The Character of Christ

October 26, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

The Lord truly loves me and is making me become a better person everyday and for that I am forever grateful. I am confident that He is fully aware of me and I am confident that there are no coincidences in my life. I pray to stay worthy of the spirit always.

I read an incredible talk last Monday that taught me about the character of Christ. It was by David A Bednar (The Character of Christ, BYU Speeches). I reflected on it basically all week. As told in the Joseph Smith Translation, Elder Bednar pointed out that when Jesus was tempted and in the middle of a hard trial, he thought of John who as in prison and sent angels to comfort him. It also talks about the famous story of Him healing Peter’s ear after the agony of the atonement. Everyone should read this talk! It’s made me reflect on the examples I have in my life of this. And of course mothers are all a great example of loving their children no matter what circumstance they are in. But I also thought of the story of Grandma Boo when she was so sick with cancer and my Mom visited her and found her cooking soup for a sick lady in MY MOM’S neighborhood. I started reflecting on myself and felt that I was pretty good in this area. Hahahahaha The Lord humbles you quickly. . .

On Saturday night I got very, very sick. In the middle of the night I had a fever of 103.2 and I felt like I was going to die. My mission president’s wife ended up taking me to the hospital. Eventually the fever subsided. However, during this I realized how impatient and selfish I was during my sickness. Everything irritated me. I realized I have a lot to work on before I can emulate the character of Christ. And I realized that the character of Christ is a little more difficult to apply than I thought. But I also realized the importance of applying this principle and I hope that I will be better at applying this principle of still being aware of helping others amidst suffering I am in. If we are suffering it’s so easy for us to cave in and be selfish. The natural man is real. But the atonement is also very real. I am grateful for the lesson the Lord taught me. I will continue to improve and continue to do my best as I rely on the atonement. The Lord tends to have to humble me a lot.

Something that blows my mind everyday is the mercy of Christ as well. I’ve seen where I think the Lord probably wants this person to learn a lesson from this trial and then boom the Lord lifts the trial away from them. I really love being a missionary and I love seeing the Lord’s hand in the lives of those I teach.

As for an update on our investigators…Samson should be baptized next week. John is missing in action.L Grace didn’t come to church because her member friend didn’t come. We are teaching Sandra and another guy named Duncan. Life is sweet sharing the gospel with them.

I love being a missionary and I LOVE LIFE!

Love…Sister Falco