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!!!
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. :)
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