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 :) 

Hola Family!
Thanks for all the well wishes, I think we should have good day today. We´re planning on bowling and pizza. Pretty American :) Things are going really well though. Thanks for the gifts! They look great. Sorry Logan, I´m taking the shoes :) The orange shirt too. But is it really orange? In the picture it looks salmon. But maybe I´m just color blind. So I haven´t gotten the card yet, mail takes a while to get here. But it should come soon. Unless of course you sent it to the office, then it will get here in like a couple of days. It´s weird to think that I´m twenty one. That´s like important. I can do a bunch of stuff that I actually can´t do because I´m a mormon :) And I´m legal. Like completely. Am I off your insurance now? Just a question. And the bank account? Any changes? Just curiousity. I haven´t been thinking much about my school stuff. Really I only think about it on pdays, when I have time. But today I´ve just been trying to figure out what to do. Because you have to have fun on your birthday, it´s like a social requirement :) Funny how that goes though. It´s your birthday, you have to do something fun! Thank you both for the advice though, I´m going to think and pray about it and make a decision when the time comes. Basically I´m going to be on the same basic path for either once I get back. Just got to figure it out once Í´m done with generals. Well really before, but I have time. But then again, I don´t trust time any more. It leaves quickly and is quite unforgiving. Ammon the rockstar!!! Good work getting the friend of Kevin Bacon who has a hott girl :) I´m excited to see it :) Which weirds me out, but make me happy at the same time. Sounds like things are all going really well. Also sounds like October is going to be an exciting month for the fam. All three of us cousins get back in October. I´m the last one :) Oh and by the way, we thought I was going to get back on the 30th, but I failed to take into account the change in time. So I might actually get back on the 29th. I´m not sure. I´m pretty sure I leave at like 7 in the morning on the 29th and get back at like 6 or 7 o clock Spain time. So that would actually be in the afternoon of the 29th. So sorry Micah! Or maybe you will be happier because you won´t have to share your birthday :)
So this week I just wanted to share with you a brief testimony. Over the last two years I have come to know better my Father in Heaven and my brother Jesus Christ. I am amazed by their patience and mercy, but at the same time by their exactness and justice. I love them both. And I miss them. As I watched How to Find Faith in Christ (a church production used by missionaries at times) with a less active member this last week, I felt the spirit strongly, and felt the desire to see my brother again. I wanted to thank Him, to hug Him, to hear His voice and follow Him. But I realized that even though we are not with him, we can still follow Him. I am not perfect, I wish I was for Him, but I am trying and getting better each day. That´s what he asks, keep it up. As I grow one year older and hopefully wiser too, I want to share my love and gratitude to all of you. You are the best family that I could ask for. The family I needed to become who I am today, and the family I need to become who I need to be tomorrow. Thank you for everything.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Charlie's 21st birthday is next Monday, September 1st.  So if you want to send him a birthday email by Sunday, he will get it ON his birthday!  His email is charles.flint@myldsmail.net.


Hola familia,
Yeah Hna Wilcox got taken quick! But that makes sense, because she´s awesome. Yeah we were good friends here in the mission. We did a whole musical together. That was hard, jaja. It is a small world! Well it´s especially small when you live near or in Provo :) But she´s awesome. I wish I had here email to congratulate her, but alas, I do not. So before I forget my address is

c/ San Mateo Nº61, 5ºB
03012 Alicante
ESPAÑA

So if anyone wants to send me money or anything :) Just kidding. Well no I´m not kidding, but you know...yeah. So I need to respond to my favorite 10 year old brother. Hey broski, sorry for not responding! That´s awesome that you are the center in football, like you wanted, and it sounds like fun going to Grandma´s. What is your teacher´s name? What is your football teams name? Are you winning all your games? Let me know, and make sure you respond :) So Footloose, awesome! That would be a lot of fun. Lots of dancing! And the Patriarchal Blessing will be amazing. Use it. Sounds like Les Mis should be awesome! I´m suprised that DeGray didn´t get a larger role, but I suppose the Steve Dundford or whatever his name is is awesome too. He did a fantastic job as Jekyll. Or was he Hyde? Hmm...So I heard that the Hale in Orem is going to do Les Mis. I want to try out. Just thought I´d let you know. I don´t know if it would even be possible with school, but I want to try. President gave me permission to figure anything out that I need to for school and I think I¨ve got it all down, I just need to actually put my schedule together, but one thing is for sure. I don´t want to stop doing music and theater. I miss it a lot. I´ve been singing a lot in baptisms and church and stuff and nothing fills me more than sharing my testimony through my song. Really. Some of the most spiritual moments of my life have come through music and I´ve realized something. It´s not just for me that I do it. God has given me a specific set of talents and abilities and almost all of them have to do with music. Well that and a few other things. It´s not that I just want to continue doing music and theater, but that I feel impressed upon to continue. I don´t know. All I know is that when I talk about it or actually perform and share my testimony in that form, that feel the spirit strongly and feel like I should continue. But I need your help. Mom and Dad specifically. What do you think? And tell me clearly. I need help and guidance in this. I will continue, I just want to know how much I should put into it. Should I major in music or in the MDT program? Or should I stick with Psychology and just take some electives? Or should I just keep it as a hobby and something to do at home? Pray with me, and tell me what you feel and think. Your my parents and can recieve revelation to help me. Please do so. Not to pressure you or anything, I mean I still have time to figure things out, but it´s something that has been on my mind. Well at least it is on my mind right now, during the week I don´t think about it.
Today I just wanted to testify that the Spirit can open our hearts and our minds and change us. This week we had a little bit of a situation with one of the people that is going to be baptized in the coming weeks. She is a 15 year old girl and is really one of the best investigators I´ve ever had. She comes every week, she reads and marks what she reads and asks important and pertinent questions. The only little problem that we have is that she lives in our ward, but goes to the other because she has friends there. Not too big a deal, and we talked to the bishops and have it all figured out, but the problem came from some members, "friends" of hers that told her that if she came to our ward that she would lose all contact with her friends and blah blah blah. So long story short, she was very stressed and overwhelmed by the situation and didn´t want to talk with us. On Sunday we finally found out about this, through the bishop of the other ward and pulled her aside to talk to her. We went about it, searching diligently for the spirit. We asked her, who told you that you had to be baptized? And she said, no one I guess. So we asked, then why did you make the decision to do so? And she said, because I felt like it was the right thing to do. And we asked, And where do those feelings come from? From God. Exactly. So who told you that you should be baptized? God did. Does he lie? No. We told her that we wanted the best for her. That we have been praying and talking to everyone we can to help her feel comfortable and come unto Christ. In the end she felt the Spirit and decided to continue. It was amazing to be able to feel the Spirit working through us. I know that the Spirit can change lives. We don´t do that, the Spirit does. But we must be willing and worthy to be guided by it. I haven´t always been willing nor worthy for the guidance of the Spirit, but my goal is to be always. Make it your goal too. I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week!
Con amor,
Elder Flint

Hola there mi familia,
Sounds like things are about to get a little more quiet at home and a little more stressful for the kids. But school is always a good thing. It blows my mind that you are already in the school year though! It seems like you all just escaped and now you´re back. What´s up with that?! But no worries, you´ll all have fun. Tell me a bit about Les Mis my brotha. Are there people I know participating? Who are the principal characters? Is Justin involved? Just curious. Say hello to the Allreds for me, I still can´t believe that Abby is going to BYU! And that Ammon is a senior! And that Skyler is at UVU! And I haven´t even started! When I get back I´ll be at the same level as Ammon :/ Did you realize that? I just did. It´s a bummer. Sounds good about the birthday stuff. I´m just wanting to be able to survive when I get home, I don´t need anything flashy. President Deere asked me in the last interview what I wanted to do when I got back before going to school. I told him my ideas, but realized I really didn´t have much of a plan. If you hear of anybody that needs help during those few months before I go to school that would be awesome. I kind of want to shadow Bro. Roby at his work to kinda get an idea of psychologist life. I could even help with his finances if he needed it. Or I could just do snow removal or construction or whatever. But it would be nice to have a few bucks before I go to school. But I guess we´ll see what happens.
So this week we had a baptism! It was great. She´s a lady from Bulgaria that was super prepared. It was a little tough to teach her, because her Spanish is limited, but we figured it out.I love baptisms :) I´ll send you pictures soon.
So I was thinking this week about something that I read in Jesus the Christ. It was talking about an experience that the Savior had with some of his disciples. These disciples had gone into the city and began to eat at some kind of function without having washed there hands before eating. The ritual of washing hands before eating was one that was greatly taught by the pharisees at the time. It was accepted by them and a commandment, as part of the law. But it was merely tradition. When the Pharisees rebuked the disciples and then the Savior the Savior responded "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Mark 7:7 I thought about how often that takes place in the world and in our own lives. There is a disctinct difference between what the doctorine teaches and what the world teaches. And not even just that, sometimes we become so focused on the traditions of the church that we forget about or ignore what is the real doctrine. And if we look at it closely, was it something wrong that the Pharisee were asking? Absolutely not. Washing your hands before you eat is something that is good. Ask any doctor or any mother :) But the problem came from the Pharisees teaching it as a part of the law, as a commandment. Do we do this? Sometimes I think we do. I had an experience in church that showed this. Now first off, I love the members of Spain and my purpose in sharing this is not to belittle them, but to illustrate my message. In church yesterday we spent the entire hour of Priesthood meeting talking about how the priesthood holders should direct people to seats and pass the sacrament and did not get to the lesson until the last 2 minutes of class. Now there is a time and place to teach these things, but in this case it was not teaching that was going on, it was a debate about what is the best way to do it. It made me think about this. The sacrament is extremely important and the meeting is essential to our sunday worship, but we cannot let our focus on how to best open the doors and fill the benches with members blind us from the true importance of the meeting. It is a doctrine that sometimes hurts. It´s one that can cut deep, because many of us are very loyal to our traditions. But we must be able to differentiate between the two. As a missionary there are things that are the same. In all parts of the church and outside. And the way we differentiate is by knowing the doctrine. And the way we do that is by studying the scriptures. Study them, they have changed my life. President Monson said, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." Let us love and teach pure doctrine. I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Sorry about not emailing yesterday, we had interviews with our mission president and he stole our pday. The nerve :) So we changed it to today. So that is why I´m emailing today. We went to an awesome museum today. Just thought you should know. If I had a camera that worked I would have taken pictures and sent them to you. But no worries, my comp took lots. Things are going really well here. Just hungry for details that are lacking in your past email :) Seriously though!  Sounds like your summer is coming to a welcome end. I sure hope it ends here soon too. It´s SO hot. And humid. And Europeans don´t wear clothes when it is hot. So cold weather is a welcome gift for the missionaries here. But things are going really really well here. The Lord has blessed us with some incredible investigators that are progressing really well. We should have a baptism this Sunday of a woman from Bulgaria. She hardly speaks any spanish, but we teach using the church provided materials and the scriptures. She is so incredibly prepared. She doesn´t even drink coffee or tea! She has no vices that are holding her back. She has had a love of the Bible ever since she was young and now shares that love with the Book of Mormon. She is truly a convert of the Book of Mormon, not of the missionaries.
So my thought today is going to fulfil two purposes. First to express my feelings of gratitude for you, Mom and Dad, and also to help Mom with her lesson this next week. So here it goes.

Growing up I always knew what was right and what was wrong. I could never call that which was wrong right because I had two incredible examples and teachers. Two teachers that worked as a team, and two examples that were steadfast and sturdy. They taught me how to read the scriptures, even when I could hardly keep my eyes open. They taught me how to pray, even though I didn´t know what to say. And they taught me how to keep the Sabbath day Holy, even when I just wanted to stay in bed. As a child, and even as an adolescent, I didn´t understand the affect that my parents had on me. I struggled to see the "why" of everything they did. And the honest truth is that the "why" didn´t really matter. What mattered is that they could see further than me. They had gone through the same things I was going through. As I serve on the other side of the world, I wish I could bring the scripture study, the family home evenings, and the love that I felt in my home into every home I enter here. I am eternally grateful for the solid testimonies my parents shared. The steadfastness and regularity of the family centered activities that strengthened the beginnings of my own testimony. They taught me what it was to be a missionary, what it was to be a worthy priesthood holder, and because of them I am who I am today. The family is an essential part of our Heavenly Father´s plan for us, and parents have the heavenly responsibility of raising their children in righteousness.

I hope that helps. I truly and grateful for the both of you. Dad for your constant testimony. I remember waiting during testimony meeting for the moment when you would get up. And almost without fail, you did. And I always felt the spirit during your testimony, whether I wanted to admit it or not. Mom for your constant love and support. I always knew and know that I can go to you for whatever problem I have. I didn´t take advantage of that for a lot of my adolescence and I mourn for those moments I missed. But I will not miss another. I love you both so very much and the rest of  you too. I look to the end of my mission nervous, and with a lot of dread. But the one shining light is that I will be able to see you all again. That makes it okay. I love you and hope you have a wonderful week.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

2 weeks

 August 4, 2014

Hello Family,
So you´re already dreaming about me coming home! Sheesh, I still have a few months left! :) Just kidding, I suppose it is just natural. But no worries I´m working hard. As hard as I can really. It sounds like your vacation in Oregon was awesome! It is a little disappointing that you couldn´t wait one year to have me and Cassidy and Sarah there too, but whatevs :) We´ll have our own return missionary cousin party. And AJ´s not invited! Just kidding, that would be mean. I do miss the beauty of nature though. Here in Spain, and really Europe in general, the beauty is found in the creations of man. Often times inspired by God, but what I really miss is the beauty of what God has created. When I get home I´m going to take a tent and go into the mountains. No really, I just decided this. Hear ye, hear ye, all who are interested. A few weeks after I get home, I am going to plan a weekend camping trip. It will begin a Friday and end on Saturday night or very early Sunday morning (so we can still get to church). I just want to be in the mountains. I know it will be cold, freezing cold, but it´s something I want to do before my life goes absolutely insane with school and stuff. I promise I´m not trunky, I just want to inform you. There are three things I want to do when I get home. First; share some awesome stories and talking time with all of you (meaning my family :) ), Second, go to the mountain of the Lord (meaning the Temple) as quickly as possible, and third; go to the mountains of the Lord (meaning the mountains). So now you know. Plan accordingly :)
So my thought for you all this week comes from the Bishop of my ward here actually. Well it doesn´t come from him, but was inspired by his teachings. Yesterday we were in the church doing numbers (my favorite part of the week :p) and afterwards our Bishop was giving a fireside talking about works of art and the doctorine found within them. We did not plan on going, but my comp entered while we were doing numbers and I couldn´t convince him to leave afterwards. I soon understood why. Our bishop is an amazing teacher, and the things he taught, using old catholic paintings was incredible. The biggest topic was the trinity. For me that has always been a confusing subject. God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. They are different, but one. What? That makes no sense! They aren´t the same, but they are one. I always just stuck with the generic, they are seperate beings, but one in purpose (which is true) but I never actually understood that. I said it, I taught it, and I testified of it, but I didn´t really know what it meant. I came to understand what it really means and the simplicity of it as the Bishop taught, and more importantly as the Spirit helped me understand it. I don´t want to rob any of you of the opportunity to find your answers for yourself, so I´m not going to talk now about all the things I learned but I do invite you to investigate the subject. My purpose for bringing this all up is this. It allowed me to understand the idea that we have to come to know God to receive eternal life. "To know" in Hebrew is a much more powerful term than ours in English. In Spanish it is a little more powerful, but not nearly as powerful as the Hebrew. It is a relationship much more intimate. So intimate that at times it is used in the Bible as a euphamism for a sexual relation. To know in Hebrew is to truly understand and commune with that person. Enoch and his people walked with God, Moses spoke with him face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend. We must come to know God. And how does that relate? Well first off, who is God? I always thought of it as just the Father, but it is not so. God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, who is one Eternal God without end. We must come to know each of them, who are one. That is my challenge for each of you, and what I am working on right now. Coming to know my Father in Heaven, my elder brother Jesus Christ, and my ever faithful companion the Holy Ghost. Search the scriptures and search to find those things that can be learned, but not taught, as Pres. Packer puts it. I love you all and hope that you all have a deep love of the scriptures, I do and that love grows every day as I find the hidden treasures that lie within. Have a fantastic week!
Elder Flint





 July 28, 2014

Hello Family mia,
Sounds like you guys had a good week and are in for a great time in Oregon. I´m glad Ammon didn´t forget Spain again. Embarrassing. I´m liking the ideas about the vacations and what not when I get home. I would quite enjoy that :) I also believe that BYU does not have a spring vacation, so that is kind of a bummer, but we´ll figure things out. I hope you have a great time in Oregon and that things go really well. So about the money thing. Umm, I don´t know. I feel awkward telling you how much I want! Basically I´m just spending most of it on you guys anyway haha. So it all depends on how many souvenirs you want :) But I definitely think the best thing would be just getting stuff that I will use and that will be great. Also, if you could look into FAFSA financial aid. I´m not sure if I´m even elegible not being a high school senior, but if I need to do something to apply for it and I need to do it soon, that would be good to know. Oh and by the way, we get fed pretty often, and they always give us LOTS of food. I´m gaining weight :( But I´m hoping to hit up the gym when I get back and I´m hoping to be able to control my diet a little better when I´m making my own food. 
So these last couple of weeks I have really been able to see the hand of the Lord in the work. I am not the perfect missionary, nor am I the perfect son of my heavenly or earthly parents. I have made many mistakes and sadly, I continue to make many mistakes. My heart is in the right place and I desire to do that which is right, but the flesh is weak and many times I fall. But like Nephi I have seen many tender mercies from my Father in Heaven. It constantly amazes me how much patience and love our Father in Heaven has for us. How many times he lifts us up, brushes us off and sends us back into the ring. And not only that, but he is with us in the ring, fighting side by side so that we can return to our Father in Heaven. This last week we were stopped by some missionaries of another religion in the street (I won´t say what religion, you can imagine that on your own) and they began "teaching" (more like bashing) us. As we calmly explained our beliefs and the reasons behind them, they (quite flustered really) threw scriptures and explanations and justifications at us from every side. We did not fight, because that drives away the spirit, but kindly listened for a moment, shared our testimonies and left. But one of the things they said surprised and saddened me. They talked about how only 144,000 people will truly be saved (a false idea from Revelations) and they rest will remain on the earth. They will live with Jesus Christ, but they will not be truly exhalted. And they told me that they had no hope of being saved. They said it had been revealed to them to know that they were not one of these "chosen ones." I testified to them of the love of the Father and told them directly that He wants to save every one of his children. That there is always hope, and that he loved each of them. My words fell upon hard ears, but I felt the spirit testifying of that truth. The Lord does not pick favorites. Each of us has the same opportunity to receive all that the father has. I´m sure if it would do us any good, he would save each of us (but we must remember who´s plan that was!). But he knows the importance of our own growth and the importance of agency. Let us make our Father proud and happy. Let us do all we can to return to Him. I am not perfect, none of us are. But we can become perfected through the atoning sacrafice of our elder brother Jesus Christ and an effort on our part. I love you all and desire to be with you for eternties. Let us all strive for that gift, the gift of eternal life.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Just a quick preface to Charlie's email. Ammon has been memorizing all 197 countries over the summer (so as not to let his brain turn to mush).  He took a quiz and got every single country...except Spain!

YOU FORGOT SPAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your brother, your flesh and blood has been living in Spain for a year and a half and you forgot it! Ammon Joseph Flint, how could you! :) You probably even got Andorra, and the Vatican and those aren´t even really countries! Broma, kind of. That just means that I´m not going to bring you anything back. Sorry. Jk. Next time, I think you will remember. Sounds like things are going well there back in the US of A. It is crazy that there are only 3 months left. I don´t like thinking about it, so I will only say this much, that as much as I hate the fact that this will end, I am excited to see you also. But that´s the end of that kind of talk :) I´m glad things are going well for everyone. Harry Potter is awesome. Just sayin. I like that thought about the Holy Ghost. I remember hearing a quote from Elder Neil A Maxwell. He said something like this. My goal is to have the Holy Ghost to be with me every day. I have not acheived it yet, but I am still trying. That should be our goal too. It´s not easy, but it is possible.
So Dad keeps telling me to tell him about the ward and the work. The only problem is that I only have so much time to write and so much to write about if I start with that! And then I would have no good stories to tell you after the mission ;) But I will start to add a little more about that. The members here are great. They don´t see their own potential yet. They help, but they, as all of us, have the capacity to do so much more. But we are continuing to do that most we can to help them do the most that they can. This week we did have a miracle though. We had 8 investigators in church and 9 less active members we are working closely with. It was amazing to see the chaple filled with so many people that are coming unto our Lord Jesus Christ and learning more about Him and their Heavenly Father. A wonderful blessing. 
So things for my package. Hmm. I´m not really sure. Not to sound trunky, but after my birthday I´ll have like two months left and I´ll be able to get anything I need from the States then. I would say the best thing to send me would be to put some money on my card and then get me things that would help me for when I start school and living on my own, and just leave them there at home for me. And get me things that when I was younger I would have hated. Like practical not fun stuff. Like spoons. Get me some good spoons :) Or cups or things like that. I don´t know. Or things like sheets. I need some sheets. New garments! That would be good, because I´m planning on getting rid of the majority of the ones I have now. Or you could put money on my card so that I can buy garments online (that is an approved way for us to do it here on the mission). And if you send me a package just fill it with junk food. I´m sorry Logan, but I think you´ll beat me with the whole ab thing, I get fed way too much here in Alicante and things are not looking so hot for me :/ But give me 3 months after the mission, that´s when I´ll whoop ya :)
So these last few weeks I have studying a lot about Jesus Christ and his life. I have testified thousands of times about Jesus Christ on my mission. I have not been the most obediant, nor the best teacher, or the best contacter, or best leader or best looking missionary in the world, but I have testified of Jesus Christ with all my heart and until my dying breath I will continue to do so. He is my Savior and my friend. I have learned so much about him on my mission. I have come to know him personally. Some of you will understand that, but before my mission when I heard people talk about their relationship will the Savior that way, I didn´t really get it. I understood, yeah Jesus suffered and died for me and I was truly grateful for that, but I didn´t really truly fully understand the fullness of what that means. I do now. And that hasn´t just magically come from being a missionary, as I thought it would. It has come through trial. It has come through study. It has come through faith and giving my all for Him. And you don´t have to be a missionary to do that. So what I invite you to do, it do just that. Focus on coming to know our Savior. Read Jesus the Christ, it is wonderful. Study the New Testament and the Book of Mormon (two incredible testimonies of Him) And if you want to know what the Lord´s voice sounds like, read Doctorine and Covenants. There is more direct speech from Jesus Christ in that book than in any other canonical work. So go find Him! It is because of Him that all things are possible. I love him and I love all of you. Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hola familia!
Sounds like you guys have had an awesome week! From LOTR to the Texas Tenors and Liberty for the United States, things seem to be going well! We celebrated a little here in our district meeting. We sang the National Anthem for one of the hymns and had hot dogs and watermelon afterwards. Pretty American I suppose. I didn´t realize how much I appreciated my country until I was far, far from it. I suppose I can understand Mom´s inability to use the computer; the natural affects of living and Amish-Mormon life :) But send her my love! I love the fishing pictures! But why is Ammon in pajamas? Good work on your tests by the way. Although you did not top my scores in English or Stats, you did beat my UPUSH by one. I admit defeat in that battle. But you have 3 more classes to go if you want to break the record ;)
So my thought for the week comes in two parts. First a thank you for Uncle Robby. I really appreciate what you wrote to me. At times I wondered if my emails were being read by anybody other than my parents, but I give thanks to the Lord that the Spirit has been able to work through me, a weak vessel to touch your hearts also. I know what I´ve said is true, and I love you all very much. The fact that you have come back to activity in the church has been the GREATEST blessing of my mission and I say that without hesitation. What could bring me or any of us more joy than to see our own family make the changes necessary to come unto Christ more fully in their lives? You are an incredible example to me. I hope you know that. All four of you! Keep up the good work, and soon you will be an eternal family!
The second part of my message comes from a scripture I read this morning and something that I have been thinking about a lot the last little while. Each of us have times when we get down on ourselves. When the days all seem gloomy and the cloud of despair looms over us, covering our self worth with a thick fog. I have often wondered how I could make so many mistakes,even as a missionary. Shouldn´t I know better? Shouldn´t I be better? More worthy? More strong? How could I be worthy enough to be called the Lord´s representative, when I do not feel even close to being good enough? As this type of thought lingers over us the first thing to do is pray. I have recieved such a testimony of prayer on my mission. I have made mistakes, but every time I get onto my knees and ask the Lord with all the fervor of my soul for forgiveness and help to become better, I have received it. And we all can. The scripture I found this morning comes from Jacob 4:7. It says: "Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things." We each have responsibilities in the Lord´s work, whether we realize it or not. And the Lord will show us our weaknesses when we are invested in these responsibilites. But it is so we can come to understand his grace. What is grace? Divine help, and the saving power of Jesus Christ (for a better definition read "His Grace is Sufficient, a BYU devotional speech by Brad Wilcox. I highly recommend it! Here´s the web address: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966). Does grace save us? Absolutely. But that does not give us a freebee. We must be changed by grace. When we come to understand our own weaknesses and that through the Lord´s grace we can be made better. We can change! I love that word. Change. I need it. Every day I need to be better. Every day there are things that I want to change. And guess what? I can! And every one of you can! That is grace. I love you all. And even more importantly, our Father in Heaven and our older brother Jesus Christ love you all. They want you to come back home to them. So why hesitate? Start now. Move forward. If you have been knocked down, get back up. And if you are on your feet, be prepared to get knocked down. Life is not easy. But what´s your bounce back time? Move forward. “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead,You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come." (Jeffery R Holland "An High Priest of Good Things to Come" October 1999, also recommended).
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Let's move forward!

Hey familia.
So I´m still alive, no worries. I just got a little sick, but now I´m okay. And yes I know that an urinary infection is more common in women, but it does, on occasion, occur with men too. I am not ashamed :) And no matter where the condo is, I´ve learned to walk and use buses, so if I need to I can do that. Or maybe I can work on getting money and then a cheap car. That would be awesome. Wait, what?! DeGray´s back?!?!?! AHHH!! Well of course he is, I come back in 4 months! That´s so weird. Is he doing Les Mis? He´s awesome. I miss him. Tell him hello for me and give him a hug. So, dad you are correct I have not been sending as many epistles as I was. The main reason is this, I don´t have time to think! :) It´s all work work work. You always say that you want to make sure that I am focused on the work. I´ll tell you something paps, I don´t have time to think about anything else. And that includes my life and progress at times. I need to be better with that and get a better balance on that. But since you missed my words of wisdom so much, I´ll give you some :)
In church yesterday we were talking about getting a testimony and conversion. As we talked I started thinking about a comment somebody made. They said, one of the adversary´s greatest tools is to keep us from changing. As I thought about that I reflected on a lot of people I have met in my 20 years of life. There are a lot that I´ve heard say things like, "I´m not smoking or drinking or doing awful things like that, I´m just not doing some things like going to church or mutual or things like that." The adversary doesn´t have to make us start smoking or drinking or doing terrible things, he just has to stop us from progressing. "That´s just that way I am." "I´m older now, I can´t change now." It´s a lie. It´s a lie that comes from the adversary. We can ALWAYS change. "But I´ve sinned so much, I don´t think the Lord even wants me to change now." "I´m too low, I can´t get up now" All lies. We can ALWAYS change. And we NEED to. We always need to be changing. We always need to be bettering ourselves. Even if we´re doing well, we can always do better. The adversary does not need to bring us down, he just needs us to stop moving forward. So let´s show him and move forward every day! I love you all, keep up the good work! Let´s move forward!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hola Familia!

MOOOOOOMMMMMMM! You´re awesome! Good work getting into the program! I knew you would the whole time. You´re just way to smart to not get in. Really though. And The Man of La Mancha sounds like fun. I would love to be in basically every one of those shows! I´ll have to look into that when I get back. And yeah Dad, bummer city for Spain! Haha. I think it´s funny because they were all really prideful about their team. They thought they would win for sure and then they lost. Super bad. And the US is rocking it! (My comp is obsessed and asks in every lesson what the scores were). The people here are a little bummed, but right now in Alicante they are doing these things called Hogueras. It´s basically just a bunch of parties. But they build these huge (like 20 ft tall) beautiful statues out of wood and then they burn them! And then they start again for the next year. Super different. It comes from the history of this part where they would take all of their old stuf from their houses out into the streets and burn it. It´s interesting. I want to try to see them burn one, but it isn´t until like midnight tomorrow, so not too likely. But you never know, we might get permission. It´s fun. So I´m telling Logan, that he´d better be afraid. Yeah I may not have a six pack yet, but it´s in the fridge. I´ve just gotta take it out :) Things are going pretty well here. Actually this week was really weird. My comp left on Monday to go do some residency stuff in Málaga and I was with another Elder for a couple of days. On Tuesday I started feeling pretty sick. Like flu type symptoms and stuff. But I´m hard headed and tried to continue working. I kept it up the whole afternoon and the next day continued feeling sick. I still did some service but then (this part is kind of gross, just a heads up) I started urinating blood. At that point I started freaking out. With our family history that could mean any number of things. So I called the mission nurse and she got me into the hospital. They told me it was a urinary infection, gave me the meds and sent me on my way. I´m doing better now, but just thought you all would be interested in knowing that. I don´t know why, just thought you would. That was basically my week. Good, but weird and scary at moments. But I learned some good lessons from it. First off, I learned that even in the midst of trials, we can still keep a good attitude. I learned that from my first day of being sick, not the second. I saw the difference in my own happines between the two. And it taught me a lot. Life is tough sometimes, but it becomes even tougher when we look at things negatively. We always have to try to find the positive in every situation. When we can do that, we really are living with the hope the Savior proportioned for every one of us. I am so grateful that there is hope. That there is hope in every situation. I know that there is. Thank you all for being so awesome! I miss you all and I love you. Have a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello family!!!!!!
Sounds like things are fun back home! Mom, I´m sure you´ll do fine with the interview. And if not, you´ll knock em dead next time (or knock em down, a little more mom appropriate :) ) High adventure sounded like an adventure...obviously that´s the way it´s supposed to be. The new bishop sounds like he´s a fun guy, I´m excited to meet him some day. Oh hey, by the way HAPPY FATHER´S DAY! I honestly didn´t even realize it. Here in Spain they celebrate it at a different time, so I´m completely lost to the American way. Para que sepas, eres el mejor padre del mundo. Tu fe y amor hacia Padre Celestial y su Hijo, siempre me asombra. Eres un maquina, y te amo mucho. Estoy agradecido por tu ejemplo y fuerza y espero ser como tu un día. Crazy flirtatious, sounds like you had a good time cliff diving. Wasn´t that cold? Just wondering. I hope you don´t sell all my stuff in the garage sale. Well actually it doesn´t matter that much, I´ve learned to live out of a couple of suitcases, I could probably do that for a while longer. So dad, we definitely are trying to focus a lot on working with the members. It is the "better way" to do missionary work, as Pres. Hinckley said. Really success comes when members and missionaries get together to help the work of the Lord progress. When I get home I am excited to help the missionaries out in whatever way I can, even if they hardly ever (if ever) come to our sacrament meeting or our area. Missionary work is so important! I love it. This last little while we have been trying very hard to get the members working with us more. We are still working on it, but there is a lot of potential here.
This last week has been interesting. I have learned an important lesson. That is, no matter how hard you work, and really how well you work, nothing beats trusting in the Lord and following his guidance. This last week a lot of meetings failed us. We set up a lot, trying to be good, but I think, trusting a little to much in ourselves, and basically it all went down hill. I think the Lord wanted me to learn this. If you want to do the work and do it well, you have to involve HIM. I trusted to much in myself and too little in him, and that´s why things didn´t work out. Hopefully this next week we´ll be able to get things figured out a little better. I love you all, I miss you. I hope you all are doing well and that things are great this next week.
Love you!
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello familia,
First off HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is crazy to think that he is 22 years old! I have felt his presence with me a number of times on the mission and before. I know he loves to be with us! And it will be amazing to be with him again. We´ve just got to make sure that we live worthy of getting there.
So the goat is out. Because crazy lady wanted us to eat it...? Or not eat it? Or I don´t know. All I know is that I could really go for some goat chops right now :) Hopefully Logan can teach the dog to "Baa" then we could eat him :) Just kidding...maybe. Send me a pic of the little rat, I´d bet he´d fit in well here in Spain (lots of little dogs). Sounds like things are going well for everyone. Ammon is on seminary council! Just following right behind me. If you get called to the Spain Malaga Mission, Imma freak out. But that is awesome, you´ll love it. Say hi to Bro Hawkins and the rest for me! And Les Mis is awesome!!!!!!!!!! I really want to see it! But alas, I probably will not. Mom, you are going to rock your interview for sure! I´m pumped to hear how it goes. Skyler way to get away from those gamers! Bunch of punks. And Micah, that museum thing sounds awesome! You will have to show me it when I get home (sorry it´s on your birthday, maybe you can convince mom and dad to go out and get food with us :) But something American would probably be best. Or Mexican, yeah Mexican mmmm) Or Ammon could pay for it with all the pasta that he´s getting. 500 a month? That´s 3 times as much as I get to survive is Spain every month! Lucky duck. Use it well, lots of dates :) And dad, sounds like you had a pretty good time with your retreat/fly fishing thing. Did you catch any fish? How big? No really how big was it? :) You gotta be careful with those pork chop bones! Everything here has bones in it, so you have to always be careful. But a macademian nut? You´ve got to use some flouride toothpaste or something to strengthen those teeth. I´m already going to have to be changing your diapers, I don´t want to have to wash your dentures too :)
So by now you probably realize that I am not in the office anymore. And if you didn´t, well I´m not. I moved to a place called Alicante. It is on the far east side of the mission. So I have served now in all four extremes of the mission. As far west as you can get, about as far north as you can get, abuot as far south as you can get, and about as far east as you can get too. Pretty crazy! It was a 6 hour trip in bus. Super long! But I survivied. My comp is Elder Simon. He is from Argentina. An interesting kid. Good elder, hard worker. We have just been tearing things up. And that´s what I like. Lots of work to do. The ward (yes ward, weird right, the rest have been branches) is awesome. We are trying to get them more inolved in the work. Hopefully our efforts will pay off. I love this work! It has been great to get out and into the norm again. I remeber what it´s like now to have successes, and rejections everyday. In the office I had some, but now it is regular again. I missed it. But I also miss the office. Not really the office, but the people. I miss my comps and I miss the branch, and I especially miss the Castillos. Elder Dansie got sick right before I left, and things went crazy so I didn´t get too much of a chance to say goodbye, but we still all choked up. You meet some amazing people in the service of the Lord and the Castillos are a few that I will never forget. When you meet them, for I have decided that you all will, you´ll see how awesome they are too! And do you know who else is awesome? All of you! I love you all so much and I miss you. I feel the end moving closer and I don´t like it, but I know that there is a time and season for everything. And my time now is to give it all to the Lord. I love you all! Have a fantastic week.
Con amor,
Elder Flint

Alooooooooha,
I don´t know why I said aloha, but hey, it works. The Castillos are awesome! I´m glad that you got to see some of those pictures. I keep meaning to get them from them, but I always forget.
Well, things are going really well here. Well pretty well. I feel weird because I´m in limbo and know absolutely nothing about where I´m going or what I´m doing. So for now, I´m still in the office. But hopefully I will find out soon where it will be that I am going. I assume I will be leaving within the next week, but I honestly have no idea. I´ll let you know as soon as I know! (And have a pday so I can actually tell you :) ) So what is everybody doing that makes them so busy?! I mean it´s not like you guys are cool or popular or anything ;) Just kidding, you´re all studs. But seriously, doesn´t your brother, you´re own flesh and blood, take prevalence over you´re friends or some girls? Oh wait, what am I talking about? It is allowed for you guys to let friends and girls to take prevalence over you´re big brother for now, but when we are all old men I´ll have none of that! But really though, no worries, just keep having fun! 
Hey, Amms, you planning on doing PTC this year? Aren´t they doing something super lame and not cool? Like, some little off Broadway show called like...Les something...oh yeah, Les Miserables? Just something like that. You in? I´ll tell you what, I would be in in a second. But that is just my opinion. So that condo sounds awesome. Basically anywhere I can sleep and shower and cook food, whether that be in a tent off campus using a butane stove and the gym showers, or a mansion in the mountains, I feel like I could pretty much learn how to live anywhere. And if I don´t have to pay for it, well that´s better :) But whatever you all think is best, I will take what I can get. Beggars can´t be choosers. I hope you get a nice teacher Soph, and I like the goat´s new name. What does Ammon think?
So I just want to share a short testimony with you all. Just about change. If I have learned one lesson on my mission it is this. That our Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ love us. They love us so much that they gave everything they have and everything they are to us. And they really don´t ask too much in return. All they ask is that we change. That we become the best people we can be. And while we are working on it, they help us along. All we really need to do to change, is give up what we want for what they want. And that is not the easiest thing in the world, in fact some days it is really hard. But it is possible. I know that any person on this earth can change. Every single one of us has a potential for good. The mission is really just a chance to let people know that it is possible and show them how to do it. So go out and change! And show people how to change. Through teachings and through your examples. I´ll be here in Spain doing the same. I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week.
Con amor,
Elder Flint

Happy Birthday Ammon!

Hello fam!
For starters, HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can´t believe you´re 17! That´s like, super old. And that means that in a years time you could be on the mission! Or at least very close to being on the mission! Crazy stuff. So New York or Chicago or Sacramento. Either way it will be fun (but New York is definitely the best :) ) And Dad, I do get all your emails, I just try to respond to everyone with one big one. If you want a specific response in mi Español, que por supuesto es mejor que lo tuyo ;) Lo haré. Pero si no, tu tranquilito y intentaré contestar a todos en uno. Y espero que un día puedo tocar cómo William Joseph, ahora seguro que no, debido de que no he practicado para nada en este año y pico, pero quiero practicar mejor al regresar. So Skyler got in a new apartment, cool beans and you guys are thinking about buying a house or condo. Well let me tell you what I think about that.......YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, being the financial secretary of the mission (actually right now I´m just the lame duck of the office) I will say that you make sure you measure out the pros and cons and take into account the whole budget before moving forward, but YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would save me lots and lots of stress and money. And Mom, you got a nursing interview! That´s awesome! You´ll do great! Really, I´m excited for you! They would be a bunch of tontos not to pick you! So you went to see William Joseph!? Cool beans! That sounds like a ton of fun. Pretty sure when I get home I am going to be looking all over for all of the cultural events around Utah. Being in Europe and especially being with Elder Castillo, you get really into a lot of cultural things. I love art museums, old historical sites, plays, recitals, anything that has to do with humanities and fine arts. I see the Lord´s hand in every single one of those things (in the case that they are wholesome and uplifting) I´ve started a bucketlist and two of my things so far are to 1: See a big show (like Broadway or the like) for every year of my married life, 2: Go to the Louvre. I have more, but those are my big artsy ones. I´m just an artsy guy. High cultured :) This last week for Pday (I may have already told you this) We went and saw a big horse show in Jerez. It was super cool! I don´t have pictures, but I have a way for you all to get access to some pictures that I don´t have yet! The Castillos have a blog! The URL is rodcastillo.blogspot.com They have a lot of pictures of events that I either did not have my camera at, or was too lazy to take pictures. It´s a lot of fun.
So things are going extremely well here. We have been assigned a new area and the work is moving forward rapidly. I wanted to share a quick miracle with you all. So a couple of days ago we went to Benalmádena (our new area) to meet with a member named Djeff (Jeff). We knew what building he lived in and kinda where it was, but his cell phone was broken and we did not know the door number. So we went hoping that the information that another elder had given to us was correct regarding the door number, and if not, we could just knock the whole building until we found him. So we got to the building and it was literally the most grand and spacious building I have ever seen (not in wickedness, just in size) It was 12 stories tall with at least 20 doors on every floor. For those of you that are slow with math, like me, that is at least 240 doors that we would have to knock to find Djeff. So we knocked the two doors that Elder Ericson had given us and neither of them belonged to Djeff. So we started calling every member we could think of.  But nobody knew where he lived. But one member said that she thought he lived on the 7th floor. So we went up to the 7th floor and kept on calling. When out of the blue walks Djeff coming out of his door. He had to run an errand in the exact moment that we were trying to contact him. We ran a quick errand with him and then came back to find a friend that was visiting with him. She wasn´t a member, but he had talked to her a lot about the church she had noticed many changes that she liked in him after being baptized. In a nutshell, she was just super prepared. She was very interested about finding out more and things were just perfect! We were definitely in the right place at the right time. It´s amazing to see how the Lord directs us to those that are prepared to receive the gospel. If we just listen and keep trying to find out his will, things work out. I hope you all have a great week and that things go well for each of you! I love you all a ton!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello Fam,

It was great to be able to talk and see you all on Mother´s Day. I love you all so much! You´re the greatest :) Basically I know what you all are up too, and it sounds like things are going well. Getting Skyler moved to a new place, and maybe getting me hooked up with the Deweys (that stinks about the Walkers though, big bummer). That would be chill to room with Skyler, hopefully I wouldn´t drive him crazy :) That makes me so happy that Grandma Carol is preparing to go to the temple! That is AWESOME!!!!! I hope that she´ll be able to be in my sealing, I hope all my family can! Don´t know when that will be, but it will be the icing on the top of the cake of happiness if they could all be there. Sounds like everybody is pretty busy. Going to movies, on dates, and to birthday parties. Very nice. So to answer your questions about how long I´ll be here. I just started training my replacement, so I´ll be in the office for another 3 weeks or so and then I will be heading out. I´m not sure where I´ll be heading, but I won´t be here in the office anymore. There are for sure some things I´ll miss about the office, really just the people in and around it, but I am SO excited to get back into the work in the field. It will be a great change. Things have changed here in the office though. We got assigned a new area. It is a small town right next to Fuen called Benalmádena. We will be working there and working with the English Branch also. We are excited for the change mostly because it gives us a concrete place to go when we aren´t sure where to go. It will be great. Things have calmed down enough here in the office so the missionaries should be able to get out at about 6 or 7 every day and work for the rest of the night. That will be a great blessing.
So this week we have been visiting with a lot of member and talking about, you guessed it, missionary work. One of the things that we have focused on is getting names of less actives, part member families, and really anyone they know that lives in our area. As we have done so, the Lord has, once again, brought something to my attention that I thought I had already understood. Through small and simple things are great things brought to pass. What does that mean? I always thought, yeah just going things like reading scriptures and stuff like that can change your life. And I don´t want to downplay that, because it is VERY true, but really there is so much more than just that. Before the mission I always thought that if I could teach with just the right amount of doctrine and testimony and personal experiences and commitments and all that stuff that people would just be lining up to take a dip in the font. But that´s not always the case. I have felt the Spirit testify so strongly to people and seen how they, almost physically, reacted to that, but still would not commit to do anything. Wait, didn´t we do what we are supposed to? Isn´t God supposed to change their hearts and draw them to the waters of baptism? That´s what we tend to think, but it´s just not always that way. You know what usually happens. A member mentions the church to a friend. That´s how it starts. Hey, what are you reading? Oh it´s a book called the Book of Mormon? What´s that? Well, its a book kinda like the bible....That friend comes to church. Listens to the lessons and gets baptized. And it all came from one example. One small and simple thing. One of the most amazingly spiritual experiences I have had happened just a few weeks ago. A member from the UK who has lived here in Spain for the last 10 or 11 years, who was quite active earlier on in life, but very less active in her time here in Spain, has come back to full fellowship in the church. She quit smoking and drinking alcohol, tea, and coffee all cold turkey. (I told you about this while we were talking on Skype) It was an absolute miracle. We had been teaching her and trying all sorts of things to get her to quit, the past missionary had done the same, and the members of the branch were constantly trying to help. But nothing seemed to work. After all we could think of and all we could do, the thing that she attribute the difference to was minuscule, in a sense. I had listened to a talk by Brad Wilcox, the father of a sister in our mission that I became good friends with in our time in Badajoz, thought it was great, and thought of Debbie when I heard it. I thought it would be something she needed and would like to hear. So I printed it off with the intention of giving it to her. After about a week of forgetting it in the office or forgetting to give it to her when I saw her, it finally reached it´s intended destination. And that is what she said changed her whole attitude and viewpoint on life. That is what caused the change in her heart. Let me get things straight, I take absolutely no credit for giving her the talk, it was all the Lord. Really I just feel bad that I´m such an imperfect servant and it took me so long to give it to her. But small and simple? Definitely. Something great brought to pass? One of the most amazing and beautiful miracles of my mission. So when we think about missionary work in our homes or even just trying to perfect ourselves and teach those around us. Remember, the Lord works through the small and simple things that we do, and he makes them great. I love you all, I hope you have a fantastic week and I will talk to you next Saturday!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello familia!

Hello familia!
Sorry about not getting to email you yesterday! Things got a little crazy. But I´m still alive! First things first, 9 o clock would work perfectly for skype. We can iron out any last second details next saturday right before we do it. I loved the pictures! They were all super fun! But Logan, it looks like your life is a little bit like mine right now :) But I´ll attach a picture of my that´s a little different. Sounds like things are going really well for everyone though! Numbers slow, awesome harp scholarships, fun dances, good grades, and Hershey track. Good work! Things are going well here too. Getting ready to be leaving the office probably some time soon here. But I guess you never know. But I´m just keeping on keeping on. Super pumped for a chance to get out into the "real" world of missionary life again.
So like I said, because things got crazy I wasn´t able to email you yesterday and today I don´t have that much time. I´m not sure what to write about today. Life has been moving at 200 kilometers per hour, but I wouldn´t have it anyway else. You know I think on thing I could talk about was something I felt today. Being in the office is hard for a few reasons. One of the main ones is that at times you really don´t feel much like a missionary. Some days I feel like I´m coming into work. And I don´t even get weekends off! So there have been moments where I have felt kinda like I´m not doing what I was called to do and that I´m wasting my time. Usually I get over it pretty quick by reminding myself that without us the mission wouldn´t move forward, but the other night I started thinking about it a lot. The Lord didn´t really give me an answer until today. As I sat in fast and testimony meeting Sis Deere (the mission president´s wife) gave her testimony. I don´t remember exactly what she talked about the whole time, but one of the subjects was the little ways that we show our faith. She mentioned a lot of things but one of them was coming on a mission. In that moment I got an overwhelming feeling. Yeah, maybe I´m not doing exactly what I expected to be doing before the mission, but I made the choice to come and came on the mission. There is no way that the Lord would be angry with me or disappointed, because really, how many young men are doing what I am doing right now? He is grateful for every missionary who leaves his family for whatever period of time. And he loves each and every one of us more fully than we understand. When we don´t feel like we are doing enough, we just need to remember that. That he is grateful for every little thing that we do to show our faith. If that is having scripture study with our families every night, no matter how much of a nightmare it turns out to be and how little spiritual feeding we get from it. For every family home evening even though the activity ends up in a fight. Every time we got to church even if the kids are screaming in the back of the chapel. Every little effort is not lost on Him. And each one is marked in heaven. So keep doing good! Keep trying! It might not work out exactly how you expected it, but when you desire to serve the Lord and show him your love, you are making Him happy. I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! I will talk to you next Sunday :)
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint


By the way, AJ looks great! Holy Cow! You´ll have to tell him this: I showed the picture to Haleigh Flake (A sister in our mission) and she´s definitely thinking twice about that boyfriend she left at home ;) Give him a huge hug and tell him it´s from me. I´m excited to see him again soon.

Easter

So I have no idea who the new Bishop is, but that´s cool, no biggie. And I still can´t believe AJ gets back this week! That blows my mind! I wasn´t sure if Cassidy got home before me. Sounds like just a few days, if it is the middle of October! That will be crazy. And no worries, I´m not trunky. I´m pretty resilient :) Mom, good luck on getting into the program, I know you can! And I was so happy that Dad got his article published that I actually shouted "yes!" when I read it. And then I told Elder Castillo and everyone and they were all pumped too. Let me know the results of the numbers, no matter what they are, okay? Thanks! So Ammon, you´re going to Prom this week! Nice. I forgot who the girl was already, because I don´t think I know her, but send me a picture! I mean it, this time. You guys failed miserably on your assignment by the way. SO like any good missionary I shall commit you to doing it once again. This week I want a picture from every member of the family. The picture should describe, in brief what it is that is your main focus, hobby, etc. right now. Basically just summarizing your current life in a picture. I expect to have them all turned in by next week. Thank you.
So kinda a fun thought this week about faith. I don´t have a lot of time to write today, so this might be a little shorter than normal, just to let you know. But this week I was talking to Hermana Castillo a little bit about lots of things really. She was a nurse in the emergency room and is the nurse of the mission, so we often talk about medical type things. One of the things she mentioned about the connections between people believing they are getting better and their actual recovery. Basically the Placebo effect. They give you a pill that does nothing and it ends up working because you believe that it is. My whole time learning about that I have always just thought of it as a mind over matter thing. That the mind can overcome the physical of the body, but Hermana Castillo kind of put a spin on that theory. She said, the placebo effect is basically just scientific proof that faith really works. And that is so true. What cures the people? Their faith that it will work. Whether that be faith in the medicine or the doctor or whatever, it is still a hope for something that they cannot see that is true. And how much more powerful could it all be (and the placebo effect is quite powerful) if that faith was focused in on Christ? That´s where miracles begin. And just like a person receiving a medicine, they can´t be 100% sure that they will be cured from the sickness, but they can be pretty sure that it will do it´s job. With Christ, we can´t be 100% sure that things will turn out smoothly, the way we expect, but we can be 100% sure that He will do his job with us. I love being able to testify of Christ and to tell people that I know he is mindful of us, because I have felt it. We can´t be positive that things will work out how we want them to, but we can be positive that our Savior is there by our side no matter what happens. I know he is there for all of you. I love you all so, so, so much. I miss you and pray for you. I´ll see you in a couple of week on Mother´s Day!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello family!

Hello family!
Things are going well here. Not much new. I want on a huge hike today and I am super tired! We climbed to the top of a mountain called La Concha. I have pictures and will send some. But my camera was dying, so the good ones are on another camera. So I´m super jealous of you all going to the temple. Just to let you know. That is one of the things I miss the most (other than people). Have a good time there! And every time you go just remember how privileged you are to have a temple so close! And that you can actually go. So I need some detes from the life of my big college brotha. You´re in an apartment with a few roomates right? Who are they and what are they like? And are you dating any ladies? Detes brotha, detes. I can´t believe AJ gets back next week! That blows my mind. I kinda lost some contact with him for the last little while, I hope he´s doing good. Send me pics so I can see how it´s going. And I want some pics from Ammon´s choir tour. I just want to see what you all are doing in a series of photos. So that is your assignment this week. Each member of the family has to send me a photo that describes what they are doing right now. And I will follow up, I learned that from Elder Ballard (and a thousand other times form Preach My Gospel) So you better do it!
So I don´t have much time, but seeing that it is one of the best chances of the year to share testimony of the Savior, that´s what I want to do right now. You know, I thought I had a pretty strong testimony before the mission, and really I did. But my surety and more than anything my confidence and trust in the Savior and his eternal sacrifice have been strengthened tenfold. I know that He lived and that He lives. I know without a doubt that He actually suffered for every single one of us. I know that He walked this earth just like any one of us, but He lived a life that would save us all. I have felt His love and strength. I have felt His supporting hand and his goodness. I have given my all to Him and have felt everything that I need in return. I trust Him fully, I love Him with all I am, and I´m finally starting to understand what it is He wants us to do when we mess up. His sacrifice is infinite, and I am so grateful that for a sinner and a wretch like me, that He will give fully of His grace and love. It´s a love I´m still trying to understand. But I know that it is real, and I know that as we strive to do the same, to love others like he did, that we will be able to see ourselves and everyone else with His eyes. I testify of Him, and I do so in His name, the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint

Hello familia

Hello familia,
Sounds like things are a little crazy. Those rebellious UVU students! I can´t believe that. Well I can, but that´s stupid. We justify so many things! But one of the things I´ve learned on my mission is that you can´t really lie to yourself. I mean you can, but what´s the point. So why lie to anybody? You know it´s not true, so why try to fake it. Unless it´s an awesome prank. Then you just avoid the exact truth until prank works out and then you tell them the whole truth :) Just kidding...kind of :) So General Conference was basically amazing. I loved it! Super spiritually uplifting, super awesome. I took like a thousand pages of notes and I haven´t even watched the last session yet! So we´re getting a new bishop huh? Wouldn´t it just be super awesomely ironic if Dad was called :) One more thing on the plate ;) But that´s pretty exciting. And if Dad does get called, we´ll just be grateful like Pres. Uchtdorf taught.
Micah´s rocking the school, Logan´s rockin the sports, and Ammon´s rocking it with the ladies. Good work boys, good work. And Skyler is just silent! I haven´t heard anything from him, hope school is going well. And the girls are silent also. But that´s cool. No biggie. Things are good here. I´m getting more and more ready to leave the office every day, but I know that my time here is a wonderful blessing. It´s great to be able to serve the other missionaries, I just want to be able to get out and preach the gospel. I´m pretty sure I´m going to fire out of the office like a cannon. It´ll be hard to get back into the swing of things (especially the walking, I think I´m going to die!) but I´ll have so much ganas that it won´t even matter! I´m pumped.
So a thought for the week. I hope you like hearing my thoughts, if not, too bad, because you´re my family and you´re stuck with me for eternity :) And if you are just a good friend tuning in, you´re not safe either. I heard a wonderful quote that said, "Friendships, like families, are eternal." Now, they´re not nearly as binding or full of promise, but you all are going to have to put up with me for a long time :) So I hope you enjoy it, if not, I apologize for my ramblings. This week with General Conference and everything I´ve been doing a lot of self reflection. I´ve been thinking about my faults and my strengths. What I do well and what I need to work on. There are lists for both of the sides, and I don´t necessarily want to bore you with either one of those lists, but I do want to talk about something that I´ve come to realize. I´ve spent so much of my life focusing on what I´m not. I´m not cool or popular. I´m not as talented as him or her. I´m not as smart as that guy. I´m not worthy, I´m not good enough. And when I look at other people, I see that they have the same struggle. We all think that everyone else is better than us. But we tend to compare our worst with everyone else´s best. And see things through a fun room mirror. But that´s not who we really are. We are not defined by our failures in the Lord´s eyes, nor should we define ourselves by them. We are defined by our potential and what we are becoming. It is good to understand that we are not perfect. Humility is key to progression. But sitting moping about what we are not, or how bad we messed up dams our progress. I loved President Uchtdorf´s talk I think last conference about getting back up after we fall. Elder Castillo often asks, "What´s your bounce-back time?" How long does it take you to get back up when you´ve fallen? That´s the proof of our desire to change and follow the Lord. So what´s our bounce-back time? A day, two days? And hour? Or are falling and getting back up almost one smooth motion? Can we move forward and do better? Of course we can! I love you all and hope you learned as much as I did from General Conference. Have a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint




And PS my favorite talks probably were the one´s from Priesthood session. But I really learned a lot from every single one, so it´s hard to say.
Me and Elder Dansie found Sión (Zion). I didn´t know that it was a pub :)