Gospel Gatoraides

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.   Think of what the world would be like with more love!   We celebrated our 39 th anniversary sharing strawberries and chocolate turtles in the office. Later, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner.   Our friends/mission office coworkers, the Ekenstams, joined us.   We are convinced it is more fun to go out with friends.   We feel the hand of the Lord in our marriage.   Elder and Sister Faulk celebrating 39 years with cheesecake: Elder and Sister Faulk at Orlando's Mall at Millenia: This week we inspected 8 apartments.   All inspections were planned and scheduled.   We were impressed by the efforts some missionaries take to make their apartment a place where the Spirit is invited and would want to dwell.   On the other hand, some missionaries could use a little nudge and tidy up their apartment.     Sisters Fitch, Faulk, and McCausland at the mission office: El...

Surprise!   We received an additional assignment to become missionary apartment inspectors.   Every 6 weeks we will check for the quality of the apartment and if the missionaries are keeping it clean.   Missionaries receive standardized points.   The companionship with the most points earns an event with the mission president.   Each Zone will have 2 unannounced apartment visits and the rest of the visits are scheduled.   We surprised 2 companionships this week with unannounced visits.   There is always room for improvement but on the whole, the Elders and the Sisters kept their apartments in ok order. So every day make your bed, wash and dry the dishes and put them away after every meal, and throw out the trash.   These are great habits for everyone! We welcomed the newest missionaries and their companions back for more training.   Sister Faulk reminded them about nutrition, exercise, rest, and mental health.   She also ta...

The week flew by fast.   We leave the house at 7:30 in the morning and often don’t return home until after 6:30 at night.   We are busy doing the Lord’s work-mostly in the mission office. Monday we took a Sister to a gastroenterologist appointment.   We hope they will find a reason why her abdomen is in pain.   It is hard to be enthusiastic and go full steam if you’re not feeling well.   Another Sister was released early.   We hope she will feel peace and comfort in her life. Monday evening the Sr missionaries met for the monthly Family Home Evening.   We were asked to share a spiritual experience we’ve had on the mission.   The Lord is definitely aware of each one of us and has a hand in our lives.   As missionaries, we seek to bring others unto Him.   Since we did not meet in December, the Mackays brought Christmas candies for everyone this time. Sweet treats at family home evening: Wednesday evening Sister Fa...

Central Florida experienced a few cold days and nights.   Overnight freeze warnings were in effect for the northern portions of the mission.   We had to wear sweaters to work and long sleeve pajamas at bedtime.   When we see visitors from the northern parts of the US they all remark how nice and warm the weather is here. The mission had Zone Conferences on Tuesday and Thursday.   President Ashcraft tried something different based on infield feedback.   The conferences were only ½ day long with 2 Zones attending at a time. And held in the chapel.   At lunchtime, the morning and afternoon Zones met and were seated together for a great meal hosted by local Stakes.   Everyone enjoyed the meetings. Sister Faulk keeping down the germs at Zone Conference lunch: We are so grateful to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to prepare for the 200 anniversary of Joseph Smith’s First Vision (April 2020 General C...

We said farewell to missionary friends and hello to new ones straight from the MTC in Provo.   The cycle of mission life is ever changing.   It prepares us to be flexible, hold fast to important gospel truths, and gives us opportunities to serve and lift others.   We have appreciated the Walker’s and the enlightenment they bring to the mission. Sisters Walker and Faulk: Sister Faulk with departing sisters Young, Nielson, Ogden, and Curtis: Sister Faulk with new FOM Sisters Fairbank, Mansker, Lloyd, and ??" We had 2 dinners at the mission home this week with missionaries.   Sister Ashcraft is so gracious and uplifting.   President Ashcraft makes everyone feel welcome and important.   Never do they seem rushed and always take time to listen. We took corn chowder soup, salad, and pineapple dessert to a recently widowed sister in the ward.   She was grateful to be remembered and expressed her thoughts and feelings.   She ...

The first full week of the new year went by rapidly.   We had a lot to do preparing the office for the new year and making sure all was well with the missionaries.   One of the missionaries has an insulin pump and Sister Faulk sat in on new training for it.   She also took the missionary to meet the endocrinologist who said researchers are gaining new information about diabetes and that is should be curable within the missionary’s lifetime.   Having a bite with Elders Schofield and Erickson at Tiajuana Flats: Since all new missionaries should arrive in Orlando with their own cell phones, Elder Faulk is collecting mission phones which will be sent back to the church and used in underserved countries.   Technology is amazing and appreciated.   The new Book of Mormon videos on YouTube are examples of sharing the Gospel through technology. We look forward to 2020 and what it has in store for us.   We hope to be faithful servants the r...

Farewell to 2019 and welcome 2020!   We celebrated in our new home from 7-9 PM with local Senior missionaries.   We had pot luck appetizers, Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider, horns, and confetti poppers.   We played games and watched football on TV.  It was a fun evening and reminded us of our many blessings such as the Gospel, self-reliance, and friends.   We wish all a very happy 2020! New Year's Eve party with the Gibbons, Ekenstams, and Chatterlys: We spent New Years Day in Melbourne on the beach.   The beach was not crowded.   Quite a few people were fishing from the shore.   It was very relaxing to watch the waves roll in.   Sister Faulk went for a walk in the sand.   Afterward, we had a scrumptious coconut shrimp and prime rib dinner at Squid Lips.   We tried the banana pudding for dessert and it was not disappointing.   During the last hurricane, a sailboat wrecked in shallow water a few feet from the re...

Christmas is a time of good cheer, a time to remember others, a time to reflect on the Savior and His example of love.   Ancient wise men sought Him.   Do we seek Him now? Being a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a wonderful way to show gratitude for our blessings and a unique opportunity to serve others.   We are thankful to serve as the finance coordinator and mission nurse.   Our hearts have enlarged with a greater capacity to love and to lighten the burdens of those around us in Florida.   We come in contact with so many good people. Sister Ekenstam from the mission office is out of the hospital!   She came into the office for a few hours several days this week.   Early in the week, Sister Faulk took her in a wheelchair for a stroll around the pond at her apartment.   We spent Christmas day with friends, Craig and Susan, in Leesburg.   We enjoyed a delicious ham dinner then went for a boa...

As the holiday season is underway and Christmas draws near, our hearts are full of gratitude for the Savior and his gifts of life, love, and peace to us.   We have felt so many blessings and very tender mercies this week.   Elder Faulk was in the hospital for 3 days with a bad back.   He could not lift his legs or walk.   After seeing 2 doctors Monday morning, he was hospitalized.   With a blessing and prayers from family, missionaries, and friends along with medical management, he started to improve.   Sister Faulk borrowed the mission van to take him home because it has more room than their Escape.   He used a walker for a few days then became strong enough to go short distances without it.   He was able to return to his mission responsibilities later in the week.   He still has pain, but can work through it.   We missed the Florida, Orlando Mission Christmas devotionals.   All the missionaries sent him a get well ca...

We moved out of an apartment and into a house!   There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.   We are grateful for this new home in FL.   The move sent smoothly and several missionaries helped.   The Elders loaded boxes from the apartment into cars.   The Sisters helped unload and move furniture inside.   We could not have done it without them and appreciate their love.   Elders Bair, Ekenstam, and Gibbons along with Diego were involved with the move too.   They loaded, drove, and unloaded boxes into the garage.   For living in an apartment for almost 2 years, we had more stuff than we realized.   We were truly blessed by all these good people as they put they radiated their love in word and deed.   Elders Loken, Duarte, Gregoire, and Epps: Sisters Peterson and Ogden: We had a zone conference this week.   It is fun to gather together and feel the strong spirit o...

We rejoice in the birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ.   We hope and pray all men will follow His goodwill and accept His everlasting love.     Monday we welcomed new missionaries into our midst with a great dinner at the mission home.   They arrived 2 days after our official hurricane season ended.   First thing the next morning, we oriented them to mission health, finances, housing, and baptism records before sending them off to meet their companions and drive to their new areas.   New missionaries: Also on Monday, Sister Faulk took a letter from Elder Bair, a Book of Mormon, and the most recent General Conference Ensign issue to Albert, a Walmart pharmacist who helped give flu vaccines to our missionaries in October.   She invited him to watch the Church’s Light the World Christmas video.   He asked if he could share it on social media much to her delight. Tuesday, over another dinner at the mission home, we bid farewell ...

Thanksgiving brings to mind gratitude for our many blessings.   We are grateful for family and friends, the opportunity to serve a mission in FL for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for His Gospel.   We are grateful for education, freedoms, health, self-reliance, and plenty of food. The mission is still in the process of receiving new cars for the missionaries.   We drove them off the Toyota car dealership to a Pep Boys so hitches could be added.   Later we drove them to a chapel in preparation for missionaries to pick.   The church sends their previous cars to auction. Sister Faulk ready to drive a new Rav4: Elder Faulk driving a new Rav4: The Kissimmee ward arranged to prepare and take food to Lakeview Elementary in St Cloud.   Sister Faulk made 4 batches of Pepperege Farm stuffing early Tueday morning.   Elder Faulk woke up to see tears running down her face.   It was from chopping all the onions....

It was another busy week in the Florida Orlando Mission.   We love to serve and help the missionaries.   We love to see their joy and develop relationships with ward members. We are exchanging cars in the fleet.   New cars are coming in and old cars are going to auction.   Companionships are receiving new cars and taking responsibility for driving safely and caring for the car.   Where much is given, much is expected. Sisters Miller and Bingham and their new mission wheels: The Portuguese sisters in the Lake Nona Ward   held a baby shower for Stephanie Meneghetti.   Baby Rachel is due in January 2020.   It was a fun shower.   We played games and shared refreshments as Stephanie opened her gifts.   What a blessing Rachel will be to Stephanie and Diego and what a blessing her parents already are to her.   Stephanie and baby Rachel Meneghetti and Sister Faulk: We spent the weekend with friends Susan and Cr...

We said farewell to our friends the Krogers.   For 18 months, they served faithfully with all their heart might mind and strength. They are amazing examples of Senior missionaries.   Parting is hard but part we must, however we will remain friends forever. We had seafood chowder, salad, and cinnamon rolls together for Sunday dinner.    Elders Ekenstam, Gibbons, Kroeger, and Faulk: Sisters Gibbons, Ekenstam, Kroeger, and Faulk: Monday all the Senior missionaries met at the Ashcrafts for dinner to celebrate the Kroegers, Gibbons, and Makays.   Sister Faulk made a salad.   The Makays stayed with us Monday night before heading to their assigned Lake Placid area.   They will serve for 6 months.  Florida Orlando Senior Missionaries: On Wednesday, the Kroegers’ last day in the office, we celebrated with a Mexican dinner at Azteca.   We wish them well and know they will be happy to be home for the holidays. ...

Sister Faulk’s mother, Agnes Morgan, came to visit for a week.   Sunday Grandma went to church and met many new frie nds and made more throughout the week. Elders Gregoire and Duarte, and dear friends, Stephanie and Diego Menenghetti, had dinner (clam chowder) with us.   Afterward, the missionaries shared the Church’s new Nativity video.   It was very moving/powerful.   Grandma accompanied the Florida Orlando Mission on Monday and Tuesday as we drove new RAV4s off the lot.   We enjoyed an outdoor leisurely lunch of seafood Tuesday afternoon.   Wednesday, Susan Puls and her husband, Craig, treated us to lunch in the Villages and a boat ride on the lake.   Thursday was a perfect day to relax at Cocoa Beach then enjoy dinner at Panda Express. Grandma Morgan at the apartment: Sister Faulk and her mom at the beach: Grandma catching some rays: Fish and chips: New cars for missionaries: Dinner at the Faulks: Sho...