I'll be Home for Christmas!‏

Dear Family,

Well, see you soon! Merry Christmas!

Love,Elder Osness

spiritual words‏

Dear Family, This past week has been a challenge. I came into the mission sick and I'm hoping I don't leave with this nasal cold. I got sick last week and haven't really been able to enjoy a lot of missionary work. Yesterday was my first well day, but I have a return of the headache today, so I'm hoping I can be over it and accomplish what is needed and recover. There is a lot of good still happening here and its really been great to meet and teach so many people. Clara is doing great and making many friends in the church. The ward here is really doing a great job in supporting the new members. Last week we taught a new person who was formerly dating a member and wanted us to come by and answer a few questions. The member family warned us of his challenging personality and questions, but the lesson went great and I don't think we answered a lot of his questions, but did teach some principles that would help his understanding and some questions that are going to be a little more valluable to answer on his own and how those answers would come. Its up to him. On Sunday we talked with the member family about our lesson and they had mentioned that he had felt something different and he felt great even though we didn't have the answers to a lot of his historical questions. I think the spirit gave some unspoken answers and now he knows what he must do.Things are moving along and I will see you all soon. Merry Christmas!Love you!Elder Osness

Merry Christmas To All‏ (from the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,
This week has been a ordinary week of nice, hard work. President Gee was showing me the key indicator report today. There were over 5000 contacts made this week by our wonderful missionaries. This means they need to introduce themselves and invite the people to listen to the message. Of course most of them say they aren't interested but when that many people have the opportunity you know the missionaries are out doing what they were sent to do. President Gee often reminds them that if at the end of the day they can say they have given about twenty people the chance to hear the gospel they can say they have had a good day, even if the people didn't take advantage of the blessing. We are working on remembering to testify as they invite. We are sure the results will be even greater as we become better and better at bearing strong testimonies. The miracles start to happen when the missionaries are willing to pay the price. There were a lot of lessons taught as well.
On Sunday the temperature reached 70 degrees in some parts of the mission. We reminded the missionaries to be grateful for an early Christmas gift from mother nature. Some were delighted to be working in shirt sleeves again. However, Oklahoma is a roller-coaster. Today was shivering cold again.
President Gee and I had a chance to deliver some Christmas packages to a few of our missionaries this weekend. It is fun to see their Christmas Trees all decorated and lit up. Some of them are about 12 inches tall. Some of the trees are closer to six feet tall. It just depends on what they find in the apartments. They surely do appreciate anything that comes in the mail. One Elder said, "I invited my family to send a physical letter in the mail. Mail means more than money." I'm sure most of the missionaries feel that same delight when something comes in the mail.
This will be our official Christmas greeting to all of you. Next Monday we will be receiving 14 new missionaries. The days of transfers are some of our busiest and I am sure I won't have time to send a message. I guess I will take a little holiday break. We do want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. We hope you love talking with your missionary on the phone on Christmas day. President Gee and I appreciate your interest and responses, and especially your prayers. We continue to pray for you. Our testimonies continue to strengthen as we see the Lord's hand in this work. We testify that your sons or daughters are literally God's messengers. What a way to celebrate Christmas! They will never forget being part of such a great cause. On to the victory!
Love, Sister Gee (and President Gee)

Baptism!‏

Dear Family, I've got to be quick. I'm still working on my trunky papers. This report on my mission is taking most of my computer attention, but I will tell you it has been a great week! Clara was baptized and as I look back I often wonder how anything comes together, but it does. We also had a good temple conference and it was nice to attend the temple. The pictures are of a grip of my mission posterity at the temple conference and of Clara's baptism. Its so awesome to see things like this come together. It seems the people that require the least effort and take care of their own conversion are the ones who make real progress where as with some people we work and work and work, but progress is slow...because of a lack on their part. Just got to work on show the importance so they feel the need. Then wonderful things happen.Love ya!Elder Osness

Christmas Conference‏

Dear Parents and Families,

Last Wednesday and Thursday we had our much looked-forward-to Christmas Conference in the Surrey Hills Chapel by the Oklahoma City Temple. On Wednesday when President Gee and I walked into the chapel the missionaries were assembled and reverently studying their scriptures. I could feel the spirit before we even began. I hope I never get insensitive to the power that a group of good missionaries has. We began with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." It sounded like angels were singing. We have some wonderful singers in the group. President Gee ususally sings with gusto. He learned to sing in his youth when he spent hours on the tractor. He developed power singing above the noise. On Wednesday, however, he wasn't singing. I looked at him and could see tears in his eyes. I patted him on the leg, because there were tears in my eyes as well. It was so touching. We wished we could sing much longer. In fact, later in the day we inserted some unplanned Christmas Carols. After some preliminary remarks half of the half of the mission left to attend a session at the temple. The temple workers were almost as happy as we were that the missionaries were there. It takes a lot of work on their part to take care of us, since most of the missionaries don't have all their temple clothes. I love seeing the missionaries in their suits, ties, and dresses, but it can't compare to seeing them all in white. They were able to spend a little time in the Celestial room to ponder and pray.

After the session the group returned to the chapel to share testimonies and positive mission experiences. The other half was in the temple by then. What a boost it is to have each and every missionary share some little miracle that has happened to them and to also affirm their testimony.

Next we had a mission picture taken in front of the temple. It was freezing cold but we tried to keep each other warm. Afterwards both groups went into the chapel for the final words from President Gee. He spent time introducing the new theme for 2010. It will be "Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not. fear not." D&C 6:36

It was a day of fasting, so by 4:30 in the afternoon thoughts were turning to food. The Oklahoma City Stake furnished a very nice Christmas meal for all of us. It was beautifully decorated and the missionaries were more than eager to consume ham, funeral potatoes, beans, breads, salad, and trifle dessert. They love to visit with one another. We could tell they were reluctant for it all to end. They were taking pictures by the score. We were grateful that the weather cooperated and we didn't have to cope with an ice storm.

Thursday was pretty much a repeat of Wednesday except they were a bit more exuberant in their visiting and it took a while to get them to settle down. It was another uplifting and renewing day. President Gee and I breathed a sigh of relief when they were all safely back to their areas. We kind of feel like the highlight of the Christmas season has passed, but we will still enjoy the things that are ahead.

Christmas boxes are starting to pile up in the office. It is kind of like Santa's workshop during December. We noticed several of the elders were sporting some newly received gloves. Those gloves and also neckscarves really help. Some of them have thermal underwear, etc. that also helps to keep them warm. Thanks for your support and prayers. Please pray for the health of the missionaries. Several have developed colds, probably because winter is now officially here.

We have potential for a good month of baptisms. Please also add your prayers in behalf of those who have committed to be baptized. We love our missionaries! They want to do the Lord's work. We are so blessed to be part of the work. Have a good week. President Gee sends his best wishes. We both pray for you!

Love, Sister Gee

gonna be quick‏

Dear Family, pictures:I see a star shining brightly! we put our strand of lights to good use at our apartment and made a large bright star in our sliding glass door. The other pictures are of some more mission posterity at the new missionary/trainer meeting and of the set up at the last Family Fun Zone of the season. Well, I've got to work on my trunky papers so I don't have much time. Things are good and we have a great baptism scheduled for Saturday. Clara is doing great, though we've lost our friend Edwin. no body knows where he is and as a result will probably not be getting baptized this weekend. Clara has a strong enough testimony to fill and over fill the gap that won't be coming from Edwin. Things are good and I love you all! Looking forward to the baptism of Clara. -Elder Osness

Just one more holiday...‏

Hey family, It seems like everyday I'm reminded by someone that I'm going home soon. Its really strange to think. Its coming but doesn't seem tangible, which is good. I'm hoping I can see these people I'm teaching make greater commitment to God before I leave. Things are looking great for most, but some are struggling to really take hold and let their testimony grow. We are teaching one whose probably the most spiritual person I've met on my mission. She's from West Africa and is just flourishing with her testimony. She hasn't missed church since she's been and studies and will be sharing this with her friends and family. I'll be gone before I get to see much of that, but its definately a great experience to be a part of the conversion process of not only my own, but others as well. This week we ran into some members of the Restoration Church...interesting. They are a great family and you can tell they live their life the best they can to follow the teachings of Jesus and the Prophets. The Restoration church came from The RLDS church after a revelation on the priesthood that many dissagreed with. After talking with them I've come to know even more that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's true church on the earth in its fulness with our Father in heaven himself leading it. Hopefully with their future experiences with us and the church here their testimony of the living Prophets and Apostles will develope.I love you all and I'll see you...:) I'm off to my last holiday. I've never experienced such a wide variety of turkey. Love Ya! -Elder Osness

Got Details?‏ (from the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,

The season has come to toss any ideas out the window that a mission is a piece of cake. We are in a COLD, cold front and it is time to put on the coats, neck scarves, hats, and gloves. It is dark by around 5:30 and that makes missionary work more challenging. I have great admiration for these missionaries who put personal comfort on the back burner and go out to save the world.

President Gee, the assistants, and I welcomed nine new missionaries last Tuesday and said good-bye to eight returning missionaries. We had a great last day together on Wednesday as we attended the temple and then met with the new temple president, President Southward. After dinner we had a meeting where each missionary shared some memorable mission experience and his/her testimony. You know it can't be described in words but you would recognize an intensely wonderful feeling. On Thursday morning there was a little experience that could symbolize the good every missionary is doing here.
As we arrived at the airport, there was a mother and daughter who had been baptized by Elder Fogleberg, They had been planning for weeks to surprise him at the airport to say good-bye. They were as excited as kids at Christmas. When Elder Fogleberg saw them he had a smile as big as all outdoors. While they chatted I thought about what had really happened. Elder Fogelberg, among other missionaries, was blessed to find a family to teach. The father and brother in the family were also baptized. What a payoff for leaving the world behind to bring unspeakable joy to people the missionary had never met. Now there is an eternal bond. They will never forget one another. In two months that family will be sealed in the temple and Elder Fogelberg will return to be there with them. His parents will be there also. That is a missionary's dream. Not everyone gets to see a family sealed, but every missionary contributes to the process of conversion and in the end they are all promised "how great shall be your joy with them in the Kingdom of Heaven." I got to see a glimpse of that on Thursday morning.

Once in a while a missionary will mention that you parents have told them about my e-mails. I have to smile when they say you have reminded them to do something more diligently, like not spend all their money eating out. I want to assure you that there is a feeling of wanting to please you. You still have a great influence on them. I think it strengthens them when you give them counsel. Many times parents have responded with something like, "I don't get many details from my son." I can understand that from the letters they write to President Gee. While I never read the letters, I do file them so I know that some do well to write two sentences and some write two pages. If you are having trouble getting enough information out of your son, I suggest you might ask them to answer some questions. (The sisters don't seem to have trouble writing a lot.) What do you do to exercise? What do you study during personal study time? How do you and your companion practice teaching? What insight did you get from your study this morning? Is it hard to get up by 6:30 in the morning? Have you had any miracles in finding people to teach? Are the members helping you with the work? What does the ward mission leader do to help you? Are you sleeping well? When is the last time you had a good laugh?

Hopefully questions will help trigger things they could share with you. It won't be long until the much awaited Christmas call. Then you can all catch up. I hope this gives you a few ideas. I think I will remind them when I talk to them how much the details mean to their families.

Well, have a wonderful week. We pray for you and certainly appreciate your prayers for your missionary and for the work of the mission. President Gee sends his greetings! The missionaries are still working hard.
Love, Sister Gee

sparking testimonies‏

Dear Family, Pictures: The first is at Transfers. I haven't been in a while and I got to see some good buddies there. The other is of Elder Cannon and I...today because I realized I haven't taken one of us, so there it is.The work is going great! Elder Cannon walked into a flow of success! Four of the people we are teaching have baptismal dates that they are working towards and its amazing to see how rapidly their testimonies grow when that commitment is made. We have so much good going on and the days are flying by! Ahhh! I really can't even keep track at all. Its just sleep and wake up, sleep and wake up. Its really exciting to see so much fall into place. Hard work pays off. Well, I've got to use the rest of my computer time to write my "trunky papers" so until next time.Love you!-Elder Osness

too much month‏ (from the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,

We hope you are enjoying your November as much as we are. The temperatures were in the 70's today so we can't complain about anything. The first time I wrote to parents I explained about tornados. So many new missionaries have come since then that I just want to make sure those parents know we are not in the tornado season right now, so don't even think about it.

Today I will explain a little about the finances of the missionaries. (That is why this is titled "Too Much Month.") We all know that story. Your $400 dollars goes to Salt Lake. Each mission has a budget to cover expenses and we have an account to pay rent and utilities for the missionaries. Our wonderful office missionaries keep everything running well. Each missionary has an MSF card. (Missionary Support Fund) He/she uses that card to pay for food, sundries, postage, dry cleaning, washing the car, cleaning supplies, etc. The missionaries get $135 dollars at the beginning of each month. It isn't much but if they are careful it is enough. In most of the areas members feed them often and take good care of them. Learning to live on a limited budget is another great learning experience of the mission. (It will prepare them for marriage!") We have varying degrees of success in making the money last. Some manage to have money left at the end of the month. Others go right out and spend the money and end up with nothing for two weeks. One of the things they do is eat out at restaurants. President Gee isn't real excited about that but they think it is fun to eat together after District Meeting and sometimes other days as well. A while ago I tried a little survey and found about half of the missionaries are successful at living on their budget. The rest dig into their personal funds, or maybe even ask you for more money. President Gee and I are concerned if they create a hardship for you by doing this. You may think they will starve if they don't get more money. You can handle this as you see fit, but from our point of view, it would be better for them to learn to make do. There are occasions when they do need some personal funds. If they need to see a doctor or get medicine they pay a ten dollar co-pay for each of these. Sometimes there are bicycle repairs to take care of as well. We hate to think they are depleting their savings accounts to eat out or buy excess keepsakes, etc. However, sometimes they are a bit too frugal and let their clothes get looking pretty shabby. With that little bit of information from us, hopefully you will know what your missionary should be doing. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Things are going pretty well for the mission. The outlook for baptisms for November is good. The missionaries are still working hard and we appreciate all they do. Last evening President Gee and I had a good experience. The Edmond 2nd ward Bishop invited us to meet with the ward council and talk through exactly how they should go about taking charge of the missionary work in the ward and coordinating with the missionaries. Elder Salisbury and Elder Hawker were there as well. There was a great feeling of willingness to work together and try to reach out to less active and part-member families. It was fun to watch them catch the vision. We know that if every ward would really make the ward council function as outlined there would be an explosion of success. The way to do it is laid out by prophets, seers, and revelators. It just takes time to get everyone on board. The nature of missionary work would certainly change because they would be teaching more and resorting to tracting less. We hope members continue to start to "get it" and we become effective at working together.

Eight missionaries will be leaving us this week. We know there are eight very happy families. We will miss them. We will be welcoming nine new missionaries and look forward to working with them. Have a good week. Keep those prayers coming. We are working to "Go Forward and Not Backward. On, On To The Victory!"
Love, Sister Gee (and President Gee)

Running into my last transfer‏

Dear Family, Pictures: District picture, a bunch of the missionaries after district meeting, and me waiting on the stairs on exchanges for our ride to an appointment. Another good week in the mission! We committed four people to be baptized in the past week, three of which before my time runs dry. Its been so great to find all these people to teach and we may end up before I finish getting a few more people baptism dates to prepare for. The field is ready to harvest! We got transfer calls yesterday and Elder Madsen is already headed out. It was a quick transfer! He's not going too far though, just the next area over. And I'll be training again, for the fourth time. Elder Cannon from Idaho will be my new companion.So, last night we were visiting a member who has recently began making steps back into activity in the church and its been a struggle to be consistent. We had a really good lesson and its one of those moments that help you know why you are where you are and that your calling is really from God. The way things work out the way they do is because God has a plan and his ways will be fulfilled. If we follow his guidance and heed the council of the spirit we can be assured we are being led by our Father in Heaven even if we don't know why things are the way they are, but will if we remain faithful we will achieve the blessing....not all blessings are temporal, but many are spiritual.Things are great! I love you all and will see you in a few short weeks! -Elder Osness

What Could Possibly Go Wrong‏ (from the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,
President Gee and I hope all is well with "Ya'll." We appreciate your prayers and support in behalf of the mission and your missionary. The weather is absolutely wonderful this week. The temperature was in the seventies and the skies are blue. It is perfect weather for missionaries and we think we get a few more days just like what we have had. Most of the missionaries are healthy and doing well.

Today I would like to pass on a few experiences about baptisms. Baptisms bring joy! However, there are times when we find out the answer to the question, "What could possibly go wrong?" I hope your sense of humor is awake. In the past Elders have been told how long it takes to fill the font. Not wanting to waste time, they plan on starting the water and leaving for a while to do other missionary things. You know the answer to the question, don't you? Recently the Elders returned to find the font had overflowed and the church was flooded. They spent several hours with a shop vac trying to repair the damage. It has happened more than once.
One unforgettable experience happened several months ago. We were hosting Elder Richardson who was our Area Seventy. We decided to attend a scheduled baptism during one evening. When we arrived the Elders weren't really thrilled to see us because somehow the person who was supposed to pick up the sister to be baptized forgot to get her. It would take an hour to make the round trip to get her to the church. That ward mission leader had decided to ride his motorcycle rather than drive his car. He was having so much fun he forgot what he was doing. We waited and waited. I finally looked at Elder Richardson and said, "This is how we do things in Oklahoma." He smiled and said something about the interesting report he would have for the brethren.
The sister finally arrived and got ready for the baptism. When the witnesses tried to open the doors in front of the font they were locked. The motorcycle mission leader had left the keys home with his car keys. We tried breaking in. A former CIA agent thought he could unlock the door but to no avail. I don't even remember how we finally solved the problem. The poor sister finally got into the water and had to be baptized three times before it was done correctly.
Another time a lovely sister named Maria was scheduled to be baptized. All day long things kept coming up to stop her from attending her baptism. There were issues with the Immigration Department and car troubles, among other things. She did show up at the scheduled time. Just as we were under way the tornado siren went off. I remember thinking, "We are NOT going to stop this baptism for any tornado!!" We just went ahead and she was baptized and fortunately the tornado went somewhere else. Another time we waited and waited for a young boy to show up for his baptism. Finally we disbanded and the police and his family and the missionaries started a searth for a missing person. They found him the next day at a friends house. He had forgotten about his baptism. Needless to say, more teaching was in order. He was finally baptized several weeks later and is still doing okay.
Well, these experiences make us smile, but there really is opposition in all things and we are relieved when baptisms go as scheduled. I was able to attend a baptism on Saturday morning for a young woman named April. This one was perfect. The room was so crowded with ward members and family that they had to carry in more chairs. There was a wonderful spirit of love and testimony there. The talks were good. I love to hear the testimonies of people who often start with "I remember the day I was baptized! It was _______years ago." I realized as I listened on Saturday that knowing people who are accepting the gospel allows those of us who were born into the church to kind of go through the conversion process vicariously. These experiences help all of us to build our testimonies as well. Every time we attend a baptism it feels like a reverent celebration. There are always so many smiles. (However, I do remember one where the mother of the girl being baptized sobbed all the way through the program. She was heart broken that her daughter was abandoning her upbringing and joining another church.) I saw an artists depiction of the baptism of the Savior where he and John the Baptist were embracing and both had huge smiles on their faces. I loved that concept because baptism is so important and joyful. Thank you for your son or daughter or family member and supporting them in this greatest of causes to bring souls to Christ through baptism. May you all be blessed. We pray for you. Love, President and Sister Gee

5 Minutes Late!‏

Dear Family, Pictures: Obviously I was forgeting to pull out my camera and it was hard to stop and get a good picture, so these will have to be good enough to see the Family Fun Zone in action with missionaries trying to get people to come and enjoy some good company and food. We get a few regulars that make a pit stop on their way to the OU game. I'm a slacker and just cook hotdogs and wait for people to come to the grill so I can talk to them, but my companion, Elder Madsen is doing great! Him and another new missionary join up and walk all over talking to people and they got to teach a lesson during all the activity and passed out two copies of the Book of Mormon. Elder Lewis and I did happen to have some good contacts and committed a few college students to come to church at the institute the following day. Hopefully they followed through.Last week we taught a great lesson to a woman from West Africa and she, during the lesson, asked what she would need to do to join the church. That was a surprise and I found myself struggling to answer such a simple question, but it finally came out. She then went on to explain her previous experiences with missionaries and finding copies of the Book of Mormon and conversations with others who had typical anti opinions about the church...she corrected them. We have a lot of good going on.So, to the highlight and subject of my e-mail. President Eyring made a special visit to his daughter's baby blessing in the Noble ward. I missed my chance to meet him. We, the Norman 4th ward, meet at the same building as Noble and we have church right after them and our morning meetings start just after their sacrament meeting. Our ward mission leader picked us up as usual, around 10am to go to our corrilation meeting at the church. As we pulled up to church and walked to the door, something had caught our ward mission leader's attention. When he caught up to us he said, "that looked like President Eyring in that SUV!" Elder Madsen and I were thinking ya, sure. Well, to our suprise we walk in to the building to hear everyone chattering about the visit President Eyring made to their ward...ough! Just five minutes earlier and I would have been able to meet President Eyring. I happened to learn from it though. It wouldn't make much sense to you, but it was an experience God gave me to teach me something. Its been really interesting on my mission to see how often God is teaching us if we are open to it. Overall it has to do with the feeling of knowing I could have experienced better, but didn't quite make it. Kind of like at some point in time we will all have an understanding of what it would be like to "dwell with God" and how disappointing will it be if we have to settle for less and depart from something so wonderful. There was a lot of connection and learning that came to me beyond that. Much like the experience Elder Scott related in General Conference about personal revelation and prayer; "is there more that I should know."Things sound good at home. Hope all continues well and I love you all!-Elder Osness

Dear Family,

Another week in the mission passes by.Pictures: A couple of them are from a couple weeks ago at the trainer/ trainee meeting. My companion was busy talking with a missionary from the mtc and didn't get in the pictures. I need to get some with him. We've been staying really busy and I don't even think about pulling out my camera unless at a meeting. The last picture is Elder Medina and I at Zone Conference. Which was great! The Norman Stake President is terrific and always has some good instruction to keep the work going forward. Out of all the Stakes I've been in, he is the most involved in the efforts of the missionaries and members. His life is his calling. He's well involved in the community and the member's lives here. Among the things learned from Zone conference I believe prayer, personal preparation, and the spirit were of the greatest value for me.I also got my "trunky papers" this week. This letter from the office is a notification of my departure day and instructions on writing an end of mission report. Three pages at first seemed so intimidating, but as I've brain stormed and wrote a few notes, I'm going to struggle to fit all that I want to write on three pages. I haven't gone through half the bullets I'm suppose to and I've got three and a half pages of notes. This is going to have to be much like the book of Ether and condense my two year experience.Things are good here and things are moving along. Oh, by the way departure day is not going to be Christmas Eve, but on the 23rd of December. See you soon, but for now its beck to work.

Love you! -Elder Glenn Osness

Greenie Talk‏ (from the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,

Greetings from Oklahoma. I was not even close to a computer last week so I didn't write a message. It will be like that some weeks. We had Zone Conferences last week and also have been interviewing missionaries for almost two weeks. That means we have seen each and every missionary in the mission. The missionaries are doing pretty well at being healthy. We hope it continues.

It is always renewing to meet for Zone Conferences. There is strength in numbers. It is good to be around fellow missionaries who have testimonies that are strong enough to be willing to do this work. It feels like safety from the storm. President Gee reminded them again how important it is to take time to listen for instructions from the Spirit about where to go and who to talk to. He did a review of Elder Scott's conference address on receiving personal revelation. Stake Presidents (or a counselor) were our guests in each Zone Conference and it is always good to receive their insights. We studied the focus doctrine of obedience and agency. There were practices on teaching the First Vision and other topics. As always there were delicious lunches prepared by wonderful Relief Society sisters, some of whom have missionaries serving at this time. We always sing "Armies of Helaman" as a thanks to them for taking care of us. Many of them wipe tears from their eyes as they see a room full of missionaries who remind them of their children. President Gee always calls on a few to share their testimonies and to give a talk on the focus doctrine. We seem to share a few laughs as we go along. After it is over the missionaries really would like to "linger longer" which they do for a little while. Then they are off to resume their work.

As President Gee interviews I visit with the missionaries who are waiting. I love to listen to them chatter away. Sometimes I learn something that I can pass along to my husband or to the parents. One thing I have picked up is that often parents do a count down of how much longer their missionary has to serve. (I did the same thing with my children.) When we arrived in the Oklahoma City Mission I realized that part of the mission culture is to try not to speak about going home and how much times is left. It makes it easier to concentrate on the work and to not get homesick. I would suggest that you can do countdowns at home on calendars and with the family, but you will help your missionary the most if you don't include them in the countdown, especially when the end is getting near. It is hard not to get "trunky." I hope that little bit of information is helpful.

I love these missionaries. It is fun to watch them grow from scared newcomers to confident and polished missionaries. I thought you might enjoy a little description of what it is like to learn to talk to perfect strangers about a message that fills our lives to the brim but is very different to the people out here. I call it "Miracles and Greenies."

The touching, tender, heart-warming, and sometimes humorous reality is that the Lord truly uses the weak and unlearned to "thrash the nations by the power of his Spirit." D.&C. 35:13. Even after months of experience this is true, but it is especially true of "greenies." Usually they have been primed and prepared for years, but suddenly having to get it out of their mouths in a logical way is at least humbling, and sometimes humiliating, depending on the day. To quote one trainer, "My companion taught all gospel principles in 30 seconds, learving me to say in my mind, 'Oh, no! What do we do now?" I hope you can see the humor!


It might sound something like this:

We are missionaries from our church and we have a message about Jesus Christ. It will bless your family and it has really blessed mine because we have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and we meet every six months in general conference because Joseph Smith saw a vision in New York and was called as a prophet. So here is a Book of Mormon to witness it is true and you will know it is if you pray about it. So would you like to know more? (Possible slamming of the door.)
If they say "yes" the missionaries try to hide their surprise and go forward to teach.
The miracle is that the trainer I quoted above and her companion baptized the woman who was at the door.

In Doctrine and Covenants 35:14 the Lord says: "And their arm shall be my arm and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me."
That is what your sons, (and even your daughters and parents) are doing out here. They are fighting manfully for the Lord. We are proud of them and we know you are also. We hope you have a great week.
Love, Sister Gee (and President Gee)

1 out of 6‏

Dear family,

Well, I have some new pictures this past week, but I didn't bring the cable to the library to attatch them to the e-mail...sorry.This week we had the new missionary/trainer meeting and learned all the things I'm still not perfect on...close, but...haha! I still have a lot of refining to do. Things are good here. We seem to cycle through our investigators pretty rapidly. We've been getting lots of new people to teach and then they haven't been keeping their follow-up visits. Every few though, we get somebody who wants to continue. This past week six people gave us strong commitments to come to church...and one came. Pheobe, who is a daughter of Samantha, who has recently started coming back to church...sound familiar. This situation has been the avenue that has progressed the most since I've been in this ward. A single mom with an unbaptized child wanting to come back. In our last visit she mentioned she would like to start the lessons to prepare Pheobe for baptism. Great! can do! She'll get to grow up with a great foundation.Everyone is getting bombarded with opposition though. It seems the more these people want to do what's right they get blasted with a world of struggle to get there. I hope they can press through the difficulty and get rooted in the faith of God so they can be delivered...just as in the last verse of 1 Nephi 1. Those who are faithful are delivered. They still must go through the trial though. All must press through the trial to be free of it. Then we have grown and been refined more and more through every trial.Love ya!-Elder Osness

Gloomy Joy‏

Dear Family, Sorry, no pictures...The week was good though! We have found some great new people to teach and hope to see some great progress! Things have been kind of floating on by the past month with people coming and going in our investigator pool, but I think we're about to move foreward with David. He's a great person who has been to the church, not our ward, but non-the-less come serveral times and is very sincere. We taught a terrific lesson last week with a member and things are looking good. Elder Madsen sounds like me when I first came out. His words were something similar to mine when I was teaching Angie in the begining, "I feel a baptism coming!" Ha! Things are going great and we're enjoying this transfer. We also taught another really good lesson. An appointment fell through, so we went to visit our back-up plan and she had two friends over and they said we could teach, so we did and at least one of them needed to hear many of the testimonies shared in that lesson. The spirit was very strong during the lesson the only down fall is they are young single adults...which means we hand them off to the singles ward/univerity ward. I hope things with them continue well.Even with the gloomy weather the past few days we are doing good and enjoying life!Love you all! -Elder Glenn Osness

Where The Action Is‏ (from the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,

Another week has flown by already. The beautiful autumn weather I was predicting hasn't come through. We have had a week of pretty heavy rain and cooler temperatures. I sometimes feel sorry for the missionaries who are out in the storms until I see one of them grinning from ear to ear. I have to remind myself that some people think it is fun to get wet.

For your information we are still trying to decided what to do about flu shots. It seems the vaccine isn't readily available so we are trying to figure it out. If you have specific concerns please feel free to let me know about them. We have had some sickness in the mission that lasts from two to five days. Right now most of them are getting better. We certainly appreciate your prayers in behalf of the health of the missionaries. We came up with a substitute for the handshake. We call it the "pound." We make a fist and quickly touch knuckles. Some of the wards have big bottles of hand sanitizers strategically placed so everyone can stay sanitized during meetings.

I would like to make a few comments about "where the action is." Actually, the action is wherever a missionary can be found, but I would like to describe district meetings. These meetings are held on Friday mornings, five out of the six weeks of transfers. They are under the direction of the district leader. He plans the theme and makes assignments to carry it out. Unless the district is especially large, each missionary gets to participate each week. That is what makes it "where the action is." The district leaders get the experience of conducting with dignity and being responsible to make sure it is a spiritual and uplifting experience for the other missionaries. Sometimes there is prelude music, if they are lucky enough to have a piano player. Sometimes the opening hymn has beautiful harmony. Sometimes it doesn't, but it is beautiful anyway because the song of the righteous is a prayer, even if it is slightly out of tune. Our mission theme is written on the board to encourage everyone. It says, "Courage brethren, (and sisters) and on, on to the victory!!!" Missionaries participate by giving "trainings" which is a fancy word for a talk, on some aspect of missionary work. They always have a practice on some skill, usually led by the district leader. He will explain the purpose and demonstrate with his companion how it should be done. If President Gee is there he delights in letting them practice on him. He can be scary but also fun. Usually everyone learns a lot. (President Gee and I try to visit a district meeting each Frday.) Everyone gets a chance to give feedback on what went well and suggestions for improvement. It is a little stressful and a step out of the comfort zone, but it is a good stretching experience. The meeting usually ends with a training on some doctrine. At the end they often make a list of their investigators who they can pray for. Then they kneel down and pray for each one of them.

This last Friday President Gee and I visited Midwest City District. They were practicing on testifying as they teach and as they resolve concerns. The practices are sometimes challenging because we are really pretending. However, on Friday as they were practicing testifying, suddenly there were tears in the eyes and that remarkable feeling in the room as the Spirit bore witness AGAIN that the teachings are true. It was a touching meeting.
When district meeting is over, the quiet reverence gives way for the business at hand. What is for lunch??? Sometimes they go to a restaurant to eat. Chinese buffets are very popular because they get all they can eat for not much money. If they are especially ambitious they have lunch together at the church. Last Friday the Elders had made Buffalo Wings and brownies. We were impressed.
These meetings build the missionaries line upon line as they prepare and participate over and over and over. I kind of liken district meetings to what happens in the church on a ward level. This is where everyone gets a chance to be on the front line. Zone meetings are more like what happens on a stake level. They are held less often with more missionaries. They are all good. The organization of the Lord's church, and the missionary force is a marvelous work and a wonder.

I hope this helps you to visualize what a district meeting is all about. Please continue to pray for the work. I often visualize hundreds of family members praying diligently for the work to progress and for the missionaries to feel joy. Who can describe how much good comes from prayers of faith. Have a good week. Greetings from President Gee. He is still smiling. We had another good week with the baptisms. Love, Sister Gee

Miracles Never Cease‏

Dear Parents and Families,

We hope you had a wonderful weekend enjoying the conference sessions, as did the missionaries serving here. One of our sisters kind of summed it up when she said, "Every talk was for me." It is a miracle that answers to questions and encouragement to face challenges can come uniquely to everyone by the same talks. There was great enthusiasm for Elder Hollands powerful testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. One sister said she loved Elder Anderson's talk about the open arms of the Savior and his love for everyone.I'm sure you will enjoy hearing from your own missionary about the things that were especially meaningful to him or her. As for me, I loved it all. I feel like I get to go to heaven for a few hours. The subdued music spoke to my soul, especially "O Divine Redeemer." When Elder Holland was "speaking with the tongue of an angel," I was so excited to think I am a missionary and part of spreading the good news.

We are thinking a lot about miracles here in the mission. They are happening all the time. Most of them are ordinary miracles, not the sensational kind. We keep hearing accounts of praying over where to go and what happens as a result. The most recent one I heard was that a companionship prayed to know where to go and there was not a common street in the answers they received. However, two streets were close to each other so they decided to go there. After about an hour of fruitless tracting they decided to check on a less-active member they had never met. The man was home and let them in. He had been in a bicycle accident and needed some help around the house. As the Elders drove away they realized the man's address was exactly between the two streets they had decided to tract. Those things are happening constantly.
Another kind of humerous thing happened at a baptism. A man showed up to get ready for his baptism about an hour early. To the horror of the Elders, the jumpsuit that fit him was nowhere to be found. They searched and found a pair of white trousers that would fit, but there was no white shirt. People were coming and they were running out of time. They walked through the halls of the church, trying to decide what to do. A stake leader just happened to be in the church at that time. The Elders asked him if he had any idea where they could find a white shirt. He smiled and said he had just picked up his laundry from the cleaners and he had a white shirt they could use. Now I ask you--was that coincidence?? It was absolutely another miracle.

Maybe the greatest miracle is the army of missionaries that comes in wave after wave after wave. When I consider how difficult missionary life is, how they are required to forget their own comfort and desires, and how in the general population this age is probably the most self-centered time of life, it is amazing that there is a generation willing to do this work. We just welcomed eight more Elders and Sisters last week. President Gee and I are so pleased with their preparation and potential. They have a great spirit about them. We are excited to get to know them better in the months ahead. All of the missionaries are a living testimony that this work is truly the work of the Lord.

For your information: We got a memo from the missionary committee about the flu shots a day or two ago. We will be making some decisions with our mission doctor about what we need to do. They are recommending that we find a way for the missionaries to at least get the seasonal flu shot. The cost will be paid by the families. In the meantime, they are saying to tell the missionaries to stop shaking hands, to use hand sanitizer, and to wash hands constantly. It will be interesting to see what creative substitutes they come up with for shaking hands. We still have a few who are sick, but I think your prayers for our immune systems are helping. Please continue.

May you all be blessed this coming week, and we hope you have great joy because of the service your loved one is giving to the Lord. My testimony of the power of united prayer is growing constantly. Thank you for your love and support. Love, Sister Gee

Good Conference‏

Dear Family,

pictures: two are of our district before Elder Baker left to Ada and Elder Madsen from Gunnison, Utah came to join us. The other is of Elder Madsen and I doing some laundry. I'll get some better pictures coming. There is another home game this weekend, so some time will be at the family fun zone.When Elder Madsen got here we got settled in and headed out to a great first week of work and some inspiring words of Prophets, Apostles, and other General Authorities. We have had some great new people come into the picture this past week and hope to see some progress in testimonies. None came to watch conference, but hope to see some commitment come. The days are cruising by and we just seem to be busier and busier as the days go by. This transfer should bring some great accomplishments. Elder Madsen is keeping me well focussed and has a lot of ambition to help everyone he sees. He has a lot of faith and a great testimony of the restored gospel and people just seem to let him in more than I'm used to. The first night we went tracting, we were getting close to the end of the road and he simply asked if we could come in and share a quick message about the church and the door opened to let us in. Eric is in high school and we found out he knows a few of the members and has been to church before and he willingly accepted our invitations. We hope to see many great things come because of this experience and others we have had daily since then.Among all the inspiring words spoken this past weekend, my favorite talks were given in the Priesthood session of conference, which complimented each other perfectly; President Uchtdorf and President Eyring. President Uchtdorf helped me want to be more temporally prepared and diligent and as President Eyring spoke a felt a great desire to never do wrong and always be spiritually prepared in all cases, at all times, and in all places. The most talked about by the members we've seen the past couple days was Elder Jeffery R. Holland as he laid down the power and truth the Book of Mormon holds.Its been a great week and happy to hear of another niece. I can't wait to meet Abby. Congratulations Jeff and Heather! I love you all!-Elder Glenn Osness

a bunch of no shows‏

Dear Family, Pictures:

All the pictures have to do with last weeks P-day adventure to the Museum of Natural History. Its a great museum that the University has. As you can see we had fun in the native oklahoma area with a large canoe and the where's Elder Osness wall of many faces:) Outside there was a steel buffalo, so we took a group picture there. It was a good brief on Oklahoma History and Natural wonders of time.This past week wasn't bad, but we didn't see as much progress with some that had made solid commitments. We had four investigators committed to come to church and none showed, but a good member who hasn't been for a very long time came and brought with him his fiance. After church we talked with him and he said we could come by and practice teach the lessons, so hopefully that will be an opportunity to share what is most important with his fiance and see some lights come on. We had a real great start to the area, but just can't seem to keep it up to a constant. Hopefully in this week we can see some avenues open up.Its transfer week! Elder Baker and I waited patiently for the call last night to see what surprises would come with transfer calls. The news....Elder Baker is leaving me....and I'm training again! Elder Madsen from Mayfield, Utah. There sure are a lot of us from Utah. I'm going to have to start saying I'm from Arizona or something. I can predict the response every time somebody asks us where we are from. "So, where are you from? Utah...Utah... Oh, both from Utah! Wow, they must send all the missionaries from Utah to Oklahoma. We sure do get a lot from Utah." Well, I'm pretty excited! I always get a little nervous before I have to train...hoping I can do a good job and make the transition an enjoyable, fulfilling experience.Well, I love you all! -Elder Glenn Osness

Ties That Bind‏ (from the pres.)

Dear Parents and Families,

We just had an exciting weekend with several baptisms. President Gee is smiling a lot, which makes my life happy as well. We had a good month in August and September was even better. We know we are being blessed. The missionaries continue to work with their might, especially asking for guidance to find prepared people. The members are starting to catch the vision of working with the missionaries, and of course after all is said and done, we are just having some miracles. President Gee has told the missionaries over and over that we are a team. While not every companionship has baptized recently, we all share in the joy and the accomplishments of each other. We feel the power of your prayers in our behalf. We are learning that specific prayers bring specific blessings, so we suggest that you could pray for the following:
1. Pray that the immune systems of the missionaries will be strong and that they will be able to fight off illnesses, especially the flu. (We have several missionaries who are sick with some kind of flu bug. We still don't have official word from Salt Lake about shots for the flu.)
2. Pray that the members will show love and concern for investigators and step forward to fellowship them.
3. Pray that the missionaries will get better and better at perceiving directions from the Holy Ghost.

We are hearing often that when missionaries pray to know where to go that they find someone who will listen. For instance one set prayed individually about which street to go to. They got different answers so they decided to go to both of the streets. They found someone to listen to them in the area between the streets. This may seem like a "coincidence" but we are feeling that in the Lord's work there are no coincidences. It is really faith building. Perhpas that is what Elder Ballard meant when he said the Lord is micro-managing his church.

Now, about "Ties That Bind." One of the most endearing and charming things about the mission culture is how important the Elders think their ties are. That is the only way they can express their individuality. It makes me laugh to hear them talk about their ties. One missionary said, "My ties are my treasures." They trade ties. They observe each other and know who wears what color of tie. Perhaps your missionary would like a new tie or two for Christmas. You might ask him about that.

Speaking of Christmas, it is only three months away. I once asked missionaries what they like to get for gifts. Mostly they like anything that comes but some of the suggestions were: stamps, gift cards, ties, lots of letters from loved ones, and pictures of family. They are inundated with sweets from members during the holidays. You might try to think of healthy food gifts like natural snacks, etc. Sometimes their white shirts get looking a little dingy so a new shirt might help. When it gets cold neck scarfs, hats or ear muffs, and a good pair of gloves make life much more pleasant. You might find some kind of clothing that won't let the wind through to wear under their proselyting clothes. I hope this gives you some ideas to start thinking about.
President Gee and I try to give the missionaries some little thing for Christmas. We would like to give them the new Gospel Art book this year. We know some of them already have one, but they can give one away if they want to. You might want to avoid sending them another copy for Christmas.

Thank you again for your support, prayers, and interest. Stay healthy and happy. Love, Sister Gee

Another Home Game‏

Dear Family,

PICTURES: OU had another home game, so it was off to the family fun zone on Saturday. These may give you a small idea of what its like here for Oklahoma Football.This week was great! You know how a while back I was talking about how many great people we were teaching and how close they were to progressing toward baptism...well, most of thos have fallen away, we're still working with a couple of them, and two got baptized. What made this week great though, was we found eight new investigators. A few of these people are showing more promise than others, but its a bunch to work with and help develop faith in Christ, repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.The way one of these new people was found was interesting. We talked to a girl on the street a while ago and she said we could come over and teach her and her family if we wanted another time, so we did. She was asleep, but her step dad said we could teach him, so we did and got another time to come by. When we came by he was there...and the girl we had talked to...and her mother...and her boyfriend...and her neighbor...and her neighbor's cousin. The neighbor, Jacob, is our new investigator. They all listened to the lesson, but Jacob was the only one who participated and had questions and when it came down to giving reading assignments and coming to church, he's the only one that made the commitments...and he kept them, though he wasn't home yesterday for his appointment and we haven't been able to get ahold of him, so...hmm. He loved Lehi's vision in the Book of Mormon and church was great, so I don't know where it all went. We'll find him again. The others we found hopefully start making more progress.Things are pretty great here in Norman. Love ya!-Elder Osness

Super Conference‏ (From the pres)

Dear Parents and Families,

This week we had the much anticipated "Mission Tour." Every September a member of the General Authority Seventies is assigned to come to our mission and see if it "feels good." This year our guest was Elder Michael Ringwood of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was sustained in April General Conference and this was his first mission tour. He is tall, slender, and soft-spoken. When he speaks he speaks with the power of the spirit. He was able to interview a very few of the missionaries, but he was able to look into the faces of each one of them. He will be speaking in the Sunday afternoon session of conference in October, so be sure to be watching so you can see him.
The north part of the mission met in Edmund on Wednesday and the South part met in Norman on Thursday. It is always an inspiring sight to see the missionaries gathered together. I told them on Thursday that the word "synergism" comes to mind. Most of them looked blankly at me, but I explained it means the total is greater than the sum of its parts. There is a power when they get together that can't be denied.
The two days were similar but not identical. It is interesting for me to watch good men become men of God when they have a mantle and when the spirit is guiding. Both Elder Ringwood and President Gee stood up, ready to let the spirit direct the things they said. Both days Elder Ringwood told them he would be most delighted if each one learned something that wasn't spoken. That would be personal revelation just for them. (You might ask your missionary what was most meaningful to him/her.) He reminded them of the words of Elder Scott that their willingness to raise their hands and participate indicated that they were ready to be taught by the spirit. We had many, many comments from the missionaries. Part of the time was spent going through II Nephi chapter 31. If you want to join in the study you are invited to do so. It was to the missionaries a powerful example of the Father and the Son, teaching in unity.

Elder Ringwood told many stories. I will share just two of them.
When his youngest son was born, his oldest son was ten years old. As the baby brother was placed into his older brother's arms, the ten-year-old looked up at his dad and said, "Why do I love him so much!" That is the kind of love we need for the people we are teaching.

The next story comes from a brother who lives in Europe. One night he had a dream. He was separated from his family by a wide gulf. They were beckoning him to come to them, but he was with his friends. In the dream he decided to stay with his friends. Then he heard a voice say, "In two days I will send my messengers." Two days later missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on his door. He told them about the dream. He said, "I saw the faces of the messengers and you are the ones that I saw."

There were many examples of the way the missionary work is directed from the Lord. I hope you catch the feeling again that these young missionaries really are the messengers of God. They are his angels. They just need to be reminded over and over so they don't lose the vision of the work they are doing.
On both days, as Elder Ringwood talked, the theme emerged that miracles are happening but we may never know about them. Sometimes it will be years later that people will accept the gospel. His words were very encouraging.

President Gee spent part of the time talking about the focus doctrine of prayer and fasting. Many of the missionaries shared thoughts and feelings. President Gee shared an experience he had many years ago. He was married at the time. He has always loved, even adored his father. One day his Dad was working in his acre of potatoes, which was his special little project. He was weeding them by hand. Somehow in the process he lost his glasses. His eyesight was not good so he couldn't see to search for the glasses and without them he was almost blind. President Gee could not stand to see his Dad be miserable so he went himself and crawled up and down every row, searching for the glasses. He had no success. In the potato patch he offered a prayer to Heavenly Father in behalf of his dad, and asked if he could be blessed to find those glasses. As he continued to search he walked carefully between the rows of potatoes. He saw a flash of something and found the glasses lodged up under a potato plant. These everyday experiences build faith that Heavenly Father is mindful and watching over even the simple things. Think how mindful He is over helping his messengers reach his children.

Well, the day was full of such examples and the spirit was strong. Elder Ringwood felt good about the mission.
The work still seems to be going well. We are sure every prayer offered in our behalf is being heard. We have the armies of Helaman here and an army of others praying for them. Please pray that the members will catch the vision of their part in this work. Have a good week. We pray for your families as well. Love,Sister Gee
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pictures are the highlights‏

Dear Family,

The week was pretty eventful!....ooooh. So, We'll start with Zone Conference. Zone conference was great! Edler Ringwood came and spoke with us and had a bunch of inspiring words. He used a few scriptures as the basis of his discussions with us; D&C 4, D&C 88:...can't recal, I have it written in my notes which are not with me, and 2 Nephi 31. D&C 4 was all about serving with all your heart, might mind, and strength...what I got...heart is service spiritual motive(testimony), might is commitment/will power( that is a toughy), mind is our inteligence, strength is our physical. It was very motivating. D&C 88 had to do with how he went about teaching us...having us all edified and all speaking our learning and understanding, so ALL are edified. Which helped out a ton with our 2 Nephi 31 discussion. I got a ton out of it and don't have the time to go through it, but it is now a much greater chapter in my heart. Great before...better now...all were edified. The picture to depict Zone Conference is the one of me and a few elders in the gym. Its all my mission posterity, save but one. A good little reunion.The next picture of the week depicts a baptism! yay! Kaleb's baptism went well, though we were getting a little anxious becouse they didn't show up till close to go time...niether had the opening prayer or the first speaker, but it all worked out and was a great day for Kaleb. I had the honor of taking him into the water.The water didn't stop there! The last picture is of the Family Fun Zone for the OU Sooner home games. It rained all day! Lucky for us, once we got the tents put up we had some shelter and were dry in a couple hours...until we had to tear it down and the rain got worse. The missionaries get to be apart of this activity because there really isn't a whole lot of productivity on these days because like I said before college football is more important to this town than anything. This way we get to be a friendly face giving free food and water out to those passing by. Pretty much the entire state migrates to Norman for the home games, so the missionaries get to share some joyful hotdogs and every so often talk about what were all about.It was a pretty eventful week!Love Ya!

-Elder Osness

Excitable Asian Christian‏

Dear Family,

Pictures: there are a couple of our p-day activities, laundry, and the car wash, the last picture is of another spider. Oklahoma has a ton of bugs...I think it has more sects of spiders than it does churches...maybe that's an exageration, there's a lot of churches.;)The only thing that is a bigger deal than church here, is football and boy does the town close down when OU plays some ball and it will pick up this weekend when they have their first home game...too bad BYU knocked them down a bit down in Texas...ha! On Sunday I figured something failed with the Sooners by how untalkative everyone was. When the Sooners win we don't hear anything, but OU football and the big heads that come with game, but when they lose don't you bring it up. Football is insaine here. OU football is truely the Golden Calf for Oklahoma, especially here in Norman.Back to missionary life...Things are looking good for Kaleb's baptism this weekend. We just need to print out some programs, have the interview, and fill the font. Hopefully OU's game is later in the afternoon, so it doesn't interupt the baptism...I guess during this season I can't escape football in this missionary work.The week was good. Yesterday we talked to this hilarious Korean woman. We were parking our bikes to knock on some doors and this woman pops out of her house across the street and here is our conversation; "Hey! Are you the police?" "no. We're missionaries!" "Oh, really, what church? Penticostol, Presbeterian?" "No. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." "Oh, Jesus Christ...Christians? I love Christians! I'm Christian! I need to take your picture! I get my camera. Oh, I love Christians!" hahaha! We talked with her and her husband for a while and gave them a Book of Mormon, but they didn't want to learn more. There are lots of great people who love Christ, but are just so satisfied with their church they don't feel the need to learn more. We try to be clear about what they are missing and the cause of all that through The Great Apostacy, but they're okay with their church. Find them that will receive you, I guess. Anyway, we'll find some others who do want more.Love Ya!-Elder Osness

Talk with Everyone‏

Dear Family,

Pictures: well, I got some for ya. The first is of my shirt that has had enough. Good thing summer is coming to an end because that shirt had holes wearing through every seem. I've got a couple others that should do me in tell it chills out for good. Its crazy that its already starting to turn to fall...ahhh! Well the second is a sign with our missionary bikes. If you notice the sign says something about the fishing...I'm sure they won't mind us...we're fishers of men...ha ha. I know cheesey joke, but I had to. The last picture is one of Oklahoma's notorious thundar storms in action. I figured since I tell you about how awesome the clouds and storms are here, I'd catch it for ya. cool, huh!? Well, this week was a good one, though we have some struggles with a few of those we are teaching. Kaleb should be getting baptized in a couple weeks and its looking great there! Lee is having a lot of family opposition. He wants to pursue his baptism, but I know we have to resolve this huge issue with his family. I've seen opposition in this senario before, but this family is very unsure of our purpose and very upset...not a good situation, but will be resolved.I'd like to share a cool experience and it has to do with talking with everyone, or as we missionaries call it "OYMing." About a week ago we were biking to an appointment and a family was walking home from school, so we stopped to talk a bit and they gave us their information, so we could come by. Well, we came by on our appointment for them...and nobody was there...how typical. So, we kind of put them off and didn't think about them too much, but we had been tracting in the area every couple days and got a few others to say we could come by...so we got more appointments with these people...no shows. Ah, nuts...again! Well, as we were just finishing tracting another street because they fell through, I thought of Victor, the man with his family, walking back from the school, so I figured we were in the area, why not just stop in and see if we can catch him even though he didn't show for his appointment the previous week and it wasn't the right time of day for him (according to the info. we got from him). So we went and knocked. We waited, no answere...then the door opens and a man welcomes us in, but its not Victor. Well it turns out Victor gave us the wrong house number and this man, David, had been going to church with some members in a small town outside of Norman all summer and has grown close to the family and familiar with the church...and thought that they sent us to teach him...well, close...God did...and we will be seeing more of David. Cool, huh?So, talk with everyone and follow the spirit. Love Ya! Thanks for the e-mails. Life sounds good...and is!

-Elder Osness

Trials of Faith‏

Dear Family,

Things are going good down yonder. I forgot to pull out my camera this week so...no pictures sorry, but thanks for all the e-mails! It was great to hear from you all! I need to do better with that camera thing.Life at home seems happy and the pictures were great! It was weird to see former "Elder" Barnum in a photo at home...eeek...time keeps slippin'. On top of that on Sunday at church I could have swore I saw someone I worked with before the mission. I was greeting people as they came into the chapel and I turn around and...FLASHBACK...oof! It seems like distractions are on my doorstep. Thanks for your encouragement! Its a good thing and a bad thing that I'm back in Norman. Everyday I'm reminded how old I am in the mission and everyday I'm reminded of when I first came to Oklahoma...which really just reminds me of how long ago that was. (distractions=trials of faith)The week was good except for a few of our great investigators are giving in to push from the influence of another and begining to flounder. Just yesterday we dropped three investigators...well, they dropped us and another is going to start attending another church because his girlfriend wants to become more spiritual and doesn't like the mormon church. Lee's mom is very against him coming to the mormon church as well and especially with his choice to get baptized, so she has been playing an active role in getting him to the baptist church early so he misses ours. All this trial of faith all at once must mean a blessing is near. (investigators slipping=trials of faith)Kaleb is doing great and will be getting baptized on the 12th of September! Good news there, but we really need to build our teaching pool again.We had a stake leadership meeting this weekend which was good. Some emphasis on organizing ward missionary work will help out. It was good to see where we and the ward are doing well and what we can do to improve the work.Answer to a trial of faith=Hard Work, Prayer...and More Faith Well, I love you all!-

Elder Osness

Leadership‏ (from the president)

Dear Parents and Families,
Last week we welcomed twelve new missionaries and we are excited with their potential. We enjoyed getting to know them and they are now learning the ropes with their trainers. Next week they will spend another day together to ask questions and get more training after a few days of real experience.

I just wanted to say a few words about mission leadership. Each mission president will have his own way of assigning leaders. I thought you might like to know how President Gee feels about leadership opportunities. As you probably know, there are several outlined positions in the missions of the church. They include Junior Companion, Senior Companion, Trainer, District Leader, Zone Leader, and Assistant to the President. This is a terrific training ground for the future leaders of the Church. Every missionary has his or her own set of talents. Some have a gift to lead and some have a gift to follow. Each is essential. Some are comfortable being leaders and some fervently hope they won't be asked to become a leader. The most challenging part of leadership is they need to be the example of righteousness, obedience, skillful teaching, and working with people. They also need to be able to correct their peers if necessary, and that is hard to do. It is important for leaders to love and encourage the missionaries they are called to lead. They need to be loyal to the Lord and to their President. They are called on to demonstrate to the others how to teach and that puts the pressure on them. However, it is also fun and a good opportunity.

President Gee feels he should follow the pattern of Church callings. There are times to be called and times to be released. This is not a mission where once you become a leader you stay there for the rest of the mission. Assistants often end their missions as regular missionaries. Zone Leaders sometimes becomes District Leaders. There is a lot of shifting around. Sometimes missionaries serve well for a while and then get tired of the leadership responsibilities and desire to be free to concentrate on regular missionary work. We want you as family to know that if your son is moved around or released from these positions it doesn't mean anything is wrong. It is just a natural part of the missionary work.

We feel there are some advantages to not drawing a line in the sand and dividing the mission into leaders and others. We like having fluid movement back and forth between callings. For one thing, we all know it is one of Satan's tricks to divide into camps and throw stones at one another. It can happen in missions and it can happen in wards and stakes. We need to be careful. That is why it becomes such an important matter to sustain our leaders. Another of Satan's methods is to appeal to pride from position and power. It can become part of the culture here and back home to "climb the ladder" of positions. President Gee and I both have strong feelings about avoiding this mentality as much as possible. It is usually safe to say that a missionary who becomes a leader is doing well as a missionary. However, there are good missionaries who don't get these positions. As in the church, it is not where you serve but how that is important. We hope this helps you understand what is happening here and also to give praise and encouragement, no matter which position your missionary may be in at the time. You may also know your son enough to know if he needs to be pushed a little to work at his full potential.

Have a good week. Love, Sister Gee (and President Gee)

Funny investigators‏

Dear Family,

Another transfer gone! Time slips by so quickly and I can't grab on.Pictures: As usual, here are a couple District pictures and one of the baptism of Kaitlin.Its been a great transfer and Elder Baker and I will be spending another together...it will be another good one. We already have a two baptisms lined up for this transfer, so hopefully we can hold on to them and help them prepare for that commitment before time slips by and hopefully we get another person ready to make that commitment for the following transfer. This Sunday was funny. Lee, who is preparing for baptism was pretty excited to let people know at church that he was getting baptized next month and he is just as comfortable being at church as ever. When one of the members introduced him in priesthood (where they have visitors and new comers introduce themselves) Lee stood up and put his hands to his shoulders and cawed like a bird. His last name is Hawk so he left his little trademark. It was hilarious! Lee's a pretty goofy guy.Another investigator, Lu, had a revelation for me...haha. She doesn't know very much about the church or missionaries or how it all works, but she's very spiritual. She's a 70 year old Jamaican and she leans not unto her own understandin' and trusts in the Lord with all her heart. The other day when we came over she asked me if I was leaving soon, then she said she had a dream that I was leaving and got married...uh, not for a while. So, anyway...a revelation from Lu...not so much true, but interesting.Things are going pretty good...there's only a couple more weeks of the hot hot heat. I can already feel it cooling a little. Its been a lot nicer lately than the past few weeks. Fall is the best and its just around the corner.

Love you all! -Elder Glenn Osness