One Week - Two Lawns. I Was Happy!

Dear Famiily:


We have an investigator, and he let me mow his lawn!  So Tuesday night we show up in our shorts and tshirts and I mow his lawn at 8pm!  And oh boy was I sweating!  I have NEVER sweat that much while mowing a lawn!  Not even in 100 degree weather mowing 15 lawns!  And this lawn took about oh, 15-20 minutes and sweat was flinging off the end of my nose as I would turn the lawn mower to do another strip.  Also it was a push mower, not walk behind, but it was easy cuz it wasn't as heavy as our nice ones.  I must say his lawn looked amazing after that!

Saturday we were riding bikes.  We were on our way home for lunch and there was this older man mowing his lawn.  I stopped and asked if I could do it, not if he needed help, just if I could mow his lawn.  He said yes!!!  So there I go, in a skirt and tracting shoes mowing this guys lawn!  Sister Howell contacted him, and he gave us some veggies from his garden.  I was super excited though.  That made me sooooooo happy!  Oh, after mowing Mikes lawn (or investigator) we went to Wendy's to get frosty...just because we could!  So yeah in one week two lawns!  I was happy.

But yeah, the humidity kills out here.  We tracted yesterday a lot cuz all our appointments fell through.  3 pm tracting...we were just WALKING, and sweat was just streaming down my face!  I carry a washcloth with me to wipe it off in between houses.  I'm getting a hanky today at walmart...hopefully they have one.  Sometimes I can't breathe properly.

Okay, so question...I've been contemplating this question for a few days, "What does it mean to 'Come unto me'" (3 Nephi 27:20; Matt 11:28-30).  Look at both those scriptures and really ponder what it means.  Then tell me, I'm curious to know what other people think.  And ANYONE and EVERYONE should do it.

So we had this mile issue in July, and the Burrnettes invited us over for dinner on Friday, three days before the end of the month.  They live in Burlington, quite a ways away.  We were contemplating on canceling the appt. but something so small told me that we should go.  So we went, knowing we would go over the miles.  We tracted before dinner, no luck...well we placed a BOM with an old lady, it didn't seem she had a lot of potential.  After dinner we tracted for 45 minutes before we had to go home.  That's when we met Elizabeth.  At first she was like, "I don't need it,"  but I didn't give up.  We kept talking to her, and she asked questions pertaining to every lesson.  "There are so many churches who just want our money" "How can I get my husband to pray," and other stuff.  It was really cool.  We gave her a Plan Of Salvation pamphlet and she invited us back whenever we were in the area.  Sister Howell and I were both super excited.  We have a good feeling about her.

Then the next day we found out there was a funnel cloud somewhere near DeKalb, and a tornado came out of it...it didn't hit the ground though.  It was a perfectly clear day, and boom all of a sudden there was a funnel cloud.  The sun was shinning and everything.  An investigators step-son was showing us video on you-tube channel through the TV.  We were already sitting there talking with Jackie (the investigator) so we did get to see some of the video.  It was pretty cool looking.  I guess we were supposed to go to Burlington for a couple reasons!  The only thing they'll do about the miles is the ZLs will call us and "reprimand" us.  It's Elder Vicars, so not a whole lot of reprimanding.  But this month we won't go over, cuz we're both VERY responsible.

Although these last two days we killed the miles.  Monday was District Meeting, so we had to travel there, which is about 30ish mi away.  Then yesterday ALL of our appts fell through, and I mean ALL, except dinner.  So after dinner we got in the car, prayed to know what to do.  Follow our back-up plans or go somewhere else.  While I was praying the name "Jessica" popped into my head.  I asked Sister Howell if she knew a Jessica.  There was a PI in Lee...30 minutes away.  We had already traveled to Sycamore that day, so we already had 24 miles on the car that day.  (40 is max for the day if we want to stay under).  So we weren't sure if we should go, but I felt okay with it.  So we went.  Driving through corn fields to this tiny tiny town of Lee.  You could run from one side to the other in about 2 minutes, no joke.  We went to Jessica's, she didn't remember us, didn't have time for us, told us she would call us.

Great!  Now What?  So we tracted.  Rejection, I'm Catholic, Please Leave, I'm Baptist, I'm Not Changing...on and on.  Well then there was a church...we can't contact near a church.  Interpret that how you may, but I interpret it the houses directly by it.  Well across the street from the church was a lady sitting on her porch swing.  I REALLY wanted to contact her, so I asked Sister Howell if we should, and immediately she said, "Of course."  So we did.

She was Southern Baptist and didn't believe the same thing we did.  Initially Sister Howell would have given her a card and moved on, but she surprised me by ignoring that rejection and she kept talking with her.  I knew something was troubling her.  And soon it came out...well some of it.  We taught her a 2 minite POS, a little about truth, and a lot of the Atonement and putting faith in the Lord.  Then we gave her a BOM with Ether 12 to read and said we'd stop back by when we were in the area.  We both walked away knowing that that was why we had to come to Lee, to see Audrey.

It was a cool experience.  Not like OH MY GOSH THAT WAS AMAZING!  But it was neat.  After all day with appts falling through, rejection after rejection, someone once again telling us that Peter was the first Pope (blasphemy!!!) and then getting to bare testimony to Audrey, that was just neat.  Then on the way home there was this massive lightning storm.  It was AMAZING!  I got some pretty neat video.  We had to stop and park the car once cuz the rain was just coming down, we couldn't see 5 feet in front of us!  But oh man it was so awesome!

And I hope you got the packages I sent home 2 weeks ago.  They had things that I don't need or don't use anymore.  One has a skirt in it.  The zipper broke, so I can't wear it anymore.  But KEEP THE SKIRT!  I repeat KEEP THE SKIRT!   I'm doing something cool with all my mission clothes after the mission...and it's not burning them...that's just stupid.

Also, last Friday I sent my memory card home.  I forgot to back it up on my thumb drive, so could you do me a favor?  Could you put the pics...well some of them, like if there's some of the same things just put a few of the good ones on a CD and send them to me.  Also if there's room left on the CD I wouldn't mind some from my first 2 transfers in Wheaton and the MTC since I don't have any of them.  Just so I can have them and print them if I so desire.

So there's this less active family that can't have kids.  Well they have a dog named Holly, and oh my gosh!  They treat that dog like a child!  She even CRYS like a kid!  They have doggy ice-cream for her, and she has a drivers license!  There's pictures of Holly all over the house.  It's nuts!  But whatever!

One of our investigators is Orlando Rivera.  You HAVE to look him up.  They did a story or something on him on Chicago Fox news, or Fox News Chicago...something like that, you're smart you'll figure it out.  Then type in his name, Orlando Rivera, and hopefully you'll see his story.

. . . . . super cool experience really quick.  So this Sunday was her third Sunday in church.  She's been going through a lot of hard times, and likes reading from the BOM cuz it brings her peace.  So after church she went to the store (haven't taught her about that yet) and she said that she was really worried about some things and then she felt all the church members with her and this weight lifted off her shoulders and she felt peace.  Oh the blessings from living the gospel!!!

Well Dad, I hope you're doing okay!  Don't kill yourself!  How's the office doing by the way?  When does Saydi go back to school?  What grade is everyone in again?  I forgot.  Can I have the Lade's address when she does leave the nest again?

Okay, times pretty much up.  I love you all!  Thanks for always being there for me!  Go out and do some missionary work!  You'l see miracles happen when you have faith.

Love, Sister Ostler