27 Enero 2014

Family! Hope you´ve all had a spectacular week. This week I want to start off by sharing a story. The other night, while we were outside of our church building talking after an activity, a frail and partially blind old woman walked into the parking lot. The majority of the group either didn´t see her or ignored her, but we asked her if we could help her with anything. After talking with her for a while we discovered that she hadn´t eaten anything in days. Without many means to help her as missionaries, we walked with her to a nearby KFC and bought her a meal, then walked her back to her house. While grateful for the opportunity that we had to help her, I couldn´t help but be filled with a sadness. It was difficult to watch somebody in her state. It reminded me of the story of Buddha. Buddha grew up as a prince, in a beautiful palace. Knowing of the sorrows of the world, his father sheltered him from the outside. One day, while in a covered carriage in a parade Buddha caught a glimpse of a poor man. Driven by curiosity, he snuck away from the parade and began to walk the streets. His eyes were quickly opened to the many pains and sorrows in the world as he saw hunger, death, sickness, and many other things. His knowledge of the real world is what motivated him to meditate and seek a remedy to this pain. I´ve learned and seen many things while on my mission. I have no intention of meditating for 40 days because I already have the remedy......the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, it has motivated me to share it with everybody. It doesn´t matter what the problem is, the gospel of Christ provides us with the answer. Maybe it´s a strange comparison, but it provided me with some new insights about the gospel . . . . and Buddhism :)

I´ve been reading out of the New Testament lately and have loved reading about the life of Jesus Christ and His apostles. I recently read out of Mark 8 in which Christ asks His aposltes, ´´Who do men say that I am?´´ He then asks, ´´But whom say ye that I am?´´ Peter responds quickly with ´´Thou art the Christ.´´ I read this scripture as a missionary at first, someone with a calling and a plaque that bears the name of Christ. I´m currently a set-apart representative of Christ, but even as a member I have taken His name upon me. As a bearer of His name, my thoughts, words, and actions speak of Christ. These verses made me think. . . . what am I saying about Christ? Who do I say that Christ is? Do my words and actions testify that He is the Christ with such clarity as the response of Peter. These few scriptures have certainly changed the way I look at some things. I´ve loved reading out of the New Testament and discovering the small, beautiful messages that the Lord has there for me.

Well, there´re the spiritual thoughts for the week. As far as a funny story goes......I kind of feel like every day of my life is a funny story :) Hmmmm.....oh yes, this week I´ve had like 7 people ask me if I´m a spy because I´m a gringa. It´s funny to see how many people are skeptical simply because I´m an American. Obviously I tell them that I´m not a spy, but let´s be honest.....even if I were, do they really think I´d tell them :)

Well my dear family, I love and miss you all! Have a wonderful week!

Go Forward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev :)

Pictures with a Monkey

Pictures

20 Enero 2014

Buenos tardes mi querida familia!! I hope all is well there in beautiful American Fork :)

This Wednesday we have changes yet again, however, Hermana Lopez and I will remain together in Pedregal for at least one more change. I´m extremely grateful for the opportunity that I´m going to have to work in my area for another change. We´ve begun working with a new investigator named Judith. About 3 weeks ago the elders in our ward contacted her in the Super 99. They passed the reference on to us, with nothing but a telephone number. I had been calling her almost every day for these 3 weeks, but she could never meet with us due to work, her mother´s health, and other small inconveniences. Even though I had never spoken with her for more than 5 minutes at a time I felt really strongly that we needed to meet with her and continued trying to set up an appointment. 

About a week ago an enthusiastic member expressed interest in spending a day with us. We set up a day to leave with her, praying that she would have a good experience and enjoy the day that she spent with us. After visiting a few investigators and less-active members we asked her if she could think of anybody who she would like to visit with us. She told us that we were coincidentally walking along a street where an old friend lived and that she had been thinking about her a lot lately. We quickly explained that it was not a coincidence and that the Lord had given her that prompting for a purpose. 

We walked less than a block and arrived at the house. As we walked up to the door she told us that she was named Judith. My companion and I turned to look at each other, knowing that we were thinking the same thing......It´s her! We said ´´buenas´´ and the moment that I heard her voice I knew that it was her because I had spoken with her so much on the phone. 

We had an incredible lesson, in which we all felt strongly the influence of the Spirit. We explained to her that none of these things happened by coincidence, and that the Lord was calling her because it is time for her to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in her life. She accepted a baptismal date and I trust fully that she will be baptized this change. I´m really excited to work with her because I know that the Lord has put us in her path for a reason. This truly is a marvelous and beautiful work!!!!! 

I´ve been thinking a lot about a phrase these past couple of weeks.....HAVE FAITH. FIND JOY. I think that´s an incredible attitude to have. It´s so simple. Have faith, trust in the Lord, and actively search for happiness. There is always joy to be found if we look for it. I´ve been working to apply this philosophy in my own life, I challenge you all to do the same :)

I love you all soo much!

Go Forward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev :)

13 Enero 2014

Yet another good week here in Panamà. I´ve had some great experiences this week. On Wednesday I was able to attend the sealing of two recent converts in my ward. That was an incredible experience. It was amazing to watch as two people were bound for all of eternity. I couldn´t wipe the smile off of my face, the spirit was so strong in the sealing room! I love the temple!! What a beautiful plan that our Father in Heaven has for each of us :)

Later we went to visit an older member in our area. Her husband is not a member and is extremely sick. He can´t leave his bed. It´s difficult to see him laying there because there´s not much left anymore, he´s so thin that you can see the bones throughout his entire body. Each time we visit we sing a hymn and say a prayer. This time they asked if we could stay there with him as they went to the store because he had already fallen once earlier that day. He´s gone down hill health-wise this week. He is blind, but this week he has been ´´seeing´´ things that nobody else has been able to see. As we were waiting there with him we tried talking to him, but he didn´t respond to anything we said. He lived in the states for a while and speaks English. He only responded when I spoke to him in English, so we started a conversation. He asked me about the people that were with me.....people that I couldn´t see. My companion didn´t understand exactly what was going on, and got a little scared as he started to point to the people that he could see. I felt completely calm there in the room and started to ask questions for curiosity´s sake. He didn´t tell me much, but he explained that among others there was a young man, a boy, and a tall man by my side. He asked me what their names were. When I said that I didn´t know he was really confused and said that it was obvious that we knew eachother. He then mentioned that it was like somebody else was speaking through me. I spoke to him for almost two hours, during which he told me that at least 2 other men entered. It was a really cool experience and didn´t want to leave once the sister got home, but as I was leaving the room he said that they were all leaving with me and wanted to know when we´d all be back. Yet another spiritual and interesting experience to put on the record :)

Also, I had been concerned about how to help Artie, the recent convert with Alheizmer´s and a less-than-understanding wife that I´ve mentioned earlier. He hadn´t been assisting church because he has a difficult time remembering things like that. Unfortunately it´s difficult to go by his house because his wife wants nothing to do with us and has proven to be a little dangerous. I didn´t know what else to do and was getting quite desperate since we have no other way to communicate with him. I did all that I could do....pray. As we were walking to church I was thinking about him with a prayer in my heart that through some miracle that he would be there in the chapel. In the exact moment that his name entered my mind his car passed us from behind and pulled into the church parking lot. The joy and gratitude that filled my heart is inexplicable. I know that the Lord listens to our prayers and that with even just a little of trust in Him we will see miracles. Another one of my favorite scriptures is found in D&C 123:17 in which it explains that as we do everything within our own efforts, with a cheerful heart, we can then stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. I know that He makes up all that I cannot do on my own and that His glorious work will not be frustrated.

I love you all! Thanks for all of the support each and every week!

Go Forward With Faith!

Hermana Falslev :)

6 Enero 2014

Well Family, it would appear that the year of 2014 is going to move just as quickly as 2013. Here in Panamà we´re entering summer time. Just when we didn´t think it was possible, it got hotter. They say that January and February are the hottest months of the year.......that´s great! (I hope you can hear the sarcasm dripping off of that statement :))

In other news, last week we found some really positive investigators, a woman named Mayra and her son Girberto. It´s still early to tell, but we´re both really excited to work with them. I´ll keep you updated :)

In honor of the new year, President Carmack extended a challenge to each one of us, and I would like to extend the same challenge to each of you. That is to allow the Light of Christ which is in each and every one of us to shine brighter. We have each been blessed with this INCREDIBLE gift! We have the Light of Christ within us! Have you ever paused to think about how wonderful that is? The mere thought brings a big smile to my face :) The question then is how do we make that light shine brighter? To put it simply, I would say through service and virtue. As we adjust our focuses to the well-being of others this light will increase and bless our lives as well as theirs. I am convinced that serving the children of God is the best and most efficient way to invite, increase, and share the Light of Christ. Second, as we strive to make each thought and action virtuous, I promise that we can see a grand difference in our lives. A natural result of this added virtue will be an added amount of light. We are each blessed to have this light in our lives, and even more, to understand what it is. We have the blessed opportunidad, as well as responsibility, to let this light shine brighter and brighter each day. We can accomplish this through our daily actions and small efforts that we make each day. Lastly, I´d like to share a scripture that stuck out to me the other day. D&C 50:24 . . . There is no limit to this spectacular light that we each have . . . . LET IT SHINE!!

I love you all so much!

Go Forward With Faith

Hermana Falslev :)

Happy New Year!

Dear Family! It was wonderful to be able to see and talk to you all using Skype this week. As first it was a little strange because there was a sudden connection between my two worlds, but it was a nice change to our routine. All seems to be going well back home for you guys, didn´t look like too much has changed. I must admit that I was a bit jealous to see you all eating mom´s cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate while I was handed a large plate of rice, ham, and potato salad, but I got over it haha ;) After talking to all of you we all headed to our house to eat dinner with Hna Sugasti, the member that I live with. She lived in the United States for a little while and was very excited to make an ´´American´´ Christmas dinner for us. I wasn´t quite sure what to expect when she first told me that, but it actually didn´t end up being too bad. She made some turkey with cranberry, mashed potatoes and gravy, and stuffing. I think my favorite part of the dinner was when she put the plate of cranberry jelly on the table and the three latinos sitting next to me looked at me with very concerned expressions. Elder Villanueva, the elder from Peru that you guys met, promptly asked me what in the world it was. Even after explaining it to them they were rather hesitant (except for Elder Giron, the Honduranian, who eats anything you put in front of him) When I explained that it´s even better if you eat it with the turkey they looked at me like I was crazy. They tried it and ended up loving it, even asking for more. I love seeing the difference in cultures here. The things that I find normal can seem so strange to somebody else. It´s a fun learning experience :)

As I already told you guys, on Christmas Eve I didn´t sleep at all because Central and South America celebrate ´´Noche Buena´´ with lots of fireworks and things called ´´bombas´´ which are basically super duper loud firecrackers. We woke up the next morning to see lots of garbage and firework cases in the street (it´s all still there) We still here fireworks during each day and throughout the night and they bring in the new year.

It´s apalling to me that we´re already finishing December and beginning 2014! I´m excited to set goals for the new year. President Carmack shared a thought about setting goals in his email to us this week. He said that we can make big changes by keeping small but effective goals. He shared one of my favorite scriptures, Alma 37:6, that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass. I know that as we make small, meaningful efforts, we can see grand miracles!

I love you all dearly and send lots of good wishes your way!!!

Go Forward With Faith!

Hermana Falslev :)

7 Months

How are you all?! This week was a little crazy due to changes, which always involve meetings, hauling around luggage, more meetings, and doing our best to adjust to a new situation. I am still serving in Pedregal, however I have a new companion named Hermana Lopez, from Guatemala. That makes 3 Chapinas and 1 Mexicana for companions :) She actually came in the same group as my previous companion, Hermana Perez, so she has about 4 1/2 months in the mission. I think that we can do a lot of good for our area together. I had a difficult   time believing that I hit my 7 month mark yesterday! Time flies when you´re having fun ;)

It´s been really cool to see a change in the members in the last couple of weeks. A challenge that we have in all of the mission of Panamá is working with the members. In each ward it is our goal to develop a relationship of love and trust with the members, it can be difficult at times. However, I have begun to see a change in some of the members that I thought would never open up. One hermana sat down with me the other day and told me EVERYTHING. She told me that she felt a really special connection with me and that she has a lot of trust in me. I love it when we have opportunities to work with the members like that! That´s when miracles start to happen :)

I studied the principle of fasting recently. I came to this conclusion . . . Our mind and our body give us certain temptations, and by completely avoiding or denying everything our body tells us for a little while and only focusing on what the Spirit tells us, we learn the difference between spiritual promptings and temptation, which in some situations can be hard to discern. Fasting really has little to do with food. We come closer to God when we fast and we recognize His Spirit in our lives even more. I now understand fasting in a whole new light and am looking forward to starting the new year that is coming up with a fast :)

My dear family, I love this gospel and I love you all!

Go Forward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev :)

Happy Mothers Day

Hola mi querida familia! Còmo estàn todos? Another week has passed and yet another change has ended. Hermana Pèrez has changes and I will be staying in Pedregal, Tocumen. I´ll find out who my new companion is on Wednesday. Also, on Sunday all of Panamà celebrated Mother´s Day. It was really strange, because there´s also Christmas decorations everywhere, but hey, that´s just the way it is :) It´s been a good week, lots of lessons learned :) The Lord has a way of teaching us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.

The other day during our studies my companion jumped up from her desk and ran to the other side of our room screaming. A snake-ish/salamander type of creature had crawled onto her bag next to her leg. It was obvious that she wasn´t going to go anywhere near it, so even though I was not looking forward to being near the little monster it became my responsibility to get it out of our room. I found out quickly that it was really fast. I ended up chasing it around our room, pulling every piece of furniture that we have away from the wall. Finally I got it under a cup (our room in total disarray) We sat there for a little while trying to figure out what to do next, my compa advising me from the other room :) I slid a piece of paper under the cup and took it outside. As I went to release it, the little monster slid across my hand and slithered toward me. I screamed and ran. My companion was then bent over, dying of laughter. She says she has no idea how I covered a 10 foot distance with one leap, but crazy things can happen when your filled with adrenaline. There´s the funny story for the week.

Now, I´m beginning to understand a little bit more about my purpose here in Pedregal. There are so many churches here, so many people who preach ´´la palabra´´ There´s always people who are willing to let us in to listen to ´´la palabra de Dios´´ That´s great and all, but it started to bother me a little. I´ve been trying to adjust my teaching so that they understand that I am not here to simply share a pretty message and leave them to continue living their lives. I´m hear to tell them that the gospel has been restored, including the proper authority to baptize, and that they must take the first step of baptism. I am not here to simply share my testimony, I am here, and even more, I have been called, to baptize the children of God. As I´m beginning to understand this concept a little more, I´ve set a goal this change to be much more direct in my lessons. That is kind of a scary idea to me, much easier said than done. However, an elder shared a scripture with me that has changed my mission and become my motivation. 1 John 4:18. I love this scripture and have every intention of applying it in my work here in Panamà.

Well, that´s all for now folks. I love you all dearly! Have a spectacular week :)

Go Foward With Faith!

Hermana Falslev :)