CHILE WON! (Week 10)

27 June 2016

If you guys didn’t know CHILE WON the LA COPA AMERICA last night! Hermana S. and I were just about to fall asleep and our neighbors were going crazy! So we got up and opened our window and everyone was going crazy! Banging pots, honking their horns, screaming, it was the craziest thing ever haha I love Chile so much! People were just running the streets screaming "Otra Vez, Otra Vez"   they have won two years in a row! Whoooooo! I love being here!

Ahhh this week! So much happened this week...

Monday night Hermana and I were walking home from the Bishops and a car hit my companion. It wasn’t hard and she is 100% okay, but it was scary! No one knows how to drive here and the lady rolled down her window and was like trying to yell at us. Haha oh geez.

Tuesday night’s we have Consejo de barrio with our ward leaders and us missionaries are going to start working and visiting the members a lot more and I am super excited! I LOVE MY BARRIO!

Wednesday night Chile played Colombia and the streets were empty so we had no luck getting into houses! Friday we had a Noche De Hogar with our ward and it was so much fun! We talked about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy and it was good... People here struggle very much with keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Then we had a talent show and it was amazing, mostly people just sang and it was just a lot of fun. Then they brought out the food and it literally went in like 15 minutes! It was so fun to just be around the ward and talk to everyone.

Saturday the Elders had a baptism... Joselyn and she is amazing, Hermana Schroeder and I are really close to her and it was so special to see her enter the waters of baptism! I love missionary work!!!

Jorge is still amazing and happy! Yesterday we went on a nature walk and found a view of the three volcanos! The change I have seen in Jorge will keep me happy for the rest of my mission I think... He makes me so happy... having a convert in the church they really do become so special to you!! I’m so thankful for him and his family!! Last night we showed them a temple video and the spirit was super strong and they are planning to go in exactly one year! Makes me and Hermana Schroeder so happy!

I love this work so much and I love my first sector with my whole heart! Spanish is coming more and more! I love this gospel and I’m so grateful to be a missionary right now there is nowhere else I would rather be! I love you all!

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Hermana Falslev

First Baptism! (Week 9)

20 June 2016

What an amazing week! 

Tuesday we had Zone Conference and it was 4 hours long! So good to be with President and his cute wife! We talked a lot about being consecrated missionaries! Hermana Obeso gave an amazing talk about how we need to ALWAYS be an example... everywhere that we go! President had me stand up and tell everyone why I was so happy and excited. It was so funny because he cannot pronounce Falslev haha... So I got up and just said that I love Chile and the amazing people here that have made such an impact on my life. 

Wednesday we went and finished our craft thing at Hermana Santana’s. I will send a picture, it was so fun and we just hung out at her house because Hermana S. was still on house bound. 

Thursday we got to start working again and visited all of our people and it was so good to get out of the house :) 

Friday we had lunch out in the country with the Valderas family and it was amazing, she is the best cook! She taught Hermana S. and I how to make kuchen and it was amazing! Elder Holland and Elder Scott have eaten at her house because her husband was Stake President! She said that Holland is the funniest and Elder Scott had the Spirit so strong with him that it was like static! So amazing! Even Elder Holland thinks her cooking is the best! Friday night we celebrated Elder Komenda’s birthday and an investigator brought some really good sushi, it made us all super happy! 

Friday night we were riding the bus in back from the country and this lady from our Ward sat down by us and I had a 30 minute talk with her in Spanish and it was amazing. I just wanted to cry because it made me SO happy! Then we were talking to our District Leader one night and he was like Hermana Falslev you sound like a Latino haha and then today we called to talk to the AP and he was like Hermana Falslev you sound like a Latino now from the last time we talked haha... I don’t know if they are being serious or not but hey I’ll take it! Thank you for all of you that have prayed for me. Spanish is not easy but through the help of my Savior I can do it! Just thought I would share that!  

SATURDAY JORGE GOT BAPTIZED AND IT WAS AMAZING! Hermana and I went to the church at 1:00 to start filling up the font because it take 4 hours!! So we studied and played some ping pong. At 4:00 Jorge and his family showed up and they were all so happy! It was the greatest feeling! Mirtha, Jorge’s wife gave the first prayer and just started crying ... She had been waiting for this day for a long time! Hermana Schroeder gave the baptism talk and I did the Holy Ghost talk and the room was so hot from the hot water in the font. I’m sure my cheeks were bright red. Jorge was so excited the whole time it was amazing to watch. Elder Berry baptized him and Jorge has a big fear of the water and when he entered he tripped and almost fell in. His wife and daughter got a good laugh from that. It was so special watching him get baptized I was just filled with complete joy. It went so good and then after his baptism there was a Father’s Day activity and everyone was welcoming him and it was super awesome to watch! Also after his baptism Hermana and I had dinner with him and we just talked about life and he was so happy you guys!  Sunday he received the Holy Ghost in Sacrament and Elder Komenda was the voice for the blessing and that was perfect. 

Sunday night we went over to their house and they were all just so happy! And Jorge showed as all his work he had to do, but he wasn’t going to do it because it was Sunday. He and his wife Mirtha were just so happy it’s hard to describe! I’m so grateful for them and all of their sweet spirits! No better feeling then helping our brothers and sisters come unto Christ! I wish you could all meet Jorge he is the best! It was an amazing week and I again just feel so blessed to be here in Chile, in this sector. I’m so excited to work hard this week and continue to serve those around me! I love missionary work, everyday I’m just so happy and feel so blessed! Love you all!! 

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Hermana Falslev

Bronchitis (Week 8)

13 June 2016

What a week! This week has been very different, crazy and so good!

Monday, after writing, we went to Hermana Santana’s to start our super cool craft, haha! Then we had a leccion with Jorge and his wife Mirtha and he should be getting baptized this week if all goes as planned and we are so excited!

Tuesday we had a Zone Meeting, so we met all the new Missionaries in our Zone. We got our new scripture to memorize and this month we are focusing on our investigators coming to Church. This really is so important and it’s so important for our investigators to know. I was talking to Hermana Norton about it and she said if we truly knew how important the Sacrament was we would do anything to partake of it each week! So this week I want you guys to study and really think about the Sacrament and how important it is!! Every week we can become better and more like our Savior Jesus Christ. Take the Sacrament and truly think about all our Savior did and does for us. 

Wednesday we had District Meeting and it was sooo good! We talked about new ways we can contact and find those ready to listen! After that I had Intercambios but this time Hermana Norton came with me to my sector and I had to lead and be in charge. At first I was super nervous but it was such a good night. She is such an amazing Hermana Leader and we had such a good night together! We found a family of six and their children are beautiful and we sang Families can be Together Forever and just talked to them and set a cita up with them for Tuesday!

Thursday Hermana Schroeder and I got back together and after lunch she did not feel good at all. So we went to Mirtha’s house who is Jorge’s wife and she was trying to help Hermana and it was so funny, haha. I will send a picture of Hermana it was sooo funny. That night we went to Hermano Ivo’s house and my companion rested and something amazing happened.... Hermano Ivo just started talking about the Book of Mormon and I was speaking fluent Spanish and it was the coolest thing ever! I feel the help from my Savior every day out! I LOVE SPANISH! It’s so rewarding and humbling being able to talk to these people I love sooo much! Maybe it’s because I hit 3 MONTHS! So crazy!

But anyways back to my companion being sick... Saturday she woke very sick so we called the nurse and were told not to leave our house... And then Sunday she woke up worse and so we went to the Emergency Room Sunday morning and she has Bronchitis!! I feel so bad, but she is doing much better now! So yesterday was spent in the house and then we have about two more days in the house. I have been reading like crazy!

Thank you all for your love and support like always! This week was so special and one I’ll never forget! Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know exactly what we are going through, we just need to be patient and our blessings will come as we keep the commandments, it’s that simple! Be happy and choose happiness everyday!

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Hermana Falslev

Leaving or Staying in Puerto Montt? (Week 7)

6 June 2016

Another crazy good week here in Puerto Montt!! No Transfers for me and my mom Hermana Schroeder. We will be together another transfer! We are both so happy and are Best Friends! Every day is so much fun and I just love her hahaha. When they were announcing all the transfers I was getting so nervous, it felt like the Hunger Games or something... I am so excited and so is she, that we get another 5 weeks together!!!! We didn’t get in contact with Jorge until Wednesday, he really has been super busy with work and looks forward to still getting baptized! We are shooting for this Saturday! Yeahhhh, so we are excited! 

Wednesday we had lunch with the Rodriquez Family and they feed us so good... I will be sending a picture I call it the "ivo" they make the best food... LITERALLY IN FOOOD HEAVEN! Wednesday night we had a lesson with Maria, Narayeth, and Alex... They are so cute and progressing slow but it’s okay, they just don’t want to feel pressure, so we are taking it slow and they are starting to love us. We taught The Gospel of Jesucristo and it went really good. Maria gave us this dessert from Germany and it was amazing and they said they want to have us come over and have lunch with them one day, which is a real big deal to people in the area that they live, so we are so excited. Maria is such a sweet lady and I pray that she feels our love and comes to know the Church is true... Narayeth is her sweet 9 year old daughter and is soooo cute and I want to bring her home with me haha... Alec is their cousin and is 25 I believe and is super cool and listens so good to what we have to say... We have another leccion tonight and I’m super excited! Love these people soooo much! 

Also on Wednesday we got to do service and help a hermana in our ward clean up her backyard and I finally got to wear jeans and it was such a good feeling. Super fun to do service I wish we could do more… 

Thursday we visited Cecilla Fernandez who is a menos activo and she is so cool and speaks amazing Spanish and I understood every word she spoke soooo if the rest of Chileans could speak like her this would be a lot easier haha. But she is so amazing and so talented... Her house is amazing and she has made almost everything in her house... Seriously the furniture she makes blows my mind. Next Monday we are going to make a knitted tree thing which I am soooo excited for so I will try and sneak some pics because all of you would be amazed... She is so amazing I wish she would come back to church :( 

I have met some amazing talented people in Chile and they love teaching us. So Hermana and I are going to making some cool things so I will keep you updated! I love love love Chile with my whole heart and love the people even more!! It’s the greatest thing ever being in a different country! I read D&C 1:30 this morning and it talks about how THIS IS THE TRUEST CHURCH ON THIS EARTH. And I know that with my whole heart... This gospel is perfect! I would like to do a shout out to my family, and extended family, I LOVE YOU ALL WITH MY WHOLE HEART. My family is the best and I’m so excited to meet all my new little family members when I return! Family is so important and that’s something I realize every day out here! Love you all who are reading this!!! Sorry I’m just a happy Missionary in beautiful Chile!! Enjoy summer!