3 days, but who's counting? *cough* Mom!

Hey Family,

Yeah, 12 will work.  So I'll call 12 Chicago time.  So that's what, 10 your time right?  That might be wrong, cuz remember, I'm not a math person. And what I was going to say just flew out of my head.

So yeah, this weekend was hard.  That's prolly why Mom was thinking about me.  We were driving down Butterfield, and that morning had just been awesome, and we were off to a lunch appointment when we heard a scraping noise.  Butterfield is a busy road, especially around Christmas time.  But we pulled off to the side of the road and looked around our car.  A guy a little older than me pulled off and asked if he could help.  Guess who he was?  Ryan.  The guy I told that if the Book of Mormon was false than I was going to Hell.  But he was happy to see us.  And what happened was that the front fender or whatever had broken, so a piece of plastic was dragging.  The covering under the car.  I had no idea how that happened, cuz we didn't run over anything.  But now that I think on it more, I think it might have happened when we parked a couple times cuz sometimes there would be a big ice thing that looked like snow that the car would bump into on the side of the road.  I hate snow.  But I tucked the plastic under the car, but it kept falling back out and Butterfield is not a road you want to stop on unless it's a real emergency.

So we drove to the Hammers, a family close by, and Brother Hammer bungee corded the thing up.  Of course the whole time we were driving I was freaking out cuz I felt it was my responsibility to make sure the car was in good shape.  Sister Chen was saying pull over, but she didn't understand how dangerous it was to do that on Butterfield.  Butterfield is a curvy two lane 55 mph road, where cars usually go about 60ish.  And that day it was sooooo busy!  So yeah, I was just stressed, and later that day when we were supposed to be tracting I just sat in the car and cried and poured my heart out to sister Chen.  She helped me see that I need to Endure to the End.  I can't give up.  I have to keep going even when times are hard.  There are so many times when I feel I can't be a good missionary, but Sister Chen says, "No, you have to keep going.  Why are you out here Sister Ostler?"  Then I answer, to serve the Lord, and she helps me see that I can do this.

And actually before that I was hoping to get a new companion, but after that I realized there was so much I still needed to learn from her, and plus we have so many people who are potentials for getting baptized, like Bill, Gabby, Lexi, Frank, Lulu (hopefully), and Monica.  And I want to be with her when they do get baptized.  So I was happy when we didn't get a call yesterday morning.  So we're stuck together until February!  Oh well!  I'm sure though that he'll transfer us next time.  But oh man the ZLs are going to DIE!!!!  They called us at 9ish yesterday morning and said, "Have they told you about transfers yet?"

"No," I said.  Since when do ZLs give info on transfers?

"Oh well they're white washing your area."  You should have seen Sister Chen.  She pounded the table with her fist, and I'm sure if they were there she would have punched them.  I would have.  White wash our area, when it's doing so well?  When we have investigators lined up for baptism?  What?  And of course they were joking.  Elders! Oh, and the ZLs have our packages.  I don't know why, but they do.  But they're planning on coming over tomorrow to give them to us.

Oh, and Sister Ika is leaving us.  I'm so sad.  She's my step-mom, and a legend in the mission.  The APs are forever asking her questions of how to do this or teach that.  And she's leaving.  I feel so privileged that I've gotten to work with her though.  And her companion, Sister Leahman is now a trainer!  She's so nervous.  She's as old as Jackson, 4 transfers.  She's a transfer older than me.

On Monday we had a testimony meeting in district meeting and Sister Leahman was bawling, and even Elder French, the AP, got choked up.

Oh so after that meeting we went out to lunch at Buona Beef and I was sitting right across from Elder Gates.  Near the end I asked if they (the APs) know who's getting transferred.  Elder Gates looked right at me and said, "Yes."  And I could see it in his eyes that we were getting transferred.  So in 6 weeks I'll ask again and know the answer.  Us sisters laughed about it afterwards. Elder Gates had no idea that I read him though.  It's kinda funny.

prolly miss that the most, or Dad's Waffles.  Those are good too.  Or Wilson's presents.  Those are always so much fun!  But I had to tell Sister Chen like three times that on Christmas morning we can relax, and we don't have to go do everything at once, and we don't need a schedule of when we're going to do what.  She finally got the picture.  But what we want to do is that night after the mission home go out with Sister Leahman and her greenie (I'm not the youngest anymore!) and go caroling.  It might be surprising but me and Sister Chen have a really good harmony.  She doesn't pronounce all the words correctly, but she has a good soprano, and I just follow her.  Except my voice is more altoish.  But yeah, we sang to one of our investigators over the phone yesterday cuz his Spirit wasn't feeling too good, and after that he felt better.  So see, I can sing!

So I don't really know what else to say.  Other than today Sister Chen wants to go window shopping.  So that's what we're going to go do. Oh joy!

And Dad, thanks for the quote, and your insight.  But I'm still so confused over it.  So when it says God, does it mean Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ?  I thought it meant Heavenly Father, and that He was once a man like us, but grew and endured to the end and gained exaltation and became our God, and then we can become God's and Goddesses too, and always continue to grow and mature.  Although He will always be above us.  But we can create things and have kingdoms of our own.  Isn't that what Moses and Abraham are doing?

Oh yeah, PLEASE send me pics of the Eppichs wedding!  Yeah, I can't believe she's married!  I remember having tea parties with her!  And I remember one weekend that I spent over there we played Canasta the whole weekend with her family.  And the cabin!  Oh man tubing, snowmobiling, sledding, snorkeling, talking, monopoly, hot chocolate, four wheeling, getting muddy, man.  Those were fun fun times!  And that's awesome if Kaitlin goes on a mission.  That would be so good for her.  I've just seen myself grow so much since I've been here.  I'm still a baby and still have so much to learn.  But I'm getting better and not taking no for an answer.  One PI cancelled on us because she couldn't handle Joseph Smith.  But we're still going over there to teach her about him, because she just read about him.  She's not getting away that easily!

And one investigator, Bill.  Oh man the change I see in him after every visit!  Light is just in his eyes when we leave.  And I can tell that when we come back that light is gone, until we're there with the Spirit and teaching him the truth.  Yesterday he got a blessing cuz he was sick, he has a hernia and no one will admit him, and the Spirit was so strong.  I asked him if he felt anything during the blessing, and he said he felt a rushing feeling through his whole body.  I explained that was the Spirit telling him what we were telling was true, and then I asked him if the felt the Book of Mormon was true, and if Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and he said yes!  Then Sister Chen asked him and his roommate to be baptized, and they said YES!!!  Lexi, a 13 girl who's step-mom is a member is also getting baptized.  And a 10 yr old girl who's dad is a member whom we still haven't met with will get baptized. Elder Thomas and Gates were teaching her in the Naper 2nd ward, but that area got taken away from them and then the other elders never followed up.  Then they moved to our area, and we spent about a day trying to figure out who she was and what she had been taught.  Elder Thomas was so funny.  He was like, "Yeah, go baptize her this weekend!  She's been taught everything!"  So that's easy for us!  We're meeting with their family tomorrow.

And Jose is a member referral.  We went back with another member that speaks Spanish (Jose speaks it) and had a powerful first lesson.  He felt the spirit and wants to learn more!  Yeah for members who know how to teach!  Honestly, just read PMG before you go and teach with the missionaries, and recognize that the missionaries have the power and authority to teach!  Share your testimony of course, teach when you feel prompted by the spirit, not when you think something is being left out of the lesson.  Let the missionaries do their part, really.

Okay, well time's up! 

And yes, I have over 20 of those envelopes.  I can't wait to open all of them!  You should see Grammies.  It's so heavy!  I really had to tape that one on.  Although when I got Grandpa Ostlers for a split second I was expecting that Grandma would write too.

 

Well TALK to you soon!  Lots of love,

Sister Ostler