Our hearts are full of gratitude for the great and sacred gift it has been to know you, to love you and to serve with you. We have been humbled as we have witnessed your faith, your love for the Lord, your patience and love for one another, and your efforts to truly become the polished servants of the Lord that He knows you can be.
We want to thank you for who you are and for who you are working with faith to become. We want you to know that President Ostler and I believe in you. We believe in your ability to become the kind of person that Heavenly Father sees in you…because we have seen many glimpses of it.
One of the great gifts Heavenly Father has blessed us with, as we have served with you, is to see in you the incredible person you can become if you stay on the path He has commanded, counseled, encouraged and pled for you to stay on. He IS your loving Father in Heaven. He wants you to come HOME to live eternally with Him forever. We do too.
We promise you that we will do everything we can to be worthy to be where He is, so that one day we can be eternally with you. Will you please do the same? Like I said in zone conference, we will be waiting for you to come through the veil. We will wait till every single one of you come through. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our missionaries were like the Army of Helaman and "NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM WAS LOST”! That is what our greatest desire is.
Please do your best to be obedient and to follow the prophet. It will bless your life and help keep you free from unnecessary pain and suffering. We, like Heavenly Father, just want you to have great joy and happiness. We love you. The only way you will experience those things is if you CHOOSE to obey with faith that it will bless your life.
We testify and promise it will!!!! First obey, later you will understand.
Lastly, please remember our testimonies of our precious Savior and His atonement. We ALL fall short. We ALL sin. Get back up, repent, turn around, do what you need to fix it and then don’t do it again. Do not suffer all your life with shame and guilt. Repent, get back up and get back in the race. The prize goes to all who finish, not just the fastest.
We love you all. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our lives. Please, please keep in touch with us. We will always love you, wonder how you are doing and pray for you.
So now, it’s time to move onward and upward! Let’s show Heavenly Father how much we love Him by the way we serve Him. He gave His only begotten Son, He gives us every second of His time and every ounce of His love. Christ gave His life and willingly took on Himself all our punishment, pain, suffering, sickness, loneliness, and insecurities.
Surely, we can go out and share His message with our brothers and sisters. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true restored gospel and church of Jesus Christ on the earth, established for our salvation and joy. It is the answer to all the troubles of the families in Manila and problems in the world.
As President Hinckley said, "Let us get at it with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord. We can do it if we will be prayerful and faithful. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. We have nothing to fear. God is at the helm. He will overrule for the good of this work. He will shower down blessings upon those who walk in obedience to His commandments.” And as Joseph Smith once said, "Shall we not go on in such a cause?!”
We will love you forever,
President and Sister Ostler
Dearest Parents and Families,
President Ostler and I thank you for the sacrifices you make daily to share your sons and daughters, parents and grandparents with the Philippines Manila Mission in the service of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May you be blessed forever!
We close this final post with a painting that represents how we feel about serving this mission. We began this mission with great expectations and hopes. Because of our love for the Savior and our desire to share the gospel, we hoped we would be able to make a big difference in building the Lord's kingdom in the Philippines. As we complete this mission, we are humbled with the knowledge that all good things come from God. All that we are that is good, all that we think, all that we can do, every talent, every skill, every good thought, every breath....it is all because of the grace and goodness of our God. In the end, we have given what we could, and though it seems very small, it was what we had, and we gave it with willing hearts and sincere love.
The beautiful and most meaningful part of this pictures is the reassurance that the Lord accepts "what we have" and can take it, bless it, and make it "enough" and to spare...just like He did the 5 loaves and two fishes. Our prayer is that He has made it enough.
We love you all,
President and Sister Ostler