Roostam

So no i wasn't able to watch Conference this weekend, however i believe we will be able to watch it this next week in Russian. So i guess we will find out how much i understand or if my head just wants to explode. If you have any favorite talks let me know and then i can't print them off and read some of them, just in case i don't understand everything being said.

So this last little bit has started to get back to normal. The elder who has been feeling pains in his chest is still in Dnepropetrovsk, however his companion returned with a different compaion so now they are serving here and things are a little more normal.

We had an awesome meeting yesterday. We met this guy through English and he asked me a bit ago if we had meetings at our building. I asked if he meant like a church service and he said, "yeah!"

So the next sunday he came,but he forgot to change his clock for daylight savings time, but he was able to be there for the last little bit and he really enjoyed it. After this we tried really hard to meet with him, however it never worked out, then yesterday we were able to meet with him.

So before out meeting he said that he has been reading parts of the Book of Mormon and he talked about the Isaiah passages! Sweet! So we met with Roostam and talked to him about our heavenly father, prophets etc. He Told us how we wasn't always a believer but that when he was in prison, and then he showed us his tatoo on his arm, that he become a believer and changed his life around. I guess he even lead some of the Church meetings at the Prison. Anyways, this guy is awesome! He loves the savior and was so excited to hear our message. At first he said that the apostasy where there were a lot of churches was just part of God's plan for everyone to have a path to God, and then i felt like i should share the analogy of the clay pot that Dad taught me a while ago. And i showed how the apostasy is like a broken pot and each church got certain pieces and some pieces were lost, however no church received the Fullness of the Gospel. This made sense to him and so we carried on and talked about Joseph smith and it was awesome because earlier in our meeting he talked about how he has been trying to find the True Church and that each one he has gone to so far has this flaw or this flaw and is all about "business" and not people. And he said that so far he hasn't found any flaw and that he feels great when he comes to our building!

After we talked about joseph smith and bore our testimonies to him he told us that he would pray about the Book of Mormon and then he asked why all of the other Churches don't know about this(meaning the restoration)?

At the end of the meeting we found out where he lives and so we get to pass another investigator to the other Elders. I guess the Lord doesn't care who teaches his elect just as long as they are taught. So i am grateful for another wonderful opportunity to meet and bring another soul to the knowledge of the Restoration. Infact we have a meeting with him today because we wants to meet with us, and then the other Elders will be meeting with him.

Isn't that such a cool story? it kind of reminds me of Jean Val Jean from Les Mis. He is just trying to turn his life around and do what is right. Well hope all is well, love ya all.

Love, Elder Ostler
"I testify that our teacher, our shepherd is Christ, our best friend, who clears up all our doubts. He heals our wounds and turns our pain into sweet experiences."
- Elder Horacio A.

Daniel got his investigator back!!

4-1-09
Dear Family,
I am so glad you had the opportunity to meet some of the Members of the Church from Russia and Ukraine. They really are all incredible people. Yeah it's the same here. We don't have a stake, but i hope that we will soon. Yes, we're lucky to have 50 people at Church. However, those that come are incredibly strong and delightful to talk with. I count myself very blessed to serve here in Ukraine. It's amazing to see how the church is growing and the hand of the Lord in our work.

So a lot has happened since i last wrote home. Over a week ago the other elders had to leave to Dnepropetrovsk because one of the Elders has terrible pains in his Chest and they had to go to Dnepropetrovsk in order to meet with more experienced doctors, and now we just learned that he might be going to America. As a result we were asked to take over our old investigator again, and then on saturday President Abraham asked us to continue teaching him permanently because it's not fair to keep passing him around. I'm not going to lie, i was overly joyed but sad at the same time because that means the other Elder won't be returning anytime soon.

Also we had zone conference on monday, that's why i didn't write home on monday. So this last week has been pretty crazy, we taught all three English classes combined on one of the days! because the other sisters were gone while one was renewing her visa and then the elders were in Dnepropetrovsk. luckily most of the students left, however quite a few stayed and we had to find a way to teach 60 plus students! We played a game with all of them and luckily somehow everything worked out.

We have met with Viktor a couple more times and he loves the gospel! Last week we went with our ward mission leader, Bro. Vatali, to meet with him and Bro. Vatali helped to fix his lights and so now Viktor has lights in his bathroom and kitchen!

Also, we were able to get to know his two sons a little bit better. One is 13 and the other is 16. They haven't expressed much interest in the gospel yet, but we're just giving them some time.

We committed Viktor to baptize at our last meeting with him and he said that he wants to be baptize,however he doesn't feel like he is ready because he wants to get a job in order to pay tithing and he doesn't want to be a burden. And also he told us that he prayed about it and that he needs to find a job first.

WEll i'm sorry, I want to write more but this keyboard won't let me type. Please Tell grandpa happy birthday and both of them hi and thanks for their message. Love you all, hope all is well!

"Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people." Mosiah 18:20

Love, Elder Ostler

Oh, really quick, I found an old paper in our apartment and it had another Elder Ostler written on it. Tell Corey that i'm living in the exact same apartment he lived in. haha, how funny is that!

"Remeber to be happy and smile!" Elder Ostler

Dear family,

haha, So i found out a lot this past week about areas and what not. Well our past district leader was didn't really care if we had investigators that lived in their area and so he said that if we met them and what not then to just teach them. Well when my companion went up to the mission office before going to Bulgaria he asked if we could continue teaching Viktor and then we got an e-mail and President Abraham said not to. So that's how it happened, but it's all good. Everything is working out. We went on splits to meet with our investigators and explain to them that they will be meeting with the other elders. I was really happy, because when we talked with Viktor last week he expressed that he was said he couldn't meet with us anymore, but he just said "slava boga"--which pretty much means what got wants...litterally it means glory of God, but here i think the thought is kind of like inshalla in Jerusalem which is God willing. So i'm really glad that Viktor still has the strong desire to meet because he wants to learn more about the Church and i am grateful for the opportunity i had to meet with him and help him out where i could.

Also, i was able to take the Book of Mormon in Chinese to our Chinese investigator and he was so excited to receive it! He just kept reading it and reading it and i'm really excited to see where he goes.

To find people....Well lately we have just been striving to find people whenever and where ever we can, but yesterday we were able to go Sign Boarding! And we got three contacts that way. I'm really excited to meet with one in particular. I talked with him only about the Book of Mormon and he expressed interest and we exchanged numbers and the best part is that he lives in our Area!

Sorry i don't know how that last e-mail sounded, but i know that the Lord blesses us upon our obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Often times we wish we could do it a different way, but i know that if we do it the Lord's way that everything works out best for everyone because the Lord's ways are higher than our ways just like it talks about in Isaiah 55:8-9.

Oh, you asked about the Church here.....This is a great question to ask Corey, i'm sorry sure could go on forever about the Church here in Ukraine. Yes i have learned quite a bit about it. Pretty much there is one main Church here called the Provaslovni church. Sorry i don't know how to write it in English. And pretty much everybody that is a part of it just says that they are Provaslovni because their parents were even if they don't go to Church. Some are very strong and devout members, but many Just tell us that they are Provaslovni and walk away from us. I don't have much time to go into the detail about the Church.

WEll everything is going great here, remember to be happy and smile!


"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." John 15:11

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my aways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Love Elder Ostler

Chinese Book of Mormon

Family-So this last week was pretty crazy, I was in a threesome while my companion was in Bulgaria. This last week helped me realize how blessed I am to have the companion I have. Elder Richardson is an incredible missionary and we have a blast together.
The individual, Viktor, that I wrote about last week is still progressing, and he is an incredible investigator. Our last meeting with him we started to talk about the plan of salvation a little bit and he seemed to know and understand everything we talked about. He loves the gospel and enjoys meeting with us. He has been reading pamphlets from the Branch on some of the lessons and so when we meet with him he is already prepared to learn. Also, we were finally able to get a Chinese Book of Mormon for our Chinese investigator, we haven't been able to meet with him but I’m excited to give him the Book of Mormon in Chinese.
I don't know if we will be meeting with our investigators anymore. All of our investigators we met and contacted and have been meeting with, they live in the other Elder's area and President Abraham said that we should only work with people in our area. I’m not going to lie, this will be hard because I have come to love each one of our investigators, and this also means we will be losing all of our investigators. However, I know that The Lord will bless us for following the Counsel of Our mission President, and that this is what the Lord wants. Love, Elder Ostler

"Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For Behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works." Jacob 4:10

Finally a Picture!

First i need to answer your questions. Mom,you asked about the Kiev temple. Currently is is 32% completed or so, at least that's what i saw on the internet when we showed our Chinese Investigator the temple here in Kiev.     It sounds like you are finally able to get a lot accomplished. And last week you commented that you talked with come young ladies from Ukraine. That is really neat, did they show you any pictures?

Dad, you asked about the economy, yes people constantly comment about there being a crisis and they say how great life is in america. We simply reply that the crisis is everywhere. And then once a twice a week we have somebody knock on our door asking for food, and every time it is somebody different. It's very sad here, the economy. I feel so selfish sometimes when i go to the store and purchase food, because i know of so many people without.

  You asked about the history and places to see here in Ukraine. I've aksed people because i want to learn and i guess there isn't very much to see here, and as far as the history of the country i learn little bits every now and then.
   However, this last week we were able to go to a museum, the lady we read the Bible with in english after english each tuesday offered to take us to an art museum, and there i learned some history of the people in russia and ukraine, however i dont' know exact, fine detail because the lady spoke really fast in russian, however, i was excited because for the most part i understood what was being said. And every now and then i understood the exact opposite of what was being said, for instance... there was a series of four paintings about an american soldier that was injured and i thought she said it was a russian soldier injured by americans.

 Family,
           Saturday night Elder Richardson and i met with the individual we met last sunday morning and talked with him a little more about the gospel. To begin with we simple got to know him and he told us more about his life and his family. We learned that he is a man without many worldly possessions and that he lives in a very humble apartment. Before we could even begin talking about the first vision with him he began to tell us about what he read in the Liahona we gave him and he said,"Well i figure that if the Lord talked with Adam, Abraham and Moses, why couldn't he talk with Joseph Smith." His name is Viktor and he is an incredible individual. Pretty much everything he has owned in life has been taken from him. He lived in Kazakhstan and he said that the police, i think he said the KGB too, came and took everything from his home.
    He has now come to church two sundays in a row and loves the Liahona and is reading the Book of Mormon.
    Also, the reason he came to church last sunday was because a little bit before i came into country my companion gave out an english invitation to a young boy and tried skate boarding with him for a second.. the 13 year old told his dad about my companion, elder richardson, and he came to our church. I think it's really neat that from such a small and simple thing we found an incredible individual.

     Also, our Chinese investigator invited his friend to our lesson this last week and before we left his friend wanted to try praying, which is an extremely foreign concept for them. The lord is blessing us and the work is going forward.

So now for the great news,
       My companion does not have AIDS! this last week we went to an adject city, herson, where we had zone conference and my companion got an AIDS test in order for him to go to Bulgaria. So this week i am in a threesome with the two other elders in Nikolaev.

  Remember to smile and read the scriptures.
   
"Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me."
-D&C 19:23

 Love Elder Ostler

 

Zone Pictures for Kherson Zone’s January Zone Conference

All scripture is given by inspiration of God

Dear family,

Well i guess i spoke to quick the last time i told about the weather, the last while has been really cold! I'm glad you guys were able to use the card for heather's birthday, i hope you enjoyed it too.

The presentation you talked about sounds very interesting, i would definitely like to talk about that when i return. One time my teacher at the mtc talked with us a little bit about some places he visited in that region and some other places in Central America that are connected with events in the book of mormon, all of it really fascinates me, maybe we can go on a trip and visit all of those places when i get home. So i have been reading parts of D&C and i really enjoy them, i feel like this is my first time reading D&C even though I've read it before. I really wish i had your commentary with me so that i could look at some passages and compare them with my thoughts.

So the language is coming along, each day i am able to speak and understand a little bit more, however, i am learning a lot about patience with a language.

Things here are going good, we didn't quite have the turnout we expected for english registration, however quite a few people came, a lot more than normal and maybe even some that are searching for the gospel. We will see how many more come tomorrow for the last day of registration before we begin our classes again.

The other day we met with Eefan again and we talked with him more about God and the restoration. We even watched the restoration clip in Chinese. Who would have thought that i would ever watch the restoration film in Chinese in Ukraine?

Everything is going well here, continue to to read the scriptures daily and do the small and simple things.

Oh i forgot to tell you...
Your story about you teaching Sunday school to the two young ladies from Guatemala. The other day we met a guy from Peru and we were able to teach him the first lesson and he took it all in with welcome hands, we were scheduled to meet with him again but it never worked out and now he has already returned to America where he is currently living. But It was incredible to teach him, i was able to teach in English since he didn't know Russian obviously, and he full accepted our message.

The next time we called him on the phone he said that he has been reading the Book of Mormon and that he really likes it. Who knows, maybe we helped him out just enough so that when he returns he can find the missionaries with the number we gave him and join the church.


Love Elder Ostler


"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

New English Class

Last weeks letter 2-16-09    
No, we're not allowed to talk about politics with people, but I learn little bits here and there from people. It's really interesting how people view Ukraine and Russia. Some want to be part of Russia, others don't care.  

This last week we had zone conference, zone conference was wonderful! So we are starting up a new program in Nikolaev, and I think we're kind of the pilot district for the new Program for missionary work here. I'm not completely sure how it is all going to work out but I will attempt to explain it. 

This Tuesday we are having a big kick off party at the branch instead of teaching English and we are going out into Nikolaev and handing out invitations to everybody we possibly can, except for we are having old English students do this, along with members of the church. And then on Friday and another day we are going to register everybody (this we haven't done) by doing this we have all of their information and then we meet with them in their house and tell them what we are going to be doing with English and then we're able to also explain why we are here as missionaries and then bring them to a family home evening each Monday with the senior Couple. We have been having a family night on Wednesdays for the past couple of weeks and we don't have a senior couple yet, but I guess they will be coming in a few weeks which will be nice. Also, we will be able to bring members to the family night, this way the investigators become better connected with the members and when the missionaries leave they still have friends in the church and are able to remain active. Sorry I know this is kind of hard to understand, I'm just typing my thoughts since I have to go in a second. But I guess they did something similar to this in Moldova and they had 1800 people show up the next day and missionary work really kicked off.  

Oh, Valentines was actually a lot of fun! In the evening the branch had a valentine’s play about Cinderella and the book of Mormon that the youth put on and a little party. The play/party was a lot of fun. We had a lot of people from English show up and I felt like we were able to get to know the members of the branch quite a bit better.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
The language isn't easy but last week I felt some stuff really click with the language and I can understand a lot more despite the accent I’m slowly getting used to. I feel very blessed with the language, I know that the Lord is blessing me very much and that he blesses me little bits at a time after I struggle and strive to learn the language.     
Love Elder Ostler

"Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have 'moved away from the hope of the gospel' (col 1:23). Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down."     Elder Neal A. Maxwell
 

Braking and Entering

Things are going great, we had an incredible night the other day. So we decided to find two inactive member apartments, we went to the first one and only the daughter was there and she wouldn't open the door and said to come back later. Along our way we ran into a guy that said, "hey aren't you supposed to give me that book you promised?" I guess he talked with the missionaries once, and then we ran into another individual who asked for the book of mormon and wants to meet with us.

Following this we decided to visit the other member's apartment. After a while of searching we arrived at the right building and tried to get in, however the padez was locked and we couldn't get in. We waited for a little and then this babooshka came, we said hi, and then she shut the door on us! luckily I saw one of the numbers of the code and so we felt the buttons to see which buttons had been pushed the most. We pushed three buttons in and a miracle happened! the door opened. At this point we were ecstatic and went to the apartment number. We knocked on the door and we asked for the member, however nobody by that name lived there. WE talked with the guy who opened the door and talked with him about the gospel, we gave him the the church magazine, the Liahona, and we talked with him for a bit. He said that he has been researching religions and what not, we talked some more and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and bore our testimonies about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

Just when we thought our night couldn't get any better, we're walking home and we continued to simple say hi to people and this couple began talking with us and said that some sisters already gave them some stuff. (he was actually talking about the Jehovah's witnesses) and so we talked with them and they asked if they could read the Book of Mormon.

Our night was incredible and quite different than what we thought it would be, however, I believe that because we were doing what we were supposed to the Lord blessed us in a different way than we expected.

Oh so this week we have a companionship of three. The other elder's companion is gone to Bulgaria for a week to renew his Visa, so for the meantime he is in our companionship.

Love elder Ostler

"Personal, sincere involvement in the scriptures produces faith, hope, and solutions to our daily challenges. Frequently reading, pondering, and applying the lessons of the scriptures, combined with prayer, become an irreplaceable part of gaining and sustaing a strong, vibrant testimony." -Elder Donal L. Staheli

First Week in Ukraine

The language is pretty crazy, but it's slowly coming, I'm just relying on the Lord and eventually it will come. So we have an investigator, his name is Dzhonah. he is from Georgia, we have only taught him the first lesson, which was my first and only lesson so far. He is a really happy and friendly guy, he's twenty years old, and he is a lot of fun to talk to.

So my first few days here were pretty hectic, we arrived in Ukraine and we received a warm greeting from the President, his wife, and a bunch of other people. Then we started contacting and talking to people in Dnepropetrovsk. It was a lot of fun, half the time I didn't understand what the people were saying, so I just smiled back and they laughed.

After we contacted for a while we took care of all of our luggage and then went to the president's house for a few minutes and then we were off again to one of the branches. The branch gave us a warm greeting and we had some bread with salt, it's a Ukrainian tradition, and then we told about ourselves and bore our testimonies.

The members cooked an incredible meal for us, we had Borsh, this is a famous soup in Ukraine, and we had some potatoes and chicken, or at least I think it was chicken, and some other little desserts. The members are incredible here!

The next day we met our trainers and went around the city for a little, we took care of our baggage, and then we found out that our bus ride wasn't until 11:00 pm! haha, yeah the bus ride was a lot of fun. We finally arrived in Nikolaev around 5 or so in the morning. The bus ride was quite entertaining, that's all I’m going to say, it was nothing like the greyhound bus Derek and I took from Oregon to Utah when our car broke down.

As you can tell, the first few days were a little hectic! yesterday was Sunday and I had my first sacrament meeting with the branch in Nikolaev. We were able to talk with some babooshkie. Sorry my mind is playing tricks with me, it's so weird to write Russian words in English. But we were able to talk with three grandmas and they were so much fun to talk to! I was able to tell them about the book of Mormon and Joseph smith and why we're here. We were really blessed to run into these grandmas. I gave away my first book of Mormon and we are going to go back and talk with them tomorrow.

I am amazed by how much the Lord blesses us each day, I feel like every single day that I have been in Ukraine has been incredible so far and I have had an opportunity of some sort to bless somebody's life and in return they have more than blessed my life. I have a great companion, his name is Elder Richardson, I am excited to work with him and get to know him better. Well, everything is great here in Ukraine, remember to smile and say hi to everyone, you never know if you will make somebody's day better.

Love, Elder Ostler

Last Week at the MTC for Elder Ostler

Well time has definitely flown by quickly here at the MTC. I was never sure when or if the first few days were going to end. Ever since the third day time has gone so quickly and left me spinning in a circle. I’ve learned and grown so much in just a short time here at the MTC. The spirit is incredible here, and it really is like a “mini-Zion” right in Provo. The Russian language is coming along, it isn’t an easy language and when I hear the natives speak I wonder if they really even know Russian, because the Russian I’m taught in the classroom is completely different, just kidding. The language is slowly coming, I am able to explain and express myself better and better each day. I have loved have a native Russian District in our Zone. I talk with them on a daily basis and they teach my new phrases in Russian and correct pronunciation.

I’m excited to arrive in Ukraine and begin sharing the message of the restoration and the plain and simple truths that we take for granted. Because I have grown up in the Church, ever since I was really young I thought everybody in the world knew about the Gospel and was a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints. I remember the first time I learned that only a few people were members of the Church, and how shocked I was! Now I finally have a chance to share the message of the “Book of Mormon,” the restoration, Christ’s atonement, and how through Christ we really can live with our families forever, through blessings of the Temple.
Probably one of the most important lessons I have learned so far at the MTC is to just listen. Listen to my companion, and to ALWAYS listen to the spirit. Whenever I teach, if I have a successful lesson, it isn’t because of me, but it is because the spirit was the teacher and I was used as a mouthpiece.

Another lesson I have learned is to just keep the gospel simple and stick to the basics. Oh and always smile. A smile is contagious and the gospel is happy, so why don’t’ we show it.

Oh and mom and dad, I just want you both to know how much I love you and I appreciate all that you have done for me. I look forward to talking to you next week

Love, Elder Ostler

Moroni 7:33- “And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.”

Grandma Webb is always talking about looking for the little mini miracles in our day, so here are two.

Oh, I almost forgot. So I had two mini miracles today. First I lost my temple recommend, so this morning I was frantically looking for it because we were supposed to go to the temple. Well we said a prayer and I prayed that if we didn't find it that all would still work out. Well everything worked out just fine at the temple. Yes I had to wait a little bit to get it, but I was still able to make it into a session and still do sealings with the native Russian speakers.
Second mini miracle, so I know how dumb this will sound, but I guess I forgot to take a pen out of one of my WHITE shirt pockets because it was clipped to it, and so as I did laundry I found my pen. YEAH lucky me it didn't leak everywhere, that would have been quite disheartening to my soul! Well I just thought I should share that with ya. Love , Elder Ostler