Happy Monday Everybody!
I hope that everyone is doing well on their post-(and soon to be pre-)wedding craze! Urime and Trashgofshi to Carley and Sam whatever your last name is now! Also congratulations to Carley who has a piece of paper telling her that she is smart! That is always a plus. (Sometimes I write up little sticky notes that say I am smart and put them places, it's a real moral booster. Someone tells you that you are a skilled metal worker and it really helps you through the day.)
This past week had some really good stuff going down. A big one was for Saimir. He has been investigating for about 8 months now and last week I believe that I mentioned we put him on a baptismal date. President Ford was going to be down in Fier for an interview on Sunday and so we asked Saimir if he would be interviewed then. He looked at us and said "I guess now is the time to take a leap." When we first set him for a date we said the 17th of May. Then on Monday the Botts (the senior couple here) asked if we could move it to the 10th because they will be ending their mission on the 15th. However when Saimir was in the interview with President Ford they decided that he would get baptized on the 3rd, so it is happening this week! He has it tough, but he thinks that this could be the change he needs in his life right now. Me too. Florjan might also be getting baptized this week, but we might push that back a week because he is not quite ready. We will see what goes down.
Enxhi also got baptized this week! I was talking to Elder Jorgensen about it and he said that right after he actually baptized her they were just kind of standing there in the water and everybody started clapping. I guess his trainee started clapping too and he was like, "no Elder, you can't do that!" Oh, funny people!
We started up English course about a week and a half ago and it started rough! There are a lot of recent convert priest-age young men in Fier and they really enjoy making noise. However this past week, though it wasn't perfect, was much better. We have some really promising investigators coming out of it right now and I will write more about that as they develop more.
On about Tuesday or Wednesday last week we street-contacted this blind lady named Ina and her friend. She told us we could come over and on Friday we took over Lavdosh (a 39-year-old recent convert) and met them. Ina believes in God a lot and was super positive during our lesson. We began to go through the Message of the Restoration and it was going well. Lavdosh was talking about Joseph Smith and just kind of took the reigns from there somehow finishing off that lesson as well as laying out the steps of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and discussing the Plan of Salvation in probably about 7 minutes. It was impressive. They both (Ina and her friend) expressed desire to be baptized, so we are hoping to help them down that path.
Elder Simons and I are doing well. He sometimes gets a bit frustrated about his language because he can't always express what he wants to, but he is doing well. We have to travel up to Lushnje sometimes to do baptismal interviews (about 30 minutes away) which can be a bit of a bother, but it's all good because people are getting baptized!
This past week in my scriptures I was re-looking at two scripture stories that parallel each other. One of them is the story of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 4&6). The other is the story of Lehonti (Alma 47:1-18). These two stories are so similar until one point. Nehemiah and his men were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and when the adversaries come to bid him stop he, "sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down." Lehonti sat upon the top of the mountain with his men "being fixed in the minds with a determined resolution that they would not [come down]." A messenger times unto Nehemiah asking him to come down from his labors and with each time he became more resolute, his workers having one hand wrought in the work and the other ready to defend. Lehonti was called three times by Amalikiah to come down the mountain and talk. He refuses. Amalikiah then goes up to the camp and says that he just needed to come out a little bit and could even bring his guards, he consents. Nehemiah victoriously helps his people rebuild the walls of his city and succeed in their fight. Lehonti leaves his safety, and eventually is poisoned by degrees and dies. Check those chapters out, there is a lot more story than I shared. However, these, for me, are an incredible example of the importance of enduring and never taking our sights from our course. How often do we allow ourselves to come down just a little bit thinking that we have our guards and all will be safe. We must stay on top of the wall and, like Nehemiah, ask, "why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" We are doing a great work and cannot come down.
Well, I love you family and hope that you are doing great! Have a wonderful week and good luck on your conics test Brigham (that is some good stuff, but I hope it is in polar because the Cartesian conics are rough).
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
P.S. Start thinking about this (because I just thought about it on Sunday), but Mother's Day is on the 11th, I believe one day after Alex and Rachel's wedding, so it would be good to get some feedback on timing.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
#41 Monday, April 21, 2014
Dear Family,
How is it going!? If you do indeed find time to read this letter this week amidst the whole "my sister is getting married" stuff, I hope that you are having a swell time. That is so crazy. Whaddya do, crazy stuff happens some times.
But hey, this last week was a good week. We weren't getting all the lessons we wanted or hitting all of our goals, but, we did do something, and we did effect someone. So that's good.
A couple good successes. Saimir is now on a baptismal date again. He his previously been on at least one date before, but stuff happened and he is still thoroughly dry. We had a lesson with him on Saturday where we brought out a talk from President Monson relating the Cheshire Cat's words to Alice to his situation with baptism. He told us he wanted to be baptized, but he had to be totally sure about it first. We told him that he of course cannot be baptized before he is actually ready, but that in order to even get there he must have a goal in mind. That goal was a baptismal date. We also tried to overcome his thought about being totally sure by talking about Zeno's paradox. I learned it in my Philosophy class (as well as the movie I.Q.) and it is a good way of showing that at some point in our faith travels we have to talk a leap. He accepted finally and here's hoping!
Another good success was with an inactive family called the Ahmetis. They haven't been in something like 8 years and feel totally abandoned by the church. Our first meeting with them 2 weeks ago was basically them venting their anger on us. This last week though we went over and it was much better. I think that their trust in us is improving and we are sure hoping to help them see the beauty of the Gospel light again. It might take some time though.
This doesn't really count as a success, but it kind of made my day. On Saturday we were out street contacting and this girl came up and tapped me on the shoulder. I was kind of weirded out but turned around and said hi. She asked if we had church the next day, where it was, and what time it was. We told her (because those are questions we like to answer). She was just like "I'll be there". Then she booked it out of there. She didn't even just run across the street, she ran until she was out of sight. We laughed pretty hard about it. However, we didn't see her in church which was a shame. Maybe next week.
I was able to speak in church on Sunday along with the 3 other missionaries who recently came to Fier. Preparing for a talk on the Savior was such a blessing. Man. What an incredible gift bearing testimony is. I mean, we get to do it all the time as missionaries, but still bearing testimony is so great. Also, Enxhi came to church here in Fier with her sister and should probably be getting baptized on Saturday! That is way exciting.
I have been working really hard this week on being happier. I think that I mentioned that I was going to be doing something like that last week. It really has made a difference. Being happy is so good. Sometimes it is really hard to start and often difficult to keep up. However, it is sure happier than being melancholy or even just content. Having high highs sets you up for low lows, but they are worth it and are always made up for if we continue to be honest seekers of happiness like Ammon. If you aren’t happy, start taking those steps to change it. It matters.
Well hey family, I hope that you have such a good day and week. Don't go too crazy. The Church is true. Christ is the Savior. He did what the good books say He did, and he did it for you and for me. Love you lots!
Elder Ostergaard
How is it going!? If you do indeed find time to read this letter this week amidst the whole "my sister is getting married" stuff, I hope that you are having a swell time. That is so crazy. Whaddya do, crazy stuff happens some times.
But hey, this last week was a good week. We weren't getting all the lessons we wanted or hitting all of our goals, but, we did do something, and we did effect someone. So that's good.
A couple good successes. Saimir is now on a baptismal date again. He his previously been on at least one date before, but stuff happened and he is still thoroughly dry. We had a lesson with him on Saturday where we brought out a talk from President Monson relating the Cheshire Cat's words to Alice to his situation with baptism. He told us he wanted to be baptized, but he had to be totally sure about it first. We told him that he of course cannot be baptized before he is actually ready, but that in order to even get there he must have a goal in mind. That goal was a baptismal date. We also tried to overcome his thought about being totally sure by talking about Zeno's paradox. I learned it in my Philosophy class (as well as the movie I.Q.) and it is a good way of showing that at some point in our faith travels we have to talk a leap. He accepted finally and here's hoping!
Another good success was with an inactive family called the Ahmetis. They haven't been in something like 8 years and feel totally abandoned by the church. Our first meeting with them 2 weeks ago was basically them venting their anger on us. This last week though we went over and it was much better. I think that their trust in us is improving and we are sure hoping to help them see the beauty of the Gospel light again. It might take some time though.
This doesn't really count as a success, but it kind of made my day. On Saturday we were out street contacting and this girl came up and tapped me on the shoulder. I was kind of weirded out but turned around and said hi. She asked if we had church the next day, where it was, and what time it was. We told her (because those are questions we like to answer). She was just like "I'll be there". Then she booked it out of there. She didn't even just run across the street, she ran until she was out of sight. We laughed pretty hard about it. However, we didn't see her in church which was a shame. Maybe next week.
I was able to speak in church on Sunday along with the 3 other missionaries who recently came to Fier. Preparing for a talk on the Savior was such a blessing. Man. What an incredible gift bearing testimony is. I mean, we get to do it all the time as missionaries, but still bearing testimony is so great. Also, Enxhi came to church here in Fier with her sister and should probably be getting baptized on Saturday! That is way exciting.
I have been working really hard this week on being happier. I think that I mentioned that I was going to be doing something like that last week. It really has made a difference. Being happy is so good. Sometimes it is really hard to start and often difficult to keep up. However, it is sure happier than being melancholy or even just content. Having high highs sets you up for low lows, but they are worth it and are always made up for if we continue to be honest seekers of happiness like Ammon. If you aren’t happy, start taking those steps to change it. It matters.
Well hey family, I hope that you have such a good day and week. Don't go too crazy. The Church is true. Christ is the Savior. He did what the good books say He did, and he did it for you and for me. Love you lots!
Elder Ostergaard
Monday, April 14, 2014
#40 Monday, April 14, 2014
Hey family!
First full week in Fier has done been done. I am feeling a bit better about the work here than I was a week ago, but it still feels like there is a ton that we still need to sink our teeth into.
It is so crazy, I was thinking about how back in high school I was considered the most optimistic in my senior class and everything, but out here in the field I have found it so much harder to keep enduring cheer that seemed so effortless then. Maybe it was because I just didn't really have the trials that we have as missionaries. Whatever it was, I was thinking last night as I said my prayer how I just haven't been finding in myself the piece of sunshine that I really used to see in myself. And I want to change that. So, that is that is the plan. This little light of mine is a-gonna shine.
But, anyways, this week was a great week! Saimir -- well I guess a little background on him. He has been taught for months by previous elders and is a really good guy. He is an English teacher and has recently been through a really difficult divorce. His wife is making it really hard for him to see his two daughters which is really hard on him. However, he has found peace in the Gospel (which he doubts sometimes) and we are really trying to help him progress. We taught him how to fast this week and he just did it which was awesome! He really feels the Spirit, and now he just needs to grab on and trust in the Lord. Florian read from the Book of Mormon finally! It was awesome and we are just really hoping to see him continue down the road of progression now. I think the Gospel still is just a for fun kind of thing for him, but we'll work to help him use his agency in the right way. Long-suffering and persuasion, it's like the hokey-pokey, that's what it's all about. Fuat was an investigator we found street contacting and he is doing well and tells us he believes that the church and Book of Mormon are true...but I think he isn't quite understanding the "only true church" thing. However, line upon line and precept upon precept we hope he will learn and come to a deeper understanding.
One big part of missionary work that we hadn't really noticed before was recent convert lessons. We are doing a good number of those this transfer. There are a lot of recently baptized 18-year-old or so boys in Fier and that makes for interesting church meetings. I think being a missionary is definitely the closest thing that I have experienced so far to how I look at being a father. You just really work your hardest to love the members and investigators and then when they do dumb things or just don't do the things that you know are best for them you are somewhere between frustrated, loving, and aaaaaaah! and well, that is just how it rolls. However, when they do something really good you are just so excited for them and it is just the best. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Elder Simons is doing well. He isn't really shell-shocked by the surroundings at all because I guess Israel is pretty similar. One thing that I have definitely learned about learning a language is it is hard to tell if you are really getting any better at all until someone comes in without a whole lot of experience. So one definite plus of this transfer is knowing that I have indeed been learning at least a little bit of this language over the last little bit.
Here are a couple pictures. The first one is Elder Simons and I right after we were put together. The second is a plate of deep fried frog. My lunch today.
Well, I love you so much and sure hope that you are having such a wonderful day! Excited and weirdly crazy feelings in the direction of Carley and Sam! Urime! Keep it real and don't do anything I wouldn't do.
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
First full week in Fier has done been done. I am feeling a bit better about the work here than I was a week ago, but it still feels like there is a ton that we still need to sink our teeth into.
It is so crazy, I was thinking about how back in high school I was considered the most optimistic in my senior class and everything, but out here in the field I have found it so much harder to keep enduring cheer that seemed so effortless then. Maybe it was because I just didn't really have the trials that we have as missionaries. Whatever it was, I was thinking last night as I said my prayer how I just haven't been finding in myself the piece of sunshine that I really used to see in myself. And I want to change that. So, that is that is the plan. This little light of mine is a-gonna shine.
But, anyways, this week was a great week! Saimir -- well I guess a little background on him. He has been taught for months by previous elders and is a really good guy. He is an English teacher and has recently been through a really difficult divorce. His wife is making it really hard for him to see his two daughters which is really hard on him. However, he has found peace in the Gospel (which he doubts sometimes) and we are really trying to help him progress. We taught him how to fast this week and he just did it which was awesome! He really feels the Spirit, and now he just needs to grab on and trust in the Lord. Florian read from the Book of Mormon finally! It was awesome and we are just really hoping to see him continue down the road of progression now. I think the Gospel still is just a for fun kind of thing for him, but we'll work to help him use his agency in the right way. Long-suffering and persuasion, it's like the hokey-pokey, that's what it's all about. Fuat was an investigator we found street contacting and he is doing well and tells us he believes that the church and Book of Mormon are true...but I think he isn't quite understanding the "only true church" thing. However, line upon line and precept upon precept we hope he will learn and come to a deeper understanding.
One big part of missionary work that we hadn't really noticed before was recent convert lessons. We are doing a good number of those this transfer. There are a lot of recently baptized 18-year-old or so boys in Fier and that makes for interesting church meetings. I think being a missionary is definitely the closest thing that I have experienced so far to how I look at being a father. You just really work your hardest to love the members and investigators and then when they do dumb things or just don't do the things that you know are best for them you are somewhere between frustrated, loving, and aaaaaaah! and well, that is just how it rolls. However, when they do something really good you are just so excited for them and it is just the best. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Elder Simons is doing well. He isn't really shell-shocked by the surroundings at all because I guess Israel is pretty similar. One thing that I have definitely learned about learning a language is it is hard to tell if you are really getting any better at all until someone comes in without a whole lot of experience. So one definite plus of this transfer is knowing that I have indeed been learning at least a little bit of this language over the last little bit.
Here are a couple pictures. The first one is Elder Simons and I right after we were put together. The second is a plate of deep fried frog. My lunch today.
Well, I love you so much and sure hope that you are having such a wonderful day! Excited and weirdly crazy feelings in the direction of Carley and Sam! Urime! Keep it real and don't do anything I wouldn't do.
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
Monday, April 7, 2014
#39 Starting Fresh-ish
Monday, April 7, 2014
First week here in Fier! Well, I guess partial week. Elder Clawson and I were companions for a days and bounced around between Fier, Lushnje, and Tirana before we got our new companions and got to know the area a bit and the such. There used to be 2 sets of missionaries here (2 Elders and 2 Sisters) and now there are three sets of us. We are opening up an area, but Elder Morava has been good about passing over some work so that we can start with our feet firmly planted. It is kind of weird, this is the first time coming into an area with work to do, I sure am hoping and praying we don’t screw it up! Fier is much smaller than Tirana (along with every other city in Albania) and you can actually see greenery which is nice. There is still street contacting opportunity, but I have decided that this is a good opportunity to expand my horizons and do more tracting. So far that has been a good experience. The church in Fier is on the second floor of a building and everyone knows where it is (well knows how to find it at least) which is a wonderful change from 3rd Ward. The Botts are the senior couple here ( I have been lucky enough to have a senior couple in every one of my areas) and Elder Bott is the Branch President here. He is actually the only non-Albanian serving as Branch President and we are hoping to see that changed soon here.
Elder Simons is my new companion straight from the MTC. He is 18 and is from…a lot of different places. Because his dad works in the State Department he has lived in a lot of different countries. His family is currently living in Israel. Elder Simons is a good guy. He has got a good start on the language and a firm testimony. He is much more humble than me (but I mean who needs humility when you have got everything else? Just kidding) and is very teachable. I just hope that I can get enough out of the way of the Spirit so that he can learn something. He is also, according to just about every nene (old lady) that we see, the most beautiful thing that they have ever seen. Yesterday probably 5 or 6 ladies told him how much of a bukurosh and “sa simpatik” he is. I laughed a lot and then translated what was going on to him. I think an old lady telling an 18-year-old missionary how beautiful he is loses some of its funniness in translation.
Coming in here has been a bit of a rough start. I can definitely tell that Satan doesn’t want me to like this place or the people that are here, but it is a good thing that decision is made by me, not him. Fier is the bomb and I am so excited to be here and do what is possible in the next short amount of time that I am allotted here. One cool opportunity that I have is to be in the same district as a native, Elder Morava. Natives truly can do some incredible things that we foreigners cannot. I am excited to learn from him and to try and become a much much better missionary. Looking at the work as a trainer is interesting. Everything must become so much simpler, because my companion cannot understand a whole lot of what is going on. All of a sudden, other distractions go out and it is just: 1) are we helping these people come to Christ? and 2) is my companion getting what he needs to be getting out of the current situation to become a good, but not just good, an exceptional missionary?
Some of the people we have started teaching are Saimir and Florian. Not a ton about them, but we are so excited to help these two progress and make covenants with Heavenly Father. I had also decided before the transfer started to work better with members, so that is something we are really going to try and do here. Not a whole lot to say about the work, but well, it’s a start.
Love ya a lot and hope and pray for your success in the big bad world out there. It’s tough stuff. A lot more complicated than on the mission. Keep it real.
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
First week here in Fier! Well, I guess partial week. Elder Clawson and I were companions for a days and bounced around between Fier, Lushnje, and Tirana before we got our new companions and got to know the area a bit and the such. There used to be 2 sets of missionaries here (2 Elders and 2 Sisters) and now there are three sets of us. We are opening up an area, but Elder Morava has been good about passing over some work so that we can start with our feet firmly planted. It is kind of weird, this is the first time coming into an area with work to do, I sure am hoping and praying we don’t screw it up! Fier is much smaller than Tirana (along with every other city in Albania) and you can actually see greenery which is nice. There is still street contacting opportunity, but I have decided that this is a good opportunity to expand my horizons and do more tracting. So far that has been a good experience. The church in Fier is on the second floor of a building and everyone knows where it is (well knows how to find it at least) which is a wonderful change from 3rd Ward. The Botts are the senior couple here ( I have been lucky enough to have a senior couple in every one of my areas) and Elder Bott is the Branch President here. He is actually the only non-Albanian serving as Branch President and we are hoping to see that changed soon here.
Elder Simons is my new companion straight from the MTC. He is 18 and is from…a lot of different places. Because his dad works in the State Department he has lived in a lot of different countries. His family is currently living in Israel. Elder Simons is a good guy. He has got a good start on the language and a firm testimony. He is much more humble than me (but I mean who needs humility when you have got everything else? Just kidding) and is very teachable. I just hope that I can get enough out of the way of the Spirit so that he can learn something. He is also, according to just about every nene (old lady) that we see, the most beautiful thing that they have ever seen. Yesterday probably 5 or 6 ladies told him how much of a bukurosh and “sa simpatik” he is. I laughed a lot and then translated what was going on to him. I think an old lady telling an 18-year-old missionary how beautiful he is loses some of its funniness in translation.
Coming in here has been a bit of a rough start. I can definitely tell that Satan doesn’t want me to like this place or the people that are here, but it is a good thing that decision is made by me, not him. Fier is the bomb and I am so excited to be here and do what is possible in the next short amount of time that I am allotted here. One cool opportunity that I have is to be in the same district as a native, Elder Morava. Natives truly can do some incredible things that we foreigners cannot. I am excited to learn from him and to try and become a much much better missionary. Looking at the work as a trainer is interesting. Everything must become so much simpler, because my companion cannot understand a whole lot of what is going on. All of a sudden, other distractions go out and it is just: 1) are we helping these people come to Christ? and 2) is my companion getting what he needs to be getting out of the current situation to become a good, but not just good, an exceptional missionary?
Some of the people we have started teaching are Saimir and Florian. Not a ton about them, but we are so excited to help these two progress and make covenants with Heavenly Father. I had also decided before the transfer started to work better with members, so that is something we are really going to try and do here. Not a whole lot to say about the work, but well, it’s a start.
Love ya a lot and hope and pray for your success in the big bad world out there. It’s tough stuff. A lot more complicated than on the mission. Keep it real.
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
Monday, March 31, 2014
#38 Ta ta Tirona, Hello Fier!
Monday, March 31, 2014
Hey, hey family,
Well it done been written, I am headed to Fier this week. Elder Jorgensen and I were praying as we finished off our planning last night when President Ford called with the news about what the next three months of service are going to be like. I will actually be training down there and will be district leader once again. It is going to be interesting! Excited to rip it to shreds down there.
This week has been a good week though. Elder Jorgensen and I had set a goal at the beginning of the transfer for how many lessons we wished to have in a week be the end of the transfer and were able to hit it which was a great thing! Another goal that we had set was for baptisms which...well I guess that our purposes aren't always the Lord's. However right now we have some really promising people and we gave a referral to 1st Ward that is getting baptized in a week which is really exciting. So, the work leads rewards, I guess we just need to keep our eyes open for them.
One of those really promising investigators is Enxhi. She is still doing really great and actually recently finished up 1st Nefi. She is developing in testimony and becoming really excited about the Gospel. We actually just went over the Word of Wisdom with her yesterday and it was one of those lessons where you forget that some commandments are actually really hard for some people to follow. The only rough spot is that she lives here during the week and goes home almost every weekend. However, this might not be as rough of a spot as previously thought because home is in Fier! So the plan is that Elder Jorgensen will teach her (he is staying here in T3 and training) and then I will get her to church on Sundays. Here's hoping!
Another great success this week was getting Vjollca to church! She really loves the Homer couple and that helps as we help her to make and keep the commitments that are out of her comfort zone (she comes from a Muslim background and has a husband that doesn't really condone what she is doing with the Church). Really hoping and praying that as she takes these steps that her testimony will grow and she will be willing to follow the example of Christ in her own life.
One of the people that I will be really sad to leave here in 3rd Branch is Bishop Zela. We asked him to help us as we visited the Alimeri family. Brother Alimeri was actually Bishop Zela's counselor however many years ago and now has difficulty coming because of work and the such. However, Bishop Zela was able to get him to commit to come to church. Members and firends make a big difference. I mean really we, as missionaries, can go out and do some fairly decent stuff, but a missionary can never do the good that a good friend in the Gospel can do. Remember that, because it is true. We are set apart for this and everything, but one of the parts of being set apart is that you are made different than everybody else. Sometimes people who are the same to push 'em along.
So, the entire idea of sandwiches here is a bit different than in America, but those sloppy jos were open-face I believe just because there weren't enough buns to go around for a bottom as well as a top. As for FHE, most Monday nights so far have been spent just doing regular work, however if we have a YSA aged investigator we can take them to the YSA FHE or Institute on Wednesdays.
General Conference here is broadcast one session behind. So the Saturday morning at 6 on Saturday, the Saturday afternoon at 10 a.m. on Sunday and the Sunday morning at 6 on Sunday (with the Priesthood and Sunday afternoon just being translated and not broadcasted for everyone). We are encouraged to come on Saturday if we come with an investigator and on Sunday are invited regardless. So, we will see what goes on!
Not really a ton more to say. I am leaving the biggest city in the mission (which I love) with a strong base in the Gospel for the much smaller Fier with a similar trend in membership strength. It is going to be great! Really the biggest thing that I am afraid of is making sure that the new missionary that I will be companions with learns enough of the right things about missionary work so that he can become a better missionary than I ever was or will be. I will definitely be praying for the Spirit's help in the upcoming weeks.
Love you so much!
Elder Ostergaard
Hey, hey family,
Well it done been written, I am headed to Fier this week. Elder Jorgensen and I were praying as we finished off our planning last night when President Ford called with the news about what the next three months of service are going to be like. I will actually be training down there and will be district leader once again. It is going to be interesting! Excited to rip it to shreds down there.
This week has been a good week though. Elder Jorgensen and I had set a goal at the beginning of the transfer for how many lessons we wished to have in a week be the end of the transfer and were able to hit it which was a great thing! Another goal that we had set was for baptisms which...well I guess that our purposes aren't always the Lord's. However right now we have some really promising people and we gave a referral to 1st Ward that is getting baptized in a week which is really exciting. So, the work leads rewards, I guess we just need to keep our eyes open for them.
One of those really promising investigators is Enxhi. She is still doing really great and actually recently finished up 1st Nefi. She is developing in testimony and becoming really excited about the Gospel. We actually just went over the Word of Wisdom with her yesterday and it was one of those lessons where you forget that some commandments are actually really hard for some people to follow. The only rough spot is that she lives here during the week and goes home almost every weekend. However, this might not be as rough of a spot as previously thought because home is in Fier! So the plan is that Elder Jorgensen will teach her (he is staying here in T3 and training) and then I will get her to church on Sundays. Here's hoping!
Another great success this week was getting Vjollca to church! She really loves the Homer couple and that helps as we help her to make and keep the commitments that are out of her comfort zone (she comes from a Muslim background and has a husband that doesn't really condone what she is doing with the Church). Really hoping and praying that as she takes these steps that her testimony will grow and she will be willing to follow the example of Christ in her own life.
One of the people that I will be really sad to leave here in 3rd Branch is Bishop Zela. We asked him to help us as we visited the Alimeri family. Brother Alimeri was actually Bishop Zela's counselor however many years ago and now has difficulty coming because of work and the such. However, Bishop Zela was able to get him to commit to come to church. Members and firends make a big difference. I mean really we, as missionaries, can go out and do some fairly decent stuff, but a missionary can never do the good that a good friend in the Gospel can do. Remember that, because it is true. We are set apart for this and everything, but one of the parts of being set apart is that you are made different than everybody else. Sometimes people who are the same to push 'em along.
So, the entire idea of sandwiches here is a bit different than in America, but those sloppy jos were open-face I believe just because there weren't enough buns to go around for a bottom as well as a top. As for FHE, most Monday nights so far have been spent just doing regular work, however if we have a YSA aged investigator we can take them to the YSA FHE or Institute on Wednesdays.
General Conference here is broadcast one session behind. So the Saturday morning at 6 on Saturday, the Saturday afternoon at 10 a.m. on Sunday and the Sunday morning at 6 on Sunday (with the Priesthood and Sunday afternoon just being translated and not broadcasted for everyone). We are encouraged to come on Saturday if we come with an investigator and on Sunday are invited regardless. So, we will see what goes on!
Not really a ton more to say. I am leaving the biggest city in the mission (which I love) with a strong base in the Gospel for the much smaller Fier with a similar trend in membership strength. It is going to be great! Really the biggest thing that I am afraid of is making sure that the new missionary that I will be companions with learns enough of the right things about missionary work so that he can become a better missionary than I ever was or will be. I will definitely be praying for the Spirit's help in the upcoming weeks.
Love you so much!
Elder Ostergaard
Monday, March 24, 2014
#37 March 24, 2014 (pictures, too!)
Dear Family,
Welcome to another installment of the mission of Elder Ostergaard – or more appropriately the mission of the Lord through the hands of Elder Ostergaard. The last week was another learning experience. It was good and we were able to see the Gospel make some preliminary steps in some people’s lives. Hoping to watch that continue!
There was one day this week where a ton of lessons fell through on us even though we had planned to meet in the homes and everything. To add insult to injury we were on exchanges that day which made me feel totally responsible for the very unladen-with-work day. Well what do ya do? However, we had a couple other days that we were able to get some really good work done and so, as is the custom here, the week was a roller coaster of emotion.
I think that the success of the week is this girl that was just found on Friday. Her name is Enxhi (I think that that is the most common name of investigator that I have had on my mission to this point) and we met here as she was going on her way home for the weekend to Fier. (Because Tirana is the biggest city by a long shot in Albania, a lot of kids come here to go to school and then go back fairly frequently on weekends to their home towns. ) However, she was super open to the message and we were able to even commit her to get baptized right there. One cool part of that first contact was when I asked her if she had always been a believer. She said no, that when her grandmother had died a few years ago that she didn't believe in God for a while. I was super happy that I was able to testify of the comfort that is inside of the Gospel that I felt under a year ago in that same position. Our mission has a pretty short supply of Book of Mormons, so I gave her a Joseph Smith pamphlet and asked her to read and pray about it. She got back Sunday afternoon from Fier and we had a really good lesson where we covered the Restoration with her and we are going to go to the YSA Family Home Evening with her tonight. Pray for this girl, she can really feel the hand of God in her life.
There were also two other good successes of the week with Vjollca and Brikena. Vjollca came to the lesson with her 6-year-old granddaughter and we taught the first part of the Plan of Salvation. It was a good lesson and we had Elder Homer there who is just a great guy and did an awesome job in the lesson. At the end of the lesson we gave her a reading assignment from the Book of Mormon on a pass-along card. She turned the pass-along card over and started crying. The card said “Til death do you part, but after that?” and she told us that her daughter (the mother of the granddaughter she had with her) was going through an incredibly difficult time of marriage. Elder Homer took over and did an incredible job listening to her problems and testifying of the Gospel’s healing and helping power with such things. I think it was definitely a watershed lesson for her and we are excited to see where it goes. Brikena is a really cool girl that was finally able to meet with us after a few unsuccessful tries and she was also just really open to the Gospel. One of those who just really loves Jesus, but doesn't know much about Him. We are pretty good about helping out with that second part.
So for how I have been feeling, I have been doing pretty good except for just being tense every few days or so about the work. Both Elder Jorgensen and I have been pretty solid health wise this transfer.
So far the 3rd ward and Tirana, Albania Stake are looking great! Bishop Zela and President Mema both understand their responsibilities and are really pressing forward. It is a great thing to watch.
Well, I hope that you all have a great day today and that this week is just great! Love you a lot and next week you will be able to hear what goes on during transfers (we get the call Sunday night).
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
1. Vëllai (Brother) Gusmari -- a stud in our branch, we helped him paint a bit on Saturday
2. Me while helping paint Vëllai Gusmari's house
3. The train a coming. We went to Elbasan today and stood in a train tunnel while the train passed by us, it was exciting!
4. Bugaçe -- basically a roll stuffed with greasy phyllo dough, it was great!
Welcome to another installment of the mission of Elder Ostergaard – or more appropriately the mission of the Lord through the hands of Elder Ostergaard. The last week was another learning experience. It was good and we were able to see the Gospel make some preliminary steps in some people’s lives. Hoping to watch that continue!
There was one day this week where a ton of lessons fell through on us even though we had planned to meet in the homes and everything. To add insult to injury we were on exchanges that day which made me feel totally responsible for the very unladen-with-work day. Well what do ya do? However, we had a couple other days that we were able to get some really good work done and so, as is the custom here, the week was a roller coaster of emotion.
I think that the success of the week is this girl that was just found on Friday. Her name is Enxhi (I think that that is the most common name of investigator that I have had on my mission to this point) and we met here as she was going on her way home for the weekend to Fier. (Because Tirana is the biggest city by a long shot in Albania, a lot of kids come here to go to school and then go back fairly frequently on weekends to their home towns. ) However, she was super open to the message and we were able to even commit her to get baptized right there. One cool part of that first contact was when I asked her if she had always been a believer. She said no, that when her grandmother had died a few years ago that she didn't believe in God for a while. I was super happy that I was able to testify of the comfort that is inside of the Gospel that I felt under a year ago in that same position. Our mission has a pretty short supply of Book of Mormons, so I gave her a Joseph Smith pamphlet and asked her to read and pray about it. She got back Sunday afternoon from Fier and we had a really good lesson where we covered the Restoration with her and we are going to go to the YSA Family Home Evening with her tonight. Pray for this girl, she can really feel the hand of God in her life.
There were also two other good successes of the week with Vjollca and Brikena. Vjollca came to the lesson with her 6-year-old granddaughter and we taught the first part of the Plan of Salvation. It was a good lesson and we had Elder Homer there who is just a great guy and did an awesome job in the lesson. At the end of the lesson we gave her a reading assignment from the Book of Mormon on a pass-along card. She turned the pass-along card over and started crying. The card said “Til death do you part, but after that?” and she told us that her daughter (the mother of the granddaughter she had with her) was going through an incredibly difficult time of marriage. Elder Homer took over and did an incredible job listening to her problems and testifying of the Gospel’s healing and helping power with such things. I think it was definitely a watershed lesson for her and we are excited to see where it goes. Brikena is a really cool girl that was finally able to meet with us after a few unsuccessful tries and she was also just really open to the Gospel. One of those who just really loves Jesus, but doesn't know much about Him. We are pretty good about helping out with that second part.
So for how I have been feeling, I have been doing pretty good except for just being tense every few days or so about the work. Both Elder Jorgensen and I have been pretty solid health wise this transfer.
So far the 3rd ward and Tirana, Albania Stake are looking great! Bishop Zela and President Mema both understand their responsibilities and are really pressing forward. It is a great thing to watch.
Well, I hope that you all have a great day today and that this week is just great! Love you a lot and next week you will be able to hear what goes on during transfers (we get the call Sunday night).
Love,
Elder Ostergaard
1. Vëllai (Brother) Gusmari -- a stud in our branch, we helped him paint a bit on Saturday
2. Me while helping paint Vëllai Gusmari's house
3. The train a coming. We went to Elbasan today and stood in a train tunnel while the train passed by us, it was exciting!
4. Bugaçe -- basically a roll stuffed with greasy phyllo dough, it was great!
Monday, March 17, 2014
#36 Another One In the Books
Hey hey hey,
This week definitely had its ups and downs! On Wednesday we had the opportunity to have Zone Conference which was great, but definitely like a big humbling sledge hammer that hit me right between the eyes and crushed my phylacteries (I just read about those in Jesus the Christ today so I thought that I would throw that in there). President talked to us about location of lessons (they should be preferably in the investigator's home, than in a member's home, and then in the church if necessary) and about how this priority of location choices will improve our investigator retention rate and will allow us to see more success. I was going nuts for about 48 hours after that feeling like I had let the Lord down with the missionary work that has been performed in our areas over the last 6 months and like I had just been marking time here the whole time. But, why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up. At least that is what Alfred says in Batman. We are really trying to implement the counsel of our key-holding leader and having faith that as we work to not only work with our all strength but also bit by bit with all our minds and hearts that we will see the Hand of the Lord do what is in the will of the Lord. I feel like there is a lot of ground that needs to be made up, and am stoked to go in and do that.
We have had the opportunity to meet a bit more with the new Bishop (Bishop Zela) of 3rd Ward and he is fantastic (I was going to describe him using words such as tight, ballin', a bro, etc. but the White Handbook asks us to refrain from slang or casual language, so I am working on that). It was great to see that even as we are here to support and back up his work and the ward's work, he was also very much behind our work. I am excited to so the new changes that are going to gradually shape this stake into what it truly can become.
The work here in Albania definitely has hot spots and cooler spots for the present moment, though that definitely doesn't mean that is how it is going to stay! Most of our finding is done through street contacting though we recently have been trying to do some more tracting, as it leads directly into someone's house. Due to the nature of Tirana (it is the only city with more than one unit in the Stake, having four wards), a good percentage of the finding that we do actually leads to work for other areas rather than for us, so that is another plus for tracting. Neither of my companionships have seen success with referrals, but we will still keep going for those and hopefully become more effective member workers. There are definitely some members here that are very excited about the Gospel and will share it, bring friends to church, etc. There are also members that have not caught that wave, as Elder Nelson would say. Definitely makes me wish that I had been a ton better as a member missionary before the mission. There are some people that are either ostracized by their family for joining or are under age and forbidden by their parents to be baptized. However, a good amount of the time I feel like Albanians just do not have the religious zeal to care if somebody else does. I guess that is kinda good in a way for us. There are not a ton of people that have been sealed to their families in the temple, especially since the young nature of the Church here lends to a good portion of the members being the only members in their family. However, with Albanians out on missions and coming back that definitely opens up a pathway to more people being sealed in the temple in the upcoming years. We are also excited for the Rome Temple to open up (in hopefully about a year) because the closest temple now is in Frankfurt, which is a bit of a haul.
We have been able to find some cool people this week and work to help them receive the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of them was Agron. He came and picked us up and drove us out to his house. He is originally Muslim, but believes in Jesus Christ and is actually engaged to a Catholic girl who lives in Shkoder. He said he was going to read the book as a present for his fiancée (we decided not to tell him that Catholics don't really accept the Book of Mormon). When we asked him if he would be baptized he said no, he is just learning. We'll see about that. We are just really going on faith right now that the Lord will lead us to the right people and help us know what to do with them.
An interesting conversation I had this week was with a girl named Irma. She had been to church about a year ago and came for quite a while. I was talking to her about the reasons she had stopped coming and investigating the church and really just pleading with her to come back. She listed off a couple things including problems with someone in the ward, but I think the biggest thing was when she told me she didn't have a testimony the Book of Mormon was true. That is a stinking massive deal and really all of the other reasons were just footnotes in my mind. For a person to stay forever they need to be converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For a person to be converted, they need to start out with a testimony. The reasons for staying cannot just be the social scene, some member, and definitely not just some missionary. It has gotta come from the doctrines of the Gospel. It was interesting because I asked her if she would say a prayer before she left, she said no but that she would tell me some things that I could pray for. One of those things was that she said I could pray for her to come to church, even though she wouldn't. I definitely did and will though.
I actually just picked up my package this week and loved it! Thank you so much for the flash drive, candy, and for Grandpa Ostergaard's addition there. Especially the MoTab though. MoTab is great.
Love you so much and hope you have a great week!
Elder Ostergaard
This week definitely had its ups and downs! On Wednesday we had the opportunity to have Zone Conference which was great, but definitely like a big humbling sledge hammer that hit me right between the eyes and crushed my phylacteries (I just read about those in Jesus the Christ today so I thought that I would throw that in there). President talked to us about location of lessons (they should be preferably in the investigator's home, than in a member's home, and then in the church if necessary) and about how this priority of location choices will improve our investigator retention rate and will allow us to see more success. I was going nuts for about 48 hours after that feeling like I had let the Lord down with the missionary work that has been performed in our areas over the last 6 months and like I had just been marking time here the whole time. But, why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up. At least that is what Alfred says in Batman. We are really trying to implement the counsel of our key-holding leader and having faith that as we work to not only work with our all strength but also bit by bit with all our minds and hearts that we will see the Hand of the Lord do what is in the will of the Lord. I feel like there is a lot of ground that needs to be made up, and am stoked to go in and do that.
We have had the opportunity to meet a bit more with the new Bishop (Bishop Zela) of 3rd Ward and he is fantastic (I was going to describe him using words such as tight, ballin', a bro, etc. but the White Handbook asks us to refrain from slang or casual language, so I am working on that). It was great to see that even as we are here to support and back up his work and the ward's work, he was also very much behind our work. I am excited to so the new changes that are going to gradually shape this stake into what it truly can become.
The work here in Albania definitely has hot spots and cooler spots for the present moment, though that definitely doesn't mean that is how it is going to stay! Most of our finding is done through street contacting though we recently have been trying to do some more tracting, as it leads directly into someone's house. Due to the nature of Tirana (it is the only city with more than one unit in the Stake, having four wards), a good percentage of the finding that we do actually leads to work for other areas rather than for us, so that is another plus for tracting. Neither of my companionships have seen success with referrals, but we will still keep going for those and hopefully become more effective member workers. There are definitely some members here that are very excited about the Gospel and will share it, bring friends to church, etc. There are also members that have not caught that wave, as Elder Nelson would say. Definitely makes me wish that I had been a ton better as a member missionary before the mission. There are some people that are either ostracized by their family for joining or are under age and forbidden by their parents to be baptized. However, a good amount of the time I feel like Albanians just do not have the religious zeal to care if somebody else does. I guess that is kinda good in a way for us. There are not a ton of people that have been sealed to their families in the temple, especially since the young nature of the Church here lends to a good portion of the members being the only members in their family. However, with Albanians out on missions and coming back that definitely opens up a pathway to more people being sealed in the temple in the upcoming years. We are also excited for the Rome Temple to open up (in hopefully about a year) because the closest temple now is in Frankfurt, which is a bit of a haul.
We have been able to find some cool people this week and work to help them receive the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of them was Agron. He came and picked us up and drove us out to his house. He is originally Muslim, but believes in Jesus Christ and is actually engaged to a Catholic girl who lives in Shkoder. He said he was going to read the book as a present for his fiancée (we decided not to tell him that Catholics don't really accept the Book of Mormon). When we asked him if he would be baptized he said no, he is just learning. We'll see about that. We are just really going on faith right now that the Lord will lead us to the right people and help us know what to do with them.
An interesting conversation I had this week was with a girl named Irma. She had been to church about a year ago and came for quite a while. I was talking to her about the reasons she had stopped coming and investigating the church and really just pleading with her to come back. She listed off a couple things including problems with someone in the ward, but I think the biggest thing was when she told me she didn't have a testimony the Book of Mormon was true. That is a stinking massive deal and really all of the other reasons were just footnotes in my mind. For a person to stay forever they need to be converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For a person to be converted, they need to start out with a testimony. The reasons for staying cannot just be the social scene, some member, and definitely not just some missionary. It has gotta come from the doctrines of the Gospel. It was interesting because I asked her if she would say a prayer before she left, she said no but that she would tell me some things that I could pray for. One of those things was that she said I could pray for her to come to church, even though she wouldn't. I definitely did and will though.
I actually just picked up my package this week and loved it! Thank you so much for the flash drive, candy, and for Grandpa Ostergaard's addition there. Especially the MoTab though. MoTab is great.
Love you so much and hope you have a great week!
Elder Ostergaard
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