Hermana Krystal Osborne

Saying "Good-by" to some of my Favorite Investigators...and Friends!

2010-09-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

Channing is scheduled to be baptized on October 3, 2010 by her husband, Jesse. When you are married in the temple...I will be there!!!

Jessica was my very first baptism. She came to say good-by and to introduce me to her new daughter, Makayla.

I love the Lopez family! All the kids were baptized and Christina is my very dear friend.

Saying good-by the the Salinas family was very hard (notice the tears). I love Esmerelda, Juan, Daisy and Brenda. Juan is preparing to serve a mission...he will be a wonderful missionary!

My final baptism was Maria Cuellar. She taught me about the powers of prayer and that the Lord truly does answer our prayers.

I love ALL those I was called to serve. You have been a great blessing to me. My life will never be the same because of YOU. Thank you!!!

I feel so blessed to have been called to serve a mission in McAllen Texas. I know this is where I needed to be for the past 18 months. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I’ve always known that. I’ve always had faith in Him, but I have come to realize that He can play a bigger role in my life if I let Him. I’ve come to see answers to prayers and have recognized the biggest miracles that I could have ever imagined. I have also witnessed the smallest and simplest of miracles and these small miracles blow my mind even more.

I know that God loves me so much. I have felt of His unconditional love. I’m grateful that He has used me to help other people, that He loves me enough to humble me, to bring me down on my knees so I can repent, that He has guided me to those specific people that I needed to share my testimony with. I feel like the sons of Mosiah in just looking at all those people I have been able to teach and bring to baptism, and I do not feel like they are few at all, and I rejoice in all those souls because to me, I feel like they are many. They are great to me. They mean everything to me. Even if it was just one, I would still feel like there were many.

I know that this church is true...that it is not just a church but that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That it really will change you if you let it. I am so very grateful for this and so very grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice of the Atonement that I can be clean, and I am grateful for that because I am so far from being perfect. I have so many imperfections, but I am grateful that He chips away at those imperfections day by day and smoothes them out so I can be more like Him...so I can be more patient, loving, submissive, gentle and kind. My mission has meant everything to me, and though I am sad to leave, I am excited to go and be Krystal again...to be me, but my mission has meant so much and I am going to miss these blessings that you can only get as you serve the Lord full time. These blessings are some of the greatest tender mercies that I have seen in my life. I know that God loves His children because He loved them enough to send me here. I am grateful that I have been an answer to so many people’s prayers, that I have knocked on their doors at the time that they needed me the most, but not me, they have needed Him. I am grateful that I have been able to open my mouth and say the words that He would have me speak. I am grateful that I have been an instrument in His hands. Now that I know what that feels like, I will never be the same, there is no way. I know it is true, and there is no greater blessing in my life that I could have ever had than this experience...and it has changed me.

2010-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Finishing my mission with 2 of my closest companions and best friends Sister Haws and Sister Amitoelau.

Miracles!!!

2010-08-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

The Jackson and the Cuevas' families...aka...my mission parents. LOVE THEM!!!

Hello Everyone!

Honestly, i feel like each week just gets better and better and i feel sooooo blessed. I really see the Lord's hand in everything that we do and i know that this is his work. I have felt my heart be softened so much more and i leave everything up to him and just go to work. It is such an interesting time. I only have two more weeks of work and so i have been doing a lot of reflecting on my life... what i used to be and what i have become... and i have been doing a lot of thinking about my future... making goals and deciding who i want to be. I feel so close to my savior and have realized more than ever how he has taken me... with all my imperfections... and has been molding me into his disciple. So i am going to keep working hard and love every minute of this work... because i will never have it back... and i will never be the same because of it.

We really have seen so many wonderful miracles this week. I'll start with some updates. Claudia and Luis are planning on moving soon (as in they may already be gone) to san antonio... and they have just been super busy and going through some major financial problems. it is sad, but we have realized that we have done all that we could for them and now we need to focus on other people.. and if they want to change and progress than they will have to make the effort... and they have been taught and know exactly what they need to do. they know the gospel... but now they need to live the gospel... and that is completly up to them.

Cynthia is doing great... no doubt she will be baptized soon.. but probably after i am gone. Not a problem though.. i told her that i would rather have her baptized when she knew it was right and felt prompted to be baptized... and stay converted. she agreed and is working hard towards that goal... we are going to be teaching her the commandments this week.. but she is so awesome and has really come a long way. I love her. she is a saucy mom (36) and her daughter, lelialah (17), is a recent convert and comes out with us all the time... she is awesome. she'll be moving to utah in jan and so i am excited to hangout with her again soon.

Channing is doing great as well.. her husband (jesse) is an inactive member and so we have been working on activating him as well (channing comes to church more frequently than he does) they both came to church on sunday and it was so great to see their sweet little family. channing is adorable... she is 21 and has a 1 year old daughter and this is the first time in her life that she has been coming to church and learning more about God. But she has been progressing a lot and her prayers are very powerful and meaningful.

Monday night our appointments fell through and so we decided to track down jessica. we found her at her house and she let us in to have a lesson. she has been super busy and was commenting how satan always puts things in her path whenever she is trying to be good. we taught her the plan of salvation and then we extended a baptismal date to her... the spirit was so strong and she accepted and said that baptism is something that she really wants to work for. we are excited for her but she needs to come to church and she is a hard one to get ahold of throughout the week.

Remember Maria? the lady who got anti-d and didn't want us to come back but then we taught her the restoration and she prayed and said she knew joseph smith was a prophet? she is my new favorite person! we went by twice this week and she is AMAZING. she left school at about 6th grade and so she isn't very confident with her reading.. but she reads EVERYTHING... and highlights it and is just so cute. she is the cutest little 67 year old mexican lady that i have ever met. tuesday when we went over we taugth about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and invited her to be baptized in 3 weeks (september 5th). she accepted and was crying. she was so excited and really wants to have the spirit with her always. when we went back that week we sat down and she burst into tears telling us that her husband was not being supportive and was asking why we were coming over so much and was telling her not to commit to anything that we were inviting her to do. when she told us this.. we just kinda sat there in silence for a minute and then all these scriptures came to mind and we just started sharing them with her, telling her that this was a test of her faith.. that the lord would not command us to do anything except he was going to prepare a way that we could fulfill his commands... and then we read in Ether that we don’t recieve a witness until after the trial of our faith. We asked her if she knew the things we were teaching her were true and she bore her testimony right there that she knew it was all true. We then proceeded to teach her the plan of salvation and she loved it. My mission has really taught me to be a visual teacher and so we drew it out and by the end she just kept saying it was so simple and so beautiful. Maria has never come to church before and one of her concerns was that she didn't have a skirt and she was scared that people would look at her and judge her. we told her that this wouldn't happen... but tuesday after our meeting i remembered a skirt that i had that i figured she would love.. so when we went back the second time that week.. i gave her my skirt. she was soooo excited and so grateful. we got a ride all lined up for her since her husband wasn't willing to take her to church. and on sunday... i can't even describe the feeling.. my heart just melted when i saw her walk into church in my skirt. she was glowing and you could tell that she really took time to get all pretty. she told me she hadn't worn a skirt in over 30 years and she felt like she was wearing what she should in order to go and worship God... she LOVED church. she was answering all the questions in gospel principles and was laughing with all the other old ladies in relief society... it was sooo great to see. you can tell that she is so happy and that since she followed the commandment to come to church... she recieved all the blessings that God promised her she could have. we are really excited about her progress.

So as you can tell.. we have been teaching the Plan of Salvation a lot this week... probably about 12 times... which is a lot more than normal.. and my testimony of it has grown so much. each time i teach this principle i can just feel how much God loves his children and how perfect his plan is. the way to return and live with him really is so simple.. I want to live with my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I want to live with my family forever and i feel so blessed that i know how i can. More than ever.. i know exactly what i want in life and exactly what i am looking for.

I love my mission and Sister Villalobos and I are working so hard together... She really is an amazing missionary and i am making sure to teach her all that i know so that she will keep doing awesome and keep growing. It has been so neat to see the fruits of our labors... how last transfer we whitewashed the area and it felt dead... now we are teaching so many wonderful people and families. My mission has been such a blessing and has taught me so much.

So i got an awesome surprise phone call this week! the Jacksons called me! it was so good to hear sister jacksons voice again! i love them so much. they were planning on coming up with the Cuevas' to visit me before i left and to take me out to lunch with my companion... well... its lame but i am supposed to find a ride on labor day down to mcallen (4hours) for my departing interview and what not... so i asked them to just come up then... we can hangout and go bowling (they love bowling) and then they can drive me down to McAllen... they agreed.. i am so excited to see them! they are like my two sets of mission parents. they are the absolute best!

Ok... i gots to go! but i love you all! have an awesome week!

-Hermanita osborne

A Slice of Pizza...

2010-08-10T00:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Well this week has been a good one.. i have been an absolute wreck... we had zone conference from 9-5 tuesday-friday and every morning i would go out to the car to be alone and put on my makeup.. just to cry it all off and have to put it on again. it finally hit me that this was it. this is the last month of my mission and after this it is over. I've just been super refelective of my past 17 months, the people that i have met, the families i have baptized, the companions i served with, the members that i became so close to... then i started thinking about the person that i have become and what my mission has made me... i will never be the same. my mission has meant EVERYTHING to me. I never thought before that i could have gone on a mission.. i don't have the sister missionary personality... but i know that the lord needed my happy personality at this time for these people. He needed me to come here and be real with them and show them how they could be happy for themselves. And i have never been happier on my life than on my mission!

Mom and dad.. thanks so much for bringing my name to the temple on friday.. honestly.. that was the hardest day.. i was a wreck... normally i just cried in the morning then no one saw it.. but at conference on friday i was wishing that i could go on a mommy/daughter drive and stick my head out the window to dry up my tears:) i had to give my departing testimony... uhhh.... i hope that people understood what i was saying... but pretty much the jist of it is that i am the biggest convert of my mission and through all of the obstacles and trials in my life it has only allowed me to excercise faith in the Lord and come to know my Savior. I have felt his love for these people and for me... i hope that i am becoming more of the person He wants me to become. Sister villa and i have had so many spiritual experiences together.. it is so fun.. i am ending and she is just beginning. friday since we were a wreck we went and got some pizza.. as we were driving home there was a homeless man asking for help. (in mexico you just dont open the windows to people cuz its too dangerous) but i told her to roll down the window and ask him if he wanted a slice of pizza.. she did and he was sooo grateful. as we were driving away she just started bawling... saying how she had never done something like that and how she knew she needed to change. it was such a sweet experience. who would have ever thought that a slice of pizza could help us soften our hearts... she is such an amazing person and so it really made me look at my own life and decide who i was going to be after my mission. I think that is the biggest thing my mission has done for me.. now i know exactly what i want in my life.. before i was just having a blast being spontaneous and having a lot of fun.

I was in another 3some this past week... yep i think i have had 4 of them.. haha. but it was really not a big deal since we had conference everyday... at night i just went on splits with a member. We had a lesson with claudia.. and i have been thinking about her so much. Pretty much we went in and started teaching and the spirit smacked her upside the head.. it was great. i had her read alma7:14-15 and then invited her to kneel down right there and pray and ask to know from God if she should be baptized on the 21st with her son Luis... she read.. she prayed.. and she committed to work towards that date. the spirit was so strong in that room and i know she felt it and that she knew it was right. the next night sister trayner (mission president's wife) was my companion and i took her to meet claudia and we had an awesome lesson together. they got along great cuz they are both super outgoing and happy ladies. it was wonderful.

But the highlight ofmy week was a lesson that we had with a lady named Jessica. We had contacted her about a month ago... she had talked with missionaries before. When we tracted into Jessica, she was on her lunch break and didnt have time to talk and didn't want to set a return appointment so i gave her our number and told her to call us when she had time. so she did and she met me and sister trayner at the church after conference one day. i also had another member named alicia there. we started our lesson by singing and praying and then i taught her about the holy ghost.. how it testifies of truth through the feelings we have and i told her to pay attention to her feelings as we talked. then i talked to her about the book of mormon and had sister trayer and alicia bear their testimonies of the book of mormon... the spirit was so strong. Jessica started opening up about her life and said that a couple years ago she was praying and asking for help and then the sister missionaries showed up at her door the next day... but after awhile she turned them away. then she said that last month she was praying again asking for help... and we showed up at her door. she said she knew it wasn't a coincidence and she needed to trust in god. Its hard for me to describe the spirit that was in that room... it was probably one of the most powerful lessons i have had my entire mission. All four of us were in tears... and i know that jessica could feel the spirit. she is great. how cool would that be to start my mission by baptizing a jessica and end my mission by baptizing another jessica!

Channing came to church on sunday.. she is so adorable... hopefully she can really put forth the effort to get an answer and to know for herself that the church is true.. we are going by this week and so it will be good.. hopefully her husband can be there too.
Cynthia (laliela's mom) came to church again as well and she is awesome. she has been reading and praying and is really excited about everything that she is learning. hopefully she will be able to set a date to prepare to be baptized soon.

So yes.. that is the update from laredo.. we have been teaching some really neat people and i can't wait to see what happens with them and how they progress.

I love you all! thanks for all your emails! i really am so blessed to have such a wonderful family and such great friends! i am so excited that liss didn't get transfered and i can't wait to see her again.. it has been way too long without my other half and there is no way i would have been able to wait 2 years without seeing her! it really is perfect timing and i think it is a tender mercy. can we stalk her that weekend? haha ok i am going to stop rambling now... i love you all! have a great week!

love... ME

Tractin' the Mansions of Laredo!

2010-07-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

This week has been awesome and i am actually really surprised how fast is has flown by.. i feel like i was just transferred here yesterday! so this area is intense.. i know you all want to know more about it so i took some pictures of what it looks like. I went from teaching in trailors with no AC and no carpet (San Benito) to an area filled with gated communities and mansions complete with maids who answer the door.. or even better you ring the doorbell and they come on the intercom and reject you... there is nothing like being rejected through modern technology... but it has been a blast.

This week i think we have knocked more houses than i have my entire mission. Sister Villalobos is a champ and isn't bugged by all the rejection. i told her rejection was good for the soul and so now whenever we get denied thats what she says back to me and we laugh about it. she is awesome.

It is pretty crazy starting up a new area. i am not too impressed with the sisters who were here before... i think they just taught a lot of men their age and did the whole flirt to convert thing... so sister villalobos and i have been working on finding families to teach. mom it is cool that you wrote about the blessings of eternal families because that has been the theme of this week. i love that even though we are so far away you and i have the same thoughts and feelings. aren't we so blessed to have such a wonderful family?

The family who had accepted a baptismal date last week... well something happened to them and we haven't been able to get a hold of them. but to prove that God works in mysterious ways... i don't think we kept going back for them.. but for their neighbor.. Claudia and Luis. the first time we went over there it was dark.. Claudia was smoking and just swearing like crazy and not very happy and telling us all sorts of things we didn't want to hear and her poor son Luis was just chillin there too. we gave them a pamphlet to read and when we came back the next time it was completly different. they had read, Claudia had been praying, and she was really wanting to change her life. so we taught her about the restoration and it was such a powerful lesson.. they loved it and the spirit was so strong.. Claudia was glowing and you could tell that she felt the spirit and knew that it was true. when we were asking them questions she just looked at us and asked how she could ever doubt it.. she knew by looking at us and could feel that we KNEW it was true so that helped her to know it was true too. we told her that was great and we invited her to pray about it so she could know for herself without a doubt that it was true. I love being a missionary and just feeling such love for these people. they are so lost and so dark... but the lord knows their potential and so i feel like he helps us as missionaries to feel a glimpse of his love for them so we can better teach them. Claudia is "catholic" but doesn't go to church.. she doesn't like it. so it was neat that by the end of that lesson SHE was asking US when church starts and where it was. we have been having contact with them daily and it is such a difference now as we walk into their home and feel the spirit right away. we have introduced the concept of baptism and are going to invite them to be baptized the next time that we go over to their house. Claudia and Luis were both glowing as they drove into the church parking lot this Sunday and walked up the stairs and came into the chapel. wow. it was so exciting to see them, but i was even more excited for my companion because i knew that this was all a first for her.. first time she had someone at church, first time she watched someone progress and love the gospel.. it has been so great to see her excitement through it all. They loved church and Luis (12) was invited to go to San Antonio with the youth to go to the temple... he was sooo excited... i am not sure they realized he wasn't a member so maybe he can chill on the temple grounds for a bit because afterwards they are going to do some youth activites up there and it would be good for him to go. so we will see.. he is already planning on going to mutual on Tuesday. they are great.

So this week has gone by fast and it has been hot and nasty and wonderful all at the same time.. don't you love a mission?
i love you all so much and hope you have an amazing 4th of july because it is your last big holiday without me there :)
President Traynor will be coming to Texas tomorrow so hopefully we will have the chance to meet him pretty soon. i'll let you know how that goes!
good news - i heard that jazric, amelia, and martina (cristina's sisters) were baptized and confirmed on Saturday and that Ernesto went to it... how neat!

I love you all so much.. i hope you know how happy i am doing what i am doing! have a great week!

Love – Hermana Osborne

ps... i forgot to write about this is in my letter.. but i just wanted to share something that i have been learning.. because a mission/life is so hard and we have so much oppostion.. we go through so much.. but it makes it worth it in the end because we become so much more. i really have seen how the gospel.. when we actively live it.. it changes us. all the ordinances we do and the covenants we make help us to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ. We start to see as He does and love like He loves.

A Transfer to Laredo!

2010-07-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

A sad "farewell" to the Lopez family...I will miss ya'll!!!

And a friendly "Hello" to my new companion, Hermana Villalobos...she is GREAT!

President and Sister Miller,

Hello! Well I am still trying to get over the shock that I am here in Laredo... but it has been such a blessing to me. I really have felt that this is where i am supposed to be and i am so excited to do all that i can to help my area grow and to serve the people here. I have loved working with Sister Villalobos.. she really is such a neat missionary and I am so amazed at how prepared she is to be here and to teach... she teaches me something new everyday.

The area was pretty forgotten by the time we got here, and so we have been working our hardest to get to work and to find prepared people to teach. It really has made us rely more fully on the lord and to be diligent in all things. I think that i have had some of the best personal and companionship studies of my entire mission this week. We really are being humbled and diligent and we know the lord will bless us. As i have been studying this week, a chapter really struck me in 2 Nephi 4. Nephi is bearing his testimony of the scriptures and that through all things he can lean on the Lord. "Nevertheless I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support. O Lord, I have trusted in thee and i will trust in thee forever." I am so grateful for this time of testing and trial so i can learn how to more fully trust in my Lord. I know he will strengthen and support me and I have seen how he already has. I feel so blessed to be a missionary and to be doing what I am doing. I feel so much closer to the Lord and am so happy.

I just wanted to thank you both for everything that you have done for the mission and for me. I love you both so much and have felt so blessed by your service and your care! Thank you for playing such a huge role in my mission!

Sister Osborne

Contacts - 147
New Investigators - 23

Hey everyone!

So yes.. you all know by now that i have been transfered out of San Benito! crazy. when i got the call i just had the sweetest sense come over me that it was exactly what needed to happen, where i needed to be, and who i needed to be with. With all that said it was one of the saddest days of my life. It was so hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people that i have loved, served, and baptized the past 9 months that i was there. I hate goodbyes.. and the hardest part is i don't know exaclty when i will be back to visit. (this would happen the right when a bunch a really neat people are about to be baptized!) oh well.. i have done my part and i know that sister haws and amitoelau will do awesome and will help all these great people to progress. Saying goodbye was rough and i feel like i just left my mission and now i am in another area just as a holding spot until i go home... so my task for this week is to learn to love this area and much as i loved san benito.

My area is Laredo north... aka i work in country clubs of giant houses... if you want to google earth I work north of the road del mar... it is pretty much all english and honestly when i got here.. the area was dead.. not one person in the area book and no one to really go off of. it was a struggle this past week but my trainee is AMAZING! i absolutley love her to death! her name is sister Villalobos.. she is from mexico city and has spent the past for years in provo utah... she is fluent in spanish, english, italian, and french... and i lover her to pieces... she is soooo excited to be a missionary and to go out and to work.. and even though it is like 110 degrees everyday and it is hard for people to let us in.. she is always so happy and so sweet. we just became instant friends and have had so many close chats already. i really feel blessed to be able to end my mission with her because she helps me to be sooo excited about the work and to rememeber how i first felt when i came out into the field.

Since we are starting from scratch we have had to rely on the lord even more.. we have been witnesses of his tender mercies and felt him lead us to where we need to be and open our mouths to testify of his gospel. We had a neat experience with a family this past week... since it is a nice area it is really hard to get into any doors (unlike san benito) so we have done a lot of knocking.. we found this lady named alma (spanish) and when we went back she was there waiting for us and brought out all her kids to listen too. the spirit was so strong and we centered our lesson on the savior and the atonement and baptism. we set a baptismal date for july and they accepted. we are excited to go back and to help them progress. it was such a wonderful experience and the sweetest experience for me when we walked out was to see my companions face and how she was sooooooo excited.

Yes, we have a car and we drive a lot... we have met alot of really neat people... but we did have a creeper experience last night and my poor companion was freaked out... some drunk guy was trying to get fresh and tried to force his way into our apartment... hahaha no worries dad... you can thank kyle and cory for always picking on me... i slammed the door in his face... we have not heard from him since :) if he comes back.. i have some cockroach spray next to the door and i am not afraid to use it! we live with two other sisters.. kellet and call.. (sis call was my comp for a transfer when I 1st got to San Benito ... she always wore my shirts:) )

honestly i feel so blessed to be where i am and doing what i am doing. i know that the lord has heard and answered my prayers and has put me in a place where i can grow and progress. I feel so happy and am so excited to be an instrument in turning this area around and making it bloom like San Benito did!

i love you all! Have an awesome week...be happy and i will talk to you soon!

-herm osborne

Lovin' Life:)

2010-05-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

President and Sister Miller,

This week has been such a wonderful blessing on so many different aspects. I am so grateful for Zone Conference. I feel like it was specifically directed to me and it answered my prayers and has been such a help in my missionary work. I loved it when you talked about staying away from the routine and remembering why we do the little things which are also the most essential. It has helped me to be more effective during my studies and to really use this time that I have to study for other people and to help them towards progression and baptism. A few weeks ago I had struggled with this frustration of feeling like I was just going through the motions and just doing things but not really doing them for the right reasons or with the right spirit. You talked about faith and how when we are working as diligently as we can it is because we have complete trust and faith in the Lord that he really will guide us, he really will answer our prayers, and he really will fulfill all the promises that he has made with us. My mission has been such a whirlwind of ups and downs, but it has made me grow so much. The beauty about a mission is you are always in service of others. It is the times in my mission when I have been down and depressed, when I have felt sad and directionless... Those times are when I have been able to help other people the most. It is hard to explain, but i feel as though the Lord knew exactly what my investigators would be going through, so he gave me some feeling of their sadness and depression so that I could testify boldy to them because I KNEW. Because I had felt that way and I used the atonement of Jesus Christ to find peace of solace and that is what i recieved. I am grateful for the opportunity to repent and to be a better missionary than I ever have. To live everyday to its fullest and to not get discouraged but to serve with love. I am grateful for my mission, I have come to know my Savior so much more. Each day I am walking and talking and testify and serving... just as He did. And as I do it, I bear His name.

I love you both President and Sister Miller and I know that you do what is best for the mission and the missionaries so that the work will continue to progress and i will support and sustain all you decide to do. thank you so much for everything.

Sister Osborne

Contacts - 140
New investigators – 9

Hello family and friends!
lately I have really been making goals and setting plans and just wanting to make sure that I take my mission home with me. I am still me, but i want to keep doing all these good things that allow me to be the best me. It is so crazy to realize how fast this time has gone by.. I can't believe that Jordy is coming home from his mission... wow. It will be so fun to see him again! (hopefully he can teach me some spanish) haha.

i have really been thinking a lot about the small and simple things. How those little things that I do or don’t do each and everyday make all the difference in the world. It is the quiet prayers that allow me to hear the soft promptings of the spirit, it is the simple reading and feasting of the scriptures that allows me to receive revelation for myself and others.. which leads me to serve them. I love how time and time again my testimony grows of these things and i am able to see how important they are... so that i can testify of it and teach other people how important they are. In Zone Conference we talked a lot about not getting into a routine of things, but making sure that you remember the spirit of the law and why we are the way we are. that has helped so much, I only have a few months left to be a full-time missionary... but i want to go home and keep sharing the gospel and not get back into the routine of life and only think about myself. What I have learned the most from my mission has been the importance of the Atonement and Service. I never realized before that I could and should use the atonement everyday... and I never before sought for so many opportunities to serve. I think that must be why I am so happy as a missionary. It really brings such a great joy into life and I feel so blessed that this is where Heavenly Father led me to be.

The work is going really well... we are working really hard with Cristina Lopez and her family... trying to get her sisters baptized and trying to help Yesenia through her teen pregnancy.... so sad. But she talked to the bishop and he was able to help. It doesn't look like she would be willing to put the baby up for adoption either. thank you so much for all your prayers for this sweet family. They really have had so many ups and downs and i have been able to watch those downs really humble them and bring their family back to the gospel.

I love you all! have a great week! byeee

Herm Osborne

Missionary FUN!!!

2010-05-26T13:35:00.001-07:00

i love these girls! they are hilarious! the absolute best!!!
our daily activities consist of prayer, the gospel, laughter, pranks, teaching, singing a lot, more laughter, some tears of joy, tears of sadness, more laughter, lots of love, and service. this is just the way life should be everyday!!!! so as you can tell life is good!! i love you all a ton!!! and miss you even more! have a great week and be happy always!!!!

New Transfer

2010-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

May 10, 2020

President and Sister Miller,

Well this week has been full of the surprises of transfers. I was absolutely shocked that I was going to be in a three-some with my two favorite people here in the mission. It has been such a wonderful time serving with both of these sisters and it has been neat to see the blessings as we have been working hard together. It is exciting because this is my 6th transfer in San Benito and I have practically knocked every single door... so now i am looking more closely for hidden doors to knock as well. This past week we knocked some streets that I had already knocked before, and it was so fun for me to go back and once again share my testimony with these people. It was a neat experience when there were a couple people the first time who wanted nothing to do with me, so this time as i walked up to their doors I told them that i wanted to sing them a song. It was so powerful to testify of my Savior Jesus Christ through music. It immediately brought the spirit and it touched their hearts in a way that allowed them to listen and realize and feel that what we were sharing was good and true. It is such a humbling experience. I have come to love these people so much and as I serve them that love grows. I know that the gospel will change and bless their lives and so that is why I go out and work hard each day. It doesn't matter if I have talked to everyone, I will just talk to them again and again and hopefully they will come to feel of my love for them and they will come to understand how much their Heavenly Father loves them as well.
I am sure you are interested to know how our three-some is working out. It has been such a blessing to work side by side with such strong and powerful women. I think that this transfer will not only help each one of us in our own individual ways, but i know that the work in San Benito will increase and we will be able to work more effectively and find more prepared people. It is so exciting to see all the intricate ways that they Lord works. I know that he is mindful of each one of his children and that there are no coincidences in life. It is because he loves us so much that he gives us so many tender mercies. I love my mission and i feel so blessed by the things that i have learned and am learning. I loved talking to my parents yesterday and it reminds me of the saying, "we leave our families for 18 months so that other families can be together forever." that is so true and i am realizing how that time is running out for me and so i need to be more diligent than ever to help as many people as i possible can to come to the understanding and joy of the restored gospel. Thank you so much for everything that you both do! I love you and sister miller i hope that you had an amazing Mother's Day!

Sister Osborne

Contacts 150
New Investigators - 17

Hello Family -
well yesterday was sooo wonderful! i loved loved loved talking to mom and dad again and hearing your sweet voices! thank you so much for that and i can't wait till i can talk to everyone face to face and hear what is new about life and all that jazz... it will be glorious! so the news is out.. i am still in san benito... i am in a three some with sister haws and amitoelau.. and so it is like a little MTC reunion. we have too much fun together but we compensate it with lots of work and lots of lessons. its been good to be in a 3-some again because it felt like we went through a little bit of a dry spell.. so it is nice to have more forces to go out and find and help others take the steps towards baptism! it has been great!
I am so excited to start a new transfer... there is just something about starting over that is just exciting.. i know.. i am a nerd. but it is great to have new plans and to find ways to accomplish them.

This past week has been awesome and we have taught so many lessons and really seen the blessings that come from hard work. it is so hot outside and so it is so exhausting at the same time, but it is really neat to see that through the exhaustion and the sweat there are blessings and we come to find those who really are prepared and waiting for truth. i feel so blessed to be a missionary at this time. i really do see how the lord guides my steps and i know that he will continue to do so as long as i am patient and trust in him. we are so blessed to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. i can't imagine not having that. just wandering around trying to decide for myself what is right and what is wrong. i love the efy theme, stand in holy places. i think that is so true and so beautiful. i know that as we stand in holy places that we are not only guided but we are uplifted to live, act, and think on a higher and holier ground. in our road to becoming, we need to place ourselves in the best of the best places, around those who will help us to become more like our savior Jesus Christ. there are so many distractions and so much trash competing for our attention. we can't be like Lots wife, walking away from Soddom and Gamorahh but looking back. our mind must be made up, our focus must be on the lord, only then will our steps be sure and we can know of asurety that we are being led by the Lord and that it is for a purpose and that it will bring so many blessings. I have learned so much on my mission and I know that the lord will continue to teach me so much more... even if it means i have to struggle a bit to find the right answers. i know that the pain leads to the joy in knowing what is true and what is right and rejoicing in it when the answer comes. i love you all so much and i miss you dearly! have an awesome week and know that i love you and pray for you daily! thanks for everything!

Love hermanita osborne

Needin' some Protection in San Benito

2010-05-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Wow...what an interesting week! We had some great teachings and a few strange experiences also. I’ll share one of the strange ones with you.

so about 3 transfers ago this man walked up to me and contacted me... i thought that was cool. but somehow i lost his info and never was able to get a hold of him. well this transfer he contacted me again and asked me why i had never come over to his house to teach him. so we set up an appointment with him and went over and taught him the first lesson. well he ends up coming to church and stuff like that. and we teach him a little bit more. whenever one of us is on the phone with him he always asks who it is he is talking to. well this week he wasn't there for our appt so i called him and we talked for a little bit and set up a time to go over on friday. so friday rolls around, we are at the cuevas house and we just had a lesson and ohhh my goodness there was a torrential downpour. the streets flooded and it was pouring. we had an appt with German (that is his name... he is mexican.. and his name is German... haha) anywho so he calls us and is like "where are you i am waiting for you" so i told him we are on our way and we will be right there and then he said he was on his way too and wanted to meet at Jack In The Box before we went to his house... i told him we would just meet at his house. he then wanted to meet up on some random street and then we could follow him to his house... well it just sounded weird so i told him we would call him when we got close to his house. so we get in the car and it is raining so hard and i just felt like we shouldn't teach him cuz we would have to stand out in the rain and try to teach and it would be too much of a distraction and we wouldn't be able to feel the spirit. so i call him up and let him know that it is raining too hard that we can't come over. he then says.. "that is probablyy a good thing. i am in love with you and every time i see you i fall more and more in love with you."
Me: "uhhhhhhh i am a missionary" (this conversation will show how awkward i have become)
German "can i take you out to dinner sometime, just you and me?"
Me: "no. i am a missionary. we don't date."
German "well i really want to take you out and to see you"
Me: "I am sorry but I don't have feelings for you like that and i am down here to teach the gospel. So if you want to learn more about the gospel then you can come to church again."
German "when are you going to come over again and teach me?"
Me: "I can't anymore.. but the elders can. I will have them call you. Have a good day bye."

hahahaha after i got off the phone sis haws was like... Waaaahhhhht just happened? haha. That is San Benito for you. the elders get love notes from little teenage girls and the sisters get creepster old men following them around and what not. That is just how it goes and it didn't really phase me too bad because we have had a few creepsters before but nothing to get ET'ed over. LOVE MY MISSION. but the best part of all was that i just didn't really know what to say to German! luckily though he hasn't called us again so i hope i won't run into him anymore.. he didn't come to church either.

Just another experience in the life of a missionary.

I LOVE YOU ALL have a great week!

Love Hermana O.

1 Year and Countin'

2010-05-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

Esmeralda Salinas Family Baptism

April 1, 2010
President and Sister Miller,

I love my mission. I think I just feel overjoyed with all the many blessings that I have been given and all the growth that I have felt within myself. This weekend Esmerelda Salinas and her 3 kids were baptized in between conference sessions. It was an amazing experience. To think that last month we thought about dropping them, and then felt the prompting to just focus on them even harder; we see how much the Lord loves them, has prepared them, and has reached out to show them truth. It was a spiritual experience and Esmerelda is one of those special people that I know i was close with before this life and I promised to find and teach the gospel to her. I am grateful for the christlike love I have for this wonderful woman and the sweet relationship that we share.
I feel so blessed to be a missionary at this time. this past week sister haws and I celebrated our year mark. It allowed us to talk about personal growth that we have seen in ourselves and each other. It gave us the chance to make goals for these next six months and to make plans for our futures. We can testify that living a life centered around Jesus Christ brings such peace, happiness, and direction. We know this and as we have followed Christ's example, we have come to know Him. I feel endebted to my Heavenly Father that 18 months ago, at an October General Conference He showed me that I needed to serve a mission. I look back at the changes it has made... and i see that it has made all the difference in who i am now, and who i will be.
I know that God loves each of His children. He is aware of our needs, and His hands are always extended towards us. We are not alone or left unaided. Actually, at the times that we feel most alone, that is when we are the closest to our Savior. I have seen the gospel bless my life and the lives of those I teach. I am grateful for conference and that we can listen to the words of the prophets, and correct our course to more closely align our lives with the Savior.

Sister Osborne

New Investigators - 11
Contacts - 143

Hi Family,

yep! you heard it here first! Esmeralda and her kids were baptized!!! what a wonderful conference weekend it has been. luckily we were able to go to all of the sessions of conference and i feel so uplifted and edified. wow what a wonderful weekend it has been. i explained more of Esmeralda's story in my journal entries that i am sending to you, but the very best part of her baptism was at the end when she threw her arms around my neck and thanked me so much for coming to her house. she just wept and wept and wept. i love this lady so much. we really have bonded and she has just grasped upon the gospel and she knows of its truthfulness. she is really an amazing woman. I feel so blessed to have stayed in san benito so long to have gone on this journey with her, to find her, to have taught her, and to have baptized her. she is wonderful and her children are amazing too. it was so great to have her husband at the baptism as well. hopefully it was a positive spiritual experience for him and that he will want to start listening in on our lessons and that he will want to come to church as well. he seems like a really neat man.. just a little shy.

I am so glad that you all had such a wonderful week and loved conference. It really has been such a blessing for me to listen to and has really helped me to think of things that i can change and improve upon and also plan out for the future. this week has been awesome and I feel so blessed to be a missionary. It is neat to see how the depression that we had felt a few weeks ago has turned to indescribable joy and happiness. I have also been blessed to be able to share my rough experiences with those who are going through difficult times, to teach them of the power of the atonement and to promise them that there is a happiness that will come from their trials...that as they rely on the lord He will deliver and bless them. I never thought that i would experience such grief to be able to help those that i love the most as they go through their own sadness and grief, but once again the lord has proven that He knows more than i do and His ways are higher than my ways.

So this week was our one year mark!!! weird huh.. i can't believe that i have been on my mission an entire year! As you know my year mark landed on april 1st. On that day, at 7:30am i get a phone call from the zone leaders. i missed it and when I got the message on the recorder, elder shield solemnly asked me to call him back as soon as i could. so at 8:00 i called them back and the new zone leader (elder horton got transferred :( ) told me that president had called them that morning and that there was an issue up in Corpus with one of the sisters and that i was getting emergency transferred to Corpus. He said that they were going to come and pick me up at 1pm that day. wow... i freaked out.. told them i guess i had better start packing and then i got off the phone and ran and told Sister Haws that i was getting transferred and i just started bawling...I was so sad that I would be transferred just 2 days before Esmeralda was getting baptized. Well, then the Zone Leaders called me and reminded me that it was April 1st... yeah... they are going to get it.... Sister Jackson is pretty mad at them too.. once i told her what had happened... she almost started crying too.. even though she knew it was a joke the entire time! ahh haha
i love you all! have a great week!
love Sister Osborne

A New Transfer

2010-05-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

March 29, 2010
President and Sister Miller,
Well it is the start of a whole new transfer and I am so excited! So many good things lay ahead with the people we are teaching and the people we will find... i can just feel it. Sister Haws and I have realy been blessed and we can feel how the lord is just pouring out blessings upon our heads.
Yesturday, Esmerelda and her children had their baptismal interview to get them all ready for this upcoming sunday. As we were sitting in the hall and waiting, Esmerelda was sharing with me what had helped her to really know for herself that it was true. She went through the first time she let us into her home, the first lesson, the first time in church. All these wonderful things that kept happening, but she knew that she needed to gain her own testimony. She then said that as she watched us she saw that we were always so confident and always so happy and pleasant. She said that she had been around us enough to know that was who we were and that is what she wanted in her life. As she kept the commitments we gave her she notcied small changes in her own life to help her to become more like that. She would be more happy and less angry. I thought this experience was so neat. She noticied that we were different, that we were really set apart from the world.
I have been thinking about what this means and part of the answer comes from the young womans general conference meeting that we had this past weekend. The theme was based on virtue, to be stronf and of good courage. Sister cook said, "Don't give up, choose to follow the plan and live a virtuous life... the Lord will be with you. You will n ot only improve the world around you, but you will also improve the world within you." This is exactly how I feel. This past year as i have been striving so hard to help others to be clean and virtuous and to know their Heavenly Father, I have become so much more clean, so much more virtuous, I have come to know my Heavenly Father so much more. I am so grateful that I have lived a virtuous life, but now I am grateful to learn in a deeper sense what real virture is. It is not only staying away from bad things, but it is being nourished continually by the good things. I have seen first hand how living a virtuous life brings strength and confidence. I am confident in who I am because I know my Savior and I find strength in his teachings, in his ways of living. I find strength as I try each day to become like him. I am so grateful for the christlike attribute of virtue, to better my own life and to help improve the world around me.
Sister Osborne

New Investigators - 15
Contacts - 143

Another Amazing Week Filled with Baptisms!

2010-05-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

Gina's Baptism

Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010

President and Sister Miller,

What an amazing couple of weeks we have had. The Lord really has been

pouring out His blessings with all of the hard work that we have been

putting into the area. This last week we were able to see another wonderful

daughter of God, Virginia Gutierrez, enter into the covenant of baptism. She

had been progressing slowly and we have had to move her date back several

times. We have been teaching her for a few months now and finally a week ago

sister haws and I went over to her home and had such a spiritual lesson with

her. I couldn’t be constrained in inviting her to get her baptismal

interview the next morning in order to be baptized in a week. She accepted

and worked so hard to be clean of all her addictions and to be truly

penitent. She received a blessing and that helped her so much to quit

smoking. I am so grateful for the priesthood and time and time again it has

blessed my own life and wrought so many changes in others lives. It is so

wonderful to see. Sunday Virginia was ready and was baptized. I can hardly

describe the feelings that I had on Sunday… I am so grateful that the spirit

prompted me to be bold, that it told me she was ready to be baptized, and

that she just needed a little encouragement. It was such an emotional

experience sitting with her in the dressing room, waiting for it to be time

for the baptism, her sitting in white. Sister Haws and I shared a scripture

and then told Virginia how the atonement of Jesus Christ is the thing that

makes her baptism possible. It is what makes it possible for her to be

completely clean, without spot.

It has been so wonderful to see the many baptisms in the San Benito North

area. I love 20-20-2… I know it works, that it was revealed as a way for us

to focus our efforts and to gain a testimony that God speaks to those He

calls. I have practiced 20-20-2 and have seen so much joy and success coming

from it. The Lord was right when he promised us that the field is white

already to harvest, and as we have been thrusting in our sickles with ALL

our might, we have found those that the Lord has prepared. Sister Haws and I

were talking about our area and she said, referring to studies, “the Lord

gives prepared people to prepared missionaries.” This is so true. I want to

become even more prepared and to be even more diligent so that we can find

more wonderful families and share these blessings with them.

I am so grateful to be a missionary. I am grateful for the trials and

hardships that I have had, because they have made me grow so much and are

helping me to become more like my Savior. I love this gospel and I know that

it is true and is the only way that we can have true and lasting happiness.

Sister Osborne

Contacts – 142

New Investigators - 10

Hello family!

how is everyone doing? i was so excited to see that i got so much love from

everyone this week! thanks! i was looking forward to it all weekend! so i am

just amazed more and more each day by all the wonderful things that the Lord

does for us. One morning in my studies i went back an read my journal

entries from the start of my mission. it was so fun to remember what was

happening then at that time and then to see all the growth within myself

now. I know that the trials and hardships were the things that allowed me to

grow so much. my mission hasn't been easy at all... but it has been soooooo

wonderful and so much fun along the way. it is so important to have joy in

the journey. to laugh and love and to give all you have. i really believe in

working hard and in playing hard. it just has to be that way or else your

crash!

so last monday we had dinner with Diana Muzquiz and her family! it was so

wonderful to sit down with them for dinner and to learn more from each one

of the girls, things they liked and are interested in. it is just such a

sweet experience to grow so close to these families that you love, and even

sweeter when they accept the gospel and are baptized. i feel so blessed to

be where i am and doing what i am doing. all the hardship has prepared me

for this successful time and now that most of our families are all baptized,

i am excited to start looking for more new ones who are prepared. i love

this work. it is interesting because when Antonio was baptized, i had so

much joy out of that that i thought my mission could be done. i had no idea

that he was a means to get the rest of his family baptized... i had no idea

that the lord had other families in store for me to teach and to testify to.

Nothing is done until the lord says it is. I am grateful that He has sent me

here, and that i could testify of Him to these wonderful families.

I am attaching pictures of Gina’s baptism that we had yesterday! It was so

wonderful... she is so excited and has made such great changes in her life

to be able to be baptized!!!! It is amazing how wonderful this work is and

how much it has progressed.. I can’t believe that in the past month we have

had 8 baptisms! It is wonderful to see!!!

Another neat thing about Gina's baptism is barbara lopez (antonio's

granddaughter who was baptized a few weeks ago...picture attached) gave a talk on baptism and bore her testimony how it has changed her life. The lopez kids are such great kids and the ward is really helping them out and making sure that they are involved. it is so wonderful to witness. I am also sending you a picture of diana, sapphire, suzan, and sharon who were baptized last sunday. i love this work so much and am forever grateful for the opportunity that i have to be a part of it!!!

mom and dad... i can't wait for you to come and meet all these wonderful

people... you will love them...as I do!

i love you all! have a great week!!!

Hermana Osborne

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2010-05-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Gerardo Estrella blessed the Sacrament for the 1st time!

it was so emotional seeing this wonderful man that I have been working with. He has been trying to memorize the prayer for so long, and he finally was able to bless it. It was so cute seeing him up there in the spanish branch, one of the branch members had given him a tie to borrow and he was so happy. He loves the church and he feels so blessed to be a member. One time he came out tracting with us. I stopped to talk to someone and he went on ahead and knocked on someone elses door. I came up behind him just in time to hear him say in spanish.. hi I am a missionary and I have the authority of God on the earth…. Needless to say the lady didn’t let us in.. but I loved how excited and how proud he was to have the priesthood.. he is sooo wonderful!

Diana, Sapphire, Suzan and Sharon were also baptized on Sunday!

I just feel so blessed right now and we really have seen so many blessings in our area. It is amazing to see how it is growing and changing. I feel so blessed and we are going to work soooo hard to be worthy of these amazing blessings that the lord is giving to us! I love this work and am so grateful to be apart of it!

We found some XXXL baptismal jumpsuit… so yes.. we wore them and stuffed ourselves with pillows.. Naturally!

I got an awesome cute valentines package from liss.. made my day
BEST VALENTINES DAY EVER!!!

In 2 weeks… lupe (yesenia lopez’s boy friend) is planning on getting baptized too! It is so neat how you just find people who the lord is preparing.. it is even neater when they find you.
Well family I love you all! Thank you so much for your love and support.. I hope you have an amazing day!
Love little sissy sue..

Blessings!

2010-05-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yesenia, Barbara and Hector Lopez's Baptism!

President and Sister Miller,

This week was wonderful because after months and months of hard work and

many miracle, Yesenia, Barbara, and Hector Lopez were finally baptized. It

is amazing seeing the changes they have made in their lives and how the Lord

really has prepared them and softened their hearts. Now they are the

examples in their family to show others how to be more like Christ.

Today we had a joint companionship study with the Zone Leaders and we went

over our past goals that we had made for the area. It was neat to see the

growth of the area and the success. The families that the Lord has lead us

to and the way that they are preparing for baptism. We looked out our funnel

now in comparison to when I first got here. We talked about how a few months

ago when I had first got here we only had a few baptismal dates and we were

lucky if one person came to church every sunday. We then talked about how

now we have had 13 to 15 people at church. how families are being prepared.

how miracles are happening. How there are 10 solid baptismal dates. It is

such a testimony that it doesn't matter where you serve in the world, it

doesn't matter who you serve with. God has promised that the field is white

and all ready to harvest... and I know this is true. I have seen it first

hand and experienced the blessings of being an instrument in his hands. I

remember talking with the Sisters at the beginning of this transfer and

saying how this area really needed a three some to be here, it needed more

attention to it, and now we can see the fruit of our labor and how as we

have worked together, overcome differences and relied soley upon the Lord,

He has poured out blessings.

There are some really neat families that are preparing for baptism and

thereare wonderful ward members who help so much. I am learning more and

more each day what service really means. and i see it in the members

examples and they show me how to serve and how to become a better

disciple of Jesus Christ.

Sister Osborne

contacts - 110

new investigators - 9

hey fam!

i am sorry about last week where my email got lost and you didn't really get

to hear from me! hopefull by now you got my little package with some journal

entries and a tape! yesturday we 15 people at church! glorious! that is the

most people I have EVER had at church and probably will ever have. it was so

great because we are teaching some really neat families. also dianna and her

family accepted to be baptized feb 14th! thats in two weeks! so we are

working really hard with them and helping them prepare for this fabulous

occasion! they are awesome and i just love teaching families!

So the final highlight of yesturday was that Yesenia, Barbara, and Hector

Lopez (Crisitina's Kids) finally got baptized! it was a wonderful day and

there was a lot of support from the ward and everyone. I am so grateful that

i have been able to be here to find them and to help teach them. it is neat

how at the beginning they wanted nothing to do with us, only antonio was the

one that was interested. now they are they ones that are active and are

fully committed to living a christlike life. it is amaazing. i just love

hector... he is the coolest little 8 year old ever! i am sending my camera

card home today and so you will be able to see pictures of these kids.. but

lets just say that hector had a mullet hair cut till he was 5.... that

should tell you something about how cool he is. anyway so i was sitting with

him at church and elder ott had just given him a new triple combination and

he was looking through the pictures in the back... when he got to the temple

i pointed to it and asked him what is was... and he looked at me and was

like..."that's God's Palace" hahaha. he really is a smart little

kid and will help his family grow alot in the gospel. Cristina couldn't get

baptized because her "husband" still didnt want to get married... so we are

working on that. it was a wonderful experience for her to watch as her

children got baptized. i love that family. they have gone through TONS of

trials right now, but they are doing great getting through them and they are

learning as they rely on the Lord. So we were at church for 12 hours

yesturday... 7 people got baptized, and we had 3 sessions of baptisms (2 in

english 1 in spanish) what a wonderful day! it has been a lot of hard work,

but we are definately seeing the fruits of our labors and some wonderful

people are being prepared to enter into baptism! LOVE IT!!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Antonio's Baptism...the VERY best present of ALL!!!

President and Sister Miller,
This has been such a wonderful week, I am sure I say that all the time, but really we have been so blessed this week and have seen promises being fulfilled. This week we decided we are going to live 20-20-2 to it's fullesti ncluding having 10 new investigators and matching our member present lessons with our new investigators. It has made all the difference and I really have seen miracles happen within our area. Antonio Lopez was baptized about 2 weeks ago and for the first time he was able to go to Elder Ott's Mens Group at the church on tuesday night. This is where we started to see amazing changes because while there he was surrounded by other men in his same circumstances and they all committed together to read the entire Book of Mormon from cover to cover in 10 weeks. The next day before we could go over and visit Antonio called crying saying how he had started to read the Book of Mormon and he had felt how wonderful and how great of a blessing that book is. He left school in 7th grade to go work in the fields and so he can't read very well, but he stayed up till late that night reading and he cannot put it down. When we went and visited him it was amazing seeing the visible difference in this man. I can hardly recognize him. He was gruff and grumpy and now he is humble and submissive. All he wants is to learn more and to have is family join him. As we have been living 20-20-2, many of the baptismal dates that we had set that were not prepared, dropped, but we were able to find more that were really prepared... instead of finding them, they found us. In the middle of the week we got a text in the middle of the night from Cristina Lopez, Antonio's daughter who lives with him but never wanted to listen to us before. It was a cry for help and she has been humbled and prepared and she has watched these amazing changes in her father. She realizes more than ever that she needs the help of the Savior in her life, to lead and guide her and her children. When we went over the next day she sat down with us, she asked questions, she accepted a baptismal date... she was ready to act. she came to the ward christmas party that night, and the next day she and her son came to church. It was such an amazing blessing to have them there, learning, and see them as they felt the spirit and their hearts were softened. I know that God is mindful of each of His children. He loves us so much...more than we can ever comprehend. Often times He gives us trials so that we can be humbled and rely on Him instead of our own strengths. I know that we are His missionaries and He places us where we need to be at the right time and gives us the right words to say. I know that the Atonement is real, that it really can change my life, and it has. I am grateful to help others learn about the restored gospel so they can experience this change and this happiness in their own lives as well. I am so blessed to be a missionary. Heavenly Father knew better than I did that this is where I needed to be, and that I needed to serve Him. I owe all I have to Him. Have a wonderful wonderful Christmas and thank you so much for all you do!

Sister Osborne
Contacts - 142
New investigators - 11

Syrup & _ _ _s?

2010-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

i do have a funny story for you.. we went over to a members home to have a meal with them, they just got a new waffle iron and so they wanted to test it out on us. we had literally some of the best waffles i have ever had(besides dad's all famous morning-after seminary waffles in the lake house... :) yes i still remember those) any who.. they were fabulous... and so she went and started making us more... well when sister bustillos poured the syrup on her waffle this time she realized there were some specs in the syrup.. she bent down for a closer look and realize they were little dead, red ants in the syrup... i think she almost gagged. i looked at the syrup container and sure enough an entire colony... litterally... of sugar ants had crawled into this bottle of syrup and had drowned..... and we didnt find this out till we had eaten our waffles and probably consumed half of them! THERE WERE SOOOO MANY ANTS IN THERE! hahaha it was hilarious! i was ok with it... i am used to it.... after all i remember a time when one of my beloved siblings fed me maggot macaroni.... hahahaha ps... macaroni has never sounded good to me since then! there are bugs like crazy here! but it is an adventure and an absolute blast!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

I'm So Thankful!

2010-01-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2009

Hello everyone!
Well this past week was amazing and we truly witnessed many blessings that came our way. It was so fun for thanksgiving reflecting on my life and all the things i am thankful for and all the people that i am thankful for. i have realized how blessed i have been to have amazing family members and to have amazing friends who have been there for me through the best and the worst of times... so since i can't write you all individually i just want to thank you all collectively! i am so grateful for my grandparents, my parents, my siblings, my new brother and sisters, aunts and uncles, for their love and guidance. i am so thankful for all those who served missions before me. i am so blessed to have such a great family. and then on top of it i am so blessed to have some great friends and "brothers" who have served missions and have helped me prepare for mine... jon hoof, clay kincaid, brian jackson, trae roberts, kyle rogers, marc bastian... and thats only a few.. then i have such amazing friends from school like kelsey johnson who paved the way for me to see how exciting it was to prepare for a mission. i am so blessed to be out here and to be doing the lords work. He blesses His missionaries so much. since my companion is a greengo i have really had to rely upon the lord to bless me with my spanish and He really has. i am understanding so much more and my tongue is being loosed. i love this gospel. i love what it does and how it changes me. i love the missionaries i work with and the deep bonds that we all share. i love where i am and everything that i am doing. i am so blessed to have had some amazing young womens leaders as i have grown up.. they always saw my potential even when i didn't. staci litchfield, chari bennett, sister chenney, sister waite, sister larson, sister augvine, sister sainsberry... i hope i am not leaving anyone out...but i really have been surrounded by incredible woman and i will never be able to pay them back. last night we were with sister ott (one of the senior missionaries) and she was just thanking sister bustillos and i for being strong...for staying clean...and for coming on a mission. she asked how it was possible and what made the difference? Really, it was great parents, great siblings, great friends, and great church leaders. i am so grateful for all of these people who have truly made such an impact on my life...more than words can tell. i needed each one of them for various reasons and at different stages.. but they each helped me get on a mission and my mission will impact and change the rest of my life. we are so blessed to have a family that is sealed together, to fight through the hard times together and to come out strong. i am so grateful, truly thankful and i hope that i can live up to the expectation that my family has of me and that my Father in Heaven has for me. i am trying and i am learning each and every day... and i am growing and becoming. i love this work, it really is so wonderful and i feel so blessed, that through everything, i have just been sooooooo happy. i love the members here in san benito and i will be friends with them for the rest of my life and forever. it is crazy to think that before this life i probably promised my Heavenly Father that i would go on a mission...that He could count on me..that i would prepare each day to serve and to find my friends and bring the gospel to them. i am so grateful for this time to do exactly that. to teach and share and bear testimony. i love my life and my mission and i love you all so much!

love hermanita osborne

Gerardo was Baptized!

2009-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hermano Gonzales, our ward mission leader, came with us as we taught Gerardo the gospel.

Hermana Call took this pictures while I was teaching Gerardo.

Our investivator...Clarisa and her baby.

well hello family! it has been an awesome and crazy and wonderful week that has just flown by..i am going to start with yesturday and work backwards!!

Gerardo Estrella got baptized! it was so wonderful to see another one of the investigators that i have taught and loved enter into the waters of baptism.. tues was his interview and he was sooo scared but he just glowed all week and then yesturday he got baptized. it was wonderful because we have a small spanish branch here and they are all converts so they are tender because they are all kinda trying to figure out what is going on and how to run things. it is so awesome. our branch mission leader is this elderly guy.. brother gonzales, and he came out with us everyday last week and then he baptized Gerardo.. it was sooo sweet and they are just as cute as can be. Gerardo is about 48 and the skinniest person i have ever seen..he is very sickly and so when he was getting baptized hermano gonzales had to put him down real slow.... real slow... it was awesome.. Gerardo will be such a wonderful example and leader in the many years to come. I am so grateful for this work and for the Lord. He truly did prepare Gerardo to hear the message and accept it. Gerardo was so excited and so touched as he came out of the water with the biggest smile. It is amazing to see how the members have really started coming out with us more and have been excellent in sharing their testimonies. Gerardo was found because of a referral.. and so after a thousand of rejections by referrals we were able to find a diamond in the rough and the Lord led us to where we needed to be. I am so grateful for this work. It is interesting because last week was really hard, but as we continued through it and relied upon the Lord, He has poured out his blessings on us this week and directed our paths.

next... WE MOVED! our address is
110 edgewater circle
san benito tx 78586

the story behind that is we got a creeper who started calling us non stop and it just wasn't safe for us to be living where we were. so we called president and let him know. our area is kinda scary and has some unsafe places in it so he had us move in with memebers... we now live in a really nice neighborhood with brother and sister jackson.. our ward mission leader in the english ward... they are so awesome and the place that we live is really nice. i just love them and our new home... plus laundry is free :)hahaha but president had been wanting the sisters to move in with members so that we would be safer. its been a great blessing and has made it easier to do missionary work!

lets see...what else has happened! i have a funny story :) we were driving down this country road and a cemetary came up.. and we were just looking at all the tombstones... and then there was the giant building where they put the remains of all the cremated people! and i said... look its the creamery! i actually thought that was what is was called.... well we laughed for a long time after that... now everytime we pass by we say hi to the creamery!

We had a great Zone Conference this week and the Zone Leaders talked about was how we need to extend baptismal dates to EVERYONE and the only time we don't is when we feel a prompting not to. Well a few hours later we were in a lesson with two women in their twenties and they each had 4 young children running around, in and out of the house. No matter what we tried, the atmosphere was a little chaotic. We shared a scripture about baptism and when I was a little hesitant to extend a baptismal date, my wonderful companion went right in and challenged her to baptism and reminded me how I need to be bold. It was such a wonderful experience and it reminded me that I need to trust in the spirit, I need to trust in the conversion process, and I need to live my purpose and help others prepare for baptism. I was so grateful for my companion's example and how she didn't let the distractions pass up an opportunity to invite someone to be baptized.

well my time is running out! but i love you all! have a great week! I am happy, healthy & safe!Love you,
Hermana Osborne

2009-11-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

Zone Conference

Kissed on the Mission???

2009-11-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hello family...It's been a great and trying week! I love what growth comes from serving the Lord and from relying upon Him. Even when we just aren't sure what direction He is guiding us or what the end destination is, it is just good enough to know who is guiding us.

This past week has been a little more difficult since America, who was supposed to get baptized yesterday, ran into some problems with her parents and they discouraged her baptism. After all we could do, it was best to set a new date out for a couple more weeks and we really feel that now she will take preparation for baptism more seriously and then her parents will see her example and really see how the gospel can and does change us as we allow it to. As life usually tends to do, when something goes wrong then everything else tends to follow, but Sister Call and I are looking at this as a good sign of things to come in the future as we continue to work diligently and rely upon the Lord to guide us in all things. It is amazing to see how quickly blessings already come. We have 5 wonderful people with baptismal dates but each of them have large obstacles ahead of them, so our main focus is going to be doing everything we can and more to help them progress and be baptized and make this sacred covenant with the Lord. In conference we talked a bit about opposition and trials and how without them this wouldn't be work. I am grateful for the trials that I have had throughout my life and the person that they have made me become. I am excited about these upcoming weeks, about my companionship with Sister Call. Many good things are in store for us as we push forward and seek inspiration and revelation in all that we do.

So i have to tell you this funny story. we went back to a family that we had previously dropped and as is the culture here when you handshake people goodbye you lean in and kiss them on the cheek as well... it's good.. but i am a missionary so we are not allowed to kiss the men... obviously... well i kissed christina goodbye and then her husband came up and laid one on me... hahaha i was so awkward and disturbed that when we got into the car... i turned to sister call and said in a very disturbed voice "i kissed .... sergio"... she hadnt seen it and so we laughed for days as i recounted the story... wow i have gotten a little tooo much action out here already... this is the 3rd man that has laid a wet one on my cheek :)

okay gots to go! love you all!
Hermana Osborne

Transfers...Hello's & Good-bye's

2009-11-21T10:37:00.001-08:00

My new companion...Hermana Call.

I will miss the de los Angeles Family. I have grown to really love them!

And my companion Sister Behrman!!!

Just hangin' out in the mission home helpin' Sister Miller out in the kitchen.

Transferred!

2009-10-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

We were all in the same district in the MTC and this was the 1st time being together again...Celebrating our 6 month mark!!!

Just like the Elders, we thought we would burn ties to commemorate 6 glorious months in the mission!

hey fam!
Yes...I was transferred! I am now serving in San Benito and I am so grateful for where I am, what I am doing, and who I am teaching with. my companion's name is sister call, she is so awesome and we get along really well! she came into the mtc a transfer after i did and so i met her there, but she was in the advanced Spanish class so she speaks much better than i do.. which is so helpful! i am learning a lot. I want to tell you all how much i love you and how happy i am where i am at! it is so wonderful and i love this new area and my new companion and some great things are going to happen!!! I feel so blessed and I know that the Lord continues to guide my path. This past week I have noticed a direct connection with all the things that I learned as I was with Sister Behrmann the past two transfers and all the things that I have been able to bring with me here to San Benito and apply in the work. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be thrown for a loop, to not know anyone and not know where I am and need to rely upon the Lord that much more. Sister Call and I have had many wonderful experiences and have seen such blessings as we have taught and worked so hard to get people to church so that they could prepare for baptism.

The area is wonderful and i am so excited for this new adventure that i am embarking upon... although i must say that the mosquitoes down here are even more ferocious! it is insane.
this past week we have been teaching a lot, it is so interesting to see how different areas can be.. even when they are only an hour away from each other. yes san benito is much more modern then pharr was. people's living conditions are way better here and it is so interesting to see real neighborhoods again. and because of that there are also problems such as it is harder to get baptisms here. this area hasn't had a baptism in over a year! but that just means it is ripe for some changes! it was really neat though because since i have been here we have been able to set 5 baptismal dates and last week 4 people came to church.. which is really good for this area. we are teaching two really amazing men who will probably be really ready for baptism.

We are instructed to set baptismal dates within the first two times because it helps us to see how motivated people are and how willing they are to change. also something hard is there are many good people who want to change but they are addicted to drugs or something and after a month or a couple weeks they fall back into their old habits... it is really sad. but i am very hopeful for a couple of the people we are teaching, they are wonderful and are very penitent so we will see what happens and we will work as hard as we can to help them prepare. this area is so wonderful, i learned so much in my last area with sister behrmann on how to be organized and schedule everyone.. and it has really helped in our new area. i have taken the things i have learned and applied them here and already i can see how it helps. it is so wonderful being a missionary and constantly learning and growing.

One of our blessings this week was our 1st teaching with Antonio. We taught him about the atonement and repentance and the spirit was so strong. His face was soaked with tears as he expressed the desire to change and the hardship he had faced in life as various sins had chained him down. It was amazing because at the end he expressed how he felt a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Sunday, a wonderful young couple drove out of their way to pick him up and take him to church and that night we went with Elder Ottto to go and visit Antonio and teach him another discussion. I can hardly describe the spirit that was felt in that room. Antonio is 48 and looks weathered from the hard life that he has lived. he lives with his older children who are a bit loud. we walked in and there was loud music and the kids were in the adjoining family room playing games and talking and laughing. None of them wanted to join us or listen but an amazing change took place throughout the lesson. as we talked about the atonement more and about the restoration, the spirit was so strong in that room and his kids who are well into their 20's stopped everything they were doing and sat and were listening in on the lesson. The testimonies that were born were so beautiful and you could see the impact and change it had on Antonio. He seemed lighter and lifted. I know that the atonement is real. Just through testimony he felt the blessings of the atonement and I know that as Antonio prepares for baptism and is baptized that he will see the atonement take ahold of his life and change him even more dramatically.

I am so grateful to be a missionary and to be crying repentance. I am so grateful for the penitent who heed the cry and then do... and strive to become more like Christ. i am grateful for the atonement in my life, that i can repent and then act and strive to be more like my Savior. These people are so precious and we are going to work as hard as we can to help them prepare and make these covenants and receive these blessings.

LOVE YOU!!! BYEEEEEEEEE

Brown Eyes?

2009-10-14T20:09:00.001-07:00

Sister Osborne was tired of all the comments about her "baby blues". She felt they were a distraction to her teaching so she had us send her some brown contacts. She even dyed her hair black so that she looks more like a native. Well...sort of. All she needs now is a tan!

Everythings BIGGER in Texas!

2009-10-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

Conference and Dog Bites?

2009-10-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Cookin' with Sister Frias

hey family!
conference was awesome! Wow Jeffrey R Holland is my absolute favorite speaker ever! he is so amazing and his testimony is so strong. The best part of conference was that we had 9 investigators come to church! That is that highest number i have had yet! fabulous! It was really neat because since the church is pretty far away and we have to get rides for all of our investigators, we had them come to the morning sessions and then we brought food to feed them in between and have lessons and then they stayed and watched the afternoon session. it was hilarous because the 1st day we brought stuff to make french toast... all of the mexicans have never had french toast before and we didnt think about that..... hahaha they hated it! it was hilarious! so the next day we just made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the spanish members brought burritos... wow i love how it is just one big melting pot of two cultures! it is the absolute best! Conference was everything that i needed and it was so nice to rest and just be spiritually uplifted and feed.

ok so i have a funny story that is in greater detail in the tape that i am sending to you this week.. but it is just too funny. I GOT BIT BY A DOG!!!! i have some fang marks in my leg and a giant bruise... right above my kneecap.
so what happened was we went over to help a member move. My companion and I have worked hard to help activate todd and now he is moving to Idaho. so the assistants had to be there too under president Miller's direction so the sisters werent there all day with todd. so we got all done and todd asked the assistants to leave becasue he had to give us something...they wouldnt leave though and so then when we were saying goodbye he just gives this giant awkward bear hug to sister behrmann... hahahaha her face was soooo distrubed... and she just stood there...shocked.. then he goes to sister eisley and she is so little so she tried to turn away hahahaha.. then he grabs my arm and i screech and try running away... i dont want to be hugged by a man... i am a sister.. and somehow i break free and his dog...which is crazy anyway... thinks i am hurting his owner and so it jumps up and bites my leg... we run out of there and the assitants are just standing there starring in shock... it was sooo awkward... a terrible way to say goodbye... but so hilarious. (dont worry my leg is doing better!)

Other than the dog attack, it was a GREAT week. Hope everyone is doing well.

I love y'all!
Sister Osborne

The Hermanas with Elder & Sister Nelson and President & Sister Miller (LOVE them!)

2009-10-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

President and Sister Miller,
This week has been so wonderful and we have seen so many wonderful blessings. I was grateful for the chance to look back and reflect on this past transfer, to look at my goals and see the things I have accomplished as well as the areas that I have not yet reached the goals I have set out to do. I am so grateful for the word "becoming", because that is something that I am working on every day. There are many areas that I lack in, but as I rely on the Savior I feel that my weaknesses are made into strengths. I was so grateful for conference this week, for the things I learned and the spirit I felt. It was so wonderful to have investigators come to every session and to hear the words of the apostles and prophets. We are so blessed to have the restored gospel. I am so grateful for the example of the apostles, how they teach and bear their testimonies and it has given me a pattern to follow, to teach with love and boldness, as one who firmlybelieves and knows these things to be true. I am so grateful for the constant criticism and speculation that a mission gives me, in a good way. I learn from my faults and follies and I am humbled to know what I need to do and who I need to rely on to find strength and to change. I came on my mission to help others and more and more I find that as I am doing this, the Lord is helping and changing me.
Sister Osborne
New Investigators -13
Contacts - 80

Baptism of Brenda & Maria de los Angeles

2009-10-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Brenda & Maria were Baptized!

2009-09-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

This week was crazy and wonderful all at the same time. we were able to meet every single one of our goals and we had the most successful week that I have ever had. The best part of the week was Brenda and Maria's baptism! It was a beautiful baptism even though it began in a stressful way. The Elders had forgotten to fill the font and we had to stall the baptism for 30 minutes because Brenda and Maria's father was still at home showering and getting ready for the baptism. We really wanted him to be there because while we would teach the family the discussions, he never had the desire to listen so we were thrilled that he wanted to be present for his daughters baptisms. We stalled as long as we could and then we began with 2 talks and Brenda and Maria singing "I Engo Gozo en mi Alma Hoy". It was so cute! And just as Brenda was going to get baptized, her dad came. Brenda was SO excited that he came. When she was baptized, Brenda didn't even bend her knees. Instead, her feet came off the ground and she just layed in the water, all graceful and peaceful. It was really tender. Then Maria Angeles (8) got baptized as well. They were both so happy and so giggly. Brenda is only 10 and she has already read the entire Book of Mormon! Both of the girls love the gospel and were so happy to finally be members and be baptized. They were beaming all the rest of the night. It was wonderful having their father there and seeing this cute family all together. Hopefully, the father felt the spirit and will want to listen to the discussions as well. We will keep working with their family.

well i am so grateful for the wonderful emails and updates of everyones lives. over here i am so happy to say that the weather is finally chillin out a bit... (98 degrees) but now the mosquitos are out and bitting...luckily for me it seems that sister eisley has sweeter blood than i do so she usually takes it for the team and comes home with 12 more mosquito bites a day than i do... but really i have never seen anything like this! just giant swarms!

mom i sent in my scriptures and i am getting them covered so i will take a picture of them and send them to you... i bargained again :) haha i wasable to talk him down from $135 to $85! i loved it! and it was in spanish! hahaha i had to help train my companion on how to do it... sister Behrmann had never bargained before and it was quite fun!

After a lot of thought, I have come up with a new way to combat the dog situation here. I made a purchase last week of some dog bones... and let me tell you they come in handy! they have saved me from being chased, bitten, and from the yappy dogs. chuiwawas are the devil... when we are contacting people they just come up to your feet and start barking at you like crazy!!! so ... now i just give them bones and they can be quite... and the people that i teach think it is hilarious and clever so they listen more... ohhh the life of a missionary... so special.

Our senior couple is going home this week and i was talking with president and sister miller at their house when president asked how many people were in my family and how many had gone on missions. i said, "all of us except my mom". sister miller then decided that it was moms turn to serve a mission and that she should come down to Texas McAllen Mission and she and dad could be the senior couple for her and president. i thought that would be awesome too... but then i realized that when i got home from my mission my parents would stillbe stuck in my mission! and i decided against that! but mom you can have your turn soon enough!

well everyone i love you so much! thanks for the letters and love.
LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH! keep being good!
Hermana Osborne

Jessica & Eric's Wedding

2009-09-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Jessica was Baptized!

2009-08-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Hello family!
Well it has been another wonderfully busy week down here in Mexico! But it has been awesome! Jessica Graham was baptized and confirmed this Saturday and Sunday so that was so awesome to be a part of. It was so interesting watching all of the trials that came in her way right before the baptismal date that could have stopped her from being baptized, but she held strong and was able to see the blessings that come from being a member of the Church. It is amazing seeing how truly happy she really is. She has just been sooo excited and every time I see her she is just beaming. The baptismal service was awesome as well. It was small because a lot of the ward members didn’t come, but it was so powerful. We have been working really hard with todd so that he could get over his word of wisdom addiction and be worthy to baptize her. It was so powerful seeing todd, this recent convert who used to fight against the church, baptizing Jessica. Todd was so excited and really took to heart the symbolism and what everything meant. I loved seeing them stand together in white next to the baptismal font. Both had the biggest smiles on their faces! The talks were on baptism and the Holy Ghost and then we had a musical number and the spirit was so strong. Many people were in tears, including Jessica, sister frias, and Todd. It was so tender. I also loved it because when Todd baptized her he pronounced ever word with such meaning, it wasn’t a memorized prayer to Him. It really meant everything to him and he was so privileged to have been asked by her to perform this baptism. Also we had an awesome lesson with Eric, Jessica’s Boyfriend, and we set a baptismal date with him for sept 26th… but he might take a little more time than Jess did so we will keep working on him. But there was an awesome lesson and the spirit was so strong.

It is awesome to live so close to my mission president and I get to help sister miller for the dinners and breakfasts for the incoming and outgoing missionary meals and I am always excited to spend some time over there with them! I just love being in their home...it is awesome! This last Monday we had to stop by to give sister miller something and she ended up making us dinner! We felt so privileged because I am not sure how many other companionship get to have this much time with president and his wife… I just love them!

This week we did exchanges on Thursday. Sooooo I was with HERM again! It was sooo exciting and relieving because we just get along so well! Hermana Amitoelau and I had a wonderful start to the day with studies and then we went out to work. I loved that day so much. We went to her area and so I got to see what she has been doing and I loved it! It has been neat to see how much we have both grown, spiritually and in Spanish, since our days together at the MTC and when we taught together the spirit was so strong. We went and taught rosa.. this little old lady who was getting baptized. But the very best part of the day was our last appointment.. we went over to visit Jorge and Blanca Gomez. Herm, since the mtc, has been praying for her investigators and has had a specific picture of one man who she knew that she would help while out in the field, and when she got to this area, she met Jorge and knew this was him! So we went over there and taught them and the spirit was soo strong. It was the strongest I have ever felt since being on the mission. It just radiated and they witnessed it too. Jorge said that he wasn't sure if he was ready to get baptized yet.. he wanted to know what all the qualifications were, and so we just simply bore testimony of jesus christ. we were there for about an hour and a half and blanca and the members that we brought with us were crying. they knew that they were feeling something different and we boldly testified that it was the spirit witnessing to them that what we were saying is true. they didn't accept a baptismal date...yet...but they felt something very different and all their other doubts had faded away.. they are now able to more willingly focus on being prepared to be baptized. i am so grateful for the opporunity i had to work with herm amitoelau again. It just makes such a difference when you get along so well with your companion that you are able to lose yourself in the work and have a blast while doing it. the people can see how happy you are to be working and that is what stands out to them and they want to know how they can have that in their life as well!

well fam i love you so much and i will work on some things to send out to you this week!

Hermana Osborne

Those Eyes!

2009-08-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

Well hello family!
This has been another wondrous week filled with finding people and also dropping people so we could focus more on those who are progressing. It has been spectacular! Jessica is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday so lets all hope and pray that nothing stands in the way of it! There is always some last minute craziness! Ok so the update on Jessica. She was supposed to have her wedding this wed and then get baptized on Saturday but then she started freaking out about it and just wasn't quite ready to get married. So she said she wanted to move everything back a week. But we talked more about itand she decided to still get baptized this Saturday and instead she is going to move back into the frias home so she can be living the law of chastityand then they will be getting married the next week so then she can move back in with eric. Craziness! But her baptism is all scheduled to go and sister Frias is awesome! I don't know what we would do without her! She has helped so much. It is so important to have members help in missionary work! So that makes for some exciting times to have the baptism this week and the wedding next week!

Other than that everything has been going awesome, Brenda and Maria are so prepared for their baptismal date as well. this week was the tester week..we didn't remind them of church or make arrangements for them to come and there they were! Soooo awesome!

So mother, I have a question and if you think this is too ridiculous than that is fine.. but I was wondering if you would send me some prescription colored contacts, the color, BROWN. And here is my story to go along with this! So we will be in the middle of teaching and I will either just say the 1st vision or ask the person some great and marvelous question and they will look at me and in Spanish just start googling over my eyes and telling me they are like oceans and sooo beautiful and blahh blahh blahh. dad was right when he said that would happen because everyone here has dark brown eyes! And it wouldn't be bad if this happened every once in awhile, but it happens ALL the TIME! MY EYES ARE DISTRACTING PEOPLE FROM THE MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST! Hahahahaha ohhhh goodness. So I thought I would just ask for a case of brown contacts and see what you say about that!

Wednesday was my companions birthday! So we had a fun little birthday party during one of our breaks. it was actually wayyy relaxing and fun so it made for a perfect day! I think we are having a record of how many days we consecutively go over 100 degrees this summer. something like 50 days already! When will it ever cool down?!!!!

Well this week has been awesome and I am so sorry that these emails just can't be detailed enough! But I love you all so much, thank you for your support and I am so excited to read your emails and catch up on the things that are happening over there! I can't believe that transfers are next week and I am already going to be starting my 3rd transfer! Crazy!

Love you all have a wonderful week!

love herm osborne!

President and Sister Miller,
This week has been so wonderful to focus on what we need to improve and how we can be more effective teachers. As I have focused personal studies on Preach My Gospel and really tried to connect with realistic goals, I have seen the areas I need to improve and also the ways to improve. Also this week has given me such a greater testimony of member presence. This week was a really hard week to get members to come out with us, but we were also reminded of why it is so important. Jessica, who has a baptismal date for this Saturday, was planning on getting married this Wednesday, and then getting baptized this Saturday. She was very stressed with these two big events taking place in one week and so she wanted to push everything back. With the help of Sister Frias, the wedding is pushed back, but the baptism is still scheduled for this Saturday. I have learned how important it is to have members there who will help and guide these wonderful people to make righteous decisions. It has also been amazing seeing the changes in the investigators lives who keep their commitments, like Jessica. She truly has changed so much and the roughness that was around the edges is being polished away as she makes and keeps commitments with the Lord. Because she has seen these changes in her life, she is now so willing to follow any other commandment that she learns of. As we come to learn of Jesus Christ and demonstrate our faith by making commitments to follow Him, we are blessed. Each day we change little by little to become more of the person He would have us be. He shapes us and gives us experiences and trials that are specifically designed for us and our needs. No matter the trial or the difficulty, He has promised us that if we rely on Him and keep His commandments than all will be well.

Sister Osborne
Contacts 119
New Investigators 8

2009-08-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I just received new pictures from Sister Osborne. I have tried to match the pictures with her previous posts. Please scroll down so see her first photos of missionary life in Texas!

Mini-Missionary Week

2009-08-08T14:14:00.001-07:00

Sister Alvarado. My 17 year old "Mini-Missionary".

Well this last week has been amazing and heavenly father has blessed me soooooo much. i told you that we were having mini missionaries and wow it was sooo tiring and a bit stressful but heavenly father most certainly helped me. so the deal was that i would take over the mcallen area (which is the new area that we were just given this last transfer) and sister behrmann took over the pharr/eddinburg area (which is the area that i had last transfer) so i know her area like the back of my hand, but it is soley spanish speaking... so she took that area and the car and i took mcallen and the bikes! it was so much responsibility. it was like i was training someone who was 17 and not even set apart as a missionary. but i rose to the challenge and we went tracting the whole week and found some amazing families. mcallen isn't as heavily concentrated in spanish as pharr is, but i still had to speak it. i had an amazing experience when i found this family and they let us in to teach and i taught them the whole 1st lesson in spanish. i don't even know the words that i was saying, but heavenly father used me to share the gospel with these people. the spirit was so strong and i am so grateful that even though this week was stressful and more work than i have ever done, i have grown so much from it. This was the first time that i ever felt like i actually had been give the gift of tounges. i am so grateful for this gift that i was given at this time. i am amazed how much i have learned in spanish this past week because everyday i taught at least one lesson in spanish and i had to contact people in spanish and everything. but i have loved it because it has been a time where i have been forced to open my mouth and the lord has filled it.

We have a baptism on the 22nd for an awesome girl named jessica. she has come to church 3 times already... (which is the hardest thing to get people to do down here) this last sunday was fast and testimony and she went up and bore a beautiful testimony. you could tell she was so filled with the spirit. but then as she was walking down... she didnt even realize there were stairs and she just biffed it and fell off the stage. she is so sweet and took it like a champ. i think it was a blessing in disguise though because so many ward members came up to her afterwards and talked to her, gave her hugs, and thanked her for her testimony. whereas before no one ever really introduced themselves. it was awesome because so many ward members approached her and she felt at home. so i am really excited for that. it is sad.. i can't even tell you how many baptismal dates we have set but then they fall through because they get anti-ed or they aren't married and don't want to, or they just never come to church and progress. it is so sad. there are so many blessing waiting for these people if they would just keep the commandments.

This week me and my little missionary were knocking and this lady invited us in and i started teaching her.. she tried bible bashing with me... i couldn't understand everything she was saying but the spirit was dark. so i just started testifying. 1st about jesus christ, then she brought up joseph smith and asked where does it talk about him in the bible. and then i asked her if abraham ever testified of any of the prophets who would come after him? no... prophets don't testify of each other... only jesus christ. i then testified that joseph smith in reality was a prophet of god, called by jesus christ to bring about the restoration of the fulness of the gospel... by this time she just wanted to keep bashing... so i stood up... "muchisimas gracias hermana pero tenemos una cita. tenga buen dia." and we left. people just don't want to listen or even open their heart to the spirit. sad news.

But this week has been wonderful. heavenly father has strengthened me. we had zone conference and it gave me an even stronger determination to work harder and testify more frequently. i am so grateful for this gospel. it is so sad that so many people won't listen... but they are not rejecting my message... They are rejecting His.

i love you all so much! thank you for all your support and love! keep working hard and whenever it is hot outside remember you have no room to complain :)
have a wonderful week!
-herm osborne-

President and Sister Miller,
It has been a wonderful week and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the mini-missionaries. This experience has allowed me to soley work in the McAllen area and tract as much as possible so that we can build up an investigator pool here. Not only was this a wonderful week for my mini-missionary, but for me as well. It was my responsibility to make sure that she was growing and learning, and also my responsibility to plan and prepare for lessons and take care of the investigators and the area book. It has been such a blessing to be placed in teaching situations in spanish and see how the Lord has filled my mouth and broadened my understanding. I am so grateful for the experiences we had this past week, people welcoming us into their home so we could teach, and others slamming the door in our faces. These experiences have strengthened our testimonies in the Lord, Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. I have a stronger understanding of why it is important to talk to everybody, to open my mouth and testify. Zone Conference was such an uplifting experience and I am grateful for the growth I have experienced this week. The youth of the church are so wonderful and so strong. They are more prepared for a life of missionary work than I ever was at their age and I am so grateful for their examples.
Sister Osborne
New investigators = 14
Contacts = 270

2009-08-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

2009-08-08T14:12:00.002-07:00

2009-08-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

Some Contacts Are...AWEKWARD!!!

2009-08-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sister Behrman and me with Jessica. Jessica is amazing and is scheduled to be baptized on August 22, 2009.

Why Hello Everybody!
This week has been so crazy and such a blast at the same time! we have foundsome wonderful people and have seen how the Lord truly prepares His peopleto hear His word and accept it. We found this young couple who is living together in the backyard of a members home ( she is renting out the extra house to them) and they are getting married in september. so we have been teaching them and they have committed to be baptized august 22nd. We have only had the chance to teach them 2 lessons and they came to the ward party saturday and it was amazing because jessica told me that she is moving out. The member (the frias) told jessica that she needs to live the law of chastity before she gets married and she agrees that she wants her baptism to cleanse her from all of her past sins. it was amazing! we didnt' even have to teach her the law of chastity yet and she was already willing to live it and make the preparations to live it! jessica is so ready and excited to get baptized, but eric will take some more teaching and time, he is not as ready as she is but we will work so hard with them, they certainlyare a neat couple.

well texas is crazy.. saturday we had a pioneer celebration for the stake and there were more than 500 people there. it was crazy and so crowded in the gym but it was such an awesome place to bring investigators to and get them excited about coming to church and building relationships with the members. texas stake parties are so different than any other kind i have ever been to. they had a petting zoo and horse rides and all sorts of craziness.... yikes! and i have never seen so much chili and cornbread...dad you would have been in heaven.. i dont like chili but this was pretty darn good!

This upcoming week will be so awesome! they are having mini missionaries..which means that all week long i will be on splits with a young girl anywhere from 16-18 who will be my companion. it will be exciting because i will be off in an area with her and i will have to take charge. and on top of that my companion is the one who will have the car so i will be biking! out of control! but it will be good. it is going to be such a learning experience because i will pretty much have to teach the lessons all by myself and my companion doesn't speak Spanish! so i will let you know how this upcoming week goes!

there are so many interesting things that happen on missions. that is why they are so fun. each day my companion and i look at each other and we are just like.. wow... did that really just happen....? is this real life? i love the awkwardness of some people!

An interesting experience happened this week but i am not sure if i can explain how awkward and hilarious it was. i was in church and this woman in a wifebeater shirt came up to me and gave me her address and asked if we would come visit her... so i said of course! well we went to her house and it was in a really really nice neighborhood on the very rich part of town. we went to her front door but everyone here has gates or fences before you reach the front door. so there was this giant brick wall that wrapped around her house before you enter the front yard and the gate door was giant and you couldn't see through it. so we tried to open it but it was really heavy and i thought it was locked. sister behrmann was really determined and so she shoved it open and right when she did, their dog bolted out of the yard and started running down the neighborhood... it reminded me of the winn's house when jackson would go running through the neighborhood park! so there i go chasing after this little dog and finally we corner it and get it back into the yard... we were laughing because it was so weird and hilarious...so we got in the front yard and there was this nice lounge area and pool and it just felt like such a little secluded tropical paradise.. especially because of what kind of houses we are used to. We knocked on the front door but the woman wasn't home.. and as i was writing her a note my companion was playing with the dog and it was all secluded and we were just being a bit silly. so as we were trying to figure out how to leave without the dog running out again, my companion started to open the gate door and so i tried to grab the dog and hold it back... but it jerked forward and all i could hold on to were its back legs.... and i was just laughing because it was so awkward. Then...i looked up (as i am still holding this dog by its back legs as it is trying to run away) and there is a man who is coming in the gate and just giving us the most awkward and disturbed look, trying to figure out who we are and what we are doing to his dog. So he comes in the gate and we introduce ourselves telling him we were looking for sister cano and we had an appointment... and he was like.. "who?" .... "uh... sister cano?" "she doesn't live here" WE WERE AT THE WRONG HOUSE!!!!!!! we then sheepishly gave him a Finding Faith in Christ pass along card! it was the most awkward contact we have ever had!

well i am not sure if that is as funny on paper as it was in real life. but i just wanted you to know of some of the most random things that have happened to me out here. i have now learned that cats and dogs (with the exception of sadie) are the most vile and disgusting creatures on earth...ewww... i have run ins with them everyday and one scary one looked like a hieena <- i totally spelt that wrong ... but the bad guys on the lion king that worked for scar :) anywho it started attacking us so i tried to shine the little flashlight in its eyes, the one that jon gave me, but that only made it hesitate for a second so i had to kick it in the face... i came too far to get rabbiees!

well this is the end of the awkward epistle of krystal...

i love you all and i am so grateful for each of you! cory you are having another girl that is way exciting!!!!!!!! Have a wonderful week and i am excited to read everyone's emails!

Alyssa.. i woke up in the middle of the night and realized how soon you will be entering the mtc! i am so excited for you! this is the best thing that you will ever do! i am excited to see you in 14 months when i visit temple square and now YOU can be in the background of MY pictures on MY wedding day :)
LOVE YOU ALLLLL SOOO MUCH!!!!

The Lord Truly Blesses His Servants!

2009-07-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Brenda is scheduled to be baptized in September. She is awesome and so strong. She is a great example to her younger siblings.
It is so HOT here that many people take naps. We came for a teaching one hot afternoon and found Brenda and her siblings sound asleep.
My 1st Transfers
After only 4 weeks in Texas we are being transferred. During my 1st four weeks, we lived in an apartment with two companionships. Sister Amitoelau and Sister Behrmann served in the McAllen area and my companion, Sister Burt, and I served in the Edinburg area.
My new companion, Sister Behrmann.

Wow! This week has been amazing! I know you are all dying for the details and I have been working on a tape and I will send a package soon.. yes.. with pictures!

But for now... no I was not transferred but my companion was. Sister burt was transferred to Beeville which is wayyy north and I got Sister Behrmann as my companion. She lived in the apartment so I already knew her and she was sister amitoelau's companion. I was a little worried at first, but I am so grateful for the change and even though we are different I have a lot to learn from her and we have already had such a wonderful week and have worked sooo hard! okay so some changes did happen! they gave us another area so now we have 2! it has been so crazy! it takes 30 minutes to drive from one area to the other and so we have to split up our weeks and everything to make sure that we are using time efficiently. we have taught and met so many wonderful people! wow. i feel so blessed!

okay lets see... some awesome missionary experiences! there are so many to choose from. The beginning of the week lots of people said no and just didn't want to listen. It was a little more difficult but we pushed through. The Lord has said the field is white all ready to harvest.. and I believe Him and know it is true!

Now that we have two areas we will probably be dropping some of the investigators that we have had in my 1st area. They just aren't progressing by coming to church. Which is really hard because a lot of them are so good and read the Book of Mormon everyday and pray... but they just don't come to church! so it is very difficult because they can't get baptized until they establish this pattern. There are a couple families that I am not ready to let go of yet, but i think this next sunday is going to be a make or break sunday. we just can't keep spending time with people who aren't keeping commitments because this time is precious and we could be using it to find those that are ready and willing.

It has been so wonderful though because we have been doing baptismal contacts. Pretty much what that is, is we meet people on the street and tell them about Jesus Christ and how He was our perfect example and wants us to come follow Him. He made a way for us to do that and that is through baptism. When Christ came, He didn't establish a whole bunch of different churches, He established one church. and that church has been restored to the earth again. it is the same church that Jesus Christ established. then we say... there are some things you can do in order to know that this is true for yourself. They are pray, read the Book of Mormon, and go to church. i know that when you do these three things together you will know for yourself that this is infact Christs church. so as you do these things and when you get that answer from God that this is the only true church, will you be baptized?

okay... scary.. i know.. on the street! but there are people who say.. no.. i am catholic and i will die catholic.. and they never want to change.... which makes it easier because then we move on and find those who are ready. we have had some amazing results. we have gotten 13 new investigators in the past 4 days. this way we are not spending hours a week teaching people and then when we ask them to get baptized two weeks later they say no. now we know up front and they know up front what our purpose as missionaries is, to invite people to come unto Christ, through faith, repentance, baptism.... etc.

well this work is amazing and wonderful and progressing and i am so so happy! i wish that you could experience these experiences that i am having. there are some days i wake up and I can't believe I am a missionary... but this is the best place for me to be. all the sweat and tears that go into this work.. its all worth it!

Alyssa, i am so excited for you and the journey that you will be making! this will change you more than you ever thought. I am so grateful that i will never be able to be the same.

Monica Miller! You got your mission call to Italy! I am soooo happy for you and i was soooo surprised! that is awesome! you are going to be tri-lingual! i am writing you a letter soon! I can't wait for these experiences that you will be having and the people you will meet and love!

Family...I need to get to work! keep being good and being happy! thank you all for your love and support and i hope you have a wonderful week!!!!

Love hermana Osborne

Subject: A week of Miracles

President and Sister Miller,

I am so excited for the changes that have happened this last transfer and the amazing blessings that I have already seen within my areas. I know that Heavenly Father is so aware of missionary work and so apart of it as well. The start of the week was very difficult and a little bit crazy since we knew that some big changes were coming up but we were not sure exactly what they would be. We spent a lot of time preparing to leave behind the area in the hands of other missionaries. I was so excited to hear that I would be able to stay and continue working with the wonderful people that I have been working with. I was also so excited to hear that we would be working in two areas at the same time. It is such a big responsibility and there are so many people to teach, but I have seen more growth in myself this past week than I have this past month. Since I knew the area and the people it forced me to speak up more and take charge and I have learned so much more spanish than I knew even a week ago. Not only have I grown so much, but the work continues to grow as well. It is amazing.

The beginning of the week all of our appointments fell through and all of our backups as well. We ended up knocking many streets but either no one was home or no one wanted to listen to the message. As soon as we had the transfer though, everything changed. We were able to teach 28 lessons in the past few days and we have met so many wonderful people. The lord has led the way.

As we have been getting used to the new area (McAllen) we were trying to contact a family but their address on the teaching record was wrong. However, this mistake led us to a wonderful small family who is from Cuba. The spirit was strong as we taught. We had to stand because there was no furniture in the apartment. I am so grateful for these experiences. I love the confirmation from the spirit that I am in the right place at the right time. Sister Behrmann and I have been working so hard each day and we often comment on how much fun we are having and how happy this work makes us. Our sole focus is on the work and on the people, and I have noticed what a wonderful difference this has made. Referrals are so wonderful as well. We had a member in the car and she just mentioned that we should go and visit some apartments by her house. I didn't even know that people lived there and that they were functioning apartments, but as we knocked the doors we found a young mother there who wanted to change her life and to learn more about the Savior and come unto Him. She even said that we looked so "clean" and "happy" and she wanted to know how she could have that in her life. I felt so much love for her as we testified of the truth, that the gospel brings joy in our lives, and the atonement cleanses us from sin. I love this work so much and I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and the people He has brought into our lives to teach. Promptings of the spirit are so small, sometime the tiniest impressions, but as we listen to them our footsteps are guided. As we open our mouths to testify, the spirit makes up for my own inability to speak the language.

Sister Osborne

Contacts 77

New Investigators 13

McAllen Texas...Livin' in the "valley"?

2009-07-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Teaching Gina, Christensen and Estefano. Most of our teaching is done outside because the houses are not large enough to fit everyone.

Chicken anyone?
Sergio cookin' up a Texan style BBQ. Um Um Good. Sergio has been a member for about a year and we are teaching his mother Rosa and sister Joanna.

Well another wonderful week has flown by! it has been such an amazing

experience working so hard and teaching so many wonderful families. This

week has presented a little more difficulties than usual, with appointments

falling through and investigators hearing wrong things about the church from

their friends, but we have really strived to rely upon the spirit. And life

always proves that after trials blessings come in abundance, so we will take

our trials gladly.

We have been busy at work this week. Our goal each week is to have 120

contacts which is 20 a day and this week we did not reach it. we had 73

contacts with 10 new investigators but that is okay because we were so

focused on our investigators and trying to help them progress.

So let me tell you about some of the families I am teaching!

reina & modesto and their daughter flor

they are amzing and so poor. they don't have money for gas or to pay their

phone bill.. but we have been teaching them for the past two weeks. they

live in a trailer and at first modesto didn't want to listen but then we

kept inviting him and he started listening. reina and flor love it when we

come to visit and the spirit has been so strong. one day modesto read in the

Book of Mormon and totally got it and was so excited about it. then the next

day he was cold and told us that he wanted to know the truth but that he was

catholic and he would stay catholic. it was so sad. we think he got

anti-ed... so we came back to teach reina because modesto wouldn't let us

teach him anymore and she looked so sad as she told us that she couldn't

listen because she was "busy," which she wasn't because she is always just

sitting on the couch. When we questioned her, she just said that she

couldn't learn from us anymore. we are pretty sure that modesto will not let

her. she and flor had a baptismal date and everything. we still aren't

giving up on them, but it was so sad seeing her face as we said bye to her.

you love these people so much and you want what's best for them, but their

problems are more real than any of the problems I have ever had to face or

probably ever will have to face.

Rosa, Joanna, Sergio

Rosa is the mom, joanna is my age, and Sergio is 25. Sergio called us (he

was baptized a year ago) and wanted us to come and teach his mom and sister.

he is so sweet... he wants his family to be baptized soooo bad. the first

time we went over there it was kind of awkward and they really weren't

interested, but we just show them we love them and we keep coming back and

sharing our testimonies with them and teaching them gospel truths. it is

amazing the change that has come about in these people. they love it when we

come now and we come regularly. the mom is reading in the Book of Mormon and

she has read the 1st 5 chapters. more and more she warms up to the gospel

but hers will probably be a long road. we showed the restoration dvd and

she was crying. the spirit was so strong and each time we are there... the

spirit is felt.

Cruz Family

They are amazing! on fathers day the dad was outside and i think he was a

little buzzed... cuz i walked up to contact him and he was just like.. come

on in... and had us sit down on the coach and then got his whole family out

to listen. we sang Families Can Be Together Forever and we talked about

eternal families. they are an awesome family and we think they will be

ready to be baptized much sooner than anyone else!

We have transfers the 15th but i am pretty sure i will stay here... at least

i hope so. i am finally getting used to everything and my companion and i

are really getting along. it is so awesome to work so hard and have fun

while you work and as a companionship, we have some really good goals.

I am glad that you could look on google earth and see my location! IT IS

SOOO flat.. it is funny because the locals call it the valley... not sure

but shouldn't a valley mean that there should be some opposing hills or

something? haha but it is fun here.

This week has shown me how important member missionary work is. We have had

some wonderful members from the ward come out with us and help us teach and

they have brought such a different spirit. They are able to testify and

share conversion stories with the investigators and they add such a powerful

witness to the truth that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. Each

day I am amazed by the members in this area and the desires that they have

to help the missionaries and to serve the Lord. It makes it that much more

important that as a missionary I work as hard as I can and do not let them

down. I know my calling is so important, but everyday they remind me that I

cannot waste one second and that I cannot give in or give up. I am so

grateful to be a missionary and to be having these wonderful experiences and

growing in so many ways and so quickly. I know that as I put my life in the

hands of the Lord that He will guide and direct my paths and make more of me

than what I could ever make of myself.

Can i just tell you that i love this work and i love what i am doing!!! Wow

the days go by so fast and i know that Heavenly Father is right beside me in

this work... pushing me on and encouraging me to work harder than ever!

Well family, i love you so much and i hope you have a wonderful week!

Thanks for you love and support!

Love,

Hermana Osborne

Our car died...A blessing in disguise?

2009-06-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Lucky for us we were given a car to drive...we named her "Mrs. Bingham".

My new Mission President. President and Sister Miller

It has been another wonderful week filled with working so hard everyday and

many spiritual experiences. It has been wonderful tracting and trying to

contact those who are truly ready to learn about the restored gospel of

Jesus Christ. We have met some amazing families and amazing people who are

searching for the truth. Heavenly Father's hand has been so evident in this

work. I am so grateful for the members of the ward who have devoted their

time to coming with us to teach. With their help, we have been able to have

some amazing lessons and the added spirit that they brought into the home

was remarkable. An instance where things just aren't a coincidence happened

yesterday right before church. For some reason our car just died and we

couldn't start it. So The sisters had to give us a ride to our church and

then the Office Elders went and fixed our car and were going to bring it to

us by the time church ended. When it was 12:00, the end of church, I called

the office elders and we discovered that they were at the wrong chapel,

about 20 minutes away, so we needed to wait for them to drive to the right

one. While we were waiting in the foyer, people were leaving and then our

investigators walked in. They said they came as soon as they could. Church

had started at 9am and they got there at 12:20. If our car hadn't broken

down in the first place, and the Office Elders driven to the wrong building,

we wouldn't have been there to take our investigators to another ward and

have them experience the blessings that come from attending church. This

instance was so small and simple, but i know that it is through small and

simple means that Heavenly Father brings about his work. We are instruments

in His hands. All things don't work together perfectly as missionaries, but

we need to be patient and remember that Heavenly Father is mindful of our

needs and as we are working hard and obedient, He will direct our paths and

He will guide our course. I love this work. The times that I am happiest

is when it is hot and we are tired and working so hard and are rejected by

so many people, and then we find just one person who wants to listen, who

feels the spirit as we teach. It makes everything worth it.

My companion and I made 112 Contacts with week with 8 New Investigators

my mission president is amazing. i just had my 1st interview with him and he

is an angel. We talked about the people I was serving and then He just

started saying things that He notcied about me. He said that he could tell i

was settled in who i am... in a good way.. in that i am sure of myself and i

just am taking everything in and going with the flow and he could tell that

i am here for the right reasons. it was a really awesome interview and was

everything i needed to hear. this week has been crazy and we work so hard

each and everyday... the heat... and humidity.. it is out of control... but

shockingly i am getting a little more used to always being sweaty and

looking gross..

My companion and I made 112 Contacts this week with 8 New Investigators.

My first area is in McAllen and I love it. It is everything I hoped for and more. Yesterday I attended and Enlish ward with Sister Miller as my companion. Sister Miller is my Mission President's wife. We were on splits and it was an amazing experience. Jose, one of my investigators, didn't show up for church so I was a bit bummed. But one of the Elders asked me to take Sylvia, his investigator, into Relief Society. Sylvia is from Mexico and doesn't speak a lot of English but we sat together in Relief Society and I answered her questions in the best Spanish I knew. The spirit was so strong. We were talking about temples, and I just turned to her and promised her that one day, her family would be sealed together in the temple because of her example and diligence. I can't even describe the power I felt. When it was time to go, we hugged good-bye and I just felt such a love for her and I knew she felt that for me too because she started crying.

I am experiencing things that I have never experienced before. I love my mission and am honored to serve our Savior.

Have a great week everyone.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

Sister Osborne

My 1st Week in TEXAS!

2009-06-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sister Burt...My first Texas companion!

MTC President and Sister Dean with Hermanas

This has been an amazing week. we got to Mcallen airport and i could have sworn that the plane missed texas and dropped us off in the middle of mexico... seriously i have to remind myself i am in the US sometimes. But i love it... it is glorious. so we went to the mission home and that is where i met my companion.. her name is sister burt and she is from Arizona. We had dinner at the Mission Presidents home and then had a devotional and the herms were sleeping there but i was to go with my companion and stay at our apartment... When we were leaving, elder berglund thought that we werent coming back the next day and so he was saying goodbye to us and he just started bawling. it was so sweet. it is amazing how close we have all gotten as our mtc district. i have really missed all of them but i am glad that they are all doing what they came out here to do.

We went back the next day and had breakfast and said our goodbyes... heartwrenching..

Already, it feels like a month ago... so my first week here has been work work work.. i have neevr worked so hard in my life and have never been so happy in my life. Oh my gosh.. the heat! IT IS AMAZING!!! It is sooo hot and muggy and i sweat like crazy and my skin is already soo dark and i have some really cool tan lines on my feet from my shoes!

Alright so we have some amazing investigators. They are sooo poor and live in the most humble of conditions. it is amazing. margerita has 5 kids and lives in these really really broken down apts and whenever we drive up all the kids from the complex run out to greet us. The spirit is amazing as we sit in her one room apt and share the gospel with her. she loves the book of mormon and reads it everyday, but she can't get baptized because she is not married to her husband and they can't get married because he got married to someone else 18 years ago and doesn't know where she is. it is a really sad situation. but the spirit is so strong and i love visiting them... whenever we go there i feel like we are more in jamaica then the US. I will take a picture with all the kids so you can see what my life is like now.

the spanish... wow... i have so much to learn but i feel so blessed because i am able to understand about 80% of all the things that are being said now... which is way more than i could a week ago. i am working on it as hard as i can but it is a struggle because there are so many things i want to say i just don't have the words to say them...

The food.... ohhhhh my... it is amazing.. but they feed you SO much! we went to a dinner appt and she was making these giant tostada things and then she put 4 on each plate..i thought these were the serving plates... and that the whole family was going to come out and join us.. but these were just for us... and they justsat there and watched. so i felt obligated... and then she wanted to give me more! i thought i was going to be sick... so when i thought i was done she brought out dessert! SOOOOOOOO MUCH FOOD! it is crazy... so the days that we have dinner appts i usually skip some other meal that day in preparation! But it is really good and i am excited to make some for you!

something hilarious... we were teaching this 18 yr old and he has 4 kids and one on the way and his "wife" looked way older than him... anyway this is all besides the point but i found it interesting.. anyway we were teaching him.. and all of a sudden a duck just walks out from around the corner.... HE had a PET DUCK! i was so distracted.. i just started laughing because who does that! oh man we have met some crazies... but we have also met some really wonderful people too! I love my mission!!!

i love you all! have a wonderful week!!!!

Hermana Osborne

My last week...???...Again???

2009-06-10T10:04:00.001-07:00

The Johnson's are longtime family friends. They now live in Denver. I saw Brady (Elder) Johnson in the MTC. His sister, Kelsey, is currently serving in the Philippines where my sister served and Elder Johnson will be serving in Oakland where my brother, Cory, and sister, Kari-Lynn currently live with their families! Thank goodness the Johnson and Osborne paths continue to cross!!!

Hello!

So the update! i am feeling all better... you do not need to worry about my health... I am all better and feel great! Thank you for your prayers and your fasting.. it has certainly helped. My Hermana is finally back and it has been so good having her here again. i had missed her so much.

As for the situation with the flight plans... I am scheduled to leave the 16th of june.. so i am here for another week... we fly out at 8:20 but i only have a hour lay over in ft worth on that day so i probably wont be able to talk as much as i wanted to.

This past week has been really rough because we feel like we have learned everything we need to learn in the mtc so we have been doing a lot of teaching and been at the rc a lot making some phone calls... it has been a pretty long week but it is moving along now and i am excited for the time that i will have to be in the field....

ok Alyssa... you will be getting your call soon! i am so excited for you! this is an amazing time and i know that you will be so blessed for your service and you will love everything you do.

so family i know that you are wondering what is new with me. i just want to thank you sooo much for the package! it made my week so much! i love all the little trinkets that you sent to me! thank you so much and the tape was wonderful! i love how everyone was able to speak in the tape.. it felt like i was talking on the phone with the whole family!

i wish that i could talk to you on the phone b/c there is just not enough time to catch you up on all the spiritual experiences that i have been able to have this week... just know that i will keep a good journal and after the mission when i am all awkward and whatnot and you are all staring at me waiting for me to speak.. just have me pull out my journal and i will share with you the many things that have happened here...

i love you all and i am so grateful for your examples!

Hermana Osborne

Dalayed...STILL:(

2009-06-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Elders Blay & Wheiler with Hermanas Amitoelau & Osborne befor Elder Wheiler left to Peru

Hermanas Osborne & Redfern at the Temple

Jumpin' for JOY at the MTC

Funny Story: Before I left for the MTC, I found a pair of golden duck bookends at Deseret Industries. I laughed when I saw them because my dad used to have the exact same pair! So...I bought the ducks...wrapped them up...and gave them to my dad as a Christmas present! Before long, the ducks found themselves in "awkward" places. It became the family joke to hide the ducks...aka in the tank of the toilet, etc:) We got pretty creative and it gave our family quite a laugh! So, the joke was on me when I unpacked at the MTC and found the duck in my suitcase! Everyone in my district knows the duck story and they have nicknamed him Mallard. Mallard still shows up in a lot of funny places!!!

I have a feeling i will be here much longer than a couple days, so please continue to write me here to get me through the week! and just so you know.. you can write me more than once a week..

daddy.. i enjoyed your last letter. Just so you know, i met some elders who are on their way to everett mission and i gave them your home number and what ward you are in and told them that you would feed them.. because not only will you feed them, but you should invite janis to listen to the missionaries. I know it might be outside of your business relationship, but i think she would be one of those people who would want to hear how her family can be together forever and how she can be closer to her husband than she ever has been. i will continue to pray for her, but it was just so interesting because when mom told me she saw her and said what she said.. i was just like.... GOLDEN! haha i am such a missionary. she pretty much came up to me before the mish and wanted to know about the church, but i wished i realized it more and invited her to listen to the missionary discussions. so yeah... i invite you mom and dad to pray about it and act on the promptings you receive.....

next order of business... i am calling my family to repentance! hahaha
but seriously... i think that you all could do much much much better with keeping in contact with the people you baptized on your missions and i think that you could do better in making sure that they remain active members... i think the reason i feel this way is because when i went to pick up Kyle from his mission i saw how much those people loved him and how they felt that they owed him for bringing the gospel into their lives. I hope that if i don't keep in contact with my members that you will all kick me in the bum too! i have also realized how before my mission i completely failed as a member. i always thought that member missionary work was just being a good example... i was sooooo wrong. i wish that i would have been better, that i would have gone out of my way to talk to investigators, that i would have given contact info to the missionaries of my friends and invited them to come unto christ. i wish that i would have been better at opening my mouth and testifying of the things that i know to be true. I know this is what i will be doing on the mission, but i don't want that to change once i come home. I want to be the one to change and i want to be a missionary for the rest of my life. EVERYONE needs to hear the gospel. EVERYONE needs to receive these blessings, and i am so sad to think that there were many people in my life who i never shared this gospel with. i could have been better.

Mom and Dad you talked about how you want to do more missionary work... that is awesome.. i know you can... i hope that i will find families like you in my areas who will have lessons at their home and sit by people in church and be friends with investigators. continue to work hard at this and i know you will be blessed and the Lord will bring people to you as you actively look for people to introduce to the church.

se que el evangelio de jesucristo fue resturado y la verdado es en el mundo ahora. Testifico por medio la expiacion de jesucristo podemos ser limpiar del pecado.

We need to be better, we can be better.

I love you all more than words can ever express.. i feel your love and your prayers upholding me each day and i want you to know how grateful i am for your strength. i am so lucky to have a family who supports me.

The YW in our ward wrote me today. it was so sweet and so i am going to write them back when i get a chance. tell them i say thank you so much for all that they do!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!!!

Hermana Osborne

Delayed...Swine Flu Lock down at the MTC:(

2009-06-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well hello! This week has been absolutely crazy!

It started off with my companion getting really sick and she hasn't been able to sleep very well, so i kept telling her that she needed to take it easy and go up to the room and go to bed. but she was being stubborn and felt that if she did that then she would be wasting time. Well... she got so sick that she started vomiting. She had the chills and then got really hot and it was terrible. i made her stay in the room all the next day and then the day after that, she acted like she was fine and told me she was ok until after lunch i realized she was lying so we went to the clinic and they tested her and realized she has influenza A...

So we had to pack her stuff and take her to isolation. she has to stay in a room all by herself for at least 5 days and i have had to be in a threesome with the other companionship as well..

it has been a really rough week. They tested me for the flu since i was around her so much and it came back negative, but i haven't been feeling well and so i am going to go into the clinic today and see what they say, who knows... So since we were all in such close contact with my hermana, our entire district found out yesturday that we are delayed for a couple days.. then today after i got off the phone with mom, we heard that they are delaying all missionaries leaving the mtc now because of the flu. it is pretty intense, there is a big outbreak here, people are walking around with cough masks on and everything. also i heard that the new missionaries who are coming this wednesday will either be postponed or that their families can't come in the gates... there are a lot of rumors going on about this... i may even be postponed for one to two weeks!

so yeah.. that is the drama of the mtc.. it has been really hard not having my hermana here with me. we have gotten so close and i know that she is really struggling because she is locked up in a room by herself. I am not sure if she will stay here of if they will be sending her home for a bit until it gets under control again.

so that brings me to my next question, is it that crazy out in the real world or is it just in the mtc? I'm way curious and would like to leave but i feel comforted in knowing that the Lord is protecting us and watching over us...

I will keep you posted on the events here at the MTC as well as my new departure date. Until then...I love you all. Have a great week!!!

Hermana Osborne

Final week in the MTC!

2009-06-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

So two very amazing things happened to me this week! i got cafe
rio and then i got my flight plans!!! how amazing! so here is the deal with
the flight plans.... i leave june 2nd! We leave SLC at 8:20am and
fly to fort worth/dallas airport and get there at 12. Then we have a 3 hour
layover... so i am most definitely buying a phone card and calling you at fort worth! soooo i hope you block out those entire three hours because we also have to make up for not being able to talk during mothers day!!!!

oh yes.. and then we fly into mcallen and we won't get there till 5pm... i amway stoaked.. although it will be soooo sad to leave my companion. we were
talking about it the other day and we both almost started crying. we have
become so close and it will be sad not to be with her anymore but we are
planning on keeping in touch and im going to visit her in hawaii when we get
back :)

well i know i will have another wonderful week.. i always do. i am way excited to think i will be leaving for the mission soon. Something that kyle said that he was so right on was that the mtc is the easiest time you will ever have on your entire mission. it is sooo true. it has been so easy and so wonderful. i have enjoyed everyday and every moment but i am definitely ready for the real work to begin. i know that it will be so different from all that i have experienced here, but i know the mtc is a stepping block... it took me time to get used to the environment here and now that i am used to it, they are throwing me out into the real world to do real missionary things! I can hardly wait!

I love you all! have a wonderful week!

Hermana Osborne

15 days left...I can't believe it!!!

2009-05-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hello mi Familia y amigos!!!!

Well it is another wonderful week that has flown by faster than ever... i can hardly catch my breath. Yesterday i pulled out my calendar and counted the days until I am in texas... 15! i can hardly believe that I have been a missionary for 2 months.. it is the craziest feeling, never before in my life has time flown by so quickly! I want to thank everyone for their awesome letters! they are the highlight of my week and I am so happy that I am able to hear how everyone is and what everyone is going through... it is stupendous so keep up the glorious work!

Everyone keeps asking me how my spanish is coming along... well.... lets just say many times i struggle with writing or speaking in english... so i think that is a good sign. I feel like i have sooo much to learn, but i never get discouraged. It is so wonderful knowing that the Lord has not only called me to texas... but has called me to speak spanish... he knows i can do it.. and through him i know i can do it as well. I love the many times that my companion and i have sat down to teach someone the 1st or 2nd lesson in spanish.. we had felt unsure with our words, but we would pray and the lord has blessed us continually... he has put words in our mouth and his spirit has been ever present. I absolutley love this work, i feel like i cannot express it enough. I know that this is absolutley where i am supposed to be and i feel like i am blessed every day by the hand of the lord.

I just want to descirbe an experience that my comp and i had this week. It is difficult because i feel like words can't even describe the feelings that i had and the emotions i went through. My comp and i signed up for a tutor session with one of our old teachers. She has been back from the mission for a few years and is probably one of the most spiritual people i have ever met. So we were planning on talking about spanish, but when we went in the room we just started talking about the mission and the amazing things we will experience. she served her mission in the houston texas mission and so she shared many experiences and prepared us for things that we will probably go through as well. It seems quite simple, but the spirit was so strong, and we were so excited to go and share this gospel with the people that we were called to serve and teach.

Yesterday we had a fireside about listening to the promptings of the spirit... it was soooo good! it really answered a lot of the questions I have had concerning Phil. this last week when I talked to him, he committed to reading 3 Nephi 12-15 and so I will be calling him Tuesday and talking about what he read. It is so amazing because he will ask me a question, and I will be unsure how to answer it right away.. the way he needs to hear it... and then later the answer will come to me. I was online at mormon.org and there is a clip of elder Holland and he is talking about the book of Mormon and how it is essential to have along with the bible. This is exactly what I needed to hear because Phil kept asking why a book of Mormon... is it disproving the bible? He couldn't grasp the reality that they work hand in hand.. and then if they did work hand in hand... why would he need to read it.. why couldn't he just stay with the bible..

so at the fireside, a thought came in to my mind.. which is this...

The exact same church that Christ organized on the earth in His day.. is again on the earth. The same miracles that were performed then, are, through faith, performed now. God's word is received in our day through His prophet. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth. It contains everything. It is the fullness of the gospel. It is the means of salvation. And so, the reason the Book of Mormon is so important is because it is the evidence to all of these truths. Phil does not have to believe me... but he can read the Book of Mormon. He can pray.. and He WILL receive his answers. I am inviting all who will listen and will DO... to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. Because it is either true or not... But if it is true. than the Church of Jesus Christ is true.

I love the gospel... it is so simple and so profound. I am fasting for Phil today, that he will be able to recognize the spirit he is feeling and that he will be able to let his guard down and will allow the missionaries to come back and to teach him.. I know that since he is not allowing them to teach, he is not able to progress in a way that he could. He is acting, he is doing, but he needs to be doing more. He cannot have a half hearted effort. If you could all pray for him on Tuesday, that would be much appreciated...

Lets see... ohhh... another highlight for this upcoming week is that sister winn, a wife of a member in the presidency, is bringing us hermanas cafe rio on tuesday... :) i am way stoaked! can i just say... numalicious...

well i love you all and i am so grateful for your examples and your love. My prayers are continually with you.. I am so blessed to have each of you to support and uphold me. Have a wonderful week.. and don't even think about doing anything bad... just be good!

love you all!

-hermana Osborne-

Week #6...Awkward!!!

2009-05-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

I'll start with an awkward story. So every week the senior companion needs to meet with the district leader and go over how the companionship is doing and all sorts of fun stuff. This week it was my turn and so i went out in the hall with elder landeen and he closed the classroom door so we were just standing in the hall... so i was waiting for him to say the 1st thing cuz usually they ask the 1st question... but he didnt'... so we were just standing there staring at each other. I felt soooo awkward. And then on top of that i realized this was the 1st time in 5 weeks that i was alone with a man.... i just started blushing way hard and even my arms got all hot and red. At this time our other district of elders walked out and saw us standing there and saw me blushing like crazy and just me and him standing there... so of course i blushed more. It was way awkward... and hilarious. I realized that it has only been 6 weeks and i am already really awkward.. so i can only imagine after 16 1/2 more months... i will be crazy awkward. I now understand why kyle tried to give me a handshake in taiwan... i think mom and dad will have to remind me that it is ok to hug them when they come and pick me up!

Yesterday the district above us left for new york and baton rouge... it was sooooo sad. Us hermanas have gotten really close with them and it is sad that they wont be here anymore. but at least they will be down here at byu when they get back.. the more i think about it... the less i wanna go to byui when i get back... but obviously i will go wherever i am supposed to go. So yes.. now we are the senior district... it is way crazy! But our district has been doing really good and we have gotten really close.

lushk..... what is new? it is 2 weeks... have you sent in your papers yet? i am dying to know where you will be called!

also something else you might want to know is monica miller, my roomie from the dorms, has decided to go on a mission and will put her papers in a couple months when she is old enough. it is the best. i am so happy that the people that i love the most will be able to experience this wonderful adventure as well!

mom i would like jordan's, kelsey's, and clay's addresses... if you could get them to me that would be lovely!

My time is almost up. I want you all to know se que el libro de mormon es verdad. El evangelio de jesucrito es restuarado ahora a traves jose smit... testifico jesucristo es nuestro redentor y salvador. Amo el evangelio. Amo ser un misionaria. A traves de expiacion de jesucristo, podemos ser liberado del pecado...

cory.. have fun translating my awkward spanish! give me a break though :)

I love you all. This gospel is the most amazing work en el mundo. I am so grateful for the escrituras y amo leendo en el nuevos testimentos... (?) i am grateful for the testaments of the apostles and what they teach of jesus christ. This is the greatest place that i could be right now.

Mom and dad.. my Prez gave you some pretty high compliments.. He said how greateful he is that i was born of goodly parents who raised their children in righteousness, who did not give up or give in when life became difficult, but instead kept working hard. I am so grateful for the small and simple things you have done. Thank you so much for scripture study before seminary.. everyone things i am some scriptorian.. but i know that the knowledge that i have of the scirptures come from my parents and the love that they have for them and have taught me to have for them.. i love you all so much! work hard, be good, smile and laugh all the time!

Love you all!

Hermana Osborne

Lovin' Life at the MTC!!!

2009-05-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

MTC District

At the Temple with Hermanas Osborne, Browning, Haws, & Amitoelan

Hermana Osborne with Companions & Elders Salls & Day

Hermanas with Sister Dean, the Presidents wife...

"Love Her!"

Some of the missionaries going to McAllen. Krystal has met about 20 sisters and elders in the MTC who will be serving in the McAllen Texas mission. That is a lot of missionaries all heading for McAllen. There must be a lot of missionary work to do!

Kari-Lynn sent Krystal an Easter basket full of goodies

for Easter. She made Krystal's day!

Girls...even Hermanas...just gotta have FUN!!!

Anyone who knows Krystal, knows how competitive she is. So, during a game of 4-square with the Elders, Krystal and another Elder both went for the ball and Krystal lost...BIG TIME. She fell flat on her face. Her eyes started to water and her nose started to bleed. She heard a "pop" at impact and was certain she had broken her nose. The nurses office made this ice contraption for her to keep the swelling down. She wore it for the rest of the day and the next morning, her nose was healed. What a blessing! She didn't even wake up with a black eye. Krystal now thinks that she is Queen of 4-square as she beats most of the elders!

Go Krystal!!!

Over the MTC Hill

2009-05-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone!

This week has been amazingly awesome! I can't believe that I am past my 1/2 way mark for the mtc. it is the craziest thing ever, time has gone by so fast.

1st I want to wish Grandma a happy 50th birthday! (greatgrandmas stop aging after 50) i hope you had a wonderful day and that it was devoted to you!

This week has gone by so fast as i have already said. A highlight was Lushk finally wrote me so I was able to hear about her experience with deciding to go on a mission. Lushk i sent you two letters... you should get them soon, but it is wonderful and i am so excited for the experience that you will be having!

also i would love to hear the update with cory and tenille. I want you both to know that i have had you in my prayers and i fasted for you yesturday. I love you both so much and i am grateful for your strength in these difficult times.

Also I fasted for Staci Litchfield and her family. Mom please let her know that she is continually in my thoughts and prayers. She has been such an instrumental person in my life and i am grateful for her strength. I wish that I could be there to offer a hug or some comfort, but i hope that as i am here faithfully serving that not only my family will be blessed, but also my close friends. Staci is someone i will always consider a close friend because she was there for me at a time in life when i needed someone who could relate to me and also show me how to be better. I love her so much. as i was thinking about staci and cory and tenille, i read a scripture that i love and has helped me in my own life, mosiah 24:12-15.

I am so grateful for my family and all the people who continue to give me strength. It is weird because i thought i would be homesick, but i havent been yet, this is where i know i need to be, and as i forget myself and work hard, i am the happiest i can be.

We taught the 1st lesson completly in spanish this week. It was amazing because i felt so unprepared, but the spirit was so strong. And then for fast and testimony meeting yesturday i got up an bore my testimony in spanish. The lord is blessing me so much. thank you mom and dad for fasting for me, i know that it has continued to help in so many ways. I am grateful that i am not getting discouraged but am instead relying upon the lord.

Well i have a few moments left. Dad you asked me what i had been struggling with, it was mainly companion stuff.. since there are cultural differences we struggled a lot at the beginning which was sooooo difficult, but after that we have really work hard and are doing really good. i actually never thought that we would be as close as we are but we continue to serve one another and strengthen our companionship. it is a continual process, but i am so grateful for my companion and the amazing example she is for me. i know that we were supposed to be companions and i learn so much from her each day.

A spiritual experience that i had was yesterday we had a class with the sisters and our presidents wife and we talked about spiritual gifts and then went around the room and talked about each others spiritual gifts. it was interesting because the sisters said that my greatest spiritual gift was the knowledge of the scriptures. i didn't think it was extraordinary but i am grateful for parents who have taught me in righteousness and helped me have a love and desire to read my scriptures and learn from the words there. Another one was diligence, and listening to the spirit. It was interesting because these were not ones that i would have picked for myself, but i was grateful that they brought them to my attention. then president dean went around to each of us and said the biggest spiritual gift that he has seen in each of us, and when he got to me he was kinda weepy and said that mine was purity, that he looked in my eyes and knew i was clean and pure and it was a testimony to him of the amazing parents that i must have. i was so grateful for that experience and i needed you both to know how much i love you and how grateful i am that i was born of goodly parents. i love you and pray and think of you often. Happy mothers day mommy love you!!!

Hermana Osborne

4 Weeks...but who is counting?

2009-04-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone!

This has been another amazing week here at the MTC... I want to thank everyone who has written me. You have all given me the support and love that I need in order to work hard and remember that I am not here for myself but i am here for the Savior and for the people in Texas that i will be priveldged to meet and share the gospel with.

So, saturday I was able to call Phil! It was wonderful! I hadn't been able to get ahold of him all week and I left a message and everything. I was a little worried that he just wasn't picking up for whatever reason. I called twice on saturday and then I was about to leave because i didnt want to be a stalker... Then i prayed and felt like i should wait a minute and call him again. He picked up and he was so happy to talk to me! He said that he had recieved the book of mormon and he hadn't read it yet but he loved the picture of christ that i sent with it and the picture and poem called "footsteps." I also sent the proclamation to the world about Christ and He loved reading that.

We talked for an hour... he asked questions about life and about the book of mormon and all sorts of things. He then asked that If he wanted it bad enough, did i think that he could find the person that he was supposed to marry. I told him that it was a righteous desire and that as he is faithful i am sure the Lord will continue to bless him. I told him how grateful i am for him, he truly is a man of great faith and his faith in christ has strengthened my faith. He then said that he has always tried to have great faith but it has been lacking recently. He was married for 7 years and it just didn't work out and since then he always questioned God. He felt he was faithful and trying to live a good life and he couldn't understand why his marriage couldn't work out. He then started to tell me that he felt like the reason we were talking on the phone was an answer to his prayers. He told me that he had looked for a potential wife in bars and clubs and just couldn't find someone with faith... (of course!) and then he decided that he would look at an online dating site. He said that every site he went to, the church had an advertisement on the side bar for the lamb of god video... he couldn't help but notice and he felt like it was a sign. so he clicked on it, ordered the video and then i called and we have been having discusions on faith every since. He said that I have answered so many of his questions and he feels that this is good and that god led him here. I re-committed him to read the book of mormon and to pray and i testified that as he dilligently did these things and prayed with a sincere heart that he would recieve an answer. I then taught him a bit about the plan of salvation and he was amazed because it answered many of the questions he has had. He told me a preacher once said that he only needed to say he was saved and then he would be... Phil couldn't believe this was right. He has a strong faith that we need to be faithful and we need to activly be living the principles of christ. What an amazing man. We set an appointment for wed. and i will call him and we will talk about the book of mormon. I am also going to try to get him to meet with the missionaries in NY. He is a little hesitant because he said that he has met so many people who only say that they believe and then don't actually act on their beliefs and he feels something genuine with me when we talk and trusts that i have a true belief in christ.

I have loved our talks, i bear testimony every time and the spirit is so strong. I know that he will feel the spirit and i hope that he reads and feasts upon the book of mormon.

The rest of this week has been amazing.. it has gone by so fast! i can't believe that i have been here for almost 4 weeks. it is amazing. I am almost at my half way mark!

OH MY HECK... QUE EN EL MUNDO!!!!! alyssa is going on a mission? ok you need to give me more details than that! I still haven't heard from her so mom please tell me how that all came about and what is going on! i almost started hyperventilating when i read that! I know she will be a great mish and this will be the best experience in her life. Aunt linda... when you find out where she is going, i will write you a letter because there are a lot of things i wish i would have known before coming to the mtc.

I love you all soo much! I am so happy that families are together forever. Today i was able to do sealings in the temple and the spirit was so strong. I am so grateful for my family and the love we share. I am so grateful for your strength and comfort. I am so grateful that i am an endowed member and that i can go to the temple every week and partake in the blessings that come. I love the gospel. I am so lucky to be set apart from the world and to be a part of a marvelous work and wonder and sharing truth with all those who will listen. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THIS! Dad you knew it would be hard, and in a sense i knew it would be hard too... but i never thought it would be this hard... and at the same time, i didn't know it would be this worth it. I knew i would be blessed, but the blessings continue to pour over me and i am strengthened in ways i never imagined. It is sad that i only have 17 months left and i will not let a moment go by without relishing it and enjoying the amazing experiences that come from this work and from being a disciple of Christ! I Love being a missionary!

LOVE YOU!

Hermana Osborne

Week #2 at the MTC

2009-04-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hello family! i just got out of the temple this morning and it was amazing and glorious! i loved it so much! i feel like i have been strengthened and many of my questions had been answered... i love the temple and i am so grateful for the opportunity that i have to visit often. Alyssa... there are these two old ladies who are there every time i go. they are both old and wrinkly... but they are so cute! one has dark hair (obviously with lots of gray hairs) and the other has blonde hair... everytime i see them i think of you and i am excited for the time when we will be able to go through the temple together. And again for the time when we will be old and decreped and go through the temple weekly. that will be tender! i lushk you and i hope that everything is going good for you and i pray for you all the time!

This week has been amazing and has flown by soooo fast. Tuesday night we had devotional and elder holland came and spoke! it was such an amazing talk and i felt like he was speaking diretly to me. He pretty much told me to forget myself and start working harder and do what i came here to do! i loved it so much and the spirit was soo strong. Afterwards we had a district meeting and everyone bore their testimony..it was an amazing atmosphere and i felt like elder hollands talk was a direct answer to my many prayers. In times when i feel alone and discouraged, the lord blesses me and sends a message to my heart that makes me realize that I am never alone and I am commissioned in a greater work than what I can comprehend.

Some quote that elder holland said are:

"This isn't about you. this is about god and christ and those people without the gospel... waiting.

"you have been sent as god's answers to millions, you are unseasoned, but if you go in the name of the Lord, if you can understand, you can become an agaent in his hands... that's all you need to know"

i love the messages that elder holland gave. It teaches me why i am here and the great work that I have to do.

This week i was able to again talk with Philip, the guy on the phone from the RC, we had an amazing discusion, we talked for about an hour and i committed him to pray to ask if what we were talking about was good and true and then i also committed him to read the book of mormon. Since he had already gotten a free dvd from the church, we weren't allowed to send any othere items, so i got his address and bought my own book and highlighted it and wrote my testimony in it, and then i sent it to him. He should be getting it soon and he has promised to read it because he is so interested. He has so many great questions and when i would answer them he would just kinda sit there amazed. He then asked how i knew all this. and i told him that the answers to his questions are in the book of mormon. the truthfulness of the gospel of christ has been restored and he can also recieve an answer and a witness to his own personal questions... I love talking to him because he is a deep thinker and is excited to know what heavenly father has instore for him.

While i was doing other calls, i contacted a man who lost his job and has been having a hard time, and i committed him to contacting the missionaries and going to church, so i hope he does because he seemed really excited about it!

well it is almost my time. I love you all and i am so grateful for you love, encouragement, and support. This work is amazing and i am so grateful to be apart of it! Keep working hard! Love, Hermana Osborne!

I am working on another tape to send to you all and so that has more details about my day to day life. Thank you everyone for the letters! i love getting letters and hearing how you are doing. Kyle.. you will never know how much i needed to hear what you said to me. Thank you for staying up late and writing to me... even though you should have been studying ;) but you gave me words i needed to hear! you are amazing and i hope that i can someday become half the missionary that you are.

Sister K-Lo thank you sooooo much for that package that you sent.. i needed some love sooo bad and i got it at the perfect time. you are an absolute angel. and the scriptures that you put in there were what i needed to read. you are so amazing and you were inspired! Thanks for always being so kind and thoughtful!

cory i really enjoyed the poem you sent me...i read it enfronte de classe y la gente was like que en el mundo... it was muy interasante! tu amo!!!!! give the Tenille and Miley a squezze for meeee!

2009-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Krystal has expressed how much she appreciates everyones letters. In her words: "they are like GOLD". Thank you!

For those who would like to write to Krystal, her address is:

Sister Krystal Osborne

MTC Mailbox #201

TX-MCAL 0603

2005 N. 900 E.

Provo, UT 84604-1793

Krystal's estimated MTC departure date is June 3, 2009.

2009-04-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hello family!!!!

Well it was a wonderful week here at the MTC! Something really cool happened a few days ago. We were in the RC, which is a place where you call people who have asked for free Bibles and dvds and Books of Mormon to be mailed to them. So we call them and ask if their order had been delivered and then we ask if we could have missionaries stop by and give them more information about the church. It is quite interesting because you get a lot of special people who are just rude. But there was this one guy who i called from New York, his name is Philip, and we just started talking about religion and he asked a lot of good questions. he reads the bible everyday and says that he is really striving to be closer to Jesus Christ and he wants his testimony to grow. It was really cool because he would ask questions and then i would just answer them and testify of how they were true. It was such a spiritual experience and he told me how he felt and that i had called him for a reason. He said that he would love for the missionaries to come by and give him a Book of Mormon. Then i asked if it would be alright if i called him some other time so that we could talk more about the gospel and he said he would love that. The spirit was so strong as we were talking and i know that he felt something. I loved it because afterwards i studied the Bible and the Book of Mormon for a sole purpose of answering his questions and teaching him, and bringing him closer to Christ. He said that he heard that Mormons believe in a 2nd Christ and that another Christ is supposed to come to earth again. I taught him that we believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Christ, but that there will be a 2nd coming at the end of the world, where Christ will return in His glory. I then had him turn in the Bible to Matthew where Christ tells his disciples that He will come again. I then testified that this is the reason that we need to live righteously and to come unto Christ. We need to prepare because He will return again. It was great. So i am calling him again tomorrow... i hope he picks up and that we are able to talk. I love this work and being able to share it with all those who will listen. What i love most is that people don't have to believe my words and what i say, they can find out for themselves, they can pray and ask God if the things we are teaching are true. I know that if they ask with a sincere heart, their prayers will be answered with a comforting feeling and they will know that the words we teach are true and that they in every way testify of Christ. This gospel is so amazing and I am so grateful to be apart of this work.

Yesterday was Easter and it was such an amazing experience. I have been reading a lot in the New Testament and striving to study the life of Christ and learn more of him and his teachings. Then on Easter, i read in the book of Mormon in 3rd Nephi when Christ, after he was resurrected, came to the American continent and showed himself to the people living there. I love how his teachings to the Nephites and Lamanites are so similar to his teachings to the Jews. I love that he is the Sheppard and he wants all of us to come unto Him and to be numbered in His fold. God loves us so much that He sent His Son. But he didn't just send Christ to the Jews in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. But he sent His son to all people. He also sent his son to the people on this continent, to teach them of important truths. And then again the truth was restored to all people in this day. The book of Mormon, which contains the record of those people that Christ came to while living on the American continent, it testifies of Christ and it was translated so that all could learn of truth. It is amazing and I am so excited to share this truth will all those that will listen.

We are so blessed to already have this knowledge and it is our responsibility to share it with others. Easter was amazing. Church was great and we went and walked around the temple afterwards. I felt the spirit so strongly and I know that I am in the right place at the right time. It is hard because I feel like ever since I have been here, i have had some amazing spiritual experiences, and yet at the same time i don't think i have ever been so tested and tried. I know that Satan doesn't want me to be on a mission and He is doing everything he can to have me leave and come home, but i simply can't. There is a reason I am here, there are people i need to teach. I am so weak... I have been humbled so much. Never in my life have i prayed so much and never in my life have i relied so much on my Savior and on His atonement. I know it not only is there for people when they sin, but it is there for people when they are alone, afraid, stressed, or in any difficult situations. The atonement is all encompassing and I am so grateful for my savior who loves me so much that he wraps his arms around me when i just can't go anymore. He is my Savior and my best friend. He knows all that I am going through and truly strengthens me so I can continue forward. I know these difficult experiences will only make me grow and make me a better missionary and i know through the savior i can get through any difficult time. Well my time is running short. I love you all so much. All of your letters have meant so much to me and have given me the comfort and strength i need. even when it is just a few lines, it reminds me that i am not alone and that this work isn't about me. Its about those people i will be teaching and it is about the Savior and the things He did for the world. I love this gospel so much and am honored to be among such great company. I am sorry if i haven't been able to write you back as much as i have wanted to, but i am working hard. Thanks again for all the love! I love you all so much and i am so grateful for your examples!

Love,
Hermana Osborne

2009-04-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Leavin on a Jet Plane!

2009-03-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

Well tomorrow is my last day before I get set apart as a sister missionary! I can't believe the time is finally here... after waiting and waiting i will soon be entering the MTC. I just want to bear my testimony about how wonderful this experience has been. Many of you know that there was a time that I did not want to go on a mission and thought that if i tried hard enough i could get by without going. But, I am so grateful that wasn't how things worked. After months and months of trying to plan what I was supposed to be doing (and everything falling through) I finally decided that this decision wasn't up to me and that I guess I should give in a start praying about it. I had been questioning a mission for awhile but there were other things that I was more excited about doing with my life. October 08 General Conference was coming up so I decided to fast and pray and I wanted my answer during that conference. Well... the first session I watched was all about missionary work... and needless to say, I've been a goner since then! Once I realized that a mission was what I was supposed to be doing and then decided to go, amazing blessings have followed after. Since that decision, i have never once doubted my decision to serve. Since that decision I have felt an increase of spiritual knowledge and testimony and I have been comforted that this is the right decision for me.

I am so grateful for free agency that we can act and make decisions for ourselves. But I am more so grateful that my Heavenly Father provides answers to quesitons that I can't seem to find without His help. I know that I personaly need to serve a mission... and that many experiences in my life have led me up to this decision. I know that I am a daughter of God. What an amazing sentence. And I know He has a work for me to do. I am grateful for this time, that I am able to set aside all of my own cares, and that I am able to put my life in His hands.... To do the work the the Savior would do if He were on this earth today. This gospel is amazing! It allows a person like me to serve others and share my testimony with them, just as the disciples of Christ did, and just as Christ Himself did.

I love this gospel with all my heart. I know it is true. I have read the Book of Mormon many times and have prayed to know if it is true, and each time.. the spirit has communicated to me of its truth and I cannot deny it. I am so grateful for this gift that I have been given, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and I will work as hard as I can and be a 100% obedient in all that I do.

Welcome!!!

2009-03-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome Friends and Family to my mission blog. My mom will be posting my updated letters and pictures every week so we can stay in touch throughout my mission. Thanks for stopping by. Keep checking back for more updates.