Monday, December 29, 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanks so much to all who sent cards, letters, and goodies to us this Christmas. We truly experienced an outpouring of love from the members here and at home, our families, and especially our Father in Heaven.

We had many miracles this week as we found several people who have truly been prepared by the Lord to accept our message. We have come across so many humble, soft-hearted people.


Exciting things are happening in our mission this year as we open up more Spanish branches and the first two all-Spanish zones in the mission. We still don't have a Spanish group in Richland, and we got a referral for a Spanish speaking family last week (we have an appointment with them today). So today I used my personal study to learn to teach a very simple restoration lesson in Spanish. This will help me a lot tracting anyway. Luckily, one of our Spanish speaking sisters is finishing her mission this week, so we are going to have her companion with us for the next couple of days. We will have a grand time teaching the family in Spanish. If they want to come to church, we will have to invite someone to translate for them.

I am so excited for a new transfer. Sister Lindmeir and I are staying here together for another 6 weeks. We have great plans, and we know that The Lord has great things in store for us.

Christmas was super fun. We had some really great experiences where people who had never let us in before let us in (the power of cookies and carols is amazing) and we met great people as well, like I said.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior. He leads and guides the church today. His Spirit is real and it testifies of truth to all those who honestly seek answers. I love watching people find answers by the spirit as they read the scriptures and receive a spiritual witness that they are true. I love watching the Spirit fill hearts and lives and homes as people embrace the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and live His gospel by faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. I am so humbled to be His missionary at this time of year when so many people are ready to learn and listen.

Thanks for all of the prayers and support. I love you all. Keep marching forward.

Love,

Sister Caroline Faulkner

Side Note from Caroline's sister Lisa:

We had a great visit with Caroline on Christmas. She is very busy. This is Sister Lindmeir's last transfer, so she will get a new companion for sure in 6 weeks.We hope you all are praying for the people she's teaching, and for her in general.


Thank you all and Happy New Year.


Monday, December 22, 2014

Born to Give Them Second Birth

Born to Give Them Second Birth

Being a missionary on Christmas is the best thing ever. People's hearts are so soft. We get in with people who would never otherwise let us in. I'm not homesick at all.

This morning, for companionship study we watched Elder Holland's Talk Safety for the Soul.




It's a really powerful talk. I really appreciated his testimony of the Book of Mormon and why it is important.

Another cool video is Scriptures Legacy.
We watched this today while we exercised. That was fun. I got to run from Lamanites with Moroni.



We've been talking a lot about what we are giving Christ for Christmas. My goal is to memorize The Living Christ by Christmas. I want to give the Savior my testimony of His power and divinity for Christmas.
So many blessings have been poured out upon our heads this week. So many members gave us their love and support, and sometimes food or gifts. I was really humbled by their kindness. The Lord has helped us to find some really great people to teach. I love this area and these people so much.
This is my planner for this transfer. 



And this is us on exchanges. Sister Lindmeir and I have both been companions with Sister Allred, and on exchanges I got to know Sister Steen- who's a real gem.


I know that Jesus Christ was born to allow us to be born again and return to our Father in Heaven. I know that He can heal our hearts and overcome our weaknesses.
I am thankful to be His missionary at this time.
I love you all, and thanks to all who have sent letters and packages- as well as those who pray for us and other missionaries. We love and appreciate you so much.
Merry Christmas!!!
Love,


Sister Faulkner

Monday, December 15, 2014

Miracles!

I really apologize for not writing. Things have been so crazy with our temple trip and preparations for Christmas. We've had so much to do on P-Day.
I have a few wonderful miracles to share.

This week has been one of the best in the last year. We found so many amazing, humble people this week. We found someone on Friday, and someone on Saturday that really needed a message of hope. They both came to church (given rides by members of the ward) and had really good experiences there. I've found that attending church does wonders for a person's testimony. They feel a great spirit there. We also found a family of 7 on Sunday night right before we headed home. They are really great, humble people. I love how the Lord leads us to people who will receive us. We really felt led this week by the spirit. There were so many times that people were placed in our path or we were directed to theirs.
I think our temple trip last week really helped us. I think that having the spirit of the temple in our hearts and on our minds helps us do God's will. We are working really hard to do our best, but I know that our efforts have very little to do with what we accomplish. Christ waits for us to show faith, and then it is His infinite power that gets the work done. We see miracles because of His Grace.
Another miracle was that a couple of my aunts sent me information regarding my grandparents’ conversion here in the late 1950s. I was moved by their recorded testimonies and experiences. I was glad to see that both sets of grandparents met missionaries who were tracting. (Though my Mom's parents were actually taught by missionaries, whereas my dad's parents were taught by stake missionaries – AKA older members called to be missionaries in their own area.)
I hit my year mark since I've written. I was at Mission Leadership Council on the 4th. That was a pretty special day. MLC is a great meeting where we discuss the needs of the mission and council together on how to serve the other missionaries. I saw Sister Reyes there, and some people I've known in past areas. It's weird to have been out a year. It doesn't feel like it's been that long. It feels strange to be having another Christmas in the field. I have more time to think about it and prepare now. I know the area and people we are teaching now. We have had a chance to share Christmas messages with several families. Especially He is the Gift. We have been sharing that with everybody.

We see a lot of hearts soften as we share about Christmas. We always tell people that our message is about Christ, but I think when it's about Christmas
 people are a little bit more open.
Here's a picture of Sister Lindmeir and me at the temple, and then one of Sister Owens and Sister Standing (I trained Sister Owens and Sister Lindmeir trained Sister Standing. They are currently companions) at the conference that happened in November.


Another thing that happened – I sang a solo at Christmas Zone Conference. One of the elders in our Zone is a concert pianist, and he wrote his own spectacular arrangement of "Oh Come all ye Faithful." I got to sing along and it went really well. Sister Lindmeir shared her testimony at Zone Conference because it's the last one that she'll have on her mission. She gave a really moving testimony. She's on fire.

I am so grateful for this time that I have to serve the Lord at this Christmas Season. I love you all. I am praying for you. I know that our Father in Heaven is watching over you.
Merry Christmas,
Love

Sister Caroline Faulkner