Keep the Faith and Lose the Fear

Hello Family and friends,

I hope once again that this letter finds you all well, happy, and healthy. I am so deeply full of gratitude for each and everyone of you and your amazing words of advice for me. I thank my heavenly father, numerous times in one day for putting you all on my path in life! Thank you, thank you thank you! And Happy New Year! I hope this year is a great one for all of you and you all find success in it.

Ok, so to answer your questions, don´t worry my living conditions are just fine. There is hot water available in the city, and most houses have what is called a ducha and it warms your water for you, but for some reason, neither of ours work, and we are all too lazy to buy a new one and install it, but don´t worry, I am used to it and I actually like a cool nice refreshing shower in the morning. And the food thing, that´s allright, we eat when we can and we never starve. There is just so little time to cook and eat breakfast in our schedule, but we always have a big lunch every day and usually members have us over for dinner. But I am eating, don´t worry, I am eating a lot and loving it! I really love rice and pinto beans which is what they have here for EVERY meal.

About the city, no, it´s nothing like the beautiful pictures we saw on the internet, honestly, it´s a lot like the outer boundaries of SLC, or Logan at the fairgrounds during the fair. It´s just a city, but the campo is supposed to be beautiful, and odds are I will be here until June and then hopefully out of the city in the jungles and get to see those beautiful things we saw in pictures.

Thanks so much for the packages that you are sending, I will most likely only get them every 6 weeks at changes meetings or random times during zone conf. but they will be well appreciated either way :)

So about the weather, some days it has this rain that they call pelo de gato, because its weird and its like the hair of a cat, but its so cold mixed with the wind, but don´t worry for the majority of the time, it´s a general 60 or 70 degrees with a little chill, but all is well I promise...And yes, of course I have a bed, on the top bunk so I am far from the floor, we also have electricity, haha :) my living conditions are really great actually, don´t worry about that. I dont think I could use the brownie mix because we don´t have a stove, but I could def use the ramen noodles, we have pans pots and cups so no need to worry about those.

So It´s a new year here in Costa Rica and they definitely know how to ring in the new year here. Friday night we were told to end the night quick because things get crazy, so we returned to our house at 7 and bought pizza (one for each of us) and played monopoly until midnight where we all went outside and rung in the new year with the Ticos. Everyone and their dogs lights fireworks off and they are all super big and loud, so that was lots of fun. My 2nd week was a lot better, I decided to change my attitude. Everyone always told me it would be hard, I dont know why when I got here I was so scared about how hard it really was. But this week definitely was hard, but it was just as much rewarding. People always told me, you will have good and bad days but both are worth it, and I see that so much here. Sometimes we fall pretty low, only so the Lord can lift us even higher, and in those times when I feel like I am absolutely suffering and I couldnt get lower, the Lord brings me higher, to a higher place I never imagined.

Family, I know the holidays are hard, but just think about what I am doing here, its great to be with our families for the holidays, but the thought of being with your family for eternity is even more exciting in my mind. I am here, inviting people to live with their families forever, not only for the holidays, or not only for this very short span of time on earth. It´s amazing, I am taking part in the work of GOD, the very God who created each and everyone of us! It´s such an amazing calling! The hardest thing I´ve ever had to do, but definitely the most rewarding.

At Times, it´s hard to look to the future and see how sometime in the future this will all pay off and that things will get better, and before you know it you´ll have to deal with Kolby all over again! But it happens, the Lord truly makes everything work out for the better, sometimes we have to wait through the storm and be patient.

One quote that Maddy, Garrett, and I always say to each other is keep the fear and lose the faith. Unfortunately the past 2 weeks, I lost the faith. I truly lost all hope and faith that things would look better, that I would learn spanish, that I would be a success in the mission field. And the times when I completely lost all faith were the times I suffered the most. On christmas eve, I opened this quote, shortly after I called you:

¨May today there be peace within, may you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the INFINITE POSSIBILITIES THAT ARE BORN OF FAITH. May you use the gifts that you have been given and pass on the love that you have received. May you be content knowing you are a Child of GOD. Let this presence settle into our bones and allow our souls the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there, for each and everyone of us.¨

This quote came just in time, It gave me insight of what I needed to change to make my misson the BEST mission there was. I need to truly keep the faith and drown out that fear that will drown out my faith. Once I can harness that, I can harness power beyond my comprehension. Amazing things are born from our faith family. I urge us all to be faithful, in any circumstance, member, non member, sick, afflicted, happy, sad, anything. Infinite possiblities await us as we demonstrate our faith in Heavenly Father. Our Father in Heaven works with us according to our faith, he can make miracles happen. Miracles happen every day, we just have to look for them. Look for miracles and you will really be able to see the Savior and his hands at work in your life every single SECOND of your days.

I know this time may be difficult, for all of us. I am adjusting to being away from home for the first time ever, being in a distant land, hearing a language I cannot understand (yet), and you are all adjusting to the problems and trials in your own life, but we mustn´t give up. The Lord is waiting, just ANXIOUSLY waiting to bless us! Each and everyone of us has blessings in store in the hand of the Lord, all we have to do is exercise our faith, reach out, and grab them, and enjoy them.

Anyway, that is a lot of what is on my mind at this time, because I am never cease to be amazed at the help and support I receive. I really question how on earth I ever did this whole ¨life¨ thing before. This week was great, a constant struggle, it´s like walking uphill both ways no matter where we go. We have a few people that we are working with to strengthen and teach its been a great week. We found a less active family who was baptized in Nicaragua about 4 years ago and has been inactive for bout 2 years. Their son, Daniel, wants to get baptized and the family realized that after they had gone through some afflictions they wanted to become more active in the church again. We were thrilled at this news, because we had been having little to no success. The people in the city are very prideful and do not want anything to do with us half the time, so for someone to come up to us and say they want to be baptized was truly a gift from heaven. So we made plans for him to be baptized on Sat the 8th of Jan, but unfortunately when we went to get them for church on sunday they werent there, so now we had to push the baptism back to the 15 so he could come to church and meet with the ward and Bishop. We are also teaching a family who are so sweet and so nice, we taught them the amazing lesson on the restoration, and the spirit was so strong, but the lady turned down our invitation to be baptized. I know she felt the spirit, and I Know in her heart she desires to find the truth, which is what we come carrying. But for some reason she didnt want to. We are continuing to guide her and help her on this sometimes long and hard path. On Sunday we visited a recent convert, who was baptized right about when I entered the MTC and he had been having a hard time continuing to stay active, we met with him and shared a message about enduring to the end and I testified to him from my own experience that It isnt enough that we are baptized, we must ETTE, read the scriptures, pray, attend church and be the disciple of Christ we promised to be at baptism, an dbelieve it or not, that was all in spanish :) I am able to understand about 50% of a conversation, just enough to know whats going on, but barely enough to be fully involved in it all.

We are also trying to teach a family who really wants to be baptized but dont want to get married to each other, even though they have 2 kids. And another who all her kids are members but she just doesnt want to commit. We stop by frequently to t each them and strengthen them, and one funny thing that always happens is this little old lady, the owner of all these little houses, invites us in and gives us ¨sweet water¨ and bread, and she askes us to pray with her, while we say a prayer she always recites a prayer outloud in the middle. She has a son, Omar, who is mentally handicapped, and he always talks to us and loves tosee us, I don´t understand a word he says, but it´s always a treat to go in and visit her and her son.

Mom, I showed my comp a pic of you and he said is that your mom! How old is she and when I told him, he was shocked, he said you looked so young! So I just had to tell you that, I figured you would like that. Also, I completely forgot to say anything about Parkers birthday, even though she wouldnt of noticed but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I cant believe it´s already been two years, what a cutie!

Well I am doing fine family, I have so much support, not only the strength I feel from you but also In my quotes from maddy (thanks by the way!) the scriptures, my pictures and everything you have all done for me. Not a day, hour, minute, or second goes by where I dont think of you. Each and everyone of you! You are all so important to me, and I know I say this in every letter, but I love you, with all that I am I LOVE YOU! You mean the world to me. I know it was divine, everything that may have led us to know each other, whether you are my parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, 2nd family, or people i met along the way, it was destiny, and I thank God each day for that, that I am able to draw on our friendships and relationships for strength.

I sincerely appreciate all you do for me. Honestly this would be impossible without you all and the help of my Heavenly Father. When life gets hard, or sometimes, unbearable, remember to truly Keep the Faith and LOSE THE FEAR. Don´t let fear sway you from your course, remember you are a child of God, what greater lineage could we ask for! Remember some gringo missionary in Costa Rica loves you beyond words! Remember that!

Stay strong!

Love, for ever and for always,
Elder Kolby Falor