All I've Eaten In the Past Week Is Hot Cheetos and Fried Catfish

Howdy yall

This week has been a really tough one. But theres lots to be grateful for :) for one, the sky earlier this week was so beautiful! Always brightens my mood.

It is cold. It is the coldest south texas has been like... ever. It snowed this morning. Let me repeat that. Snow. That is not normal here. Earlier this week it was literally 75 degrees. So we've been asked to stay inside our apartments for the next two days haha! Texas ain't ready🤪

We do a lot of work at the church here and it hasn't been heated so I have sat with 2 coats on all day every day and we always bring blankets. The chapel is always the warmest so sometimes we take breaks to go sit in there. They're good opportunities to just sit and think.

Victoria is full of interesting people. Lots of people who need help and need to feel loved. (One guy told me I'm so short because I don't drink enough milk.... thank you sir😂) We've been blessed to find some people interested in growing closer to Christ and we're excited to teach them! 

We did service at a soup kitchen here and they gave us a giant box of flamin hot cheetos! My spice tolerance is literally level 0 but I can't stop eating them. My face is constantly just burning. We also got texas roadhouse giftcards from a member (#blessings) and so naturally I got fried catfish from texas roadhouse🥴 I don't know what came over me but I just had the urge to eat that. Don't regret it though, it wasn't bad.

Testimony time:) Last thing real quick I just want to say that we have Heavenly Parents and they are on our team! It's really easy for me to say "why me?" "why do I have to?" "how is this helping me?" (that's just me though, maybe yall are better haha) but it has helped me this past week to remember that Their end goal is my eternal happiness. And everything Heavenly Father places in my path is getting me to that goal. I can't see the big picture. I really can't. If my life was a 5000 piece puzzle, all I can see is one piece under a microscope. And sometimes that piece looks kinda ugly.. maybe it looks like dirt, or an ugly branch. But the full puzzle is going to be SO beautiful! Anyway what I'm trying to say is trust in God. Trust in His wisdom and His love. 

If yall want something to read:)))

D&C 84: 81-84, 88, 119

D&C 122:7-9 (fav scripture right there😪)

D&C 123:17

Mark 10:17-22

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Much love and prayers🤗

Hermana Eastman

Hello Parents!

I made it through this week. It felt like a month. I'm honestly struggling a lot. Hermana Erickson is nice and she's trying to help me adjust. Going to english church yesterday was really hard. The people here are definitely interesting and I'm trying to pray for love for them. Theres no spanish here and I'm trying not to dwell on the fact that I'll be out of practice. I've done a lot of studying and pondering and praying this week, so that's a blessing. I find that you tread water a little more intently when the waves pick up. It's really really cold here but it doesn't bother me. My nice big coat has definitely been a blessing. We have to stay inside our apartment for the next two days because President Guthrie doesn't want us out on the streets. 

Since the area here is so spread out, theres not much proselytizing we do. It's such a big adjustment and I think that's why I'm struggling. We spend lots of time at the church, using the wifi to call members and go through less active records. The chapel has been the warmest place (the rest of the building is freezing) so sometimes I just sit in there and think. I haven't really been eating great but I'm going to try to be better next week. Hermana Erickson is the STL in this zone so she gets to be on calls with other missionaries. That has actually been a blessing because I've gotten to see some familiar faces and hear some familiar voices. Our district here is... a challenge. Some of them are nice but I feel like there isn't a culture here of hard work or obedience. Everyone is really casual and that's something that makes me really uncomfortable. 

I'm really trying though. I need to be better about looking outside of myself. But we take it day by day.

Talk soon :)

Email from Emma's Mission President:

Dear parents

As you may be aware, Southeast Texas  is encountering some of its coldest weather in history this week! I think layer of ice and a couple of inches of snow have settled on the entire mission overnight.

All missionaries have been advised to not drive or ride bicycles or leave apartments without particular needs for the next 2 to 4 days. Ward leaders are aware of missionaries and their circumstances and we anticipate that they will be willing to help and serve in anyway necessary for those who may have issues with temperatures or food.

One of the biggest concerns is for loss of power which a handful of our missionary apartments have already reported back to me. We have roughly 86 apartments and I am aware of about 20 that have lost power.

Losing power is extremely dangerous and in some cases we’ve had members go and pick up Missionaries and bring them into their homes where there is power. Our top priority is that the missionaries have their phones charged and so I’ve asked them to turn off one or two (if serving in a trio) of their phones and only use for specific emergencies in necessary communications.

Please expect infrequent updates from them regarding how they’re doing knowing that we are fully aware and keeping tabs on them. Please avoid calling them or having extended video calls with them so that you can help them preserve their phone battery. I have asked Missionaries to turn off one of their phones so that they can have a second phone available when or if the first one dies.

The city is unsure when power will be restored but rest assured they are working tirelessly as hundreds of thousands of people have been affected.

If you have any specific and urgent needs or concerns, feel free to reach out to me or Sister Guthrie.