Merry Christmas!

Highlights:

Gingerbread houses!! (Ours won😉)

We volunteered at a children's shelter and got to spend time with them. Then today we saw them at Walmart coincidentally and they were so happy to see us😭 precious.

We visited SO many people delivering treats and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. 

I'm pretty sure the low this week was 70 degrees. I haven't worn a coat once this winter. 

We went caroling with the English ward! Fun. 

Christmas Eve dinner with the Ramirez family! Hermano shared his testimony with us all and it was so sweet. Nothing like kindness to warm our hearts😊

We dropped off a little gift to the Oliva children. They were so happy. We almost got attacked by their scary goat but Emily (she's 5) kicked him in the face. So we were safe! 

Well if I can say anything, it's that I know Jesus is my Savior and Friend. I believe in His patience and love. And I'm so grateful He was born.

Happy new year! 

Hermana Eastman

Hark! The Trailer Park Dogs Bark!

In honor of Christmas I'm going to make this email jolly. Merry Christmas!

Silent night

Picture this. It's quiet. Hna Johansen and I are sneaking back to our car after a lesson. Why are we sneaking? Because the Oliva family has a terrifying goat. He senses fear. Then. Their little boy comes out. Oh no. He's making noise. The goat comes around the corner. Hna Johansen shines her flashlight and says "su cabra!" The little boy yells "¡corre!" And we sprint to our car, closing the doors just before the goat gets to us. 

O Christmas Tree

Hna Johansen and I decided to give our friend Leivi and her family our Christmas tree. So we made a new one! Out of a box. And honestly we love it because it makes us all warm and fuzzy thinking that Leivi's kids can have a Christmas tree.

Have yourself a merry LITTLE Christmas 

There were 25 people in the chapel yesterday. Our branch is muy pequeña especially since our biggest family is out of town. That meant that our translator was gone! The organist doesn't speak spanish and neither does her husband. So the scary task fell upon me. It was very humbling and a good mental exercise to really test my spanish HA! 

I'll be home for Christmas

...well hermana Grimes will be! We sent her home this week😪 she is deeply missed but she's off to great things!

En sombrío invierno

It's chilly!! Rainy and cold.. and by cold I mean 55 degrees🤪 so what's the best way to warm up? A nice bowl of pozole. So so good. 

Grandma got ran over by a reindeer

We have this nice old Hispanic lady who lives in our complex and we call her abuelita!! The best news ever is that she is reading the Book of Mormon!! Can I get a woot woot?! We're thrilled. She's very lonely and we feel so grateful to not only be able to share our love with her but also the love of the Savior with her. 

O Holy Night

I've been feeling kinda like I'm dragging through mud, know the feeling? Anyway yesterday I had an awesome night where I felt the Spirit and the love that God has for us! How awesome is it that God is our Father and He loves us so much that He sent His Son. He sent His Son to be a little baby on a cold and quiet night. Wow. So beautiful.

Love you all and merry Christmas! 

Hermana Eastman

ps we tried Alvin's famous "tortilla burgers" this week. It's a patty in between two tostada shells... needless to say I was disappointed.

Just Eat It

I forgot that being in a Spanish area means eating plates upon plates of food. One taco is never enough. Minimum is 3. 

I loved meeting a ton of members this week! We had our branch party! Our numbers are few but all of the members are top tier. I love them. 

I spoke in church yesterday! My first talk in Spanish. It went well:) 

One miracle we saw this week was on Friday. We had 4 lessons scheduled. We had 4 lessons cancel... BUT we had 4 impromptu lessons that we didn't know would happen!!! The Lord guides our paths. 

Also at the animal shelter I met the sweetest dog. Made my day. 

Anyway, Merry almost Christmas!

Hermana Eastman

Alvin Week 1

Hi! Idk if I mentioned it in my last email but I've been transfered.. again! Goodbye Katy, hello Alvin! I'm in the Spanish branch down here:) this week was full of meeting people and getting adjusted. Moving around so much is pretty challenging but it's fun to get to experience all different places. Alvin is very different from Katy. I've seen probably 20 cockroaches in my apartment since I got here🤢 so.. yeah. 

Hna Grimes and Hna Johansen are so fun! They're really hard workers so we've been pounding those unpaved trailer park streets. But that means I've  really well the past few days!

I swatted a piñata, biked, carried my bike up and down stairs, handed out food at an Episcopalian church, performed carol of the bells with our district at Christmas conference (we used cups filled with water, a piano, a beatboxer, and a kazoo), saw SO many friends at Christmas conference yesterday it was the best gift ever, AND last Monday we got a personal tour of Minute Maid stadium because Hna Grimes has connections. It was the best day ever. 

A couple days ago I had a cool experience. I had been feeling kind of homesick and tired, just wanting these next few months to go by fast. And during my personal study I was looking up scriptures relating to missionary work. And I stumbled upon John 4:35. If you go read it, you'll see why it was so cool for me! (Hint: I've been on a mission for 14 months.) Like a little text message straight to me from heaven. It really built my testimony that God speaks to us. He answers prayers. He knows us and how we feel. And I'm so grateful for that. 

"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

Hermana Eastman

The Best Week and the Worst Week

Goodbyes are the worst. And I had to say too many this week. My little heart is so sad!!! But I'm happy I got to have the best week ever with some of my best friends🥲

So I think I'll give one sentence summaries on all my favorite moments.

Tai chi in the parking lot with the zls.

(we met some Chinese ladies and they invited us back to do tai chi with them. We also did a samari Mulan-type dance with fans. It was a dream come true.)

Thanksgiving at Dorinda's house with matching pjs!!

Thanksgiving with the district, balling it up.

Two blitzes in one day with the beautiful Katy sisters.

Zls & stls 4ever.

Now here's a summary of all my goodbyes. 

All my friends are gone🥺

I'm in the Alvin Spanish branch now! In a trio with Hermana Grimes and Hermana Johansen:) last night we went to a fiesta with tacos al pastor and tres leches. So I'm excited to be here! I just want to work really hard. 

Never forget God loves you and because of Jesus Christ no goodbyes are permanent!

Love,

Hermana Eastman

On her first full day in Alvin, Emma got to go on a tour of Minute Maid Park with her new companions.  According to her, it was the best day of her life. Here are the pictures she sent us.