Coming to the end...and the beginning :)

December 1, 2014

Well, here I am, finishing my mission. It has been an incredible journey, and truly, it hurts to leave. I’m grateful for the special week we had this week. It started with President inviting me and a few other people that used to be mission leaders to come back to mission leadership council!  It was so fun to go one last time, to discuss the problems of the mission and work on how to figure things out to help the work of the Lord advance here in my beloved Santa Cruz. That meant a lot to me and it was special also to see my old companions, all but one of which are hermana capacitadoras. :) That was Tuesday, and then on Wednesday, we had a special conferencia of hermanas with Presidente and Hermana Willard. I loved what we learned about gratitude and I’m excited to keep applying it in my life.

This was also a special week because after a lot of weeks with very little success, I was grateful to see more progress in the area than ever before. We discovered a new less active hermana who is really excited to come back to church. She came with us and brought her son who wants to learn more and will probably be on-track for baptism soon. We also taught an hermana and her two children; the hermana asked US if she could be baptized! That’s something that doesn’t happen every day. :) And she came to church with her children as well, one of whom is the age of baptism, so they will also be a baptized family soon. Apart from that, we are still working with an hermana who is excited about baptism, but lost her date for this Saturday because she got sick and couldn’t go to church. Also we are one lesson away from rescuing another family, and close with another hermana. Although I won’t be here to see the fruits, I’m grateful to be able to leave the area well-prepared for Hermana Paz and her new companion.

Yesterday we had a special experience with one of the good hermanas of our ward, Alejandra. Alejandra had been thinking about going on a mission for a long time but wasn’t sure about her decision. As she started accompanying us and we talked about it with her, she made the decision to go, and yesterday her mission call came! She asked us to come when she was going to open it since we had been an integral part of her decision to go, and it was really a special, spiritual experience to see her open her call (to Argentina!) and remember when I started this journey almost two years ago when I received my call. I was touched as she expressed her gratitude to us and thanked her Heavenly Father for getting her call to her while Hermana Paz and I were both still in the ward.

And then, we talked to Presidente Silva and his wife for a few minutes while there. He asked how I’m feeling and I told him that while I’m really sad to leave, I feel ready. I feel like I’ve learned what I needed to from the mission and now it’s time for "another cambio" to a new area - home. And while it’s really hard to leave, I have faith that life after the mission can be even better than life in the mission, because I figure that I can’t have possibly reached the peak of happiness in life at only 21 years old!  So, I’m sad to leave, but excited to continue the journey at home. 

I love you all and thank you all so much for your support and love this year and a half! See you soon!

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk

GOD IS GOOD!!!

November 24, 2014

Wow, this week was one of the most special weeks in my whole mission. Just like last week, it was so special because of all the things I could learn and how close I’m starting to feel to my Heavenly Father. I especially feel like I’ve been learning exactly what you talked about in your letter this week - gratitude.

All this week was great, but Sunday was a VERY special day for many reasons. It was the conferencia de barrio, so obviously we have been working hard as a ward to make the conferencia something really special and have a good turnout. Hermana Paz and I had somewhere around 20 people, between investigators and menos activos, committed to go to church this Sunday and we decided to fast for the miracle that our investigators and menos activos, along with those of the elders, would come to church. We started our fast Saturday after lunch and then got to work as hard as we could, but Sunday morning, all the people we called to remind about church either didn’t answer or said they wouldn’t be able to come. The temptation came to be disappointed, but I felt like I couldn’t be disappointed, I just had to be grateful that I had the opportunity to work hard and fast.

And then we went to lunch, but the Hermana that was supposed to make us lunch wasn’t in her house; she totally forgot. Well, once again it was tempting to get irritated, but we made the choice to laugh and be grateful that we were close to the Relief Society president’s house, where we went and she, panicked, made us some eggs really fast. That wasn’t exactly the lunch I had hoped for after fasting, but the Lord blessed us with another small miracle - after eating a much smaller lunch than usual, I was really full and didn’t get hungry for the rest of the day.

Then we had another miracle - a menos activa who hasn’t come to church for years answered her phone and said she wanted to come, so we picked her up, and then on the way to church with her we were going to have to pay for a taxi but a church member picked us up, and then at church several less active members showed up, but none of our investigators. I was sad, but during the sacrament I just reflected on how good God has been to me in this time; He took away my frustration with our investigators and filled my heart with love. And that’s when one of our investigators showed up! It was Sylvana, our investigator preparing for baptism in a few weeks, and she came with her boyfriend who, up til now, has never wanted to talk to us or anything. Another miracle.

And finally, I had the sweet chance to share my testimony with the ward (the bishop got confused and thought it was my last week, ha.) I cried as I got to share with everyone how much God’s love has changed me in these past two transfers in Las Misiones. All this and much more happened this past week and especially yesterday. I feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father. Especially I feel grateful that He is helping me recognize His hand in all the little things that before I might have taken for granted - for reminding me that I had left the phone in a member’s car, for giving me the strength to ask forgiveness of a less active member I, with a misunderstanding, accidentally offended, for softening that less active member’s heart so we could cry together and hug at the end of the conversation, for helping me stay cheerful even when things don’t go my way... I could go on and on. The only thing I can say is that God is good. 

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk

AND FINALLY...A COUPLE OF PICTURES TO FINISH OFF THE MISSION:

An activity we had with the sister missionaries of the stake. We went to the botanical gardens of Santa Cruz.

Come Unto Christ

November 17, 2014

Wow, I feel so grateful to my Heavenly Father this week for the challenges - and the miracles - that He gives me. It has been yet another challenging week for me here in Las Misiones. I feel like I’ve never worked so hard in my whole mission, and yet I’ve never seen so few results - something that has been stressful and frustrating for me. And yet, as I mentioned last week, over and over again I feel the impression that I need this experience to finish my path to become the person the Lord wants me to be.

I mentioned last week that in this time I have been learning to give something extra in my prayers and trust more in God. Well, that feeling just has kept growing. I am coming to love prayers, to treasure my time in communication with my Heavenly Father, and to feel like it really is a conversation - I receive answers, thoughts and ideas, feelings, right there during the prayer. I literally feel like I am learning to talk with Him as I pray. And I am learning to LOVE reading the scriptures so much more than before, I feel like my mind and heart are more and more focused on my Savior and His teachings. And over and over again when I pray, the Spirit guides me in ways that I can improve, but also confirms to me that I need to be calm, that my area is in the Lord’s hands.

We have been finding lots of investigators, but with very few progressing up until now. However, I know that they will progress and that the Lord is in control, because I feel closer to Him than ever before in my life and I trust in Him so much more. It is impossible for me to explain how much I feel like I have changed in these weeks here in Las Misiones, but I am very grateful to the Lord for not giving me the experiences I wanted, but the experiences I needed to become a person that will stay faithful to Him for all of my life.

Now, I don’t want it to sound like we have had no results at all in our area! The good news is that we have seen lots of results in the less actives, and this week had some very special experiences. We have a less active family that will be rescued next week once we finish the lessons and another less active hermana who has now come to church three weeks in a row and, once we finish the lessons, will also be rescued.

Also, I mentioned a few weeks ago an excommunicated hermana that the bishop asked us to work with and how we felt prompted to take her to an interview with the bishop. Well, she told us this week that in her interview, she and the bishop investigated a little bit and learned that she was never actually excommunicated! No one knows exactly why, since she was supposedly excommunicated three years ago, but now the bishop says that instead of having to wait another two years to get rebaptized, she can receive her rights of membership again before the end of the year. We love this hermana deeply and I was so thrilled to hear the news. She is SO excited, she immediately started to change bad habits, repent of sins, is coming to church every week and participating in activities, and giving us referrals right and left (none for our area, but still a good thing haha). I am SO grateful to have been able to participate in this miracle, which probably never would have happened if there had only been elders in the ward.

We also had the sweet experience of visiting a recently rescued hermana in the elders’ area. The bishop asked us to go, and when we went, she told us about a lot of challenges that are making her want to go inactive in the church again. Well, we were able to teach her and start helping her to strengthen her testimony again, and she told us, "I opened up to you two and told you these things because I could feel your spirit. I have only told one other companionship of missionaries about these things in my whole life." I was grateful, once again, for having that sweet privilege to be an instrument in God’s hands to touch someone’s life.

I know that we can all have that same kind of experience and the same kind of influence in the lives of the people around us. I invite you all to look for opportunities to be a blessing in the lives of others, because there truly is nothing sweeter.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Love, Hermana Chelsie Faulk

The Power of Prayer

November 10, 2014

Hello everyone!

Well, this week has been a week of huge learning for me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the week we hoped for as far as investigators and less actives go, but I guess it’s always in the weeks where things don’t go as well as we hope that we learn more about our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We had a rough Sunday, seeing as how after a week of hard work the majority of our investigators and less actives didn’t come to church. Sylvana, the golden investigator that came last week, couldn’t come because her daughter got sick. And our less active family that was at the point of being rescued and seemed to be in great shape didn’t come to church either, and we still have no idea why.

So, we were pretty disappointed at first, but as I said, when moments of disappointment come, that is when we can learn a lot more about trusting in God.  I have learned a lot about that this week, between challenges with the work and having to face the reality that I am going home. In our mission, it is tradition that all the missionaries going home give their final testimony in their last multi zone conference with President (is that tradition in all missions? I have no idea.) But anyway, I gave my final testimony on Wednesday in my last conferencia with President. It was a very bittersweet experience for me to think back on all the experiences I’ve had here, how much I have grown, and how much I have come to love the people of Bolivia and my companions here in the mission. I have loved it, and thinking about going home, while I am excited to see family and friends, will be very hard because it means leaving behind a lot of people, and a way of life, that I love here as a missionary. 

With all these things going on, I’ve learned a LOT about the power of prayer and the power of a grateful heart. I want to testify to you all that Heavenly Father knows and listens to us, that He answers prayers, and that He gives us the revelation we need to make good choices and continue progressing. Trust in God and trust that He loves each one of you enough to answer your prayers. I think one of the greatest gifts I have received here in the mission is the development of a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. As I said, I have also learned a lot about the power of gratitude. I read today the talk "Grateful in Any Circumstance" by President Uchtdorf, and boy is it powerful! I encourage you all to study it and apply it to your lives. No matter what happens to us, we can and should cultivate a grateful heart, because that is the way to find joy. I have applied it and know that it’s true. :)

And of course, I can’t leave you all thinking that all is bleak in our area! We had a new investigator come to church yesterday, Frank. He is the brother of a member, and he’s great. Very sincere, has a lot of questions. We got the chance to teach a powerful lesson of the Restoration yesterday and he understood. While he hasn’t committed to a baptism date yet, he had a lot of questions about baptism and committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray. I love working with sincere people and have a lot of faith that he will progress, along with Sylvana and the menos activos we’ve been working with. :)

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk

God is a God of Miracles!

November 3, 2014

Hola everyone!

Wow, this week was really a special week, and I think that Mormon 9, the chapter that I studied today in my personal study of the Book of Mormon, about summed it up in verse 21: 

Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and his promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth. 

I know and have had it powerfully confirmed to me this week that God has not ceased to be a God of miracles, and that our faith-filled prayers truly are answered, if we ask in the name of Christ, with faith, with pure intent, and if it is something that the Lord knows is good for us.

This week we had several experiences like that, big and small. One was with an investigator, Sylvana. As I have mentioned, it has been really hard for us to find investigators that were really interested in progressing, but we found her last week. She fell through on her lesson Saturday morning, but then we went with a member to another lesson Saturday afternoon, that also fell through, and this member said, "Since your lesson fell through, I want to introduce you to someone that I feel you should teach." And she took us right to Sylvana, without knowing we had met her! We know that the Lord has something very special in store for Sylvana, who accepted a baptism date and went to church last week the three hours, and loved it. That was the first miracle.

Second, something small, but important: it was raining in our area Sunday morning, which worried us for church that afternoon, because as soon as it rains, people are much less likely to go to church. We prayed hard that it wouldn't rain during church time, and it didn't!  Coincidence, some might say, but I believe that God had something to do with it too. :)

Then, another miracle: a less active family we have been working with for a long time came to church, the whole family, for the first time. The hermana asked for an interview with the bishop and has decided to return to church.  Another less active family came to church as well, as did an excommunicated hermana that the bishop asked us to visit. We encouraged her to have an interview with the bishop and she now has specific goals to get rebaptized. It will be a long process, but I know she'll make it.

And finally, I think I mentioned a family, Natalia and Jorge and their son, we found a few weeks ago that had a lot of interest, but had a huge impediment: the husband works and lives in the country three weeks on, one week at home, making it very hard to progress as a family. Hermana Paz and I prayed, asking God fervently in the name of Christ that He could do something to change this good man's job. Well, we stopped by yesterday, and to our surprise, the husband came out and said that the company he works for has now asked him to work in the city! So now they can progress as a family! We were thrilled and I was so grateful to hear that. God is a God of miracles!!!

As I come close to the end of my mission, I'm trying to make sure that I don't think at all about myself, that I just focus on the people. I'm praying a lot that the Lord can purify my heart and make me the person He would have me be to finish up the mission. Words cannot express how grateful I am to the Lord for changing me so drastically through the mission. I love this mission and I love Him.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Hermana Chelsie Faulk

Come Unto Christ

Well, it’s been another interesting week here in Las Misiones. We continue to see both miracles and challenges in this area. I can tell that Satan is working hard against the people we have been working with, but we know that the Lord is stronger than Satan and He can do his own work. We found a fantastic family last week talking with a woman next to me in a trufi, and when we went to teach them on Tuesday, the husband cried when he heard the story of the Restoration and said he felt something really special upon hearing it. That was definitely a miracle for us; however, we could see that Satan is trying to impede their progress because they couldn’t receive us later that week or come to church yesterday because their baby got really sick. This is the interesting thing that we keep seeing; we keep finding families that seem really promising, and then something keeps impeding their progress. However, I really have a good feeling about this family and have faith that they will progress. 

Another miracle for us was that the 22 year old son of an active member of the church, Jorge, has come to church twice now and yesterday tentatively accepted a baptism date for the 15th of November! That really is a miracle, because he has listened to many pairs of elders before, but hasn’t ever taken it very seriously. He has very different beliefs than us; has a different concept of God and doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, but we can tell that even though he doesn’t want to admit it, there is something he likes about the gospel. He has come to church on his own twice now, reads his Book of Mormon, and prays, so he’s got all the ingredients to come to know that this is true. Now, he still isn’t positive that this message is true, but we can see that his faith is growing and we have had many powerful lessons with him. :) I know that the Lord can change all people and change all of our hearts, even those that seem furthest from Him. That is definitely something I have seen over and over again in the missio, and I know it applies for all of our lives. I know that this gospel is true and the converting power of the Atonement is incredible. Apply it in your lives on a daily basis, and you will see how the Lord can make you strong. I love the scripture Moroni 10:32   

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all  ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength,  then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be  perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect inChrist, ye can in 

 nowise deny the power of God.

I know this is true, that as we come unto Christ, He will perfect and sanctify us, and we will come to a perfect knowledge of the reality and the power of God in our lives.  

Love you all! Have a fantastic week! 

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk

Guided by the Spirit J

October 20, 2014

We have had a week of seeing how the Spirit touches people in Las Misiones! We are definitely seeing the Lord’s hand guiding us in this area, although our challenge continues to be getting people to church. That will be a big focus of our personal and companionship study this week and we hope to receive revelation from our study, and see the miracles from our fast starting this Friday.

Hermana Paz and I are progressing well together. After a meeting we had for the trainers on Tuesday, I put the goal to give her more responsibility and trust in her more and I have felt a huge difference. She is contributing more to planning, making suggestions more during the day, and I can really see how guided she is by the Spirit. The other day, for example, we were walking, our lesson had fallen through and we were looking for whom to talk to. I was talking on the phone when a mom and her adult daughter passed by, the daughter crying. I wanted to talk to them but was talking on the phone and just sort of let it go. But when I got off the phone, Hermana Paz looked at me and said, "I felt something SO strong when we walked by them. We HAVE to talk to them." But we didn’t know where they were, so I just sort of dropped it. We went to look for a contact nearby who wasn’t home, when we turned around and there they were entering their house. This family we had seen lived right in front of the contact we were looking for! Hermana Paz insisted that we HAD to go talk to them, so we went over and the mom immediately invited us in and said she had been praying for missionaries to come by right then!  Turns out it was the mom and sister of an antiguo investigator that we had actually been looking for because we found out that his dad had died two months ago and we felt that he might be interested again. So, we had the chance to start to teach them, and yesterday we met the antiguo investigator, Alan, along with the mom and daughter we met a few days ago. They said they would be willing to learn more formally about the church again, and I know this is a miracle. I’m grateful to the Lord for preparing people that way, and for giving me a companion who is such an example of following the Spirit. Hermana Paz is going to be a powerful missionary!! I’m very grateful for the chance to train her.

We also had another sweet experience yesterday at church. So Saturday night, we had four people with baptism dates confirmed to go to church the next day, all of them referrals from members, and with all of them the members confirmed that they would pick them up. But Sunday came, and all of them, one by one, fell through. That was hugely disappointing, but the Lord gave us a surprising miracle... Jorge, the adult non-member son of an hermana in the ward, came to church out of nowhere, even though his mom didn’t come! He is an interesting person, has been through about five sets of missionaries before us, but has a very different way of seeing the world, isn’t a Christian and doesn’t have the same concept of God as we do, which is unusual here in Bolivia. But at church, he said that he "felt very peaceful and calm there" and said, "I think I’m going to keep coming to church. I like it." We also learned that he has been reading the Book of Mormon and a General Conference talk that we left him, so that was exciting! We really feel that this is his moment to come unto Christ and learn the truth for himself. I’m grateful, once again, for the miracles we are seeing in this area!

This Wednesday I’m going to start my last transfer in the mission. The time has gone by way too fast. I know this mission has changed my life permanently and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for giving me this wonderful privilege to serve Him as a missionary for a year and a half.

Love you all! Have a wonderful week :)

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk