Hey family!
So question. Why am I getting two letters now, and why aren´t any of the children writing? I mean I get it, your tired of having to write your lame older brother, but come on guys! I wanna hear from you! And I am getting your emails Dad, but I usually just respond to both in one letter. Not that I don´t love you all the same, but it takes a long time to write my essay length letters to you all and doing more than one would just not work. So I shall continue to write one letter and if anyone has a problem with it, they can just come up here to spain and fight me. (Good luck getting enough money to get the ticket :) ) So I need to clear something up. I want to make sure that everyone knows that I didn´t come up with that facebook metaphor, Elder Castillo did. Just so we´re clear. I´m cool, but I´m not that cool :) So you got to see the Light in the Piazza, great music. Don´t know the show too well, but I know it´s something about a girl with some kind of mental disorder (?) who falls in love in Italy or something...right? Or maybe I´m just crazy. Her mom is there too, right? I don´t know. But I didn´t know that it was an operetta! Just like Les Mis or Phantom. Very cool. SO the Seahawks are in the superbowl. I didn´t even realize that the superbowl was coming up soon! American Football is about as popular here as Cricket is in the states, so basically I never hear anything about it. But hopefully they take it this year (unless of course they are playing against the Eagles). So things are going well here in España. We had a few investigators show up out of nowhere this week. One is a guy named Obiora from Nigeria. He speaks English and just showed up in our ward last Sunday. We had a pretty good lesson with him on Thursday and hopefully he will be in church again tomorrow. Also we had an old investigator call us and ask for a triple. So we gave them one and will be meeting with them next week. They said they wanted to come to church too. Kinda of a few cool little experiences.
So just to answer a few questions. My schedule on pdays now is a little different. Because computer access is so easy for us we usually email a little later in the day. Usually sometime between 3 and 6 is when we do email. So that´s that. But things really are going really well. I´m really happy here.
So a few thoughts for the week. I had a good talk with my comp about trials and faith. As we talked I started thinking a lot about trust. You know life is not always easy. It really isn´t. Sometimes it´s really hard. And when it is we wonder, why me? Why now? And why isn´t the Lord listening? And as I thought it really all came back to two things, really just one thing. Faith. Faith and trust (which is really part of faith). There is a story that Elder Bednar tells about a young father that was contracted with some kind of disease and as he talked to Elder Bednar, he asked him, "do you have faith enough, NOT to be healed?" And that is what real faith really is. Being able to set aside everything you have and trust in the will of God. I remember during Les Mis that Craig and I had to do a trust fall. It comes in the red and black scene when his character is kinda making fun of mine and he swoops around and I have to catch him with one arm. We practiced it so many times and got so good at it, that he could come up to me in the hall way, swing around and I would catch him with one arm. That was a lot of trust. And that really is the kind of trust we have to have in our father in heaven, but even more so. We have to trust him enough to let us fall sometimes. It´s an interesting relationship. He´s unpredictable. We never really know what is going to happen, but what we can be sure of, 100% sure of, is that no matter what happens, it is for our benefit. Even though we don´t understand it. And you know, we might not understand it here. That´s where the trust comes in again. As I´ve prayed recently, when I ask for something, instead of asking Lord please help this to happen, please make this do this or whatever. I kind of say, well Lord, you know my vote, but no matter what happens, I´ll figure it out. We can´t change his will, and we shouldn´t want to. Prayer and our relationship with him truly strengthens when we just accept whatever it is he has on the plate for us. It´s hard to do, but when we do we can live with the peace that no matter what happens, in the end, it will all work out. I love you all and hope you have an awesome week.
Love,
Elder Charlie Flint
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Hello family!
Things seem to be going really well over there in the states. Things are going quite well here too. I´m really starting to feel how big our mission really is. With 225 missionaries and about 100 apartments that I take care of, things are a little crazy. I have felt this week like I´ve had an endless pile of work. I´ll get done with a huge project just to look down and see another one staring me in the face. But no biggie, it has just meant some long days of working really hard. It´s kinda nice to have a work in which the success can be measured, but I miss the in field work. But the Lord has me where he needs me, there is no doubt about that. I´ve learned that I learn quickly. Elder Norton (my predecessor) left a lot of work. Not that he left things undone, he had just done a lot and made lots of big things happen. And the only way that it could have all kept going is with someone who´s learning curve was small, and mine was. I´m still learning, but on the go now. And that´s the way I like it.
So I was definitely thinking about Bro Roby when I started thinking about criminal psychology. I´d definitely want to do a little bit of interning or research there if I could figure it out. But I have a million ideas running through my head every day and I seem to change my mind every 20 minutes. So I finally decided just to stop thinking about it. I´ll worry about that elephant in the room when it´s right up in my face :) Good work carrying on the Harry Potter car Micah! It looks quite similar to mine. I think I still have mine somewhere. But that´s awesome. Sorry you didn´t win, I never did either. It was always those kids that had the ferrari car that kind of looks like they bought it online. But no biggie.
So yeah, I was pretty sure you would have that schedule :) No biggie, I give you permission now to call me whenever you want. But just like I tell the missionaries here, if I don´t get back to you it´s because I´m really busy (or it´s my pday and I just don´t want to worry about other missionary problems until after pday :) ) But if you call 3 times in a row I´ll know it´s an emergency and call back.
So eating vegetables is eating babies. That´s dark. But funny :) I like it. I´ve been eating lots more vegetables actually and just bought two zuchini. I finally got a zuchini bread recipe (no thanks to you guys, thanks Liz!) and I was thinking about making it, but then I realized that there were quite a few things I don´t have and didn´t buy. So I might just make some random zuchini foods this week. And I´m eating lots of salads. They have really good salads here and they make me happy. I just don´t have money for meat to be honest. Maybe I´ll become a vegetarian...psych! Yeah I´ll become a vegetarian only when the heavens rain down and God stands from his throne and says THOU SHALT NOT EAT MEAT. Then I´ll be like, FINE! But for now, I´m happy whenever I can get it. I probably could get it now, but I don´t have a lot of time or imagination to cook. So I buy paella in a bag and heat it up or make a salad or pasta or something simple like that. I made german pancakes the other day (thanks again Liz!) And they were quite delicious. I´ve decided I´ll eat basically anything now. Mom you should have seen what I had for a snack the other day and thoroughly enjoyed. It was sliced up tomato with salt on it and green olives. Yep that was it. It was delicious. After eating it I realized how much I used to hate both of those foods and laughed. I guess tastes change. Sugar and candy has become less appealing also. Weird right? The only thing that draws my attention are peanut butter and chocolate candies. Mmm. Well I´m making myself hungry and really don´t know how I got on this subject, so I just wanted to add a spiritual thought.
I was in priesthood the other day and a scripture was read that I had never really paid attention to before. It was right after Christ´s resurrection. He says to Mary "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." What got me thinking was the emphasis he put on the fact that God is his God AND our God, HIS Father and OUR Father. It made me think about my relationship with our Heavenly Father. What is it like? What are it´s strengths? It´s weaknesses? How can I improve it? I asked that question while teaching a sunday school class the other day. How can we really come to improve and have a relationship with God? With someone that we have never met (on this earth) and maybe never will? And Elder Castillo (incredible man) says, "well just like you get to know other people you haven´t really met, facebook." And we were like, "What?" And he says, "Yeah, like facebook. First you have to send a request. Get down on your knees and let Him know that you want to be friends. After he accepts it (and he always does), how do you find out more about him? Well from his wall. You read what others have written about him and what he has said about himself (scriptures). How else? Well you look for mutual friends, other people that you know that know him (church). Then once you build up the courage you can start a chat with him. The cool thing is he´s always on line." And we were like, " That was a really good metaphor :)" But really it is just that simple. To come closer, learn of him, and talk to him. Christ is really our perfect example of that. He had a perfect relationship with the Father. For that purpose I find it incredible that in His moment of greatest suffering He called out to his Father using the term Abba, which is a familiar form of the word Father, basically he called him Dad or Daddy. That is His truest and fullest relationship with us. That of a Father. "of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to Deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father." - Quorum of the Twelve. I love him and he loves all of you, and so do I. Have a wonderful week and remember always that you have an earthly Father, earthly Brother, earthly Mother and other family and a Heavenly Father that love you dearly.
Love,
Elder Charlie Flint
Things seem to be going really well over there in the states. Things are going quite well here too. I´m really starting to feel how big our mission really is. With 225 missionaries and about 100 apartments that I take care of, things are a little crazy. I have felt this week like I´ve had an endless pile of work. I´ll get done with a huge project just to look down and see another one staring me in the face. But no biggie, it has just meant some long days of working really hard. It´s kinda nice to have a work in which the success can be measured, but I miss the in field work. But the Lord has me where he needs me, there is no doubt about that. I´ve learned that I learn quickly. Elder Norton (my predecessor) left a lot of work. Not that he left things undone, he had just done a lot and made lots of big things happen. And the only way that it could have all kept going is with someone who´s learning curve was small, and mine was. I´m still learning, but on the go now. And that´s the way I like it.
So I was definitely thinking about Bro Roby when I started thinking about criminal psychology. I´d definitely want to do a little bit of interning or research there if I could figure it out. But I have a million ideas running through my head every day and I seem to change my mind every 20 minutes. So I finally decided just to stop thinking about it. I´ll worry about that elephant in the room when it´s right up in my face :) Good work carrying on the Harry Potter car Micah! It looks quite similar to mine. I think I still have mine somewhere. But that´s awesome. Sorry you didn´t win, I never did either. It was always those kids that had the ferrari car that kind of looks like they bought it online. But no biggie.
So yeah, I was pretty sure you would have that schedule :) No biggie, I give you permission now to call me whenever you want. But just like I tell the missionaries here, if I don´t get back to you it´s because I´m really busy (or it´s my pday and I just don´t want to worry about other missionary problems until after pday :) ) But if you call 3 times in a row I´ll know it´s an emergency and call back.
So eating vegetables is eating babies. That´s dark. But funny :) I like it. I´ve been eating lots more vegetables actually and just bought two zuchini. I finally got a zuchini bread recipe (no thanks to you guys, thanks Liz!) and I was thinking about making it, but then I realized that there were quite a few things I don´t have and didn´t buy. So I might just make some random zuchini foods this week. And I´m eating lots of salads. They have really good salads here and they make me happy. I just don´t have money for meat to be honest. Maybe I´ll become a vegetarian...psych! Yeah I´ll become a vegetarian only when the heavens rain down and God stands from his throne and says THOU SHALT NOT EAT MEAT. Then I´ll be like, FINE! But for now, I´m happy whenever I can get it. I probably could get it now, but I don´t have a lot of time or imagination to cook. So I buy paella in a bag and heat it up or make a salad or pasta or something simple like that. I made german pancakes the other day (thanks again Liz!) And they were quite delicious. I´ve decided I´ll eat basically anything now. Mom you should have seen what I had for a snack the other day and thoroughly enjoyed. It was sliced up tomato with salt on it and green olives. Yep that was it. It was delicious. After eating it I realized how much I used to hate both of those foods and laughed. I guess tastes change. Sugar and candy has become less appealing also. Weird right? The only thing that draws my attention are peanut butter and chocolate candies. Mmm. Well I´m making myself hungry and really don´t know how I got on this subject, so I just wanted to add a spiritual thought.
I was in priesthood the other day and a scripture was read that I had never really paid attention to before. It was right after Christ´s resurrection. He says to Mary "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." What got me thinking was the emphasis he put on the fact that God is his God AND our God, HIS Father and OUR Father. It made me think about my relationship with our Heavenly Father. What is it like? What are it´s strengths? It´s weaknesses? How can I improve it? I asked that question while teaching a sunday school class the other day. How can we really come to improve and have a relationship with God? With someone that we have never met (on this earth) and maybe never will? And Elder Castillo (incredible man) says, "well just like you get to know other people you haven´t really met, facebook." And we were like, "What?" And he says, "Yeah, like facebook. First you have to send a request. Get down on your knees and let Him know that you want to be friends. After he accepts it (and he always does), how do you find out more about him? Well from his wall. You read what others have written about him and what he has said about himself (scriptures). How else? Well you look for mutual friends, other people that you know that know him (church). Then once you build up the courage you can start a chat with him. The cool thing is he´s always on line." And we were like, " That was a really good metaphor :)" But really it is just that simple. To come closer, learn of him, and talk to him. Christ is really our perfect example of that. He had a perfect relationship with the Father. For that purpose I find it incredible that in His moment of greatest suffering He called out to his Father using the term Abba, which is a familiar form of the word Father, basically he called him Dad or Daddy. That is His truest and fullest relationship with us. That of a Father. "of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to Deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father." - Quorum of the Twelve. I love him and he loves all of you, and so do I. Have a wonderful week and remember always that you have an earthly Father, earthly Brother, earthly Mother and other family and a Heavenly Father that love you dearly.
Love,
Elder Charlie Flint
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Hello family!
First off. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTHHHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful day! I can´t believe you are 7! That means you´ll be able to be baptized in one year! (You can tell where my head is right? Maybe we should wait a year so the missionaries can have an investigator baptism ;) ) So Skyler is living out in the big bad world with a bunch of swearing kids. Oh geez. Hopefully they won´t be the ones that live there. I´m pretty sure the swear words would shock me a bunch. The Spanish swear words I´m used to, but anytime I hear a Brit using an english swear, I´m like, Ah! That´s bad! And you got him a cell phone? Wow. Was it a sweet one? I want the iPhone 5S when I get home. I mean it has a thumb print reading machine to unlock it, that´s so insanely cool! But it´s also quite expensive. Maybe it will be cheaper when I get home :) Good work on checking up on him, I´m sure he loved all the constant calls during class and stuff :) Just kidding, I´m sure you didn´t call during class, you just had the schedule figured out and knew exactly when he would be walking from one class to the other :) You know, I´m really excited for school. I´ve gained a new desire and love for studying and learning new things. I love learning new things. But I´m still kinda deciding what I want to be when I grow up. One thing I´ve thought about recently, tell me what you think (and don´t candy coat it :) ). I´ve been thinking a lot about criminal psychology. Like profiling and working with criminal cases. I don´t know why I´ve been thinking about that, but I feel like I would be good at it and would be able to help a lot of people that way. I´ve learned on the mission that I am really good at understanding how people think and what they would think or do in specific situations. Now, I know it would be a strange, dark place to go into a criminal´s mind, but someone has to do it. And with the knowledge that I have of the gospel, I feel like that would keep me sane. I don´t know. I´m thinking about doing 100 other things too, that´s just one that is on the top of my list right now. But there will be plenty of time to think about the later (well kind of ). So today we did something really fun. Elder Castillo texted us yesterday and said to be at his house at 10:30 in the morning today for pday. We thought it was going to be to do some service or something, because that´s what has normally been for the elders in the past. But we got there with the APs and Elder Castillo started taking us somewhere. We had no idea what we were doing until we drove into a go cart track. Yep I just went go carting in SPAIN! Craziness. And then right afterward he took us to play mini golf. He said the work to fun ratio in the office was a little out of balance and that we needed to go play. So we did. And hard. It was awesome! It was probably the most fun I´ve had in months. That Elder Castillo is just awesome. He knows exactly what we need after a few weeks of hard HARD until 3 in the morning work. Best Pday ever! Well I hope you all have a wonderful week and things go spectacularly for you all!. I love you all so much!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint
First off. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTHHHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful day! I can´t believe you are 7! That means you´ll be able to be baptized in one year! (You can tell where my head is right? Maybe we should wait a year so the missionaries can have an investigator baptism ;) ) So Skyler is living out in the big bad world with a bunch of swearing kids. Oh geez. Hopefully they won´t be the ones that live there. I´m pretty sure the swear words would shock me a bunch. The Spanish swear words I´m used to, but anytime I hear a Brit using an english swear, I´m like, Ah! That´s bad! And you got him a cell phone? Wow. Was it a sweet one? I want the iPhone 5S when I get home. I mean it has a thumb print reading machine to unlock it, that´s so insanely cool! But it´s also quite expensive. Maybe it will be cheaper when I get home :) Good work on checking up on him, I´m sure he loved all the constant calls during class and stuff :) Just kidding, I´m sure you didn´t call during class, you just had the schedule figured out and knew exactly when he would be walking from one class to the other :) You know, I´m really excited for school. I´ve gained a new desire and love for studying and learning new things. I love learning new things. But I´m still kinda deciding what I want to be when I grow up. One thing I´ve thought about recently, tell me what you think (and don´t candy coat it :) ). I´ve been thinking a lot about criminal psychology. Like profiling and working with criminal cases. I don´t know why I´ve been thinking about that, but I feel like I would be good at it and would be able to help a lot of people that way. I´ve learned on the mission that I am really good at understanding how people think and what they would think or do in specific situations. Now, I know it would be a strange, dark place to go into a criminal´s mind, but someone has to do it. And with the knowledge that I have of the gospel, I feel like that would keep me sane. I don´t know. I´m thinking about doing 100 other things too, that´s just one that is on the top of my list right now. But there will be plenty of time to think about the later (well kind of ). So today we did something really fun. Elder Castillo texted us yesterday and said to be at his house at 10:30 in the morning today for pday. We thought it was going to be to do some service or something, because that´s what has normally been for the elders in the past. But we got there with the APs and Elder Castillo started taking us somewhere. We had no idea what we were doing until we drove into a go cart track. Yep I just went go carting in SPAIN! Craziness. And then right afterward he took us to play mini golf. He said the work to fun ratio in the office was a little out of balance and that we needed to go play. So we did. And hard. It was awesome! It was probably the most fun I´ve had in months. That Elder Castillo is just awesome. He knows exactly what we need after a few weeks of hard HARD until 3 in the morning work. Best Pday ever! Well I hope you all have a wonderful week and things go spectacularly for you all!. I love you all so much!
Con amor,
Elder Charlie Flint
Sunday, January 5, 2014
HELLLLOOOOOO!
How´s it going? Sounds like New Years was super fun for you all! For me it was good too. We actually were working a ton that day, but we took a break to go eat dinner at a memebers house and then go do a ward party. Here in spain they have a tradition that before the last strike of midnight (or really with all the strikes of the bell) you have to eat 12 grapes. So BONG...eat a grape...BONG...eat a grape...BONG...and so forth. It was fun, but the member who gave us the grapes neglected to tell us that they had seeds in them. So it was a crunchy bunch of grapes, but it was fun. The only thing I really missed was the super good junk food we eat. I mean we still got shrimp, because that´s a classic here on New Years, but I was dying for some roasted red pepper dip. Maybe I´ll see if I can try to make some sometime. Sounds like Grandma´s was fun. It´s weird to think that you guys are going on with your normal lives, I don´t even know what normal is anymore :) But things are going really well. This week we have transfers so the last two nights we have been up until about 2 in the morning buying tickets and figuring out how people are going to get all over the southern half of Spain. Ugh! So I´m a bit tired, but not too bad. It´s weird to be out so late. I feel super jack. (disobedient) But you´ve gotta do what you´ve gotta do, and right now that´s what we have to do. But I think late nights are over. So no worries. So I was talking to the Castillos (a senior couple who works here in the office, they are amazing!) and we were just kinda talking about life and things and we started talking about dad a bit. They know just about everything that´s happening in the mission with all the missionaries, so they basically knew what was going on. Like I´ve said before, I´ve really come to grips with everything, but it was nice to just talk really real about it. Hermana Castillo asked and I said something about it being a really big learning experience, and she said, "So that translated basically means it really stinks." And I was like, Yeah, basically :) I mean it does suck, but you just keep moving forward. It was a great life lesson. There is no reason to candy coat anything, say it like it is and keep going forward. Lying to yourself about how you feel about it just keeps you down. But when you realize it´s natural and okay to want to shout to the heavens, why us? Why now? WHY? and then you do it, and then move forward, you feel a lot better. Dad, you´ve always been a great example of that. I mean you don´t mince your words, you say it like it is, and then you keep going. I´ve never heard you complain once more than you deserved to, and that´s really what it is. We should have the chance to get mad, get sad, and just let it out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. When you loose your trust or faith in the Lord, that´s when the problems start. So, what did I learn? Scream, cry, get sad, get mad when you need to, and then MOVE FORWARD! That´s life. I mean with the record we have in our family I´m due to peace out before 60, might as well live 60 years of an awesome, exciting, impacting life! That may seem kinda pessimistic, but the way I see it, it´s not at all. I mean we have eternity, a few years less here doesn´t seem like too big a deal with that in the background. And really who knows? We could live 120 years or go tomorrow, but we´re here right now, what are we doing? I love you all and invite you to think about that. We´re here, so what are we doing? Hopefully something AWESOME!
Love you all,
Elder Charlie Flint
PS I got packages from Terri, and the Billats, but nothing from Liz yet. I did get my permit too, thanks for that! Let the Billats know I say thank you. I would like to send them a thank you card, but I may not be able to, because of poorness and lack of time :) Thanks for everything! Love you!
How´s it going? Sounds like New Years was super fun for you all! For me it was good too. We actually were working a ton that day, but we took a break to go eat dinner at a memebers house and then go do a ward party. Here in spain they have a tradition that before the last strike of midnight (or really with all the strikes of the bell) you have to eat 12 grapes. So BONG...eat a grape...BONG...eat a grape...BONG...and so forth. It was fun, but the member who gave us the grapes neglected to tell us that they had seeds in them. So it was a crunchy bunch of grapes, but it was fun. The only thing I really missed was the super good junk food we eat. I mean we still got shrimp, because that´s a classic here on New Years, but I was dying for some roasted red pepper dip. Maybe I´ll see if I can try to make some sometime. Sounds like Grandma´s was fun. It´s weird to think that you guys are going on with your normal lives, I don´t even know what normal is anymore :) But things are going really well. This week we have transfers so the last two nights we have been up until about 2 in the morning buying tickets and figuring out how people are going to get all over the southern half of Spain. Ugh! So I´m a bit tired, but not too bad. It´s weird to be out so late. I feel super jack. (disobedient) But you´ve gotta do what you´ve gotta do, and right now that´s what we have to do. But I think late nights are over. So no worries. So I was talking to the Castillos (a senior couple who works here in the office, they are amazing!) and we were just kinda talking about life and things and we started talking about dad a bit. They know just about everything that´s happening in the mission with all the missionaries, so they basically knew what was going on. Like I´ve said before, I´ve really come to grips with everything, but it was nice to just talk really real about it. Hermana Castillo asked and I said something about it being a really big learning experience, and she said, "So that translated basically means it really stinks." And I was like, Yeah, basically :) I mean it does suck, but you just keep moving forward. It was a great life lesson. There is no reason to candy coat anything, say it like it is and keep going forward. Lying to yourself about how you feel about it just keeps you down. But when you realize it´s natural and okay to want to shout to the heavens, why us? Why now? WHY? and then you do it, and then move forward, you feel a lot better. Dad, you´ve always been a great example of that. I mean you don´t mince your words, you say it like it is, and then you keep going. I´ve never heard you complain once more than you deserved to, and that´s really what it is. We should have the chance to get mad, get sad, and just let it out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. When you loose your trust or faith in the Lord, that´s when the problems start. So, what did I learn? Scream, cry, get sad, get mad when you need to, and then MOVE FORWARD! That´s life. I mean with the record we have in our family I´m due to peace out before 60, might as well live 60 years of an awesome, exciting, impacting life! That may seem kinda pessimistic, but the way I see it, it´s not at all. I mean we have eternity, a few years less here doesn´t seem like too big a deal with that in the background. And really who knows? We could live 120 years or go tomorrow, but we´re here right now, what are we doing? I love you all and invite you to think about that. We´re here, so what are we doing? Hopefully something AWESOME!
Love you all,
Elder Charlie Flint
PS I got packages from Terri, and the Billats, but nothing from Liz yet. I did get my permit too, thanks for that! Let the Billats know I say thank you. I would like to send them a thank you card, but I may not be able to, because of poorness and lack of time :) Thanks for everything! Love you!
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