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

More Patience

Hey dad!  I'm still doing good.  Thanks for the update about USU.  I hope everything goes well with that.  I am still leaning towards going to that school,  but I guess I will consider it a bit more when we get the news if I get in or not.  

That's a really nice experience that you got to have with that young man.  I hope everything works out well.  I think what you said is very true.  One of the best ways to help yourself overcome challenges is to help other people overcome theirs.  Keep working hard and helping a bunch of people!  

I have been trying really hard lately to be more patient.  It's hard sometimes to be patient with the people here and with my companion.  I have a strong desire to become like Jesus Christ but I feel sometimes like it's quite a ways off to reach that goal.  It's true that we have been going through a dry spot here.  Sometimes I wonder if there is something that I am doing wrong.  I have been praying alot to know what I need to do.  This work is definitely tough but I'm just going to keep doing all the right things that I know I need to do.  

I love you dad!

Elder Eastman

Hello mom!  Well I'm sad to say that I dont have very much time to write today.  We had a few hold ups today that made us late for writing.  So I'm really sorry if this email is a bit short.

Well this week has been a bit rough.  We didnt have any of our investigators in church on sunday.  And because of that, a baptism that we had planned for next saturday fell.  The person that had that baptism planned is named Susan Jumbo.  She wants to get baptised alot but she also has alot of opposition from her husband.  He really doesnt like the missionaries or the idea of changing her religion.  So we are trying to help them with that challange right now.  

(in answer to mom's question...) Sometimes I feel the Holy Ghost as just a feeling of love for the gosple and for the scriptures, or I just feel happy when I'm teaching someone about the gosple or Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon, ect.  Or sometimes its like a stong emotion that comes into my heart.  I love feeling the Spirit and pray that I can feel it more and more every day.  

Here we mostly do door contacting.  It helps us be able to get into a lesson with them right away.  And it's easier to know where they live becuase we knocked their door.  

Well mom I gotta go now!  I love you!

Elder Eastman

Diligence and Patience

Hello mom!

That's very cool that Jeremy is getting married soon.  Also super cool that Elder Espinoza is serving in the ward.  I'm pretty sure his dad spoke in the conference we had with Elder Holland. Durning his talk he talked about his son who is serving in Utah.  

Well this week was a bit tough.  We were able to find a few new investigators but not very many of them seem very promising.  I think we need to work on being more diligent.  The time that we have as missionaries is very precious.  And when we think about it we really dont have very much time at all.  There is alot of time that we have where we need to study, and then have lunch and also dinner, we also have meetings every once in a while, and church, and then pday.  So I want to get better at using wisely every second that I have to be able to work.  I need to really give it all that I have and use all my engery to help move this work forward.  I want to be like a race horse with blinders around his eyes so he can only focus on his goal and not on what's around him.  

Well I sure do love you mom! Sorry for the kind of sort email.  

Elder Eastman

Hey dad!

It is going really well right now.  We got to play some good soccer today for pday.  Some people say that I can play pretty well.  But I'm not so sure about that.  Maybe just being in a south american country gives you more soccer abilities.  I dont think I have ever gotten more sweaty than I did today.  For lunch today we went to Carl's Jr.  There's one here in Santo Domingo.  It's very delicious.  

Trials definitley can be tough.  But we always learn so much from them.  I love what it says in Mosiah 23:21.  Like you said, a lot of the times God give us trials just to prove our patience and our faith.  If we successfully get through a trial we will have grown so much more than we ever would have if we had never had the trial.  Well I havnt gone through many real trials through my life yet but I hope I can put all these things into practice when I do have them.  Alot of the times I just think about running races when it comes to going through trials in our lives.  Cause I have actualy been through tough races.  

That's super cool that you have an elder from Quito in the ward.  The name Espinoza sound really familiar.  Maybe I have met him before.  Is Elder Espinoza's english good?

Well I love you too!! Have a good week dad!

Elder Eastman

Searching For The Prepared

Hey mom!  Haha thanks for that subject title.  Thanks for the letters too!  Sorry that I havent been very good about sending letters.  I'll try super hard to send one soon.  

Thanks for beeing such a good mom!  I definitley know that you are doing a wonderful job.  Here on the mission I often remember the things that you have taught me, or the things you said to me alot, like, "you can do hard things!"

We have a nice member lady here that makes us lunch tuesdays through saturdays.  We dont have anyone to give us dinner here.  But alot of the times families that we visit at night give us food.  

Two days ago on saturday an investigator of ours got baptised.  His name is Gaem Pierre Jumbo (a bit of a tough name).  He is a 12 year old boy.  The rest of his family has already gotten baptised.  I forgot my camera for the baptismal service so I dont have pictures right now.  Hopefully I can get one soon.  Right now we are really trying to find some new investigators that are able to progress.  There are a ton of people here that arent married and that dont have very many desires to get married.  I know that those prepared people are out there, we just have to keep working hard to find them.  

For P day today we went to La Concordia to have lunch with my old Pensionista (that's what we call the member ladies who give us lunch or dinner).  There name is the Familia Sanchez.  I'm sure you have heard about them a bit.  They are super super nice people.  

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

Elder Eastman

Hey dad, things are going really well here.  Yeah, for area we say sector.  In spanish it's sector and since that's an english word as well we just always say sector.  Alot of the times when english speaking missionaries are speaking english to other english speaking missionaries here we use spanish words as if they were just normal english words.  And those words become normal words in our vocabulary no matter what language we are speaking.  It's kinda funny how that happens.  

My companion and I are doing really good.  Sometimes we think a bit differently than the other or about how to do something but we have still been getting along really well.  I think I could get better at something mom told me to do when I got set apart as a missoinary.  Which is to do something nice for my companion every week.  I'm going to really focus on doing that alot now.  

I really liked those ideas of solutions for common problems in the church.  Especialy the difference between resisting tempation and running away from it.  Running away is better because when we just resist it, the tempation is still with us, but we can completly get rid of it by running away from it.  

Well thanks for the email dad!  I love you too!

Elder Eastman