredibly spiritual time with them. It was neat because I felt like I was able to be an instrument in God's hands to somewhat "demonstrate" several principles I have learned about VC work in the past year. I am by no means perfect, but I do know God worked through me to help Sister Malan feel encouraged and uplifted. We felt the Spirit incredibly strong with this couple, especially as we testified of the BOM. Sister Malan shared that the BOM is the whole reason she left her family for 18 months to come serve a mission. She is already such a powerful missionary! I am grateful to serve with her.

Sister Malan and I had an AWESOME tour with Sue and Mark from upstate NY!

-Sister Taufa and I have been assigned to serve in the Hauula 2nd ward now! Woohoo! The areas are kind of still under revision, but for now we are moving forward with taking over this ward that the Elders previously covered. We are suuuper pumped to serve there! In Laie, about 9 out of 10 people are members of the Church. In Hauula it's more like 1 out of 5 people. Our geographical area is HUGE too. It goes all the way down to Kualoa ranch (20-25 min drive). Billy, a man the Elders taught, is actually getting baptized this Saturday, so we are super pumped about that! Lots of work to be done in this area😊 It's an interesting challenge we have with balancing all of the aspects of our work. We tried to make sure we still had adequate time online as well this week. I talked to a super sweet woman on TC yesterday named Tiffany, from Texas. She is a mom of three young kids and really is in need of strength from the Lord. We connected really well, and I was actually able to conference call the sister missionaries in her town in, and they set up an apt for today! (technology is seriously sooooo cool!!!) We called the Sisters separately and they said this was an answer to their prayers. They have felt ALL week this week that God was preparing a family for them to teach, but they hadn't found anyone yet. They were so grateful to us for sending them a family who is open and prepared to hear their message. God is mindful of each of us individually!

-A few more random things: The Allens took us STLs out to eat at Outback Steakhouse after MLC. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know them better. They truly are incredible instruments in God's hands. It was fun to learn more about their lives.

After dinner at Outback

Love these girls! ps the ocean harbor is right behind us

Sister Taufa and I got to hold the Del Cid's ADORABLE little puppy on Saturday after our meeting with Brother Del Cid (the ward mission leader of L2). He was the cutest little puppy around 🐶😍
We tried some Acai bowls in Haleiwa and then drove over to Turtle bay to watch the waves for pday. Boy oh boy I love Hawaii! The waves are getting bigger this time of year.

Acai bowls at Bonzai Bowl in Haleiwa

Yum yum! (and way overpriced hahah)

We had an early Thanksgiving dinner with some members of the H2 ward. They are so giving and loving, and took us in like their own! I'm thankful for the blessings God's given us in abundance, especially our freedom to worship as we choose.

Sister Brown is in the middle holding her grandbaby

Thanksgiving dinner at the Brown's home

Well, we get to see Elder Cook this Saturday! Pray that our special musical number will go well😊♫ We'll also be setting up the Christmas decor on Monday. WOOHOOOOOOOOO I love the Holiday season!🎄 I'll also have two exchanges this week with sister district leaders; I love exchanges!

I love you all so much. Keep smiling and love the pace of life God has given you this week❤
Sister Flake

Here are the Curtis's from L2

So many Flakes...

Here's a legendary posterity pic. (R to L) Sis Blake - Sis Flake - Sis Hunkin - Sis Wu - the new Sis Flake (being trained by Sis Wu) - Sis Elanzo (trained by Sis Hunkin) - Sis Roney (being trained by Sis Elanzo). 5 generations!!!💗

Aloha Ohana!

The big Halloween party at the chapel last week was a hit! All of us missionaries (45 sisters, 8 elders, and 5 senior couples) enjoyed spending time together playing games, eating food, and building friendships. 

Yesterday marks the beginning of yet another transfer! Sister Taufa and I will remain companions and STLs, we don't know our proselyting areas yet though. We will know later this week, but we may be placed in a new area (we had to open 3 new areas with all the new sisters who came). Sister Boyce is the new STL, companions with Sister Preslar. We have been hard at work at creating a new schedule that balances all of the sisters' time in the VC, TC, PCC, and area better. We've taken a more formulaic approach, and it's worked wonderfully. I'm so grateful Heavenly Father has inspired us with new ideas as we desired to improve and be more effective! Now our VC, TC, and PCC shifts never overlap. Before we'd sometimes be "double booked", but it's no longer like that. We gained 14 new sisters yesterday, and lost 8 (plus one went full-field), so we've got 50 total sisters here now. Of the 14 new sisters, 11 are from the U.S., 1 is from Japan, 1 is Chinese from Australia, and 1 is Brazilian but has lived in Utah for a few years. The new Sister Flake arrived, and guess what?? Sister Wu is her trainer! Sister Wu just thought it was the bees knees that her trainer was Sister Flake (me), and now her trainee is Sister Flake too. Sister Elanzo, my mission granddaughter, is training Sister Roney, which makes me a great-grandma! We got a 5 generation picture with Sister Blake before she left. President Bekker called a mission-wide conference call to discuss some impressions he's had. He invited us to make this transfer a transfer of UNITY. He said to make this transfer the best transfer of your companion's mission. I'm looking forward to working with Sister Taufa for another 6 weeks, and I know Heavenly Father has specific things He wants me to learn from her. She has been so patient and loving during this past week--it's been a busy week with quite a bit of administrative stuff we've needed to do, but we've definitely had some neat ministering and proselyting opportunities as well. Oh yeah, we were also informed that dinner appointments with members on weekdays will no longer be happening. We've been asked by the area authority to cook our own dinners in our apartments Monday through Friday from 4-5pm. 5-7pm is to be spent out in our area finding, and 7-9 pm is for appointments, or additional finding. While I'm sad to not have that time with members, I'm excited to see God lead us to so many more people to bring to Christ as we use those prime proselyting hours well. 

One neat experience was with Alice from Africa. She recently moved to California. She submitted a request for a free Bible, so I picked up her request and called her. After some getting-to-know each other, she told me she has been searching and searching for a church ever since she moved, but she just hasn't found the right one. I was so excited to hear that! I had previously explained to her that I was a volunteer missionary serving in Hawaii right now. She asked if there was a branch of our church near her... I was like UH, YEAH!!! I was able to conference call the missionaries in just a few minutes later, introduce them to Alice, and they set up an appointment to meet the following evening. Technology is so cool! I have a testimony that God is really preparing people to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! He either leads us to them, or He leads them to us. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in the teaching center online. 

Sister Taufa and I had a wonderful ministering opportunity with Indica and her 2-yr-old daughter, Brylee. We met her last week on Monday. We had asked the Stake President, President Shumway, who he knows that we could visit after our dinner with his family. He told us that it was Indica's birthday that day. We had made some cookies that day to deliver to some people in our area, and for some reason I brought an extra bag of cookies. I wasn't sure why. But when Pres Shumway informed us it was Indica's birthday, we whipped up a quick bday note on a sticky note and delivered some bday cookies to her. Indica was really touched by it. We could tell it meant a lot to her to be remembered on her birthday, even though she didn't know us. She's been through a lot in her life, and she's only 21. We had invited her to come to church with us, as she expressed a desire to come back to God and have Him in her life again. We were sooo excited to see her at church this past Sunday! She thanked us after church for helping her feel comfortable. She really opened up to us, and said she feels we are people of God that she can trust. It was evident she was really grateful for our love and care. It's neat to see that people can really feel that we've been set apart as representatives of Jesus Christ by His very own authority on the Earth today. People can feel our setting apart. 

On Thursday Sister Taufa and I had 24-hr exchanges with Sister Ju and Tagawa. I went with Sister Tagawa for the day. She is the cutest! She's from Japan, has been out about 16 months, and is serving as a sister district leader and doing wonderfully at it. We forgot ourselves and got to work--it was so satisfying! Being busy with the right things is incredibly rewarding. We were both reminded that it's not about what we want, it's about what the Lord wants. This is the Lord's mission, not ours. One funny highlight from the day: we were on shift at the VC when she asked me "can I go get my chopstick?" and did a funny hand motion to her lips. I was so confused because it was smack in the middle of our shift, so it's not like we were going to go make some noodles or something. It took me a second, but I realized she was talking about chapstick. I was able to teach her the difference between chopsticks and chapstick. We both got a good laugh out of it😂

Sister Tagawa and I

Dinner apt while on exchanges with Sis Tagawa. The husband is from France and made some yummy homemade bread! Apparently all french people can bake😉😀

I think the coolest feeling ever is feeling the Holy Ghost work through you to touch the lives of others. Being an instrument in God's hands is so special, and it's something ALL of us can be if we are simply willing to give Him our whole heart, might, mind, and strength. We don't have to be perfect, we just have to be willing. 

 

Well, have a wonderful week! I've got MLC in Honolulu coming up on Monday, so more to come on that next week. Ciara's baptism had to be postponed, so pray that things will work out for her to be baptized soon. 

 

Love the pace of life God's given you this week, and keep smiling!😊

Love, Sister Flake

 

THERE WAS A CANE SPIDER IN THE TUB THIS MORNING AHHHHHHH. I killed it😎🕷

 

Sis Manu from New Zealand (living in Utah for 4 years though). She's awesome!

Aloha 'oe group pic

Bye sis shimabukuro from Okinawa, Japan

posterity pic without the new trainees

Aloha 'oe sister Hemming from NC

Sis Edington from Las Vegas, NV

Sista BLAKE! I'll sure miss her. Can't believe she's going home...

Kasamatsu shimai from Tokyo, Japan

Sis Sunghee Lee from South Korea... she said she'd be my tour guide and hotel if I visit!

Sis Harkness from Utah

Sis Hamano from Hokaido, Japan. She started crying as I thanked her for everything. She's a keeper. Such a happy, willing, sweet daughter of God.