Familia!!
Esta semana ha sido, quizas, la mas loca semana que cualqier otra semana en mi vida!! No sé cuando debo empezar, espero que ustedes estan preparados, porque esta carta va a estar loco y quizas no tendrá sentido!
What a week!! The airplane ride was awesome, the best part was taking off and landing! Let me tell you though, when we got in Mexico City and got walking around the airplane, it happened.... We realized we didnt know spanish! Everyone was talking so fast it was crazy! We went to get food and when we saw that a couple of tacos were 70 bucks, we were kinda freaking out for a little bit, but then realized that we were in Mexico and everything is in pesos, so we felt a little better after that. The first thing I noticed when we got off of the plane in Veracruz was the humidity. It hit us like a brick wall as we walked off the plane.
We got to Veracruz at about 9 at night where we were greeted by Presidente Treviño and his wife, and the APs. We went to Presidents house and ate some lanzana stuff....amazing. Him and his wife are incredible, so nice and they have a great sense of humor. That night we stayed in the mission offices and the next morning we had a meeting with all the new missionaries for a couple of hours, just like an orientation type deal. At this point, an orientation was appropiate, because, we were lost as could be, haha. Then we met our trainers, my companions name is Elder Thomson, he is from Jordan Utah,went to copper hills high school and has about 6 months left. We get along really well and he is really helpful. His spanish is really good too, and he has a good relationship with alot of the members here. We are assigned to an area called Poza Rica, its about 5 hours away from the actual city of Veracruz where the mission home and offices are, it was a looooong bus ride there, I was feeling a little homesick and didnt know spanish and just ate some mexican candy that didnt taste like candy and some lady got on the bus and was trying to sell us dried banana peels with hot sauce on them, (which were actually really good) but ya I was soooo lost, haha it was awesome.
So far, if I could describe my week in one word, it would be Magnifico! We stay in a house with Hermano and Hermana Luna, they are sooooooooooooooo. They are an older couple (members) and have just always rented out a room upstairs to the missionaries. We are actually really blessed because we have hot water, we use their washing machine and hang dry all of our clothes, and we have air conditioning in our room. Of course though, the room has personality just as any mission room should. The light in the bathroom flickers on and off, sometimes we have light and sometimes we don't. The bathroom is so small that if you wanted to, you couldn't get dressed or undressed in it. The walls are bright orange, and we have a refrigerator and one little stove thing that fits one pot. The view from the top of the house in incredible, you can see all of Poza Rica.
The gift of tongues is soooooo true. The first of the week I understood nothing, everyone was talking so fast and I was so nervouse that there was no way I could even think straight. Last night we ate dinner at a members house with a family of like 7 or 8 and I understood close to all of it!! I was so happy. Everyone says I have really good spanish, escpecially for only being here a week. After we meet someone new and talk to them for a couple minutes and I can actually talk to them pretty good, they ask me how long ive been in mexico and I tell them a week, every time they say " ¿pero en verdad?, porque me intiende!" Its kinda cool. Sometime I can understand like everything, sometimes nothing, some people are easier to understand more than others, but the spanish is for sure coming along fast. Believe me, Im praying like theres no tommorrow, and my prayers are being answered!
I have like 5 pages more stuff that I want to tell you all, but im out of time! We have a baptism set up for this saturday, i will tell you how it goes! Also we actually recieve packages and mail here, just send them to the mission office! We only pick up mail like every couple of week though because we have to be in Veracruz for some reason. Also, I dont know if i will have time to write too many letters, we are a little more busy on these p days in the mission than in the mtc! But if I every have time i will try!
I love you all sooooo much! Thank you for your prayers and I hope all is well at home!!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
No word yet
Most missions have their P-days on Monday, so we are hoping to receive an email then. We will post it as soon as we can. We're excited to hear about his first week.
Becky
Becky
Monday, February 13, 2012
TYLER IS IN MEXICO!!!
The visas went through faster than we expected. He arrived in Mexico City around 2:30 this afternoon and has a 5 hour layover and should be in Veracruz by around 8:30 tonight. This is the first free moment I've had to let you know where he is.
He called us Saturday morning and we got to talk for a whole 5 minutes to find out what was going on. And then we talked to him this morning for 10 minutes from the airport. He sounds fantastic-- very excited and very scared. He loved the MTC but is "STOKED" to get out in the real world and talk (or at least try to talk) to real investigators.
Thanks for all the love and support you show Tyler.
Love,
Becky
He called us Saturday morning and we got to talk for a whole 5 minutes to find out what was going on. And then we talked to him this morning for 10 minutes from the airport. He sounds fantastic-- very excited and very scared. He loved the MTC but is "STOKED" to get out in the real world and talk (or at least try to talk) to real investigators.
Thanks for all the love and support you show Tyler.
Love,
Becky
Thursday, February 9, 2012
VISAS ON THE WAY, DEPARTURE DATE STILL UNKNOWN
Hola familia! Solamente tengo 15 minutos para escribir, entonces estara corto, lo siento! (I only have 15 minutes to write so it will be short, sorry).
So we went to the consolate in Salt Lake today, it was an interesting experience. The building was completely spanish, the posters on the wall, flags, the people, the tvs, it was funny, we felt like we were in Mexico. They took our picture and fingerprints and then started to have us sign our paper work. (this was after we had waited probably an hour and a half). They got about 6 elders done with the paper work (there were about 25 of us) and then there was this huge delay and no Elders were called up for like 45 minutes (we had two maestras with us who were helping) and they told us that apparently the consolate had run out of the official paper documents that they use to make the visas, or something like this, I dunno, I never got the full story. But the paper they print the Visas on are obviously offical documents from Mexico and apparently there was a problem with them....
So the maestras were telling us that we might have to come back in a couple days or next week... we had literally been there for 3 hours at this point, and it was hot in the building. We were all hot, sweaty and tired, and we couldn't believe what we were hearing. Elder Wheeler and I were like no, we are getting this settled today. So we both said a silent prayer and 15 minutes later they started calling people back up to the front desk again to sign the paper work, and we all got to complete it. Honestly, I have no idea what was going on, I don't know anything about how the visas work, nobody really does, haha. I only know that we were going to have to wait even longer, but because Heavenly Father answers prayers, we were all able to get the paper work done. : )
We are not sure when were are leaving, we heard the visas can take from 3-7 days to come, so we will see what happens. We are praying for Monday or Tuesday though! But all the paper work and everything is done, now it's just the waiting game! It was an interesting day, to say the least. At the end of tomorrow, we are going to be down to 6 Elders in our district because 3 of them will have gone to their state-side missions.
Espero que todo este bien! Por favor ore por nuestras visas! Les amo mas que pueden saber! (I hope that all is well. Please pray for our visas. I love you more than you can know).
Mucho Amor!!! Elder Eastmond
So we went to the consolate in Salt Lake today, it was an interesting experience. The building was completely spanish, the posters on the wall, flags, the people, the tvs, it was funny, we felt like we were in Mexico. They took our picture and fingerprints and then started to have us sign our paper work. (this was after we had waited probably an hour and a half). They got about 6 elders done with the paper work (there were about 25 of us) and then there was this huge delay and no Elders were called up for like 45 minutes (we had two maestras with us who were helping) and they told us that apparently the consolate had run out of the official paper documents that they use to make the visas, or something like this, I dunno, I never got the full story. But the paper they print the Visas on are obviously offical documents from Mexico and apparently there was a problem with them....
So the maestras were telling us that we might have to come back in a couple days or next week... we had literally been there for 3 hours at this point, and it was hot in the building. We were all hot, sweaty and tired, and we couldn't believe what we were hearing. Elder Wheeler and I were like no, we are getting this settled today. So we both said a silent prayer and 15 minutes later they started calling people back up to the front desk again to sign the paper work, and we all got to complete it. Honestly, I have no idea what was going on, I don't know anything about how the visas work, nobody really does, haha. I only know that we were going to have to wait even longer, but because Heavenly Father answers prayers, we were all able to get the paper work done. : )
We are not sure when were are leaving, we heard the visas can take from 3-7 days to come, so we will see what happens. We are praying for Monday or Tuesday though! But all the paper work and everything is done, now it's just the waiting game! It was an interesting day, to say the least. At the end of tomorrow, we are going to be down to 6 Elders in our district because 3 of them will have gone to their state-side missions.
Espero que todo este bien! Por favor ore por nuestras visas! Les amo mas que pueden saber! (I hope that all is well. Please pray for our visas. I love you more than you can know).
Mucho Amor!!! Elder Eastmond
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
????????
We still have not received word about the status of Tyler's visa and if he will be waiting in the MTC or if he will be transferred elsewhere. As soon as we hear anything we will let you know.
Mommy Eastmond
Mommy Eastmond
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Problemas con visas!
Well, it's hard to say this, but there is no way we are going to be leaving on time. There are 94 missionaries going to Mexico this monday and only 12 of them have their Visas. We aren't supposed to hear what's even going on until next week sometime...Apparently we don't even have our premisos yet, and then we have to go to the consolate, then we sign our visas, and THEN we get our travel plans. So we are like 3 or 4 steps behind and we are scheduled to leave in 4 days.
This has been an up and down week with all this happening. We have been waiting everyday to get some word of something, or get our plans in the mail since last thursday, and it's just not happening. I know that there is probably a good reason for it, and I know that we will get there eventually, but it's killing all of us right now. I'm soooo excited and so ready to go do all this for reals, and it's just hard to wait more. Ten weeks in the MTC is a long time, and we might have to end up waiting two or three more, I dunno. I love the MTC but there's only so much spanish we can learn here without being immersed in it, and if we stay another two weeks we won't even have a legitament teacher, and I'm just ready to start my actual mission. But, I'm sure there is some good that will come out of it, God knows a whole lot more than we know about the big picture than I do, so I'm just trying to be happy and to trust him right now.
On the bright side, we have our two baptism dates set up for this saturday (everyone in our District does) with Manuel and Johana. They both look like they are going to follow through with it so hopefully all goes well. Hermana Ellsworth told us that nobody has ever baptized Johana yet, so hopefully our District can be the first.
This Tuesday for the devotional, it was the 50th anniversary of the MTC, and guess who came to speak?? Elder Holland and Elder Nelson! It was a little differant than what we were all expecting, Elder Holland only spoke for like 10 mnutes and Elder Nelson talked about the History of the MTC, but it was still amazing. The spirit was so strong, just testifying how real it is that these men are called of God.
Mom and dad, the ties are THE BIGGEST hit here, you are the best!! (We sent the whole district the same tie).
Everybody was just freaking out though, just going off about how cool my parents are. I was like "ya... I know!" :) We all wore them on sunday and for the devotional on Tuesday, it was hilarious. Every one in our zone kept coming into the class room and double-taking, asking where we got the cool ties from. Thanks again, so much!! Mom and dad, you are the greatest and coolest parents in the mundo. It's good to have fun little things like that to spice up life at the MTC. Also thanks for the candy and letter, and grandma, thank you for the cards, my companions loved them! Devin, I hope you know that you started all of this, with your present to me for Christmas! Bien hecho. I love you Parker!! (hadn't mentioned your name yet, just wanted to make sure that I don't get the "what about me??" question, haha)
Our district got to be host missionaries this week, it was a great experience. Me and my companions were in charge of traffic control, we got to use radios! (pretty exciting stuff right thur) I was stationed at the top, Elder Lee was in the middle, and Elder Wheeler was at the bottom. (In relation to the parking spots 1-25) We just basically directed all the cars and radioed to eachother to make sure everything was going smoothly, the radios got preeeetty entertaining, it was fun. I love my companions so much, they are my best friends, and I'm lucky to have both of them. We have kept eachother sane this week for sure.
Well I love you and miss you all and pray for you in every prayer!! Please pray for our visas, I will try to let you know asap when we get news of our situation!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Eastmond
This has been an up and down week with all this happening. We have been waiting everyday to get some word of something, or get our plans in the mail since last thursday, and it's just not happening. I know that there is probably a good reason for it, and I know that we will get there eventually, but it's killing all of us right now. I'm soooo excited and so ready to go do all this for reals, and it's just hard to wait more. Ten weeks in the MTC is a long time, and we might have to end up waiting two or three more, I dunno. I love the MTC but there's only so much spanish we can learn here without being immersed in it, and if we stay another two weeks we won't even have a legitament teacher, and I'm just ready to start my actual mission. But, I'm sure there is some good that will come out of it, God knows a whole lot more than we know about the big picture than I do, so I'm just trying to be happy and to trust him right now.
On the bright side, we have our two baptism dates set up for this saturday (everyone in our District does) with Manuel and Johana. They both look like they are going to follow through with it so hopefully all goes well. Hermana Ellsworth told us that nobody has ever baptized Johana yet, so hopefully our District can be the first.
This Tuesday for the devotional, it was the 50th anniversary of the MTC, and guess who came to speak?? Elder Holland and Elder Nelson! It was a little differant than what we were all expecting, Elder Holland only spoke for like 10 mnutes and Elder Nelson talked about the History of the MTC, but it was still amazing. The spirit was so strong, just testifying how real it is that these men are called of God.
Mom and dad, the ties are THE BIGGEST hit here, you are the best!! (We sent the whole district the same tie).
Everybody was just freaking out though, just going off about how cool my parents are. I was like "ya... I know!" :) We all wore them on sunday and for the devotional on Tuesday, it was hilarious. Every one in our zone kept coming into the class room and double-taking, asking where we got the cool ties from. Thanks again, so much!! Mom and dad, you are the greatest and coolest parents in the mundo. It's good to have fun little things like that to spice up life at the MTC. Also thanks for the candy and letter, and grandma, thank you for the cards, my companions loved them! Devin, I hope you know that you started all of this, with your present to me for Christmas! Bien hecho. I love you Parker!! (hadn't mentioned your name yet, just wanted to make sure that I don't get the "what about me??" question, haha)
Our district got to be host missionaries this week, it was a great experience. Me and my companions were in charge of traffic control, we got to use radios! (pretty exciting stuff right thur) I was stationed at the top, Elder Lee was in the middle, and Elder Wheeler was at the bottom. (In relation to the parking spots 1-25) We just basically directed all the cars and radioed to eachother to make sure everything was going smoothly, the radios got preeeetty entertaining, it was fun. I love my companions so much, they are my best friends, and I'm lucky to have both of them. We have kept eachother sane this week for sure.
Well I love you and miss you all and pray for you in every prayer!! Please pray for our visas, I will try to let you know asap when we get news of our situation!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Eastmond
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