Hello Family and friends,
Wow, another week has gone by, it feels like just yesterday that I was writing you all last week. I am now a believer about time in the mission, it FLIES by, it may not seem that way to you all but I have already been out for 5 months and I am headed for 6! Crazy! I remember getting here and thinking 6 months was never going to come, but its creeping up on me. I am really enjoying my time as a servant of the Lord. It doesnt stop being hard, but it does start to get really enjoyable. I love coming home at night knowing I gave my all another day to the serving of the Lord. I found this week that even when everything goes wrong in a day, I am miserable, sick, tired, and feel I cant walk another step, it all gets better when we find one person and share our message with them. I am absolutely at my happiest when I am teaching and testifying of Christ and His church. I find after leaving a lesson I have a spring in my step, and I am energized and feel the spirit pushing me a long every step of the way.
This week was great, we taught a lot, found a lot, and just like normal, we have people in every spectrum of the Gospel, but nonetheless, the work moves forward with great speed. We are working really hard in San Ramon to strengthen and increase membership in the branch.
This week while walking through a jungle/forest to get to another appointment I was struck with fear at first. Its about a 15 minute walk in total darkness, and I let my fear take control at first, but I said a prayer in my heart and immediately the spirit took control. I was comforted and we got to theappointment safely. I can testify that the spirit is real, he is there and he knows us just as our Father and Savior know us. He waits for us to call upon him using our faith, and then he comforts and guides us.
Well family, I am typing on a computer that is super annoying and the keyboard is broken so its super hard to type, so because of that I am out of time, i wish I could write more but I cant right now. Know that I love this work, Ilove this Gospel, and I love each of you individually and specially.
God be with you till we meet again.
Elder Falor
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
WEEK 22
Hello all Family and Friends,
Well, yet another week has passed by and I think I will have to say that this week was by far the coldest! It was my first week in San Ramon, and believe it or not, its FREEZING here! Absolutely freezing! Maybe not compared to what you guys have to deal with in good old Utah, but for CR, its pretty darn cold. But its been a great week. San Ramon is absolutely beautiful. Its in the middle of city and jungle. We have a small town called Center because San Jose is almost 2 hours away from us, but the rest of our area is all hills, palm trees and GREEN! Everywhere is green and its so amazingly beautiful.
I have seen unimaginable amounts of growth this week. My spanish is improving at a faster rate than I ever imagined, I can understand nearly everything that is being said to me and I am able to communicate one on one with people in more than just a gospel conversation. The Lord has truly picked up my slack, and the Gift of Tongues is REAL! There is no other way I could learn this fast this much as I have without the spirit as my guide. I have been immensely blessed as a missionary. This week we taught a lot! The people in San Ramon are very inviting, although a lot are deeply rooted in their Catholic beliefs, the Lord has been preparing a lot of them to hear the message of the Restoration of Gods church. I can´t believe the way I am able to communicate and how much the spirit really guides me. The Lord knows his missionaries and he blesses them in this work.
This week, I happened to be so lucky to have President and Hermana Galvez come to another district meeting, it was so powerful. As I said before, president Galvez has a spirit about him, he is inspired and called of God. He has something about him that just makes the missionaries want to do better and improve. At least thats how I felt. I found areas to improve and I am working harder and harder each day to achieve my goal and do a good job as a servant of the Lord.
This week we had an activity in the Branch and watched Joseph Smith the Prohet of the Restoration movie. And what a great movie that is, that depicts the life and trials of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that man did a lot all so we could have the gospel in our lives today. A lot of what we face is tiny compared to what he had to do to restore the truth back onto the earth. We are truly blessed to have and be able to understand the fullness of the gospel and the plan of salvation.
The gospel is an amazing blessing in my life and in every life it touches. I have witnessed many amazing miracles wrought through the power of this gospel. I have seen people and lives changed through the amazing blessings of the gospel. I have seen families strengthened, relationships strengthened and literally miracles happen through the gospel. I am deeply grateful for this oportunity to witness and be a part of this powerful, life saving gospel. I am firm in my decision to serve a mission, without a single doubt in my mind that this is where I am supposed to be. That God called ME to be here right now teaching these people. I find no greater joy then when we are in the humblest of humble homes teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the middle of Costa Rica. I find it absolutely amazing that the spirit finds us, and the Lord finds those people to prepare to hear our message, regardless of where we might end up.
I know that Heavenly Father loves me. I can feel it and see it every single day. I know that He lives, that He watches over us and cares for our well being and safety. I know that every aspect of our lives is part of His divine plan of happiness. I know that if we wait and watch well God will pour out the blessings of heaven to us. I know our Savior personally, and have seen His hands at work. He is the reason and the motive behind all of this, and I dont want to represent anyone else than my Savior Jesus Christ. This is His work, His time, and His mission.
I am continually doing well in the mission, I am so grateful for your prayers and your support for me back home. I hope you all know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I couldnt do this without you and I am truly truly thankful for each and every one of you reading this letter right now.
I hope this week is filled with happiness and sucess, I am praying all is well with you, I love you all,
until next week,
Elder Falor
Well, yet another week has passed by and I think I will have to say that this week was by far the coldest! It was my first week in San Ramon, and believe it or not, its FREEZING here! Absolutely freezing! Maybe not compared to what you guys have to deal with in good old Utah, but for CR, its pretty darn cold. But its been a great week. San Ramon is absolutely beautiful. Its in the middle of city and jungle. We have a small town called Center because San Jose is almost 2 hours away from us, but the rest of our area is all hills, palm trees and GREEN! Everywhere is green and its so amazingly beautiful.
I have seen unimaginable amounts of growth this week. My spanish is improving at a faster rate than I ever imagined, I can understand nearly everything that is being said to me and I am able to communicate one on one with people in more than just a gospel conversation. The Lord has truly picked up my slack, and the Gift of Tongues is REAL! There is no other way I could learn this fast this much as I have without the spirit as my guide. I have been immensely blessed as a missionary. This week we taught a lot! The people in San Ramon are very inviting, although a lot are deeply rooted in their Catholic beliefs, the Lord has been preparing a lot of them to hear the message of the Restoration of Gods church. I can´t believe the way I am able to communicate and how much the spirit really guides me. The Lord knows his missionaries and he blesses them in this work.
This week, I happened to be so lucky to have President and Hermana Galvez come to another district meeting, it was so powerful. As I said before, president Galvez has a spirit about him, he is inspired and called of God. He has something about him that just makes the missionaries want to do better and improve. At least thats how I felt. I found areas to improve and I am working harder and harder each day to achieve my goal and do a good job as a servant of the Lord.
This week we had an activity in the Branch and watched Joseph Smith the Prohet of the Restoration movie. And what a great movie that is, that depicts the life and trials of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that man did a lot all so we could have the gospel in our lives today. A lot of what we face is tiny compared to what he had to do to restore the truth back onto the earth. We are truly blessed to have and be able to understand the fullness of the gospel and the plan of salvation.
The gospel is an amazing blessing in my life and in every life it touches. I have witnessed many amazing miracles wrought through the power of this gospel. I have seen people and lives changed through the amazing blessings of the gospel. I have seen families strengthened, relationships strengthened and literally miracles happen through the gospel. I am deeply grateful for this oportunity to witness and be a part of this powerful, life saving gospel. I am firm in my decision to serve a mission, without a single doubt in my mind that this is where I am supposed to be. That God called ME to be here right now teaching these people. I find no greater joy then when we are in the humblest of humble homes teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the middle of Costa Rica. I find it absolutely amazing that the spirit finds us, and the Lord finds those people to prepare to hear our message, regardless of where we might end up.
I know that Heavenly Father loves me. I can feel it and see it every single day. I know that He lives, that He watches over us and cares for our well being and safety. I know that every aspect of our lives is part of His divine plan of happiness. I know that if we wait and watch well God will pour out the blessings of heaven to us. I know our Savior personally, and have seen His hands at work. He is the reason and the motive behind all of this, and I dont want to represent anyone else than my Savior Jesus Christ. This is His work, His time, and His mission.
I am continually doing well in the mission, I am so grateful for your prayers and your support for me back home. I hope you all know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. I couldnt do this without you and I am truly truly thankful for each and every one of you reading this letter right now.
I hope this week is filled with happiness and sucess, I am praying all is well with you, I love you all,
until next week,
Elder Falor
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Week 21: Hello from San Ramon Costa Rica
Helloo Family,
yet another week has come and gone here in Costa Rica. This week was just as crazy as the rest, but filled with amazing moments and memories I will never ever forget as long as I live. This week was my last week in Tibas. But we were having great success. I am constantly seeing the Lords hand in this work, and just how when we think we are not going to do any good in the month he himself intervenes, and opens our eyes and the way to his chosen and prepared sons or daughters. We found a lady named Aida, her son Jaime and his girlfriend and soon to be spouse, Yerling, who are all preparing to be baptized and Jaime and yerling married just before their baptism. I am sad I will miss it, but I know the Lord called me to San Ramon, and that the people and places and things I knew in tibas were meant for my progression as his son and his missionary.
This week in Tibas, Estaca Toyopan had their stake conference, we had an area seventy come and speak. It was a great experience, I was surprised how much I understood, and the spirit testified to me of the truth of it all. It was great, I got the chance to sustain our Prophet Thomas S. Monson, the distance between me adn the prophet, and the language barrier didnt stop the spirit from testifying that this man was chosen of God to be our guide, our seer, and our mouthpiece to heaven. I know he is a Prophet of God and I am so happy I was able to raise my hand and vote to sustain him as our Prophet seer and revelator. This week I felt the spirit in great abundance, so much that it literally almost brings tears to my eyes and I get the chills. Those who have the gift of the HOly Ghost dont know how lucky they are to have this gift to testify and teach of the truth, and to bring that overwhelming peace and reassurance in this life.
I am always amazed at how much the Lord knows me individually, he knows my circumstance, he knows when I need his help, he knows when he must let me do it on my own. But either way he is at my side. This week in Tibas I had the pleasure of doing divisions twice. Once in Zurqui, and the other in La Leon XIII. Both were amazing experiences, we were contacting in the street, in the park, testifying wherever we could. I really felt like a messenger from the Lord. Even though not a lot will come out of this, I can rest assured knowing I left those people with my testimony of the truth. And when the Lord sees fit he will cause it to stir in their hearts and they can come to this happiness that we have.
This week as I said before I had changes. It was harder than I thought to leave Tibas. It was a hard area but I grew to love it and the people SO MUCH! I almost cried saying goodbye to my dear new friends, it felt like I was saying goodbye to my family again, I get so attatched and these people become a temporary subsititute for my family. But I am happy knowing I did my part, I can leave Tibas with no regrets, knowing I gave my all even in times when it was difficult. At changes meeting, it was great to see everything change, some people progressing, Elder Montierth is now District leader in Zona Atlantica! My comp is still in Tibas, but is doing great! I am here with my new Comp in San Ramon. My comps name is Elder Gibbs from Utah, we live in a house with another kid from Utah and one from Honduras. The area seems chill and I am excited to get to work. Apparently, President Galvez thinks I am in the welcoming comittee for new missionaries who are new converts. Unknowingly, he called me from the audience to give a welcome to an elder in front of nearly 200 missionaries IN SPANISH! It went well, I just testified to him how great of a blessing his story and his testimony will be to those he serves.
Well Family, as usual the work always continues. Its like starting all over again, but I have no doubt that the Lord will lift me up. I am so amazed at the love he has for me and for each and everyone of us. Even those not of the LDS faith. God loves his children, he wants them to be successful and happy in this life, and I know that he wants us to follow him with all our hearts. I know this Gospel is true, I know that Jesus is the Christ, the light and life of the world, and that through him we can have everlasting life. I know that this church is TRUE! It is the same church that Jesus Christ himself established some 2000 years ago. I know the Book of Mormon to be true because I have read it, I know and feel with deep conviction in my heart that these are the words of God, I know that it is the most correct book on EARTH and it contains the necessary information we need to fulfill our purpose and return to live with Heavenly Father.I know I was called of God to be here. I know all this without a shadow of a doubt.
Know that I love you all! Until next week!
I love you!
Elder Falor
yet another week has come and gone here in Costa Rica. This week was just as crazy as the rest, but filled with amazing moments and memories I will never ever forget as long as I live. This week was my last week in Tibas. But we were having great success. I am constantly seeing the Lords hand in this work, and just how when we think we are not going to do any good in the month he himself intervenes, and opens our eyes and the way to his chosen and prepared sons or daughters. We found a lady named Aida, her son Jaime and his girlfriend and soon to be spouse, Yerling, who are all preparing to be baptized and Jaime and yerling married just before their baptism. I am sad I will miss it, but I know the Lord called me to San Ramon, and that the people and places and things I knew in tibas were meant for my progression as his son and his missionary.
This week in Tibas, Estaca Toyopan had their stake conference, we had an area seventy come and speak. It was a great experience, I was surprised how much I understood, and the spirit testified to me of the truth of it all. It was great, I got the chance to sustain our Prophet Thomas S. Monson, the distance between me adn the prophet, and the language barrier didnt stop the spirit from testifying that this man was chosen of God to be our guide, our seer, and our mouthpiece to heaven. I know he is a Prophet of God and I am so happy I was able to raise my hand and vote to sustain him as our Prophet seer and revelator. This week I felt the spirit in great abundance, so much that it literally almost brings tears to my eyes and I get the chills. Those who have the gift of the HOly Ghost dont know how lucky they are to have this gift to testify and teach of the truth, and to bring that overwhelming peace and reassurance in this life.
I am always amazed at how much the Lord knows me individually, he knows my circumstance, he knows when I need his help, he knows when he must let me do it on my own. But either way he is at my side. This week in Tibas I had the pleasure of doing divisions twice. Once in Zurqui, and the other in La Leon XIII. Both were amazing experiences, we were contacting in the street, in the park, testifying wherever we could. I really felt like a messenger from the Lord. Even though not a lot will come out of this, I can rest assured knowing I left those people with my testimony of the truth. And when the Lord sees fit he will cause it to stir in their hearts and they can come to this happiness that we have.
This week as I said before I had changes. It was harder than I thought to leave Tibas. It was a hard area but I grew to love it and the people SO MUCH! I almost cried saying goodbye to my dear new friends, it felt like I was saying goodbye to my family again, I get so attatched and these people become a temporary subsititute for my family. But I am happy knowing I did my part, I can leave Tibas with no regrets, knowing I gave my all even in times when it was difficult. At changes meeting, it was great to see everything change, some people progressing, Elder Montierth is now District leader in Zona Atlantica! My comp is still in Tibas, but is doing great! I am here with my new Comp in San Ramon. My comps name is Elder Gibbs from Utah, we live in a house with another kid from Utah and one from Honduras. The area seems chill and I am excited to get to work. Apparently, President Galvez thinks I am in the welcoming comittee for new missionaries who are new converts. Unknowingly, he called me from the audience to give a welcome to an elder in front of nearly 200 missionaries IN SPANISH! It went well, I just testified to him how great of a blessing his story and his testimony will be to those he serves.
Well Family, as usual the work always continues. Its like starting all over again, but I have no doubt that the Lord will lift me up. I am so amazed at the love he has for me and for each and everyone of us. Even those not of the LDS faith. God loves his children, he wants them to be successful and happy in this life, and I know that he wants us to follow him with all our hearts. I know this Gospel is true, I know that Jesus is the Christ, the light and life of the world, and that through him we can have everlasting life. I know that this church is TRUE! It is the same church that Jesus Christ himself established some 2000 years ago. I know the Book of Mormon to be true because I have read it, I know and feel with deep conviction in my heart that these are the words of God, I know that it is the most correct book on EARTH and it contains the necessary information we need to fulfill our purpose and return to live with Heavenly Father.I know I was called of God to be here. I know all this without a shadow of a doubt.
Know that I love you all! Until next week!
I love you!
Elder Falor
Monday, March 7, 2011
Week 20 and the return of HOT WATER!
Hello family and friends,
Another week has gone by and I find it important news to tell you that, YES, we now have hot water in our house! Woo! How great it was to finally take a warm shower or atleast semiwarm. Haha! I know you have all been anxiously waiting for this news, so I figured to release some tension I would tell you at the beginning of my letter.
I hope again, that this letter finds you all happy and healthy. I am so deeply grateful for all your letters that I get each and every week. I am so grateful to be here on the mission serving the Lord and carrying his name and his message to the people of Costa Rica. It was another hot week here in Costa Rica, we are entering the hot season so its going to start getting hotter, and then we will be in the rainy season, and from what I have heard the rainy season really means RAINY, it rains all day everyday without stop. Kind of like the rain on all the movies you see where it just pours and pours and pours, but we never actually see in real life. I will let you know how that goes when I find out.
Not much happened this week. We are always on a constant rollercoaster with investigators because of the new form in which we contact by talking about baptism on the first visit. Some days we have lots of investigators, we get into a lot of houses, we teach a lot of lessons, the people accept our invitations to be baptized and then we never see them again. As for now, we have a bunch of different people in different stages of the gospel. We have people that we have contacted, people we are teaching, people are preparing to go to church, people we are preparing for baptism, people who are recent converts, and people who have fallen away from the church for one reason or another. Whatever the case may be, the work of a missionary never stops.
One thing I have learned here came from our purpose we are here to invite people to come unto Christ...we dont force, we dont push, we do 50% and only expect them to fulfill their 50% and pray, read, attend church so they can really receive their witness of the truthfullness of this Gospel. But we not only need to invite investigators to Christ, even longtime members can be drawing away from the Savior but may not know it. Each and everyone of us, missionary, and nonmember, lifetime member and stake president... everyone needs to come closer to Christ. The way is and has been prepared for each of us to take the step and follow him. And we do that by how we live each and every day of our lives as if our Savior was standing in the midst of us, watching and observing all our actions. There is no soul on this planet that is living, or has ever lived or who will ever live that doesnt absolutely NEED the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. We live in a world growing more dangerous and scary every minute and second, and everyone needs comfort and peace which comes through living, and following the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This week we had the privelege of having President and Hermana Galvez visit our District Meeting. My comp in the District Leader and he was pretty nervous all week to have a lesson prepared for them on Friday. President Galvez truly has a presence about him, I remember saying that I was nervous, as if the Prophet was walking into the room, in no way is he the prophet, but he is a man who has been called of God and you can tell that just by his presence when he entered the chapel on Friday. The lesson we had was amazing. Hermana Galvez is constantly trying to get the Latinos to learn English so we sang all the hymns in english, the prayers are in english, and the spiritual thoughts were in English. We practiced with Pres y Hna Galvez on how to contact many different people from many different faiths without offending their beliefs. We focused a lot on getting rid of the fear we sometimes have in contacting and talking about baptism right away. I left the meeting having learned a TON about everything, but mostly how I can improve my efforts as a messenger for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The other day we were at a less active members house. These people had been members longer than me, and have been gradually and slowly falling away from the Church, but we stopped by in an effort to strengthen them back into the faith and shared an amazing lesson with them. Our topic of the lesson was the Atonement. And how everything we have in the gospel, whether it be from fast offerings, to primary, from the sacrament to Relief Society, every single organization, ordinance, class, book, pamphlet, everything stems from the Atonement of our Savior and our Brother, Jesus Christ. Teaching the lesson, I couldnt say much, but the spirit worked through me to get my point across and share my beliefs and feelings of this amazing sacrifice. It almost brought tears to my eyes to think of the Man I have come so close to in these past 4 months, falling on his knees, crying, begging, and suffering, all so that we could have the blessings from this sacrifice. I truly tremble to know that for me, a sinner, he was crucified. The sacrifice of our Savior is nothing short of amazing. He was baptized regardless of not having sins, he suffered and died and paid a price he did not owe. All because we had a price to pay that we could not afford. I remember this day my mind was somewhere else, I was upset with my spanish, worried about everything possibly that could be worried about, but after this lesson, my mind and purpose was refocused. I was redirected on my target and refocused on the purpose of my being here.
A lot of people think missionaries are crazy. And in reality, we kind of are. We give up two years of our lives for a Church we believe is true, and then, we offer to pay for it. We suffer heat, cold, storms, screaming people, crazy dogs, rejection, everything you can imagine, all because we have a testimony of the truth. Because we have received a witness that this gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The same doctrine, teaching, and authority that Jesus himself gave to his Apostles when he walked upon this earth. We are here to declare that Jesus died for us, and lives for us, so we can live with him and our Father in never ending peace. What more of a reason do we need to leave our homes from two years on our own choice? I am so grateful for my decision to serve a mission. I dont want to be anywhere else then here declaring that God lives, and loves us enough to restore his church, the instructions for this life, the map to return back to Him.
I know that this church is true. In fact I have not one doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son, and that through him Christ restored HIS church on the earth again. I have no doubt in my mind that Jesus suffered for me and each and everyone of you. I know that my Father stands in front of me, on my left, on my right and behind me, lifting me up, and waiting to bless and strengthen me in his work. I know all this is true. With every fiber of my being I know this is true.
I want you all to know how special you are to me, and how much I love you. I love you with all that I am and pray that this week brings happiness and joy into your lives. Stay strong. Keep the faith and lose the fear.
Love you all,
Elder Falor
Another week has gone by and I find it important news to tell you that, YES, we now have hot water in our house! Woo! How great it was to finally take a warm shower or atleast semiwarm. Haha! I know you have all been anxiously waiting for this news, so I figured to release some tension I would tell you at the beginning of my letter.
I hope again, that this letter finds you all happy and healthy. I am so deeply grateful for all your letters that I get each and every week. I am so grateful to be here on the mission serving the Lord and carrying his name and his message to the people of Costa Rica. It was another hot week here in Costa Rica, we are entering the hot season so its going to start getting hotter, and then we will be in the rainy season, and from what I have heard the rainy season really means RAINY, it rains all day everyday without stop. Kind of like the rain on all the movies you see where it just pours and pours and pours, but we never actually see in real life. I will let you know how that goes when I find out.
Not much happened this week. We are always on a constant rollercoaster with investigators because of the new form in which we contact by talking about baptism on the first visit. Some days we have lots of investigators, we get into a lot of houses, we teach a lot of lessons, the people accept our invitations to be baptized and then we never see them again. As for now, we have a bunch of different people in different stages of the gospel. We have people that we have contacted, people we are teaching, people are preparing to go to church, people we are preparing for baptism, people who are recent converts, and people who have fallen away from the church for one reason or another. Whatever the case may be, the work of a missionary never stops.
One thing I have learned here came from our purpose we are here to invite people to come unto Christ...we dont force, we dont push, we do 50% and only expect them to fulfill their 50% and pray, read, attend church so they can really receive their witness of the truthfullness of this Gospel. But we not only need to invite investigators to Christ, even longtime members can be drawing away from the Savior but may not know it. Each and everyone of us, missionary, and nonmember, lifetime member and stake president... everyone needs to come closer to Christ. The way is and has been prepared for each of us to take the step and follow him. And we do that by how we live each and every day of our lives as if our Savior was standing in the midst of us, watching and observing all our actions. There is no soul on this planet that is living, or has ever lived or who will ever live that doesnt absolutely NEED the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. We live in a world growing more dangerous and scary every minute and second, and everyone needs comfort and peace which comes through living, and following the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This week we had the privelege of having President and Hermana Galvez visit our District Meeting. My comp in the District Leader and he was pretty nervous all week to have a lesson prepared for them on Friday. President Galvez truly has a presence about him, I remember saying that I was nervous, as if the Prophet was walking into the room, in no way is he the prophet, but he is a man who has been called of God and you can tell that just by his presence when he entered the chapel on Friday. The lesson we had was amazing. Hermana Galvez is constantly trying to get the Latinos to learn English so we sang all the hymns in english, the prayers are in english, and the spiritual thoughts were in English. We practiced with Pres y Hna Galvez on how to contact many different people from many different faiths without offending their beliefs. We focused a lot on getting rid of the fear we sometimes have in contacting and talking about baptism right away. I left the meeting having learned a TON about everything, but mostly how I can improve my efforts as a messenger for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The other day we were at a less active members house. These people had been members longer than me, and have been gradually and slowly falling away from the Church, but we stopped by in an effort to strengthen them back into the faith and shared an amazing lesson with them. Our topic of the lesson was the Atonement. And how everything we have in the gospel, whether it be from fast offerings, to primary, from the sacrament to Relief Society, every single organization, ordinance, class, book, pamphlet, everything stems from the Atonement of our Savior and our Brother, Jesus Christ. Teaching the lesson, I couldnt say much, but the spirit worked through me to get my point across and share my beliefs and feelings of this amazing sacrifice. It almost brought tears to my eyes to think of the Man I have come so close to in these past 4 months, falling on his knees, crying, begging, and suffering, all so that we could have the blessings from this sacrifice. I truly tremble to know that for me, a sinner, he was crucified. The sacrifice of our Savior is nothing short of amazing. He was baptized regardless of not having sins, he suffered and died and paid a price he did not owe. All because we had a price to pay that we could not afford. I remember this day my mind was somewhere else, I was upset with my spanish, worried about everything possibly that could be worried about, but after this lesson, my mind and purpose was refocused. I was redirected on my target and refocused on the purpose of my being here.
A lot of people think missionaries are crazy. And in reality, we kind of are. We give up two years of our lives for a Church we believe is true, and then, we offer to pay for it. We suffer heat, cold, storms, screaming people, crazy dogs, rejection, everything you can imagine, all because we have a testimony of the truth. Because we have received a witness that this gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The same doctrine, teaching, and authority that Jesus himself gave to his Apostles when he walked upon this earth. We are here to declare that Jesus died for us, and lives for us, so we can live with him and our Father in never ending peace. What more of a reason do we need to leave our homes from two years on our own choice? I am so grateful for my decision to serve a mission. I dont want to be anywhere else then here declaring that God lives, and loves us enough to restore his church, the instructions for this life, the map to return back to Him.
I know that this church is true. In fact I have not one doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son, and that through him Christ restored HIS church on the earth again. I have no doubt in my mind that Jesus suffered for me and each and everyone of you. I know that my Father stands in front of me, on my left, on my right and behind me, lifting me up, and waiting to bless and strengthen me in his work. I know all this is true. With every fiber of my being I know this is true.
I want you all to know how special you are to me, and how much I love you. I love you with all that I am and pray that this week brings happiness and joy into your lives. Stay strong. Keep the faith and lose the fear.
Love you all,
Elder Falor
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