If we are one, we are His

April 28, 2014

Well, this has been a good week here in Central 2, a week where we have truly seen miracles. Hermana Ence and I came to the conclusion, after half a transfer of working hard but not seeing many results, that even though we were working hard, maybe we weren’t working very smart. We started trying to think about the counsel from President Monson: that now is the moment when we need to unite with the ward members and work together to bring about the work of salvation. The scriptures explain that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are united perfectly in all that they do. In the same way, we as missionaries and members need to be united in our purposes and in all that we do. If we are one, we show to the Lord that we are His. We started to think about what more things we could do to strengthen the ward, things that maybe aren’t specifically missionary lessons, but that can strengthen the ward and address the ward’s needs. As I mentioned last week, the bishop really wants us to organize an activity that can increase ward unity, so we got going with those plans. We also went up to the area of the elders to visit the Primary president, Hermana Singrid, who we hadn’t visited up til that point, and asked how we can help her. She asked us to come to a meeting where they were going to organize a Primary activity they were planning, once again, with the goal to increase ward unity. We went and were able to give a few suggestions for the activity, and then she gave us a list of less-actives to visit and invite to the activity, and gave us a referral of a friend she wanted us to teach. It was exciting to see how as we spent an hour helping in something that would generally be considered "ward work" instead of "missionary work," the Lord blessed us with additional opportunities of more people to visit and helped us gain the confidence of Hermana Singrid.

As we continued with these ideas, and went to visit menos activos the bishop asked us to visit, we have started to see results! We had three people accept baptism dates, and one of the three went to church, while the other two couldn’t come but have shown sincere interest in baptism. We have also had more success with the less actives in our area - we have definitely learned that with less-active members, a visit from a member does a lot more good than a visit from the missionaries, because they usually just need to know that someone in the ward cares about them. So, we worked with an active member, Andrea, to be a friend to a less active member, Masiel, and they came to church together this Sunday! We also saw miracles with several other less-actives, one that has never wanted to receive us before but that opened her heart to some inspired questions and now says she wants to meet with us, another who wants to go to church with his son and wants his son to get baptized, and another who we had never even met but that came to church this past Sunday! We also were able to teach more lessons this week than any other week in this area. I truly believe that comes from an effort to unite more fully with the ward, including in things that aren’t generally considered "missionary work," combined with diligence, prayer, and fasting.

I know that if we are patient and work hard, trusting in the Lord’s timing, AND try to do things His way, we will see miracles, big and small. I know this is the Lord’s work and I’m so grateful to be a part of it! I just always pray that I will be able to do all that He hopes of me in this time that I am serving as a missionary. I love you all and invite you all to feel the joy that comes with going to the rescue, visiting the less-active members, and extending a loving hand and invitation to them to come unto Christ once again.

Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Faulk

Trust in the Lord

April 21, 2014

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend and remembered the purpose of Easter, the atonement and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Well Hermana Ence and I started off this week with a conferencia de zona with Presidente Willard. It was fantastic, and I was grateful to learn a lot about a few themes I have been considering a lot, like the purpose of my time here in Tarija if we are struggling SO much to find people to teach who seem to really want to progress. As I have thought a lot about it, Hermana Ence and I have come to the conclusion that instead of spending hours looking for people fruitlessly and not seeing results, we need to do something different: we need to strive to unite more with the ward to respond to the ward's needs. The bishop, for example, has commented many times about his concerns about ward unity and the lack of activities, and we have also heard that even when the different organizations have activities, very few people attend. So, Hermana Ence and I felt like we should ask the bishop if we could help him by organizing an activity of the obra misional, something we could invite investigators and menos activos to and that also would help the ward with unity. He got excited about that and thanked us profusely. We felt that he started to trust in us more because after that, he commented to us that he wants us to visit a few menos activo families that live in the area of the elders, but that the elders haven't been visiting because they're just too occupied, and said he would also assign us to a few investigators in the elder's area that he wants us to visit. Our purpose is not to abandon our area, but we are excited to help in the way the bishop wants us to help in this ward, with this ward's specific needs. We have also been seeing a little more success with the menos activos this week as we encountered a new menos activo family from Santa Cruz and were able to schedule a lesson with an hermana from a less active family that never wanted to receive us before. We are trying to work with visiting teaching and working hard to help the members form friendships so that they will continue going to church even when we aren't here.

As for progress with investigators, it was a pretty disappointing day yesterday when out of the many investigators who had committed to go to church, no one made it. I was pretty disappointed, but I am working on just trusting in the Lord's timing and the Lord's plans. I know that the ideas we're having to support the ward and help the menos activos is something we wouldn't be able to do if we were really occupied with investigators, so maybe that's the Lord's purpose. I also know that He IS preparing people to hear our message - we taught a husband and wife yesterday that seem legitamitely interested in learning more, so we're excited for them. Finally, I feel strongly that the Lord is giving me these types of experiences because I have to learn patience with circumstances that are out of my control. I have to learn this patience and continual trust in God now, because these are the essential lessons I need to learn to someday be the type of wife and mother that the Lord needs me to be. I love the Lord and I love His plans, how He always has a purpose for everything He does - the trials, the miracles, everything. It's always to help us learn and grow if we choose to trust Him.

I want you all to know that I know this church is true. I know that Heavenly Father's plan for each of us is perfect and that He, as our father, loves us and will give us exactly the experiences we need to become the type of people who will be worthy to inherit the Celestial Kingdom. If you ever question, "Why me" when a trial comes, remember that: He is just refining each of us in the way we personally need to be refined so that we can be received in His kingdom. I know that if we strive to be obedient and trust in the Lord, even in the face of trials, we will be blessed.

Love you all! Have a great week!!

Love,
Hermana Chelsie Faulk

A God of Miracles

April 14, 2014

I’m pretty sure that has been my subject line before, but it’s just so true every week! The Lord is truly working in His vineyard here in Bolivia and we see miracles every week as we strive to be obedient and do the Lord’s will. Hermana Ence and I are working hard here in Central 2, and we are starting to see the Lord’s hand more and more here in this area. I think I mentioned last week that we had some challenges finding investigators and did a lot of walking around, contacting and getting rejected. Well, this week, I strove to humble myself more and try to forget about my personal "success" in the mission, to remember that it’s not about my "success," it’s about doing the Lord’s work and giving all the glory to Him. We also looked for what more we could do to just give a little bit more of ourselves to this work and decided to fast. And this week, we saw miracles. Our big goal in this zone has been a noche blanca (a night where everyone in the zone baptizes together in one huge baptismal service) on May 3, so we have been searching for investigators that will be prepared for baptism that day. At the start of this week, we had only one person that had accepted baptism for that day, but during the week, we taught a lesson to another woman and invited her, and she also accepted that baptism date. We were excited and determined to work hard to get the two of them to church, knowing that if they didn’t go to church this Sunday, they wouldn’t be able to get baptized on May 3. Then we kept working hard, looking for more people. Well, on Sunday we were praying hard that these two investigators, and more, would be able to come to church, and we went out to look for them. Both of them fell through and couldn’t come, and we were pretty disappointed, but I just tried to remember that even if we’re the only companionship in the zone that doesn’t baptize in the noche blanca, that’s okay because it’s about doing this work in the Lord’s time and learning what He wants us to learn here.

But to our surprise, although these two women didn’t come to church, two sisters that we met one night when we were lost and asked for directions, did come to church, AND they brought a friend with them! And apart from that, an investigator who was learning with the elders who were in this area before us, but who has been avoiding us since we got here, came to church too! We could never find her in her house and she had always fallen through on the lessons we scheduled, so just a day earlier we had decided to stop looking for her. But it appears that the Lord has other plans for her, because she came to church on her own yesterday and said we could visit her this Tuesday!

We also found several other promising investigators this week that seem quite interested and could be more baptisms for the middle or end of May. All in all, it was a good week. I am learning a LOT about the importance of faith, patience, perseverance, and humility in this area. It doesn’t matter if the results don’t come fast or if it doesn’t look like people want to listen to us. What matters is that we give it our all, and I know that the Lord will give us the miracles that He wants to give us, in His time. Thank you all for your love and support, and remember to always trust in the Lord and the daily miracles He sends.

Love you all! Have a great Easter, and I invite you all to remember what Easter truly represents:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

(Alma 7:11-12) I love our Savior for what He did for us. I invite you all to study more about His atonement and resurrection in this special week.

Love,

Hermana Chelsie Faulk

GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

April 7, 2014

Hello everyone!

Well, General Conference this week was just fantastic. I was definitely searching for personal revelation in the conference, especially since we’ve had a tough start to our new area here in Central 2. I was feeling a little bit discouraged because right when I have been trying to work even harder than ever before in the mission, we have really struggled to find people to teach. We’ve been talking with everyone on the street, especially families, visiting members and asking for referrals, working with the bishop to gain his trust, working on finding ways to build ward unity, which is something that a lot of people, including the bishop, have said is a major preoccupation in the ward, we’ve been praying hard, being 100% obedient, and everything... but we have found almost no one to teach, and the people we have found haven’t had too much interest. So I went into General Conference praying to know what more I could do better and looking for some answer to the question of, "Why?" And General Conference definitely answered my questions right from the start with Elder Holland’s talk about the difficulty of discipleship. He explained that being a true disciple of Christ involves a lot of happy times, a lot of joy, but also involves a lot of hard times, disappointment, and trials. So that hit me right where I needed it - maybe right now we’re facing a lot of rejection right now, but that’s just a part of the life of the mission. Hey, at least no one’s thrown mashed potatoes at my head yet! ;)

And the whole conference, I felt like the Lord was just emphasizing over and over again the necessity of trials, the importance of being patient and grateful no matter what happens, and the reality that the work of salvation will never be easy. I felt like He was directing all of this straight to me, and I had to humble myself and repent, as I have done many times, for being overly focused on myself and my personal "success" instead of being focused on the Lord’s desires for me and for our area. I loved President Uchtdorf’s talk about being grateful, not for the blessings, but simply because gratitude is a way of life. For those of you who are going through difficult things right now, I believe firmly in this principle - if we look for the miracles and simply try to be grateful for our Savior’s atonement, no matter what happens, we will live a happy life.

So when we left the last session of conference yesterday, I was very humbled and full of faith, positive that Sunday night, we were going to find the people that we knew the Lord was preparing in our area.  Well, it didn’t exactly pan out that way... all of our lessons fell through and we spent the whole night looking for people to teach, contacting tons of people on the street, and getting rejected by literally everyone, ha. But I know that was a test of our faith. I can’t expect this work to always be easy and for people to always just line up wanting me to teach them. Salvation is hard, so I know our work is hard sometimes, too. I know that right now, our area isn’t looking too strong, but I also know that if we are patient, have faith, and work hard, the Lord will bless us for our efforts and this area will be fruitful in His time, not in mine. Even though I might not always feel it, I am grateful for being in this area because it is giving me the chance to learn to develop key attributes like patience and perseverance and faith, things I know will be absolutely crucial in my future after the mission. I love being a missionary and I am so grateful for the Lord’s plans! I know He gives us exactly the experiences we need to be able to become the people He knows we can be - a celestial people, who will be worthy to enter into His kingdom.

I love you all! Have a fantastic, faith-filled week!!!

Love,
Hermana Chelsie Faulk

Picture with a General Authority! :)

This was my zone when I was with Hermana Hincapie, and here we are with Elder and Sister Grow and Presidente and Hermana Willard. It was great - they are truly fantastic people, and it’s so obvious that Elder Grow is a special representative of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a picture of Hermana Ence and me! This is from the meeting when I first met her and we were made companions. :)

Tarija la chura!!

March 31, 2014

Hello everyone!

Well, we had cambios this past week... which means I’m now in la chura Tarija!!! "Churo" is the word they use here in Tarija to say "bonito" or in English, pretty, and it is definitely an accurate description for Tarija. It’s a flight of about an hour from Santa Cruz, the capital of the departamento de Tarija. It’s a small town of 20,000 people, so a big chance from huge Santa Cruz, and it’s GORGEOUS. It’s a much more moderate climate (I actually have to sleep with a blanket!) and it’s a hilly area instead of all flat like Santa Cruz, with tons more trees, mountains all around us, a river in our area... it’s gorgeous. Mom, Dad, someday I know you will want to visit Tarija. It’s like European-style Bolivia. And Dad, you asked for the direction of the house... we live on the street 15 de abril, like two houses in from the street Ramon Rojas. It’s like two blocks from our chapel.

My new ward, Central, is good. We are in the same ward as the zone leaders, which is interesting. The zone leaders have the half of the ward where we live. Then, to get to my area, you have to walk a few blocks, cross a river, and there you are. I am, once again, training and opening an area! My third "hija" (daughter) is Hermana Ence, a gringa! So that’s a new experience for me - not just training and opening an area, but training someone who doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s great, she’s from Hawaii and she just graduated from BYU-Hawaii with a degree in biochemistry, and she’s planning on going to BYU Provo after her mission to get her PhD. Sweet! She’s a hard worker, and even though she doesn’t know Spanish very well, she’s not afraid to contribute to the lessons and talk to everyone. I love it. We’re working hard, and I know we’ll see success here.

It’s been a challenging start to the new area, but I know that challenges just mean that we have the chance to see more miracles. Obviously, training someone who doesn’t speak Spanish is a new challenge for me, but apart from that, the other big challenge is that our area book was far from complete - it had very little information about the people they were teaching, and didn’t even have a map. The ward mission leader doesn’t know very much about our area either and hasn’t shown much enthusiasm for working with hermanas, so that was a little disappointing, too. And finally, we’ve seen that many of the members didn’t like the elders who were here before, and so have been just a little bit antagonistic with us. So basically, we’re starting from scratch. It’s a challenge, but I’m grateful for it. It is forcing me to really stretch myself.

Before, I’ve always had an easy time finding abundant people who were willing to listen to us, which made me pretty lazy about looking for new investigators and maybe kept me from having to rely as fully on the Lord as I should have done. But now, I’m most definitely doing everything I can to push myself more, to follow the Spirit more, to talk to way more people on the street, to offer unplanned service, to ask for more referrals, and to generally work harder. It’s tough, but like I said, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I was a little upset at first with the challenges here, but this morning I was doing my personal study and got to think a lot about why I was put here in this area. I know that the Lord wants me to learn to trust in Him more fully. He wants me to understand, once again, that this work is His work and that I have to trust in Him because I CAN’T do it myself. He also wants me to learn to be patient and know how to stay positive, no matter what happens. I know that we are already finding miracles - we have received lots of referencias for lots of people, including complete families, several of which have gone to church previously.

We also have hermanas from Sociedad de Socorro that are excited to be able to accompany us since they could never accompany the elders before. Also, another miracle is my companion, Hermana Ence. She is great - she doesn’t care about the fact that she doesn’t speak much Spanish, she just goes for it and talks to everyone without fear... including running up to a family that was walking away from us, and starting to talk to them before I had even made it to the family! She never complains, she works hard, and she wants to speak Spanish as much as possible so that she can learn the language. She is definitely a gift from God for this new area.

Anyway, that’s the news for this week! I know if we put our trust in God, He WILL give us the miracles we need to be able to find the families He is preparing to accept this gospel. I love the gospel and I love being a missionary! Thank you all for your love!

Love,
Hermana Chelsie Faulk