The Church is true everywhere!

Shelby looks right at home!

                                   

 

 

Hey Friends and Fam,  

Well I don't have much time this week.  I am in a city called Olsztyn which is a few hours away from Gdansk.  We took a train early this morning to come here for a funeral of a man in our branch here.  Amazing story really.  He was baptized in June this year. He is 80 or so and he and his wife would ride for 3 hours every sunday morning to get to church.  Last week she came and was having some troubles and they had to leave right when they got to church.  Then at the train station she went missing.  She has alzheimers (?) and they couldn't find her all day.  They finally found her and called him and when he found out that she was okay, he passed away.  We don't know how or of what, but what an amazing man! He was so strong and so wise.  So we went to the funeral just now and it was good.  Very different, but I sure learned a wonderful lesson.  It doesn't matter what religion anyone is or what language you speak, the spirit is the same and every single person is a child of our Heavenly Father.  It was a good lesson as we all sang Nearer my God to Thee in Polish together.  

      
 So this week, well, what to say? It was good.  But I can't lie, it was just..... hard.  I can say that I am learning a lot, and I am growing closer to my Savior.  It has been a blessing.  When we pray to be humble, or to be stronger, Heavenly Father really blesses us with opportunities to be humbled and strengthened.  He is so merciful. 
      But other than that.  There were miracles everywhere, like there always are when the gospel is around.  At the end of last week, we had 9 investigators in church!! We felt so blessed and so full of love for all of them.  What a blessing.  Sorry this email is jumping around, but in personal study, I did something kind of fun.  I read all of the chapter headings in Acts and tried to figure out why it is called the book of ACTS. It was really cool.  How does that relate to the spirit?? I will let you all make your own conclusions.  But I learned a lot, and it was really cool.   
     I'm sorry I only have a few minutes on this computer.  But Sister Lewis here in Gdansk shared something great with me today on the train.  She quoted Ralph Parlett and said, "Strength and struggle go together.  The supreme reward of struggle is strength.  Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome.  Following the path of least resisitance is what makes men and rivers crooked."  I loved that.  I know that everything we experience in our lives is for a purpose greater than we may be able to comprehend.  I know that we can find beauty in every situation.  My mission president reminded me to stop and smell the roses.  I think I'll do that a little more.  Have a great week.  I love you all.  Next week's email will be more full of miracles and stories.  I love the gospel and I'm so grateful to be here.  Thank you all so much.  Love you!

 Shelby's 3 favorite things: Sharing the Gospel, playing with children and Making yummy FOOD!!!

     Love, Sister Shelby Ostler :)

Shelby's last week in the MTC

June 11, 2012
Hello Everyone :)
                                                                                  
     Wow, this is so weird! This is my last email here at the MTC. Super strange! I can't explain how fast it has gone and how much it has impacted my life and my outlook.  I have come to love this gospel more than I ever have and I feel like I'm going to explode with joy all of the time.  I have so much to share, so I hope I can get it all in.

    One thing I have learned a lot about is something I learned in College. "Keep your mind and heart where your feet are." Whever you are- be there. What ever you're doing- do that with all that you have.  I have learned to really concentrate on doing my best and focusing.  I am often distracted or side-tracked, and this reminder has sure helped me alot.
      So this week we read Hebrews chapter 11.  Wow it's so good!! chapter 10 is great too, but I strongly encourage you to spend some time reading chapter 11 because it is powerful and has such a great insight into real faith.  It's fantastic.  Also, Phill. 4:11-13 - love it.  We really can do all things and we can be content and happy.  Simple, but true! :)

      So a pattern I've noticed throughout my life and throughout my mission the past 2 months- we learn best when we are low.  When there are struggles and challenges in your life, look to the Lord and ask Him to help you find what you need to get out of it.  It is hard- so hard- sometimes! But I promise, I have seen it so many times, we are more submissive and more willing to receive guidance when we look to Him.  He will make you burdens light.  I had a really great answer to pray this week.  I was looking for ways to find peace when reading the scriptures, then an elder shared a great scripture with me.  It is Moroni 9:25. Moral of the scripture- at least for me at this specific time- BE NOT WEIGHED DOWN.  In this gospel, we can be reassured that everything is OKAY.  It will all work out.  Seriously.  Find peace and rest in Christ.  Don't beat yourself up.  Try to see yourself as God sees you.  I promise if you just do your best, He will bring you that comfort.  You just have to ASK.  I'm still learning how important this is.  It's tough, but it's so great!
      So before my mission, I often had a bad or rough day every now and then, sometimes they'd even last a couple days.  Since I've been here I've made a goal to never let my tough moments and my rough times to become a "Bad Day".  It is SOOOOO hard sometimes, to pull myself away from my self pity and remember the purpose and reason that I am here.  But as soon as I try to do that, and I pray for help, my bad moment becomes easier and I am so much happier.  It's definitely not instant- But somehow, the Lord brings something back into perspective that allows me to remember how great life is, and how much I have been blessed.  Perspective is everything.  Like I said last week- I think- sometimes I miss home SOOOO much I can hardly stand it.  I love you so much and it is so hard to think of being away from you for so long.  BUT THEN, I remember the 39 million people in Poland who don't even know that they can be with their family for eternity.  That thought whips me into gear real quick.  I just want you to know that I miss you and think about you and pray for you.  You are my everything! I wouldn't be doing this is I didn't KNOW with a surety that we can and will be together for the rest of eternity.  :) :) :) Happy thought huh? :)
       So the devotional last night was wonderful. Stephen Allen. He's great.  I took some notes, and want to share some points he made.
1- If you keep thinking about yourself, you'll be miserable.  He related this to our companions, to our spouses one day, to us being parents and all sorts of relationships. It's true.  Look for ways to serve the people aroudn you happily.
2- When everything around you says you can't, listen to the voice inside you that says you can!
3- This life is not about who you AREN'T, it's about who you ARE.  Being yourself is being great.  Don't be anyone else- Be you! And be the best You you can be! :)
4- Harmony requires submission (Think about that one)
5- If you love them, let them know it.
6-How the people around you feel about themselves, depends on what label you put on them.  Don't be critical- love them, and build them up
7- Avoid childish arguments- they're not worth it.
8-Acknowledge the people around you and what they are doing great.  Cheer them on and support them.  Love Love Love them.  :)

So that was his talk pretty much, it was really powerful. We all needed it.  I have to say this. Whatever I am or am going to be, I owe to great teachers- beginning with my parents.  Thank you so much for hanging in there and teaching me.  Thank you for teaching me about life and about this gospel.  Because of so many wonderful examples in my life, and from the love within my own family, my desire to teach well and love those that I teach has grown so much!!! That's all I want to do is teach the way I've been taught, because my life has been so blessed by so many wonderful people.  Mom and Dad, thank you so much for supporting me on this mission. I am so sorry it's so tough.  I love you more than I will ever be able to tell you.  Seriously.  I wish words were more powerful.  I am so excited to write to you from Poland.  I don't know when that will be, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to call you!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!! :-D I hope you have a blast in Lake Powell- just relax and don't think about me okay? You'll be busy doing the things I said to do in those letters ;) Dad, I hope you have a wonderful Father's Day next week. I love you so much! I will be thinking about you! Be safe and have a blast in Lake powell.  Anyone who is going to write or email again, needs to send stuff before friday otherwise I will not get them.  Sorry :( This is so Crazy!!! I'm going to Poland!!!! :-D I've never had a one-way ticket before! I can't wait.  Seriously, my district thinks I'm absolutely crazy because I'll radomly get so excited and giddy that I kinda... freak out :-D Hahaha, this gospel is amazing, this church is true.  You're in my prayers night and day.  Stay strong and endure the tough times- it's all worth it. I love you all!!! Talk to you in Poland! :-)

Love, Sister Shelby Ostler

PS. Momma, please don't be sad.  I sure miss you.  You and dad each give each other a big hug for me okay?? :) My scripture for the plack is actually my song :) There is sunshine in my soul today :) I LOVED the pillow case. You are amazing. Thank you so much.  I cherish that picture!!! Your package was so great! Everyone LOVED the pretzels.  YOu do so much.  Have fun! I love you!!!! :) oh and you'll get my travel plans, I sent them to you on friday.  :) :) Muah!

Week 6 MTC

 May 28 2012

Hey Everybody! :)

     How are you all? This week has been a week of miracles! I learned a lot, and I experienced a lot! One of the miracle was pretty powerful to me.  On friday I was soooooo sick.  I could hardly move around and I still had about 5 or 6 hours left until we could go back home.  I made it through our lesson, and sat through most of class.  Them my companions encouraged me to ask the elders for a blessing.  I asked Elder Bokinsky and Elder Register.  I received a wonderful blessing.  I am so glad they could give me one.  They said it was a very spirtual experience for both of them.  Then I went home right at 9:30 and went to bed.  I woke up, started to get ready for the day and realized I was 100 percent better!!! I couldn't believe it.  I really had thought that I was going to have the flu and be sick for the weekend.  What a miracle! 

      So once again, this week has sure taught me a lot.  I was humbled many times.  First of all, after I was done being sick. I was reminded of how grateful I am for good health and for strength to go throughout the day.  Also, when I fist got here, I didn't understand why they have coverings over all of the sidewalks.  I thought it obstructed the view of the mountains and the sky and I was bummed about it.  THEN, on thursday, it started to rain very hard! I walked from our class to the cafeteria without getting wet one bit and I was still able to enjoy the smell of the rain and the beauty all around me.  I was humbled by that, especially when I thought about rules and commandments.  We don't always see the purpose until we are under attack by Rain or by satan! (Kind of a funny way of putting it), but it's true! I am so thankful for a loving, caring Heavenly Father who gets it and sees the big picture a lot better than I can! :) 

     So yeah, those are a few things that I learned.  As I've said before, we are taught many times throughout the week and earlier last week were asked to really ponder about some things. One said, "Can you rise to the level of trust that has been put in you"? I thought a lot about that.  After I made some connections, I thought about life outside of the MTC or my mission and I realized that there is always a time in our lives where we are entrusted with SOMETHING.  It sure brings confidence and peace when we can kneel down at night and say, "I did my best, Lord."  It's a good feeling! Another question was, "Think of a time when your testimony of Jesus Christ has burned stronger than ever.  Is it burning like that at least once a day"? That made me really think.  I thought of trek, I thought of specific times in seminary and institute- these times make me want to always keep that flame burning.  Even if it's just a spark, don't ever let it go out, the stronger the flame, the brighter the light! :) 

       Well, this computer keeps freezing on me and taking away my time :( But that's okay! So I have to share what heard in Relief Society yesterday.  We heard from a lady named Janice Brady who has a down syndrome daughter.  She taught us so many principles from her! Her name is Annie.  She said "It doesn't matter when I person learns to walk, it just matters that they do." She related this to our perspective and outlook on other people.  As we teach  people the gospel, and teach them how to walk, it doesn't matter how fast the jump up and start running, it just matters that they learn how to take the steps necessary to reach their Savior.  This really meant a lot to me.  I think it can help me be more patient with people and understand their circumstances.  The next thing she said was a story.  When Annie was 16 years old, she was really really sick.  She was throwing up all night and her mother had to help her and stay with her all night.  Annie started to cry and said "I sorry. I love you." All her mother could do was hold her tight and let her know that she is so very loved.  This story brought tears to my eyes because she then told us of how we are all like Annie.  We need help and we cannot do it by ourselves.  Christ is there to support and love us.  He just wants us to feel good and to be happy.  I loved that story.  

     So last night we had a great devotional.  We heard a story about a pilot describing things necessary in order to land on the aircraft carrier.  He said, you have to spot you deviation ahead of time.  If you are flying an air craft 150 miles per hour and you are trying to land on a moving, waving carrier, you CANNOT mess up.  He said that that is how important it is for us to stay on track and on course in our lives.  If we do not spot our deviation from the course, we could die. It was a powerful metaphor and I liked it a lot because, honestly, have we not all deviated and had to find our way back to the right path? 

       So, I have a lot more to share, but I am running out of time.  I just feel such a great love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He means everything to me.  I gave an example in one of my lessons I had to prepare for yesterday. I talked about Joe Larsen running the Iron Man last year.  He had had knee surgery and could hardly bear the pain as he neared the end of the race.  He finished the swim and the bike and half of the marathon.  We worried about him and wondered where he could be.  Soon Jon, my brother in law, started running up the path, in his levi shorts and flip flops to find him.  Jon ran 13 miles or so along side Joe to help him finish the race.  I thought about this and it really touched me.  Sometimes in life we experience serious pain.  Even though we decided to push through it and keep going, it is still tough! But then the Savior comes and lightens our burden.  He gives us strength and support to make it to the end, whether that's the end of our day, week, month or year.  He will help us reach our goals.  I am sure thankful to have so many wonderful examples in my life.  

     This gospel is the key.  Faith is the foundation of happiness.  We can truly do all things in the strength of our God.  I read 2 Nephi 20:15 and was once again humbled as I was reminded of our need to trust in the Lord.  I hope you all have a great week! I love you, I pray for you! You mean everything to me! :) Work hard, have fun, make a difference :)

Love you all Sister Shelby Ostler

Week 3 MTC

Hey There! Dzien Dobry!

       This has been a fantastic week! I feel like I just wrote home yesterday though! I don't know where the time is going.  It is so weird! So earlier last week I had a tough day.  It was good to experience a challenging mental day here in the MTC.  I realized something pretty neat though.  You see, I kept feeling so inadequate to share and teach this gospel.  The more you learn how amazing and profound it is, the more careful you want to be to share it the very best that you can.  I struggled with that and I knew it was just the adversary trying to keep me down.  I learned that it is a gift that we are giving to other people.  It is not about us.  It is not about me.  It is about all of the wonderful children of God who NEED this gift and I just have to forget about me and do all that I can to get it to them.  So that was a great lesson learned and I am glad I went through that.  Prayer is so real and it is so important.  Whenever things seem tough, you just have to wake up every day and say, "It's a great day!!!" For me, I wake up and say, "Holy Cow! I'm on a mission!" and then I smile and feel great :) What a blessing it is to be here.


       So the language has been really good lately! I feel soooooooo blessed.  My companions and I gave 2 lessons on Friday all in Polish and we did it without notes.  I finally memorized some important key phrases and questions to ask, so that has helped me a ton! The language is so much fun! I am so excited to learn more! :) So the other day we were in the computer lab and I was getting super antsy, so we decided to do a little jog down the stairs and soon I was racing my companion and I was 3 stairs from the bottom when my ankle (my good ankle) rolled and I tumbled to the bottom :-D It was hilarious! It didn't hurt my ankle TOO bad, but I definitely rolled it a bit.  So I sat there on the ground for a second and the next thing I know, both of my companions were like "can you here me? Sister Ostler, are you there?" I passed out! It was the weirdest thing ever! But it was kind of cool too... :-) It was like in the movies ya know? anyway, funny experience for ya! :)


       I am learning that every single day of our lives (even the ones where we are here at the MTC doing the same things every day) can be an adventure! We can make it what we want it to be.  I have noticed that the Lord builds us in wonderful ways (as it says in the Joseph Smith movie) and it sure helps to build us if we take action and allow the Lord to help us learn through our mistakes, failures, triumphs, etc.  Action is the key, and faith is what leads you to act.  I love that principle.  Think about it.  I gave a talk on that yesterday :) Also, I keep getting this powerful thought that keeps coming into my mind.  We have to share this gospel.  It's simple, but it's as true as that.  What do we have to lose (nothing), and what do they have to gain (EVERYTHING and more)??? I just know that my life would be empty and so..... boring without this gospel to give me some purpose and direction.  We all know people who need that purpose and who need to be filled with the joy that comes from knowing who you are.  I hope we can find the people around us to share the gospel with.  That's what life is about.


       Well I have more to say, but I can't organize my thoughts- they're all over the place in this brain of mine! I love the schedule here.  It's neat to have a purpose in everything that I do.  It makes everything worth it and I enjoy each task.  Wish I could just bring you all here for a day so you can feel the love! (lion king, ya know?) anyway.... Well I love you all so much! I hope you are all doing great.  Thank you for your love and support, especially for those of you who have written me letters! It means so much to me! I'm trying to get back to you all today.  Take care and keep doing all you can and the Lord will keep building you :) :) :) As the Joseph Smith movie states, "Shall we not go on in so great a cause"? Dozobaczenia!

             Love, Sister Shelby Ostler

Her companions Birthday.  Her mom sent a cheese cake into the MTC

 

 

 

                                                                                                                  

                                             

                                                                                                             
                                                       
                                          

 

                                                                                                                          

                                          These are the only guys you can put your arm around

                                                                      for 18 months