Feb. 2, 2015 - I backed into a brick wall...

It wasn't my fault. As missionaries, it's a rule that you can't reverse the car without someone behind it directing you, so that we minimize the accidents.  I was being obedient and one of the sisters was backing me (not to point fingers but it was Sister T). She continued to waver her hands, very energetically as if to say I had heaps of room. We have a back up mirror, but being the trusting person I am, I was looking at her. all of a sudden I see her give me the STOP signal, and in that same second I heard the sound. I wasn't very happy, as you can imagine. My foot slammed the brake and I looked at the sister who was backing me, and she gave me a big smile and two thumbs up, and said "It's all good sister, just go forward a little bit!!" It was not funny in the moment but I laughed about it later, The car wasn't damaged, thankfully but the bike rack was turned so that we couldn't fit the bikes on there (which is not a big deal seeing as though we don't ride our bikes much - our area is HUGE). 

I was SO nervous to tell Elder Sunderland, the senior Elder in charge of missionaries transportation, but he just laughed and laughed when we told him, and fixed the problem. 

That's the last time I'm letting Sister T back me!

Hello to my loved ones.

Thank you for the heaps of mail this week. I love you all and am happy to be hearing all about Christmas and the winter holiday altogether. To echo my sister Emmalee's words, even though I'm away and it might be sad to miss me, all you have to do is follow Jesus and keep the commandments. Words of wisdom from my baby sister! ALL your advice and love (and pictures) are precious gifts. I love you all, and appreciate every word. Thank you thank you. Replies coming soon!!!

Mom, I am out of Yoli Alkalete and Enzymes. I don't mean you have to rush and send me more, but I feel so accomplished to finish the bottles all by myself! (: Drinking water is a struggle still but I'm working on it!  (Just so happens Mom already mailed some.)

We did lots of service this week! On Tuesday we went to a lady's home who is not a member of the church, but has lots of family who is and we weeded and gardened for hours. It was supposed to be in the 90's that day, but Heavenly Father blessed us with a cool breeze and clouds in the sky. I didn't even get a burn! It was actually so fun to be in pants, and to get dirty. It's been a while (weird I know) but it was even better to see how relieved this sweet sister was that we did this for her. Her husband passed away last year and she's been so stressed about everything lately and hasn't had the health to work on the garden. She also was open to us coming back and teaching her, so we plan on doing more gardening and visiting her again this week! 

Service is a blessing!

We visit this cute couple, Mary and Tony every so often. This week was our second visit with them. They are very old and so much fun! Mary is a member, but she is very forgetful and repeats herself a lot. Tony has never been baptized but he knows just about everything there is to know about the church. He has spoken with countless General Authorities and even an apostle (Mormon Celebrities - the leaders of the church), and has been taught by dozens of missionaries. They are so sweet, and love each other, but any time you start to 'preach too strong', Tony just gets up and walks out. HAHAHA. We love him though. 

He has a rock collection, He goes into the mountains and markets and gathers rock and comes back and grinds them down into beautiful stones. They decorate his living room. We asked him about these rocks and he explained that each colour represented a different kind and place, and how you can tell one from another. He told us the process of taking them from rough grey surfaces to these smooth and colourful stones, and how each takes time and lots of repetitive motions to mould them into the stones we see in his living room. Each is carefully polished and counted and put in it's place. He's a part of this rock club in town and is very passionate. I admit, it was all very interesting to hear about. 

I related this to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and showed Tony how the process he uses to mould his stones is very similar to the process Heavenly Father uses to mould us into the people He wants us to be - the people we CAN be! Each stone has the same potential to be smooth and shiny and beautiful, but we all have rough edges. You can't go from dirty and grey and rough to gorgeous and clean and smooth in the blink of an eye, but each of us can. It's through careful persistence, using the tools we have been blessed with, patience, and time that we become the people God would have us be. It is these tool: Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Continuing onward that we can become the shiny stones displayed around the room. It was a powerful lesson, and he stayed through the whole thing. He LOVED it! And we had fun teaching this principle because it is what we believe - that God loves us and wants us to see our inner beauty, but it is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can truly do that!

This week we have a General Authority coming to the mission. (More Celebs), so we are all on our best behaviour and are very excited to meet him. He's Samoan, and Sister Iosua-Fiu and I were asked to sing again (she's also Samoan) so we are singing 'I need thee every hour', two verses in Samoan. Pray for me. It's a beautiful language but e's are i's and i's are e's and I'm so worried. haha.

Love you all!

Sister Falter

PS. Kangaroo Update ->> :( 

(She will try to send pictures next week!)

January 27, 2015 - Drum Roll Please! We aren't transferring! Australia Day on the beach.

Family and Friends, 

I'm not getting transferred... And neither is Sister Iosua-Fiu. 

It is an answered prayer, too because Sunday night I felt sick and finally made my companion call the zone leaders and beg for the news. They love us so they lied to us and told me I was going down south, but then they told us the truth and I slept well! (:

Per mother's request, I am writing my family email BEFORE I reply to all the other emails...

Mothers know best (and the Tangled references continue)...

This week has been crazy. We didn't have P-Day yesterday because it was Australia Day, so we were out most of the day. In the morning we had a big Aussie breakfast at the beach with the ward. The beach is gorgeous and the food was so good. Except bacon in AU is not bacon... It's like individually sliced pieces of ham, grilled or cooked. I love it, but it's just not bacon... Anyways other than the breakfast, I saw rugby played for the first time ever. Everyone in the ward was out there -  it was so fun to watch.

We got to teach a pretty special lesson this week with the stake relief society president's niece who is 17 and staying with her from NZ. We took her to Young women's class on Sunday, and that evening they had us over for dinner. Sister Hitta, her auntie has been a member since she was 10, but went inactive for most of her life. She is an amazing lady and I loved being in her home. Her two boys are so funny, and after the lesson we had dinner with them, so we were able to stay and play games with the boys. The boys are 11 and 12 and both remind me of Adam. Picture two Adams together as brothers, and that was who I was hanging around. Man, it was fun!

We taught the Restoration with the whole family there, and watched the video that goes along with it. (See blog post with video attached, if you want to see the video.) After the movie was over we asked Sister Hitta to give her testimony. She told us that the video we watched was the video played her first week back at church after over 15 years of inactivity and bore a very strong testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restoration. Everyone was in tears, including her niece and the boys as she spoke. Hearing other people bear testimony always strengthens mine. It was a beautiful lesson. We asked the whole family to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. I can't wait to hear there experiences in the coming week.

There is a less active member that LOVES us visiting all the time who is in his 50's. He always tells us "you might get me to church once or twice but I'm not shaving my beard" (He looks like grandpa B before he shaved). We love this man. He lives alone with two birds who have free reign of the house, and always brings them out to show us.

We popped by for a few minutes to invite him to the Australia Day activity and he was excited to be invited but didn't make any promises. He noticed my CTR ring and asked what it was. I had a few extras in my purse, so I gave him one. We talked about the blessings that come from Choosing The Right and he LOVED his gift. He didn't come to the activity on Monday, but I have faith in him and am so excited to bring a member with us to teach him next week!

I'm starting to really fall in love with the people in Australia. 

I love the scripture in 2 Nephi 26:33

".... for [the Lord] doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."

He loves all of his children, regardless of their circumstances and what they look like. I'm starting to feel the same way. I meet so many people. They're all SOOO different from one another, and from who I'm used to hanging around but I know that God loves them, and wants them home. And the more I learn about them, the more I feel that same kind of love and want the best for them, which is why I am here - to teach and talk of Christ.

Everything we do is through Jesus Christ, he is our Saviour and our Friend. He is the reason I am happy through trials and the reason I am here on my mission. Without him, we are nothing.

I know that to be true!!!

Thank you all for your support and letters. I love you all and pray for you every night.

Have a good week!!

xoxo

Sister Brooklyn Kay Falter

Australia Perth Mission

PO Box 185

Tuart Hill WA  6939

Australia

Awesome 3 minute video.  -  Joshua 24:15 Choose you this day...

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-09-37-choose-this-day?lang=eng

Restoration Video - Meantioned in January 27th Post

Sister Falter taught the lesson on the restoration and showed this video as part of the lesson.

The full video is found here:
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2008-06-01-the-restoration?lang=eng

January 19, 2015 - Sick in AU, Zone Conference...10th richest man in AU, and Tangled analogy!

DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

This email will be fast and furious. I can't wait to tell you about my week!

This week I finally got sick. The AU germs got to me and I just about couldn't get out of bed on Tuesday. So we called Sister Lindsay and I was forced to stay in as much as possible. Which was good bcause the times I did go out for our appointments, I was so out of it.

I love meeting the members here. Just about everyone in the ward is a mixture of European, Filipino, Asian, New Zealander or Australian. There is just about no couple that's the same nationality so going to their homes and learning their stories is quite interesting. I LOVE it!!

Getting over my sore throat and fever took longer than 2 days but the show must go on, so Sister Iosua Fiu and I still sang our hearts out at Zone Conference.

Zone conference. That's when a bunch of the missionaried from all over ther area get together and have trainings and devotionals and learn from our leaders and each other. We get to hear people's testimonies and as a surprise at the end, we got to watch Meet the Mormons! I cried the whole time. Now they all know the true me.... Cry Baby!

The whole day really motivated me and my testimony grew so much. 

Elder Meurs from the area 70 was there to speak to us. He's an amazing example of how gospel principles, when applied, create pathways in your spiritual and temporal progression. 

He's the 10th richest man in Australia but acts like any one of us. He gives back so much to the community and is always sharing his testimony to others.

The whole time, he talked about the importance for all of us to understand who we are.

We are sons and daughters of God. We are Royal by birth. 

We have the capability to become like our Father in heaven. (Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48)

Once we know that, everything else falls into place. We can BECOME who God wants us to be because the distractions around us, the temptations and the trials no longer matter as much. 

It reminded me of my favourite Disney movie Tangled.

She was yearning to know who she was and where she came from, and was living far beneath her privileges. (like the Mormon message)

We all know she was a princess, and wanted her to make those steps out of the grasp of her "mother" who held her captive, but she didn't know what WE do. 

But she took a chance on herself, knowing something was out there for her. 

The closer she got, the more adversity she felt, but she held her ground. She believed in herself. Her magic hair and beauty were just little glimpse of all she could become, but she never fully understood her power until she remembered her past. Things all made sense and she believed she was the lost princess. She believed she was above the things that held her captive, and she acted. She defeated all her adversary,  she healed her handsome lover and she went to the castle, seeking her royal parents. Wanting to know the truth!

It was not until she was there, with her mother and father that she knew.

We probably will all have doubts about where we came from, but when we believe in our Heavenly Father, and in our divine heritage, miracles happen. 

I believe that can be the case for all of us! 

This week, none of our investigators came to church and many of them don't want us over, so this week we're really focusing our time and all our energy towards finding people who are seeking truth.

I am so grateful to be here. The heat doen't stop me... but I will admit it slows me down a little bit! 

The people are wonderful. 

I met this dotera lady and she was so funny and I was honestly so excited!!

I love you all! My time is up! xoxo

Sister Falter

January 12, 2015 - Joy in the Journey // Finding the Zone Leaders

Did you know that President Lindsay, my mission president, is the one that recorded the scriptures. Family, do you even understand what this means. I HAVE BEEN HEEDING THE COUNSEL OF MY MISSION PRESIDENT FOR YEARS SUBCONSIOUSLY. Okay, maybe not His words, but his voice. So cool. I'll never listen to the scriptures the same. 

This week was an adventure. The zone leaders introduced a game called Find The Zone Leaders. They hid a picture of themselves (so vain) somewhere in each district. Every night, if each companionship reports a miracle to the DL's, the ZL's will give us a clue. The first District to find the Zone Leaders and solve the riddle on the back gets a feed. Sister I is so into it!! She's up in trees and all over the place! It's been so fun and actually has brought a very positive excitement to the zone as we are constantly sharing miracles and working together. 

I'm reading in the Book of Mormon a lot, and I LOVE what the prophet Nephi teaches us about finding joy in the journey. His father was told by God to take his family into the wilderness. Nephi didn't complain, but he also wanted to know if his father's words were really from God. He prayed to know, and God indeed told him they were. That began a very long and crucial journey for Nephi and his family. They travelled for years. The women bore children in the wilderness, and all the time Nephi's family complained. They complained about the food and the location and how tired they were. Although Nephi had the same trials, he bore them differently. He rejoiced in his God and prayed to him frequently. The Lord gave Nephi power and knowledge and strength. When there was no food, instead of complain, he built a bow and hunted himself. He learned to construct tools and build a ship. He learned to sail and most importantly rely on his Heavenly Father in all things. 
They all reached the destination and received the blessings that came with it. The promised land, for them, provided shelter and safety and abundance. However, Nephi not only received this blessing, but all the blessings that came as he endured the journey to the promised land the Lord had provided. As I've read about Nephi, I know that he found joy in the gospel. He found joy and peace and comfort. He showed that as he constantly put his faith in Heavenly Father and blessed his family. I know I need to remember that in every aspect of my life. Heavenly Father has promised us a place to go, free of all the sadness and fear and suffering, if we will have faith in him, keep his commandments and endure to the end. But as I find joy in my daily journey, He will bless me with more than I could ever ask for, just as He blessed Nephi. 

We have to be willing to endure the trials and find joy! 

This week, I applied this principle through the unexpected! My companion has been sick, so we've mostly been inside (I say mostly, but its more than mostly) for the last few days!HOWEVER, the times we DID go out, we saw miracles. 

One lady who hasn't been back to church in a long time told us her goal is to come back to church and take temple preparation classes so that she could be together with her kids forever. 

We stopped by a man's house who exclaimed "I've been waiting for you's to come back! It's been months!" 

We also came REALLY close to finding the Zone Leaders! (;

Another Miracle: The big nasty cockroach in the bathroom was already DEAD when I got up in the morning. Still haven't plucked up the courage to pick it up and throw it away ---GAG!!!

I am so excited for this next week. There will be LOTS of joy in the journey since we have mission conference, and Sister I and I are singing a duet! (: Wish us luck!

I received an ABUNDANCE of letters - Christmas cards and notes from so many families I love and adore. Thank you, the pictures and notes and colouring pages mean so much to me, and I can't wait to respond to each of you. 

(The computer autocorrects and some of the words are spelled different)

I love you all!!I think of you often and my prayers are with you,Have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Falter

To one of my very best friends, Jason, congratulations. I know the decision you've made to be baptized will bless your life abundantly. My mom sent me your testimony and I've seen some pictures of your special day and my testimony has been strengthened! 

Brother and Sister B, I was thinking of you as well this week! Congratulations. You are such a light to those around you. 

January 5, 2015 - Kangaroo spotted...finally!

Every time we see a 'Kangaroo Crossing' sign I am on the look out. We barely see them, because we are not in the bush, but when we do, Sister I watches the road and I am concentrating on the bush. And I saw one. It was a split second, and all I saw was the outline of it because the sun was going down but I saw it!!

My Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been hot. I am getting tan, but only because my burns will eventually turn dark. I don't even really know the temp because it's all in Celsius but it is horrible. We are SO BLESSED to have a car and air conditioning. 

This week I got a Christmas card and package from my family and one from my extended (Yoli) family, the Bentley's! I was thinking about my friends, and all my yoli family during new years and wondering where the fun was happening. It made me miss you all! I am so thankful to have so much support. Thank you all. Thanks mom and Kylee and the Bentley's for the love this week. It brightened my day!

I've also been thinking about how beautiful Australia is! WOW this place is something else. Apparently it gets better too. the sunsets are ridiculous. The trees are amazing. The people are funny. Kicked back all the time. I love it here!

Our friend who we have been teaching came to church and loved it! Whenever there is someone new, the members go crazy. They all make sure they introduce or shake his hand. He had a blast, and the lessons went perfectly for him! He's getting baptized at the end of January! (:

We went on exchanges this week meaning I got to be with a different sister, Sister Rogers, all day! We went tracting and taught lessons together and had a blast. What I've learned from her is that every day is a new chance to reach your goals and find lots of joy! Joy and happiness come when we are working towards something great! At times, when we felt discouraged, we kept pushing and working towards our goals. The second you decided NOT to give up, and continue to work is the second you start having faith. When we have faith, Heavenly Father will always bless us. He will always provide.

I love the scripture in Alma 3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

God will always prepare a way. After working hard, and pushing through negativity, that's what I discovered. Trials will always make us stronger, but only if we seek the light at the end of the tunnel. Push through the darkness.

I love the Lord, he blesses me every day.
I am so happy to be a missionary.

I love you all. Hope everyone is well.

xoxo
Sister Falter

PS> Thessalonians 1:2
"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers"

inside the flat. the hooded figure is Sister Fiu. We like to blast the AC and snuggle in our blankets lol

We taught a training at zone meeting (ya since the comp is an STL I have to train with her) and we used an object in our lesson AKA the elders made a pyramid. Legit!! One of the elders said I acted and sounded like I WASNT a greenie so that's a very reassuring compliment! (: It was way fun!

We eat well here! We just moved the couches to the table when we had the carpet cleaners come so we used those.

My study desk.

especially for Austin, Daniel, Hunter and Melissa, my harry potter friends... you'll never guess who was on holiday in Perth, Australia!

Brooklyn said she like Larry the Lizard better than Shadow (our dog).

And in another email...I asked Sister Falter how she was REALLY doing and this was her sweet and honest response. What a wonderful woman she is and how proud we are of her.

I'm doing okay, really. It's hard. I am happy but a different kind of happy. I love meeting people but it is exhausting sometimes. We hear a lot of sad fall away stories. Like A LOT. Everyday. So that's kinda depressing. But I am good. I'm trying to be obedient. I miss home a lot. I miss yoli and staying up to date with what's happening all over the business. I didn't realize I'd miss it so much. I don't miss twitter or music or movies, but family and free time and those things I miss. 

BUT I am loving training. I really enjoy using my leadership skills and training and teaching. I am also singing for zone conference when the general authority speaks to us next week. Me and sister Iosua-Fiu! (:

I'm good. They literally spoil us here - the missionaries get AC and we get cars and they're always making sure we're doing okay. My zone and district leaders are the bom.

December 29, 2014 - I ate pig skin!

Have you ever seen a full blown pig cooked up and chopped into pieces? The Heaene family FEASTED this Christmas, and yes... The pig was included in the meal. My Zone Leaders were there, and Elder Tipene cut up the whole pig, taking the nasty fat off and cut the meat into pieces. I have never seen anything quite like it. They thought I was so weird for never having tried it. He made me try the cheek meat and the skin. Not too bad, I have to say.

I'm not sure all I ate on Christmas night, but it was different, to say the least. They are a beautiful family. We skyped at their house and other than a lunch appointment, we were there all day! Christmas ended with everyone sitting around singing songs and telling stories. It was a beautiful day.

My beautiful family, I LOVED seeing all your beautiful faces. 40 minutes is just not enough time. I want to hear how Christmas actually went!! The snow looks beautiful. And I need to hear what you all got from Santa!! Sorry for talking so much on Skype!! (; HAHA.

I don't have much time, so I'll just tell you about yesterday.

I was bummed because nobody came to church that we committed. People should just tell us no, instead of leaving us hanging like that. It was so sad. My first flat out rejection.

Then, a lovely lady we taught during the week called and told us she didn't want us to come over anymore. I loved being in her home, and could feel the spirit so strong when we taught, but she doesn't want us to teach anymore. So here I am feeling sorry for myself. We had church in the morning so we had to do our studies in the evening. I said lots of prayers and read from the Book of Mormon and the New Testament for a while and felt better.

We had an appointment up the road with a family we met mid week. Beautiful African family with 4 kids. We went over there, but mom wasn't home. We tried again an hour later, still wasn't home. It was frustrating because we paused our studies each time to go, and she still wasn't home. We tried that night, and SHE WAS HOME!!

They invited us in and we talked while the kids ate.

They have been married over 20 years and are happy with their lives and children even though they didn't know eachother until the day they got married! The kids are so sweet, and very smart!

After dinner, they gathered around and I lead out the Restoration of the Gospel. We taught for about 45 minutes. The kids' eyes were glued as we talked about prophets, and testified of Christ. We explained about revelation, the priesthood, and made all sorts of analogies to help them all understand. They took turns reading scriptures and talking about what they meant.

We told them that our purpose as missionaries is to teach people so that they can come closer to Jesus Christ, and as we do this, our families and our lives are blessed. We told the about the blessing of baptism and how that is the first step in making promises with God, and what a blessing it is that we have the authority to baptized again on the earth, exactly like it was in Jesus Christ's time.

We asked them if they have a desire to be baptized, like Jesus Christ was. They said yes. Mom, Dad, and all four kids. Even their cousins. We can't baptize the cousins, because they don't live here and they need their parents permission first, but all 8 of the kids and the parents all said they would like to. We asked them to prepare to be baptized January 31st, and they agreed. Unfortunately the youngest is too young to be baptized (she will be devastated).

We are still working with the family, but the feeling in that room was incredible. I know that being baptised and internalizing the commitment they are going to make in January will bless each of their lives and their family as a whole. I know we met them for a reason. I can't wait to help them along their journey!

There was a miracle around the corner, literally... And I am so blessed to be a part of this work.

Nothing can top that feeling, I am convinced.

We SHARED the miracle to President Lindsay, the assistants (who cheered and clapped and did the haka for 2 minutes straight when we told them), and our zone and district leaders!

It's a great day to be a missionary in Western Australia!!

I can't wait for mothers day (five months)! I pray for my family every night! And my friends.

Make SURE you post on my Facebook to my college and high school friends to "Be safe and make good choices on new years eve. Even though I am across the world, I will know....."

I know the gospel message is one that will bless countless lives.

That's why I am here. I know it, I live it, I love it, and I teach it!

xoxoxo Love, Sister Falter

PS. Still no kangaroos. I'm starting to think people were lying to me....

Rockingham/Bunbury/Albany/Geraldton Christmas Photo sent from Sister Lindsday

And this sweet note from Sister Lindsay...

Dear Elders and Sisters,

It was wonderful to be together in the mission home for Christmas.  Thank you for sharing your talents!  There was a wonderful spirit with your zones and it meant a lot to me.  Thank you for your devoted missionary service. I pray for your safety, obedience, and success every day.

love,

Sister Lindsay