Returned With Honor

Last P-Day Email and Happy Birthday Elder Eastman!

Hey mom!  It sure is crazy that this is the last time that I will be able to email you as a missionary!  These past two years I have had some really incredible experiences.  It's a bit sad that they are coming to an end.  But I am also really excited to be able to see you guys again.  

Unfortunately the baptism of Michel wont be able to happen this saturday.  Her parents, who are not supporting her very much in her decision to be baptised or follow any type of church, didnt let her come to church yesterday.  Michel is 20 years old so she doesnt need the permission of her parents to get baptised.  But she still respects and loves her parents.  So that is why she wasnt able to come to church.  She needs to come to church one more time and have her baptismal interview to be able to be baptised.  So it's a bit sad that I wont be able to see her baptism.  But I know that she will do it soon.  And that's really all that matters.  Being able to count it as "my baptism" doesnt really matter, because it really isnt "my baptism" at all.  So I'll be super happy if she is just able to be baptised some day in the future.  

Roger is also doing alright but wasnt able to come to church yesterday either.   We visited him last night and talked about the Book of Mormon and how to gain a testimony.  He hasnt been able to read the Book of Mormon for a long time but commited to reading and praying about it.  

Well thanks for the extra money! I dont think I really need it, because I already bought all things that I want to bring home from Ecuador, but thanks anyways!  I took it all out today.  

I'll definitely do my absolute best this last week.  I'll miss Ecuador a bunch, but I'm also excited to be able to see you guys again.  

I sure do love you mom!

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!  It sure is crazy that these two years are about to come to an end.   I remember thinking before coming on the mission how long two years seems like.  But they have been the fastest two years of my life.  I am so glad that I have been able to be here in Ecuador to serve the Lord.  I have learned so much and grown alot too.  Well I havnt grown very much physicaly (I still weigh about exactly the same as I did before the mission), but I have grown alot spiritually.  Thank you so much for all the love and support that you have given me during all this time.  I couldnt ask for a better dad! 

This last week will be a pretty normal week.  Trying to visit people, talking to people in the street and all that good stuff.  Tuesday and Wednesday will be completely normal days. Thursday will be my last district meeting.  On friday my companion and I will be going on splits with the zone leaders.  Saturday we will get to see a few baptisms, unfortunatly our investigator wont be getting baptised because her parents didnt let her come to church yesterday.  Sunday I will go to sacrament meeting, then I'll have to leave and go to the mission offices. Monday I will be in class all day, learning about how to be a good normal citizen and church member. On Tuesday I'll get on the airplane at 7am (ecuador time), then I'll see you guys at 8:30pm.  And I think that's just about it!

I sure do love you too and I cant wait to see you soon!

Elder Eastman

Us and a less active guy named Eddy Zambrano.  He is comming to church again now.

We had interviews with our president this past week in our house.

Eating food today in the mall.

Still Working Diligently

Hey dad!  I'm doing super good.  But a bit tired.  We just got done playing soccer and dodgeball.  I made one goal playing soccer.  I think I have been able to get alot better at it over these years.  But I wish we would be able to play more.  We are only allowed to play it maybe once a month for a P-day activity.  We are only allowed to do 2 p-day activities every transfer.  So today was my last p-day activity on the mission because it was the second one this transfer.  Next p-day is my birthday, so hopefully it will be a good p-day.  I think we are just going to cook some food in our house. 

Thanks for the advise about my studying decisions.  I know i'll eventualy be able to decide what it is that I want to do.  I guess I'm a bit nervous about having to study again after the mission.  I think I don't remember anything that I learned in high school.  Especially math.  Hopefully I'll be able to remember alot of the things that I have learned.  I also hope that I dont get lazy and not want to study like some times I did in high school.  Because I know that it'll be super important to stay focused on studying during college.  But I know that it'll all work out alright with the help from Heavenly Father. 

I sure do love you too!

Elder Eastman  

Hello mom!  The work this week was pretty good!  Michel came to church again this sunday, so her baptismal date for july 30th is still good!  We have another lesson with her today at 6:30.  We havnt been able to visit the Paladines family again this week.  Hopefully we can soon.  We also found a new investigator this week named Roger Zapata, he's 19 years old.  We found him knocking doors but he has already listened to the missionaries alot about 3 years ago.  He has even come to church a few times.  He seemed really interested to listen to us again.  He said he felt something special when he saw us knocking on his door, like God is calling him again.  I hope that he will be able to progress well.  He is a bit scared of being baptised because the rest of his family is catholic and he would be the first one to change.  But hopefuly he will choose to do the right things and be a good example for his family.  

I will try hard these last weeks to take more pictures and do good at writing in my journal.  

Well I cant wait to see you guys soon!  I'm also trying super hard to keep working diligently.  I think next monday will be the very last time that you will be able to email me.  Because the monday after that I will be in a class all day learning about how to live a good life after the mission.  The day after that I will be able to talk to you all in person :)

I love you too mom!

Elder Eastman

An Earth-Shaking Lesson

Hey mom!  I'm doing super well.  Nope, I havent received any type of letter.  That's really awesome that your talk went well.  I'm not a huge fan of speaking in front of people but I have had to get used to it in this time that I have had on the mission.  Now I feel alot better about it.  

Well the Ponquebas kind of all left now.  One went back to Venezuela and another moved to the north part of Quito.  So we're not going to be able to teach them anymore.  But there still are a few more families that we have been able to get to know that live in that same house and who are neighbors.  Yesterday after church we were able to teach a family that are friends of the Ponquebas.  They havent been able to come to church yet but they are really interested in learning more.  Their name is the Familia Paladines.  Fun story about that lesson with them last night... So we went over with them lesson one again (the resoration).  The lesson was going super well and was just about to start talking about baptism so that we could invite them to baptism.  We had just finished commiting them to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  Right in that moment a nice earthquake happened.  Similar to the one that happened a few months ago.  Except this time we were on the 6th floor of an apartment complex.  Being up that high makes the earthquake feel alot stronger.  So we were forced to finish the lesson a bit early and go outside.  It was around 9:00pm so we decided to just go home.  As we were walking outside to our house another earthquake happened.  We were right next to this big apartement complex when the second one happened and we could hear the building moving and squeeking.  It was pretty crazy.  

We also got to teach Michel again this week.  She's doing super awesome and has a baptismal date for the 30th.  She wasnt able to come to church this sunday but next sunday she promised to go.  

Well I sure do love you too mom!  Have a great week!

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!  I'm really good! That sounds like you've got a pretty sweet job!  I still dont know exactly what I want to do.  Well I havent really been able to think about it very much.  But I think doing something like you do would be pretty awesome.  It sounds pretty interesting.  Or maybe being a physical therapist would be cool too.  I dont know.  I just dont really know exactly what is included in all the jobs I could have.  Or even what jobs there actualy are.  Maybe it would be good to do a bit of research on all the medical jobs there are when I get back.  

I really like how your calling and your job are pretty much exactly the same.  Just one is helping people with physical problems and the other is helping people with their spiritual problems.  I think that is super cool.  

Well I sure do love you too!

Elder Eastman

Engaged In the Work on the 4th of July

Hey dad!  It sure does make me happy to know that you are enjoying your new calling and working super hard!  I'm so grateful that you are my dad.  

Sounds like a pretty fun 4th of July!  I remember just about exactly what I did for the past two 4th of July's.  Two years ago I was in South Jordan and I'm pretty sure I had to work, then I got home and you guys werent there.  I remember listening to all the fireworks that were going on out side.  It sounded like I was in a war with a bunch of bombs going off.  Last 4th of July I was in the city of Latacunga (part of the Ambato zone) contacting a bunch of people with a guy named Elder Hall (not my old companion) to help the missionaries there find new investigators.  I remember thinking, what will I be doing next 4th of July?  Now I'll ask that question again.  What will I be doing for the 4th of July of 2017?

Well I love you tons too!

Elder Eastman

Hey mom!  That's a bummer that dad got sick last night.  But I hope that you all are able to have a super fun day today.  Teaching this week was pretty good.  We were able to do a bit more this week than we were last week.  The lesson on wednesday didnt happen, but it did happen on friday.  Her name is Michel Asimbaya.  We werent able to teach her family.  We taught her in the house of her friend.  A little bit about Michel, she is 20 years old,  catholic but not active,  she had a time in her life were she didnt really believe much in God, but now she does.  She came in contact with the church when she saw her friends Book of Mormon, picked it up and started reading.  She has already read a few chapters so far.  Then last sunday she came to church with her friend (she wasnt able to come this sunday).  On friday we taught her about the restoration but we werent able to finish all the lesson because she had a bunch of questions.  Right now she doesnt want us to teach her family because her mom and brother are atheists, and her dad is catholic and doesnt like listening to other religions.  But hopefuly some day in the future the missionaries can visit them as well.  

This week we were also able to find a new family of investigators whose name is the Familia Ponqueba.  We were also able to teach some of their neighbors who were in the lesson.  The Familia Ponqueba is from Venezuela.  They moved here about a month ago because of the bad situation that is going on in Venezuela.  I wasnt actually able to teach them because that day I was on divisions or splits with some other elders in my district.  But my companion told me that they are really interested and want to learn more.  They werent able to come to church this sunday but I'm sure they will next sunday.  

This week we werent able to find the F. Chicaisa either.  I kinda feel now that they dont really want to listen to us anymore.  But I think we will keep trying to visit them a few more times. 

Some of the lessons that we taught this week include: tempations and how to avoid them (to a less active family named the F. Naranjo), the restoration (to a diferent less active family to help them get a testimony again), and opposition in our lives (to an active member who is going through hard times right now).  

Well I sure do love you mom!  I hope you have a great week!

Elder Eastman 

Today we went bowling, sorry this pic is a bit blurry.

District Leader Responsibilities

Hey dad! I'm doing really good. Wow that sure is a long time to be at church.  But that's good that you are enjoying it.  I am also enjoying my new assignment as a district leader.  It's pretty fun.  On saturday I got to do a baptismal interview for an investigator of some other elders in my district.  So that was the first time ever in my life that I have done an interview to determine the worthiness of someone else.  Pretty crazy that a little 19 year old kid can do that!  The interview went really well.  The investigator is a really good guy and super prepared for baptism.  So it wasnt that hard to do.  I was a bit nervous before, but as soon as we started I felt better.  

We havnt gone on splits yet because there are a few new elders in the district that dont know their sectors very well yet.  But maybe next week I'll get to do some. 

That's super cool that you did so well playing golf.  Maybe I would even like to go try and play some golf when I get back.  But just maybe ;)

I love you too!

Elder Eastman

Hey mom!  Thanks for the hugs and kisses!  

It sure has been pretty fun to be a district leader.  I can defenitely feel the extra responsibility.  I enjoy getting calls from all the other missionaries in my district every night, seeing how they did in the day and trying to help them get better and reach their goals.  Then I have to call the zone leaders after talking to the other elders and tell them how my day was and how the day of the other elders went.  Doing that takes away a bit of the time I have at night but I still enjoy doing it.  And every thursday I have to give a training kinda thing to my district and teach them about some part of the missionary work that we could get better at.  I think putting that together is the hardest part of being a district leader.  But it's a good thing I like teaching people.  

Elder Chavez is super awesome.  He is really good at staying diligent throughout the day.  And he is helping me alot at talking to more people everyday that are in our path.  He is also really good at cooking.  We have made some super good tacos two times this week.  He also knows how to cook alot of food from Peru.  So we are getting along really well.  

Yep I think last week the F. Chimba gave us some cow stomach.  It was terrible.  I have gotten better at eating it, but I still gagged a few times.  

So this week was a bit rough with being able to teach investigators.  There was almost nobody that was able to recieve us and let us in to teach them.  We have a few investigators like the F. Chicaisa, but they are pretty much only available on saturdays and sundays.  But this saturday and sunday nobody was available.  We are trying really hard to find new investigators that are available more often.  We have been asking everyone for references and contacting like crazy.  And this sunday we were given a little blessing.  A member lady brought one of her friends to church and we will be able to teach her and her family this wednesday.  So I am really looking forward to that. 

Well I sure do love you mom!

Elder Eastman

PS. Question... Is it alright if I sell my little camera to another missionary that wants it at the end of this transfer?  I'm thinking $50 would be a fair price.  

This is Elder Chavez

Fun fact... That little house with the red roof in that picture is where the F. Chicaisa lives

Last Transfer/District Leader

Hey dad! I'm doing really good.  Sounds like you had a really fun trip.  I sure would like to go to a cool baseball game when I get back like those that you went too.  I kinda miss going to games or other types of events.  

Wow that does sound like a pretty tough calling.  But I know that you'll be a great bishop for those young people.  

I would love to go get some good food when I get back.  Whatever good mexican place would be nice.  Or maybe In-n-Out, or 5 guys, or some other good burger place.  I ate McDonalds today, which is mostly the same here as it is in the states, but they dont have as many things on the menu.  But most of all, I think I would first just like to eat some nice green chile enchiladas at home.  

Well today was the official start of my last transfer here in the mission.  I'm still here in Turubamba but now I'm with and new companion named Elder Chavez.  I have also been made the district leader here.  Which I'm pretty excited about.  It'll be something new to do and to learn from.   

I love you lots dad! 

Elder Eastman

Hey mom!  Yep, today is the first day of my last transfer in the mission.  I feels pretty weird to know that I'm now in my last transfer.  I would always look at the missionaries who had alot of time in the mission and think, wow, they have been here for so long, I cant even imagine me being where they are right now.  But now that moment has come, pretty crazy!  

I'm still here in Turubamba.  But now I'm with a new companion named Elder Chavez (not the same elder Chavez that I was with in Ambato) but this elder Chavez is also from Peru.  He is 21 years old and has 6 months in the mission.  He seems like a really cool and funny guy so far.  I think we will get along very well and be able to work hard.  Some other good news from this transfer is that I am now the new district leader of my district.  The district leader last transfer finished the mission,  and I got made the new one.  I'm pretty excited to be able to have this responsibility.  Even though it'll just be for one transfer, it'll be a good learning opportunity for me.  

This week we werent able to visit the F. Cadme.  They werent home alot of the time and were really busy.  Hopefully this week they will be more available.  I'm pretty sure they are already married.  Their children are all youth ages.  

This sunday the F. Chicaisa came to church.  So they are the investigators who are progressing the most right now.  It seemed like they could tell that this church is alot different from all the other churches.  But I think they liked it.  We havent been able to talk to them yet to really find out.  But they stayed for all 3 hours of church.  The mom (Erica), Erica's mom, and Erica's 3 children all came.  So that made us really happy to see them come.  Hopefully all keeps going really well with them.  

This week we visited the F. Idrovo.  But they have stopped progressing for a long time now.  So we talked a bit about odedience to God's commandments and also told them that we wont be able to keep visiting them if they dont do their part.  We can only help them to a certain point, and for us to be able to keep helping them, they have to start keeping the commandments and doing their part.  This sunday they didnt come to church, so we wont be able to keep visiting them for a while.  It's a bit sad to have to stop visiting a family that has so much potential.  But it's something that has to be done.  Hopefuly they will start progressing again in the future and be able to be baptised and then go to the temple.  

In this week I have really been able to feel my testimony of the Book of Mormon grow.  I love teaching people about it.  Even if the people dont always want to accept it,  I just love talking about it.  I really know that it is a true book of God. 

I love you mom!  

Elder Eastman

M&Ms Baptisms and A Yellow Shirt

YAY!!! That's so cool that you got made a bishop yesterday!  I know that you will do a fantastic job.  I'm sure it'll be really crazy sometimes and maybe even a bit stressful.  But what you said is true, just do what the Lord tells you to do and all will go well.  

Yesterday I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting.  One of the bishops counselors called me right before the meeting started and asked me if I could give a talk about the Holy Ghost.  So I didnt have very much time at all to prepare something.  But I definitely felt the guidence of the Holy Ghost while I was talking about the Holy Ghost.  The time went by super fast while I was talking and I think I went a bit over my time to talk.  But I actualy enjoyed giving the talk.  I didnt really feel nervous before it or while I was talking.   It was a nice experience.  I definitely have gotten alot better at talking in front of people while here on the mission.  

Well everything is going wonderfuly here.  I feel good and healthy.  

I love you dad! Good luck in your new calling!

Elder Eastman

Hi mom!  That's super super duper cool that dad got made a bishop!  I'm sure that's a pretty crazy calling to have.  I know he'll do great.  

I also think it's super cool that Emma is working hard in XC.  It's definitely not easy but it's worth it.  It's the best thing in the world to be in good shape and be able to run fast for a long time.  I was never that great but I'm super happy that I did it.  

The baptism of Martha and Mery went absolutely wonderfuly.  It was a cool baptismal service because there were 5 people in total who were getting baptised.  Martha, Mery, Martha's dad (who lives in a different ward but wanted to get baptised with his family), and two investigators of the other elders in our ward.  So there were alot of people in white.  I got to baptise Martha and my companion got to baptise Mery.  Pretty much every thing went really well during the service.  Except for one small thing... I forgot to bring and extra pair of garments, so had to do my best to dry them off with my towel and then I had to put my normal clothes back on with wet garments.  It wasnt very comfortable.  Other than that everything was perfect.  

Yes, we still get to visit the new members after their baptism.  We have to go over all the lessons again and help them stay strong as a member.  We also get to visit the less active members and help them get back on track.  Right now we dont have very many less actives who are progressing very well.  There is only one family who is starting to slowly get back to church.  Their name is the familia Naranjo.  

This week we found a new family named the familia Cadme.  It's a family of 5 but we were only able to teach the mom and dad this week.  They seem really cool and interested in the restored gosple.  They didnt come to church this sunday but hopefuly they do this next week.  Our mission president has taught us that we should work like and escalator and not like an elevator (when it comes to finding, teaching and baptising people).  An escalator can always have people going up at all times, but an elevator has to go all the way down, pick up one set of people, go back up and repeat that process.  So the goal is to always be finding people, have people progressing towards baptism, and have people getting baptised every week.  But I think that we have fallen a bit into being like an elevator instead of an escalator.  It's been hard to find people to teach every week here, and have a few of those people progressing.  We worked well with the F. Chimba, but now they got baptised and we are left with nobody else whos progressing.  But we are not perfect missionaries and we cannot take away  peoples agency and make them come to church.  I know that we can get better and find even more people to teach, starting with the F. Cadme.  

Well I love you a bunch mom!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! have fun on trip to DC!

Elder Eastman

Happy To Work

Hi mom!  Today has been a good day.  We went to the mission offices today and bought the Book of Mormon on cd to give to Mery, because she doesnt know how to read.  While in downtown Quito we went to a market place that sells a bunch of cool stuff and I bought a cool sweater and a little keychain trinket thing.  

I'm feeling good and healthy.

Yep I think the green plaintains are the same thing that you use to make patacones.  I'll buy some more and take a picture of it to send to you.  

No Joel didnt get to pass the sacrament this sunday because he got to church right after the sacrament part finished.  Martha and Mery had their interviews this sunday and they both passed.  So this saturday at 3 pm should be their baptism.  They have been doing very well and are really excited for their baptism.  The only bummer is that we dont have any other investigators right now that are progressing.  But I have faith that we will either find new investigators that will progress or some of the investigators that we have right now will start progressing more, or maybe even both of those options will happen.  

Well my time is up for writing.  Sorry this letter is a bit short.  Next week I will try and share a bit more. 

I love you mom!

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!  Things are going really well here.  I still havnt gotten my travel plans here.  And mom didnt tell me what they are.  But I would kinda like to know what they are.  I'm not really feeling nervous or worried about it.  I'm probably worried the most about having to speak english to everyone again, because I think I have forgoten how to say a few things in the normal way.  I think it'll take some time to get used to it all again.  I also think that I'm just generaly excited to get back to my native country.  I love Ecuador a bunch but it's kind of exciting to get to see the Utah mountains again or the streets and houses and grass and all that stuff.  

I'm also happy to still be able to work for a few more weeks.  I really want to work harder than ever now.  It's been hard lately and there has been alot of temptations to stop working diligently.  But I'm trying to ignore those things and just get out and work.  

Well I sure do love you a bunch!

Elder Eastman

Reply from dad:

Aug 2 is your day. Long trip. Quito to Miami. Miami to Dallas. Dallas to home. Getting at about 8:00 pm. Crazy. 

Replay from Josh:

Wow!! thanks dad!!!!

Missionary Small Talk, Ambato Zapatos, and Yummy Patacones

Hey mother!  That's super cool that you got to go on a nice hike and that Emma is going to start XC this week.  I kinda miss being in XC.  It taught me so many good things that have helped me alot on the mission.  Hopefully I'll be able to get back into good running shape when I get back.  I havnt ran in super long time.  

Martha is doing super good.  And so is her mom whos name is Mery.  Mery lives with Martha and the children of Martha.  Martha just has two sons.  Joel and another one named Jean Carlos, he is 6 years old.  Martha and Mery have showed that they really do want to get baptised to be able to recieve the blessings that will come.  So we have decided on the goal to get baptised on the 11th of June.  They are both excited for that and are well prepared.  We recently taught the Word of Wisdom again. Martha is all good with that commandment, but Mery has a problem with coffee (she is from Colombia and coffee is huge in that country).  But she commited to stop drinking it.  

Joel had an interview for the priesthood this week and then received the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday.  He is really happy about it and excited to start helping pass the sacrement.  

Contacting has been going pretty well.  I have been trying to put that into practice lately. And it has gone well.  It's not very hard to talk to people because of the language, it's mostly because it can be a bit awkward sometimes and hard to know what to talk about.  We just have to find some type of clue in what they're doing or wearing or something like that to be able to know what to talk about.  And if we do it with a willing heart God will help us know what we need to say.  

Today 3 other elders and I (those who are about to finish the mission) got to go down to Ambato to buy some shoes.  There is a member there who hand makes some super cool shoes and they are really popular here in our mission.  When I was serving in Ambato I bought a pair (the gray shoes I was wearing in the baptism pics with Joel).  They only cost $35 a pair, and today I ordered two more pairs.  It was really fun to be able to visit Ambato again.  It's one of my favorite cities that I've been to here in Ecuador.  

Well I sure do love you mom! Have a good week!

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!  Thanks for sharing that experience.  I think that's really cool.  I also know that God loves us and will help us do the things that he asks of us.  I know that you will be able to receive revelations for your ward when ever you need it.  My testimony of these things has grown alot here on the mission.  I have been able to relize that revelation really does come, and alot of the times we dont even know that we are being guided by the Spirit until some result has come out of it.  We just have to be worthy of it, ask for it and God will give it to us according to our faith.  

Well keep doing great in this new calling the Lord has given you!  I love you too!

Elder Eastman

Me and my companion made these.  They're called patacones.  They're made from a banana like thing that's called verde here.  It's like a big green banana but the inside is harder and dryer.  They are amazingly delicious and pretty much my favorite thing to eat here.

Joel's Baptism and TelefériQo Pics

Hey dad!  Wow that's quite the news and I think that is super cool that you have received that calling!  That's also a very drastic change of people to work with.  Noisy children to a whole congregation full of young adults which will probably include a bunch of return missionaries.  So I imagine it will be alot quieter.  

I remember hearing somebody say in general conference that "God qualifies those he calls" I think President Eyring said that.  So I also know that this call comes from God and that you will be able to to do everything that God would want you to do.  

So what ward will I go to when I get back?  

Well I'm super happy for you dad!  And I hope you really enjoy this new calling.  Thanks for being such a good example for me and teaching me so many good things. 

I love you too!

Elder Eastman

Hey mom!  Yep that sure is a pretty crazy calling!  But I think it's super cool and that dad will do a wonderful job.  The work has been going pretty well.  Our investigator named Joel got baptised on saturday.  It was a nice baptismal service and then on sunday I got the wonderful opportunity to do the confirmation.  We are going to keep working with his mom, Martha, so that she can get baptised too.  She has told us that she really wants to get baptised to be able to recieve the blessings from God like the gift of the Holy Ghost.  She is no longer living with her husband (they were never married in the first place) so now there is nothing that impeads her from getting baptised.  We recently invited her to ask God what she should do and when she should get baptised.  Soon we will find out how she is feeling about it.  On wednesday we had a zone conference.  It was a really nice conference and I learned alot.  President Christensen helped us learn a bit about how to find new investigators, which was really needed.  I learned that I could probably get better at being more natural and normal when talking to people in the street.  Sometimes I just hit them with wanting to teach them right off the bat, but sometimes it's good to just start out with a simple conversation so that they can see that we are just normal people and not aliens who just want to talk to them.  

One of my favorite scriptures has been D&C 58: 2-4 (5,6 and 7 are also really good)

Well mom, thanks for everthing that you have done for me!  You sure have helped me alot! And I love you!

Elder Eastman

Dedication to the Work

Hey dad, i'm doing really good today.   

Our investigators are doing a bit better.  This sunday only the f. Segura Chimba came to church.  But we were able to find a new family of investigators yesterday named the f. Chicaisa.  We were also able to visit a few more investigators that we havnt been able to visit for a while, like the f. Gomez.  So I would say that things are getting a bit better with the investigators.  

I also feel good and motivated to keep working hard everyday.  It has been a bit harder lately because I dont have much more time left to be here, but pretty much every time a thought about after the mission things comes into my head another thought comes into my head that comes from my mission call that says something like I "need to dedicate all thoughts and actions to the work".  So that is what I have been trying to do lately.  And I have felt really good while doing it.  

Well I love you too!

Elder Eastman

Hello mom!  Yep I got that info last week.  Thanks!

We werent able to visit Srykandi this week because we werent able to find her in her house.  Hopefully this week we will be able to do it.  The f. Segura Chimba came to church again on sunday and Joel will be getting baptised this saturday.  We were able to visit the f. Gomez again this week and they still seem very interested and they want to come to church.  This sunday they werent able to but next sunday they should be coming.  We were also able to find a new family of investigators yesterday named the f. Chicaisa.  It's a family of 5 but 2 of them are still small children.  The moms name is Erica and the dads name is Ricardo.  Erica said that she has been searching lately for a church to go to with her children and that she wants to come see how this church is this next sunday.  Ricardo is Catholic by tradition and doesnt seem super interested right now.  But I think that he could change a bit in the future.  So hopefuly things go super well with the f. Chicaisa! 

Elder Choque is really great! We have been getting along very well.  He is very obedient and likes to work diligently.  I have also been able to see that he really loves the people here, especially the people that he has worked with and those he is working with now.  

Well thanks for the help with all the schooling stuff.  Im not super sure if I still want to be a physical therapist.  Well I dont really have any idea of what I specificaly want to be.  I'll have to investigate more after the mission.  

For P-day we went to a place called the telefériqo.  I went to it along time ago at the beginning of the mission.  Its the gondola thing that takes you up a tall mountain.  This time we hiked up a trail to an even higher part of the mountain.  It was super awesome but now im really tired.  I'll send some pics.

Well that's it for now!  I love you mom!

Well this computer isnt accepting my memory card right now.  So Ill have to send the pics next week.  Sorry :(

Elder Eastman

Day After Mother's Day Skype

Hey mom (and dad)!  Well it sure was super fun to be able to talk to you guys yesterday.  I relized too that we didnt take a picture together.  But it's all good.  

The thing that I love most about the ecuadorian people is that they arent too worried about having the best and nicest thing.  Like what we talked a bit about yesterday.  Alot of people dont have very much money and might not have the best house or the best car or phone.  But they are always happy and grateful for what they do have.  Which is something I think I could get better at during the rest of my life.  

So the baptism of Joel (he is the son) was going to happen on saturday.  But then on the thursday before that we were reminded of the rule that we have that people who are less than 18 years old and who's parent arent members need to have at least 6 church attendences in order to be baptised.  So we didnt know about that rule before and thought that he just needed 3, like normal.  But I guess we forgot about that rule or maybe its a new rule.  But now Joel needs two more weeks to be baptised.  He came to church yesterday so now just needs one more to be baptised.  Now he should be getting baptised on the 21st.  He seemed a bit sad when we told him that, but he's still all good with all the desires in the world to be baptised. 

This week we found a new investigator named Srykandi (her name is really weird because her dad is from some other middle eastern county).  She is about 16 years old.  Her grandma is already a member, which is how we found her.  We only got to visit her one time this week so there isnt a whole lot to say about her.  

My new companion's name is Elder Choque.  He is from Peru and has about 8 months in the mission.  He was already in this zone the transfer before this one.  So I already knew him a bit.  He's a really cool guy and an awesome missionary.  Im really excited to be able to work with him this change.  He might be my very last companion too, if we stay together for two changes.  

Well thank you for all the love and support you give to me!  I love you very much!

Elder Eastman

Ps.  I just got an information sheet from the mission office that I have to fill out quickly.  It has to do with my going home information.  I dont know all the info so I'll have to ask you some stuff.  

I need to know the home phone number, including the country code, area code, and the rest of the number.  

I also need the name of our ward and stake

and the airport name and location that will be my final destination

Thanks!

​ 

Los niños Cayambe

The Familia Cayambe, the family that lives above us

The Familia Idrovo

Upcoming Baptism and More Rejection

Hey mom!  It sounds like this past week was a pretty crazy week!  Things are going pretty well here in Quito.  Well it's still not easy but we are getting some good work done.  The progress of the F. Idrovo has been slowing down a bit.  They havent been able to come to church for a while now.  The husband is now working every other sunday and there always seems to be an excuse for why they couldnt come on the sunday that he wasnt working.  Hopefully their progress will get going a bit more soon.  We werent able to teach the F. Gomez this week.  They have been really busy with work and stuff.  The husband, named Luis, is a taxi driver and works at night.  They also have a little resaurant that they run.  Luis also has a problem with his hearing right now and has had to go to the hospital a bit.  The F. Segura Chimba has been progressing really well.  Well they still havent been able to find work to be able to get married, but Marta and Joel have been coming to church every sunday.  Joel told us that he wants to get baptised even if the rest of this family wont be able to do so right now.  He had his interview on sunday and all went well with that.  He will be getting baptised this saturday at 5 pm.  

This sunday our church meetings got moved to 2pm until 5pm.  And we are now in a different church building.  Our normal church building is getting remodeled right now.  Alot of members were complaning a bit about going to church at that time, but I actually really enjoyed it.  I had a nice time in church and felt the Spirit well.  

Wow, mother's day is this sunday?! I had no idea.  But that's super awesome!  Well I'll probably be calling after church because now we have church at the exact same time as you.  

I love you mom! Have a good week!

Elder Eastman  

Hey dad! I am doing super good.  Wow that sure does sound like a pretty eventful week.  

Well this week was a pretty decent week for us.  We have been having a bit of a hard time to get lessons with investigators, mostly due to the fact that there just arent very many investigators right now.  We have had to stop teaching a few of them because they havent wanted to progress.  I have been trying hard to get back into the groove of contacting, and it has been really tough to do so.  Most of the people we try to talk to reject us immediately.  So it has been tough mostly on the mental side.  The thought always comes into my mind that they will just reject us and it's not even worth trying.  But I know that's not the right way to think about it.  And I have to not let the rejection get to me.  

Well thanks dad for all the love and support you give me!  I hope everything goes well in your work! And I love you a bunch!

Elder Eastman

Missionary Marriage Therapy

Wow, marriage sure is some crazy stuff!  I wish more people would be getting married here in Ecuador too!  But that doesnt happen very often.  Pretty sweet that Chelsea's doing it though!  It'll be pretty cool to be able to get to know Spencer one of these days.  

Well this week was a bit better than last week.  We were able to find a new family of investigators named the F. Gomez (luis and lucia).  They didnt come to church this week, and they're not married either, but I have hope that they will be able to start progressing soon.  I think it's pretty cool that most of the investigators we have right now are families, but like I just said, I wish marriage was a bit more common here.  

This week we visited the Familia Idrovo and tried to help them out with the relationship problems that they have been having.  As we were aproching their house I was saying a silent prayer in my mind for help in the lesson and for the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  We then got in their house and started talking to them.  We mostly talked about forgiveness and repentance.  The lesson went very well.  I really did feel the guidance of the Spirit during the lesson.  At the end of the lesson the husband said to us something like, "oh, so all of this has just been satan trying to tempt us and take away the happiness that we have had".  It made us very happy to know that they were able to understand that this has been opposition that satan has been trying to put in their path.  Thanks to the Spirit, I feel like we were able to help them a bit with their challenges.  

My companion, Elder Paiz, makes me laugh alot.  He's normaly quiet, but sometimes he just opens up and does something funny.

There hasnt been very many of those dogs lately.  I was hoping to see that same dog again here in Turubamba, but I havent seen it yet. Nope, I can hardly see anything from my sector.  It's a very flat sector and filled with big house complexes.  

This week one of the words that I leared was "apio" which means celery.  I recently bought a small notebook to carry around with me everywhere to write down the words that I dont know.  It's been helping alot and I have been able to learn alot of new words.  I should have started doing this earlier.  Some other new words include: arveja, gaveta, disimular, estirar, divisar, destellar, gatillo, enredar, ect. 

I love you too mom!!

Elder Eastman

Hi dad!  Yep it does seem like tomorrow will be a pretty big day.  It'll be a really good day too I'm sure.  It sure would be cool to be there with you guys but I'm ok with being here in Ecuador.  I love being a missionary even though it can be really tough some times.  I will be both sad and happy to come home.  Sad because I will be leaving this wonderful country and be getting releaved from this great calling, and happy because I will be able to be with you guys again.  You really have been a wonderful father to me and have taught me so many wonderful and important things.  I sure do love you too!

Elder Eastman

pic: one of the many giant apartment complexes in my sector

Terremoto!

Hello mom!  Well everything is alright here in Quito.  It was mostly the coast that got hit hard.  Especially the part of Manabí.  The earthquake (terremoto) was still pretty strong here in Quito, but it hardly did anything.  The power went out for a little while and so did the phone lines.  But there was hardly any damage to buildings.  So life here is pretty much normal now.  We were just walking in the street around 7:00 at night when it started.  At first I felt like I was just get really dizzy, so i was confused at what was going on for a few seconds.  But then we stopped and realized that it was an earthquake.  So we just stood there for a few minutes while it was going on.  I think it lasted around 2 minutes or so.  It was really weird and kinda cool to feel your feet move underneath you.  All the powerlines were swaying back and forth.  Some of them even fell over.  But not were we were.  After it finished we started contacting some of the people that were outside.  There were tons of people in the streets because they all ran out of there houses.  But everyone we talked to still rejected us.  So that's my part of the story.  

Well unfortunatly none of our investigators came to church this sunday.  The work has been pretty tough this week.  We still havnt visted the Familia Segura Chimba (we will tonight) so we still dont know exactly why they didnt come to church.  We called the F. Idrovo on sunday and they said that they are wanting to get separated right now.  So we tried to go and visit them but they werent home.  So we still dont know what is going on with them.  Hopefully we can visit them soon to try and help them.  I know it is just opposition that they are passing through right now that they have to get over.  When ever people try to do the right thing satan always puts something in their path to make it harder.  And alot of the time it is some type of dificulty in a relationship that makes them want to split up.  So this week the work has been really hard.  For some reason it has been super hard to just teach a lesson.  We are also a bit low on investigators and other people like recent converts and less actives right now.  It has been especially dificult to stay diligent when there just isnt anyone to teach.  Sometimes I just want to stay in the house of some member for a long time or find something else to do so the time goes by.  But I really need to be more diligent and obedient than ever because we really need some miracles in this sector to get the work moving forward well.  I know that we will recieve those miracles.  And I will learn and grow so much while I'm here.  

Well I dont have much more time to be on the computer.  Sorry I wasnt able to tell you about a teaching experience from this week.  I will include one next week.

I love you all very much!

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!  Well everything is going alright here in Quito.  Really nothing much happened here.  It was mostly just the coast that got hit hard.  Here in Quito we were just without power for a little while and the phone lines also went down for a while.  We were just walking in the street when it started.  It felt really weird to stand there and feel the ground move under my feet.  Everybody got out of their houses really quickly and just stood there as well.  I think it lasted for a good 2 minutes or so.  After it finished we started contacting because there was a bunch of people out side.  But nobody really wanted to listen to us very much.  So yeah, everything is pretty much normal here in Quito.  But it will be nice to help in some way the people in the coast.  

I love you too dad!

Elder Eastman

Putting Others First Before Self

Hey mom!  My week was a good week.  I have gotten to know my sector a bit better and also a few new members.  This sunday was the first normal sunday since I have been here (because of general conference last week), so I got to finaly see all the members here.  It seems like this is a really good ward.  There werent a whole lot of people in church but it still seems like there are a good amount of strong members.  The bishop here is really awesome as well.  He is really enthusiastic about the work and likes to talk alot. This week we found a new family of investigators named the Familia Segura Chimba.  The mom, named Martha, is who we found first.  Her sister is already a member (but lives somewhere else) and she has already attended church a few times with her.  Martha came by herself to a session of general conference last week.  This week we were able to go to her house and teach her and the rest of her family.  She has a husband named Juan Carlos (though they're not actualy married yet), and they have two sons, Joel (13 years old) and Jean Carlos (5 years old).  Juan Carlos is really catholic and isnt really interested in the church, but does support his wife and children.  Joel and Martha are really interested in the church and like it alot.  They came to church again this sunday and looked really happy there.  Joel has a baptismal date for april 30th, but Martha has to get married to Juan Carlos first to get baptised.  Then some day in the future I know that Juan Carlos will open up his heart and get baptised as well.

The Familia Idrovo are doing good, except they werent able to come to church this sunday.  They really like the gosple and the church though.  Right now we are working on teaching them the commandments.  When we taught them the Law of Chastity we found out that they really arent married.  Luckily they understand the commandment and are open to the idea of getting married.  So hopefuly all keeps going well with them and they can get married soon.  Literaly with every investigator that ever progresses there is always some type of opposition that comes in the way.  I sometimes wish it could be a bit easier but I know the opposition is necesary and just helps us grow stronger if we keep moving forward.  

This week I also fixed up my shoes.  So they are all good now!  The man who did it was very nice and only charged me $13 instead of $15 just because I'm a missionary.  He isnt even very interested in the church.  The new soles that he put on are really nice but also really hard, so by the end of the day walking in them my feet hurt a bit.  But it's all good, it's better then getting home with wet feet.  

Teaching people about Joseph Smith is an awesome thing.  We just have to trust in the Lord that He will help us get over our fear of doing it.  So I know that you can do it too mom! (if you ever come across somebody in South Jordan who's not already a member).

YAAAAAA!!! That's super awesome that they accepted me.  So I think my final answer to that school will be yes!  Thanks mom for all your help with that!  I sure do love you!!

Well that's it for now!  Have a good week!

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!  I'm doing really good!  I'm super happy about the news from USU.  I think it'll be the right decision to make.  Thanks for all your help with that!  

I think as well that we are all responsible for our own spirituality.  President Uchtdorf, in one of his talks, talked a bit about the phrase "seek and ye shall find", if we look for negative things about someone or something we will surely find it, because everybody and everything has it, but if we look for good, positive things, we will also be able to find them, because everyone and everything has them.  So we should always focus on the good things, and count our many blessings every day.  

This week we had interviews with President Christensen.  I learned alot in this interview and had a very nice spiritual experience with him.  I feel so lucky sometimes to be able to have a one on one conversation with him every once in a while.  One thing that I learned in this inverview is that I need to focus on putting other people before myself.  I realized that I have been focusing alot on myself and my problems.  With president we talked about becoming more like Christ.  Jesus Christ always put other people before himself.  So now that is something that I can get better at to become more like Him, put others before me and focus on their needs and not mine.  

Well that's it for this week!  I sure do love you dad!! Have a wonderful week!

Elder Eastman

This is our bathroom.  For some reason they put the toilet under a staircase.  So it's pretty much impossible to stand up there. 

This is our kitchen, and all the counter space we have.

Our beds are just fine.

A Temple In Quito!

Hey mom!

The members here went crazy when the Quito Temple was anounced.  There was a small time of slight irreverence in the chaple by all the cheers and clapping.  But maybe a temple in your home city can be one of the few excuses to do that.  I definitely want to come back one day when that temple his here.  

I really loved conference too and I cant wait to get to study those talks more.  A year ago I was also here in this stake for general conference ( i was in the manantial ward).  Saturday and Sunday was super cool becuase I got to talk to a bunch of the members that I got to know in that ward.  Surpisingly pretty much all of them that I remembered also remembered me.  Alot of them came up to me to say hi and ask me how the mission has been going for me.  It was really really cool to meet those good people again.  One of them told me that the Familia Pazmiño (Alexandra and Joanna) havnt been coming to church very much lately.  He told me that they got a bit offended by something that happend to them in the church and now they dont want to go anymore.  That made me a bit sad.  I told him to go back to them and help them get on the right path again.  

Here we have a family of investigators that are progressing really well.  Their name is the Familia Idrovo.  Its a husband and a wife with two little kids.  They came to the sunday afternoon session of conference.
So I really like this sector here.  My companion is great too.  I have had a bit of a cold for the past few days.  But it's getting better now.  

Still havent gotten any mail yet.  

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

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!

Yeah it's pretty sweet that there will be a temple here in Quito.  It has been a bit of a rummor for a little while before the conference, but when it was actually announced everybody went crazy. Maybe someday in the future I will be able to come back and go to the Quito Temple.  

I also really loved this conference.  I'm excited to be able to study and listent to them more.  Us gringos here watched the conference in english in the secretary's office.  So that was pretty nice.  A year ago I was also here in this stake for general conference.  

Our apartment here is pretty good.  It's super small though.  But I like it.  I'll take pictures of it this week to send to you guys.  

Well I havent been eating much bread lately from the panaderías.  But there are definitely some good ones around here.  

I love you a bunch too dad! You definitely have been a great father for me!

Elder Eastman 

Im going to fix these shoes soon  (insert from mom...I don't think they are fixable!)

Elder Paíz and Elder Eastman in Turubamba

Return to Quito...Turubamba

Hey dad, I'm doing really good.  Today we had changes again.  This transfer that just ended only had 5 weeks.  I think it was because the MTC for people not learning a new language got increased to 3 weeks so make everything even they took off a week from this past transfer.  It doesnt make a whole lot of sense why they decided to do it like that, but it's ok.  And now all of us missionaries will be getting home a week earlier.  

To my surprise both my companion and I got transfered to new places.  And I got moved to Quito again!  I'm pretty happy to be in Quito again.  For some reason Quito has a special place in my heart.  Maybe because I started the mission here and was here for the first 9 months of the mission.  Most missionaries dont like Quito but I love it.  I'm in the part of Quito called Turubamba and I'm with Elder Paíz.  He's from El Salvador and has about 8 months in the mission.  

For some reason I dont feel like a very old missionary.  I just feel like a normal missionary.  I'm still just a senior companion.  Not a district leader or anything like that.  But I think that's ok.  I realized today on the bus ride up to Quito that I should just be happy to be a missionary and not worry about what leadership calling I have or dont have.  I shouldnt forget about the specialness that just being a missionary has.  Alot of missionaries arent satisfied with the mission until they become some type of leader.  But as long as we just work as hard as we can the Lord will be happy with our work and we will fufill our calling.  

I am physicaly feeling good.  The bus ride over here is always a bit rough (it causes headaches) but overall I feel good.  The Lord blesses me with the strength I need every day to work.  

People here are mostly Catholic.  But there are alot of other religions here as well that are big.  Like the Johovas Witnesses and Evangelists (im not sure if that is whats its called in english).  Not much happens on Easter.  They dont eat meat on holy friday, and on sunday every catholic goes to the church to do some stuff there.  

Well I sure do love you a bunch dad! Thanks for your love and support! 

Elder Eastman

Hey mother!  Thank you so much for your wonderful email today!  

So if you didnt know, this change (that just ended) only had 5 weeks in it.  They normaly have 6.  I think it's because the MTC changed to 3 weeks for missionaries not learning language.  So to even everything out this change was shorted by a week.  That also means that I will be getting home one week early.  My companion and I both got changed out of Santo Domingo.  Now I'm in Quito again.  It makes me happy to be in Quito again.  I love this city.  I'm now with an elder named Elder Paíz.  He's from El Salvador and has 8 months in the mission.  

Unfortunatly there hasnt been much progress from Susan Jumbo.  Her testimony is still strong but her husband just isnt helping at all.  He is only home on the weekends and never wants Susan to go to church.  He mostly just doesnt like the church.  So Susan hasnt been to church now for 2 weeks.  Hopefully things can get better between them and he can let her go to church and get baptised.  But now I wont know what's going on with them because I'm in Quito.  

The Holy Week didnt really slow the work down at all.  Maybe the catholic people were a bit more closed off than normal on holy friday but I'm pretty used to being rejected now.  The biggest thing that slows down the work here is when there is a big soccer game.  Especially when the national ecuador team plays against some other country.  During those games literaly nobody is in the streets and nobody wants to give us their time.  Everyone watches those games.  There was one of those games this week.  

I think one of the highlights of this week was helping a recent convert named Mery Cedeño get a bit more prepared to go to the temple.  The ward in Bombolí is taking a trip down to the temple in Guayaquil soon and Mery is planning on going with them.  She had her inverview for her temple recomend on sunday and is super excited to go.  We talked with her this week about the temples and how special and important they are.  Helping people go to the temple feels really really good.  I know the temple is the most important place we need to go to in our lives.  I have missed going to the temple here.  I wish there was a temple close by here so we could go.  But it's alright, I'll go as soon as I can.  

I love you mom!  Thanks again for the email.

Elder Eastman