Staying Positive

Hi Mom!  Yep it was seen here too. (the blood red lunar eclipse)  But I didnt see it because it was a bit cloudy and I was sleeping later on in the night.  

My week was pretty good.  The investigators arent all that great though.  Nobody came to church this sunday.  So none of them are progressing as of now.  I feel like we did all that we could do make sure they come to church.  But I guess people always have their agency.  It's a bit frustrating but I guess there's not much more we can do than just try our best with the help the Lord gives us.  The teaching is going good.  Elder Chavez and I are trying to do more practices in our companionship study to get better with our teaching skills.  It's really not hard to just give people the information, but it is hard alot of the time to make sure that people actually understand what all of this information means.  So that's what I'm always trying to get better at.  

Yesterday us 6 missionaries did what dad suggested we should do a little while ago, which is leave with members and go do some visits with them.  So for like 2 hours in the afternoon we all spit up into small groups and went and visited some people.  Not a whole lot of members showed up but it was still pretty successful.  

That's cool that you got to feed the missionaries on Saturday.  Sometimes I kind of wish that someone would feed me italian drip beef sandwiches.  But it's all good.  I like my rice and chicken, and am also grateful for the people that feed us.  

I'm also super duper excited for General Conference.  It's pretty much my favorite time of the year now.  It's crazy that this is my third General Conference in the mission.  Only one more after this.  Time goes by so fast.  I wish I could sing in it again.  That was just incredible to be able to do.  

Well I just got a call that I have to go to Quito tomorrow morning to renew my visa.  So that'll be fun.  

Well I love you too mom!  And everyone else!  

Elder Eastman

Sabbath Day Testimony

Hello my Mother,  I'm doing better now.  I'm pretty much over the sickness.  My stomach was alright after the Guinea Pig.  Nothing too major happened.  Well some events that happened this week are:  We had a zone conference on saturday with our mission president.  That was super good and very motivating.  We dont really get much time with president so it's always wonderful to talk to him and listen to him.  We talked a bit about the volcano issues that are happening right now and what we would do in case of an explosion.  Right now Cotopaxi isnt doing much. Just some smoke and stuff.  We also talked alot about obedience.  Mostly just going over what it says in the missionary manual.  Then right after that and on sunday as well we had our stake conference.  Which was also really good.  I think we should be having the invterviews with president in the next couple months because it's been awhile since we have had them.  Yep I email him every week.  

Thanks for those scriptures!  I really like them.  

Well lately we have been learning alot about the Sabbath Day and why we have it.  It's been really good to learn more about it and learning how to help investigators and other people understand it.  Alot of people we are working with havent been coming to church lately.  So this will be really good to apply to these people.  It's alot easier now for me to see the importance of the Sabbath Day.  It's probably one of the most important things we can do in our lives.  Something interesting that i learned was that we dont really need to have a list of the things that we should and shouldnt do on the Sabbath Day, we just need to think, what sign do I want to show God by doing or not doing this thing? And then it becomes easier to know the things that we should and shouldnt do.  

Well that's it for this week!  I love you mom!  And everyone else!

Elder Eastman

Hey Dad!  Sounds like a pretty good week!  Yes we can watch and use Bible videos.  This was a pretty normal week except for the zone conference and stake conference we had on saturday and sunday.  Which were really good conferences.  I love listening and being with my mission president.  He's super wonderful.  A normal day would go as the following: Wake up at 6:30, write in my journal for the last day (i find it easier to do in the morning because at night I just want to get to bed), then make breakfast, then shower and get ready for the day.  Then at 8:00 am we start our personal studies, 9 is companionship studies, 10 is language study, then normaly at 11 we start the proselyting, 1:00 pm is lunch, then from 2 pm to 6 is proselyting, 6 to 7 is dinner, then 7 to 9 or 9:30 pm is more working.  9:30 to 10 is planning for the next day, then I go to bed.  That's a normal day for me!  

I love you too! 

Elder Eastman

Shouting From the Rooftops and An Ecuadorian Delicacy

Hey Mom,  I'm a bit sick today but it's ok.  I just have a runny nose and a headache.  Elder Chavez has been good this week.  He has a really good desire to have success and to fulfill his responsibility as a missionary.  He is also obedient.  He's a convert and has been in the Church for 7 years.  He doesnt really speak any english right now.  

Well the Jello was for the last district meeting of the change, also the last one for an elder in the mission (he finished his mission).  So we just thought it would be cool to make something for that.  Someone else bought that cake.  We bought the jello here.  We had to buy flavorless jello and blue food coloring to make the blue jello.  They dont sell blue jello here.  We also bought coconut flavoring stuff for the blue jello.  That part tasted gross but the rest of it was good.  

Lately I have been learning how to be more patient.  Alot of our investigators that we have right now just dont want to progress.  And it's been hard to find new investigators.  So I'm trying to be patient and keep being obedient and working hard.  I know that God will always bless us with the things we need if we just do our part.  I also know that we have weaknesses so that we become more humble and more dependent on the Lord.  I know that God helps us make our weaknesses into strengths if we search for his help.  I know the Book of Mormon is true and helps us grow closer to God than any other book ever writen.  I'm not really sure what I would shout from the rooftops.  Maybe something like "Stop folowing the false traditions of your fathers and just listen to us!"  If everyone did that here just about all of Ecuador would get baptised.  

So yesterday I got to eat Guinea Pig for the first time.  It was an interesting flavor but still pretty good.  It was served with potatoes with sauce on them.  It was a bit dificult to eat and very messy.  My piece had a little foot on it.  I'm glad I finaly got to eat some Ecuadorian Guinea Pig.  

I love you too Mom!

Elder Eastman

Hello Dad.  I'm doing pretty good.  I'm a bit sick right now with a runny nose and a headache, but it's no big deal.  I do think that things are going well here.  Mainly because I have been really focusing on reading the Book of Mormon lately.  I'm always excited to read more every morning and I feel happy while I read it.  I just got to 3 Nephi 11 where Jesus Chirst comes to the Americas.  I'm really excited to read and study the ministry of Jesus Christ here in the Americas.  Feeling this happiness while reading the Book of Mormon makes me more excited to share with with other people.  It's still hard sometimes to not get discouraged when things arent going very well with the people we teach but I know that we just need to keep doing our part, like you said, and keep being obedient.  If we do this the Lord will always do His part.

Well I hope you have a great day too!  I love you too!

Elder Eastman

New Comp From Peru

Hello my Mother!  I sure am doing good here in Ambato!  Today I got a new companion named Elder Chavez.  He's from Peru and has 4 and a half months in the mission.  He's a cool guy.  I'll send you a picture of me and him.  Elder Aguirre went to a place called El Carmen.  It's on the coast.  

Yeah the F. Durán has been having marital problems.  It's a rollercoaster with them.  Some days they seem super happy without fighting, but then the next day they're yelling at each other and thinking about separating.  It's tough with them.  And they havnt come to church for about a month.  We're not really sure what else we can do to try and help them.  The Gosple is the best thing that we have to help people, but if they dont want to live it then there's not much more we can do.  So we'll see what happens with them.  Anna Belen hasnt come to church yet.  We havnt been able to visit her for a while either.  She keeps saying she is out of town.  We havnt been able to teach the majority of the references we have gotten, due to problems with not being home and problems in the family (like the death of a daughter).  Hopefully we will be able to teach them soon.  We were about to teach one girl named Araseli though.  She came to church two weeks ago by invitation from a friend.  Although she didnt come to church this week.  But she seems like a pretty good investigator.  Her parents dont want to investigate though.  

I already got the retainer put back it.  It was cemented down on every tooth it covers, which is kind of annoying, but it shouldnt be coming out again.  

Well I think that is it for now!

I sure do love you too mom!

Elder Eastman

This is me and my companion.  Also me and a member mixing cement on a roof.

Hey Dad!  I'm doing really good.  I cant really remember much of the holidays here.  But I do remember Carnival (where everyone throughs water and eggs at each other).  I really dont like that holiday very much.  Christmas and Easter are here too.  Halloween isnt.  Day of the Dead is just a day for remembering the people who have died in your family.  They eat the favorite food of those people and visit their grave sites.  Also dressing up and going crazy.  I learned that from Elder Aguirre.

For some reason I have been hearing alot more opposition about Joseph Smith than I ever have before.  We contacted one guy last week who just wanted to fight with us about that stuff, trying to prove us wrong.  But we just tried to say stuff like that, well we do know that he was a prophet of God, ect.  

I have been getting to like more foods here too.  Like tomatoes and onions.   Well I still dont love those things but I'm ok with eating them.  People use them alot here in their food.  

Today we had changes.  Elder Aguirre left and I got a new companion named Elder Chavez.  He's from Peru and a pretty cool guy!  He has 4 and half months in the mission.  

Fruit juices are really common here, and really good.  And it's pretty much just that or soda to drink here.  

Well I love you too!  

Elder Eastman

PS: Ok ;)

Elder Aguirre and I made this Ecuador themed jello.  

Us missionaries and our ward mission leader named Hno. Arcos.