Grace & Grace

November 9, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

I AM SO GRATEFUL TO BE A MISSIONARY. I love it so much. It’s the best. I won’t even try to explain the JOY that I feel as a missionary. It is easily the best decision I have ever made. To be honest, I know everyone keeps telling me that I am coming home soon but it doesn’t feel like it at all but its okay. I feel maybe it will hit me later. Or maybe I will follow the example of Jeff and I will say it didn’t really hit me until I got on the plane ride home. I don’t know but anyways I really am grateful to be a missionary.

Duncan is doing really well. He came to church. It was great. He seems to be really enjoying the gospel discussion classes and loves contributing a ton. He seems to really enjoy church and seems to be someone who is very social so its sweet--he fellowships himself. It’s difficult to meet with him now since he started working all day long and doesn’t get home until 20 hours. (Mom note: I think that means 8 pm.)

Grace came to church. She is doing really well. We had a sweet lesson this week on the atonement and it was really, really good. We will see. She is one of those investigators that is really hard not to love I am really grateful for her and I am grateful for all that she does.

I studied about grace this week…actually that’s a lie--I studied it for one day. Something I liked is that grace is not about filling in the gaps, it’s about filling us. Sometimes when we don’t use the enabling power of the atonement, we don’t feel good about ourselves. The Gospel is a choice for us to live on a higher plane and we don’t actually understand the joy that comes from living on a higher plan if we choose not to live the Gospel. When the Gospel seems tedious, maybe we should be praying for new eyes and a changed heart. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us. When we feel burdened by our callings, temple work or service, we may need to reevaluate ourselves and learn to enjoy them more fully.

The repentant sinner must suffer for his sins but this suffering is different than punishment. Its purpose is to change us. We look at justice and it is complete punishment, but the atonement makes it possible for this pain to mean more than punishment but actually progression.

Also I feel there is a stark comparison between the way Satan refines us to be evil and the way our Father in Heaven refines us to be good. If we look at the scriptures, Satan desires to sift us as wheat and gradually sifts away our good, but you could say that Heavenly Father does the same thing. He slowly takes away our bad, but it’s our choice on who we will yield too. And that is why it is so important that we consistently receive revelation for the unseen forces are more knowledgeable than us and they will bring us down to destruction. As we receive revelation, we will be able to yield to the spirit and become a better person.

I love being a missionary.

Sister Falco