On The Positive Side

Hey dad, things are going pretty well.  I feel pretty good health-wise too.  I'm starting to run more.  A few times a week me and the other elders in my district are running in the mornings.  They're not very long runs but it's better than nothing.  I miss being in good running shape.  

I like those suggestions for increasing my happiness level.  I definitely think that I could work harder at looking for the good things that happen every day.  

On saturday I prepared a talk that I thought I would have to give on sunday about the Sacrament.  I didnt have to give the talk but I still enjoyed the time that I had to think about the Sacrament.  For a little while now I have also been trying to appreciate the Sacrament more and have more spiritual experiences with the Sacrement.  I have definitely seen positive results with that when I just try and focus on the purpose of the Sacrament.  

I love you too!

Elder Eastman

Hola mi querida mamá!  ¿Como están ustedes con sus estudios de Español?  ¿Emma esta en clases de Español todavía?  

Wow I didnt realize it was thanksgiving today. But that's cool! (What a funny kid.  I didn't say it was today.)  No I havent ever tried making a blessing list.  It's a good idea though.  

The success has been pretty good here lately.  Except we were going to have a bunch of baptisms this coming saturday but pretty much all of them fell through.  A few people didnt attend church on sunday (like Carmen and Joselyn) and a few people didnt pass the baptismal interview (like Jose).  Jose can still get baptised this coming saturday if he continues to keep a certain commandment every day before saturday.  Carmen and Joselyn will most likely be baptised next week so that they can attend church one more time.  

(Not intentionally, both Matt and I wrote to him about staying positive and optimistic) I remember in my first change here with Elder Peters we started doing this thing were every time we said something negative we had to immediately say something else positive.  That little activity helped us alot to always focus on the positive things.  

A few days ago we found a new investigator named Luis B.  Luis is 18 years old and lives here alone.  His mom, who lives in Quito, is a member.  He has heard alot about the church and has even been reading a bit of the Book of Mormon.  He's a super nice kid and super cool.  We have even gotten to talk on the phone with his mom.  She's also cool and says that she really wants us to help out her son.  The only bummer is that Luis told us that he as a problem with cocaine.  Which will be tough to overcome but definitely not impossible.  He has great desires to get better and get rid of his addiction.  

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

Elder Eastman

ps, do you have those recipies?