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