23 months!

Print all In new window FW: 23 months! Inbox x cyndi falor Sep 24 (2 days ago) to Amy, Courtney, Riley, Lisa, tonia, me Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:45:41 -0600 Subject: 23 months! From: kolby.falor@myldsmail.net To: cyndif@eprivacylink.com; cynlyn59@hotmail.com; chipdude@hotmail.com; cs5long@q.com; mscheny@hotmail.com; tcm856@hotmail.com; eightallens@hotmail.com; maddison.allen@myldsmail.net; smdurrant@cachemeadow.com; buggsy28@comcast.net; kgttns@gmail.com; korygittins@gmail.com; gaussjcr@hotmail.com; pierceallen21@gmail.com Hello Family, This week was a really great week! We have had many little successes that make the work go by a little smoother. We have been preparing Derling and Dora for baptism on the 29 and they agreed, I talked to the Lawyer and planned the wedding for Saturday at 4 pm. Up until yesterday in the morning, everything was "pura vida" but then I got a call from Derling and he told me that Dora´s father didnt want her to get baptized. And because she is 17 years old he had to sign the paper for her. My companion and I were disappointed to say the least, but we knew that it was just satan. He finds any way to attack missionaries, members, investigators and any other person out there. He plays dirty and takes no mercy...but we were determined to not let him win. We found a great investigator this week, his name is Lauriano. He has 24 years and is a great guy. 7 years ago he got in a motorcycle accident that was going to leave him crippled, mentally handicapped, and breathing through a tube. But somehow some way he turned out just fine, he lives a (fairly) normal life this day and has made the decision to change his life. He saw us and said he could recognize something different and that something was something he wanted. We shared with him the restoration and invited him to read the book of Mormon. He agreed to do all of that. On Saturday the Elders in my district in Liberia were going to have a baptism. We invited him to the baptism, he said yes and we placed a return appointment to pass by at 5:15 to go with him. While we left our cita at 4:50 to go and get him, we got caught up in a hurracane like storm. It was absolutely incredible, we were walking in almost knee deep water in the streets. We arrived, soaked at Lauriano´s house, to find him brushing his teeth waiting to go. The Costa Ricans when they normally see rain they head into their houses and hibernate, they dont leave and they dont like to leave either. But he was ready and willing to go with us. Just to be safe we waited out the storm and it stopped. We left, got about 30 meters from the house and it began to pour again. We didnt want to turn back because we saw the faith that Lauriano had in his eyes. He didnt even know where he was going or what he was going to see, he just knew it felt right. I admire him walking with us through the rain, something, that for us was an everyday spectacle, just to see a baptism. The baptism went GREAT, it was a family from our area, but for different circumstances had to get baptized in the other branch. The son, Sebastian, was able to baptize his mom and little sister. As they bore their testimonies, you could feel the spirit in the room. We asked Lauriano how he felt, he didnt even answer and he asked us if he could come to church tomorrow. We said yes and put the time with him to pass by. He went to church and left the building smiling the entire day. We had a really great time with him in the church. The 2nd counselor called me at 11 am on sunday and asked me to give a talk on what recent converts need to stay active in the church. (our church starts at 1 pm now) I was nervous just before but said a prayer and asked the Lord to put in my mouth the words he wanted said. I had no idea what I was going to say beforehand, but my talk came out great. I have developed such a love for talking and sharing the gospel, who would have thought that right? But it was a great day yesterday. They are going to assign Luis as a temporary Ward Mission Leader until he gets the Melquisedec Priesthood. We were excited. They gave Sylvia a calling and a responsibility to be in charge of all the food activities in the chapel, she was excited and ready to work hard. Missionary work is alive in Liberia! And all is well! I hope you all know how much I love you! I hope you all enjoy my travel itinerary and that it doesnt make you all "trunky" either! Have ag reat week! Elder Falor Pura Vida!

Earthquakes, miracles, baptism, changes, and 3 apostles...

Hello my dear family, This has to have been the most action filled week of my life. I am sorry I wont be writing back to all of you personally just because I want to write you all and fill you in on what has happened this week. The most famous news that seems to pop out in my letters is the earthquake. Dont worry, everything is fine. Costa Rica is an INCREDIBLY blessed country and luckily, even with the bad construction, everything is anti-seismic (I dont know if that is a word in english), there was very limited damage in the country and only 2 people died but just because of panic and not because of damage. The earthquake was located just outside of Nicoya, Guanacaste. The earthquake shook up the entire country but mostly in Guancaste and Puntarenas. I get chills when I think about it, because I realized how in control God was. This week we had planned the welcoming of Elder Duncan to take a mission tour. President Wilkinson wanted to do it split throughout the mission so that it could be more personal. He couldnt decide what day to have what zones, but the Lord inspired him to have both Zona Guanacaste and Zona Puntarenas together in San Jose the day of the Earthquake. I will have to say it was a funny experience. We were in a leadership meeting with Elder Duncan when we felt the ground shake and the earth sounded like it was groaning. It was an eerie experience. You would think that missionaries were a bit wiser and that in time of natural disaster we would have left the building in which we were in to find safer ground. No. All of us went completely silent and we heard the church make the titanic sinking noises and I heard the glass from the baptismal font behind me make weird noises. We all sat there moving around in our seats like we were on a rollercoaster or amusement park ride, when finally I said "I think we should do something" just as we got out of our seats the earthquake stopped. Even though we were more than 200 kilometers from the epicenter, we felt it strong, it was a weird feeling, but cool to experience. They informed us that it was in Guanacaste and I felt so comforted. I knew the Lord protects his missionaries, 1, because he loves us, but 2, because his work must go forth, and we are the vessels that carry this work along. I felt blessed knowing that the Lord loved me enough to plan this special day for us. The conference went on as planned, we were a bit frantic thinking about Nicoya and Liberia and the entire zone especially because the phone company immediately cut off signal in and out of Guanacaste, I tried calling the cook, the BP and all the members I could think of but nothing went through. In Nicoya and Santa Cruz the chapels were damaged a bit, but nothing serious, in Liberia just the wall of a school fell down and luckily no one was inside. We lost a lot of time this week to be in our area because for 3 days we stayed in San Jose, the day after the earthquake I went with my companion to the US Embassy (In Pavas) and ran into a member that I had formed a real strong relationship with, I hung my head out of the bus and yelled "JUANCA!" (short for Juan Carlos) and he smiled and screamed at me "KOLBY!" It was a funny experience how he had gotten to know my name, but thats a story for another day. Anyway, we headed back to Liberia on Thursday night and met with the members and everyone and they said that the earthquake was felt extremely strong but that luckily everyone was okay. Since then, there has been over 560 replicas (or baby earthquakes) shaking up Guanacaste, 4 of which I have felt since Wednesday. But no worries. We are safe and happy and healthy and all is well. The Lord is in control and that is the most comforting thing we can know. The earthquake was a great experience for me. I remember seeing the chapel walls shaking and thinking "we are on the bottom floor, if this chapel falls, thats it, I´m a goner..." I never doubted that the Lord would protect us but the thought came into my mind as what if....I felt unbelievably small. I felt smaller than anything else in the world. I recognized my amazingly great dependence on the Lord and his protection. I gave everything to him in those 45 seconds during the earthquake. I literally put it all in his hands, but deep down trusted that everything would be all right. It put things into perspective just how small we are, just how fragile life is, and just how easily it can be taken away from us. It put the gospel into perspective, because the gospel of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way that families can be prepared for the day when the Lord calls them from their earthly home into his presence. Its the only way out, its the only way up...I can guarantee that, I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I felt the weird need to be like Samuel the Lamanite and get on the chapel roof and call the people to repentance, but I didnt :) I just felt the strongest desire to let everyone know what we have and why it is SO important for them... Despite the events of the week, the earthquake didnt shake Luis´ faith to be baptized. He was baptized on Saturday the 8th at 7pm. (Which by the way while filling up the font we felt another small quake, they predict that another big one is going to come soon, but we will see what happens) It was so amazing to see Luis change his life. He is 69 years old and goes to show that it is never too late to change. We are never too far gone, we are never too far away for the Atonement to reach us and clean us. I walked into the bathroom after his baptism to find him humming a hymn and he told me "I´m clean. I feel my conscience so clean..." I loved that phrase and repeated it in my head the rest of the night. He had felt the cleansing power of the atonement, and he had felt the power of real repentence in his life. Then on Sunday he received the gift of the Holy Ghost, in which me and my companion took part. He just stood in front of the congregation just smiling and turned to us and said in his weezy voice "Thank you..." It is moments like that that make everything worth it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. And not even an earthquake can stop the work from going forth. It is URGENT that this message touches every soul upon the earth. So yesterday we made our way back to San Jose for changes meeting. My companion and I didnt have changes but we went because President Wilkinson had told us to all prepare ourselves spiritually for what was happening after the changes. It was a weird experience knowing it was my last time in changes meeting. I will be there one more time but for my own farewell from the mission, the next time I am there, I will be bearing my final testimony as a Representative of Jesus Christ. An overwhelming feeling came over me, of saddness and excitement for what lies ahead. I felt that the Lord had been proud of my work. I felt that I still had so much more to give, and that is why the Lord has given me 6 more weeks to give all I have. So in Changes meeting President announced that not 1, or 2, but 3 apostles were coming on their way in a plane to visit our mission. He talked and said, I dont know why they are coming, I have heard of 1 apostle coming to a country but never 3, this is history. He then told us it wasnt only 3 apostles, but one of which was the 1st counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. After changes meeting we awaited the arrival of President Henry B. Eyring, Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder D. Todd Christofferson. We made our way in 3 giant buses to a chapel in Alajuela and got something to eat and waited patiently for their arrival. What a wonderful experience! I have been so blessed to have been able to see in person so many apostles and general authorities. I have seen 7 of the 15 apostles in my entire mission, and over 20 other general authorities. It was such a blessing, but like President Eyring said "We are not celebrities, we are servants of the Lord" It made me think, to us they are celebrities, but they regard themselves as servants of the Master. Thats what makes them so special, they give us a living breathing example of Righteous men and their willingness to follow the Lord all of their lives. There was a light in the chapel when the 3 of them entered, and even though they didnt share strange and unusual doctrine or anything of the sort, they shared their testimonies of the Book of Mormon, the Restoration and the need for us as members of the church to be happy because of what we have. Their talks and testimonies inspired me to be better and to do better each and every day. What a blessing it is for us to have this gospel. I am happy. Truly truly happy and happier than I have ever been in my entire life. I have the truth, I carry that truth to the people of Costa Rica, and I feel so blessed and so humbled by this great opportunity. It has seriously been a week that I will never forget and remember for the rest of my life. I am so happy for this experience, I am so happy I got to feel God´s power manifest through nature and through his called servants. I am eternally grateful to all who helped me get to where I am. Who have had patience with me and who have given me this amazing opportunity to do what I am doing. I love it. I love you all and I will see you soon. until then, enjoy the pictures of Sylvia´s and Luis´ baptisms.... (as well there is a picture of the 2nd generation of my "mission family", my 2 sons and my grandson, haha, enjoy!) LOVE YOU

Septiembre??

Hello Family, It was great to hear from all of you! I cant believe its already September, the time is going by so fast, I sound like a broken record, but each week I am astounded that I am here sitting on the computer again writting to you all. Yesterday we were at our dinner appointment (which is very rare by the way) and the Sister asked me when I go home, I told her in October, and she said "OH! You go home next month"...Even though its true, it weirded me out to think that next month I will be home. But until then, there is a lot of work to do here in San Roque. I am doing great here in Guanacaste. This week was a crazy one, but it was one of those where our planning really comes in handy. We have to make sure we plan and have a good activity planned for every hour of the day, and even up to plan b and c so that we are never just walking around doing nothing. Its quite funny, in my companions training process, this week was about making specific plans, and this week, all our plans fell on us, and we had to find things to do to stay busy and to be effective. I felt like it was a test and I felt like we learned that we must always be prepared. Thats what I love about the mission, I always tell my companion that nothing is for sure in the mission, each day is new, and each day brings with it different experiences that can change, even 3 minutes before. This week we saw some great progress with Luis. He accepted a date to be baptized and will be baptized on Saturday at 7. He has a strong testimony and we have been able to see some great progress in him. He is an example of God´s prepared sons and daughters. I have such faith that the Lord is really preparing people to receive the Gospel. One day while Luis was living in Santa Cruz, he had the impression that he needed to come to live in Liberia (San Roque) he didnt know why but he faithfully followed that spiritual prompting. Here in Liberia we found him and shared with him the news of the restored gospel. It was love at first sight. He heard the news of God calling a modern'day prophet and he fell in love with the Gospel. He has made amazing progress and has shown great spiritual conversion. Before finding the church he was a devout Jehovahs Witness. For those of you that dont know, the JW´s are THE hardest to convert. They are some of the strongest religious groups here in CR, not for their numbers but for their INCREDIBLE faith. To find a JW who is willing to listen to the gospel is nearly impossible. But when Christ knocks on the door and we answer, that door opens to amazing new experiences and things to find and unfold in life. I am happy to have known him, he reminds me a lot of Grandpa Long because he never can sit down, he is always working, always finding something to do and something to keep himself busy. I will keep you all informed on his baptism next week. Sylvia is doing great, she has shown great improvement as well. We found a new family Derling (23) and Dora (17) they are a really young couple but have a child together and have decided to listen to the gospel. They came to church on sunday and really liked it. I was so happy to see that the new plan we have made with the Branch Presidency has worked. On suday we had 9 investigatores in church, 1 of which WE personally brought, that means the members are sharing the gospel, and they are bringing people to church. With the help of members, the Lords work continues without limits, amazing things can be done, if members awaken their missionary potential. We have been working side by side with the BP and the new Sr. missionary couple (Elder and Hermana Clark from Lehi) to bring up the results for district Liberia. The idea is to have a stake by March 2013. I know it is possible if things continue the way they are going now. I love it, its a new plan of rescue made by us and the BP it keeps us all busy, and busy in the Lord´s work, which leaves us time to recieve many blessings in other areas of our lives. I have learned a true lesson of the law of consecration. When we give our time and talents to the building of the church, the Lord makes up for that in other areas of our lives, we are blessed and we are able to give all we can to the church, and everything else that requires our attention. The gospel really is amazing. It requires everything we have, but mostly a willing heart. I love to see that as we really make the effort and are willing to serve the Lord will do miracles in our lives and in the lives of those around us. I know this gospel is true. I know it with every fiber of my being. I have no doubts. I will never turn my back on Christ after having these amazing experiences and after seeing Gods hand in this work. I know our story is different, but I know its true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that the authority was restored upon his head, and then conferred from him in an unbroken chain until our day with our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is my sword and shield, it is the most important tool I have in my missionary tool box. I love this work and I love the Lord. I love you all as well! I hope this week is a great one for you! Until next time, Elder Falor