Hello family!!
I am so glad to hear that Kandi is making soo much great progress!! It is honestly so exciting to hear about people accepting the gospel no matter where they are in the world! The happiness that awaits these people is impossible to describe. Thats something that is so important, letting that light shine that we all have within us and that happiness that God has blessed us with. To say honestly it is not easy sometimes for the fear of being ridiculed or disregarded when what we have is so precious to us. But, i know that we are blessed and that such experiences will only strengthen our own conviction and testimonies if we will hold to what we know is true, what we have always known to be true in our hearts. This week was a bit of a struggle.. we had 6 lessons fall through. Not the easiest thing when that is more than half of what we would normally get. The ones we did have though went well and we were able to present 4 papers where people could write down refferals for us to find and contact. We look forward to seeing their results in our next meetings with them. Each week I gain a stronger understanding and a greater apprectiation and love for the members here in Ukraine and for all the small branches around the world. Sometimes i see the struggles they go through, troubles with family, health, or even within the branch, and i question why they hold so strong? why do they continue to come even during such trials? Time and time again i have thought about this and i could see it especially as they testified this last sunday that they have testimonies of christ's atonement for them. It is amazing how much pain and suffering, both physical and spiritual, the atonement covers. Christ truly understands what we have all been through. He sees our struggles and knows exactly what we need to do to endure well. He is there to help us when we ask and will always be there to soothe the pain. I've been starting to read Jesus the Christ and have been coming to understand just how perfect God's plan is for us. To know that we have a loving father in heaven who also knows everything is such a comfort. We have shared messages about hope and atonement of Jesus christ from the past conference and each time we testify, the truthfulness of it all seems to resound in my mind and heart, sounding stronger and stronger until it is something that any person could not deny. The mission is such a great experience and i am so grateful for it, no matter the challenges i face and trials i am called upon to endure. The joys far outweigh the struggle. God loves you all so much and i know that he loves me and is so happy with us when we simply choose what is right. I am so glad to hear that conference went so well. We will have the chance to watch it with our branch this next friday and saturday which should be great! Thanks mom for those highlights from conference. I cant wait to see them! :) Those pictures were also great of the temple and those at the conference center. Those grounds bring back so many great spiritual memories. Im so grateful that i was raised by such great parents that helped me realize that while i was young. Though i may not have seemed to pick up everthing the speakers said, somthing about the atmosphere of the spirit that could be felt there was something that will never leave me. I know exactly what i will be doing with my children when the time comes!:) Thanks for all that you do! Our investigator Yana is still struggling and hasnt changed much. We invited her to begin to read and we hope and pray that she will. Please pray for her. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week and i look forward to hearing from you!
With Love,
Elder Ostler
