This week is very likely Elder Ingram's and my last week serving as missionaries together. He is pretty sure that I will be staying here and that he will be leaving since he has been here in the Arroyo West area for 6 months now, but in reality, we have no idea what is going to happen. But we are about 99.9% positive that we wont stay together for another transfer. Usually at the end of training, the trainee and trainer don't stay together for another transfer. But while it's a little sad, it's also exciting to see what is going to happen. We will find out on Saturday night.
I have been understanding so much more these past several weeks. Especially in Church. Church used to be the longest most tiring 3 hours of the week. Its the only place the entire week where I receive the closest thing to a language immersion experience. Obviously there are still times where I am completely lost and have no idea what is being said, but usually I have a pretty good grasp of what is going on. But I guess that by "pretty good grasp" what I really mean is that I'm not nearly as lost as I used to be ;) But I'm improving! And I can see my improvements! So that is really exciting!
My teaching skills have also really improved in these past several weeks. I have been able to help out with much larger amounts of our lessons than I have in the past. And this is something that I am very grateful for. Feeling like I'm contributing is definitely a blessing. And there are much fewer times where I say something and they immediately look to Elder Ingram for translation.
Mom, you have been praying for Elder Ingram and I to find families to teach who are ready to listen? So have we! And an answer to prayer is that we have 2 new families to teach who we are really excited about. We found both of them during that week when we were sharing the Christmas message. But due to the crazy schedules of everyone during the Holidays, we weren't able to meet with them again until super late last week.
We also are teaching another person who has been investigating the church on and off for over a year now. She has a baptismal date for the end of this month! We are super hopeful that whichever of us gets transferred out of the area will be allowed to come back for her baptism. Elder Ingram has been teaching her ever since he first got here 6 months ago. She has investigated the church for a very long time. And she feels like she is now ready to take the next step: Baptism. Her readiness for baptism is definitely a testimony to how long and hard she has studied the gospel.
We had another family we were teaching who were planning on being baptized this weekend. This is a family that Elder Ingram and I met through a member in my 3rd week here. But they decided that they wanted to have more time to learn about the gospel first. This was a little bit of a bummer due to the fact that Elder Ingram and I probably won't both be able to be at their baptism (unless we are given permission to come back for the baptism) But it's ok. We know they will get there someday. They want to get there someday. This is the church they know they want to join. We just need to get them converted to the Word of Wisdom thing first. The idea of leaving behind their coffee is a tough one for them.
Thanks for forwarding that note from Jacob, Mom! It was so fun to hear how he is doing. Did you find out if I am allowed to email him directly? Our mission president lets us email other missionaries. Does his? If so, could you ask his parents for his email address? Thanks.
And holy Smokes! I can't wait to hear where Tyler is going on his mission! The world is gonna get flooded with Ostler Missionaries over the next few years!
Jackson is Getting Married!?! Holy Cow! I gotta say, its weird to realize that people's lives actually go on while I'm on my mission ;)
I went on exchanges with Elder Russel this past week. We went to his area. It was tons of fun. He is a super duper awesome missionary. Which doesn't come as much of a surprise if President sent him AND a trainee to a white washed area (when both missionaries are new to the area). It was lots of fun spending the day with him sharing the gospel. We didn't have a lot of lessons to teach, but I learned a lot from him about how to utilize the scriptures more effectively in my teaching. So I have made a goal to get better at that.
Well, Adios for this week my wonderful family!
Your one and only,
Elder Ostler
P.S. I just realized that I can't use "your one and only" for too much longer. Pretty soon there are gonna be 3 Elder Ostlers serving missions! Now that is a fun thought!
