About the work

Dear Family.

So I received the package from both Jessica and from y'all. THANK YOU! That music is incredibly helpful. Really. I can't thank you all enough for the support you give me and the help that I have received and continue to receive from you and our Father in Heaven.

 

So I think I'll forgo talking about how we got called at 4 in the morning to go to Yosemite otra ves, and tell you about the people we have been teaching.

This area, the Crows Landing Area (aka. - Newman, Gustine, and Crows Landing) are tons of work. This area is much like setting up a tent when you go out camping. Easy if you know  what you are doing and have proper instruction, not so easy if you don't. Nothing against my trainer/now Zone Leader - Elder Smith, because he truly was a great trainer, but after this I was placed in a situation where I had no training whatsoever except to go by the Spirit. So... with Elder Madsen, I have learned/ RE-learned many of the concepts that I had not fully realized as part of the work until this transfer. Whew!!! It hasn't been easy, but man... it is so satisfying to know that you are doing what the Lord wants us to do here. I remember before the mission hearing about how there would come difficulty and that you would have to work through it... I thought about that and then said, "Cool. Well, that's good to know but... that won't ever happen to me. I'll work SO hard that it just won't be possible!"

Haha... well, let me tell you, the Lord really knows how to humble us so that we understand our own weakness. That has truly been a struggle for me.

 

Nevertheless, we have been teaching this guy named Jorge who is really an awesome investigator. He is really making a lot of progress. It is great.

The work here is good and keep up those prayers... and sorry about the short emails...

 

We have to head out to work. Next week will be longer.

 

Anyway....

 

Love ya!

 

Elder Ostler

A Spiritual Refreshment

So today (Tuesday) is our Preparation Day. The reason for this change is because of a beautful thing that took place. We had the wonderful opportunity to wake up at 4:00 am this morning and drive two hours South to the Fresno, CA temple. Wow! I love the temple. Truly a beautiful thing. I love being a missionary. In reality, I don't want this to end. By that, I mean that this is by far the most intense learning experience I have ever had.

Something that I think that people often look over is the use of the Scriptures. These books, combined with Jesus the Christ, Our Heritage, Our Search for Happiness, and True to the faith are truly works of awesome wonder..

 

Well I have ten sec,,

 

Love you all,.

 

Elder

Wow...ran out of time

So I was messing around with my Emailing Inbox... organizing and such... and I completely forgot about writing. I thought that I had already written something. Ah well... maybe next time. So we have been having success but not without much diligence and teaching.

 

Well... I was reading in a few places today when I came across an interesting analogy. Galatians 3:24, Moses 1:39, Preach My Gospel "Baptism, Our First Covenant". It made me correlate a lot of the things that we do within the church with my attendance of BYU. Baptism is much like the Honor Code that we sign in order to be taught by the Spirit. I drew it but I'm not sure how to write this.... and I really don't have the time.

 

Well... the Church is still true. God still loves us. We have to work out our own salvation through Jesus Christ (The Parable of the Ten Virgins).

Read. Pray. Share. Love. follow Christ.

 

Love you.

Elder Ostler

Aftermath of General Conference

Wow!!! Was that an awesome General Conference or what? Amazing talks. Beautiful music. Spiritual enlightenment. Answered questions. New Hope. That was really amazing. Truly. We were able to bring some of our investigators to watch General Conference. What an amazing thing. I mean, "you can put your money on the Prophet." ~ Elder Moreno, Preach My Gospel DVD.
By the way, have you been able to watch that with your local missionaries? If you haven't, ask them about it. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. I think they have been trying to incorporate the use of the "Preach My Gospel - The District 2" into many of the United States missions (I really couldn't tell you about the Overseas Missions though =T).

 

So before I go any further, I'd like to ask you for a couple things... if that would be ok. So I was wondering, I have a serious shortage of music out here... and seeing as it is one of those things that i really like, I was hoping that I might be able to ask you for a few CD's. Maybe an Alex Boye album. Some Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The rules for music are:

Classical music, and anything missionary appropriate by an LDS artist (e.g. no romantic lyrics or heavy overtones). But what am I talking about... you all know what Missionary Appropriate music means.

 

I have attached a few pictures. One of them was a beautiful rainbow that we saw at a member's house. It was quite vivid... hopefully the camera did it justice. The next was a picture of our microwave which caught fire. Needless to say, it broke. And it wasn't mission owned. Ugggghh. I still have to go to the landlord and tell them about that. Soon. The next is my pride and joy... My beautiful Planner. Simple but Powerful. And then the last is my companion at the house of yet another member, playing the accordion (hopefully I spelled that correctly). What a strange instrument. Strangely cool. Seriously... it was something else.

 

So I heard this story about this guy who was hitting on Suzanne at the bus-stop at school. WHEW!! I think I'm gonna have to call my mission president to get permission to fly down there and give someone a couple stiff kicks in the butt! I strongly feel that we may need to hire some of those Big Russian bodyguards (much like the Muscle Guy from "Get Smart") with unibrows and stupidish stern looks on their faces.

 

Well... I love you all and wish you the best. I'm doing my best out here to become my best. Read Preach My Gospel. Go out as often as you can with the missionaries. Be a missionary.

 

Oh, and I really loved Elder Scott's talk. We saw that with an investigator and after he finished the investigator couldn't help but say, "Wow. What a mellow guy. I've never met someone like that."

Another quote that I really liked as well was, "It's not so much about FINDING the right person to marry so much as it is BEING the right person."

 

I love you all and I truly enjoy reading both your emails and letters to me.

 

Love you muchly,

Elder Ostler

This week... Mas entranamiento

Hola familia,

como les va? Ok... pues, este semana es algo bonita. Tengo un companero que sabe como ser completamente obediente y esta ayudandome para llegar a ser lo mejor que puedo. Entonces, yo dije "Mas entranamiento". Finalmente. Estaba pensando sobre las cosas en este area... (todavia esta en la area "Crows Landing" - la tercera transferencia) y estaba pensando, "No se como ayudar este area! Desde mi transferencia de entranmiento, tuvia companeros que no quieren ser completemente obedientes.

 

Ok... I don't have time to speak in Spanish. I have 9 minutes left. Anyway, so we are doing our best here in Crows Landing. Finally. It kinda makes me think about setting up camp as a boy scout. If you don't know how to set up a tent, it is incredibly difficult. If you do, but you are alone, it is hard as well. Well, I wasn't sure how to do either. Thus, I was in a dilema. Now with my new companion, Elder Madsen, we are going to blow this place up. In a good way.

 

Oh... and speaking of blowing things up, we were cleaning our apartment today when our microwave spontaneously caught fire. yeah. So that was pretty funny. and scary. But mostly funny. Well... now we are microwave-less until we can somehow get our hands on one.

 

Well... that's all folks... 

 

Oh.. except, President Gonzalez is leaving!!! In June he and his wife will have finished their missions. So our new Mission President will be the coach of the highly successfull team "Highlanders" from the movie "Forever Strong".

 

yeah.

Be impressed.

 

Anyway... love you!

 

Elder Ostler 

Tough Week.

Haha... just kidding. I was just curious to see if the caption would catch your eye and make you want to read. Well, I just took my beloved companion, Elder Gonzalez, to the Stake center where he would be taken to Fresno (approximately 2 hours away). Elder Gonzalez died. Well, I am still here in the Crows Landing area (aka - Newman & Gustine). Elder Wood and his companion are still the same (the Patterson Elders) except that Elder Wood no longer is the District Leader. So he called me and told me that today he was going to enjoy his "powers" as long as possible, and tonight he will call us before he no longer can. He's really a great guy. Super humble. I like him. No usurping his authority. He does his best in serving everyone that he is responsible for. Although, he does make our exchanges fun. Thus, we are good friends. One of the missionaries in our zone, Elder Hessing, was on the BYU Hawaii soccer team. He was really good last time we played. Right now, I am with Elder Flores. We are having a lot of fun but had a lot of errands to run.

 

Ugh... so I have a problem. I forgot the PIN number for my Missionary card. And my Personal Card.

... yeah. I'm sorry. I knew that I had a problem forgetting things during my first transfer while I was with Elder Smith, but sheesh! Wow. Well, I'm trying desparately hard to remember these things and sort this out. Hopefully this will pass by soon like a bad dream.

 

Well, I love you. Sorry that I wasn't able to write as much as normal. There wasn't much time to do so this week.

 

Love,

Elder Ostler

Yosemite National Park

Dear Family,

I am finally writing you on the correct day of the week! So today, I am writing you rather late due to an interesting thing that we just did. We went to Yosemite National Park. It was incredible! Whew, what a beautiful place. We got up early in the morning (around 5-ish) and got ready. When we arrived, that place glowed with the perfect morning light. That park is humongous. There are two roads that are maintained. One of them (I wish I had taken a picture) had been blocked off by a rockslide. Many of the boulders there are incredibly large... so they built the roads around them.

So the waterfall that you see is Yosemite Falls. Well, when we got there, I was under the impression that I would not be seeing snow for the next 2 years. I was wrong. On the contrary, it was quite chilly there. It was interesting because there was a trail that took us to a bridge fairly close to it with a great view, but there wasn't a fence to make sure that we didn't get any closer. Well, naturally, we decided to get a closer look. The trail had a small detour that took us closer and closer to the waterfall. I'm not sure how well the pictures show this but we actually got quite close to it, and it got to the point where we actually had to stop and turn around to avoid being soaked. It was definitely a rush. After that, we realized that we are all kinda adrenaline junkies, and when you're high on the stuff, it makes you want to do something even better.

So I think I am in a few of the pictures. The one with the red sweater is my companion, Elder Gonzalez, and the one in white is Elder Wood. I'm not sure if I had one with Elder Daley from today.

All in all, it was a great day. Sure, we have to do our shopping still, and we have some late laundry that we have to do, but other than that, amazing.

So I sent you all a large letter. Tell me, have you received it yet?

Well I'm out of time. I love you and hope that you all are doing well.

Love, Elder Ostler

        

Wednesday Emailing = Weird

Wow...

I have so little time to actually write you. I have 8 minutes as of 20 seconds ago to write to you a long email... I'll see what I can do.

So everything has been going great. It is something interesting. Everyone told me this but I didn't really know exactly why until I came out here.

The Mission is a Roller-Coaster! Sheesh. I understand why so many missionaries feel that they cannot continue... that they need to go home. Out here, there are higher highs than ever. We walk into people's houses and share with them something so simple... the Gospel and our testimony. Something so simple, and yet often so difficult. We tell people how to change their lives. All of this comes by faith. It is interesting thing for me because, we don't always notice it but when we are doing our best to be our best, whatever that might be, we are given the companionship of the Spirit. When we have that Faith, Hope, and Charity that Moroni talks about (Ether 12), there is an interesting thing that people can see.

 

Example:

 

The other day, we went to one of our investigator's homes and we spoke about the Spirit. Now before starting, let me make something clear. I know for a fact that these people have felt the Spirit. I have felt the Spirit so strongly there that I cannot deny it. The husband said, "My wife and I were talking about it the other day, and we like it when you guys come over because you bring the good Spirit. Not the bad spirit. When you guys come over, even if there is tension or fighting or other things going on before, when we hear that knock and you guys come in, there comes a Spirit of calm and peace.

 

Note: I'm not saying this to brag about anything of myself and my companion, but rather to state the importance and significance of the calling as an Elder and as a Missionary.

 

The husband has problems with smoking. The wife... is just awesome. I really don't know what is holding her back. Last Saturday, we committed him to stop smoking for a whole day. One 24-hour period. He agreed that he would. The next morning he was texting us and told us that he wouldn't be able to continue until 7 am. We called him later that day... I think he thought that we were calling him to chastise him. But we didn't. We just called to see how he was doing to which he replied, "Oh. Well I'm doing Ok right now."

 

The next day, (fast sunday) we were waiting for Sister Bolton and her son, (Bro. Bolton told us that she would go) and nothing. We were sitting in the pews watching and waiting and NOTHING. Ugh, we were so dismayed/discouraged. Then about 15 minutes later, she walked in. Later that night she told us this story about she was going to sleep in when she heard a knocking her bedroom door. She got up to check and there wasn't anyone there. So she went back, confused. Not 5 minutes later, she heard "tap-tap-tap!" on her door, so she got up and checked the house to find that everyone was still asleep.

Then she told us, "I think it was the Lord telling me that I need to go to church."

 

I love this family. I love this work.

 

Thank you all for everything you've done for me in helping me to be here.

I love you.

Elder Ostler

The Beginning of March

Dear family,

wow. This week has been great. So this Thursday, I went on an exchange with Elder Wood (District Leader), and it went well. Better than last time anyway. I'm trying desperately hard this upcoming week to get my Spanish up to par. I feel that I have hit something of a barrier. I have gone as far as I can go on beginner Spanish. But, because of the fact that most people don't speak Spanish Level 1, I have to put forth greater effort. I am working with my companion, Elder Gonzalez, who is struggling a little with the fact that he is going home in 3 weeks. That can be troubling. I can already forsee that this would be a problem. He works hard nonetheless. I have also been turning more to "Preach My Gospel", the tool that every missionary grows to love. The thing is, that book is scripture. When I said "Missionary", that includes every member.

But, I feel like I am preaching to the Choir here. You all are doing a fantastic job. Keep up the good work. All I am saying to you is that there are many answers to be found in Preach My Gospel. Many things to be learned. It was created to move the work along in the Lord's way. In these last days, we must move the work forward "that we may be found spotless before God at the last day." - (Some chapter in Jacob)

 

When I last wrote, I was having difficulties with certain aspects of my own life. Certain principles of the Gospel hadn't taken hold yet - they hadn't sunk in deep to the heart. Read "Our Search For Happiness" - by Elder Ballard. That book is very helpful.

He (Elder Ballard) said something that I thought was very important.

 

"It isn't that Jesus Christ asks us to do things that we wouldn't normally do or be someone we're not. But you will find that as you are truly intent on following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, that one day you will look up and find that His path has led you directly to the throne of God." - Paraphrased (I don't have the book with me.)

 

Religion is our core. It is what prioritizes everything else that we do in our lives. If we truly believe in God, then we have to believe that the things that He has said are true. As we believe on the words that have been given to the Prophets, both anciently as well as in these Latter Days, then as you test His Promises, you will find them true and faithful. God does not make promises lightly, else, He would not be God.

 

Anyway, something that I thought was interesting. So we went to a member's house the other day. We found out that she has this nasty little dog that barks a lot. So we were at her house and the dog was really nice when the lady was watching but as soon as she had turned her back, Boom. That stupid dog bit me! It is a good thing that I am wicked fast.

 

No blood. But if that lady hadn't been there, kaput! That dog would have been sorry.

Either way. It doesn't matter.

Just thought it was funny.

love you!

Elder Ostler

Hello World

main {    System.console.to_ostler_family_computer.read{

 

" Hola familia, how has everything been? Sorry about the delayed letter. We were not able to write yesterday due to some holiday. So instead, we played football. That was rough. But it was fun. Today we had Zone Conference and my companion Elder Gonzalez, gave his testimony. Yes, sadly, this is his last transfer. It was really weird, seeing him on the other side of the hill. And then I saw it. Next month I will have been out for a quarter of my mission. WHAT??? That's what was ringing in my mind's ears for quite awhile. (Yeah... for some reason, saying "ringing in my mind's eye", really didn't sound correct. And yes, my mind has ears.) So hmmm... things to talk about. I have been trying to send everyone letters. Dang! It is so hard to do out here. Everyone wants a part of our Preparation Day. We have a Recent Convert family that is only free on Mondays so I mean, we have to go visit them. We can't say, "Sorry, but we can't do that. That is our time off." Because, in reality, it isn't. It is just the time we have to prepare for the rest of the week. We still wear our name tags.

 

Anyway, I had something of an epiphany not too long ago. It has been long in the making. For some strange reason, I had always thought of my life as a bunch of boxes. Work has its own box. Religion. Family. Fun. Etc. Each of these had their own separate boxes, and sometimes the things within one of these boxes would spill into another one. Such as Fun into Family.

But they were to be separate for some reason.

 

But then I realized... that is not right at all. Even though we might want to admit it to ourselves, I think that many of us are guilty of this. And in reality, this is a  serious problem.

There is a reason that every young man is called on a mission. It is to learn the purpose of life. Sure, probably every member of the church as well as even some of the least religious catholics (I am picking on catholics just because that it was the first thing that popped into my head. And other reasons.) could tell spew off something about needing to be good so that we can come back to God. But really, who actually lives that? Who actually lives the things that we profess to believe every time we go to church?

I believe that the truth is that many of us don't really understand that the Gospel must be our core. The doctrines taught by the scripture must sink deep to the core. Their value and importance transend everything. To put it into geek-speek, we have to rewrite the software. It has to be part of the BIOS (that is the part of the computer that looks all old right when you turn it on). It must not be... "Hmm... well, my friends are doing it and honestly, that is pretty cool, so just this time." It has to be, "No. That is not what Christ would do."

OR

On the other hand, it must be, "Huh. I know that I need to do this. I know that it will be hard but still. I know that I need to do it." It shouldn't be..."Well, that sounds like a nice thing to do. But ehh... thats not my thing. Not my style."

 

When I was reading the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, I looked up the meaning of Tares in the Bible Dictionary and I noticed something very interesting. It says that Tares look very similar to wheat throughout their growth stage. But, instead of yielding 'good fruit', they give poisonous fruit that can cause dizziness and disorientation. Isn't this biblical allusion interesting? Do you see the parallelism?

 

When that is our BIOS (for a lack of a better word), that is when we are built upon the rock of our Redeemer. And when that happens, that is when we are truly happy. Believe me or not, that is the truth.

 

Thus, that is what I am striving for.

 

Anyway, sorry for the longish essay, but that was something that I thought would be useful for yall.

I hope that you are all well. I think about you in my prayers. I thank you for yours. They have kept me alive. Literally. I am saying right now that I am alive because of your prayers or in other words, I would not be alive right now if it weren't for that.

Take care.

I'm sending the letters tomorrow. They just need to be mailed.

 

I love you all so much. You are truly the best thing that ever happened to me. =)

Love ya.

Elder Ostler"  }     }

To: The Familia de Families (and friends)

Dear Familia,

That is actually the group name that I have created for you on here. I figured that I could use a little of my computer-geeky side to get better acquanted with my inbox. It actually saves me something around 3 minutes and 23.292 seconds by writing "Familia" rather than putting everyone's emailing address in the "To:" box. But... I just wasted that much writing this little braggity note to you.

 

Anyway, so yesterday on the way to church, we were driving along and what do you know but I looked behind us and saw that the Bolton's were driving behind us. We were excited, paying more attention to them rather than the road and apparently started speeding down the highway. When we arrived, Bro. Bolton chided me for this, saying that fasted I should go on Hwy 33 is 60 mph. Apparently I had been going around 80. Well, I promised him that I would slow down.

 

So later that night, we were headed to our Missionary Correlation Meeting around 8:00 pm, and I had turned left on a 4-way stop when all of a sudden a car turns on and pulls behind me. A COP! So I was driving well below the speed limit (it was a residential road) and I turned and pulled over. He hadn't turned on his lights but he was shining his spotlight.

 

NO!!!! I was so upset. I knew that I had ever so slightly rolled through the stop sign. So anyway, he didn't have on his lights or anything but I had pulled over, and then he walked over and of course looked me in the eyes to make sure that I was sober, then said, "License and Registration. How are you doing this evening?"

"Not too bad." Until now! I handed him my license and registration.

"Do you know why I pulled you over this evening?"

"No."

Well, he was talking to us, asking us where we were headed, etc. When he saw my license and I had told him that I was from Miami but that I was a missionary and that we were headed to a member's house, he looked me in the eyes and said, "You aren't going out burglarizing any house and making trouble, eh?"

We laughed and said, "No", and then he handed me back my license and registration.

"Have a good evening, and stop at stop-signs!"

 

WHEW! That was rediculous evening. Well, I have been NOT speeding ever since. And I count 3-Mississippi before going. No trouble. No tickets for me!

Yikes. When we passed by there later, there were lights and handcuffs... the works. That was a close shave. He had an amazing hiding spot.

 

Other news... my new companion, Elder Gonzalez, is amazing. When I had gone to pick him up, he didn't speak a lick of English. Well, later found out that he DID... but the Zone Leaders were pulling a prank. =D

 

But my Spanish has improved dramatically since he has been my companion. My previous companion, Elder Sanchez, was from El Salvador and spoke fluently but would only speak English to me. Whenever I asked questions, he hardly ever answered them. Ugh! That was something that bothered me about him.

 

But with Elder Gonzalez, I think we speak more Spanish than English. It is amazing! I am so happy. It makes me feel like I can more fully fulfill my purpose out here. Oh, and apparently, I am killing him. This is his last transfer of his mission. It has been really cool to be his companion because this is the place that he started his mission. This area! The first day he was here, he pulled out his first planner. It had TONS of names. His trainer knew how to use a planner, I'm telling you. We got something like 50 names from it. We have been teaching this new family, the Hernandez's. Their son, Panchito (Francisco), is a member but he has trouble getting to church because... he is on a soccer team and they play on Sundays.

 

But regardless, Elder Gonzalez has a way with bonding with the people. Between his talking about Monterrey, Mexico or the "Tigres" soccer team in Texas, they start talking with him. I am learning lots from him. So in our Spanish Branch, Saturday night around 10:45 pm, we received a text/call from Elder Wood that I was supposed to give a talk the next day. Well, because of the amazing practice with Elder Gonzalez, it went rather smoothly... other than the fact that I was also playing the piano, and they were about to ask me to bless the sacrament. (I'm not even kidding... they did.) It is times like those that you realize the importance of missionaries in some areas. When building up branches, without much help from the members, the responsibility falls completely to the Branch President and the missionaries.

 

It was funny because during my talk, I told everyone that I had only given one talk before in Spanish before, and that had been in the MTC. The thing was that since no one really speaks Spanish there, you can really say just about anything with a "espaneesh accent" and no one can tell the difference. They got a kick out of that.

 

Anyway, I gotta go... but thank you for everything. Rachel, I sent you your letter several days ago. Suzanne, Cristina, Mom, and Dad, and Jessica and Steve... yours are sadly still in the works.

 

But HAPPY Valentine's Day!!!

I love you and keep up the great work!

Love,

Elder Ostler

week after MLK day

Dear Family,

Sorry for the minor inconvience (at least, I HOPE it was minor) last week. Due to MLK (not to be confused with "MILK") I was unable to write last Monday. I have thought a couple times about telling "them" to change their Holiday contraction to something more along the lines of Coco-puffs or something. Not meaning to be rude. I think it would probably be unwise to post that.

 

Anyway, how has everything been? I haven't received Rachel's address today so I'm hoping that I might receive word in order to send her a letter or two.

Hmm.... where to begin? Well, things here have taken a turn for the worse. I'm not sure what to do.

- On Wednesday: We received "Bicycle Training". This was given by the Zone Leaders to help us to know how to ride bikes. Apparently they've had several injuries that have been occurring as of late and they would like to correct these.

 

- On Thursday: I was on my bike... needless to say, I got in an accident which caused me to roll my left ankle pretty bad. My companion Elder Sanchez thought I was joking (it was the 'tough' face that I put on - no sense in cryin' about it. =T ) So I was down for a day-and-a-half.

- then Saturday: I had an amazing exchange with Elder Wood, my District Leader. Amazing guy. We got so much done, and... I mean, in my head, I imagined it being a lot worse, but it went rather well.

Love ya!

Elder Ostler

Due to MLK day

Due to Martin Luther King day...

The libraries weren't open, and I was completely unable to make contact with my family. When this happens, do not fear... it is not because I forgotten about you.

This transfer has been interesting. I feel that it has been rather testing. Ok, not rather. I should say 'quite'. I won't go into detail... although it goes into a certain "Car'pe Diem" pocket-book, also known as "The Book of Thoughts and Wonderment". (Thanks to Tina) I also durst not seeing how my companion is sitting right next to me. So we fixed up my bike. It had a minor problem with the seat that was causing some potentially large and rather uncomfortable issues. Now it is better than when I received it.

Hmm... so tomorrow after Branch Council, I am going on an exchange with my District Leader, Elder Wood. He is a really great person, and I am excited how it will turn out. This is my first 'actual' exchange on my mission. Well, something really sad happened. I just received an email from that one of the Elders in my district has decided to go home. It is really sad because I see many people drifting off the beaten path of Obedience as a missionary. I guess I expected that everyone would be super obedient just because. But honestly, I see many fall into the trap of disobedience. This is probably the biggest problem/mistake you can make as a missionary. One reason for this is that when you begin to becom disobedient, you begin to see the mission as a prison rather than an opportunity. I think that this is one of Satan's greatest fronts and strongest holds upon the missionaries. If we could just BE OBEDIENT, what power would the adversary have over us? We would be as the army of Helaman.

After hearing what happened to Elder Englehart, (the Elder that is leaving) I can't help but think back to my mission and how it has affected me. I am so glad that I am here. One of the reasons why is that I KNOW that this is where the Lord would have me be. I know it. The things that I have witnessed, the people I've met, the things we've taught, and the things we have felt all help me to know that this is where I am supposed to be.

The things we teach are true. This isn't theoretical. This is as personal as it gets. The testimony of the Spirit is the most real feeling I have ever felt. I am so greatful to have such an amazing family who give me support. I have been so blessed, and when I see others who don't have that foundation beneath them, I wonder how they did it because I know I wouldn't be able to without you all. Keep up the good work. After reading D&C 100, I know that I have been truly blessed. I trust you in the hands of my God.

P.S. - Something interesting that I thought I should tell you. The Church has begun to have these new Pass-Along Cards. Also, they've really been pushing the Mormon.org website. They've asked us to make these profiles on there and to encourage members to create profiles on it as well. I haven't been able to use it yet but every Wednesday and Thursday, they've told us to go on there and get familiar with it. If you can, talk with the missionaries next time they're over. Hopefully I'm not telling you about stuff you already know.

 

Anyway, love you!!

Elder Ostler