Wow Mom and Dad, super long email! But thanks for that!
So this week has been fantastic! Zone leaders are still being strange, but with Sister Fossett here all is well! We just care more about the people instead of the numbers, so that's why our numbers this week were the best I've had in a very long time. Plus I'm not worrying about my daughter. Man, I've realized how much I focused on my daughters instead of my area when I was training. The area took a back burner.
But with Sister Fossett here, I don't have to focus on her, and we can just work. We have had so much fun! She loves english (more technical) and she's an RN, but going to be a nurse someday. She has a strong testimony and she's an awesome teacher. I feel the spirit when she teaches. Tracting is once again bearable. I'm not the only one talking. Having Sister Fossett here has been a blast!
I haven't talked so much in a long time about things other than missions. We talk about everything. It's weird and nice at the same time. Also when she came I stopped feeling like I want to come home. Before I couldn't wait 'til March 28th. Now I'm focused once again on this work. I love sharing the burden instead of carrying it. She's like, "Who do we need to call?" every day. It's awesome. And sometimes, like this one night we were looking for a former investigator and we decided to tract this one apartment complex with four apartments. So we talked to one girl, and after we got a return appointment we BOTH felt we had done what we were supposed to do. I didn't have to say, "Well what do you feel we should do?" and then wait forever. We both felt the same. It's been so relaxing (a good missionary relaxing) working with her. She can tell when I get mad at people too. Like when they say, "You can't know what you say you know." Yeah, she knows that makes me pretty darn mad.
We have had a lot of fun together, and have seen so many miracles.
P** dropped us, but we set L and her family on date! She so wants this for her girls! So we started teaching her girls this week. At first all of them were just sitting there listening like teenagers do. Then one of them started to really listen. She ate up everything we said and at the end she said, "Can I have a Book of Mormon?" And then after we explained a little bit about baptism, she asked, "Well how can you remember Christ throughout the week? Does you're church help you with that?" And this girl is 14 years old asking a question like that! So we got to share with them the prayer for the sacrament. It was such a neat experience!
And we've seen such a change over L within the past month. She used to be depressed. A dark cloud was looming above her, but now she's so happy and has so much hope for the future! She is so amazing! And when we asked when they wanted to be baptized they said, "Well what about the weekend after Valentines day?" Yeah, we couldn't do that, they have too much to learn. So we set them for March 24. I hope they make that. That's my last weekend being a full-time missionary.
We had people to church on Sunday!!!!!! 4 PEOPLE TO CHURCH 4
The G** family. They have a 10 yr old boy who is so awesome. We feel like he just wants to be accepted, and he's not getting that from his past church experiences. And an 8 year old daughter who loves the Bible and Christ. We hope they stay for primary next week.
A**...pray for her (our investigator) she can never meet with us. Pretty sad, just shows where her priorities lie. But she's still changing, which is good. She's just at a point in her life when she won't make time for God. Too busy. And it's hard to change all at once. Think about it. Did we change all at once? Nope! We didn't. It was a slow, continuous process. So patience is the key for her. I just have to have patience.
Sister Fossett is great with the members. She's so friendly. Ah yes. Tell those elders downstairs that we sisters suffer from the same thing. And dad, next time you give a talk and want to use something from my emails, tell those members that a good missionary doesn't care about the food when we come over to your house. We don't care how many courses there are, if there's desert (we prefer none) how much it costs, how long it took you to prepare it. The reason we come over is to teach members how to become better missionaries.
We have been called and set apart to teach and find and baptize. So if you want to fulfill you're duty as missionaries, stinking listen to the missionaries, then go and do what they commit you to do. As missionaries we bear our testimonies, we share scriptures, we teach lessons, but nothing in these people's lives would ever change if we didn't invite them to act. Most people don't act. Some do. And when they do...oh the joy that you feel!
Sorry, but that's one of my soap boxes. Member missionary work.
The members here are awesome, they really are. And it is scary inviting people to change, but Christ did it and pip-squeak 19 year old boys are, so why not us?
Way to go Harrison on standing up and not going to the dance! That's the first step that Satan would want you to take to lead you CAREFULLY down to Hell: put yourself in a situation where you can't take your sword with you. Do people really think they can willingly go into an environment like that and have the spirit with them? We as missionaries are put in situations like that all time, but we don't want to be in them. If we are in a situation like that we pray for strength and leave ASAP. We can tell if people have any potential or not. And really, you're MORE of an example if you DON’T go. Then people would ask why you weren't there and you could share with them your standards.
School dances were not as bad when I was a teen. Harrison never lower your standards for anything. And you little boys, you follow your brothers example!
Well that's all for now! Tell Saydi to stay strong! And you boys too! Don't fight against the standards mom and dad and the prophets (the Lord) have set. Follow them and they will bless you.
I love you all!
Love, Sister Ostler
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