Go Down Moses

 Things have really been turning around for us this week.

We found three new people to teach! They are super-cool. Our investigators are doing much better. Several that we were having a hard time getting appointments with have set new appointments with us, or started reading more. I know that the Lord is looking out for us, and for the people we are teaching, and for the people looking for the truth.

Christ is waiting to deliver us from the bondage of sin. And He can- there is no doubt about that.

Both my companion and I have been cheerful and well taken care of by the members of our ward. We also got lots of mail this week. Thanks to Mom, Grandma, Aunt Shannon, Melanie, and Alicia. I loved each of your letters/ packages and I am going to write each of you today.

Also, a special shout out to my MOM. Who's birthday is coming up! She's 25 again. I can't believe it.

Thanks to all of you for your love and support and dedication to the work.

Also- be nice to the missionaries when they come to your door. Don't fight with people about your religion or theirs. That does not invite the spirit. I've learned a little bit about anger and the spirit. They cannot exist together. We had a not-so-fun experience recently with people trying to fight with us. I love those people who are polite and loving even if they are totally uninterested. Those people are the best.

I hope that all of you have a great week! I'll write more next week, Promise.

Love,

Sister Faulkner

Pictures

I have some pictures including a picture of what happens when you bring old, used, and not-so-tough/ not-so-waterproof boots on a mission. 

Valentine's Goodies:

Foodstuffs

I have lots of food. People give us food, my mom sends me food. We buy food. I probably don't need anymore food. I have been trying to see how long I can go without buying groceries. It's going pretty well.

My Mom sent me some cereal and some pancake mix, but I refused to buy ANY food last week so I have been eating the cereal dry. Which is cool. Mom sent me syrup to go with the pancake mix- super nice of her but it didn't really work out, so I have been coming up with new things to put into the pancakes- all of which include chocolate. The following is a  list of strategies I have tried in order of success from least successful to most successful.

1. Butter

2. Hot chocolate mix in the pancakes

3. Peanut M&Ms

4. Lindor truffles- they melt.

5. Brownie mix in the pancakes

6. More Brownie Mix

7. Andes Mints

8. That second batch of brownie pancakes with Andes Mints

9. Plain with Hot chocolate mix on top.

10. Dove Dark chocolate hearts in the pancakes

My hypothesis is that the best combination out of these ingredients will be Dove dark chocolate pieces in the pancakes with hot chocolate mix on top of the pancakes. Don't worry. I have enough of all of these things.

If I decide to be bold my next move might be Fruit Smiles pancakes.

On Friday- Valentine's Day. One woman whom we had never met before turned her car around after passing us and pulled over so that she could hand us each a heart-covered plastic bag with lindor truffles inside of them. She said. "I remember tracting. You need Valentines" That was sweet of her.

A note to all of you who feed missionaries in any way. Thank you. We love you. You are great. Those of us who serve in the Western United States (and maybe other places) receive an abundance of sweets. So many sweets. If you feed us- we love Salad and healthy foods. Really you can give us whatever you want and we will be grateful and eat it- but if you want us to be healthy. It is hard to get vegetables as a missionary.

Yesterday we held a special fast with two of our investigators. Fasting is one of those commandments that seems ridiculous until you try it. I believe it to be utterly divine. I could not have thought of it. I have received more strength and guidance through fasting, prayer, and scripture study combined than I could possibly pass off as coincidental or made up. I have a testimony of the power of fasting. I don't know how it works. I don't know why it works. I only know that when I go without food for two meals as I ask the Lord for help or guidance- help and guidance come and I am able to recognize the Lord's hand in my Life. I feel His love for me.

Hope you all have a great week.

Mark 9:23-24

Love,

Sister Caroline Faulkner

Love is Lovely

Happy Valentine's Day!

Missionary work is all about love. I don't really know anything about St Valentine, and as a missionary romantic love isn't really our focus- but Christ's love is. We try to share that love that we feel from Christ with the people that we teach.

Our Heavenly Father loves us, and because He loves us He created a plan for us to return to Him after this life. We couldn't do it alone, so He sent Jesus Christ to make it possible. Christ came because His Father sent Him and because He also loves us. His mortal life was marked by love, and because He still lives and loves us, He continues to guide us as He did in the past through a living prophet, the scriptures, and through the Holy Spirit. All that we teach as missionaries  comes back to love.

Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can return to live with Him and our Father in Heaven again as families after this life if we so choose. We can be forgiven and made clean from our past sins when we repent and try to be more like Christ.

We have a special word for Christ's love- Charity.

"And Charity sufferethlong, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own,is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity butrejoiceth in truth, beareth all things, believeth all things hopeth all things,endureth all things." - Moroni 7:45

Obviously we are not perfect. We cannot truly be like He is, but He has the power to help us improve and to fill us with love for others.

As missionaries, we go about bringing people to Christ because they are God's children, and their salvation matters very much to Him. So when we knock on your door and you think "How can these people possibly care about me when they don't even know me?" remember that God loves you and Christ loves you. As representatives of Jesus Christ, we love you as well. We cannot truly understand His infinite love for you, because it is beyond our capability to love anyone that much, but we love you with all that we've got.

This week, we walked through a lot of snow and ice. We talked to some nice people and some not-so-nice people. We invited our investigators to do some hard things. When one family agreed to give up tobacco so that they could be baptized and make covenants with Christ we were so happy. We were so happy to see how excited they were to learn about General Conference and how the prophet, the Apostles, and other leaders in the church share the words that Christ wants us to hear every 6 months. We were sad when people chose to stop meeting with us, or when they chose not to learn more. We were sad when they struggled to progress spiritually. But because of faith we don't give up. We know that Christ continues to reach out to people. 

"Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." - Galations 6:18

Love,

Sister Faulkner

Moses Lake Washington

Drops in a Pot

I forgot my camera today- so pictures will have to come next week. Sorry about that.

Tomorrow is my two month mark! But having 16 more to go means that those two seem like drops in a bucket. That's fine, I like it that way. It's been an interesting two months.

I find that every week feels really crazy. We work with so many different people that juggling their ups and downs can make me emotionally sea-sick. This week was another mixed-bag. Though I must say that it seems a little heavy on the negative side and a little sparse on the positive end of things.

Yesterday was the Superbowl. We decided not to go out and annoy the people watching it. We did other productive activities at home. I am pretty sure the Seattle Seahawks won- for those of you who are still wondering.

I didn't tell you this, but about a month ago I dropped a name tag on our way home. We found the magnetic back next to the sidewalk about a week later, and I had just about given up looking for it when my companion found its remains on the ground about a mile away on a different street. I'll share a picture in the future. I feel that the chances of finding it are pretty slim- until I remember that we walk up and down and across our little area for the better part of every day- so that was exciting.

I learned what Pot smells like. We knocked on a couple of doors that opened to reveal the overwhelmingly cloying and sour smell of skunk/ body odor. The people behind both of those doors told us we could come back! Which is great. I am glad that I can correctly identify the smell now. I figure that knowledge will help me out later when I teach High School.

We were dropped by several people this week as well. The most promising family that we had when I got here dropped us. We were crushed. We are still really upset about it. They were so excited to be baptized! Then things fell apart. They got sick, we couldn't get in and teach them. They couldn't go to church. She was having a hard time quitting smoking. They dropped us- and not gently. The worst part is I had SEEN them change. I had witnessed what the gospel of Jesus Christ had done for their lives. They were like them people of King Benjamin in Mosiah 5:2 who said

"Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually"

I have been thinking, in my study, about how to get from that feeling to the end of that chapter which reads "ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ the Lord God Omnipotent may seal you His."

I think it takes continued repentance. Mosiah 5 talks a lot about depending on Christ so that we can be cleansed by Him, because only under His name (in His gospel covenant through baptism and repentance- taking upon ourselves His name) can we make it back to our Father in Heaven.

We got dropped by a few people this week- and it has been hard to recover. But we are teaching others who are moving forward. We will recover, and we will go on to help others. Even though it hurts sometimes.

Thanks for your support.

Be steadfast and immovable.

Love,

Sister Caroline Faulkner

Daring Adventures

Hello! It's a beautiful morning here in the WKM (Washington, Kennewick Mission)! Transfer calls came this weekend and I am happy to be staying here in Moses Lake with Sister McMurtrey for at least another 6 weeks! We are having so much fun.

A new transfer means a new planner! I decided to decorate this one (It keeps them from falling apart and looking ratty. I am really proud of it. Here is a picture.

All of these pictures came from two Ensign magazines.

Sister McMurtrey laughed at me when she saw me taking pictures of my planner- she says I'll decorate a bunch of them. But I wanted to share my joy. 

We've been naming several of the cats in our area. Here are some pictures 

These are Puck, Sugar and Salt. Their Parents are Oberon and Titania. They have another brother named Bottom. I needed the stick to get them this close to me. 

This is Spice. Her owners think her name is Alice. She lives next door to us and we love her, but she always tries to get into our apartment and we have to catch her and throw her out into the snow. Or the rain.

There are lots of nice humans in our area as well. This week we tracted into a pastor from another church who was really kind to us, and a lady who had no intention of talking to us about her faith in Jesus Christ but insisted on giving me a pair of gloves. Those of you who know me from Provo may already know that I try not to wear gloves or mittens as a general rule. I admit that my hands were exceedingly chilly that night. I now have three pairs of gloves and/or mittens. I promise that I actually do use them sometimes.

On our quest to talk to 70 new people a week, we've been doing pretty well. We've been having a blast. We may run out of doors to knock in approximately 3 weeks, but we know that things will work out. We'll just have to find people in other ways. Maybe we'll draw the Plan of Salvation on the sidewalk like those missionaries in New York City did.



Maybe we will try looking for all the people who weren't home when we tried them before. Or we'll have a cool church activity and have the ward invite their friends.

Each door is like a daring adventure. Each new person we talk to might be ready to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I still get lost in our area. I'm going to have to learn it by drawing my own map or something.

Joshua 1:9

love,

Sister Caroline Elizabeth Faulkner

Close Your Mouth

Once you have opened your mouth and introduced someone to the gospel - you come to the really difficult part: Closing your mouth.

A difficult lesson to learn in missionary work is that there has to be silence for the spirit to work in people. You have to let them think about it. Some people have a really hard time with silence in conversation, but the Holy Spirit speaks in a still, small voice. It is necessary to listen carefully.

I have learned this week that lessons go much better if you are willing to wait in silence and not speak unless the spirit prompts you to say something.

Asking inspired questions is a great way to allow people to really consider the meaning of your words and the way that it applies to them.

My trainer told me last month that "A Mission is like one big awkward moment". What I think she meant was - if you are doing it right there will be long periods of silence. It's okay and you get used to it. She was right.

You have to prepare and make sure to "treasure up in your minds continually the words of life" so that "it shall be given you in the very hour" what to say. We do a lot of studying - but I have found that my study in the morning often prepares me to answer someone's question or know what someone needs to hear later in the day. But only by the spirit can I know what they need to hear, and I need the spirit to bring that back to me at that moment.

I also know that by silencing my own first impressions and my previous understanding I learn about Christ's love. If you refuse to let your own thoughts get in the way and just listen to people - you get to know them, you see what they can become. You feel Christ's love for them in some tiny measure. Then you can better help them, because you see a bit of Christ's vision for them.

I'm still learning about this. It will take me a while to get better acquainted with silence and with the spirit- but I know that Jesus Christ is behind this work.

In other news - The Seahawks are going to be in the Superbowl. I know this because of all of the illegal fireworks that went off at once last Sunday, and the people that told us not to bug them because they were watching the game.

We went to the Columbia River Temple today - which is why this blog is late. I love the temple and I am so grateful to have one so close to the area I am serving in. It brought me a lot of peace to visit the Lord's house today.

Speaking of Temples - The Gilbert Temple Open House is going on this coming week. Everyone is welcome inside. There will be tours. Bring your family and friends. I wish I could be there for the open house and the dedication, but I am glad to be here. I am excited to visit it when I get back to Phoenix.

Click here to get more information about the temple open house.

Thanks to all of you for your love and support and for all that you do to forward the Lord's work.

"Let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the Earth" 1 Nephi 4:1

Love,

Sister Caroline Faulkner