Companions and Rain Storm

River Trip

Temple Trip

October 13, 2014

Hello Family! I hope you`ve all had a marvelous week :)

This has been a full and exhausting week, which is wonderful. There are few things more satisfying that getting home at the end of the day and being so tired. This week Hermana Caniz and I have continued searching for new investigators and following up with some of the positive ones that we were able to find last week. I know that many good things are happening and will continue to happen here in Barrio 3.

I believe that my feet have been wet more than they have been dry this week. This October rain is incredible! In an instant it begins to pour buckets and then has the audacity to do so for hours upon hours. I love the rain, it continues to fascinate me, and it cools everything down, but it makes it much more difficult to be outside. Not to mention that all of the Panamanians hide in their houses when it`s raining and don`t like opening the door for anyone. Difficult, but not impossible. We Mormons are persistent buggers :) And the work of the Lord won`t be frustrated by a bit of drizzling!

Next Sunday our new chapel will be dedicated! We`ve been meeting there for about 2 months because they received special permission from the Guatemala offices to do so before the dedication, but all are extremely excited for the event. On Wednesday evening begins the open house, which will last until Friday. On Saturday we will have a beautiful cultural night, full of singing and typical dances. Then the dedication on Sunday morning. It should be another full week, but we`re all looking forward to it.

To end, I`d just like to share something that was shared in our Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. ``EL TESTIMONIO SE VIVE``. In other words (English words haha) A testimony is to be lived. It is to be lived every day, every moment, in the home, at work, at school, when we`re alone, and especially when it seems inconvenient. We cannot be content or comfortable with living day to day without living our testimony.

Well my time is out! I love you all!

Go Foward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev

October 6, 2014

Hello Family!

What a wonderful conference weekend, right? I absolutely love General Conference, simply listening to it makes my heart feel good :) I remember being little and thinking that conference sessions lasted an eternity. I now have a hard time believing how quickly each session goes. Although many topics were mentioned, the one that most stood out to me was that of sustaining our prophet and leaders. One of my favorite things to teach investigators is that we have a living prophet in this latter days who communicates directly with God. I have a firm testimony that President Thomas S. Monson is a righteous man who has been called by God. He communicates directly with our Heavenly Father. He is a special witness of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that as we listen to his counsel, as well as that of his counselors and the twelve apostles, we will be directed to happiness in this life and in the eternities. I love President Thomas S. Monson and trust in him completely as a called prophet of God.

In other news, I have a new companion. Hermana Rosales left David after 6 months and was sent to Pedregal Tocumen, my old area. I am now companions with Hermana Caniz, another companion from Guatemala. She has been a member all of her life, and is the youngest of 5 children. She is the first missionary to serve in her family. She has 14 months in the mission and is a great missionary. She is much quieter and more serious than Hermana Rosales, so the house has a different, calmer atmosphere to it now. I´m grateful for her willingness to work hard with me because we have only a few weeks to get to know the area together and build up a large base of investigators. We´ve found a lot of positive investigators this past week and plan on making return visit these next couple of days. We both know that there is much to be done here in Barrio 3. Also, an elder who is just beginning his mission is now serving in the ward with my District Leader, Elder Santizo. His name is Elder Juarez, from Mexico. I´m not sure I´ve ever met a more eager elder. He´s brought a lot of life to the area. He is also extremely determined to learn english. Every time we see them he has a long list of questions for me about pronunciation and wants to practice his english. I think it´s great that he wants to learn so bad, so I do what I can to help him out. 

I think that´s it for this week. I hope you all have a marvelous week and can see the differences in your lives as you apply the beautiful truths taught to us in conference. I love you all!

Go Forward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev

29 Septiembre 2014

Hello Family!

I hope that you have all had a marvelous week. It´s been a wonderful week here and many exciting things have happened. 

To start off, I went to Costa Rica last Friday! Yup, true story :) Hermana Rosales had to take care of a problem with her bank card, so she took advantage of being so close to the border and got permission to take care of it while still in David. We took a 45 minute bus ride to the border. She was giddy with excitement as she explained to me everything that was there, all of the stores, the flags, the food, everything. We were only there for about an hour, but she enjoyed her time, was able to fix her bank problem, and I was able to visit yet another country. 

We´ve also been able to work a bit more this week because Hermana Rosales has been feeling a bit better. I feel much better when we´re out working. I´ve had a number of very spiritual experiences this week that I hold very dear. One in particular occurred while testifying of the Restoration of the gospel. This lesson used to be very intimidating for me to teach, for a variety of reasons. However, as I´ve learned more, I now look foward to teaching this lesson and absolutely love it! We were visiting an investigator who had been struggling quite a bit with understanding the Restoration. After explaining everything very clearly, I began to testify. As I began to testify, my heart began to swell and words just began to come out. I could feel so strongly of the Spirit, and I could see in his eyes that he could as well. I love testifying of the things that I know to be true. Being a missionary is a beautiful privilege that allows us a little ´´umph´´ when we share our testimony. I have such a testimony of the Restoration, I know it all it true.

To add to the spiritual highlights of the week . . . Pedro was able to be baptized yesterday morning. As usual, we were running to make sure that everything fell into place until the very moment that the service started, but it was a wonderful experience in the end. Pedro is such an example to me. I can honestly say that the missionaries were simply there to get the baptism set up, he is so good and was completely prepared from the moment that he was invited to the church. He has a big heart, great faith, and I know that the Lord is so happy that another precious soul has opened the door to exaltation.

I´d like to share a thought that I had yesterday in Sacrament Meeting in regards to the importance of attending church each Sunday. We can learn from Doctrine and Covenants 65 that the kingdom of God on earth is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The purpose of the church is to prepare the saints to live for eternity in the kingdom of God, in His presence. As member of the church, our long term goal is (or should be) to obtain eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom. Church attendance is a preparatory step towards this eternal goal. Making the effort to attend all of our church meetings each and every Sunday is necessary to attaining the kingdom of God. May we all remember the importance of our Sunday meetings and the sacred ordinance that takes place in week, and may we all make the effort to keep this essential commandment of God.

I love you all dearly! I believe that is all for this week. We´re currently waiting for news about transfers. We´re almost positive that Hermana Rosales has changes, but you never know. I´ll let you all know next Monday :) Have a fantastic week!

Go Foward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev

15 Septiembre 2014

Hello Family!

We received some exciting news this past week in Barrio 3. Our brand new chapel will be dedicated on October 19! The ward has waiting for a long time for dedication day and were all thrilled when the anouncement was made. Now, many preparations are being made for the open house and the cultural celebration that will take place the week before. This will be a wonderful missionary opportunity and we have every intention of taking advantage of it.

The past weekend my companion and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the temple with the members of our ward. Being eight to nine hours away from the city, visiting the temple in a rare opportunity that requires much preparation and sacrifice from the members. I admire each one of them so much for their understanding of what a blessing a temple is. My love and testimony for the Lord´s house is now even stronger. 

On Friday morning, before the sun even thought about rising, we all crammed ourselves into the small bus that would haul us to the city. Many hours and leg cramps later we emerged from the bus. While reminded ourselves how to walk we looked up at the temple. Upon seeing such a beautiful sight all fatigue from the trip seemed to disappear. 

We quickly got settled and ran to enter the last session of the evening. Upon finishing the session I took a moment to say a prayer of thanks to my Heavenly Father. I then opened up to a chapter in the Book of Mormom and began reading the first verses that caught my eye. I read no more than three verses before my heart was full of peace and my eyes full of tears. Few times proior have I received an answer so clear and direct from my Heavenly Father. I testify that the temple is a sacred piece of our divine home and that it is there that our God communicates without restraint with His children. 

The next morning we arose at 5:30 in the morning to enter the first session of the day, doing our best to overcome the heavy and sleepy eyes. Not long afterward, we all begrudingly boarded the bus once again and began the trek back home. We arrived, exhausted and spiritually full at about 9 o´clock at night. 

Family, I love each one of you so much and am so grateful for the sealing ordinances that take place in the temple that bind us together for the eternities. I would exhort each one of you to take advantage of the blessing to have a temple so close and do all within your power to be worthy and attend as often as possible. I love the temple!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Go Forward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev