Kids Playing in the Rain

May 19, 2014

Hello Family!

It's been a good week here in Tupile. It's cooled down a tad because we've had a lot of rain, which I love! The storms in the middle of the ocean are unlike any other. I love thunder/lightning storms, but they're slightly overwhelming out here. I've been woken up a couple nights from a heart stopping crack of thunder. I don't even know how to explain it to you guys, you are literally in the middle of the storm. It is awe-inspiring really . . . and slightly startling sometimes. We love playing in the rainstorms though. The kids love to play in the rain. Last Monday night we played with them for about 2 hours. We were just splashing each other and running around, but we made a beautiful memory that I'll never forget. I remain convinced that it's the simple things that matter most :) Another day I had gotten completely soaked from filling up our buckets with water. I finally changed and got all warm and dry and headed outside. The youth were all playing soccer in the water filled court as it continued to pour rain. My intentions were only to watch them from my dry refuge, but they all started calling for me to come play with them. When I was hesitant, a couple of them came up and pulled me onto the court. I ended up playing with them for a good hour and a half . . . I was soaked again, but I love playing with them. My companion always just smiles and shakes her head at me. What can I do? :)

Our break-in problem has eased up a bit, but we're still having a small vandalism problem. I've sealed up the majority of the break in points. I also have quite a few booby-traps set up. They don't really keep anybody out, but they would make enough noise to either scare them away and/or wake me up. Call me crazy, but I kind of like the challenge of out-smarting them :) My companion frequently switches between calling me a monkey and MacGyver because I'm constantly climbing in the rafters and creating solutions with things like half a hanger and a button. 

I wish that you guys could meet all of the people here. There are so many that I'll never be able to forget. One of them is a 12 year old boy named Juan. He is so sweet and funny, and we love playing around with him! The other day he was visiting us with some friends. He came up to me and said "Mama!" I said, "Who?" He said "You! You're like my mother! I love you!" Now every time he sees me he runs up to me and yells, "Mama!" It melts my heart and makes me so happy!

Before closing I want to share a highlight from one of our seminary lessons this week. We talked about how as we choose to follow the Lord, we choose to change. Have you ever felt that you have the need to change something spiritually? If so, did you do it? If you have experienced a change, have you maintained that change until now? Elder Bednar taught, "Indeed, the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible through our reliance upon 'the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah' (2 Nephi 2:8). As we choose to follow the Master, we choose to be changed--to be spiritually reborn." This gospel means nothing in our lives if we do not apply it each day and utilize it to change what we need to in order to become better. I testify that this gospel is for the perfection of the saints. I want to invite each of you to give heed to the promptings of the spirit and take yet another step towards your divine potential. Choose to follow the Savior and choose to change for the better.

I love and miss you all! I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Skype next week!

Go Forward With Faith!

Hermana Falslev 

Kids playing in the rafters, Juan

Waiting out the rain

Parrot Fish for Dinner

Pictures~May 5, 2014

5 Mayo 2014

Hello Family!
I hope all is well in Utah! It's a pretty hot day here in Tupile. This
morning we taught a seminary lesson about Jacob 5, then everybody went
and took shelter in their hammocks from the heat.
I'm happy to report that we had a beautiful baptismal service this
past Tuesday. Two young women were baptized in the ocean next to the
chapel. Nothing beats the feeling I get every time I watch somebody
enter the water. It's an inexplicable joy that completely fills my
heart. My companion and I just smile at each other because we know
we're feeling the same thing.
The Lord is so good to us here in Carti Tupile! A few nights ago we
woke up at about 4 in the morning to the sound of a pounding
rainstorm. We were able to fill every single one of our empty bottles,
shower, and then it just kept raining! It was so wonderful! We now
have about 40 gallons of clean water stored up. We had been getting
kind of low, and I was starting to wonder what we'd do. However, each
time we've gotten low, the Lord sends us more. I echo the claims of
the Book of Mormon prophets . . . . ''Oh how great the goodness of our
God!''
Last Thursday we went to the river for the first time this change to
wash our clothes. River days always end up being pretty exhausting
anyway, but it was even more so this time because we didn't have a
motor for our canoe. That means that we had to row all the way to the
river! With attached to the back it usually takes about 20 minutes to
make it to the river. This time it took us about an hour and a half!
Fortunately there were four of us, so we took turns with the oars as
our arms turned to jello. Then we got creative and made a sail using a
long stick and a smurf blanket that our friend Zobeyda had with her.
We got some good laughs out of that, but it worked :) Sometimes I
imagine that God just looks down at His children and grins haha :)
In other news, we spotted a dolphin as we were walking out of the
church the other day. As we were walking across the court in front of
the church Hermana Hastings grabbed my arm and gave me a panicked
look. "I just saw a shark!" After staring at the water for a second or
two we saw a dolphin jump out of the water. I'll take a dolphin over
sharks any day.
This week was elections week for the new president of Panama. The
madness even reached our little island in the middle of the ocean. I
couldn't tell you anything about who was running or who won, but I'll
never forget the crazy group of people sitting around the tiny
old-fashioned radio listening for the results until 11 o'clock last
night. Elections made for a stressful Sunday for us as missionaries as
well. Everybody was so caught up in the elections that we had to go
running around the island to convince enough Priesthood holders to
attend so that we could all take the sacrament. All ended well.
I think that's about it for this week. It was a fairly normal week
here . . . . says the girl who's living a fantasy on an indigenous
island, there's nothing normal about that :) I still love it, and my
love for the Kunas continues to grow. I love each day as we walk
around the island. Everyone yells out "Hermana!" And all of the
children run and grab tight to our legs. They just sit there and stare
up at me forever with a perfect grin. Their eyes are so wide bright! I
don't even know how to explain how I feel as I look back down at them
and love them with all of my might. Many of them just need to be
loved. They are the most precious of souls! I'm so grateful to my
Heavenly Father for the opportunity to be here with them. "Oh how
great the goodness of our God!"
I love you all!
Go Forward With Faith,
Hermana Falslev

28 Abril 2014

Hello Family!
I hope you've all had a wonderful week and that all is going well back
in the states! Many good things have been happening here in Tupile. I
continue to love being here and thoroughly enjoy being with the
people. They're so incredible!!
Guess what happened yesterday!! Remember Adrean, the young man who was
baptized a few weeks ago? He received the Aaronic Priesthood and was
able to pass the Sacrament for the first time! It was such a glorious
day :) He was grinning the entire time. As it came my turn to take the
Sacrament I glanced up and smiled at him. He grinned at me from ear to
ear then continued down the line. He was even in a brand new shirt and
tie. When I went to Panama this last time I bought him a white shirt
and tie for his birthday. As we passed by his house before church he
just walked out and handed me the tie in a knot :) I was able to put
it on him and teach him a simple way to do it for himself. I was so
proud of him and know that as he continues to progress in the church
that he'll become a great leader in the Carti branch. As we started to
leave to head to the chapel his mom called out (in Kuna) "I don't know
what you did, but you must be powerful because every sister has tried
to help Adrean, but only you could do it." I just turned and gave her
a big smile. I know that I really didn't do anything. Adrean was
finally just ready to take the step of baptism, and I am so grateful
to my Heavenly Father that He allowed me the opportunity to be a small
part of it.
This past weekend we had some other baptisms planned, but we had to
post-pone them until Tuesday because all those who have the authority
to baptize weren't on the island. We're hoping that everything works
out for tomorrow, that the sea is calm tomorrow, and that we can have
a beautiful service.
We're entering the rainy season, so it's been a bit stormy lately. I
love it when it rains here! It doesn't usually rain for very long, but
it rains hard. We're hoping that it continues to be rainy so that we
can resolve our water situation. I created a water run-off from the
roof the other day, so we can collect rain water in jugs. It was
raining so hard the other day that we were able to fill all of our
jugs with clean rain water pretty quickly. We haven't had to buy water
since our first week here! Whoo hoo! The run-off also works perfectly
for washing our hair. It is much more simple than pouring a cup over
our heads :) The other day all of the kids ran to the chapel for
shelter from the rain. They helped us fill the jugs, then we had a
really good time playing in the rain with them. It was a simple
experience, but it's one that I'll remember for the rest of my life.
It's the little things in life! Once we learn to appreciate them life
simply gets happier :)
We're also entering into crab season, so everybody keeps returning
from the river with buckets of big blue crabs. The other day we heard
some of the young men calling from the church door that they wanted to
show us something. When I went around and opened the door I almost
stepped onto a big blue one that they had tied to a string. I of
course jumped and may have squealed a little. They all got a good
laugh out of it. The kids frequently bring things to the church to
show us. Yesterday a kid showed up and handed me an octopus. Those are
very slimy and strange creatures. Ewwww!
Also, we've been having some break-in problems with the church lately.
After some investigating we found one of the openings in the roof that
they've been entering through. We had to get creative because we don't
have many materials to work with here; however, I did some searching
and created a make-shift barrier/fence thing. I then tuned into my
monkey-skills and climbed up to where the opening was. There was much
less space up there than I had thought, but I was able to cram myself
in there and hammer up our invention. I guess now we just wait until
they find the next way to get in, then we'll seal that up too :) I
kind of like the challenge :)
Well dear family, I wish you all a spectacular week! Know that I pray
for you all always. I love and miss you all!
Go Forward With Faith,
Hermana Falslev :)