September 21, 2012 [MTC] Email
Hola!
Ok, so I am quite jealous. I so wish I was going on that trip with Dad and the boys to the BYU game! Its a bummer I'm not allowed to go attend it with you. But, I will be able to hear you making noise at the stadium. I mentioned to my teacher that my familia was coming down for the game in a couple weeks. He told me that I should find out where they are sitting so he can go say hi for me. So its not quite as cool as me getting to come say hi in person, but its as close as it could possibly get while I'm in the MTC. So, if you are even interested in meeting my teacher, you should tell me whatever info he would need to come find where you are sitting. Also, I'm not even sure which game you are actually coming for, so that would be helpful information tambien. But anyway, Bro Paulsen, my teacher is a way cool dude. He served in New York City spanish speaking. And he is a hard core BYU fan. So he always gives us some pretty good information about the most recent BYU game.
I saw Helen three times this past week! The first time I saw her was Tuesday night. It was awesome to get to talk to her. She is doing awesome. I still have not seen Jackson yet since the first time I ran into him on the way to the temple, and Helen hasn't seen him either. But we hope he finds us soon and we can figure out a way for all us cousins to meet up for a bit.
A lot has happened this past week. I'm not sure if I told you this or not, but our Guatamallen Elders left for the MTC in Guatamalla last week right before Pday. So they have been gone for a little while now. Its a much smaller class going from the 9 of us down to our current 6, and it was sad to say goodbye, but it has been good at the same time.
I was released as District Leader. I was told from the beginning of my assignment that it would only be a 3-4 week assignment. They like to get three District Leaders throughout the MTC process so multiple elders can have the oppurtunity to learn how to serve as DL. So it was expected, but I tried not to ever think about it throughout my time being assigned as the District Leader. I was worried that if I allowed myself to think about it, I would just have a little countdown in my head till it was over. Being released as DL has been so nice. Its not that I hated being the District Leader, there were truly some awesome learning experiences throughout the process. Its just that I really didn't enjoy some aspects of the assignment. My least favorite was knowing that I would have to report to our Branch President twice a week how our District was doing as a whole, and how each individual within the District was doing as far as being obedient. And the other thing I didn't really enjoy was my assignment by my Branch Presidency to continue giving reminders about the rules and continually help us stay on track as a District. It was just tough for me to have to remind Elders of the same rules on a daily basis. So I'm glad that aspect of my assignment is over. Plus, I love how much more study time I have now that I don't have extra meetings to attend. Its great. And its helping with my spanish too.
Now I just get to lead by example! And that is my favorite way lead. There was a morning this week where we had 45 min of personal/additional study time between our breakfast and gym time. Our District decided that they wanted to go back to bed for those 45 min rather than study. I was so glad I was not the DL because it meant that I didn't have to give a reminder about a rule that everyone is already fully aware of. It was also nice knowing that I wouldn't have to report to the Branch President about the choice that had been made by the rest of the District. Just being able to set an example simply through my actions was great. I studied at the desk in our dorm room while everyone else took a 45 min nap.
Mom, I got the donuts! They were really good. Everybody loved them.
I'm going to try and send the SD card today. When I said I would send it sometime this week in my last letter, what I really meant was that I was going to send it either that Pday or next Pday. So hopefully I get the chance to send it out today. Although, one thought I had was that if I wait another Pday to send it, I may be able to get a picture with Helen before I send it home! So we will see.
Love you all! My time is up for emailing.
Elder Ostler
