October 6, 2012
I love General Conference! It could possibly just be the fact that I'm in the MTC but
every talk during the Saturday Morning, Afternoon, and Priesthood sessions
seemed to be completely based on missionary work! It was awesome!
When we missionaries heard President Monson announce the new
age option for Elders to serve missions, there was a cheer of support that
filled the MTC. It was
amazing. And then, suddenly it hit
me, all my current high school senior pals could be on their missions sooner
than they Ever Imagined was possible!
What a crazy thought! Then,
I imagined, or attempted to imagine, what my cousin Harrison must have been
thinking when he heard from the mouth of the Prophet, "Effective
immediately..." I can see him sitting there with his mouth wide-open, jaw
on the living room floor, and then, as soon as his brain registered what this
meant for him, I can see him jumping up, and after slapping his jaw back in
place, pumping both arms in the air and declaring, "I'm going on a mission!" Oh just the thought puts a smile on my
face. I'm so excited for you
Harrison! I can't wait to hear
when you decide to put your papers in after receiving this new option.
And then, while still marveling at the fact that the Lord
had spoken through his prophet directly to his sons, who he is confident are
ready for the work as soon as they finish high school, while marveling at the
fact that hundreds upon hundreds of high school seniors just had their whole
world turned upside down on them regarding when they can begin their missions,
while sitting there in total amazement at the newness and excitement of such a
surprise, I heard the second announcement, "Sister missionaries may now
begin their missions at the age of 19 if they so choose." (Or something to
that effect.)
Wow! And I
though the cheer from moments before was something to be impressed by. But the cheer of support for this
announcement was something else all together, just entirely unmatchable.
As soon as the cheers died down, I remembered,
"Kara! Kara has always wanted
to go on a mission!... And I have always teased her that she won't cuz some big
Samoan guy is gonna come sweep her off her feet when she gets to Hawaii."
Well if a Samoan dude is gonna stop you from a mission,
Kara, then I guess it is gonna have to happen in your Freshman year now!
;o) But something tells me that if
you still want to go on a mission, then a year isn't going to be to difficult
of an amount of time to fend off all your Samoan suitors. ;o).
Anyway, this announcement could very easily mean that we may
have a full time missionary in the family from now until the time Daniel comes
home from his mission! Crazy
huh? I also did some quick mental
math and realized that if Kara goes on her mission as soon as she turns 19,
that she would be probably leaving the same summer I come home. Which could mean that we won't see each
other for 3.5 years! That is
insane! And also a bit sad to
think I may not see my sister for that long. But at the same time, it's also awesome to think that my
sister could be on a mission in a little less than two years!
Oh, just thinking about this gets me so excited. This is a historic day. And years from now, I will be able to
say that I was in the MTC when President Monson announced the new ages for
Elder and Sister Missionaries.
So, my family, you may be wondering, "Why is our Elder
Ostler writing us a letter on a non Pday?
Didn't he want to be strictly obedient in all things?
This question has a very simple answer. After Priesthood session of conference
today, President Brown, the MTC Mission President, encouraged us to go back to
our rooms and relax for the rest of the evening. And he gave us specific permission to write to our families
if we so desired.
Well of course I so desired! I love writing my family! It's one of my absolute favorite times of the week. So please rest assured that Elder
Ostler is still doing his best to live in exact obedience in all things, to the
very best of his knowledge.
This opportunity to write home is also a big blessing for
your somewhat forgetful son/brother.
I meant to tell you something on Pday, but forgot. I thought I'd have to wait 'til this
Friday, but now I don't have to wait!
Apparently, when I go to the airport on the 23rd of this
month, before I get on the plane heading to Arcadia, I am allowed to use a pay
phone to call home! Isn't that
just awesome!?! I'm so
excited! I don't have any details
on what time I will be calling but I will get those details when we receive our
travel plans in a week or so. But
I was wondering, isn't Dad supposed to be on a business trip? If that is the case, I hope we can work
it in a way that allows me to give him a quick call as well. But those are details we can work out
when I get more information about our travel plans.
On another note, I think it was Dad who asked me in his last
letter to me how my teaching is coming along. Well, my teaching is coming along much better than when I got
here...that is for sure. I have
learned that there are two languages I need to learn how to be fluent in. The obvious one is Espanol. But the other language I need to be
fluent in is the language of the spirit.
It is the spirit that teaches and testifies of the truthfulness of the gospel
to those I teach. It is the Spirit
that I need to pay attention to in order to know what to say, how to say it,
and when to say it. But even
though I'm doing much better than when I first got here to the MTC in both my
Espanol and my ability to utilize the spirit in my lessons, there is much I can
do to improve. And I'm sure there
will always be something to improve on throughout my entire mission.
For now, the language of the spirit speaks to me in
English. So when I feel a
prompting to do or say something, it's always in English. Then I have to go through the process
of translating in my head to Spanish the things I need to say or the
experiences I feel I need to share with the people I am teaching. It is this on-the-spot mental
translating that often brings me to say things with not quite perfect Spanish
(actually its far from perfect Spanish).
Usually I am able to adequately express myself to the point that the
person I, and my companion, are teaching has a basic to decent understanding of
what I'm talking about, but occasionally, or maybe even more than occasionally,
I have an absolute language train wreck.
And when that happens, I have to find a different way to say what I
wanted to express, or simply realize I don't have the vocabulary yet and make
it a point to practice the vocabulary needed in my next study session so I can
do better in the future.
But these struggles are normal. I need to just keep doing my best every day to
progress. As I constantly strive
to better myself through diligent and focused study, I will qualify myself for
the blessings of the spirit to aid me in my teaching. The spirit will help me recall those things I have studied
which are necessary to use in my lessons in the very moments I need them. But, I have to do my part and study and
work to qualify myself for that help during my lessons. (D&C 11:21)
Every once in a while Elder M and I will have just an
absolutely awesome lesson where we first of all don't have any train wrecks,
but more importantly leave our lesson knowing that the person we taught felt
the spirit and came one step closer to Christ. Those are our favorites. We love those lessons.
After those lessons, I always feel re-motivated to continue working and
studying hard so that I can qualify myself for more lessons like that in the
future. And I'm especially going
to want help in that department when I leave the MTC and begin my service with
the people of Arcadia, California.
One other thing I wanted to share with my family is one of
the blessings that has come from being on the same floor as the rest of the
Zone. Apparently sleeping away
the study time between breakfast and gym time was a problem for other Districts
in our Zone as well. It was enough
of a problem that some missionaries refused to listen to the Zone Leaders and
their encouragement to live the rule of not going back to bed after
breakfast. So, they had to get the
Branch Presidency to specifically state the rule to the Zone so there could be
no way for rationalizing why it's ok to go back to sleep during that study
time. Our Branch Presidency
basically told the Zone that it was something we should have already clearly
understood, but because there was obviously some confusion that they would
clear it up. They also reminded us
that even by disobeying the little rules we are not doing all we can to be our
best. Due to this
reminder/clarification, sleeping away study time is no longer an issue with our
Zone or District. I am so grateful
that I have made the decision to be obedient. Not only does it make it easier to be obedient, but, it
makes receiving those reminders or clarifications of the rules much easier to
listen to. While some people are
getting offended at these "reminders" because they feel like their
freedom to do what they wish is being violated, I am able to take the reminders
as what they are meant to be: reminders to be the best we can be. I would also like to believe that
because I have already made the decision to be obedient, that if for any reason
I ever forget a rule or mess up in my goal of being strictly obedient, that I
will be able to take the reminders of my leaders to heart and get back on track
without becoming offended. Or at
least I hope that if or when my actions ever need correcting, that I will be
able to respond positively.
Well, Adios my family.
I love you all.
Your missionary,
Elder Ostler
