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 :)

Baptisms on the Beach and Kids in the Church

LDS Church in San Blas and Miscellaneous Photos

21 Abril 2014

Hello Family!
I'm happy to announce that I have returned to the island. Three days
in Panama was enough for me. It was a very stressful 3 days because we
had lots of meetings, and we also had to run around getting everything
for my new companion before heading out to the island. That meant that
I had to know my way around the whole process and know how to navigate
Panama City by myself. With a prayer in my heart and many tender
mercies from the Lord we were able to get everything done and still
attend two temple sessions. We headed out early on Friday morning. Due
to lots of tourism and a broken down car we arrived to the island
about 6 1/2 hours later (it usually shouldn't take more than 3) All's
well that ends well :)
I now have a new companion! Her name is Hermana Hastings and is from
Provo. That's right, my first companion from Utah! She has wanted to
work on San Blas since the beginning of her mission and is really
excited to be here. We're already really enjoying our time together.
Prior to changes I was praying for a companion who would love the
people as much as I do and be willing to work. Thankfully, she fits
the criteria :) She only has two changes left in her mission. That
probably means that we'll be staying together for two changes and that
I'll be training a new sister out here for another change before
heading out to another area. That'll mean about 6 months on San Blas!
I've mentioned to President Carmack that I will stay out here for as
long as he's willing to permit it, so I'm hoping that's what happens.
On Saturday and Sunday we had a fun visit from a member family from
Sandy Utah that was visiting Panama. They heard about the chapel in
Carti and wanted to visit. It required some jumping through hoops, but
I was able to arrange a car ride and a place to stay for them so that
they were able to participate in a branch activity on Saturday night
and attend church on Sunday morning. They were visiting with their two
children who were 9 and 12 who absolutely loved playing with the
island children. They've traveled all over the world, but the father
of the family said that he had never seen anything like Carti Tupile.
He kept saying that he wasn't sure how anybody could prepare to serve
here because it's unlike anything else. He mentioned that the only
thing he could think of that was a close second would be the Pacific
Islands......50 years ago. I consider myself very lucky to be here and
for the experience that the Lord has granted me. Oh, and they said
that they'll try to get in touch with you guys when they get back :)
I am so grateful for each and every one of you. I love you all very
much and hope that you have a marvelous week!
Go Foward With Faith,
Hermana Falslev :)

15 Abril 2014

Family! I hope you have all had an outstanding week! I´m writing today rather than yesterday because I am currently in Panamá! That´s right, it´s already time for changes again, time is flying by. Hermana Dawson and I got up early this morning to make the long trek back to real life. It´s been a very strange transition for me. I´m already ready to return to Carti Tupile, but we won´t be heading back until Friday. I´ll also be heading back with a new companion because Hna Dawson is being transferred.

It was a wonderful week in Carti Tupile. On Saturday we were able to have a double baptism. We took a very rocky canoe ride to a nearby beach where we had a small baptismal service. The waves were so big on the way there that we were all completely covered in salt water when we arrived. (The Carribean in VERY salty) We had a beautiful service. I felt the spirit so strongly as I watched the youth that I mentioned previously enter the water. The other was a young boy that we´ve been teaching for a while. On Sunday they were both confirmed. The following Monday he came to me slightly concerned and shaken. To put it simply, as he walked out from school he was stopped by a man, a relative, who invited him to accompany him to another island. He explained that he felt something that very clearly told him that it wasn´t right. Thankfully he listened to the prompting and told the man that he couldn´t go with him. Not long later he watched as the older man returned to our island and was quickly aprehended for possession of lots of cocaine. He was shaken up because he realized that it could have been him, and he didn´t fully understand what had happened. I was able to calm him down and explain to him that he had been prompted by the Holy Ghost. I was so proud of him for having listened to the Holy Ghost only one day after having received the gift. He´s a young man with lots of potential to build the Carti Tupile branch.

There are many other exciting things happening on Carti Tupile. We´ve recently found 8 individuals who are progressing and interested in baptism. We also have many ideas to help strengthen the adult membership on the island. I´m looking forward to returning after changes and continuing with the wonderful things happening on Tupile.

In other news, earlier in the week we made another trip to the river. While streaming down the river in a small canoe our friend that was steering suddenly started to steer toward the bank. I turned back, slightly confused, to see him cornering a large blue crab with the oar. When the crab made a sudden escape attempt Hno Annival, about 45 years old, didn´t hesitate and dived directly into the river after him. He was submerged for a few seconds, then we saw his hand shoot out of the water . . . . with the crab. He submerged triumphant. He then explained to me that the big blue crabs are his wife´s favorite, so he simply had to dive in after it. It was a very fun experience, just another normal day in Carti Tupile :)

Well family, my time is nearly up. I hope that you all have a wonderful week, with many smiles and laughs. I love you all dearly!

Go Foward With Faith,

Hermana Falslev :)