Seers and Revelators, here in Washington: November 25th 2013

This week was a great one for the journal! On Saturday we had Elder Neil L. Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles here in the Washington Tacoma Mission! He spoke to us on Saturday and had with him, Craig C Christianson from the presidency of the Seventy. It was a really incredible meeting and he got me really pumped to do missionary work! He talked a lot about missionary work and the atonement! It was good for me to hear, so that was really wonderful! He is a great guy and he took the time to shake all of our hands. This week we also had a baptism, her name is Kate Kacho, and she plays Volleyball!!! :] it was fun to talk with her a little bit about that and then a lot a bit about the Gospel! so that's great! Other than that its been kind of a slow week here, we are working at building our teaching pool and so far we are doing alright, keep the people of Olympia in your prayers! Love you all!! have a blessed week!!

Love Sister Falkner!!

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2714780496001

^^Wrong Roads

The Picture is Sister Palmer, Kate Kacho, and Me at the baptism!

The work goes forth in Olympia 4th :] - November 18th 2013

Hello everyone!!! So I am now in Olympia 4th ward and I LOVE it here!!! It is VERY different being put here because this is the first time I have come into an area and there was actually already work going on. It’s strange to me! But it’s kind of nice! We already have like 10 progressing investigators and we had a baptism Saturday. It’s crazy! I am so used to being put in slow areas and having to make the best of it, so this is all so strange to me! But no complaints!! I like it and the ward seems so sweet! This week we had some serious rain! I think it rains more in the southern part of the mission because I never had this much rain in the North (this is my first time serving on the southern side of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.) we were tracting this week and we were DRENCHED!!!!!!! I hung my coat in the closet to dry and it took two days!! Every single layer of my clothes was soaked and it was so cold! It is around the 40's here but with all the rain and wind chill I feel like I am back in Rexburg in January. Haha it’s chilly. This ward is really great and because there is so much work going on here, the ward has 2 sets of missionaries now. We have Sister Palmer and I and a set of Elders. Elder Bing and Elder Johnson. Elder Johnson is from Herriman and lives around the corner from Joe (from teraflex) he loves jeeps so we have some good conversations. It’s fun to have someone that actually understands!! :] anyways, it’s very interesting sharing a ward but I like it, we work really well together and we have been giving the Elders some of our investigators and things are starting to play out the way they should be! It’s really great!! So, Sister Palmer is my new companion. She is the sweetest thing!!! Here’s the funny thing... She is from Sandy Utah.... weird huh??? hahaha she graduated from Brighton in 2011 (the same year as me) and she knows some of the kids I went to middle school with! It’s fun! She is so sweet and has been out for a little over a month! She is doing great though and the ward loves her, as do I!!! I want you all to know how much the Lord knows what He is doing! I have already found my reason for being here in this ward at this time. His name is Dwayne. Dwayne is the Husband to Suzi and she has been meeting with the sisters for a little over a month now. She is incredible and is going to be baptized January 1st. Dwayne has never sat in on the lessons with suzi but he believes in God and wants to do things his way and in his time. The first time we went over there I asked him if he would ever have the desire to be baptized by proper authority and he said "one day" then we chatted for a bit, but when we wanted to start the lesson he stood up to leave. I asked him to stay just for the prayer and he did, his wife Suzi said that was a huge step for him, so that was cool. I didn't think much of it but the next time we went over there we brought the elders because Dwayne said he might like to meet with the Elders. all four of us went in and started visiting with them and Dwayne was about to leave, I told him that he wanted elders and I brought him elders and that it would be rude of him to leave, so he agreed to sit in for the lesson. (HUGE MIRACLE) I asked if we could begin with me offering an opening prayer and he sarcastically said NO so I told him if I couldn't then he would have to, and he didn't like the idea of that so he let me say the prayer. The cool part about Dwayne is that I catch on to his little tricks and sarcasm really well and I challenge it, he has gone through some passive missionaries before and never been challenged so this is good for him. Anyways! We had a great lesson and the spirit was so strong, he began to tear up and said he had to go so we wrapped up and said a kneeling prayer before he left. He promised to be at church the next day, which made me so happy!! Dwayne didn't come to church Sunday but he had a good enough reason, Suzi worked him too hard the day before with moving around furniture and he hurt his back, but she came up to me and told me that later that night he told her that he has needed someone to challenge him and that he wants to get back into church!! Yay!!! I love him, I don't even know if this story made any sense because when I get excited I tend to ramble, but Dwayne has a spot in my heart and I am so excited for the little steps he is taking!!! :] I love you all! Oh and Allison, from Silverdale got baptized this Friday!!! I didn't get to go, but I know it was great! I love her so much! That's all.
Love, Sister Falkner

Me and Sister Palmer

The Olympia 4th Ward Missionaries. Elder Johnson, Elder Bing, Me, and Sister Palmer

November 12th 2013: A week of goodbye's always welcomes a week of hello's

Happy late Veterans Day my friends!! November 12th 2013 If you couldn't guess by the title, I am leaving Silverdale. After 6 short months here, my time is up. I am heading down to Olympia 4th ward today and I am very excited! It has been a little bit difficult saying goodbye to all those I have grown to love here, but I know that our friendships are eternal, so its okay!!! My next companion will be Sister Palmer, I don't know anything about her except that she has been out for 6 weeks and I will doing her follow-up training. It will be fun to have a companion that still feels the newness of everything! I am really excited!!! We had a leadership meeting this week and the mission made some changes, its really interesting and I don't know if any of you even care, but its sometimes fun to see how different missions run things so here are the new rules of our mission. We used to be able to eat dinner at either 4 or 7 and we would have to knock on doors from 5-7 everyday but we have made a new rule that dinners have to be at 4 everyday so that we have more time to schedule evening appointments! Its hard on the members, but I know it will really help the missionaries with scheduling :] it will be good, another change that was made is a little harder for me to get used to but I will gain a testimony of it soon I'm sure! We are no longer allowed to play sports with the elders on p-day. We can have a lunch with all the zone once per transfer and play a sport once per transfer but the only sport we can all play together is volleyball, fine by me :] but the hard part is that all the other p-days we have to spend all our time with the sisters and I feel like I will get a lot less exercise.. oh well. It will be good and keep things the way they should be!:] We also are only supposed to teach with the scriptures from here on out. No more tricks or visuals or gimmicks, analogies or anything. It will be a little tricky but it will bring the spirit so much quicker! It will all be good! Change is good! Here is Silverdale this week we had some great things happen. First off, Cindy got a calling! She is a relief society representative! We are really excited for her she is doing so great!!! Peggy is doing super great as well. She is still learning and praying about the gospel, but she is awesome! She is coming to the ward chili cook off and bringing her famous chili! Its awesome! Allison came to church this week and after Sunday school she turned around to us and told us she wants to be baptized before she moves away to Massachusetts, (she moves this Saturday) haha so she will probably be baptized this Friday! I am going to be sad to miss it, but she will be awesome and I am so happy for her!! My funny story for the week. I went to say goodbye to my dear friend Robin Plyler, I love her so much. She has a son on a mission and is learning about the church! She celebrated my birthday with me and this week we celebrated her birthday with her! She is a doll! We said our goodbyes and asked her to say the closing prayer and she doesn't like to pray in front of people, but I love it when she does because they are always unique and from the heart! This time she was kind of funny, if that's okay to say about a prayer? Hah she said “thank you for putting Sister Falkner in my lives...... (long pause) I mean life... (long pause) I'm not a cat, I don't have 9 lives....(long pause with a few escapes of laughter) Meow....” Robin is so fun and her prayers are so funny! She just speaks whats on her mind and what is in her heart, I love it so much! I love you all and I hope to hear from you at my new address which is 320 Israel Rd SW Tumwater WA 98501 Love always, Sister Falkner!

Gods Greatest Creation: November 4th 2013

November 4th 2013 <----- november?? weird... Hello hello!! :] well this week we had some fun things happen. 1. I went on an exchange to Bainbridge Island, it was fun I got to be with Sister White, she has only been out for about 5 weeks so its always fun to be around the new ones because their desire to work is so strong! I really enjoyed it! We even put two people on date to be baptized while I was there, so that was really cool! 2. We had a ward activity this week and it was a haunted forest. There is a family, the Baldridge's that have a ton of trees in their backyard and the youth went and decorated it and dressed up to be the scary people inside. We had Breann, an investigator that came and she brought her friend and her two kids. The haunted forest was fun because it was for all ages, they did a scary version and a not so scary version. When Breann and her two kids got there we asked her if she wanted to do the scary or not scary version and she chose scary, I was really hoping she wouldn't cause we had to go with them and I'm a baby... but it wasn't too bad and her kids took it like a champ!!! She stuck around and talked with a lot of people and it was a really good opportunity for her. 3. We had our downstairs neighbor and his cute daughter Chloe bring us some Halloween balloons and caramel apples they are really nice, they took us out for ice cream last week! He is a very less active member, and he actually came to church with us for a bit last week, so its cool getting to know them better! 4. Halloween night! :] Halloween as a missionary is a little bit different than most Halloweens. Haha we had a zone meeting and then we all went over to sister Bohls house for dinner. She had tons of food ready for all of us (24 missionaries) and she stayed up way late last night making caramel apples for each one of us! It was so great, she has a very fun house too, she has foosball, air hockey, ping pong, and a little arcade basketball type game. Its really fun and the missionaries really enjoyed it. We grilled up some burgers and played for a bit and then we got to watch a movie. President and Sister Weaver sent us some candy and a movie for us to watch as a zone. We got to watch Ephraim's Rescue. It was a really good movie, I really enjoyed it! Pretty funny too! It was obviously the most spiritual Halloween I've ever been a part of but I really loved it! It was a blast! Sister Bohls is so sweet!!! So those are the exciting things that have been going on here this week! This week I started a 40 day fast. I have been praying a lot about what I can give up to be healthier so that I will be more capable of giving the work 100% of my attention and energy because of my ankle and being sick the last two weeks, its been hard but I have given it a lot of thought and prayer and I am fasting for 40 days from milk and chocolate. I get sick just about everyday, but I think its because I start my day off with cereal, so I am giving up milk so I can not feel sick as often, and so far so good! And chocolate is just for my own health and to get rid of that so call “addiction” so please dont send me any! :] I know that when we take care of our bodies it is easier for us to feel the spirit and I have faith that as I refrain from the things that dont do my body good for this little stretch of time I can come closer to my Heavenly Father and show Him how grateful I really am for this wonderful gift of a body! You should all check out this video!!! :] “Gods Greatest Creation” http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages Transfer calls are this Saturday night, I will let you know what is going on next week! :] Love you!!! have a great week! Love, Sister Falkner!

Coke in Sacrament: October 28th 2013

This week was pretty incredible and I have lots to tell you all, so I hope you find this entertaining and not a drag, cause it could be a long one. This week on Tuesday the 22nd was my companion, Sister Young's birthday!!! We had a great day and the best part was that we went over to Sister Bohls house for dinner and she said we could invite whoever we wanted! So we had like 3 less actives and 2 non-members at her birthday dinner, it was really awesome!! I've also been kind of sick this last few weeks and I have not totally gotten better, but I went to the doctor on Thursday, as I was sitting and waiting to be called back I was looking at the options for reading materials, there in front of me I had the choice to read MotorTrend, or the Bible.... My agency was truly being tested, but I decided I ought to read the Bible while I was waiting. I opened it up and started reading in Romans 5, and in verses 3-4 it says “but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience, experience, and experience, hope.” I found it very comforting because I had been struggling a lot with not being able to work as effectively while being sick and I just felt like I didn't need this trial, but I am overcoming it and learning patience from it, so that is a good thing I guess. I'm glad I chose to read the Bible instead because I was really grateful to have run across that verse! :] So, the work is picking up here, right as I am probably about to leave, but thats okay! This week we taught Taylor Junt, she is 16 and a friend of the bishop's daughter, she is awesome and very receptive, she has been going to youth activities and really enjoys them, she is fun to teach and we just lover her, we are teaching her again tonight! Allison is another person we are working with, she is awesome! She was supposed to meet with us this week but she got sick and had to go to the hospital, we asked her if she would like a priesthood blessing and she was so honored that we offered that to her, so we went with the Elders and she got a blessing, she loved it and really felt her Father's love for her! She is plowing through the Book of Mormon like a champ! We are really excited to be meeting with her regularly when she gets out of the hospital! So keep her in your prayers!! This Sunday before church Ashley got her Patriarchal Blessing, it was amazing to be a part of that with her, she loved every second of it and, I felt so strongly how much Heavenly Father loves her! Now it's time for a fun story! This week at church we had 3 people attending for their first time. 1. Treyvon, he was invited by a friend in the ward and he liked it, but is going to stick with his baptist beliefs. 2. Tito (teeto) he is pretty cool. He just moved her from the East coast and we knocked into him about 2 weeks ago, he said casually that he would come to church sometime, so sunday we text him and re-extended the invitation and he came, it was awesome!!! 3. Breann, she is someone we have slowly been teaching and we weren't really sure how much she cared, but she said she would come to church and she wants to be baptized, so its great that she is now progressing!! she has 2 crazy kids, Eli (boy) who is 6 and Ellie (girl) who is 2. So now that you know a little bit about them. Breann walks in late and sits by Tito, she has a huge Coke from the gas station in her hand and we were in the overflow in the gym. Within 2 minutes one of her kids had knocked it over... She was SOO embarrassed and she didn't really know what to do, but heck... neither did I... so we just kind of looked around unsure how to handle the situation but before we knew it, Brother Laing and like 3 other guys were rushing back in with paper towels in hand. They were all on there hands and knees, mid-sacrament meeting cleaning it up. Haha they got it all taken care of and church went on. Kind of a crazy first time for both Tito and Breann. The nice part was that we were in the back and no one in front of us knew what was going on, so we only really distracted the people behind us! It was a good time at church for sure! The rest of it went really well! Sister Young and I have been on this kick lately about the 2 great commandments, of loving God and loving our neighbors, we have been talking about it a lot with the members and amoungst ourselves and it reminded me of this quote I got in a letter a while ago. It said “God doesnt love us because of who we are, he loves us because of who He is” I loved it! I thought it was really great, and it makes so much sense! When we can get to the point where we love people becase its just natural and its who we are, we truly have a Christlike love, rather than only loving the people that are easy to love. So that is my invitation to you this week. LOVE EVERYONE!!! I love you all!!! Love, Sister Falkner!

Hakuna Matata :] October 21st 2013

This week was a good one for Sister Young and I. We are going about missionary work a little bit differently this transfer. We are meeting with a lot of the younger people that are having a hard time getting themselves to commit to the church, but they are some pretty awesome people!!!! I love them! We have been working a lot with Isaac and Megan! ISAAC is a convert, he converted when he was 18 and went on a mission at 20, he has been home for about a year and kind of fell in a rut of missing church and hangin' around the wrong crowd, but his desire is real and he wants to come back, last week he bore his testimony is sacrament and he said he has been happier the last few weeks that he has been meeting with us and living the gospel more fully, it's really awesome to hear! This week we had a lesson planned with him and he had to cancel due to family things, so we rescheduled and he had us meet him over at his parents house who are both very less active and his sister was there also, she is not a member and has taken the discussions before, but she said she would pray with us next time , so that was great because we didn't even ask for a next time! We are really hoping to begin teaching her and see their whole family at church soon :] they are really great! MEGAN, is so great! She was raised in the church and became a bit rebellious in her teen years, she has tattoos and piercings and enjoys all of them, she likes to be artistic and different, her mother still lives in the ward and is a ward missionary, super awesome family! Megan is improving leaps and bounds!! She is reading the scriptures everyday, and her faith is so strong! She has a real desire to work at her salvation, she just needs to let it stick this time around! But we love her and we love meeting with her, this week she even brought a friend from work to church and he was really interested!! It's been really great seeing the rewards that come from working with these people!! :] We had a Relief Society lunch today and Peggy, Robin, Cindy and Ashley were able to come (I'll explain all of them later) but it went so well and everyone fellow shipped them so quickly, we really couldn't have asked for more from the ward! It was incredible! So PEGGY... she is awesome, she is engaged to Dave, who was born and raised in the church but hasn't been since he was about 20, he has a strong testimony of the truth of it all though. He loves that Peggy is taking the lessons because he is so proud of his beliefs! I love it! They are the cutest couple! They are probably in there late 50's and they are just spunky and fun! Peggy came to the Relief Society broadcast, she came with Sister Chong and she loved it! We accidentally knocked into her a couple of weeks later and she accepted the lessons, so we have met with them twice and things are going great! We love her!! ROBIN has a son on a mission, he converted at 18 and went out at 19, she has not joined the church yet, but we are working on loving her into it! She comes almost every week and to all the ward activities, she loves missionary visits!! There are some health (mental) things that are stopping her from joining, but I wouldn't be surprised if she is baptized by her son when he gets home! CINDY is our recent convert who is still just doing awesome!!!! ASHLEY is another recent convert who is doing so great! She is getting her patriarchal blessing this Sunday, we are so excited for her! She called us last night to tell us a few things and one of them was pretty funny so I wanted to share it with you. A little fact before I tell, in this mission we knock on doors from 5pm-7pm with no excuses except for with presidents permission. Ashley was over at her friends house in the other ward and the missionaries were over. They had been there for a while (longer than the allotted hour) and it was almost 7pm and she knew that we are supposed to be tracting so, she simply looked at them and asked, Aren't you elders supposed to be knocking on doors right now? Hahaha I love that she called them out on it! She is a hoot! Well, that's a good note to end on! I love you all! Love, Sister Falkner

Oh How Lovely Was the Morning :] October 14th 2013

To all my family and friends! Oh how I love you! It is a beautiful day here in Washington!!! This week was good, I got sick Friday night, that was no fun, but the work goes on!! I am feeling a bit better today but still not up to par yet! Anyways, that's not important! Although, our sweet ward mission leader and his wife rushed over to our apartment Friday night when they found that I wasn't feeling well and they brought me medicine and vitamins, it was very kind of them! This week we knocked on Peggy's door. Peggy came to the general relief society broadcast with a friend a couple weeks back. We knocked on her door not knowing she lived there and she gladly welcomed us in, she brought down her husband (even though we found out they aren't actually married...yet) Dave, He is a less active member that believes it all and loves it, just struggles with keeping the commandments! But they are great! We visited and got a return appointment for Thursday, on Thursday we went back with the Frei's because they already knew each other and were friends. Peggy and Dave had read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and the testimonies in the beginning, she had some questions that we were able to answer and then we taught the first lesson, it went so well! We asked her what her idea of a prophet is and she said “well, Joseph Smith. Right?” she is so receptive and open to learn. She is a “cradle catholic” as she says, and she says we are “cradle mormons” hahah she is so cute! We are really excited to continue meeting with them! We had Mission Leadership Council this week. That's always a really spiritual meeting because it is filled with very respectable missionaries that all have such a reverence and strong spirit, I loved it! Sister Young and I did a training at the meeting and it went well, we talked about working with the members and having them help with the work. As President Weaver says, the church has 15 million missionaries, not just 80 thousand! Then later that night we had a lesson with 3 less active people, it was GREAT!!! We sang an opening song and taught the restoration, then we had a little testimony meeting at the end and they all shared their testimony, the spirit was so strong and then on Sunday, 2 out of the 3 of them came to church! The one that didn't make it had work and it was too late of notice to get it off, but he is doing great! Those were the highlights of my week, I would love to hear about yours! I love you all! Love, Sister Alie Falkner