Week 18

Hello family and friends,

Well week 18 has come and gone, and I cannot really believe it. Everyone told me that time flies in the mission and I guess Its really true, even though at times it may not seem that way I have already been gone for 4 months, and the time keeps going and never stops.

Again, I hope everyone reading this letter is doing well and is happy and healthy. It sounds like there is a lot of snow and cold up in Utah, and being here I never realized how much of a special thing snow is. What a crazy statement and I cant believe I said that, but seriously, snow is a good way to spice up our lives and it really does make things look beautiful, especially around Christmas time. I hope you are all enjoying the cold while I am here in good ol 70 degree weather. Haha!

This week was good. Just like the rest it has its ups and it has its downs. But I am learning here how much the downs in the mission really play into the bigger and better picture. I really appreciate the good days that follow the bad ones. And I am ever so grateful to my father in Heaven because no matter the day its never too bad or too down that I can´t make it through. He is always there, helping me and pushing me forward in this work. I have found that really there is nothing more incredible than this work. And this gospel, I know I have said it before but I can´t exactly express how important it is. How crucial it is for every soul living, and dead. I have also found that after all the walking, the sweating and the rejection, that one time someone says yes, is worth it all, that one time you see someone enter the waters of baptism is worth EVERY ounce of hardship in the mission. I couldnt be happier than when I am sharing the gospel. I absolutely right now, cannot find greater joy than in sharing this wonderful news, and opening someones eyes to this Gospel and message of happiness.

This week was a crazy week, we did a lot of changes, we had to drop some investigators who just werent progressing, and we have had to search for some new ones. A few weeks ago after being frustrated not being able to find new investigators, my comp and I decided to visit a family who was baptized over 20 years ago but had been inactive for 18. The family consists of an older lady Cecilia, her daughter Marrlen and her husband Alberto and their two kids Emmanuel and Marzell. They had been long time members, but ran into some difficulties in their ward, the people of the ward werent exactly the best examples, and unfortunately, this family stopped going to church because of it. Well we found them again, and explained to them the importance of going to church, not for the members, but for God, for Jesus Christ and for that opportunity we have to draw closer to them so we can face the coming week. It didnt take long for them to realize what had been missing in their lives for those past 18 years. They came to church the next sunday and are now preparing to go to the temple. I remember their faces when they told me, "Elder Falor, we can now take the sacrament!" At times in Tibas we have felt like we had no success, but in reality, before our eyes our sucess was unraveling. We had helped reactivate this family, and bring them back to the knowledge of their Redeemer. A member of the ward looked at us on sunday, after Alberto shared his testimony in priesthood meeting and said "Elders, you rescued a family" I will never forget the spirit I felt at that moment. I am not saying we are heroes and we deserve a pat on the back, but I felt good knowing we had played some tiny part in getting this family back to church. And thanks to Marrlen, we have 6 new investigators. Everytime we visit her, she says "Elders I have a referral for you!" One of her referrals is her mother in law, her name is Ayda. She didnt want to join the church when Alberto did and had been part of the Catholic religion for her entire life. Normally, the people who have been members of the catholic religion are the hardest to teach, especially when she has been a member for so long. But she had felt the need to search a different church, to find something else because she said she found problems in her own churchs doctrine. At first we thought not much was going to come out of this, but we had a great first lesson with her, challenged her to be baptized and she said yes. She went to church, and absolutely loved it and is now getting baptized on the 26th of February.

This story is special to me because through these past few weeks that this story unfolded I have never felt closer to my heavenly father, to see this family get strengthened back together through the Gospel. The Gospel is the glue that is keeping this family together, and the love inside it is only reinforcing it all. The gospel plays an amazing role in our lives, and we are incredibly blessed to have the knowledge of it now, in a time where the earth is only growing more corrupt every single day. We had fasted this day, before challenging Ayda to be baptized, because we didnt think we were going to have a baptism this month, but the Lord knows us, and he knows that if we push a little harder and try a little harder he will do the rest and he will make it all fall into place.

I am amazed everyweek at how much my testimony grows. I thought I had a big testimony before i left, I cant even fathom how much it has grown since I have been here. I am literally nothing without the Gospel, nothing without this knowledge, nothing with out the gift of the Holy Ghost. My spanish is coming little by little, and I have to say thanks to everyone for your constant support. I couldn´t do it without you. I know that spanish will come, I am just suuuuuuuuuuuper impatient. We had splits this week and I was Sr. Comp, I had to direct a lesson to a lady we found, her name is Coseth. It was amazing, I was SHOCKED at the things I was able to say, after the lesson I just couldnt believe what just happened. We challenged her to be baptized on the 5th of March and are trying our best to prepare her for this day.

Well everyone, just the same as every week, I want you to know that I know God lives. He knows each and everyone of us by name, He knows our hearts, our thoughts, our desires, our everything. I know that my Redeemer lives, that He suffered pain I cannot quite imagine so that we could all repent and become clean again through his Atonement, so we could return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus Christ suffered more than just our sins, but he felt every ounce of our failing moments, those times where we felt embarrassed, mad, sad, angry, he´s felt our tears, our pains, our guilt, our everything. It´s hard to imagine, but I have NO doubt that its true. I know that peace, happiness, and salvation is just a step away with a hand outstretched for ours. I know that this church is true, I know that it IS the Church of Jesus Christ. I know that it is only through faith on His name to repentance and through the ordinance of baptism by immersion that we can enter into the kingdom of God. I know that with every fiber of my being. I know that families can be FOREVER. We are here everyday searching for families, hoping to get them to the first step to unite them for eternity. I know that ONLY through the Gospel of Jesus Christ can families be sealed together for longer than just our time on this earth, but we have the oportunity to live together forever side by side with Him who created us.

I love you family and friends. Thanks for all your love and support!
Stay strong!
Elder Falor