Hello Family,
It was so great to see those pictures! It looks like you are
all having a great time together. That must be so great to have all the boys
around still. It looks like the bird flu has caught on at our house!:) You all
have such cool contraptions for those birds. Birds really are amazing. I might
consider taking up the hobby:)
This week here in the mission has been CRAZY! I've never had
to multitask quite like this in my life. My companion had to leave for a few
days on a visa trip to bulgaria so I had to hold down the fort while he was
gone. As assistants, we spend a lot of time working on projects in the office
and waiting to help President Compero when he may need it. We are still working
on a schedule that can make room for all of the necessary things a missionary must
do to be successful. We had one particular day where I went into the office
around 12 and was there until a little after 9 working on different projects
that needed to be finished before our trip to Harkov and Sumy to the
North of Donetsk. We also have short meetings, once or twice throughout the day
with president to make sure we are all on the same page with him and his
schedule which he has with members of our District. We have also been working
on combining our Harkov and Donestk districts so we can get a Stake in our
mission. That would be such a blessing!! The members have looked forward to
this for a long time and we are almost there. We hope that these plans will
follow through.
On Friday, we made the trip up to Sumy, my very first area,
with President Compero and his wife, a branch president and his family from
Makeevka, and a couple in the district presidency. It was quite the 7 hour ride
and was a lot of fun! We played around with the branch president's 10 year old
son in the back seat nearly the whole time until he passed out from tiredness.
I haven't been on a road trip like that in a while:) It's especially fun getting
to know and speak with Ukrainian people over long periods of time and not only
on 45 minute appointments.You really gain a great apreciation for them and the
people that they are... even among so many of the wicked. They are great
examples to all.
We arrived in Sumy that night and got up the next day for
meetings in the center area of the city. The branch is still struggling to get
walking on its two feet since I served there a year and a half ago. The crutch
of the missionaries has continued to be taken, the branch then falls and
won't pick itself back up, and then the missionaries have to come back in,
brush them off and get them going again. It's a hard situation mostly because of
the lack of worthy, active, priesthood holders who can take on the
responsibilities as priesthood leaders in that branch. I feel President Compero
now has a better idea of what is going on up there and can now move ahead and
make the necessary changes to allow that branch to grow. He really is a great
man because of his humility and love. Yes, he can make mistakes like any normal
person, but the character he has developed was made very evident in his patience
during our meetings with the Sumy branch presidency. When things got heated, he
didn’t yell or become angry, he calmly took it all and guided it away from the
sensitive issues and turned to a more productive conversation. Rather than
pointing out the faults of the branch presidency, he quickly moved to find
solutions and not dwell on their lack of dilligence and obedience in the past.
I loved being back in my first city that I never thought I would go back to!
There is a great African American man there who I was friends with, and it was
so great to catch up with him and see how he was doing. I also checked up on
our investigator families that were doing great when we left. Unfortunately,
nothing new was recorded in our teaching records that we had left, and when I called
them, they had no desire to meet. We instead went to a really great man who
can't walk but is very well kept and keeps a nice apartment. He remembered me
from long ago which was surprising and this time I could actually hold a
conversation with him! It makes such a difference and makes it quite a bit
easier when you understand what they say and then relay your feelings and
opinions back to them.
After church this Sunday, we had to take a train down to
Harkov and met a really nice Muslim man. My companion and he talked for a long
time about religion and it was pretty interesting to hear about such a
different culture. We arrived here in Harkov and then met a man from Gilbert,
Arizona picking up his soon to be wife who he found online.... Nice man and way
random that we just happened to be on the metro car in the subway. We stayed
the night with Elder Stradling who I knew back at home in Mesa. He is doing
great out here. He's a great elder! His companion Elder Bolingbrook is also
doing great and we had a great time being with them.
Today there will be a meeting for all of the senior couples
in our mission here in Harkov which should be a great meeting. We have so many
different types of couples who are learning so much out here and who all
contribute so much to our mission.
Well family, my time is up but I hope you all have a great
week ahead of you! Thank you for the pictures! They really do speak 1000 words!
Thanks for your spiritual thoughts also! They honestly help me a lot and often
have a lot to do with what I struggle with or what I need to be doing better.
I love you all! Have a great day!
Elder Ostler
