Cambios

Hi family!

I just got your letter, mom on the way out of the apartment, and skimmed through it.  You need to repent and send them earlier so I have more time to read and form a response.  And Deatherage retired!  NO!!!!!!  I hope there's still someway to get in contact with him.  He was AMAZING!!!!  Changed my career!

This week with Sister Howell was blur.  Thursday we tried making cookies...well she did, I didn't touch them, for the members and she didn't put enough baking soda in them.  So we ate the cookie dough!  SOOOO good!  One night when we had a bad day we just came home and after planning we sat on the couch and just ate frozen cookie dough!  Sister Howell, when they did't turn out said, "Who knew working with members was so difficult...in every aspect!"  It was great!

We got reprimanded for reading the Book of Mormon with our investigator.  We were in a restaurant, she took us out to dinner, and after reading 3 Nephi 11 and bearing our testimonies and helping her see the importance of all this, she said that that's what we believed and she believed something different (greek orthodox) and that was all good.  She was kinda rude, and we were taken aback, cuz Sister Howell said she had never been like that before.

Saturday was fun!  I had surgery!!!  Okay, breath mom, breath.  I had an ingrown toe nail and Sister Howell tried to fix it, but she couldn't all the way.  So we went to the foot doctor, he gave me  the option of temporarily fixing it, or permanently fixing it (I guess I have abnormal nails, thanks dad!).  And I chose permanently.  So on Saturday I went in, he gave me three shots of Novocain in my right big toe and that was the worst part of everything.  Sister Howell was in there and she being the nurse she is wanted to watch and the doctor was like, 'You have to back up!’  Sister Howell wasn't that close, so she thought it was gonna be a cool procedure, blood squirten everywhere and such.  Well it wasn't.

He apparently clipped off the nail down to the root, shoved something in there and then bandaged it up...the bandage gave a whole new meaning to Big Toe.  I got to wear flip flops that day, and my toe was numb for the whole day too.  I went tracting right after too.  That was fun, but not for long cuz it felt so weird.  Now I just have to soak it in medicine twice a day and put some drops in it, and slap a bandaid on it.  But it was a fun experience!

That day Noah got baptized.  He's 9.

ps, happy bday Saydi!  Sorry it's so late!  And happy anniversary mom and dad.

So one day we went up to Burlington to contact a referral, not home, so we decided to tract his street. First house was J and K.  J was 13 and K was the mom.  They were members.  They told us that we were out of our area...out of our ZONE.  But they let us in.  Their house is the ONLY house on that entire street that wasn't in our area, and they needed us.  Before we left we shared a scripture with them and Mom said that was exactly what she needed.  She had been praying for an answer and that's what she needed.  Cool huh?

We also had a man bash us pretty bad on Sunday.  We were teaching his son and his friend, about the Restoration.  We got to the apostasy when the dad walked in and listened.  And they didn't understand the apostasy.  I was just gonna move on, but oh no, the dad when off.  He went off on how the Book of Mormon was false, so was Joseph Smith, the whole religion was manmade and wrong for saying it was the only true religion!  And on and on.  And the Spirit was gone.  After he was done I prayed and prayed for the Spirit and then just bore my testimony.  What I said, I don't know, but he Spirit was back and were eventually able to share the restoration, give a Book of Mormon.

But the dad, I wanted to not going to say it.  But said, "You're under my roof, so I’m going to make sure you leave here knowing the truth!" Then he talked about he Atonement, the natural man being an enemy to God an stuff like that.  Stuff that isn't news to us, and he was telling us that he wanted us to leave knowing that.  Then he through in some stuff about how Joseph Smith false.  But every time he spoke the spirit left, and every time we did the spirit came back.  There were several times that I was too mad and angry to talk (I knew if I did  the spirit would leave) so I turned to Sister Howell and she said the exact thing I wanted to say only better and with the spirit.  Yeah it was a great lesson!  But the boys said they'd call us back to talk again.

Monday was bad food day.  Bad apple on the way to district meeting, I ate it anyway.  We went over to a LA for lunch, and she had a sunburn so couldn't cook.  I wasn't happy.  We cooked her mac and cheese and hamburgers.  By the time her husband got home with the milk for the mac and cheese it was on the cold side, and it wasn’t filling.

Well then we had dry, unsatisfying peaches (all the juice spilled out, they were canned) and for dinner, one pice of bread of my pbj was soggy the other dry.  Explain that?  Then at the T’s they gave us the BEST, and I mean BEST cupcakes!   Oh it was awesome!

Then Tuesday...we went out for our run, came back, no one called us.  Good, most likely not getting transferred!  Then from the other room I hear, "Oh know!  It's President Doll!"  That means two things:

1) we’re getting transferred

2) one, or both of us were training.

Sister Howell was soooo scared it would be her. 

Well it wasn't...it was/is me.  I'm here in DeKalb with Sister Wallace, and Sister Howell went to white wash an area...Woodridge 2.  It was elders, so I bet the apartment looks beautiful!

Sister Wallace, Sister Ostler, President & Sister Doll

I got to see Sister Mondelli and Elder Dearinger there, and Sister Daley.  She's training in Renssy right now, a spanish girl.  She's from Mexico.  Sister Wallace is the youngest of 9, she's from Los Angeles, has a twin, she was studying nursing, still talks about what she's going to do when she get's home like she's really excited...typical greenie.  I did that.  She seems nice.  But she's not pretrained like Sister Mondelli was.  So I’m really going to have to train her.  I'm not sure I can, but let's hope that with the help of the Lord I can!

And say thanks to Cali for the letter.  I LOVED it!  Only letter I got all week!  And when I mean that I mean from last Wednesday.

I'm so sad that Sister Howell is gone.  We really want to room together when she gets home.  We just have so much fun together.  So many inside jokes, "Because of you my parrot is gone!  I can't talk to you right now!"  "Hi Holly!  You cute thing you!"  "We just got to get him outta the office!"  "Well in D&C it says..."

Oh fun times!  I'm gonna miss her!  And yeah, Sister Chen is going home :(  She got to see her granddaughter though.  Oh and Elder Dearinger is training.  Scary thought!

Sister Ostler, Sister Chen, Sister Howell
Sister Chen trained both of us

Okay gotta go!

Love you all!  Thank you for your love, prayers!

Love Sister Ostler