Where does time go?

Aroma therapy - stimulate the senses!

April 28, 2014~

I can't believe it's already been another week, where does the time go? Days feel like weeks, weeks feel like days. SO true.

 

This week was a good one. We didn't find any new investigators but we have had a crazy week. We had two exchanges this week.   On Tuesday I went to St. Joseph and spent time in that area with Sister Harman, cool story, she is actually Toa's cousin! (most of you know Toa) so we had a lot to talk about. Then on Thursday, Sister Rackham came down to Cameron and we spent the day here. It was nerve racking being here for the first time by myself, but we managed and had some great lessons. Especially with Lisa- SHE IS DOING GREAT! In no time she'll be baptized, once we taught her the plan on salvation she was all in. She loves the gospel.

Sister Flink and Lisa at the KC Temple for Stake Conference

Stake conference was this weekend and it was all about hastening the work, how appropriate! The Lord is certainly preparing his people and we all need to do our part. Share your testimony, share the gospel, invite friends to meet with the missionaries. Do not let one soul you love stand the thought of being without the gospel of Jesus Christ and how true it is! Lisa and Sarah both came to Stake conference and we got to show them the temple and take pictures. It was a great day.

 

Not much to report on but it was a good week as always, positivity is the key to success. When we realized how blessed we are to be apart of this wonderful gospel, our desire for others to know what we have grows everyday.

Remember: We are on the earth at this time for a reason! We are part of the revelation!  We are part of the prophecy! Go share the gospel!



Love my Cameron MO hoodie!  Sister Moody and I went all out before she gets transferred!

Have a great week!   Smile and be happy!  I love you all very much!

 

All my love, Sister Flink

Journal Entries - April 5th-April13th

April 5th- Happy Conference Weekend!  Best time of the year!  Conference today was absolutely fantastic.  Elder Holland's talk was so powerful (as usual) but he talked about how we need to defend faith.  You know the way all the 70's and Apostles speak is so interesting because all their topics scream one thing to my heart~ "Be prepared and solid in a foundation of faith, there are very hard and trying times coming our way!"  I know there is.  As the gospel grows stronger, so does Satan!  Men's hearts shall fail them!  What does Heavenly Father need me to learn?  Man, these past few days have been tough!  We just aren't seeing success.  The few investigators we do have just don't seem to be progressing or trying to go anywhere.  We can't get them to meet with us or come to church or have a real desire.  And when we tract, we give lots of pamphlets and our numbers, but nobody cares or wants to know more!  The hardest thing is that every single door in Cameron as been knocked and knocked.  Everyone has seen the missionaries before.  We are just walking on dry ground and I know the moto~

"Pray, Pray Pray"

"Study, Study, Study"

"Work, Work, Work"

I know Heavenly Father is trying to teach me something!  Patience? Humility? Long Suffereing? Dilligence?  I just want people to teach, like really teach.  Not just doorstep 3minute little scpill but someone who sincerely want and need to know more!  I need strength, but its OK because we are going to keep working, praying, and showing our love for Heavenly Father and his children.  I know my Heavenly Father will never fail me, so I can not fail him!   Press Forward Saints -
 

April 6th -"What mattered to him was that I was doing the BEST I could, that my heart was inclined toward him, and that I was willing to help those around me.  I knew if I did the BEST I could, all would be well"  ~ Dieter F Uchtdorf
Today was the Sunday Session of General Conference which means that naturally, today, was exactly what Sister Moody and I needed.  Refinement and a boost of "you can do this" and we got this!  None of our "investigators" mainly just people we invited didn't show up....breaks my heart!  We even texted them all to remind them.  But we accepted it and watched conference with happy hearts and it was fabulous and actually in the middle of conference Mandy texted us and told us we could come over Wednesday!  So that was a little miracle for our sad hearts! 
We had dinner at the Vanbrunts (FAVS) and it just makes me feel so at home!  They talk and quote movies and interact just like me, Kenna, and Kailee do!  Makes me miss my Sissy's.  They tease Sister Vanbrunt for little things and Brother Vanbrunt just laughs!  Just like at home on Sunday nights~

April 8th~ "Sorry Sister Hartman, we don't know why we are so darn giggly today!  (elbows me)  When we get laughing, sometimes we just can't stop!" ~ Sister Moody
Today was an interesting day!  We spent most of the day out in Osborn and Maysville, our other areas.  We tracted and contacted some less actives.  Our day started off with 3 huge dogs attacking our car as we tried to drive away.  One dog was missing a leg and was blind.  No wonder he was freaking crazy  biting our tires and jumping on our car and running circles around the car as we tried to drive away.  I was freaking out. THEN, we went to see a less active and she is a huge cat lady (like everyone out here) and as we sat down a cat jumped on me.  Sister Moody being a great soul grabbed the cat because she knows I not fond of cats,  When she picked it up it accidently flipped backwards and slammed the cats head on the table.  We about died laughing.  Luckily Sister Hartman didn't see but she just couldn't understand why we couldn't stop giggling and what was so funny.  It's one of those situation that you shouldn't be laughing so it makes you laugh harder...it was almost uncontrollable to the point where I kept fake coughing to stop and just ended up making these weird noises.  Sister Hartman would just look at us and say, "I am so glad you two are so happy today!"
We have a new investigator - Tuia's brought her over for dinner, her name is Rebecca!
 
April 11th (Friday) ~  MIRACLE MESSAGE, MIRACLE MESSAGE!
Today was finally a great day that we have been praying for!  We got an appointment with Lisa!  We love Lisa!  She is such a sweetheart.  I wrote about her before and how she had a very difficult life and still does.  So today we talked to her and taught about the importance of baptism and why she truly needs the constant companion of the Holy Ghost in her life.  The spirit was so strong.  Lisa has some Word of Wisdom issues and she lives with Tucker (abusive relationship) and has been trying to get out.  We set goals for smoking and how she will be able to quit with Christ's help and Lisa decided she wanted to set her goal date to be baptized by May 14th ~ her daughters birthday! 
President Keyes always says..."It  is a great day to be a missionary!"

April 12th-Today was a funny day!  Funny times~
Pudding Lady!  We meet pudding lady while tracting today.  Didn't even phase her- she didn't even care that she had pudding all over her face.  Weirdest/strangest moment on my mission thus far!

Sister Moody and I were walking down the street:
"You girls look sooo purty!"
"Oh Thank You...
"Where's your dates?"
"Oh, we are missionaries!'  haha!
"My bad!  I thought you were going to Prom!" 

HaHa...dressed like this?  Maybe a Polygamist Prom!  It was a great day full of laughter!

April 13~  "And by their fruits ye shall know them!"
Can I just say how incredibly grateful I am to not only be born into the gospel, but to be born into the true and only true on the earth!  Wow!  We had a cool experience at church today!
1.  Lisa came to church!
2.  Jamie came and brought her husband, Shannon. 
3.  The Ore Family came to church.

I am grateful that I know this is the true church and we have all the pieces to the puzzle.  We will never be lead astray because this is Christ's true church and we never have to worry.  It as been a humbling day

Always~  Sister Flink

Easter and The Ore Family - RLDS Faith

I have a 1 way ticket to Cameron - No train heading to Syracuse!

The Ore Family is friends with some of the members in our ward.  They belong to the RLDS ( Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) faith and have always been against the LDS faith, up until this point.  They have been born into the RLDS, their grandparents and ancestors are all members of the RLDS faith.  It is truly all they have known, until their entire world was flipped upside down last year.  Last year the RLDS announced they would be giving women the priesthood and then just recently they announced they would be giving all same-gender attractions the priesthood.  The Ore family, along with many others walked out of the church that day.  So the Ore family, especially the sweet Mother, are a little lost and confused.  It was interesting cause Sister Maine talked all about following the Prophet during Sacrament today.  The Mom and Dad came to our gospel principals class and expressed how we believe all the same things.  She said very emotionally,

"But we have a Prophet too.  We have 12 Apostles too!"

So they just don't know what to do.  They know what's going on right now is not right, but they have always been taught to "Follow the Prophet" just like us!  They said, "What if your Prophet came out tomorrow and announced something like that?"  They have so many questions.  Everything they have ever known is changing.  I just could not imagine.  This Mother's heart was breaking for her family, and we are the only ones who have the Book of Mormon.  Their son, Garrett, knows the church is right and is leading his family in the right direction.

Today I have been humbled and so grateful that I am teachable and understand the gospel. I am so lucky to be a Missionary in the Independence Missouri Mission!

So Mom, I am going to answer a long list of your questions - (I'd love too!  It's just the answer you were expecting)  It get so frustrating because we have to email from the Cameron Library and they kick us off after an hour. So I never have time to email everyone back and then we only have about an hour to write letters before everyone meets up at the church to play basketball.  So I always feel bad!
1.  Daily Scripture Study - we study for a few hours in the morning, contact potential investigators, visit members, do some service, go tracting, and then come what may.  It is so different yet the same everyday ~ haha
2. Travis and Mandy - we aren't teach either of them right now.  Sadly, they are on our radar, we just can't get in touch with them.  We have excellent people in our teaching pool right now though, just a matter of getting appointment.
3.  Baptisms - none yet!  We have 4 on date though!  Should be happening here soon- especially Kelly.  We found her tracting and she is so solid.  I love her.  She will be baptized in a few weeks no prob! 
4.  Personal Blessings - you know its amazing, the more you truly learn out of deep study, the stronger the reality of these teachings and things Christ suffered for us becomes.  Obviously, the Savior's life with this beautiful Easter week helps me focus on the importance of the Resurrection.  Being a Missionary is really the greatest Mom.  And that's all you know how to explain it unless you have served.  Also, in our lesson with Kellie, after we were done, I asked her to pray and ask specifically if baptism was the right choice for her.  What a powerful moment!  For the first time, I felt a real burning in my bosom!  There was a power and truth and she felt it.  She feels comfortable with her baptism date.

Thank you for the package Mommy!  I loved it so so much!  You know me so well, knowing I am already sick of this wardrobe and didn't want junk, but clothes, jewelry and girly stuff!  You are the greatest Mom!  Man, I am blessed beyond measure with an amazing family. And I LOVED your letter with the pictures and quotes - I always put it in my journal.  I love you MOM- thank you a million times!

Easter in Cameron MO 2014

I am having a Nephew! (Good Jeebers)  I am STOKED!  So Awesome!  I love him already! 

It's a Boy- Due Sept 16th!  So excited to be a Aunt!

The people who comment of  FB are members of the ward out here!  Megan Martin is a very recent convert with 3 cute boys.  We love her.  She is so solid, already been to the temple.  And Candi Williams is a member!  She feeds us a lot .  Can you believe how fast time flies?  Jeesh...

Oh yea.. Elder Bowthrope ran away P-day last week.  We all went on a wild chase to find him.  We did, but he already had his bags packed, street clothes on, and he was done.  He is so Awesome, but wasn't happy here and I dunno, whatever.  He is home now.

Transfers are coming up next week.  Sister Moody will probably get transferred to the Visitors Center and I will stay here in Cameron and get a new companion!  Sister Moody and I are soul mates.  I will miss her! We have had some hilarious times this week, Sister Booty and I!  I will send some pictures we drew!!


Models or Missionaries?

I hope everything is going well this Easter week.  I love and miss everyone.  I hope everything is going well out in Utah.

The Church is True, the Book is Blue, and I love you!

Always,  Sister Flink

In the Missouri Independence Mission, we Find, Teach, Baptize, Confirm, Retain, and Reactivate!.‏

Happy Monday Ya'll!

 



Sunny days require glasses! 

This week has been a good one. It has been nice and sunny here in Cameron!   We have been doing our morning studies out in the sun and putting some oil on our legs to get a nice tan.  I may be a missionary,  but I am still a girl!   Sister Moody is my soul sister, don't know what I'm gonna do when transfers come around. More than likely she will be going back to a Visitor's Center and I'll get a new companion here in Cameron.

 

I hope you all had a beautiful Easter Sunday! It was full of the spirit, It's sad that it took me being a missionary to realize the reality of my saviors life, his suffering, and most importantly, his resurrection. And because of that, we will ALL live again, how beautiful is that concept? We owe everything to have to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

It's a beautiful Easter Sunday here in Cameron, MO

Lisa is progressing very well - still wants to be baptized and we are working very closely in contact to get her out of her abusive house and on her own. She is getting stronger everyday.

 

We found a new investigator! KELLIE! We street contacted into her and her heart was so prepared, we simply asked if we could share with her a message about Christ and she said "YES! Come over tomorrow!" we taught her, COMITTED her to baptism, and now she wants us over there 3 times a week to learn. Perfect.

One of the elders ran away..... seriously. He disappeared. We went on a wild Elder Chase and he's home now. Its sad. haha!
 

Anyways - 1 more ready to be baptized and a million more to go! love you all! Have a wonderful week! I love you all, press forward with faith, the church is so incredibly true. We have all the pieces to the puzzle- may we always share that with others.



I love you.

Love, Sister Flink

The Alpha and Omega!

Hello to the Ones I love!

Well- as you know last week was a tough one. Felt like success was a hard thing to find. But this week the Lord has showered us with blessings and people ready to receive us. 

First off - we had zone conference. And I would just like to say.. I am the first missionary out of all the new ones to pass off her lessons and memorizations. The average is 12 weeks - and I got done in 3! So I had to brag because I thought It was pretty cool... :)

Sister Ray, Sister Flink, Sister Moody.  Two other beautiful Sister Missionaries!

Sisters in Zion!  Amazing to see all those Beautiful Sister Missionaries

Sister Ray and Sister Flink!  Taylor and Nikki were friends when they were little!  We owned our first boat with their family and enjoyed many boating trips and great times with the Ray family before they moved to Georgia!
 

I haven't told you much about Lisa because we haven't been able to get in contact with her for awhile. But we finally did and she let us come over and teach her. Lisa is an amazing woman - she is been through a lot in her lifetime. Many things I would never wish on anyone. She is familiar with our church and says that she knows there is much good. As we began to teach her and talk with her- the power of the atonement filled her soul. She knew she wasn't alone - we committed her to baptism on May 14th. She has a few things she needs to work on but she wanted to be baptized on her daughters birthday - so that's the goal. I love her. She is the strongest woman I have ever met, and she came to church yesterday!

Now this is cool.. the night when we finished teaching her we received this text message,

"I have been reading from the Book of Mormon and watching LDS.org. Tucker (her abusive boyfriend she's living with) told me he doesn't want me around as long as I follow my heart and my Christ. He laughed at me when I told him how I felt the holy ghost. He said am I supposed to believe that? I said I don't care if you do or not, I said my lord knows and that's all that matters. I was paying the bills after you left and God left me something that will provide a way to get me and my kids out of this and on our own. I could not believe it.. I know god did that! I received over 9 thousand dollars. Also.. at the post office I ran into my old boss and he offered me my job back in Cameron." 

Look at that!! The lord blessed her so tremendously because she made the commitment to follow him, she took that leap of faith and she was rewarded. Amazing. 

We also found 3 new investigators this week from street contacting, and we had a lesson with Sarah at 10:00 AM yesterday and she committed to baptism on May 10th.. MIRACLES.

 

Although I have been sick with a horrible head cold - the lord never forgets us. It was a good week.

 

"No other mission in the world has the privilege of preparing the exact place where the savior will come, and be. THIS IS  the alpha and omega mission. And it is a great day to be a missionary."

 

I love you all!! Also, GO WATCH "because of him" on LDS.org. it is a beautiful video the church put out for Easter- share it with everyone. Make it clear we love the savior, we are Christians, and our gospel can bless every single life on this planet.

 

Being a REAL returned missionary is a title you earn, it is not an endurance. it is something you work for - If you do not earn that title, you will only be 18 months older when you return.

 

I love you all - Have a great week.

We Moustache You a Question~

I have a MOUSTACHE ~Therefore I AM!

Hi everyone! All my loved ones!

Well- I wish I could say a lot has happened this week but it simply hasn't. We have had a tough go this week. We are having a really tough time getting our investigators to make and keep commitments.  We have so many great people but unfortunately none of them will come to church or have a real desire to know the truth of the gospel. Its really hard because I love all of them. Penny, the one person we had on baptism date dropped us out of nowhere and told us she didn't want us coming by anymore, Angelica's parents came to the door and told us not to come back, and then the same thing happened with another teenage girl we had been teaching. So its been hard, and we've basically been tracting all week long to find some new people. Which isn't the easiest thing to do. Its amazing how heartbroken you become when people don't embrace the gospel and do the things they know to be right, I can just imagine how our heavenly father feels for us when we choose not to follow him full heartedly.

"Work, work, work, pray, pray, pray. study, study, study."

Conference was awesome though right? I loved every second! I realized that I never appreciated conference enough when I was younger, as a missionary you truly appreciate it and the fact that we are the only ones with a living prophet that speaks to us! One miracle did happen though- We were discouraged at conference because none of our investigators showed up and Mandy texted us and said "sorry im slow to get back. come over tomorrow, I miss you guys!" YES. I believe in mandy. she has much potential. Also, we saw another investigator at the right time today at walmart and she told us to come by as well. So we are crossing our fingers for this week.

My Zone while serving in Cameron, Missouri

Love the sticky notes left for us!

Anyways, the gospel is a beautiful thing! may we never forget to share the gospel with love to everyone. Lift where you stand, bloom where you are planted my lovely friends and family! and ALWAYS always be kind, you may forget the kind words you said today, but the reciprocate with remember them for a lifetime.

Bloom where you are planted

I love you all! Pray, Read. and Devote your lives to your Heavenly Father. For we are indebted to him.

 

See you soon!

Sister Flink

Family Whom I love!

April 1, 2014

"Pray like everything depended upon God - work like everything depended on you."

This week has been a good one.  We have kept busy and on our feet!  We are tired, but we are blessed. Actually ~ there is a cute little new boutique in town and we did a little shoppy shopping today...so great!  I felt like I was a normal human again.  We have seen a lot of disappointing things this week, but also with failure endured well comes miracles and we met Mandy and she is now a new investigator!

That's awesome Jerrod moved out.  I know it is something he wanted so good for him.  Be good Jare Bear!

Mom~ I am grateful that when I was a stinker all you did was take my phone.  One of the members was talking to us and telling us how her daughter is like super rebellious and sneaks around with a certain boy the parents hate and the other day she caught her with him and so when the girl got home her Mom just walked right up to her and cut off her hair!  Right up to her neck.  Just sliced it off!  I about died...the Mom didn't even care.  She's a hard women!  Mom, I Love YOU!!
Before I leave my mission I have to find at least one person who knew Dad.  Dad, send me your areas and some names that would be really cool!

We are working on Travis!  He promised he would come to church but he bailed, darn Travis!  He's playing hard to baptize and thinks it's funny.  But he loves us.  He looks at this entire things as his "experiment"  We love talking to Travis because we can be bold with him and he listens and smiles.  Last time we were teaching about faith and he tried to counter act me by a philosopher comment and interrupted my scripture.  I put my finger up and said, "Hey, let me finish," and he giggled and said, "Continue Sister Flink" and then took a puff of his cigarette.

Things are good!  Weeks feel like days, days feel like weeks!  Onward Christian Soldiers!  Stay happy!  I'll see you soon!


I love you all~ Always,
Sister Flink