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

Open Your Mouth

Last week we were cleaning windows for a service project and the windows in the shade were cold enough that when we sprayed the outside with glass cleaner the liquid froze onto the glass. I could only think of what my little brother Jordan would say.

"Elegant." 

For those of you who know Jordan- you'll have seen him do this before.

Also "Happy Birthday" to my older brother John this week, and My step dad Craig right around the corner!

We have a term in the Washington Kennewick Mission- and I do not know how many missions use it- we call a finding situation an OYM for "Open your mouth". When we go about finding people who are ready and willing to hear learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ we knock doors, we talk to people in the street and we share with them a little bit of what we teach- just a few sentences, whatever fits their needs and the situation. We try to refer to the fact that Christ's Church has been brought back to the Earth today because that is the unique message that we have to share. We try to set goals for how many people we can talk to every day, so we know how we can stretch ourselves and reach as many people as possible.

People are not numbers. Obviously. People are individuals, cherished of Christ. See Doctrine andCovenants 18:10-16. Because we love Christ and our Heavenly Father, we want to help them with their goals. See Moses 1:39. We have the privilege of working as instruments in the hands of the Savior as we reach out and bring them to Him. We spiritually carry them on our shoulders. As a representatives of Jesus Christ, our voices are His voice, and we extend to others the call that has been extended to us. Christ has called us to follow Him and because of the joy that we feel in His service, we pass that call along. It comes as we open our mouths.

This week I spent some time studying Charity. My favorite chapters of scripture on the topic include Moroni 7 and 1 John 3. I encourage you to read them. Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the motivation behind Missionary work. I feel that as we experience Christ's love for us we naturally desire to extend it to others. As missionaries we work hard, but that does not mean that we are doing our best. I felt as I studied that as I learn about Christ's love and the power of His Grace to change and lift us, my focus moves outward from "How hard can I work?" to "How many people are being affected by my work?" That is what Christ cares about. He cares about His children. In the Gospel of John chapter 3, we read that God sent His son to save the world. Not just a few. The world. "All those that believe on His name" is a changeable number. Christ wants to save every person, not just a few. He wants us to reach as many people as we possible can because each is equally and infinitely valuable to Him. Of course, this requires me to give all that I can. To "...serve Him with allof my heart, might, mind, and strength" is my purpose and my goal - not blindly, but with a purpose. To open my mouth to every person that I can, with my limited mortal abilities, so that Christ has has the opportunity to express His love for His children through me.

Could Christ do this without us? Yes. He is the master teacher. He is perfect and powerful. He is the best of all missionaries! And He in His wisdom and mercy sends out His army of willing (and oh so imperfect) volunteers. He allows us to labor in His vineyard - to take part in His work and to have this opportunity to taste of His love for His children. Alone, I know that we would fail. It is only because He sends His Spirit with us to do the real teaching. All we do is treasure up His word and open our mouths. The Spirit is the link that connects those we teach with God. It is what they really hear.

We set goals to open our mouths and speak to as many people as possible so that we can keep our eyes on our purpose. We try to focus our efforts on helping Christ's love and mercy reach as many people as possible in our weakness and His strength.

 I am grateful for this opportunity to be a part of His work. (No matter how many people slam the door in my face). We are never alone. Christ is with us. He carries us.

Keep the faith.

Love,

Sister Caroline Faulkner

Homeward Bound

This life is a journey. It is for a purpose. God put us here so that we could gain bodies and so that we could learn and grow. He is our Father and He wants us to become like Him. He wants us to have the joy that He has. This life is no accident. It is a journey back home. As we repent and learn and become like Him, we prepare for Heaven, as Brad Wilcox says we "learn" Heaven. We prepare ourselves to feel comfortable in God's presence so that when we meet Him again we will feel comfortable enough to stay there. We are all homeward bound. That is what we set out to do when we chose to come here.

There is a movie called Homeward Bound that I loved as a child. It is about two dogs and a cat who travel across the Sierra's to make it home, and I've been thinking about it a lot this week. My favorite scene happens towards the end when the oldest dog, Shadow falls into a pit and he can't get out. The younger dog, Chance, jumps in and tells him "You pushed me this far, now I'm pushing you the rest of the way. Now try again!" I won't spoil the movie for you, but often  I want to be like Chance and tell people. "I know it's hard, but it's worth it. You do not have my permission to give up now. 'Not now, not when we're this close'" But I can't. People make their own choices. I know what the Atonement of Jesus Christ can do for people. I've seen it work in my own life- but they get to choose.

One of the people we are teaching almost dropped us this week. We were devastated. We knew that she knew the truth. She's been going through a lot, but that's why we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what the Atonement is for. I know that the blessings for obedience, though the sacrifice may be steep, are always greater than anything we give up to follow. We had a couple hard days, but she came to us again and told us that she knows the truth, that she will do what she knows to be right, and that she still wants to move forward and be baptized, though she knows it will not take her problems away, she knows that the covenants that she will be making will give her the strength to endure.

I'm learning a lot out here about the Spirit and about acting in Faith. Today I read a quote from L. Tom Perry. He said "The discipline contained in daily obedience and clean living and wholesome lives builds an armor around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you as you proceed through mortality"

I thought as I read that about the Army of Helaman and how they developed habits of obedience in their childhood that enabled them to have courage even when the Lamanites were winning and they could have been killed. They knew that obedience brings blessings and they were willing to make any sacrifice to do what the Lord wanted them to do. (And they all received many wounds. There was sacrifice involved even though the Lord preserved their lives.)

 As we teach, we invite people to start testing the waters of obedience. We invite them to learn about the blessings that come with obedience so that they are prepared to make covenants with God. As they do, they develop that personal armor of moral courage and internal security even when persecutions rage and mobs combine. I thought about how that experience that they gain enables them to recognize the Holy Spirit and the mercy of the Lord so that when they ask in faith if what they have read is true they have some help in understanding the answer that they get and so they have the courage to ask in sincerity.

We invited a family to be baptized this last week. They agreed and we are so excited for them. We have already seen the things that they have been learning bring peace to their lives despite the difficult circumstances that they are in now. I think that Lord leads us to people in tough times because they can see the changes more easily when they apply the principles we teach. I know that He is aware of our needs and that He loves us.

I know He is aware of my needs. I have received so much support this week from people at home that was supposed to come at Christmas, that I needed more this week than I did at Christmas.

I keep your cards. I also got some packages from my Mom that did not make it into this picture, but I got enough food that I don't think I'll buy much for groceries this week.

I keep your letters, I love you all. The Lord loves you as well. Keep the Faith

Love,

Sister Faulkner

Keep Walking

I would rather walk in the snow than in the desert any day. We do a lot of this:

Bignormous scarf, hat, boots, freezing cold hands because I won't wear my mittens, heavy bag filled with Books of Mormon and pass along cards, name tag, big smile. Just your friendly neighborhood missionary walking around in the snow after dark.

Honestly I love being in a walking area. We get to talk to everybody we meet. It's a blast. That's the little town of Moses Lake, Washington in the background. Really there isn't very much snow at all, and the cold gets us sympathy from the people we talk to.

Christmas was great. People have been really nice to us. The kindness of the ward members here is overwhelming. The Bishop let us spend a lot of time at his house on Christmas and Christmas Eve. We even got presents.

On top you can see our tiny fake Christmas tree overwhelmed by our presents. I'd like to add that Santa Claus (Sister McMurtrey) visited and left us Santa hats filled with candy and fun stuff. I'd like to thank the people that didn't know us in the Columbia River Ward who sent us a big box of presents. Maybe they knew that the brand-new missionaries wouldn't be able to receive mail from their families in time for Christmas.

I am also grateful to the people who pray for us and for those we teach. I am grateful for people who pray for and look for missionary opportunities in their own lives.

I love the people we are teaching, and the people we've met. This week I've noticed how much it changes people's attitude and perspective to develop a testimony of Jesus Christ, His love for us, and the fact that He has called a prophet to guide us today because He loves us. I've seen the Book of Mormon give comfort to people in despair and I've watched as it brings the spirit into their home. It truly testifies of Jesus Christ.

Now for a couple of the pictures that I have been accidentally withholding from you.

This is Sister Karony and I at the MTC right before we left for the airport. They have a bigger map- but this one suited our purposes well enough.

I had a picture of Miranda and I outside the Temple on our way into the MTC- and there might be one on facebook, but due to unexplainable technical difficulties, I am not able to share.

Until next week, keep the faith. "[Stand] fast in that Liberty in the which God hath made us free." - Alma 61:9

Love,

Sister Caroline Faulkner

Moses Supposes his Toeses are Roses (Lake)

First- You will have to wait one more week for pictures. I now have the technology, but I didn't bring it with me. It'll happen. Be patient.

It feels like a million years since my last email. P-Day is now on Monday instead of Friday and I am actually out doing missionary work with real live people!

One night in the mission home, a training meeting and a six hour transfer and I found myself in the little town of Moses Lake, Washington. Disclaimer- Moses Lake is only about 1 1/2 hours from the mission home- but we went through Yakima so that we could pick up/ drop off missionaries along the way.

My companion, Sister McMurtrey, and I are in a tiny little walking area maybe 1.5 miles square. Moses Lake is a town settled by Mormons in the 1950's (So I am told). There's a huge LDS population here- and it seems like everyone is related. I already love the people here. We have some fantastic investigators.

Sister McMurtrey is a pretty great trainer. The other day we did a role play in which I was a missionary and she was Luna Lovegood. We have a blast. She's a good teacher and I can tell that she really loves the people here.

It's pretty cold here- though not as cold as Provo. We got some snow this week and some rain yesterday that froze last night. The ground outside is coated in a nice, thin, invisible layer of ice. I took a fall on the way to the church building this morning- it was pretty sweet.

. 

Ice fishing is also popular here. Ice Fishing is as boring as regular fishing, but much more dangerous.

Lee F. Brown/Escanaba Daily Press, via Associated Press

 I do not recommend Ice Fishing personally. We keep seeing them out there though, so there must be something to it.

(Picture Taken from the Lake Michigan Angler)

We got a nice talking-to from one of the members of our ward who works search and rescue about how bad an idea it is to go out there on the lake if you don't know what you are doing. Not that we did that. Don't worry. I didn't do that.

I am currently focusing my study on Faith and Miracles. The Bible Dictionary says "Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable" and "Miracles area part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If miracles cease it is because faith has ceased"

Miracles do follow the ministry. There have been quiet miracles even since I have been here. I know that Christ is leading this work and that He has the power to change people. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that we have a prophet on the Earth today. And I know it a little bit more every day.

I'll be here for at least the next 12 weeks, so I'd better get comfortable with the cold. For now, peace out and joy to the world. I'll write again next Monday. Until then Merry Christmas.

Love,

Sister Faulkner

"After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel"- Joesph Smith

A Center of Training

The MTC is... challenging. 

(Picture of the MTC taken from http://www.mtc.byu.edu/themtc.htm)

I love it. I've learned so much. I really can see myself changing. I can also see a little bit more clearly just how far I have to come. I couldn't do this without the help of Jesus Christ. It's weird to think that on Wednesday I will be in the field with my new companion teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm discovering just how difficult it can be to spend all of your time with another person. You have to be super honest with them, and consider how your words affect them, and be patient when they accidentally step on your metaphorical toes. I have three roommates that I spend almost every moment of every day with. They are fantastic missionaries and I feel honored to know them. I can feel their love for Jesus Christ- still we are all human and we end up having to talk a lot of things out patiently.

Sister Karony and I had the opportunity to sing in the MTC choir this week. It seems like so long ago (every day here feels like a week). We sang a beautiful arrangement of "The First Noel." I want to say that the MTC Choir is the most powerful choir I've ever performed with.

 

We really bore our testimony through song. I am sad that we can only perform at one devotional while we are here- since we are only here for one Tuesday.

The Devotional address was given by an Apostle - Elder Cook. It was a really good talk. It was cool to listen to a man who regularly assigns mission calls by the power and authority of God testify that our assignments aremade under God's direction. I testify that He is an Apostle of the Lord. Also, singing for an Apostle is cool.

I'd like to give a shout out to those who sent me mail either through Dear Elder or through the postal service.

I love mail. I really feel supported. I know that there are people praying for the missionaries and praying for me personally and it brings great joy to my soul. I'd like to make a suggestion- pray for those that the missionaries are teaching, and for those whom we have not yet found. They need your prayers too. You can even pray for missionary experiences in your own life.

It is harder to share the truth with people that you've known all your life than it is to share with people you just met on the street. I know this. I've tried. Still, I ask that you don't give up. Get to know your friends and neighbors, don't give up on that one inactive family you home teach. The Lord aches for them to return to Him. They are his beloved children. 

Because of technical difficulties I am still working on getting pictures up.

Do you know what that means? That means that in some post in the near future, you will have bunches of pictures all at once. It will be like Christmas for you.

I am going to have to work on chilling out. I am a super high-strung, letter-of-the-law kind of person. It bugs people. I am not mean about it, but I think my energy gives my companion anxiety attacks. I am continually inspired by her faith and commitment.

Thanks again to Lisa for posting this.

Love,

Sister Faulkner