A Drunk and an Eel Killer

Hermana Ostler’s Update – January 27, 2014

Yes. This title is a little startling. But it’s also my life this week. Let me explain...

This week we painted a bed for a member here. Her name is Reyna and she is the best. She was so utterly sweet that she offered us to drink: mozata. Or chicha de yuca. OR FERMENTED POTATO JUICE. Of course, I hate yuca, and I am not a fan of anything fermented, seeing that I am a MORMON and do not drink ALCOHOL. But hey, I didn’t know that it was an alcoholic beverage. First of all, my gag reflex is very very very sensitive. If anyone knows me, they will know that I am always dry heaving at everything. I just can’t stop it. So of course I am dry heaving on this potato juice and she is going off on the intricacies of making this.....Peruvian Delicacy. 

But yes, we left and that morning was a little more crazy than usual. We were helping someone wash their clothes and we poured a bucket of water on this lady’s head. (What?) I mean, we were REALLY REALLY weird. Then came the headache, the upset stomach, the strong urge to sleep...

Chicha de yuca before the tipsiness, or before tasting it, for that matter.

After further investigation we realized that yes...

We got tipsy off of potato juice.

But yes, I felt really bad. But it was so so so unintentional and the moral of this story is to not drink potato juice or really anything with alcohol because it’s horrible. WORD OF WISDOM, YEAH!

Also, it’s still rainy season and this means rain. A lot of it. And lightning. And rain. But mostly a lot of rain. Yesterday we went to go pick up people for church and Pueblo Viejo was full of water. To the brim. There were rivers up to our knees in the streets. AND EELS ABOUT TWO FEET LONG. It was so incredibly scary at first. We saw about 30 of them. But then a little kid gave us a machete and I killed two! It was incredible. Such an adrenaline rush to chase after these giant eels, hacking them with a machete, with the entire village filming me and cheering. It was amazing. I love being the spotlight. Hahaha. I do recommend killing eels at one point in your life; it’s an experience you will never forget. 

Also, I finished reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. And it is true! I can only invite everyone to read. Just read it and see for yourself. They are the voices of people speaking from the dust, a civilization that was so full of light and then that fell on this American continent. It’s the story of God’s love for us, of redemption, of change, of the way we can return to God’s presence. Heavenly Father is real, my friends. We are His children and we have so many memories with Him that we cannot remember right now. But the Book of Mormon can open our eyes to that love. It can make us try to be better. I will never live another day without reading a little from that book. I know it is true beyond a shadow of a doubt. Read it and see for yourself. 

I love you all!!

Hermana Alex

Eel killing. (Please note all of the heads watching on the other side of the fence.)

VICTORY SCREAM!

Found a Diet Coke with lime!

Fight or Flight? Definitely fighting my first jaguar.

Falling in the mud. From last week.

Improvements

Hermana Ostler’s Update – January 20, 2014

  

We had a bat in our room. Just another normal day in our room. 

A weird thing, why is that I always feel bad when I am trying so hard to be good? It’s like, whatever I do is just not good enough. And it is true! I have so much room to improve and when I start becoming a better person, it just means that there is more room to be even BETTER. I am always having to repent and feel bad, and repent and feel bad, and change a little bit each day. It’s a little exhausting but I am really starting to understand the Atonement better. Christ suffered for us so that we can be forgiven, after we have done all we can. It’s amazing. Use this power in your life! 

We are teaching a family that is so cute and amazing. Her name is Rosemary and her husband is Hilmer. We found this family after fasting. She is so ready for the gospel. We taught her the law of chastity last night and it was amazing to see how happy she was to be invited to keep the commandments of God. Shouldn't we all be this happy to leave our sins and just start over? 

I can’t remember anything else! Sorry? 

Love you all. 

Oh. I also fell a couple of times in the mud. And saw a shooting star. 

bat conveniently hanging on the door hinge

the look of pure exhilaration

I can hear this girl's laugh when I see this picture.

pretty face

How to Know You Don't Have a Parasite

Hermana Ostler’s Update – January 13, 2014

  

1. Clog the toilet again, because no matter how many times your compy tells you to put the paper in the bag... you just can’t. Because it is unsanitary and really, the paper should be flushed. 

2. Start to plunge. 

3. Start to observe. 

4. Start to get really worried when you see FLIES in...well, you know…

5. Invite the compy to look and verify. 

6. Start to freak out as a companionship.

7. Describe...you know... to your zone leader. (He will probably be grossed out and not want to hear.) 

8. Poop in a cup. 

9. Realize that the flies were from the plunger and that you don’t have parasites. Whew!

10. Repeat as necessary. 

But yeah. All is well.  Don’t have a parasite. 

Also this week we had the wonderful opportunity to teach a family that is having a lot of problems with familial abuse. The Spirit was so strong as we helped this family make goals and testified that, thanks to the Atonement, we can all change. I am really witnessing this family change. This doesn’t mean that I am unrealistic, but I see that they really can do it. The gospel changes people. That is its purpose. 

I love you all and am so thankful for all the love and support I have felt from you all over the years. 

Love, Hermana Alex

I Fell In Another Hole

Hermana Ostler’s Update – January 6, 2014

I fell in a hole again, walking through a construction site in the rain. I was literally swimming in it! 

Also, we have had some wonderfully beautifully lessons about Christ. Who is He? He is your Savior and He loves you! The Spirit was so strong and I could see the little glimmer of hope we were giving people. 

A lot of heart aches to see here. Sometimes I just start to cry to hear the things that happen to people. To show up moments after a man beat his wife, to just hold her as she sobbed, to see the pain that people feel from years of abuse and maltreatment. To see that people do not feel loved. This hurts. But I know that God loves them, that He is just, and that the gospel can change the circumstances of this people. This gives me hope. 

I love you all and a better email the next week!!! 

Love, Hermana Alex

TU ERES UNA MALA

Hermana Ostler’s Update – December 23, 2013

  

My companion has had the unfortunate fate of seeing my ”prankster” side that I was hiding to let out in all of its awful sneakiness. Her yells of indignation are heard all over:

- chasing her with a dead snake on a stick

- watching her walk daintily through a GIANT puddle, only to start soaking her with water

- petting dirt street dogs and then rubbing my hand in her face

Really, anything that could be considered immature or stupid, yeah I will do it.

Speaking of street dogs. They follow us. We have about 6 dogs that accompany us almost all of the time. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we are doing, they follow us, and I am pretty sure they are angels sent from God to protect us. Although this philosophy is deeply flawed… because now all the OTHER street dogs attack us. Haha. But it’s weird because I am not trying to make them follow me. I guess they just sense my love. --  We have Chato, Chocolate, Rambo, Milky, Vaca, Wachiman... It’s starting to be a problem. One, because Chato went missing when he was with us and he is the dog of a member. AND WHY AM I STILL TALKING ABOUT DOGS???

Okay. Also we had a BEAUTIFUL baptism this week. Yovalid entered into a promise with her Heavenly Father to follow him and live a happier life. It was so incredibly stressful to get to that point, but so worth it. We planned so hard and I pushed her daughter up a MOUNTAIN in a WHEELCHAIR for 3 MILES to get there and the water was...black. I mean BLACK! And the Primary started late on their activity and the baptism room was full to the brim of Shepherds and Wise Men and Elves. What a headache! I actually started crying for a moment with anger. All she wanted to do was join the church! But we said a beautiful prayer in the bathroom and I felt such a peace. Everything would be okay. And it was. It was amazing. The members really pulled it together and helped us have a baptism that was so sweet, shepherds, black water, and all.

I love you all and I hope that you enjoy this Christmas Day. Remember that it is about our Savior Jesus Christ and remember that it is because of Him that we can have really happiness.

Love, Hermana Alex

Yovalid

Chupando

Hermana Ostler’s Update – December 16, 2013

  

This week.

Its mango season. Which means that my belly is swollen with them. I seriously look 6 months pregnant from eating them. There is a verb that is used to describe the giant feasting of mangos that everyone is participating in, “chupando.” I have translated this loosely to mean “makingoutwithmangos.” It’s the best verb ever. I walk around with millions of mango strings in my teeth, an orange mustache from the juice with my greedy little eyes searching for more mangos.  I LOVE THEM.

Also. Mango Jam. Yeah, it is good. Try it.

Lots of lessons with a lot of the Spirit. I am seeing positive changes in the lives of others and this lifts me up. I am not doing this because It’s a cool way to spend a year and a half of my life. It really does change people to know that they are daughters and sons of God and that families can be strong. They don’t have to be broken. That is not necessary. Thanks for all the loving families that have helped me in my life. THANK YOU FOR FAMILIES!

Its Christmas time. So we bought a little tree and sometimes wear Christmas stockings until the sweat begins to drip into our eyeballs. I also scream jingle bell rock about 80 percent of the time. So does my compy. To hear her sing in English. Classic.

But yeah. Still making out with mangos until I can make out with boyzz in a year. And thinking of boyzz makes me sick right now. Ewwwwwy, I will stick with the mangos, thank you.

Hermana Alex

The Cockroach Nightmare

Hermana Ostler’s Update – December 9, 2013

Living in the jungle is not as elegant or cushy as it may sound, if it sounds like any of those things. For instance, sometimes the city just turns off the water for a couple of days. Leaving me without water.... sweating... walking in the sun...with Peruvian food. Like seriously, I can’t even flush the toilet without a moment of fear, “will it go down? is there water?” And I am sorry that I am talking about this in a public email? Yeaaah… moving on.

We also live in a zoo. No, not that one movie that is way too long with Ryan Reynolds. We LIVE IN A ZOO. With cockroaches. Lots of them. In my bed. Scuttling across the floor. And the other night, on my back, touching my skin. My compy was extremely startled to hear me scream like a stuck pig, ripping off everything and then murdering that little sucker repeatedly with a broom. Sometimes I literally start screaming again because I feel them crawling on me... in lessons, restaurants, our zone meeting. I am traumatized.

But other than that, all is good. I am a freaking celebrity here. I walk the dusty streets and all the little kids yell, “Hermanita Gringa!” And I just wave and strut like the prom princess that I never was. But really, we are always getting free mangos and papayas and sugar cane and castañas and people want us to visit. It’s so beautiful to be loved. But also more beautiful is to love these people with a love that is even stronger.

They want to make me fat with food but I want to make them fat with life. With a life that is fulfilling and eternal. That has an abundance of love and peace. That has strong families and trust in relationships. I want to give them the Book of Mormon, which makes my spirit as fat and jolly as Santa. That book is true! If you would just read it with an ounce of faith, then you would know too. This is what I testify of. That God is real. He isn’t an illusion in my head. He is real and I see miracles every day. I know that Christ was born into this world to redeem us from the hunger and thirst that come from sin, that come from living below our divine potential. I testify that He lives. That He was born, suffered, and then rose up from that death. We will live because He lives.

I love you all and I love my mission. But I don’t love cockroaches.

Hermana Alex

Also, send me some lovvvinnnn. I miss Good News Gardening with my Hood Ladies. (Hola my Girls!)

Av La Cultura 2417

Frente a la Urb Santa Ursula

Capilla Mormona

Cusco Peru

No Time, I'm On a Dime!

Hermana Ostler’s Update – December 2, 2013

  

No time… but there are pictures! Yeah!

I live with cockroaches. They are so gigantic, it is unworldly. I hate it.

But it’s okay because I love my life here. 6 months in the mission this Thursday. One year to go baby. I cannot believe it.

Love you all. And my photos are not sending! I am panicking! Only 4 minutes left!

climbing trees. things like this just can't change.

MONKEY! I DIED.

Puppy Lovin'