Little Love Notes From Heaven

Well here we are, another week!! I thought I would just share a couple of tender mercies. Just to remind us all that Heavenly Father doesn't forget His children, even the ones in Texas;) 

#1 today I got a fortune at panda express that said something along the lines of "you display the wonderful traits of ... and ..." and those two traits were ones that I have been praying for so much🥺❤

#2 I have been looking for sunglasses for the past 10 months but I've been too lazy to buy some.. and guess what i found in our apartment this week? Some fabulous sunglasses for me to take. I feel like a fashion boss. As I should;)

#3 Our friend Lili and her daughter are preparing to be baptized😍

#4 I went to Krispy Kreme this week, the land of happiness, and it reminded me of home🥰

#5 I made myself food for lunch one day which is a big deal for me because i have no cooking ability. But I'm growing🌱

#6 I read this scripture this week. And it touched my heart. Heavenly Father loves us.

Okay thanks for reading. Remember to try your best and pray lots😊

Hermana Eastman

Chickens

Hi! Not sure how to describe this week but here's some moments.

We went to the Abarca family for dinner last Sunday and yesterday as well. I think I've decided that I love them😅 Last sunday they invited us out of the blue to come over and eat hamburgers (of all things) with them. They are big believers in making us eat as much as possible until we explode. We had hamburgers AND hotdogs AND tamales🤢🤮 then we found out they have almost 100 chickens so of course I HAD to investigate. It was pouring rain so we could only see some of them. But when we went back yesterday it was nice and sunny. We ate alambres which is basically a MOUNTAIN of cooked bell peppers and onions with a smaller mountain of greasy carne al pastor on top followed by mini mountains of sliced ham and queso fresco. Pretty good but I wanted to throw up by the end. They literally have sooo many chickens. Hna Abarca loves them. We got a whole chicken tour topped off with an unplanned chicken fight. My favorite thing was seeing Hno's mom, a very old little mexican lady, walking around everywhere (including in the house) with a big ol chicken under her arm. Oh man it killed me.

We had visitors in our mission! We learned tons of good stuff from Elder Pieper & Elder Giuffra of the 70. We had lots of zoom calls and an in person conference too. My favorite part of their teaching was that they always used the scriptures to teach. They would share scriptures with us and help us pull out principles that we apply to us! Such great examples. I got to interview with one of them which was super cool.

Wednesday was the real kicker for me. What an absolute mess of a day. Moral of the story: I'm back in Sienna. I have flipped back between Sienna and MoCity every couple of weeks for the past 4 months. Same zone same building same area pretty much, but english and spanish. Flip flop flip flop. So now we're in a trio with Hna koopmans! This isn't a permanent change though, just till the end of the transfer in 2 weeks.

That means we're covering 3 wards which also means we went to 3 church meetings this sunday. We were at the church for 7 hours😅 

Anyway yeah:)

Hermana Eastman 

John 12:26 was a scripture I liked this week

Surprise!

To whom it may concern,

Lol it's me. Surprise my pday is actually today! We have special guest stars coming to the great thsm next week so our pday got zapped. We get a pday today instead! Que interesante.

So I just thought I would say I'm still alive. Since it's only been a couple days since my last email... I have limited pictures. Heres me with a polaroid of Sister LaFleur (love you courtney:')♡), my breakfast yesterday, and some pictures of the sky aka my favorite creation

Spiritual crumb for yall:

"Yes, brothers and sisters, this is a gospel of grand expectations, but God’s grace is sufficient for each of us. Discouragement is not the absence of adequacy but the absence of courage, and our personal progress should be yet another way we witness to the wonder of it all!"

-Elder Neal A Maxwell

Hermana Eastman 

Oh P.S. I Hit 10 Months!

Hey team👋

Well another week here in Texas! It was.. something else, I'll sum it up real quick.

I ate street tacos and the BEST pineapple agua fresca that has ever graced this earth. Mm. 

A member gave us giant apples. Hence the picture.

It rained superrrr hard for a solid hour one day and I just sat in front of the window soaking in how awesome it was. Our apartment almost flooded though so that's not gReAt.

We went on exchanges! I got to revisit Sienna and spend some time with Hna Koopmans who I love so much! 

We had a stakewide training about a pilot program for some updates (idk how to describe it but its #stressful) and I saw some old friends!! My old ward mission leader from Brazos and his wife who were our neighbors in the barn :') happy times. 

Missionary work moves forward, be nice to people, my companion is amazing, texas is hottt, keep trying your best.

For I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up. (D&C 84:88)

Hermana Eastman

Oh ps do you want to hear a funny story? Okay so this just sums up how things are going haha. Today we went out for lunch and I parked next to a truck. Then as we were getting out of the car, I turned to Hermana Smith to say something. Then, to my surprise, I walked straight into a long wooden plank that was sticking out of the truck bed. Even more unfortunate was the fact that my short head sits right at truck bed level, so my poor nose and eye socket took the brunt of it😅 it's okay though because I'm not bruised. But it was just a good giggle for everyone nearby. Anyway that's my story.

Y'all Ain't Ready For This

Alright so first of all I'd like to say that I have 3 misquito bites on my shin that are in the exact formation of Orions belt. Nature is beautiful. 

So MANY things have happened this week and so to spice things up, this weeks edition of my email will be in newspaper form. It might be long so if you have to wait in any Costco lines or sit in a dentists office, this will be perfect.

Front page (above the fold) headline:

NOT JUST THE CHICKEN WAS CHEWED AT CHICKFILA

Early on friday morning our mission had a zoom call about OYMs ("open your mouth" street contacts) and Hermana smith and I were SO hyped to get out and talk to people. This is really the only time i can be so bold and stick out among the common folk as a missionary. Every minute of my mission counts. And if I have to be awkward, at least I'm doing it for the Lord. So anyway Hna smith and I had a great comp study about what we can do to be better. And we prayed that we might be placed in the right places at the right times. So then we went to chick fil a for lunch (of course) and as we were sitting outside we saw a man walk up to order. I thought to myself "I just know were going to talk to this man." So I waved and smiled like a polite little Hna eastman does. Then he said "are you guys sisters or something?" Meaning biologically and obviously not because we dont look the same but that's okay because it was a great transition into missionary work. But when we told him what church we belong to his disposition turned more sour than the pickles on my chicken sandwich. He began to talk down to us and said he knew a lot about our beliefs. I asked him then if he knew any members and he said no. I was like... interesting. Then he said "I just dont believe Joseph Smith will judge me after this life." And we were like "....yeah same. We dont believe that either." And he was like "that's not true." And we said "we believe in Jesus Christ." And he then he said "you're lying." I said to myself "?? sir. how...does that...make sense...?" I don't think I've ever had someone tell me I was lying about my own beliefs hahaha. Unfortunately for this man I enjoy a good wholesome argument and I was about to whip out my arsenal of intelligence but luckily for us both, Hermana Smith came in with her sweet testimony of Jesus Christ and God's love. She's the best!! And saved me from something that wouldn't have benefited anyone. This man still wasn't having it bless his heart and told us some not great things and when we asked to share a scripture he said no. So then we took the L and went on our way. I was so flustered I left behind like 5 waffle fries which is the second biggest tragedy in this story. The first being that this guy, who I know God loves so much, hasn't accepted the blessings of the gospel. But I know God is aware of him. And I know that was an answer to our prayers. We didn't even feel defeated afterward, we saw it as an answer to prayer to get to talk to someone and defend our beliefs.

Sports section:

Hermana Smith is like an Olympian I swear. Our morning exercises consist of a marathon, then a triathlon, then a weightlifting competition, complete with a race through an American ninja warrior course. All in the comforts of our own parking lot. I have never sweat so much. I could pour a water bottle on my head and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But it makes us feel energized. Nothing like the pain of sore legs to keep you going!

Economics:

Due to a lack of planning on our part, we have run out of toilet paper twice this week. But luckily, thanks to the help of the neighboring Manvel missionaries and our church custodian closet, we have stayed afloat🥴

Food and beverage:

Miracles in missouri city. I, Hermana Eastman, she who has the appetite of an adolescent squirrel, ate 7 tacos at a members house this week. Sevennnnnn. I was so proud of myself!! The following day I had 4 tostadas and I know my mom has just fainted at the thought. Unheard of. 

Nature:

We went to go help a member paint her porch. I've come to identify her house as the "red wasp house." There is a particular type of wasp, an alarming red, that haunts me. They are big and scary. And they are always at her house. But this woman, Hermana Garcia, has no fear. When the wasps got close to us and we were scared, she came out with a dish towel and swatted them to their graves!! I asked her if she was scared of them and she said "no. They don't sting me. I killed two this morning in my house."🤯🤯 Then I went inside her house and I saw the evidence. See picture below of the horror. 

Fire:

As we were out knocking doors, we saw a thick column of black smoke rising out of the trees. It was right next to a house of a former we were hoping to meet. But then we realized that the fire was coming from behind a gas tank and so we decided not to go near that... we pulled of to the side of the road because the fire trucks were driving by!!! They put out the fire so it's okay now. 

Travel:

We helped some ladies in our apartment complex carry some suitcases up the stairs. When we asked if we could help they look at each other and then asked us if we speak spanish. I said "why yes! We do!" It was awesome. They're just visiting for a little bit. Come to find out, they're from Barranquilla Colombia WHICH just happens to be where my FAVORITE temple is!!! So it was an awesome opportunity to share a little piece of the gospel and make friends. Miracle.

The most important things:

We got to go to 2 baptisms this week!! Two young boys in our ward were baptized. And we had a friend who's not a member of the church come and see! It was awesome!! Our friend was asking about baptism, life after death, missionary work, primary, Jesus Christ, and all the good things that make up this gospel. How grateful I am to get to share this. 

Funnies:

An elder in our district accidentally said "nosnortros" instead of "nosotros" in our missionary coordination meeting and it made me die with the giggles.

Scripture: 

1 Thessalonians 2

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

God trusts us with the knowledge of His Son. He trusts us to share it.

Big hugs!

Hermana Eastman 

Buckle Up For This One

Hi everyone!!! This week=crazy. So much has happened I dont even know where to start. This was the 2020 of weeks. But in a good way.

News: Hermana Tea has gotten her wings and flown home like an eagle. I'm now in Missouri City🤯 back in my old area and training Hermana Smith!! Can you believe it? I certainly cannot. That means they're whitewashing Sienna. Crazy times. I wrote so many sticky notes everywhere to help them take over the area. 

Haha okay last week I bought this game where you put the dentist thingys that keep your mouth open in your mouth and you try to talk. I tried to convince my district to play but they're too shy... hahaha but I thought it was funny. Hna tea will kill me but I'll include a picture.

Hermana Tea and I drove by IHOP on thursday and I said "I like IHOP. Why haven't we gone yet??" So then the next day we said "let's go to ihop" and we did our daily planning at ihop🤪 dreams do come true. 

I went on such a fun exchange up in the city with Hermanas Barker and Ferguson while Hermana Tea got to go to the temple and GUESS WHAT we found out that Hna barkers boyfriend was my neighbor in meridian Idaho when I was 5 years old. We were in shock. What a turn of events. It was so fun to be in a city spanish area for a couple hours. And I got to make new friends! Win win I'd say.

THE MAIN EVENT.

Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Guess where Hermana eastman got to go this past saturday. I'll give you a hint: it's the best place in the world and you love to see it and theres a golden man on top..... you know what it is??

THE TEMPLE!!!!  I got to go to the temple!! Milagro my friends! A member in our ward was going for the first time and he invited us. We drove up with some members and on the street leading to the temple there are some really nice houses. I thought "wow" but then we got to the temple and I thought "not even the nicest house on this street compares to how beautiful the temple is." It's so beautiful. And a mini miracle was that there were some members from the Brazos branch (my og area!!) Doing baptisms that we got to see. I only cried 3 times in the temple which is pretty good considering I have leaky faucets for eyeballs. Needless to say, it was spectacular. What a gift the temple is!! A place where we can literally have a glimpse of heaven. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father, His plan, and His Son Jesus Christ who makes it all possible. I know it's true. 

Oh and then guess what. As if the day couldn't get any better, we got chick fil a for lunch. 😭 I wept for joy. Can you even think of anything better? ..I'll wait

Sunday was full of sad goodbyes. It was like at the end of toy story 3 when Andy drives away from all his toys. So just picture that scene and that's how I feel. But just like those toys, I'm happy to see my friends go off to their next great adventure. Oh also it was 100000 degrees at the mission office yesterday so that's why everyone looks like they just ran a 5k through the Sahara desert. And by everyone I mean me.

"Hermana Eastman! Hermana Eastman! Won't you share a scripture with us??" 

Oh absolutely, I'm so glad you asked.

D&C 58:3 Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation

Good things are coming, even when you cant see them:)

Hermana Eastman 

Short Little Email From A Short Little Missionary

Good week! Lots of work! Here are some pictures! 

Funny highlights: we accidentally scheduled two dinners in one night... needless to say we were near to exploding. We also walked around in the SCORCHING heat looking for people to teach! My face was read and sweaty and everywhere was just damp. But I knew I was giving the Lord my all. ALSO I got to go INSIDE a chickfila for the first time in over a year. I was shedding tears because I was so happy. We went on an exchange with President Richard's daughter and again, we walked in the BLISTERING heat. Not much success but we had fun. She's so awesome! I love the Lord and I am so happy to get to serve Him. I also have realized how awesome it is to know this gospel. It changed everything, including myself😊