Serving February 2013-2015

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

A Missionary Online?

The role of a missionary as viewed by the majority of people: a person who dresses up, wears a nametag, and knocks on doors all day, every day, talking to people about Jesus Christ.



Lately, you may have seen missionaries at the libraries, online.  Have you ever wondered what are they doing at the computers?

Our purpose online is the same as walking the streets: to invite others to come unto Christ.

When we are online, we are doing many of the same activities that we do offline: we share spiritual messages, contact a variety of people, and invite others to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  You've probably seen a lot of the messages that we've written.  The purpose of those is to help strengthen you in your life and your testimony of Christ.

Some people live far away, or can't be eagerly waiting at their door for the missionaries to come by.  (We get it, you have lives that involve more dynamics than reading scriptures and talking to the missionaries.)  A way that we can still reach out to them is through online services, where we can answer questions about who God is, what do Mormons believe, and what is the Book of Mormon.


The messages we share online also make it easy for you to share the gospel with your friends and family.  Every time you like a post or share it with your friends, it gives you an opportunity to share your testimony with them.  It opens the door for them to ask questions about your beliefs and faith - where you can easily point them to the missionaries that are serving in your area.  After all, they're online!



Good has already come from this shift to online.  Many missionaries have been able to teach family members and friends back home, lives have been touched, and the gospel has been shared to those who might not have had an opportunity otherwise.

So the next time you see a post from the missionaries that you like, share it on your wall.  Share your testimony on the posts and share spiritual experiences.  :)  We are here to help you!  So whenever you have a question, feel free to ask us!




Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The Tag that Keeps it Together

    I was thinking about the name tag that I wear every day. I love being a missionary! "Elder Falslev" I love looking down and seeing those words finally written on one of those little black tags. What I love so much more than that is the fact that right underneath my name is the name, "Jesus Christ". Thus I am constantly seeing the reason I am out here on a mission! Someone in the missionary training center pointed out to me that, "the reason Christ's name is under ours is that He lifts us up! If we were to get rid of that name, nothing would hold ours up." Quite literally, my name would mean nothing without His. I love my tag!!



       Being on a mission can be hard. Especially when I forget who is there to support me... I forget to let Christ lift me up... I have learned that we constantly can change though! I can make a choice and let Christ come into my life. I am grateful for this tag! It constantly reminds me of the person I represent.
      President Monson says it best, "The decision to change one's life and come unto Christ is, perhaps, the most important decision of mortality". Decide now to Come unto Christ! This quote reminds me to make the decision every day to put on that name tag and remember who it is I am representing!



One of the most frequent words in Christ's vocabulary was a small one - Come.
The gesture which we associate with him echo the same idea.
Arms outstretched in welcome, his entire being said, "Come."
This is not a restricted invitation for the few, for the elect, for those who somehow deserve it; he made it open and for all, no matter how weak or afraid or hesitant.
"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden," he said, "and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
At another time he said, "suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, "appealing to the little child in each of us. (Luke 18:16) 
Come follow me, in fact, was the message of His life. Come. It is an immediate appeal, admitting no excuses. We who say to the Lord, "I am too busy; I am too tired; I will work for you at another time," have missed the point. There is not a mortal being who is not burdened with the cares that threaten to absorb him altogether. All are preoccupied, all busy.
But when Christ said to Peter and Andrew fishing in the sea of Galilee, "Come... and I will make you fisher of men, " they dropped their nets and came. (Mark 1:17)

Come. It is without qualification. Not come when we are perfect. Not come when we have no doubts, when life is uncontested and we have no problems. Nor is it an invitation to come only when life is at its darkest-only in time of dire need. It is simple, "Come now. Come as you are." Why is the Lord so insistent about this invitation? Probably because He walked with us and knows firsthand the mysteries, violence and contradictions of life on this earth. He knows if we will come to Him in pain, we will leave in joy. If we come in confusion, we will leave in clarity. If we come in darkness, we will leave in light. So He offers the invitation and leave is extended with a kind of divine hopefulness-until we respond.



Come Unto Him.