God is in your church

Família!

Feliz Natal!  Wow that was sweet talking to you guys on natal.  And it was great.  I had the same feelings as you guys.  We didn´t get to talk about much but it was just fun being together!  So Fun! And Jackson and Jefferson were making faces at each other just about the whole time.  So yes it was good.  Elder Pothier´s skype was good too.  While he was skyping I played the piano in the chapel and then made him his Christmas present..... piano flash cards.  I drew the staff on them and then put each note on each card.  Then I drew the keyboard and I still have to finish coloring the corresponding note.  He wants to learn the notes because he really wants to learn the piano and he practices after we do language study at the church everyday.  He has already mastered sweet hour of prayer.  So skype was great.

So yes, I might have been a little jealous of Saydi getting food and stuff but today SHE can be jealous of ME!  We spent the whole day today at the MISSION HOME!  Sister Klein called us yesterday and said that the office elders (6 AP´s and 4 secretaries) were coming over today to have lunch and joga esportes.  So it was me and Pothier and all the office elders.  IT WAS SO FUN.  I don´t know why but we got to play soccer.  It was just on a little cement court but still fun.  And I´m not as bad as I thought I was at soccer.  We also played tennis and I rocked it.  I still got it from Freshman year.  And yes Jackson, I accept your challenge to play when I get back.

Then we had almoço!!! holy crap!!! President Klein and his two genros did a churrasco.   Remember the day before the CTM when we went to that Brazilian grill?  Well it was just like that but better because we were actually IN BRAZIL!  He just had like 10, three feet skewers FULL...... FULL of meat.  It was so good.  Sausage, chicken sausage, steak, more steak and chicken hearts.  So good.   But as we were eating a huge storm rolled in and forced us inside.  The wind was blowing soo hard! And the wind never blows here.  We went inside and had dessert.  When the storm stopped we went back out and continued play.  It was a great day!  I ate so much meat!  Just brought me back to that Brazilian grill when Jackson and Christian had the thing on red until something they liked went past and then they would flip it to green really quick:)

So that was today.... really fun.  Another highlight of the week.  On Wednesday night we were on the street just talking to a less active girl that Elder M baptized. We always walk right past her house during the day and she and her siblings and cousins (members) are outside so we stop and talk.  We are trying to reactivate her.  She is now reading the Book of Mormon everyday so that is a step in the right direction.

Anyway, we were just talking and it was dark and we saw a guy down the road tirando mato from the side of the street with a hoe.  I told Elder Pothier we needed to go ask him if he needed help.  So we did.  He denied and said we would get to dirty.  I said we would come back tomorrow morning and help.  He said ok.  His name is JD.  We showed back up and eventually found him.  (Some guy gave us some ice cream while we we waiting.... take that Saydi!)  Anyways he got there and he told us something like this.  "So I understand if you guys don´t want to do this because this is going to be hard work.  You guys are preachers and your work is easy.  Your hands are delicate and I don´t want you guys getting hurt or dirty." It was funny.  All we did was put all the weeds he already pulled in bags.  It took like 30mins. We asked if we could come back and help sometime (because he still had weeds to pull) he said no because it was too hard for us.  Don´t worry, we will definitely be going back.

We were talking to him afterwards and asked if we could come by sometime and teach him (he already knew about Josè Smith and stuff).  He said yes and he said he lived on the road Belo Horizante and he told us which house....... it sounded familiar.... the place he was describing.  Then it hit me... That is the house of An*!!! (Remember her? the girl we were so excited came to church last week?)  I was like, "Are you the dad of An*?"  He said yes.  What a coincidence!! So crazy!  So now hopefully we will be able to teach their whole family!  God works in mysterious ways to bring the gospel to families, even promptings to help some random guy on the street pull weeds :)

Oh yeah I forgot to tell this.  The day before Christmas we made Chocolate chip cookies and on Christmas (after skyping) we went and delivered 10 plates of cookies to people in our ward and some investigators.  It was sweet and so much fun!  We even delivered some to the Kleins!

So new years eve will be the same as Christmas eve.  We can stay at the house of a member till 10:30. And at midnight it is going to be crazy!  That´s all I know.

So that is just about every thing that is happening here.  Doing great! Oh yeah..... And A* has a date for this Saturday!!! He is crazy prepared!  In gospel principles this week the teacher was gone so right before Sunday school bishop comes up to us and says "You guys are teaching."  I was going to just teach the next chapter which was "Our Heavenly Father" but then Elder Pothier was like "we should teach the third lesson, the Gospel of Jesus Christ."  So we did because Elder Pothier is smart and has good ideas.  It was great!  It was A*, Ma* (that guy we baptized when I got here that still hasn´t received the holy ghost, he was going to get it yesterday but then he left right before sacrament meeting... NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!)  and an18 year old boy that someone brought to church.  He is totally ready and we are going to try and baptize him this Saturday with A*.  Anyways back to A*'s awesomeness.  He pretty much taught the class.  He had so much insight on Fé, arrependimento, batismo, Dom doEspirito Santo, e preservar ate o fim.  So we are excited for that this Saturday.

Another fun story.  we were walking down the street yesterday and we were passing a restaurant where we sometimes eat lunch when we get money for lunch.  It was night so it was closed.  There was a guy outside washing his car.  We had seen him a couple of times there at the restaurant.  As he walked past he said "Ohhh, the restaurant is closed."  It was funny.  We went over to talk to him.  He asked if we would pass by sometime and teach him and his family........ WHAT!!!??!?!?  He actually said that!  Then he said "we are frequenting the evangelic church but we don´t think it´s right.  All of the churchs, evangelica, catolica.. God is not in them."  Then he pointed right at my name tag where it Says Jesus Cristo and said "God is in your Church."  We marked to come back and walked away just in disbelief.  We were like" What the freak just happened?!?!"  It was so sweet and we are excited to go back and teach them because they WANT to learn more and come to church with us.

Well it sounds like you guys are having just a blast at home.  Christmas time is always fun.  Are you doing a new years eve party?  And good job on the eagle Jefferson!   ("They´ve almost got their Eagles"......"Mom´s almost got her Eagles")  Fun stuff.  Enjoy this week off of school and if I´m not mistaken I think you guys are going skiing again this week...  if so then Benson will be by far the best because he is using my skis.  I trained them well.

Anyways.... I love you guys and I hope you are having fun and getting along.  I´m excited for Cosmo to join the family here in a month!  So crazy!  I´m doing great here in Brasil!  Love you all! 

Até o próximo 

Elder Ostler

A bat in my shoe

Feliz Natal!

Christmas came so fast.  It doesn´t even seem real... maybe that is just because it is still 90 degrees everyday.  But we kinda decorated our house.  I got the package which was awesome so we have the homemade Christmas tree.  HOLY HUGE HANDS JEFFERSON!  I thought the same thing when I saw your foot too but then I put my foot on it and realized that my feet are that big too.  And we have another tree.  We had Christmas conference this week and they had little paper trees on the walls with all the missionaries pictures on them so afterwards we took one:)  So we have 2 trees now.   Wow... that does make me a little homesick that the boys and dad are driving up to white pass RIGHT NOW!  But I´ll get over it:)  That is sweet that Amanda Chris and Cosmo are home for the holidays and that Jackson and Katie are coming up after Christmas.  And yes I´m positive that you freaked James out!. kkkkkkkkk that is so funny.  But I´m glad you got to talk to him. When do him and Mitch leave?

So I guess I´ll talk about Conferência de Natal.  We had to be at the stake center at 6am so we wake up at 4am to catch a bus.  It was a long day.  But fun.  It was a conference with all the missionaries serving in the city of Manaus so like 108ish.  We got on buses at the stake center and drove to a military base slash zoo.  It is called CIGS.  They like protect the jungle here.  It is weird.  They are kinda like our coast guard.  So they talked to us about what they do and stuff.  They showed us how to catch snakes (some of the missionaries got to) and we watched them march.  It was cool. Then we got to go to the zoo.  Macaws, parrots, leopards, snakes..... and Monkeys.  The monkeys were so funny, running all over the place.

Then we went back to the stake center for Lunch.... OH MY GOODNESS. It was amazing.  They had the cultural hall all decorated and it was just really sweet. The food was so good, and for dessert.... they had Cheesecake!  And they never make cheese cake here.  So good.  Then President and Sister Klein talked to us and we had all of the arrivals and departures share there testimonies.  There were about 40 arrivals and 6 departures.  Crazy!  The next day we went to the Temple.  So those are the big things that happened this week.

Me and Elder Pothier at the beautiful
Manaus Temple

So about Ra*... She is so close but she just isn´t going any further. She doesn´t see the importance of a church.... all we need is Jesus.... and He is in us so we don´t even have to go to church. So we will see what happens with her.  She still hasn´t been to church and going to church is so important.  Speaking of church, two other investigators came to church!  We were so happy when they came.  Me and Elder O found them about 2 months ago. We have been teaching An* but she hasn´t been progressing, not coming to church and not reading. We´ve challenged her to baptism but she was already baptized so she didn´t see a need to be re baptized.   On Saturday Elder Pothier and I taught her the plan of  salvation. It was rough. It was our first time teaching it together and we were having troubles speaking Portuguese but she understood it.  Afterwards we told her that in order to get to the reino celestial we need to be baptized by someone holding the power of God.  We challenged her again.  She said once she knows the LdM é verdadeiro ela vai ser batizada!  E depois isso, convidamos ela a ir a igreja. at first she was a little hesitant because she didn´t know anyone.  We told her we would be right with her the whole time.  She said she would.  On Sunday morning we called her to make sure she was coming and she said yes.  Me and Elder Pothier waited outside for her to show up. It was a miracle that she came!! We were so happy!

A*.... I think I already talked about him, but if not I´ll say it again.  The other week we had one hour of time so we decided to tract.... which we do not like to do.  We knocked on the first door and he let us in. We taught the first lesson and he said he would come to church the next day (this was last Saturday.)  Well he didn´t come last Sunday but he came this Sunday!  It was so sweet sitting by them in sacrament meeting!  I think both of them will really start to progress now that they´ve been to church.  I´m praying.

So dad, you asked about any more critters..... well we definitely had a critter this week.  We were getting ready on... Wednesday I think, and Elder P picked up his shoe then dropped it.  I asked what was wrong.  He said he saw something in it.  We looked and sure enough, there was something in it...... a bat!  It wasn´t very big... 4 or 5 inches maybe but we have no idea how in the world it got into our house!  He said when he saw it, it was hanging upside down on the tongue.  When he dropped it, it fell into the shoe.  We took it outside and let it go.  All day long Elder P would say stuff like "I still can´t believe there was a freaking bat in my shoe!"  or  "How did it even get in there?"

Sometimes as me and Elder P are walking down the street we will just say like "I still can´t believe we are in Brasil. This is crazy!" It really is crazy. We are in the jungle! I have seen the river dad.... from the Camargo´s 12th floor appt but I haven´t seen where the water comes together.

So one of the standards of excellence in this mission is batizar semanalmentel.  This week we were planning on baptizing Ra*'s son, but after our lesson with her she still wouldn´t let him.  So when we got out of that lesson I was kinda stressed but I didn't know why.  Elder P noticed it and we stopped and talked.  He pointed out to me that I was stressed because we weren´t going to baptize anyone that week.  He was right. I wasn´t consciously thinking it but that is the reason.  He told me that to him it does not matter if he baptizes weekly.  He wants to baptize people that are ready. He said he could care less if he doesn´t baptize every week, as long as he is working hard and looking for people to baptize.  I guess last transfer Elder O just drilled into my head baptize baptize baptize.  Elder O said “the only thing on the mission you should be worried about is baptizing every week.”  Elder Pothier said "Work hard and be obedient. The Baptisms will come." He is so amazing. He really is helping me overcome my weaknesses... like making decisions.  Whenever I have to decide and I don´t want to.... (you know, like I just sit there) he looks at me and says "Right now, make a decision"  just like you Mom:)  He is just such an awesome companion!

Well I think that is all for now. I love you all so much.  Have a very merry Christmas! Talk to you in 2 days!  (Mom, I´ll chat with you right now and give you the details on skyping)

FELIZ NATAL DE ELDER OSTLER E ELDER POTHIER! 

NOS SOMOS LEGAIS!

Mom: About what time can you skype. Will 2 pm your time work?

Elder Ostler: Yeah that should work out. You want to do us at the same time?

Mom: She'd love it if we could. But what were you planning on? What time will work for you? She's pretty flexible.

Elder Ostler: That works for me . . . right after lunch.

Mom: Who's place are you skyping at?

Elder Ostler: Well that is the thing, we don´t have a sure spot.  Right when we leave the lan house we are going to a casa.  She has a computer with a camera but not skype.  We are going to download it for her because she wants it to talk to the missionary that baptized her.  We are going there right when we are done and here is what we are thinking.  We will download it and then I will log on.  Once you see me log on... call.  Just to make sure it works.... sound good?  My guess is when we leave.. ( in like 10 mins)  it will take us 15ish mins to walk there and then like 10mins to download but I really don´t know.  Could you just camp at the computer for the next little bit and call when I get on?

Mom: ARE YOU KIDDING? CAN I CAMP AT THE COMPUTER AND CALL TODAY? - Do I really have to answer that? Of course, I'll be right here. It can be confusing when you download skype. It will make it seem like you have to pay. But you don't. There is a free version.

Elder Ostler: If it is confusing in English... imagine what it is going to be like in Portuguese!  So you will call me right?  and you will call me at Christmas too.. right?

Mom: Correct on both questions.

I love your companion. I love that he tells you that it's not about the baptisms, it's about baptising people that are ready. And you know that. You've seen how missionary work is done here. For some reason, it seems a little different in Brazil. But oh well, you don't have to baptize people that aren't ready.

Elder Ostler: K we´ll do that. And if we don´t call,  just assume that we are still on for 2 oclock on Christmas because that will be the time that we call anyways.  If her computer doesn´t work we will find another computer.  But just pray that it does work:)

He is seriously so awesome and really helps me.  He doesn´t just point out my weaknesses but he helps me overcome them too.  I just love him.  His older sister is getting married on the 2 of January.  He is missing it and is sad because his and her relationship is strong.

K, we are leaving. Be waiting :)

Mom: I am waiting.

Our first door was a success

Família!

So first about the Christmas call.  We can call or skype for 40 mins.  That is a worldwide missionary rule.  I want to skype.  This week we will try to find a member with a computer.  It would be great to do it at the same time as Saydi but that would be super hard to plan so if we call at different times I´m fine with that.   So I will give you details next pday when we find a computer and what skype account do I use? Did you make me one or will I just use like Dad´s?  Yes I´ve gotten 3 letters in the red and green envelopes.

Yes they have Christmas music here. Like when we go to the big store (kinda like walmart) they play English Christmas music.  It is so weird because it doesn´t feel like Christmas!  IT IS SO HOT!  I can´t even explain it.  I´ve never felt heat like this.  It isn´t like the 109 days in Richland.  It is just Hot all the time.  So hot.  I don´t know how else to describe it.  JUST HOT!

27 Elders came in last transfer.  I got an email from Cam but haven´t read it yet so I will do that when I´m done.  Benson keep studying math.  One of the best subjects there is!  I love when the Yakima river freezes over.  That is sweet that Spencer got to meet the Prophet!  Sorry I didn´t say anything last week about that.

DAVID IS GOING TO MEXICO!   He will eat a ton of salsa!  God speed Brother!  You are going to do great!

That is sweet you had sadies at the house.  Ben is such a rockstar.  Just amazing and that sure is one way to explain my companion.  Just leave it to Ben.

So I think I will talk about my week now.  For starters... my Birthday Feast was AWESOME!!  We had chicken with the marinade, baked potatoes and maple syrup steamed carrots.  CAN YOU SAY AMERICA!!  We just fried the chicken on the stove in a pot.  It was good.  I took pictures but I don´t know if I will be able to send them but just know that I have pics.  Oh before I forget, in your next box could you send maple syrup extract please?  Don´t just like send it right now just because I asked but when you send one I would love maple syrup extract because it lasts alot longer and all it takes is water and sugar.  Anyways back to the week.

BIRTHDAY FEAST!!!

Menu:

-Grilled Chipolte Chicken

-Baked Potatoes with butter and cheese

-Steamed Maple Syrup Carrots

-Peach Juice

So Tuesday started off crazy!  So everyday Me and Elder Pothier wake up at 6 to go running.  We go 1-3 miles a day.  Just starting off easy for now :)  Then when we get back we make breakfast..... good breakfast.  We do pancakes, french toast, stuffed french toast, swedish pancakes, milkshakes and breakfast sandwiches.  We have a system  down.  I love it!  We eat so good!  Anyways back to Tuesday.  So we wake up and say our prays.  Elder Pothier gets up before me and leaves the room.  I´m still praying.  Elder P comes back into the room and says "Elder, you need to come see this." He grabbed his camera and left the room again.  I jump up (after saying amen) and follow him. He goes into our closet.  I follow.

On the wall of our closet is a spider.  Not just A spider.  A spider that would literally give Amanda a heart attack.  It was the size of a softball....  I´m not even kidding.  Well not like the 3D shape of a softball just like the roundness of it.  Just massive.  We spent the next 20 mins trying to kill it.  We tried hitting it with a shoe but it was to stinking fast.  It went behind the dresser and stuff like that.  Elder P took a swing at it while it was on the wall and it ran onto the ground and hid underneath one of my shoes (I wasn´t wearing it). Elder P said "Step on it!"  I stomped on the top of my shoe a couple of times and killed it.  It was crazy!!

The rest of that day was pretty crappy... every single one of our appts fell through.  All 7!  Ward council fell through!  When that happened we were just done.  We had walked all over Adrianópolis that day and hadn´t taught a lesson.  Then a member at the church who was waiting for the meeting too, took us out to get pizza.  So I guess our day ended pretty good.  oooo another thing I would love if you to send.... gallon size zip locks.  Like 10 of them just to have.  Thanks.

We baptized the ten year old this week and it was awesome! He was so excited and honestly the baptism was so less stressful without Elder O.  So smooth.  He always liked to interview them right before the baptism which takes about an hour for him.  So everyone is just waiting around and getting mad.  But this one was way good.  We are going to teach his cousin this week and hopefully their families too.

So I talked about Ra* last week.  We went by every night this week but she wasn´t there.  We finally found her at home yesterday.  She is so ready she just doesn´t see it.  We invited her to start readying the BOM from the start last week.  SHE IS ON 1 NÈFI 7!!  And she is understanding it.  She says that she knows it is true.  She says it is the word of God.  I was trying to get her to see that because it is true the church is true but she just wasn´t seeing it.  She thinks that if you believe in Jesus you are saved.  She goes to a church called the assembly of God.  It is all over Brazil and the people that go there are so hard to teach because they have weird beliefs.

I invited her to be baptized for the 4th time and she said that she knows that she needs to be baptized it just isn´t her time yet.  She thinks that the church is ours.  I don´t even know what that means.  Seriously, she is just standing on the cliff of baptism with her toes hanging off and I just want to run up behind her and shove her off!  (how was that metaphor?? :)  I´m giving Saydi a run for her money:)  Elder P ended the lesson (I´m glad he did because we were getting nowhere with her) and after the lesson he said that he feels like she just needs time.  We are planning on teaching her the plan of salvation next WITH A MEMBER!

Speaking of lessons with members that is so sweet that you guys are going with the missionaries to the neighbors!  The sisters in our district are doing the same thing.  Just awesome.  And boy I would die to be one of those basketball players eating mom´s cooking.... DANG!  But that is alright because we are having a feast again today.  We are doing chicken again but we found boneless skinless chicken breasts!   So it is going to be way better.  We are going to make onion rings and french fries so that will be fun.

Any way back to Ra*.   She is just right there!  Every time we go there she says that the Book of  Mormon is true and that if the church is true (which it is) then God will tell her.  I don´t think she sees that God IS telling her... through the BOM.  So she is awesome.

And Dad, about the lessons.  With my other comps they would teach the whole thing, I would maybe say 4 sentences.  The same thing happened with Elder P and his other comp so coming into this companionship our teaching skills were not that good but we are way better now.  Everyday we try to practice teaching a lesson.  It is helping so much.  We are getting good.  And yes the spirit is in every one of our lessons because we are usually able to understand everything and they are able to understand us.

So on Saturday there was a music Christmas thing at the temple at 6 at night that all the missionaries in Manaus sang at.  Before we grabbed a bus to go we had planned to do contacting.  We do not like contacting but I´m starting to like it.  We just really don´t know what we are doing.  But we put our fear in our pockets and just did it.  Our first door..... the very FIRST DOOR!!  the guy let us in and we taught him the 1st.  He told us he would go to church.  He was so certain he was going to go..... but he didn´t.  ahhhh!   But we are going back this Saturday.  I´m excited.  I just couldn´t believe that our first door was a success!  So cool.  He lives a block away from the church and he said that the missionaries had already talked to him and he knew a little about J. Smith and the Livro de Mórmon.

So after that lesson we went to the temple.  We sang called to serve and joy to the world... like a medley and it was in Portuguese, English and Spanish!  Pretty cool.  The temple here is sooooooooo Pretttttttty!  So pretty.  We get to go on Wednesday so I´m pretty excited.  Tomorrow we have conferência de natal so that will be fun to.

Well I hope you enjoy the cold because we are enjoying the HEAT!  I love Manaus and I´m realizing how beautiful it is here and how much I LOVE the people and the food.  This week was just a good week.  Elder Pothier and I work together so well.  He is really helping me overcome my weaknesses, I love it.  He reminds me so much of Christian it is creepy some times.  We love to try to make new things.  This week we are doing french fries, onion ring and cookies.  Gonna be fun.

I love you all!  Have a Great last week of school/finals for Jrock and KindKatie!  til next week!

Tudo Bem

Elder Ostler

We are going to do what missionaries do

Família!!!

What a crazy awesome Week!   One of the best on the mission I would say.  We had an emergency transfer on Tuesday morning.  Elder O left and I got Elder Pothier!  He is an American and has the exact same time on the mission as me.  He was Elder Merricks comp in the MTC so I saw him in the MTC!  I don´t even know where to start but just know that I´m doing 100 times better! So I have a new comp,  and yes I was told not to tell my family certain things so I´m not telling you things because I was told not too.

He is 19 and from Mesa AZ.  He is seriously so cool I don´t even know where to start.  Our previous comps were similar in breaking rules and things.  One of the first things we talk about when we got together and he was unpacking at the house was the rules.  WE BOTH WANT TO KEEP THE RULES!  I´m seriously so grateful for him. I couldn´t have asked for a better comp.  We talked about how we had both noticed that this mission, the rules are not important.  He served in Maine for 3 weeks and he said the rules were almost  the most important thing! So coming here was a big shock for him.

My favorite part is that we just talk.  On Wednesday after lunch let´s just say I had some bathroom issues and we barley made it back to our house in time:)  we couldn't leave the house for fear of the bathroom issues coming back (which they did), so we just talked!  It was so great.  We talked all about our families.  His family is very similar to ours.  His parents are very big on work.  They taught him how to work.  He said his dad would just make up projects for them to do just to have some work to do.  He has 5 siblings and he is the second oldest, first missionary.  I love just talking to him.  We get along so well and we just see eye to eye on missionary work!  It is so great.

One hard thing is to just speak Portuguese.  My  language skills are a little bit better than his so I try to help him out.  We have two times where there is no English aloud. Morning study and nightly planning. This is our rule for nightly planning. For every word you say in English, we have to do 10 pushups!  It´s fun.  Usually when we get out of a lesson we are in Portuguese mode so we speak Portuguese.  That is another thing. Our lessons!   They are great!  We came from companions who love to talk so they would just give the whole lesson and we would just say a little part.  Elder O would always take the initiative and start the lesson but now we have to do it! The first lesson I was so scared but it actually went super great!   Before we go into a lesson we always know what we are going to teach and what part each of us is going to teach.  It is so nice.

I call Elder Pothier "coach"  because he seriously is my coach.  He is so happy all the time.  He has a ton of one lines like "make it an adventure." That is his motto about the mission.  He also says "Make it special."  Like when I told him it was my birthday on Friday he told me we needed to make it special.  So he made stuffed french toast for breakfast after our run.  It was like a french toast sandwich with cream cheese in the middle!  It was super good.  His family loves breakfast food so we are going to have some good breakfasts.  We already had pancakes, stuffed french toast and Jon's breakfast cake.  He is going to ask his mom how to make Swedish pancakes today.  I´m so excited for this transfer.

We go running every morning.... well we plan to but he has woken up sick a lot of the mornings. We have only been twice. But we are going running which I´m so grateful for. Oh yeah, back to the coach thing.  One thing that he tells me all the time is "believe in yourself."  Sometimes I just don't have confidence and I get scared.  He says I just need to believe in myself and do it.   He is so cool and he is helping me really become a great missionary.

So one thing that we realized is that we don´t know what we are doing.  We talked about this on our second day.  I'm the senior comp and I don't even know what I´m doing.  Right after we talk about this he looked at me and said "we do know what we are doing.  We are missionaries.  We are going to do what missionaries do."  It was just a realization that even if we don't know all the little details of what we are doing, we still KNOW what we are doing.    We are missionaries!

So we talk all the time.. it is like never quiet when we are in the house or walking down the street.  We tell stories of home or of our other transfers (he tells me about his 3 weeks in the US and boy it is DIFFERENT), and stuff like that.  We talk alot about our families.  One thing we realized and talked about is how much our moms taught us.  So I know this is so cliche but Mom, Thank you so much for EVERYTHING that you taught me.   I don´t know how I can ever repay you.

Another thing we talked about is how our dads taught us how to work.  During the summer his dad would make him a list of projects to do and he would do them. I told him about us cleaning rocks and he couldn't  believe that we actually cleaned rocks. Thank you so much dad for teaching me how to work, that is one thing that some of the missionaries don´t have in this mission.  Thank you soooooooooooo much MOM and DAD for everything you taught me.

Our baptism this week fell.  It was a boy and he is 10.  But it fell because we were going to baptize him Sunday night but their was a big stake youth thing at the stake center so all of our leadership was there.  We will baptize him this week.  One of our investigators, Ra* is awesome!  We are teaching her because she is the mother of a young man who wants to be baptized but right now she won´t let him.  Our last visit was crazy.  She said that she read the Book of Mormon and knows that it is the word of God and that it is true.  She still just hasn´t connected that with the church being restored through Joseph Smith.  Some people here have crazy beliefs.  I guess she doesn´t think that there is one true church.  She says all the time that "Jesus is in us" and that "the church is ours."  We are kind of at a dead end with her.  She is right on the edge. Elder P says that after every lesson with her "She is right on the edge!"  He is so funny when he says it.  She is waiting for God to pick her up and shake her and say "BE BAPTIZED!!"   We have a few thoughts on our next move with her but we are still uncertain.  SHE IS SO CLOSE!

I'm taking a lot more pride in our missionary work now.  Before it was just my comp doing it all but now it is US!!  We switch off teaching in the lessons which is great and during comp study (which we do!) we practice the lessons.  It helps so much.  We always get a picture to teach.  It is usually a picture of Jesus so when we start we say something like.  "Hi Jesus, we are here today to teach you about how your church was restored to the Earth."  Oh another one of Elder Pothier's sayings, "make it fun!"  We have so much fun all the time!   What is life if it is not fun?!

So this email is everywhere but Elder P looks like a cross between Derek Merkly and Ben Ostler ........ yes..... he is a stud and a pro at every sport known to man.  He played bball and volleyball in high school and can do anything else he wants too.  We tell each other how grateful for each other we are.  It is just a world of difference with him! We are happy!  He said the emergency transfer was an answer to his prayers too!  He is a lot like Christian. He loves to do crazy things and their is not much he is afraid of.  I could write a book just about how cool he is.  This morning he cleaned the house WITH me!  That is a first!

Sorry Jackson and Amanda if I don´t respond to your emails.  I loved them though! Thanks!   And Thank you so much for all of your prays for me and fasting. I have felt it so much this week! Thank you Thank You thank you.

I got my Birthday package the day after my birthday!  It was so great!  I forgot how good you were at stuffing a box mom.  We are going to make the meal today and I'm excited!  Thanks so much. My zone gives me crap for how much mail I get.  Our zone just got 15 letters and 10 of them were for me.  One of the sisters asked me who the girl was.  It was really funny!

So to answer your question I`M DOING GREAT!  I love you all and I think I've said everything I want to/have time for. I´m doing great and the Church is true!

Tudo Bem

Elder Ostler

Pockets of Joy

Oh Family,

I just have so many stinking emotions right now.  This week was crazy and today is already crazy.  And the worse part is that the site that I email president WON'T OPEN!!!!  Ahhhh!  I really want to know what he said but I have no way of knowing because it won´t load.  I'm just mad and alone and beat.  Sorry I´m complaining it was just kinda a hard week.  I don´t even know where to start. I guess I will just start with the comp.  So he read what I wrote to president last week for sure.  After we left the lan house he did not say a word.  It was pretty awkward that night at the house.  He was not happy.

. . . . . .But it did have it´s pockets of joy.  Like on Monday was one of the sisters in our districts birthday.  We have district meeting on Tuesday so we planned with the other sisters and the ZLs to have a surprise birthday for her at the meeting.  I made brownies which I´m not going to lie were really good.  One of the ZLs made cinnamon roles except he used coconut instead of cinnamon.  They were good.  So that was fun.  Then on Friday night after we got back from Manaú, walking, I was really down and tired.  I was soooooo homesick and just sad. I can´t even explain it. At the ward activity it was just a bunch of youth and a few adults.  None of our investigators could come which was disappointing.  Afterwards we were going to have a game.  T was in charge of the game but he forgot to plan something so I taught every one how to play "Eu nunca" or for you English speakers, "I never."  It was really fun and everyone enjoyed it.  So those were my pockets of fun.

Oh we also had a baptism this week which was a miracle baptism.  We met Luiggy on Saturday night.  He is the cousin of one of the young women in our ward.  We went to her house to teach her brother but he was busy so we taught her cousin. He is 16. We started teaching the gospel of Christ.  We stared talking about Faith in Christ and he told us he didn´t believe in the bible!  What!  Everybody in Manaus believes in the bible!  THEN HE TOLD US HE DIDN’T BELIEVE IN JESUS!  WHAT!  It was crazy.  I was just thinking what do we do now.   We kept teaching.  By the end of the lesson we challenged him to be baptized.  The spirit was so strong. He accepted and we baptized him yesterday.  Two days ago Luiggy didn´t believe in Jesus Christ and now he is a member of His church.  Miracles do happen.  I cannot believe that that happened!  Just can´t believe it.

The site still isn´t opening.  I just want to talk to president!  I think when I´m done with this email  I´m going to send this and then move computers to see if that helps.

So here is something interesting that happened when we got here.  The ZLs called and talked to my companion.  He never tells me what is going on when he gets off the phone.  He just expects me to know. Then he gets annoyed when I ask him what is going on. Anyway back to today.  I heard him say in the conversation something about music and the email from president. When he was done I asked him what that was about.  He said it was about what president said in the email to the missionaries this week.  President Klein sends a little something personal to each missionary and then sends a general something that he just copies and pastes to all of the emails. So I haven´t looked yet (because I can´t) but I think that President said something about the missionaries listening to music!  Finally!  I will let you know when I find out.  I just don´t know what else to say.  I really want to move computers to get on the email with president.  So I´m going to do that.  I will email more.  Love you.  Be right back.

Elder Ostler

"Welcome my hearts"

Família!

Manaus is great!  I´m really starting to enjoy it.  I love the food here but I will get to that later.  You are probably dying to know what happened last week...  Well mom you where almost right.  I was sitting there chatting you and my comp was slowly working on his email to Pres.  I was sitting there and I had the email page open to email president Klein.  Then....  our computers shut off,  JUST OURS!!!  There are 9 computers in this little lan house and ours are the only two that shut off.  I think that somehow they both got unplugged.  Well we got them turned back on and got on the internet but it wouldn´t let me access the missionary stuff like my email and the site I use to email president.  So I couldn´t talk to you or president.  While Elder O e-mailed president I read conference talks.  It was great. I love Elder Dubes talk.  So I wasn´t able to email president last week.  But I just emailed him.

So about the talk with my companion....  it wasn´t like a sit down and talk for 20 mins, it more happened over the course of the week. I will explain.  So on Tuesday night  as before we planned I asked him "do you think it is important to wake up at 6:30?"  He kind of laughed and said "you are trying to get into my head." When ever I bring it up or just keeping the rules in general he just tries to avoid the question and push it off because he knows he isn´t keeping the rules.  I told him he needed to wake up at 6:30. He said he would but if he didn´t not to wake him up..... how does that make sense.  So pretty much he told me that he wasn´t going to wake up.

Wednesday Morning.  He didn´t wake up at 6:30.  Guess what time his feet hit the floor....... 11:39!   Yeah, we missed our appointment.  It was pretty bad.

That night before I went to bed I got serious with him and said, "Elder, you need to wake up at 6:30."  He walked into the kitchen and around the corner where I couldn't see him.  He was trying to ignore me.  I just waited there in silence.  He looked around the corner to see if I had left yet.  He was trying to be funny and joke around but I wasn´t going to take that. I said "when you don´t wake up, you don´t do personal study and we don´t do comp study.  Will you wake up at 6:30?"  He told me that he would but he asked me not to try to wake him up. We didn´t do comp study once.  On Friday we missed another appointment in the morning.  I tried to wake him up.

Another thing that I´ve been trying to deal with is his Pride.  I love Elder O and we have so much fun together and we love each other but sometimes....  Like at night during planning we will be thinking of people we can go see.  I will say "Let´s go see Maria at 5."  He says no because she is not going to be there.  Then about 2 minutes later he says  "Put Maria down for 5:00"  What?!?!  You just shot that idea down.  I used to get really annoyed.  Stuff like this happens all day.  My opinion doesn´t really matter to him.  Like during the day he will change our plans like go see someone that we don´t have marked till later which is totally fine, but when I suggest we change plans he just looks at me like I´m crazy.  And it is not just him saying no it is him asking me why I would even think that.  Just treating me like I´m an idiot.

. . . . . there was a point where he said something and I just stopped talking. I was just done with him.  He asked what was wrong. I said nothing.  He asked again. I figured it would be best just to tell him.  I said "the way you talk to me is so.........." I didn´t know the word for demeaning in Portuguese.  After a little he said "rude?"  (it is the same in English and Portuguese)  I said yes, rude.  He said sorry and then we talked for an hour.  It was a much needed talk.  It wasn´t all about how rude and selfish he is it was just us talking.  It was good.  That night I realized something. When I think that he is selfish and prideful, I´m actually the one being prideful.  I´m seeing the bad in him and thinking that I am right and he is wrong.  I´ve been praying for the gift of selflessness.  I´ve been trying so hard not to think of all the bad.

OK there you go.  There is my Elder O rant for the transfer.

So remember the family we baptized last week?  Well we went over there a lot this week and talked to them.  Like I said their grandma is always there.  I love her so much.  She loves us too!  Whenever we go over she always says "Oh Glory to God! Welcome my hearts!" (yes she calls us her hearts) then she gives us a hug and kisses our chests.  I love her.  This week we wanted to challenge her to be baptized. So we did.  What she said just touched my heart.  Elder O asked if she would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized.  She said, "Preciso falar com papai do ceu sobre isso"  =  "I need to talk with my Father in Heaven (the literal translation is 'daddy in heaven') about this."  It was so amazing to hear her say that.  She was serious too.  She was not going to bet baptized till "Papai do Ceu" told her too. Unfortunately when we came back two days later she told us that she had already been baptized.  She is old and forgets alot because she also told us that she would get baptized.  So we will still work on her but as of right now it is looking like a no go for her.

One thing that I have been so blessed with is the gift of tongues.  That was the ONE thing that I was most worried about going into the mission.  Remember the night before I entered the MTC and how nervous I was to learn Portuguese.  I remember just being so nervous to learn and afraid that I would´t be able to speak it.  But the Lord has blessed me so much with the language!  When Elder Scott came and spoke to us in the MTC he blessed all of the missionaries that were learning a different language with the gift of tongues.... TWICE!!!  I have felt it so much.

I´m able to talk with Elder O with little difficulty.  And I´m also overcoming my fear of talking with adults.  Talking with jovens doesn´t bother me but when I talk with adults I just like freeze up and can´t remember anything.  It is horrible.  But I´m getting better at it.  It is great!  Also last Tuesday we taught a 13 year old girl who was a reference from the bishops daughter.  I taught about prophets the first vision and the Book of Mormon.  My Portuguese was so good!  I used verb tenses that I hardly even know or use!! I didn´t have to sit there and try to translate words in my head, they just came!  It was such a testimony builder to me that I am being blessed with o dom de linguás.  I am so blessed in that aspect of the work.   Thank you for your prays I really feel them.

Ok so now I will answer some of your questions:)

Yeah we get the liahona every month and we can get it in English too which is nice.  I realize now how amazing the liahona and Ensign are.  Living prophets writing to us! Why wouldn´t you read that?!?  Why didn´t I read that?!? Wish I would have.

Jefferson that is sweet you got asked to the dance!  And about . . . . . don´t let it get to you.  If you every get down because of it just think of your family!!! Our family is AWESOME!!!  Just go play with the W or Benson or give Jackson or Amanda a call. Our family is so cool.  That is one thing I am realizing out here.

Last night we were at the bishops house to leave them and another family a message and I shared Mosiah 2:5.  I talked about the importance of families.  It was great because the whole time I was just thinking about how awesome MY FAMILY is!!!  (after the message we had açaí...... nectar from the Gods!!  You know those chocolate covered things you get form Costco with pomegranate and açaí?  Well it is nothing like that.  It is a drink... like a smoothy.  I love it so much!  The bishop always has some at his house.  The only place they drink it is here in the amazon.)   So just remember that.  And also good luck with Basketball!  I´ve been praying so hard that you will make the team!  And I know you will.  You´re Jefferson Ostler for crying in a bucket.

I won´t open the letters till Christmas.  I know.  That is horrible about the Philippines and about Sister M.  I saw her almost every day in the MTC.  Our schedules where very similar.  That is horrible.  I think about that a lot.  About how accepted we are here and about how no body gives us a bad time.  I need to be more grateful for that. Also could you send me Christian´s mission home address.

I´m so glad you got the letters.  I´ve been worried about that for a while.  I gave them to our ZLs a while ago to send.  I´m glad you got them.  It does seem like a long time ago.  I think back on my first transfer and it seems like it was a long time ago.  I don´t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing or just a neutral thing.

Let´s see.... anything else.  I think that is about it.  Oh yeah,,, FOOD!!! I love the food here!  We ate at the bishops house this week and it was so good.  I love farofa! And that is funny what you said about how Americans eat it plain and don´t like it because I love it plain!  It is so good!  I think it is second right behind açaí :)  

I love you all!  till next week 

Tudo Bem 

Elder Ostler

I just love being a missionary

Ostler Lawn & Garden in Brasil!!!!
I found this sitting in the church and just couldn't resist.

Família!

Holy Questions!  but I love questions because I like telling you guys about the things that you want to know.  This week was good.  It definitely had its ups and downs but it wasn´t overall terrible.  During the morning and day it is still hard at times and I miss you guys like crazy!  But at night I feel great!  When we get home I just love being a missionary and I tell myself that I can do this.  It is still hard but I´m just getting used to the hardness of it.  What really get´s me homesick is when I think about the weather there... It is like you guys are in a totally different world.  I don’t know why.  It might just be because this is the holiday season and I´m used to the holiday season being cold. People have Christmas trees up here and it is just so weird to see them in the middle of the day when it is so hot.  That probably made no sense but it´s how I´m feeling.

No one from my MTC district has made it here yet.  It is only me, the elder that I traveled with and the other elder who left for the Brazil MTC on the first week in the Provo MTC.  There  are couples from the states.... I think.  But we never see them. They don´t work in the office. I think that they actually proselyte just like regular missionaries.   They have elders in the office.  4 secretaries and 2 AP´s.  But  right now we have 6 APs!!!!!  3 companionships!  Elder O told me that at one time they have 8!  You know why?  Well you said it in your email.... MISSÃO BRASIL MANAUS È ENORME!!!!!  It is so big!  But most of the missionaries are in the city of Manaus. There are 9 stakes with like 8 wards in each. The mission covers 4 states. Amazonas, Roidona, Roraima, e Acre.  I´m not sure what the farthest area is but it is far.  Some of the areas require a 2 day boat ride to get there!  Most of the interiors don´t have the church established yet.    Anyway, back to the APs.  President Klein can call as many as he wants.  When I got here there were only 2 but now he has 6. They travel alot  to do trainings and stuff like that.

NO SCHOOL!  Last night when we were planning I was looking at the date and thinking ``Novembro 11, Novembro 11, that is something.  Something happens on that date.... veterans date!!``  I hope all of you have so much fun today in that cold weather of yours.  I love that picture!  That is so sweet!  Aubrey and Alex are one of a kind (in a good way:)  That is  crazy awesome and yes that means birthday.  It also means anniversary.  I just can´t get over how sweet that is.  So cool.  I hope your birthday was sooo much fun Jefferson!  I was thinking about you!  It was Elder O´s sister´s birthday too!  I was going to make the peanut butter cookies that you sent to celebrate our irmãos birthdays but I didn´t have time.  I might make them today.  And yes I got the dear elders from James and Mitch.  It was awesome to hear from them.

So Ca*....   we didn´t see her this week.  Every time we went past her house she was gone!  Even when her aunt said she would be back she was gone.  And her phone was broken this week so we couldn´t call her but it is working now.  She didn’t come to church.  But she is our focus this week!

So just some random stuff.  

Dad, about the age thing again.  When people want to know how old I am I tell them to guess.  The youngest I´ve ever gotten is 20!!  I´ve gotten as high as 27!  It is crazy!  when I tell them I´m 18 they just look at me in disbelief!  It is pretty funny. Also one of our investigators told me I look like Rocky Baboa!  kkkkkkkkk 

Also I had liver this week!  We got money for lunch one day this week so we just went to one of the self-service places.  I think I already mentioned this.  It is usually like R$10 and you get to load your plate with as much rice, noodles, beans and meat as you can.  So I was just taking what I though was steak.  When I bit into it, it did not taste like steak.  It didn´t have the same fibers.  I looked at the shape and realized that it was liver!  My comp confirmed my thought.  I ate 3 of them because they were already on my plate.  They weren´t terrible but they weren´t good either. A weird meat that is for sure. 

Elder Greenwood, one of the secretaries, told me that I get more mail than any other of the missionaries!  He does the mail everyday and he says that I get a lot. And I do!  I love it!  I got a letter this week form Saydi.  Wow she is amazing.  I was thinking about what you sent me last week about the letter that Ben got from Saydi and how it spoke right to his heart and I was thinking that maybe her letter to me would do the same for me.  The Sunday before I got the letter I was fasting that I would be able to become the missionary that the Lord wants me to become. Like I said, I´ve been thinking alot about becoming a great missionary and how I´m going to do it.  This is a quote from her letter. ``You will be the missionary you want to be if you just keep going and don´t quite.``  When I read that I just couldn´t believe it. She might not have known that I needed that but I did.  It is such a simple sentence but it was so powerful at the time.  I just read it over and over again in disbelief that she had written that.  She is truly an amazing missionary.  She is saying that I need to apply to my life what we tell our investigators to apply to their lives... Preservar até o fim - Endure to the End.  Just keep going and don´t quite. She is amazing.

So about my comp now.  He is an amazing missionary.  He loves to baptize.  One of his strengths is finding people to teach.  He is seriously sooooo goooood at this. When ever we talk to anyone, member or nonmember, he ALWAYS asks about their families and if they are all members.   If they aren´t, then we make plans to visit them.  It is hard to explain how he does it... he just does.  Like we are trying to teach this one family but they never have time to hear the lessons.  One day we went by to see if we could teach but we couldn´t.  He saw a teenage girl walk past and asked who it was.  They said it was their niece.  He asked where she lived.  She lived next door. We went and knocked on the door of her house and marked an appointment to come back and teach.  Just stuff like that.  His eyes are always open for people to teach.  It is great.

One thing that he still needs to work on is getting up on time!!  Every morning I get up and go do exercises and make so much noise.  I come into the room and tell him to get up but he never does.  And no there has really been nothing said about this rule in any meeting.  That is funny what the missionary who used to be here said about actually keeping the rules.  Last night the ZLs called us at 12:30 just to say good night!  That 6:30 rule is so important.  If you don´t wake up at 6:30, you are scrambling to be ready at 8 to study.

And Dad about his English. He knows a little and he wants to learn more.  He plans on going to BYU after the mission.  He knows most of the common verbs but not much.  He can read English and translate like 60% of it into Portuguese.  But he can't speak it very well. I teach him a little during language study.   He reads the missionary handbook in English too.  His accent is so funny!!!  All Brazilians have funny accents when they speak English.  They have a hard time with `th`  and words that start with `w` and words that end in `t`or ´d´. It is so funny sometimes.  But I'm sure that the people here laugh at me too for having a funny accent.

One thing that I thought was funny is that he had a hard time telling the difference between `hour`and álways` when I say them, he says that they just sound the same.  And when he says them... they almost do sound the same.  In Portuguese (and spanish) they have one word for the verbs `to do` and `to make.` Last night I was trying to explain to him when to use to do and when to use to make.

So like a mentioned, we went to a different area on Saturday to do interviews.  The area borders our area but I felt like I was in a totally different country!  There was a subway and a McDonalds!  The main street we were walking down was clean and it was lined with super nice clothes stores!  It felt like I was in America for a second. Seeing that subway was sweet!!

So about the heat on Sunday.  I don´t really know if it was really hot because we were inside most of the day.   But I think it was hot.  It is always hot.  Even when it is raining it is hot.  And I was going to ask you what your phone says the weather is down here.  The raining season is starting so it rains EVERYDAY.   There are 2 times of the day that it usually rains.  In the morning at about 10 and in the evening at about 4-6.  Everyday.  But the weather is always changing.  It can be sunny and hot and 5 minutes later it is pouring!  So on you phone does it just say that it rains everyday?  Because I´m pretty sure it is always raining somewhere in Manaus.  At night, if it is not raining and thundering right above you, you can usually look around and find a storm somewhere on the horizon.  The thunder here is cool.  It is just a super low rumble sound that last forever... unless it is right above you.  Then it sounds like glass shattering and it just shakes you!

Here is our Família Eleita.  The mom is right next to Elder O.  She is the only one in the picture that didn´t get baptized.  The boy in front isn´t in a jumpsuit because we didn´t have enough. So after Junior (the other little one) was baptized, he put that one on.  It was such a joyeous moment when they were baptized!!

Sunday was a great day!  We had 5 baptisms!  We found them on Tuesday and we baptized them yesterday!!  The Lord is truly preparing these people.  So it is kind of a complicated story.  It is a family but we didn´t baptize all of them.  The parents aren't married so we only baptized the kids this week.  The family lives behind their grandma´s house in a alley type thing.  We taught them on Wednesday.  It was the mom, the 5 kids (one is 7 so we didn´t baptize her), and the grandma who is the dad´s mom.  She is a piece of work.  She always say stuff like `gloria a Dues`and stuff like that.  She loves us and gives us a big hug and kisses our chest every time we come and leave.  We didn´t baptize her this week but we are planning to baptize her this coming week.

The dad had just got back from work so he was back behind the house doing something.  As we where teaching, the dad´s sister walked into the room.  Her name is J* and she is 23.  My comp invited her to listen to our message.  After we taught the lesson (Doctrine of Christ) we invited them to be baptized. They all accepted.  We explained to the mom that she couldn´t be baptized till her and her husband were married.  She got up and went out to the back were her husband was. She came back a couple of minutes later and told us that she had just talked to her husband and she said that they were going to be married so they can be baptized too!!! She is absolutely amazing.  She can´t read or write but she has so much faith. She also loves her kids and always jokes around with them. They are such an amazing family.

On Thursday when we taught the first lesson and after we explained the Book of Mormon and gave them some and invited them to read, Elder O started to fill out the baptismal forms with all the info of the person on them.  J*, the aunt of the kids, opened the Book of Mormon and started reading.  In the mission, they are what we call Eleitos, just an amazing family.  The only challenge might be converting the dad. When we first met them, the mom told us that he doesn´t like the Mormon church because he thinks that we are like other churches that have a band shout and hoot and yell and talk in tongues.  But he is slowly warming up to us.

I´m so excited to get them married but I don´t know if I will still be here to see the marriage and baptism.  Transfers are in 3 weeks.  That is just about the time it takes to get all the paper work done and I´m questioning whether I will stay here.  My comp tells me that president rarely leaves you in an area for more than 2 transfers. But there is hope because Elder M was here for 4 transfers.

The baptism was great.  We do the baptisms right after church but they hadn´t been interviewed yet.  Elder O told me that he had permission from the ZLs to interview them.  So an hour and a half after church ended we had the baptism.  Elder O let me baptize them.  It was great!  But the water was pretty dirty because the drain in the font isn´t working.  But I guess it wasn´t really that dirty because in some of the areas here they baptize in the river!

After the baptism we had lunch at the house of................. the CAMARGOS!!!!!!  Do you remember them?  They are the ones that live in the super nice apartment and that speak English.  We had nachos!  They had just flew in from America the day before so Irmã Camargo had brought some goods.  It was funny because my comp had never seen salsa or tortilla chips before.  Then for dessert we had 3 leites cake with ice cream with raspberry sauce!  I ATE SO MUCH FOOD!!!  I was in pain by the end of the meal because I ate so much.  I think the only time that I have ever been fuller is when Bishop Robertson made the Priests Hamburgers! :)  So it was a great Sunday!

Wow it is just so weird that you guys have to put on a jacket when you go outside.  I hope you all have fun today picking your nose.... I mean apples and doing other fun things.  I love you all.

I´m doing great.  Yes it is still hard and I miss you guys like crazy but I´m starting to love Brazil and the culture and the food and the PEOPLE!  Last night when we got home we decided to up our goal for baptisms for the transfer.  Last night I was just in a baptizing mood.  We went over the people that we are going to focus on to baptize this week and I was just so excited to do it!  I know that this is THE Church of Jesus Christ and that He is at the head leading us.  I know that the Book of Mormon has the power to convert people through the Holy Ghost.  I know that baptism is the first step that people must take to return to live with our Heavenly Father and that is my purpose here in Brazil.....MILHARES PARA BATIZAR!!!

Tudo Bem 

Elder Ostler