April 28, 2015 - A whole new world!

Daddy, I hope this letter makes sense... #dontjudge 

Armadale is such an opposite to Wembley. 

It's honestly hilarious, but I absolutely love this place just as much as the last. The people here are just amazing.

Let me just tell you a bit about my week... 

When I arrived at the flat, the first thing I noticed was a baseball bat under the bed...... Apparently it is an interesting neighbourhood but we have 5 police officers in the ward, Heavenly Father's protection, and a baseball bat under the bed, so we're safe. (; We've only had one person knock on our door early in the morning since we've been there, but it was a holiday so that was to be expected, and they went away after a couple of minutes. 

The second thing I noticed was the 

COCKROACHES IN THE KITCHEN. 

Apparently they LOVE our flat, so that has been interesting. Sister T laughs at me because when we get home, the first thing I do is go to the spray and KILL EVERY LIVING BUG IN THE KITCHEN. We did some major cleaning in there this morning so I think they'll die down. 

Other than that, the place is lovely.

But the best part about Armadale is the people. The people are beautiful.

We knocked on a couple of doors this week. Every single house we went to, we had a very lovely discussion with the residence and each one of them wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ, How their families can be together forever, or what our purpose is here on earth. As we explained our purpose as missionaries and what we do to help people come unto Christ, everyone we talked to seemed to want to learn more. We have appointments with each of the people we met last week and also an opportunity to help someone clean their house and serve them a bit tomorrow. We feel so blessed to have so found people seeking to know. We saw the Lord's hand in the work as we asked for His help in finding them. 

In the words of Lindsey Woolf: Heavenly Father gives us the best referrals. 

Teaching is so different with different companions, but I'm loving sister Tukuafu. 

Sorry, can't get it to turn correctly. FHE with Sister Tukuafu.

She is a hard worker and an amazing missionary. The love she has for everyone inspires me and lifts me. I am so thankful for her. She is 23, and the oldest of 8 kids. She comes from NZ but is originally from Tonga. Everyone says I'm going to come home brown because of all of my Poly companions. (: hahaha. 

What I have learned this week is that EVERYTHING comes back to faith. Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Faith in Heavenly Father, Faith in the Book of Mormon. I love reading from the Book of Mormon every single day with a purpose (we are reading it as a mission and looking for references to Christ). It is a blessing, because the words of the prophets and missionaries speak to my concerns and those of the people we teach so clearly. We never have to answer a single question from our own knowledge (thank heavens), all we have to do is open the scriptures because the answers are all there. It all comes down to the same thing, though. Faith. We can not repent fully if we do not have faith that we can be and are forgiven.

In Mosiah 4,  " the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission‍ of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith‍ which they had in Jesus Christ who should come..." Then king Benjamin said to them:  "even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission‍ of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit‍ upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy."

 Same with prayer- we can not pray with real intent if we do not have faith that someone is listening. We can not bear testimony with power if we do not have faith that the Holy Ghost will confirm those truths to those we speak to. And we can certainly not gain any sort of knowledge or wisdom from the scriptures if we do not have faith it is written by men of God, who had His authority. That is why, as missionaries, we invite people to do things to increase their faith, and  they, inturn, decide for themselves what is true. Faith makes all things possible.

My testimony has been strengthened this week when I met an 8 year old boy and his mum. The sweet boy is someone the sisters have been teaching for a while and I now have the privilege to teach him and his mum. His father is a Satanist, and every couple of weeks he goes to visit him. This last time he was there he shared with his dad about the premortal life. He was reading the beginning of Genesis in the Simplified kid's version of the bible and was telling his dad about what he read- the fallen angel being named Lucifer, and the creation of the world. We hadn't taught any of it, it was just something he said he read about and knew it was true, so he taught his dad. When his dad told him he was wrong, he shrugged it off. We asked him if he still believed it was true. He said yes. We asked him why. He just said he knew it. We asked him if he ever prayed about what he read, and he said no, that he didn't need to pray about it. "I pray every single night when I'm at mum's house and I never ask him if what you are saying is true because I already know it's true". We smiled and invited him to pray about it, just to be sure. He said he would. He is probably the most amazing 8 year old boy I've ever met before. He comes from a background of great adversity and yet is so faithful.

The blessings of having faith are insurmountable. 

There are so many reasons not to, and it seems to be popular to need proof for everything you believe in, but in order to live the life we were created and intended to live, in order to produce the most success and happiness we could ever achieve in this life, we must develop faith. That is why it's the first principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I am thankful for the faith and testimony God has given me.

 

I love the people here.

I love Armadale. 

It's cold but the people are so warm and lovely. 

I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else. 

 

I can't wait to talk to you soon. NO I do not have an accent, Emmalee. (: SORRY. I'm still not sure who or when I will call, or anything but we'll try to give you a heads up next week? I honestly didn't realize until this morning how sooooooon I get to see your cute/handsome faces. (: Just make sure you put shadow outside before you call... (; KIDDING. 

Love you!
Sister Falter