Week 70 ¿16...?‏

Hello my family and friends, I am so happy to be able to write to you all and to hear about your experiences during this week. I am glad to hear that all is well. You are always in my prayers and I hope that you can all feel that and know of the love I have for each and everyone of you. This week for us was a rollercoaster ride, we were hardly in Pavas, we spent a lot of the week traveling to other areas, to San Jose and all over the place. But its been a lot of fun and I enjoy every minute I have on the mission to serve the Lord and to preach His gospel. This week we are expecting the arrival of Elder James B. Martino (the 70) to do his mission tour here in the best mission in the world. We are doing alright here in Pavas, thanks to the new training program we are both learning a lot and how to improve. We have an investigator whose name is Josefina, she is one of a kind! We leave her with something to read and she can almost repeat it back to us word by word. She has asisted 2 times in the chapel and she has loved it both times. She gets teary eyed when they pass the sacrament, she has been converted, she just has to make a decision about her baptism. She has taught me a lot about how the gospel is meant to change a person and make them better. It doesnt matter the past that a person had, its what they do with what happened to deterimine their future that counts. All of us have a past, but the gospel is for the future, its to prepare us for life in the presence of our Loving Heavenly Father. What a blessing it is to be a missionary of the church. I love following the Savior, he is the ideal leader and he always leads us to a better place. Like the lesson Bishop Durrant taught me in the MTC, we often forget that this vale of sorrow is temporary, but that if we follow the words of Christ they will lead us to a promised land, we must strive to do his will and as we do he will bless us, and strengthen us. I learned a lot this week about dealing with adversity. I was happy to know that the Lord doesnt take our problems away, he doesnt take them away and make everything perfect, what he does is he makes us strong enough to support them, he promises to walk by our side and give us support, as a real friend does. I cant believe I have 16 months in the mission. Instead of getting home sick, I get mission sick, thinking about leaving this place gives me goosebumps, I cant imagine life as a normal person and not as a missionary. Time is flying by so quick, but its a reminder of all the things I have to change to become the man my Heavenly Father wants me to be. Its been a great week, and we are hoping for another. I hope your week goes great, I love you all with all my heart. Elder Falor con mucho amor -- Pura Vida!

Week 69, siempre en Pavas‏

Hey Family and Friends, Sorry that last weeks letter was a bit small, but dont worry this week I will make up for it. All is well, as you could see by the picture we went to the temple, I am in love with the Costa Rica temple, I am in love with Costa Rica. I dont want to go home, I love the US of A but Costa Rica has stolen my heart, and so have the people. I have made so many friends and so many great people here that have changed my life. This week was all right, we didnt have a Pday on monday, just time to write the family and back to work, so it was a bit tiring, but always going forward. Today we had a CRAZY changes meeting! More than 3/4 of the mission is training! Crazy, we have recieved so many new missionaries and almost everyone is training, its crazy! I learned so much from the meeting today, and through the transcourse of this week. This week has been a trying week for me, but I have realized that if we follow what it says in our calling packet to put all of our personal affair behind us and focus on the work we will be better off, and we will receive strength to keep going forward. I am doing just great and loving every minute I have to be a missionary. Today a missionary said something that I really loved. He said ¨when the time to leave comes, the time for preparation has ended¨ It made me realize about how important and sacred this time is, it must be used to the maximum. Its a time to prepare us for eternity and life in the presence of our Heavenly Father. My mission has been such a sacred life changing experience. Its the best adventure I have ever embarked on. I have seen my way of reacting to things and think of how I used to react to things and I am amazed at the change the Lord has made in me through my mission. This time is preparing me for whats to come afterwards. And if I dont use it right it will come to an end and I wont be prepared for the things and challenges that life throws at me. Either way, I am determined to use every day to its fullest and to not let my Heavenly Father down. I know this church is true. But I dont feel like that is enough at times, I know its the ONLY true and LIVING church on the face of the earth. I have no doubt of that. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, there is no other book on the face of the earth that contains as much truth. I know that by reading it we can gain a better relationship with our Older Brother, Jesus Christ. I have had to search for my answers a lot this week through that amazing book, and it has yet to let me down. I know that we have a prophet, I know that what I am doing is true, I know it with all my heart and I will never deny it. I hope this week is a great one for all of you, don´t forget how much I love you all with all my heart, I hope the very best for you! les amo, Elder Falor -- Pura Vida!

Week 67

Hello family and friends, I hope after a week like this one, that this letter finds you happy and well. I was so happy and grateful to hear of the support that my family received upon receiving the news of the death of our loved Grandpa Dave. I thank you all for your love and support and your prayers that were made this week as well. I am so happy that God gives us trials and problems like these. But not because they are easy, but because they teach us a lesson that only they could teach us. There is no other way we could have learned the lesson we are meant to learn other than the death of a loved one. I know that our trials fit us like a pair of shoes, they are given to us by One who knows more than any. They are made for our growth and our perfection. That is the purpose of life. We are given this time to prepare ourselves for the day when we will stand before God once again. We are made to be tried in all things so that we can be worthy of the Glory that God will give us. We must hold on tight through the storm to be able to receive a spot in the Kingdom our Father has prepared for us. I am so incredibly grateful for the love my Heavenly Father has for me, I am thankful he has allowed me to serve Him, He has allowed me to carry the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. He has strengthened me and like it says in the Footprints poem, He has carried me this week. I wont lie and say this week was easy, as I told my mom there were moments when I thought about my Grandpa and just wanted to be sad, I thought about things that we will no longer have here because of his loss. But then I saw the bigger picture and thought about the lesson he is teaching us, I thought about the strength we can gain from the death of a loved one. I honestly have never felt so near or so close to my Father in Heaven then this week. I realized too like my sister Holli, that each day is to be lived one at a time. We never know when our mortal life will reach its end. We must be prepared each and every day for what will come. Each day is a miracle, each day is a gift and it will NEVER come back, we must use it and cherish it because one day or the other, it will come to an end. But as I said in my letter, its not the end, its only the beginning, its not goodbye its only see you later. I felt anxious this week, an anxious feeling a missionary gets when he thinks about his family, but it was an anxious feeling to be able to see my grandpa Dave again, I know that it will happen, but as for now, I am the one with the work to do, I am the one who needs perfection to be able to arrive prepared in the presence of God. I know and will always and forever testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE. Its more than just the word of God, it is HIS word and HIS Gospel and HIS TRUE CHURCH restored to the earth in these Latter days. It is what true happiness is. Its a happiness that cannot be bought or sold or stolen. Its a happiness that only God can give. I think that has been what has held me this week. I hope that we can all find the strength to move forward, I hope we can all use this situation as a time to grow and to better prepare us for that day. I love you all with all my heart. I am sorry, I wish I could write more but I have to be at a leadership meeting at 11 until 5 pm here in Los Yoses, my heart and prayers are with you. I love you all. con amor, Elder Falor

Grandpa Dave

t was a complete shock to hear about the death of ¨Grandpa Dave¨, I wont lie and say that it was easy, at first it was really difficult to grasp the fact that he had really passed away. I reflected on the concept of death the day before at the funeral of a member of the church here in Pavas. I spend every single minute of every single day testifying to the people that families can be together forever and that death is not the end. When I received the phone call of this members death, I began to doubt in the great plan of God, I began to feel so small in the scheme of things, and I felt that death had taken the sweetness out of everything that is good in this life. I began to question my testimony of the things I had been teaching for the past 15 months. I questioned it all day long after receiving the phone call. When I walked into the room where his body was, I felt an overwhelming spirit testify to me that death is not the end, it is merely the beginning. Without knowing it, this experience had prepared me for what would come my way only one day away. When I received the phone call, I knew imediately that something was wrong, the first thing I said to my mom was ¨what happened¨ instead of ¨how are you?¨ When I got the news I didnt know how to think, I was upset, unsure, and completely shocked. I didnt know the purpose God had for taking my Grandpa with Him, I didnt fully understand the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us, but I felt comfortable knowing that our Heavenly Father is in control, he has the reins and he knows what he is doing, that was the most comforting thing I could feel. Knowing someone had all the control in the world, and not just anyone, someone who is worth trusting. I may not fully understand, nor comprehend the great plan that God has for us, but I know sufficient. I know that my Grandpa Dave left this world, only to enter into another world, a world of rest where he isnt suffering. I know that if I work my hardest, I will be able to see my Grandpa again and tell him how much I love him, and how many things he taught me and how much his life affected mine. I know without a shadow of a doubt that families can be together forever. Families are meant to be together always, and death may only be a seperation, but its NOT goodbye, its merely see you later... -I thorougly can´t wait until the day when I can see my grandfather again, I know its possible, but now its up to us to work hard here so we can be able to do it. After hanging up the phone on tuesday I opened the Book of Mormon to try and find some relief, I turned exactly to the scripture that had given me comfort almost 3 years ago when I read it for the first time. I opened and read the following words: ¨Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection, behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil are taken home to that God that gave them life¨ My Grandpa Dave knows so much more things that we do, he is learning so much and he is in a better place. I know that as soon as his spirit departed from his mortal body, he was taken home, to our Heavenly Father, the God who gave him life. ¨the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care and sorrow.¨ I know these words are true. I know that Grandpa is resting, and he isnt in pain, he is resting from all sorrow and all troubles, he is in peace. It brings me peace to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Especially at a moment like this. I always asked myself what I would do if I lost a loved one while on the mission, where would I get the strength to carry on, being so far from the people I love. I often wondered where it would come from the strength to keep going after losing someone so dear to you. The strength comes from a surety of knowing that I will see him again, I will see him in a better place and we will both be in a better state. The strength comes from my testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that all of us may be able to understand the plan of Salvation as the Lord intended for it to be understood. When we understand it, death really becomes the beginning, and just a see you later, until we meet again. I know what I am doing is true. I know that in a time like this, there is no better place to be, no better thing to be doing. My heart and prayers are with you during this time. I love you all with all my heart. Sincerely, Elder Falor