Hello Family!
It was so good to hear about all that is going on in in your lives! I really do appreciate the time that you spend to write me and let my know how you are doing. Things are going well here in Sumy. After getting back from Kharkov late Tuesday night after a 5 hour train ride, we were pretty exhausted. We were able to make up for some of the lost sleep with president's permission which was really good. It has been kinda of strange this week as we have had a good about of time to think about the progress that has been made here in Sumy over the last 10 years. As we studied over the member records we realized that there was alot to be done in updating records or adding to them which had never been written. Because Sumy is a "satellite city" in the mission, the Elders that were here before didn't always do what they were supposed to and stay up to date with their investigator and member records. We found as we went to find less active members, the people who lived in the apartments would tell us the people we were looking for had moved away, even up to 5 years ago and know one ever new or recorded it. Some apartments we looked for had wrong Apt numbers written and some we couldn't even find. So, this week we spent alot of time typing up records and searching for less actives. We have had a hard time getting in contact with any of them, but with the few we have, we have had some good experiences. We have also had some great experiences with our investigators! Just last night we had a talk with the man who had addiction problems. I think he has finally gotten to the point where he is humble enough to accept that he is nothing by himself and that is only through submitting to God's will that he can overcome his serious problem. It was amazing to watch his eagerness to listen to our words. He wrote them down as fast as he could and was so open to what we had to say, it amazed us. After i said the closing prayer we all looked up at each other. We all knew that we had been feeling the spirit and the man was even crying a little bit. The Atonement is such an amazing blessing. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ did that for us and suffered for each of us and our individual sins. Even as i write this i get a little choked up...man..the Spirit is so amazing and we would be so ineffective here without it. That is one thing that sets us apart here and people can see that. I am so grateful for the God's plan and this gospel and how it has changed my life and my heart for the best. We also had the chance to meet with a younger man who we have been teaching for a little while and he has finally started to really open up to us. He is coming to church each Sunday now and we can see how it is opening his eyes. Just yesterday though he told us he had to leave right after sacrament because his parents were angry that he was there. If you have the time, we would really appreciate it prayers on his behalf, that his parents hearts will be softened. Our other strong investigator has also been struggling with coming to church. He didn't answer he phone all yesterday and we are not exactly sure what is going on so we are praying for him too. There are so many great people here who are all so close to receiving the promised blessings for them. Satan is working hard on them though which means we need to step it up and help them make it all the way through there hard times. Well, time is about up but i wanted to thank you mom and dad for your emails and just let you know how much they have helped me. I really do appreciate the those spiritual experiences you share with me. Well, i love you all and i hope that you have a wonderful week ahead of you! cant wait to hear from you!
~Elder Ostler
