Thanks for the help Fam! Sorry if I freaked you out with the stressful stuff last week. Honestly, I´m not really that stressed. Well that´s somewhat true. I´m not stressed for the reasons that I thought I was stressed for. I´m just general stressed for change, and that´s normal. And it´s not a negative stress. It´s just a stress that will keep me on my toes. I´m excited to see you all, but it hurts a lot to think about leaving Spain and the people here, with the fact that I may never see them again in this life. It will be a big change, but I am excited for it. I´m still working hard, no worries. And I hope that this next week I will work harder than ever before. I´m not going to worry about housing or school or anything else until my chapa is gone. After that point I´ll be free to worry to my hearts content :) But things are really really good here. It´s crazy to think it will be coming to an end soon!  The 9th sounds just fine for the homecoming talk and the chili. I do like chili and it´s just so American I think I´ll like it even more now :). And the audition time. Justin (Mr. Bills for Ammon :) ps pretty good Spanish! Keep up the good work!) says he has a friend that could possibly help me to get a headshot and help me out with my resume too. He´s an amazing friend!
So I wanted to talk today about a couple of things. I´ll start out with this. The atonement cleanses. It not only cleanses partially, but completely. But we must allow it to do so. As we continue in our sins, we close the doors to the atonement. When we feel that we are not worthy enough to recieve the help we need, we close the doors to the atonement. When we decide to repent partially we close the doors to the atonement. We are the only ones that hold us back. Second. The atonement enables us. It enables us to conquer sin, to conquer our weaknesses an to conquer the natural man. It can give us strength, it can give us the ability to become more like Him. I´m still figuring that out, but I know that little by little I´m improving, and that every one of us can do the same. Sorry today is a litte short, but I suppose a lot of my feelings can be shared in person when I get back. :) I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

PS This week we have a goal as a mission to find 888 new investigators. We could definitely use some prayers :) Love you all! 

Hola familia!
Things are going really well here in Alicante. To briefly address a few questions about Alicante, honestly I don´t know a whole lot. I know that they are famous for their Paella, and Turron (which is a candy kinda like a Big Hunk). And yes a nurse got Ebola, but I don´t think we are in any danger. Hopefully they´ll let me back into the country! :) So what do I think about going with Skyler to church? I think that would be great. I know that my records are still in our home ward, and I´m not sure if you can just go to any ward at BYU, but we can definitely look into and see what they say. I´m honestly not sure exactly how I´m going to do things when I get home. I have Les Mis Auditions on the 1st of November and if I get in, good old Justin says that it will be a pretty big committment. Now I do have one thing with that though. I heard that you have to schedule an audition on the 18th of october by calling the number 801-226-8600. Now I am in Spain, and cannot do so. Would one of you be able to do that for me? Please. Really, please please. I´ll try to talk to Justin and see if I can just set it up with him, but for now if one of you could call and set up an audition for me. Just explain the situation and let them know that I will be there for sure. Thank you! But I´m not sure how I´ll be able to get to rehearsals and what not, but I suppose we´ll figure it all out. And I have no idea where I´m going to live, or how I will pay for it. I know that there is the possibility of getting help, but I want to be at least a little self sufficient, or at least get to a point where I can support myself a little better before completely diving into life. I don´t know what to do. At least there is a room for me at home for a litte while :) But I suppose we´ll figure things out. I´m glad I can trust you all and have your support. Oh and Ammon, I don´t know why you don´t like Being Alive! I´m actually strongly thinking about using that song :) It´s hard to decide though, because I don´t actually have the music, or really even know what key it is in. Therefore I sing it higher or lower than it actually is. That makes it difficult to gauge my range and ability to sing the piece. I guess we´ll just have to see. I think I have Being Alive, Giants in the Sky, and a few other options in books already at home. Check for me, will ya? Thanks! I´m so demanding! But don´t worry about that email from BYU, I´ve got it taken care of! Thanks!
Well I have just a few more moments of email left, but I just wanted to testify to you all of this gospel. I´m so grateful to have it in my life. As I get closer to the moment that I won´t be a full time missionary I realized more and more the importance of being a full time disciple of Christ, and I don´t need a nametag to do that. I love the Lord and am so grateful for the truths that he has given me. It is truly a blessing to have the gospel. Love it, Live it. And share it. I love you all! And I´ll see you pretty soon!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Conference

OK, just for the record, 2 small dogs, 2 cats, 3 water frogs and a few hamsters live in our house.  The rest are rabbits and chickens and live OUTSIDE.  The hamsters had an unplanned pregnancy so our numbers are up a bit :)


Hello family!

Sounds like things are going pretty well for you all! Sounds like you all liked conference too! My favorite talk...I don´t know, they were all so good! One of the talks I loved was from Elder Lynn G Robbins of the seventy. I don´t know he just kind of laid down the law and told the world that we weren´t going to back down, no matter what the world says, approves of, or does. Then we got a more mellow repeat of the message from Elder Oaks. I just felt the spirit tell me about the importance of sticking to what I know is true. Coming back home, I don´t expect to be plummeted with sin and temptation, but I am ready for it if it does come. Or at least I hope I am ready. It´s so important to strengthen ourselves for those moments that could be our life´s biggest test! And Elder Robbins put it clearly that things aren´t going to get easier, but harder. So we just have to be stronger! It was great.

So mom is trunky, dad´s probably a little trunky too, and the bros are just chillin keeping busy :) I like it. Speaking of busy, my inside contact to the Les Mis stuff (Justin!) Let me know that auditions for Les Mis are on the 1st of November. Like 2 days after I get back. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I´m terrified. One of the first things I´m going to have to do is make a trip to the Salem Hills Choir room to get some sheet music! I´m officially terrified, but also very excited. No better way to get back into the home stuff than to just dive right in! Ammon! Assignment: help me find a good audition piece. My thoughts are Being Alive from Company, Corner of the Sky from Pippen, Giants in the Sky from Into the Woods, This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde, or If I Can´t Love Her from Beauty and the Beast. If you think of one that is better, let me know. And if you can get the sheet music from the school and start to practice it, that would be a great help. Assignment: Mom; Think of everything cool I´ve ever done, and find a good format for an artistic resume. I´m going to have to get one quick! Thanks a bunch, you´re the best! Besitos! Sorry I´m such a diva :)
Logan, you didn´t say anything, but hey, whats up? Cool beans. Micah, I can´t believe there are 36 animals in our house! How many are in my room? Do I get to go to the zoo with you? I did not realize that Cassidy gets home in two days! That´s insane! Things are moving way too fast! It kinda scares me to be honest, but I´m getting over it. I gave my final testimony on the mission and kind of wanted to share part of that with you all today, it kinda fits with the me being scared for coming home thing.
So right before I received my call I was sitting down in my room one night. I started thinking about the mission, about leaving all of you, my schooling, my friends, Amaya, and everything I had ever known behind and I was scared and honestly had doubts about myself and my ablitiy to handle it. I needed help. So I decided to do the classic seminary miracle thing and just let the scriptures open and find the exact message I needed right in front of me :) So I let it open and it opened right to the topical guide, so I was like, well that failed :) But then I looked and the first word I read was Atonement. And that´s when it hit me. I couldn´t do it all on my own, but WE could. I felt the spirit testify to me of the enabling power of the atonement. It is real. Now as I finish I rely on that same answer to get me home. I´m scared to begin life. I´m scared to leave the people and the country I have come to love so SO much. I´m scared that I don´t know exactly how I´m going to move forward and where I am going to get the means to do so. I´m just scared. But that one word. Atonement. That gives me strength. I´m putting all my trust in the Lord. ALL of it. Becasue that´s all I can do. I love you all so much and suggest that you do the same. Give your whole lives to him. He can make you so much more than what you are. I know he is our Saviour and Redeemer. Trust him. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week applying all those things you learned in conference.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello family,
Sounds like things are going pretty good for everyone. Ammon, I need pictures of Homecoming. And really I need pictures from all the dances you went to last year too! I haven´t seen anything! And that´s not cool. Good luck with Shakespeare, that will be fun. And good work Micah beating Payson to a pulp. That´s what I like to hear :) And with all A's, nice! I´m excited for Halloween too. But you guys have to figure a costume for me, I don´t know what to be :) I´m glad Bro Roby said I could shadow him. That would be a really really good opportunity. With that and trying out for Les Mis I should keep pretty busy for those few months before school. Add to that Thanksgiving and Christmas and everything, I think I´ll definitely have some things to do. I loved that talk that you used for your lesson dad. And I´m super super excited for General Conference this week! It will be the best! Hope you all enjoy! Things here are going really well. Nothing out of the ordinary. Kinda got this guy stalking us though. That´s not fun. But no worries, we´re all safe and sound. And we helped out with a baptism. That was also interesting. But a good week overall. It´s weird to think that I´m only going to email you all 4 more times before I come home. But don´t get trunky or anything.
So mom I want to try to answer your question with my thought today. Can people repent in the spirit world? Most definitely. But surely it is a more difficult process. And yes, repentance should generally happen in this life. Let me explain using a few scriptures. Alma 34:32 "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." This life is the time for us to prepare to meet God. This life is the time for us to repent. But can we repent without understanding the commandments? No. If someone is sinning without a knowledge of the gospel, they are still breaking the commandments, but they are not fully guilty of their sins. Or at least they do not receive as much condemnation as someone that does understand the commandments. (D&C 82:3 "...he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.") Repentance, just like baptisms for the dead, are specifically reserved for those who die without a knowledge of the gospel. Can other´s take advantage of this same blessing? Here´s a big long series of quotes from Brigham Young: "Suppose, then, that a man is evil in his heart—wholly given up to wickedness, and in that condition dies, his spirit will enter into the spirit world intent upon evil. On the other hand, if we are striving with all the powers and faculties God has given us to improve upon our talents, to prepare ourselves to dwell in eternal life, and the grave receives our bodies while we are thus engaged, with what disposition will our spirits enter their next state? They will be still striving to do the things of God, only in a much greater degree—learning, increasing, growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth (DBY, 379)...If a person is baptized for the remission of sins, and dies a short time thereafter, he is not prepared at once to enjoy a fulness of the glory promised to the faithful in the Gospel; for he must be schooled while in the spirit, in the other departments of the house of God, passing on from truth to truth, from intelligence to intelligence, until he is prepared to again receive his body and to enter into the presence of the Father and the Son. We cannot enter into celestial glory in our present state of ignorance and mental darkness (DBY, 378–79)...When we get through this state of being, to the next room, I may call it, we are not going to stop there. We shall still go on, doing all the good we can, administering and officiating for all whom we are permitted to administer and officiate for, and then go on to the next, and to the next, until the Lord shall crown all who have been faithful on this earth, and the work pertaining to the earth is finished, and the Savior, whom we have been helping, has completed his task, and the earth, with all things pertaining to it, is presented to the Father. Then these faithful ones will receive their blessings and crowns, and their inheritances will be set off to them and be given to them, and they will then go on, worlds upon worlds, increasing for ever and ever (DBY, 376)." The spirit world really is an active place where progression and growth are possible. But in Alma 34, Amulek teaches that the spirit that posseses us in this life with continue with us into the spirit world. Just like Pres. Young teaches, if we are doing evil on earth we shall surely continue in the spirit world. The same for righteousness. We will be able to continually progress and become better there. But the best place to learn to do that is in this life. If we live faithfully in this life we will have power to resist the temptations of the devil after this life too. Brigham Young also said, "If we are faithful to our religion, when we go into the spirit world, the fallen spirits—Lucifer and the third part of the heavenly hosts that came with him, and the spirits of wicked men who have dwelt upon this earth, the whole of them combined will have no influence over our spirits. Is not that an advantage? Yes. All the rest of the children of men are more or less subject to them, and they are subject to them as they were while here in the flesh (DBY, 379).

Here [the faithful] shall be perplexed and hunted by him; but when we go into the spirit world there we are masters over the power of satan, and he cannot afflict us any more, and this is enough for me to know (DNW,1 Oct. 1856, 3)." Let us live righteously and we will have power over satan and his minions. Keep on truckin fam. You´re doing great!
Con amor,
Elder Flint

Hello family!
It sounds like things are going very well for all of you! Mom is rocking school, Ammon is rocking it with the ladies and musical theater, Logan is rocking it with basketball, Micah with football, Sophie with hamsters and Dad with the tenure preps. And Skyler with school and Savannah with something or other. You guys are all awesome! So really quick, just found out that our friend Justin Bills is music directing Les Mis at the Hale (I emailed him to see how he was doing). So he can let me know all the details about the auditions and stuff. He has encouraged me to try out, he says they need more men. The tryouts are in November, so I´m really excited! I´ll have to figure out how I would do it with school and everything, but I think it plays in February, so it would only be a couple of months into the school year. And I´m not in it yet, so I don´t know why I´m worried about all the details, be prepared I guess :) The only time I think about this kind of thing is when I´m emailing. That´s the only trunky (not really trunky, just excited for things at home) time that I have.

Things are going really well here. I´m training for my last transfer and will finish my mission here in Alicante. It´s a good place to finish too, with lots of potential. We have two investigators really close to being baptized and my comp is really excited to work. And he speaks spanish really well, which is a plus :) His name is Elder Weenig (when-ig). He´s from Orem and just graduated this last May from Timpanogas High School. He was born in 1996 so he´s a full 3 years younger than me. Yeah that made me feel old. He loves musical theater and is a piano player so basically the Lord wanted me to end my mission happy. We are working hard and things are going really well.

So today I just wanted to share a quick message about doing hard things. On my mission I´ve learned a lot about doing hard things. The mission itself is truly a hard thing. We have to work everyday and talk to people even if we don´t feel like it and we can´t just sit down in our piso and relax even if we´re dead on our feet. Oh wait, actually we can. Hmm, didn´t think about that. And we have to go to church and help the members and go to meetings and take notes. Oh wait, actually we don´t. Hmm...What I´m trying to say here is that we do hard things, not because we have to, but because we choose to. And it is a good choice. The Lord´s way isn´t easy, and it shouldn´t be. It wasn´t easy for our brother Jesus Christ, why should it be any easier for us who proclaim to be his followers. Life doesn´t have to be hard. We don´t HAVE to do hard things. But the hard things are what make us better. And after we do something hard we rejoice in the victory more that we would if it was easy. It´s like a football game. Micah will understand this well. When you beat a team that was not that good, you feel good; but when you beat the best team in the league, you feel ecstatic. Let us do hard things. Let us choose to do hard things. It´s hard to live the gospel fully, it´s hard to keep all the commandments, go to the temple, do missionary work, do family history, have time with the family, have time to provide for the family, go to church, go to meetings, and doing everything we do in our lives. Right now you are all doing hard things, but you are doing them for the benefit of the family and I respect you all so much for that. Keep it up, and I will keep doing my hard thing here in Spain :) Love you all, have an amazing week.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hey family,
So first off, I´m not trunky. Just thought I should let you all know :) I knew that was the first thing on your minds. I´m not allowed to be trunky, because I´m training. Which is crazy, but cool. But I will also say that any time I teach about the temple I get a huge lump in my throat thinking about being able to be back there within the next few months. I also seem to miss all of you, as strange as that may sound. But honestly the only times that that comes to my mind is when I´m emailing you. So right now :) But no worries, I´m doing quite well. I´m really excited to get to training. I´ll find out tomorrow who it is, but what I know for sure is that it is an American and most like is 18 years old. That´s 3 years younger than me, if you didn´t know. Like he may have been born in 1996. Weird right? What´s really going to be weird is when he finds out that I have less months than he has years :) Talk about trunky jaja.
So it sounds like things are going really well for all of you. Footloose is great, football is great, basketball is great, school is great (a little awkward, but great) and life seems to be going well. I´m glad Ammon is following my footsteps in the theater and with the ladies ;) Just kidding, he´s probably more of a ladies man than  I ever will be. And Micah, don´t worry, I will do my hardest not to come back and be mean. I think I´m pretty nice, and I´ll keep it that way. Today we went to a Star Wars museum in a castle (yeah, only in Spain) and it was awesome. Also we had another baptism this last Saturday. Let me tell you the story because it is hilarious. So the man we baptized is about 6'3'' and weighs probably 300 pounds. He´s huge. We didn´t know how we were going to be able to baptize him because our fount is actually kinda small. We thought of everything. We called president and he gave us permission to do what we had to do, but to make sure we got him dunked :) He did tell us that sprinkling over the head wouldn´t count though :) So we thought, well maybe the beach or a river, but we didn´t know where or how we would get everyone there. So we decided to just go for it. So Elder Simon and Elder Hall both got dressed in white and Fidel got into his specially made huge baptismal clothes and they baptized him. The first dunk there was a problem. His knee came out of the water. So they had to do it again. Elder Simon said the prayer, and leaned Fidel back with Elder Hall supporting his shoulders, but even though the majority of Fidel´s body was under the water, his belly was sticking out. So Elder Simon took his hands out from underneath him and pushed with all he had on the center of Fidel´s large belly so that he would go under. And he did. And he got baptized and then confirmed the next day. It was quite the adventure. It was also very spiritual. Fidel made incredible changes to be baptized. He always completed his promises and committments and really was an ideal investigator. The hardest lesson of my mission came in a moment when we didn´t think Fidel could be baptized because he was living in the same house as his Ex girlfriend/wife thing. They had no relationship whatsoever, he just lived there so that he didn´t have to live in his car. But rules are rules and he could not be baptized. It was so hard. He didn´t understand, and honestly neither did we. But we prayed a lot. Fidel got mad, but instead of giving up he found a solution. His sister let him stay with her. And that´s how he got baptized. The Lord can make miracles happen. Even when other´s may say, that´s not a miracle, just a cool story, for me it was a miracle. I love the mission. I love the Lord. I love all of you and hope you have an amazing week this week. Keep up the good work.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hola Family!
Micah! There is no way that you are turning 11! I told all of you that you aren´t allowed to grow up while I´m on the mission! Micah, you´re allowed to turn 10, Sophie 7, Savannah 3, Ammon 17, Logan 14, Skyler 19, and Mom and Dad we won´t talk about your ages ;) But I´m allowed to be 21. That´s just how things go here. Sorry, life´s not always fair. Sounds like things are going well there at home though. I loved the pictures. Is Skyler praying? Kinda looks like it :) Sounds like school is going well, as is football and all other extra curricular activities including Footloose and Bastketball and visiting the Provo Rec Center. Things are going really well here too. This last week has been crazy. We had a missionary from our district get Emergency Trasfered and his comp is now working with us. We also had a baptism this Saturday! And I got called and told that I was going to finish my mission training! Mission life just got crazy, but I wouldn´t have it any other way. It will keep me working hard.
So we had a baptism! Really it was one of the best baptismal services that I´ve been a part of during my whole mission. And I´m not saying that because it was my baptism, actually it was combined with another baptism. It was just a very spiritual and very uplifiting experience for everyone. Ana was so prepared, so ready, so willing, and so excited. She shed many tears of joy and shared her testimony on Sunday of how she felt. It is such a blessing to be able to be a part of such a great work! I´m excited to continue for the next few months.
I´m not sure what to share with you today. I´ll just tell you this. I´m so grateful for the gospel in my life. It is really what brings me true happiness in this life and keeps me going. It is such a blessing to be a part of so great a work. And that makes me feel the desire to move forward in so great a cause. I would love to do this my whole life, that is if I got to be with my family and do it :) I do miss you all. But another thing I realize is that, even though the nametag won´t be there, the responsibility to share the gospel still is. I´m determined to continue sharing that gospel with those around throughout my life. I love you all. I hope you all have a wonderful week this week. Keep up the good work!
Con Amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

PS I did get the card! Thank you :)