from russia with love.

He made it perfectly clear that his next letter will be sent from Russia with love.

That's right. 

Our sweet Elder Flitton is making his way to RUSSIA tomorrow morning!!

He is undeniably excited and cannot wait to finally get into the field and teach some Russians!

He has had a fantastic last two weeks in the MTC.

He was released as Zone Leader, trained the new zone leader, and started packing all of his things and getting ready for the mother land.

His language, he says, is sufficient. He knows all of the lessons and could recite them in his sleep, but he is mostly nervous about the regular conversations. 

And that is where the Lord comes in. Keat has such undying faith. It is truly inspiring.

His letters have been so great, he has changed. He is definitely becoming a man, and I absolutely love it!

Of course he is the same old Keat we all love so much, and always will be. But if these last two months are any indication of the enormous growth that will take place in the next 22 months, we are all in for a treat!

Please keep Keat and the Elders in your prayers for their safe travels and arrival to Yekaterinburg!

I promise these updates will be more consistent. 

And there may or may not be a post about a certain phone call that happens in just a few short hours :)

"In quiet moments, when you think about it, you recognize what is critically important in life and what isn't. Be wise, and don't let good things crowd out those that are essential."

-Richard G. Scott

2 months has come and gone.

I haven't been doing a very good job at keeping this updated, have I?

It's ok, because the last two weeks were "letter-less" so I didn't have anything to blog about!

BUT, I did receive a surprise at my house last Saturday!

Voice recording, pictures AND a letter!

The voice recording was quite impressive. He spoke in russian the majority of the time. I was lost and had no idea what he was saying except when he would throw my name in there at random times. He has come such a long way with his language! It was incredible to listen to him. He sounds like a completely different person...in a good way, of course. 

I wish I knew what he was saying so I could share it with you guys, but I don't.

All I know is that when he was bearing his testimony, even though I had no clue what he was saying, I knew that he was speaking the truth. Keaton is such an inspiring person. His testimony is so solid and true. He is an outstanding missionary.

All of his roommates gave me a little shout-out.

They are all pretty hilarious guys. I am so happy and relieved that they all get along so well.

On Thanksgiving, they got to participate in a service project. They filled injury/first aide kits. Keaton and his companion were in charge of it for their district. He was excited to do it and knew it was going to be fun!

...no word on how their dinner was though. I will keep you posted.

"This is serious work."

"I have this memorized in Russian!"

"This is a real cute smile."

"He loves me."

They are such good friends

Elder Flitton, Elder Lambert, Elder Holmes, and Elder Zacherl

"I'm so organized."

all of the case endings to all of the russian words. yuck.

Halloween!! Elder Flitton is the Frankenstein

Look at that combover!! What a cutie.

So after my break, I returned to Logan and to my surprise, there was another letter waiting for me!!!

This one had another picture of his whole district, I will scan and share in the next post!

This letter just talked about his temple experiences and more personal experiences that he has had. 

He also talked about being a 4-square champion and how he considers himself one of the elite...oh gosh.

He is teaching for 40 minutes, completely in Russian! He is loving it and gaining more and more confidence!

Last week's devotional was one of the presidents of the Seventy. 

"He talked about the importance of the apostasy. It reaffirmed that this is the true church. God inspired the founding fathers with the constitution so that the church could be established. He inspired Christopher Columbus, Columbus even said that they Holy Ghost  told him to make a voyage to the other side of the world. Satan did all he could to stop the works."
He then tells me the story of Joseph Smith being shot at when he was 13 years old. The bullet barely missed him and shot a cow. No one knows who tried to kill Joseph, but it was definitely Satan.He knew that this would be the boy that would change everything. This church is true. 

 He then bore his testimony. Gets me every time. 

I am so grateful to have a best friend who is so diligent and willing to serve the Lord. 

What an amazing example Keaton is. 

Only two and a half more weeks until he is in RUSSIA!!!!

Ether 12:27

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weaknesses. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Drawings.

Like I said, 

I have gotten some pretty entertaining drawings from our sweet missionary.

He definitely isn't picasso, but he tries.

They never fail to put a smile on my face.

Of course he asked about the world series.
I may have played a little joke and told him his Angels won...
He didn't believe me for one second.

Each letter we write, we do the ABC's of this experience,
and this week he must have run out of D words because these 3 were at the
bottom of his list.

yes, you are seeing this right.
that says "Dutchmen".
Where does he come up with these things??

I couldn't help but giggle when I saw this!!
At least he gave an explanation...

:)

His rendition of the Provo Temple.
Seems pretty accurate to me!

He was so sweet to send me a lucky penny.
He knew I had a very very busy week ahead of me, so he found this
lucky penny and sent some luck and well wishes my way :) 

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I do. These are only a few of the many pictures I get. If you write him, ask him for some drawings. I promise you will not be let down!!

week 6 already??

I don't know about you guys, but time is flying. 

Our Elder Flitton will finally be in Russia in one month! 

....and he sure is ready for it.

Keaton said that this last week, he has shown a huge progression in the language!

He has been praying and fasting and testifies that the Gift of Tongues has been present in his life and it is the best feeling ever. 

He loves the temple and is grateful to get to go every single week. He really is going to miss it while he is in Russia. 

We are so lucky to have so many temples near us in Utah!!

This week's devotional, he admitted, was kind of lame. But it was followed by the showing of the Joseph Smith movie. He said that it was his fourth time seeing it while he has been in the MTC. He still loves it more and more each time. 

Keaton has the strongest testimony of Joseph Smith. 

"I know the he did see God and Jesus Christ. He did translate the Book of Mormon. Without the restoration, we are nothing. The main message when we preach the gospel should be the restoration. I love the Prophet Joseph Smith. I hope that I can have the strength and faith the he did."

It is so uplifting and inspiring to read Keaton's testimony in each letter.

He is such an example to me and everyone he meets.

That is why he was called as Zone Leader!

He welcomed the new missionaries this week! He said it was such a fun and interesting experience. 

He sure hasn't lost his sense of humor. I will post all of the silly little drawings I get every letter. 

Be excited!!

WE LOVE YOU ELDER FLITTON!

1 Peter 3:5
"...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you."
 

week 5 done.

Our fave missionary is doing so well!!

I received the most hilarious letter from him last Friday.

I can tell he was in some kind of "Keaton" mood when we wrote it.

It had me laughing pretty much the whole time I read it.

Our poor boy is SO ready for Russia. He needs to breathe some fresh air, other than just a leisurely walk across the street to the temple every Wednesday. He said that he really is enjoying his time, he is learning a ton and experiencing some great things, but he is so excited to be on his way and get to the people of Russia who need him most. 

He is doing well as Zone Leader. He is now the "older missionaries" of the group since the ones that were there when he entered are in Russia!! As zone leader, Keaton and Elder King get to welcome the new missionaries on Wednesday! That is so exciting for him! I still can't believe it has already been over a month!

He is teaching completely in Russian! The volunteer investigators have been coming in to help them prepare to speak russian the whole time. The language is still just slowly coming along. It was funny to see him write Russian letters that are similar to english letters, like a backwards N. At least he is getting the hang of writing it!

His travel date is still looking like the 13th of December! That is in just barely over a month! 

He is very tired of the food there...he would kill for a plate of nachos. I am probably going to get in trouble for sharing, but in 5 weeks, he has already gained 10 pounds!!! I laughed when he told me that, because that was his biggest fear. Good thing he will be eating beet soup for the next 22 months! I am sure he will not have a problem losing those ten extra pounds!

He is doing so well and would love to hear from anyone and everyone!!

His email is keaton.flitton@myldsmail.net

and his MTC mailing address is

Elder Keaton J Flitton

MTC Mailbox #173

RUS-YEK 1213

2005 N 900 E

Provo, Utah 84604-1793

(yes, I did that completely from memory!!)

I am so grateful for all of you and your constant support for Elder Flitton!!

D&C 98:1

Verily, I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; 

ONE MONTH!! update.

Good thing that Keaton celebrated his one month mark LAST week and I am just barely blogging about it right now.

Keat got called Zone Leader! He is so excited, but kind of nervous. Do you blame him?

He asked to be in our prayers for all the help he can get with this new calling.

"Being zone leader means that I get to welcome all of the new missionaries that will be entering my zone.  I get to give them orientation and give them a tour of the MTC. Im stoked for that.  My old zone leaders were great elders but it seemed that they just really didn't get to know us.  So i came up with this thing that every day me and elder king will interview someone and just get to know them and see how thy are doing.  I think its a good idea."

Look at him go, already!

He is getting very antsy to get out of the MTC, saying that he just needs to breathe some outside air. That sounds a bit dramatic, if you ask me, but I guess I don't really know what it is like to be stuck in there all day, so I will just believe and feel bad for him...

So far, Keat believes that Dec 13 is his travel date. There is enough time though, that it could change. 

He bore his whole testimony in Russian. It is crazy to see just in one week the progress he has made with the language. Man, he is good.

Elder King's girlfriend sent me some pictures that she got from him!

It made my whole week getting to see him, I know you will be just as excited!

Good Looking Elders!!

goof balls.

He still finds time for his naps.

He LOVES getting letters and things from home! Feel free to send him just a little note or anything you please. :)

Matthew 11:26-28

26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

week 3 update!

Alright, so I may or may not have had a CRAZY week last week and had zero time for this.

And I feel bad because it was such a great week!

I got to hear Keaton's voice for the first time in what feels like forever.

He sent a tape recording and it was so comforting to hear him vocally say my name and just confirm that he is well and is enjoying himself.

It was slightly short and sweet, but he talked a lot about his day to day activities.

He complained a bit about the food and lack of gym time.

And how he just really does not like Provo.

But he also talked about his cool devotional and how awesome his investigators are. 

He has met some really inspiring and interesting people and it makes just that more eager to get to Russia. 

He has learned the HYMNS in Russian.

He knows me too well and apologized because he didn't sing for me like he knew I would want him to.

Oh well...soon enough.

I also got a great letter.

I went on a little road trip with my girlfriends for fall break, and when I returned this afternoon, I had his letter just waiting for me.

I was ecstatic.

I was overjoyed to pick it up and realize it was going to be a good and long read. 

He started it out with a complaint of just how much he dislikes BYU and being so close to the football stadium. That made me laugh. 

His leaving the MTC date is December 13th, but it is not set in stone...

That sort of bummed me out just for the fact of Christmas package costs.. is that silly?

But I guess I won't be selfish and think about him and how long that really is to be in the MTC...haha

The main point of his letter was talking about the devotional with Elder Richard G Scott of the twelve.

He talked about how important it is to keep a little "Treasure Book" that you write down impressions from the Spirit or just personal thoughts in. Elder Scott counseled them to always be worthy to be have the Holy Ghost manifest Himself to you and to always keep your "antennae" up. Always be ready to receive personal revelation from our Heavenly Father. He also counseled and commanded the importance of finding an eternal companion right away and prepare for an eternal marriage and family.

He then bore his testimony - some parts in Russian - 

Of course I had the chills the whole time. 

You will hear me say it time and time again, but I will never cease to be proud of Keaton. 

He has grown so much just these past few weeks, which has made me grow personally.

The love he has for our Lord and Savior is inspiring and contagious.

What he is doing is life changing. For him, the people of Russia, his family, and me. 

I am grateful to have a best friend who is willing to put the Lord before everything else in his life. 

I can't wait to write his first month completed post! 

Week four is Wednesday and his month mark is Friday!!

Is anyone else wondering where this last month went??

Thank you all for your constant support!

"Think of the long view of life, not just what's going to happen today or tomorrow. Don't give up what you most want in life for something  you think you want now."

                       -Richard G. Scott

week 2 ladies and gents.

happy two weeks everyone!!

we did it! only 102 left :)

this week I was a lucky girl because guess what I have for you!!??

PICTURES!!

are you ready?

 if we are friends on fb, you have already seen these...sorry.

Elder King and Elder Flitton

Elders in his district "Studying"

being a great missionary

Christy was so prompt on sending the care package! Keaton was the first to receive one out of his district!

His District!

hasn't lost his funny bone.

who knows how that is supposed to say Elder, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!?

Made that Utah blanket for him 2 years ago :)

already best friends!!

You can only imagine the smile on my face as I flipped through these photos. He looks happy, doesn't he? Hasn't changed a bit....granted it has been two weeks.

His letter this week was pretty lengthy. LOVED it!

He talked about his conference experience and how much he loves Carl B.Cook's talk, "Look Up."

i HIGHLY recommend you watch this!
Keaton writes:
"I love how he said, 'we must look up and step up.' What I got out of it was if you just simply put your total trust in your Heavenly Father and have all the Faith you got, He will strengthen you, He will guide you and most of all comfort you."
He adds a scripture, Alma 36:3
 "And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

Keaton is such an incredible missionary.
He knows how to pray in Russian and does so whenever possible.
Knowing he has such confidence and faith in himself makes everything else so much better.
He is truly relying on the Lord for help in all aspects of his life right now.
My own testimony of the Savior is strengthened every time I read his testimony.
I am grateful to have such a wonderful and Christ-like example in my life.

He is doing so well, and still asks how everyone at home is doing!
He would LOVE to hear from all of you and is extremely grateful for the endless love, support, and prayers!


"I believe there is nothing in all the world that can compare with the joy that a man feels when he realizes that he has been the instrument in the hands of the living God of reaching some honest heart, inspiring in it a love of God and the desire to serve Him."
-Heber J. Grant 

week one complete.

Elder Flitton has been serving for a whole week already!
I don't know about you guys, but this week actually went pretty quick.
Personally, I feel like he has just been away on a trip for the last week, and I am about ready to get a phone call or something from him...but we all know that isn't happening.

Wednesday's are his P Days, so his mom and grandma got emails from him!
He wrote to Christy, "We have an Elder from Germany, so it has been fun talking to him in German!"

Shouldn't you be talking to each other in Russian?? :)
He is the senior companion so he feels a special need to be a leader to his companion and help him a little extra with anything he needs. He also loves his district, saying they all have a great time together and everyone is always so willing to help one another.
He also wrote about an awesome teaching experience he had.
Him and Elder King, his companion, taught an investigator in Russian. He explained how they taught through the Spirit and said it was one of the most spiritual experiences he has ever had. He testified that families can be together forever through Christ and His Atonement. He loves teaching and spreading the word to those who need it.

It is incredible the growth I have noticed in him in only one week. What a great missionary!
It is so comforting for me to know that he is progressing at such an astounding rate. I am so proud of him and the work he is doing.

I received a postcard from him today and he has some pictures coming my way!!
Who is excited for that special treat?? I promise to share.

“There is a still small voice telling us what is right, and if we listen to that still small voice we shall grow and increase in strength and power, in testimony and in ability not only to live the gospel but to inspire others to do so.”
                         -Heber J. Grant

and the letters begin...

This weekend was a pretty great one. We got to hear the inspired words of our beloved Prophet and apostles. I can't wait to really sit down, read, and ponder each talk. The whole time, I was picturing Keaton as he sat in the MTC listening and feasting on each and every word. Jeff, Keaton's dad, commented that it sure seemed like they mentioned missionaries A LOT this weekend...then we realized it was probably because that was the only topic we were really listening for and our attention was completely on that.

When I went to visit the Flitton's on Sunday afternoon, Christy showed me with so much excitement two letters that they had received from Keaton -- one to the whole family, and a special one just for her.

It was the first time that I think we could all really just take a deep breath and feel at peace that Keaton is alright. The letters were great, they were so him.

I received my first letter, also!! Keaton wrote:

"Yesterday was crazy. I was literally thrown into class 20 minutes after I pulled up here. Russian sounds SO cool, but it is so hard to learn." The language classes he goes to are 3 hours long, and he is worried he will go insane with all of that Russian, but we are all pretty confident that he will catch on quickly.

His companion's name is Elder King from Idaho. Keaton said that they get along really well, and he loves sports which is a relief. He was so nervous about the whole companion situation...saying, I really hope all my companions at least like sports and talk.

Of course, he mentioned his gym time and how they get to play basketball and volleyball.

He is already doing role plays and teaching scenarios. He says he is learning so much and relies on the Lord for comfort and help.

He is doing so well, already. I could not be more proud of him!

He also would love to hear from all of you! :)

"Missionary: a person who leaves their family for a short time, so that others can be with their families for eternity."

week #1

Our favorite missionary, Elder Flitton, is officially a missionary!
I have decided to start this blog...mainly for my own thoughts and feelings, but also for family and friends who are interested in keeping up with the amazing things he will be doing for the next two years.

Elder Keaton Flitton has been called to serve the Lord in the Russia Yekaterinburg mission. He received his call on May 4, 2011 - probably one of the longest/suspenseful/nerve wracking/exciting/happy/spiritual days he has ever lived through.
You can see all about that marvelous day here!
He was set apart as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on September 27, 2011.
He entered the Provo Missionary Training Center the next day.

It is kind of strange to have him gone, but like his mom and I have talked about...it is one of the most peaceful feelings knowing that he is where the Lord needs him to be.
As he was being dropped off at the MTC, he introduced himself to another missionary arriving at the same time. As they started talking, Keaton asked where he was headed and that missionary replied, "Yekaterinburg, Russia". Christy said that as soon as he heard those words, he got a sort of spark in his eye and he was ready to go.

There is nothing more comforting knowing that he is enjoying and confident in the work he is doing. What a righteous and diligent young man he is to devote two full years of his life, at age 19, to our Savior and His gospel. Keaton is the type of person that, even when he returns, will never stop doing so.

I am so proud of Elder Flitton and hope that you enjoy hearing his stories and adventures in Russia just as much as I do!

For those of you who would like to write him, his MTC address is:
Elder Keaton Jeffrey Flitton
MTC Mailbox #173
RUS-YEK 1215
2005 N 900 E
Provo, Ut. 84604-1793

I am sure he would LOVE to hear from you!!

"Young men, prepare to serve as missionaries. Going on a mission teaches you to live the law of consecration. It may be the only time in your life when you can give to the Lord all your time, talents, and resources. In return, the Lord will bless you with His Spirit to be with you. He will be close to you and strengthen you."
-Elder Robert D. Hales