Hello Family,
It was great to hear how well you are all doing. Sounds like
you are all very busy! We are also staying pretty busy over here. We had
another Zone conference for our 3 zones in Donetsk and invited all of the
senior couples to come and share what they had shared with us in Kharkov. Once
again, a great spirit was felt as they shared thoughts about self-correction,
gaining revelation, and obedience. We have such wonderful senior couples. I
can't wait for Mom and Dad to serve together on a mission. They could do a lot
of good for any mission and any people. Just hearing those experiences from
home confirms that. This week end we were able to set up a few member lessons
and received a few referrals which we have been praying for to see
success with. Our members are just underneath the surface of breaking through
to something great but seem to keep shying away from it since it is a step into
the dark. Some courageous members are starting to refer their friends and
family and i truly feel that if we as missionaries will do our best to follow
up with them and help them and pray for them, the Lord will bless us as
promised. I see no other reason for him not to want these people's souls saved.
I think it is a matter of us as missionaries and as their's as members doing
each of our parts. One without the other will most likely not have the lasting
effect we desire for those who are baptized. Both the missionaries and the
members are coming to a realization of this. All we need now is a greater faith
in the promised blessings, greater faith in each other, and a greater desire to
serve God full time, whether member or missionary. Their really shouldn't be
much of a difference between the two. Both are full-time
representatives of Jesus Christ and our father in heaven. Both have been
called to the work, and both will be held accountable to what they choose to do
about it.
Another interesting statistic we received this
week was a graph of our indicators from the past year. We saw how the mission
numbers improved dramatically within the first six months of President
Campero's arrival but then dropped dramatically after we had a member of the
area seventy come and share a few of his thoughts of how we could be better
missionaries. Many took this counsel to be hard but agreed to follow the new
schedule for finding investigators. When we first looked at the graph, i
thought to myself, "that's too bad he was so harsh on the missionaries,
maybe they lost their desire to work." But then i remembered the comments
of the missionaries and how all of the missionaries who were following the
early morning schedule had seen great success in themselves as health and
studies go. We began to realize that maybe we had just swung our work out of
balance and that President's Campero's push for member work at the beginning
should be reemphasized. If we were to keep such an invigorating morning
schedule while still working with members like we did from the start, our
indicators would skyrocket! So many people would be saved! Its amazing to see
how the Lord works. We had no idea what was happening to us when we agreed to
start finding in the morning but we trusted that God would provide a way and
help us achieve what we had come here to do. Just now are we realizing just
what exactly he was trying to teach us and we look forward to seeing this
mission bloom once more. This mission is led by the Holy Spirit and just as
Nephi, our President has led us, "not knowing beforehand" the things
we would have to sacrifice and the things that we would learn. What a great
blessing to have such an inspired man at the head of our mission.
I love you all and i wish you a great week!
With love,
Elder Ostler
