A Record of Elder Eastman's Missionary Service in the Quito Ecuador Mission

A Record of Elder Eastman's Missionary Service in the Quito Ecuador Mission

Monday, May 30, 2016

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.


Monday, May 23, 2016

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


















Monday, May 16, 2016

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

Monday, May 9, 2016

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


Monday, May 2, 2016

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