Hello Family!
Sounds like pretty much everyone is having an amazing week!! I was so excited to hear about the baby being born! Congrats Megan and Joe! I was so glad to hear that Josh found a good job too with Goldman Sachs. If i remember right thats a pretty solid company! Koffords going to London, Jim opening another office, Jenica's first concert, its just been a great week of life changing events. Sounds like so much fun! This week went pretty well. We struggled to meet with our investigators this week so we met with a bunch of less actives. We also were able to meet with one of our eternal investigators for the first time which was good. She has a good friend who was baptized a while back who moved to Russia soon after and went inactive. She happened to be visiting at the time and we were there so we had a good lesson with her too. We are hoping she will start coming to church again soon. This upcoming week i think our focus will be on finding new investigators. We will keep working with the older ones but will spend more time contacting and tracting, finding people who are really willing to make changes in their lives and sacrifice for what they know is right. As a district of 4 in Makeebka, we've been trying to focus on our goals and try to reach the "standards of excellence" established by our mission president. Right now there are no companionships reaching them. We are hoping as a district to achieve these goals soon and break into the 'miracle zone' running. We have been setting smaller goals that will build up to the success we want to see. It was so great to see those pictures from the baptism Elder Oldroyd had the opportunity to perform! That is so exciting to see. Some times you get so caught up in the work you dont take a step back and look at God's hand working this great work all across the world. It is so great to be a part of it all! Thanks for all the support that you all give to me. It really means the world too me when times get discouraging and you feel like you dont know what to do. The Lord is always their to comfort his children, we just have to accept his help and not resist. Change has never been something easy for me but since coming here, its felt like a new change every day. The Lord knows our weakness's and knows our potential. Just like the scripture says that we have our weakness's and are given trials that we may be humble. Then once we have endured, those week things become strong. We are hoping to find great success here soon! the church has already bought land about 5 min from our apartment for a new building but we just need to have a steady attendance of about 65 to receive that blessing. Please pray for the members here. I was looking through our branch list and it says that we have something like 250 members but only about 40-50 come to church right now. I pray every day that those people will return to activity. If only they knew how important it was that they attend! Spring is hopefully coming soon which hopefully means more members at church! We are almost there! Its so great! Well i need to write President Fry but I hope you all have a great week and i hope you all know that i love and miss you! Hope to hear more from you soon!
With Love,
Elder Ostler
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
February 21, 2011
Hello Family!
It was so good to hear from you all and all of the wonderful things that are happening back at home! I was pretty shocked to also hear that the Kofford's are going to be living in England for 3 years. Thats means you'll be there for Wimbledon!!! Woot Woot! Maybe we could time it just right for me to come visit them when I return :) haha anyways..it was so cool to hear all about your experiences with Elder and Sister Zwick. It is amazing to hear about the strength that we have in the church and it was cool to see the pictures you sent of the high council party and the good bonding time you all must of had. I also loved seeing Caleb's germs presentation! You didnt by chance take the line,'they're all over me' from the song Weird Al made, did you Caleb:) Things here in the mission are going well. We just had transfers and I just received my new companion Elder Winchester from Morgan, Ut. He is a great Elder and about the same age in the mission as my last companion. He has really great desires for our area and also see's the great potential it has. This is going to be a great transfer and we are hoping to see some great success here soon. I know without a doubt that when we get to work and quit thinking about ourselves, the Lord takes us and shapes us and helps us see the success that we hadnt seen before. The mission for me thus far has been the most humbling experience of my life. I never knew a single person could be so prideful to start off with:) I was reading a talk by Elder Scott that I really loved and that has really made a big difference to me and has helped me better understand the process that we all go through throughout our lives. He talked about how strength of character can protect us from any temptation satan can send our way. The way we build and strengthen our character is through consistently making the correct and right decisions in faith. As we excercise our faith, the Lord strengthens our character, which then allows us to act with more faith, building stronger and stronger. One quote I like was," we become what we want to be when we consistently be what we want to become every day." It is such a key and simple truth, though much easier said than done. That is something we are all working at. I know that as we show the Lord that we are serious about becoming what he wants us to become, he will provide the means by which to do it. I am so grateful for our Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ and the plan he has given us to follow and I know that as we follow what has been commanded and asked of us, the Lord will bless us abundantly. Thanks for all of the support you all give me and I hope that everything is going well for you. I pray each night for you all and I hope you can feel my love. I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead of you! I'm hoping to send some pictures soon!
With Love,
Elder Ostler
It was so good to hear from you all and all of the wonderful things that are happening back at home! I was pretty shocked to also hear that the Kofford's are going to be living in England for 3 years. Thats means you'll be there for Wimbledon!!! Woot Woot! Maybe we could time it just right for me to come visit them when I return :) haha anyways..it was so cool to hear all about your experiences with Elder and Sister Zwick. It is amazing to hear about the strength that we have in the church and it was cool to see the pictures you sent of the high council party and the good bonding time you all must of had. I also loved seeing Caleb's germs presentation! You didnt by chance take the line,'they're all over me' from the song Weird Al made, did you Caleb:) Things here in the mission are going well. We just had transfers and I just received my new companion Elder Winchester from Morgan, Ut. He is a great Elder and about the same age in the mission as my last companion. He has really great desires for our area and also see's the great potential it has. This is going to be a great transfer and we are hoping to see some great success here soon. I know without a doubt that when we get to work and quit thinking about ourselves, the Lord takes us and shapes us and helps us see the success that we hadnt seen before. The mission for me thus far has been the most humbling experience of my life. I never knew a single person could be so prideful to start off with:) I was reading a talk by Elder Scott that I really loved and that has really made a big difference to me and has helped me better understand the process that we all go through throughout our lives. He talked about how strength of character can protect us from any temptation satan can send our way. The way we build and strengthen our character is through consistently making the correct and right decisions in faith. As we excercise our faith, the Lord strengthens our character, which then allows us to act with more faith, building stronger and stronger. One quote I like was," we become what we want to be when we consistently be what we want to become every day." It is such a key and simple truth, though much easier said than done. That is something we are all working at. I know that as we show the Lord that we are serious about becoming what he wants us to become, he will provide the means by which to do it. I am so grateful for our Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ and the plan he has given us to follow and I know that as we follow what has been commanded and asked of us, the Lord will bless us abundantly. Thanks for all of the support you all give me and I hope that everything is going well for you. I pray each night for you all and I hope you can feel my love. I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead of you! I'm hoping to send some pictures soon!
With Love,
Elder Ostler
Monday, February 14, 2011
Hello Family!
Sounds like all is going well! I'd love to see some pictures of what's going on in all of your lives! I am so glad to hear Frankie is getting baptized! He always seemed like such a stud to me, with a really firm belief in the gospel of Christ and a sincere heart. It is also good to hear that the Tolmans had such a good experience in Samoa!! It seems like it was yesterday when they took all of the the guys our age at BYU who were in his priest quorum to Pei Wei's right before they left the MTC. That was alot of fun! It is so good to hear about all of these great experiences of times that tried people's faith and in return, they reaped the blessings.
Two weeks ago the president of our branch and and i went on splits to another member of the branch presidency to share a message. We prepared especially for the daughter that would be there that was struggling. When we arrived, we found the parents pretty distraught and worried because the daughter had left the home, leaving a note that she needed to sort some things out with a boy she was dating and that she would be gone all night. She was only 16 and they were very worried. President counseled them as best he could as i sat and listened. Suddenly he turned to me and asked what i had to say. It scared me to death. I suddenly realized that i would probably be put in situations like this later in married life but i really hadn't been so close to this reality. With my broken Russian, all i could tell them was to handle this situation with there daughter with love and patience, just as Alma did for his son Alma the younger, praying and weeping many nights on her behalf and that the Lord would bless them for their faith. At this point i thought about just how good of parents you are and the wonderful examples you have been to me. I always wanted to please you in all that i did. Thank you for what you have taught me, all throughout my life. I am so grateful for that and as you can see, your examples and faithfulness are touching the lives of the people in Ukraine too. I love you Mom and Dad and I hope all goes well in stake conference this next week. I will be praying for you both.
Ah! the timer on my computer says im almost out of time! This week we had interviews with president which was really great. He gave us lots of good advice and i feel confident in what he told us. We also had the chance to do service this week which was alot of fun! We went to a city that directly translates to the "cold hole" and it definitely live up to its title :) We shoveled coal for an about two hours for a grandma that couldn't do it herself. We had the four elder's in our district and our branch president and his 10 yr old son with us. We had a pretty great snowball fight as a break when we were halfway through the pile of coal which was alot of fun. Alright, my times up! i'll right more next week i promise! I love you all and i hope you have and wonderful week!!
Love,
Elder Ostler
Sounds like all is going well! I'd love to see some pictures of what's going on in all of your lives! I am so glad to hear Frankie is getting baptized! He always seemed like such a stud to me, with a really firm belief in the gospel of Christ and a sincere heart. It is also good to hear that the Tolmans had such a good experience in Samoa!! It seems like it was yesterday when they took all of the the guys our age at BYU who were in his priest quorum to Pei Wei's right before they left the MTC. That was alot of fun! It is so good to hear about all of these great experiences of times that tried people's faith and in return, they reaped the blessings.
Two weeks ago the president of our branch and and i went on splits to another member of the branch presidency to share a message. We prepared especially for the daughter that would be there that was struggling. When we arrived, we found the parents pretty distraught and worried because the daughter had left the home, leaving a note that she needed to sort some things out with a boy she was dating and that she would be gone all night. She was only 16 and they were very worried. President counseled them as best he could as i sat and listened. Suddenly he turned to me and asked what i had to say. It scared me to death. I suddenly realized that i would probably be put in situations like this later in married life but i really hadn't been so close to this reality. With my broken Russian, all i could tell them was to handle this situation with there daughter with love and patience, just as Alma did for his son Alma the younger, praying and weeping many nights on her behalf and that the Lord would bless them for their faith. At this point i thought about just how good of parents you are and the wonderful examples you have been to me. I always wanted to please you in all that i did. Thank you for what you have taught me, all throughout my life. I am so grateful for that and as you can see, your examples and faithfulness are touching the lives of the people in Ukraine too. I love you Mom and Dad and I hope all goes well in stake conference this next week. I will be praying for you both.
Ah! the timer on my computer says im almost out of time! This week we had interviews with president which was really great. He gave us lots of good advice and i feel confident in what he told us. We also had the chance to do service this week which was alot of fun! We went to a city that directly translates to the "cold hole" and it definitely live up to its title :) We shoveled coal for an about two hours for a grandma that couldn't do it herself. We had the four elder's in our district and our branch president and his 10 yr old son with us. We had a pretty great snowball fight as a break when we were halfway through the pile of coal which was alot of fun. Alright, my times up! i'll right more next week i promise! I love you all and i hope you have and wonderful week!!
Love,
Elder Ostler
Monday, February 7, 2011
February 7, 2011
Hello Family!
Hope all is going well for you! This week here in Makevka, it snowed for two days straight. Actually, we had more like a blizzard here. The wind was ripping off all the new billboards along the street that were just put up. The day after the blizzard, it warmed up and now everything is melting and slushy. We are hoping it doesnt get too cold again or else it will all just freeze over and become really slick ice. Last week i had two fun experiences with the ice. One was when i was on a split and we were contacting and i was coming up to a lady with a stroller wanting to talk to here. I was focused on her not really looking to carefully at the ground like i normally would. As i came up to her and started to talk to her my feet slipped on some ice and i flung my arms and legs out in all directions and some how managed to catch myself. It was definitely a miracle and after that display of my balancing abilities, the lady was definitely willing to talk about the gospel. haha it was hilarious. The other experience where it didnt turn out so well was when we were all crossing a street, running to the other side to beat traffic. Once across the street, we had to run through some deep snow to get to the clean side walk. The only problem was that it hadnt really been cleaned all the way and that the sidewalk had a thin layer of ice so as we jumped out of the deep snow and saw the ice too late, my legs went flying and i fell to the ice. Luckily i had my back pack on and it caught my fall really well. As you can see, the ice here really makes life exciting! :) Alright, to more important things, this week we did alot of work with less-actives, trying to get them back to church. The distance to the building seems to be the biggest struggle we have come up against. We then tell them how close they are to getting a building right here in Makevka and that so far has helped us bring a few back. Our investigators this week have really struggled. The problems still persist and all of them were busy this week. We were only able to meet with one investigator this week because of how busy they were. We are hoping that this doesnt happen again this week. We are hoping and praying that they can overcome these challenges they have and be baptized. I worry that they may get lost if they cant figure out how to solve the problems they have soon. Thanks for all of your prayers. We just received 7 new referrals this sunday which is the equivalent of hitting the jackpot in a bowl of Marshmallow Mateys so we are hoping to find some success from these this week! I love you all and i hope you are all doing all right! Have a wonderful week and i cant wait to hear from you.
With Love,
Elder Ostler
Hope all is going well for you! This week here in Makevka, it snowed for two days straight. Actually, we had more like a blizzard here. The wind was ripping off all the new billboards along the street that were just put up. The day after the blizzard, it warmed up and now everything is melting and slushy. We are hoping it doesnt get too cold again or else it will all just freeze over and become really slick ice. Last week i had two fun experiences with the ice. One was when i was on a split and we were contacting and i was coming up to a lady with a stroller wanting to talk to here. I was focused on her not really looking to carefully at the ground like i normally would. As i came up to her and started to talk to her my feet slipped on some ice and i flung my arms and legs out in all directions and some how managed to catch myself. It was definitely a miracle and after that display of my balancing abilities, the lady was definitely willing to talk about the gospel. haha it was hilarious. The other experience where it didnt turn out so well was when we were all crossing a street, running to the other side to beat traffic. Once across the street, we had to run through some deep snow to get to the clean side walk. The only problem was that it hadnt really been cleaned all the way and that the sidewalk had a thin layer of ice so as we jumped out of the deep snow and saw the ice too late, my legs went flying and i fell to the ice. Luckily i had my back pack on and it caught my fall really well. As you can see, the ice here really makes life exciting! :) Alright, to more important things, this week we did alot of work with less-actives, trying to get them back to church. The distance to the building seems to be the biggest struggle we have come up against. We then tell them how close they are to getting a building right here in Makevka and that so far has helped us bring a few back. Our investigators this week have really struggled. The problems still persist and all of them were busy this week. We were only able to meet with one investigator this week because of how busy they were. We are hoping that this doesnt happen again this week. We are hoping and praying that they can overcome these challenges they have and be baptized. I worry that they may get lost if they cant figure out how to solve the problems they have soon. Thanks for all of your prayers. We just received 7 new referrals this sunday which is the equivalent of hitting the jackpot in a bowl of Marshmallow Mateys so we are hoping to find some success from these this week! I love you all and i hope you are all doing all right! Have a wonderful week and i cant wait to hear from you.
With Love,
Elder Ostler
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