July 28, 2014

 so we had a baptism! so cool! his name is kevin and he is 10 and his family is the cutest!

his dad has worked so hard and was able to get the priesthood and baptize him, and confirm him as a member and give him the gift of the holy ghost!

it was so special and the cutest things ever(((: i was so happy!

also!!! SO FUN BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!

i invited an investigator to be baptized! for august 30th!

his name is juan carlos, and we met with him once and talked about the restoration. then the second time we met with him, we read from 3 Nephi 11 when Jesus is ministering to the people. and my heart was beating so fast and the spirit was with me and i invited him! and he said yes and it was wonderful!! i am so excited it made me so happy-cause i was in spanish too! it really helped me :) we see him Wednesday i am so excited to continue teaching him and watching him progress to baptism!(:

my mission president was so sweet, he emailed me and told me lots of nice things haha and gave me a scripture to read, i think its 2 kings 6:16, it was so nice of him-he's the best!

and also fun fact im starting to get tanlines! haha from my watch and my HLJ ring, -- Has lo justo -- do the just--choose the right :) thats exciting to me haha

also i get to ride my bike again this week! so pumped about that! its gonna be so hot and its so humid and crazy, but i love it and im excited:)

also this cute little girl at church yesterday told me i smell like a unicorn sooo holla.

also i tried mole this week! its like a cocoa spicy sauce you put with chicken, lots of people dont like it but i loved it i thought it was so good! haha what! so that was exciting (:

and also yesterday at church they introduced me!  i went up and talked about my self and bore my testimony and it was kinda like super scary but i did it! and its funny cause that morning in branch council, i felt bad cause the presidency was kinda making fun of my spanish i felt like, so when i sat down after speaking, they were impressed hah so i felt better.

the ward is so sweet to me, theyre so encouraging and supportive! i feel a lot better this week:) i love my ward mission leader! i need a pic with him. hes just so sweet and says the best things to me, like i played the piano for the baptism but i was a little rusty cause i havent practiced for a while, so he said thank you to me and i said sorry it wasnt thr best and things like taht, and he said no you tried and i am thankful. as long as you try, youre doing what you should be.

and it made me feel so good! cause im trying so hard with EVERYthing! and i know i am working my hardest and doing my best :)

another sweet thing he said to me was "as a missionary youre never comfortable, but when youre out of your comfort zone thats when you grow the most." and that was what i needed to hear! cause everything i do is sooo far out of my comfort zone. but i still work hard to be more comfortable and confident, and i know i can do it cause i know the lord is on my side :) 

one elder i knew from the beginning of being here in tennessee, is going home tomorrow! he was the PA for a while so him and all those other elders came and picked us up from the airport! they are all so happy and inspire me to work hard so i can be a good missionary like they are (: Anyways, he was so nice to me and has said so many encouraging things to me to help me out. my favorite was, "take your imperfections and make them perfect."

and i know i am working on those, and i will be okay!(: 

im working so hard on my spanish, and im participating a lot more in the lessons and knocking so i am happy with that! i know the lord is helping me and watching over me and he knows what hes doing, and i know hes guiding me :)

ps fun fact there are fireflies here and oh my gosh im in love!! its so cool!

i love you guys so much!!

-hermana eastwood

Paige is loving her new bike!

Paige and her trainer eating some "authentic Tennessee sushi"

Back in the USA! July 21, 2014

hola!!!

first of all-my ride to the airport in mexico was an adventure-he went 100 the entire way at 3 am, and i threw up 5 minutes away from the air[port. oh it was so fun. haha EW NOT!!!

 

anyways the flights were good and we were safe-and talked to some people in between sleeping, and gave away some BOMs and our testimonies it was great:)

and i got to Tennessee and slept in the mish prez's home-they are AWESOME! find her on FB maybe-machel Anderson

she put pics on;)

and we have ipads and I'll be able to be on Facebook in a few months if i want idk yet. haha but the ipad is sick i get to look up talks and stuff and it helps me!

 

k so i got to my area-called Murfreesboro TN, right right next to MTSU-middle tennessee state university. maybe ill get to see lots of people to teach in august when school starts!

and also my trainer is Hermana Smith-from west jordan she is the sweetest! i love her to death. she always tells me how good I'm doing in Spanish and shes just so sweet. and she kinda had a hard time at the beginning too, so she tells me about her experience to let me know that its normal to feel how I'm feeling.

this is so scary! its so overwhelming and i pretty much have zero confidence and I'm nervous all the time.

sorry^^

but its okay shes given me a bunch of talks to read and they help tons. and i love her. she is an amazing missionary and i hope to be like her one day, i keep working so hard. i keep reminding myself I've been here a week and shes been here for 10 months, if i keep working hard i will be better.

I've literally never worked harder for anything in my life-and that's saying something cause i worked so hard in school, gymnastics, and piano..everything i do i work hard, but this is different. I've invested all of me into this work, because it is so important.

 

i have a few stories to share:

yesterday was my first sunday and i kinda wanted to die. it was so hard and overwhelming. so much spanish and MUY RAPIDO! :( but i kept trying. and in the morning i read a lot about patience in Preach My Gospel under christlike attributes- hey i really encourage you to spend maybe 30 minutes to study this, it is amazing.

and i just learned how i need to be patient with myself. and with my trials. my trials right now are that i am lacking the confidence i need, and the spanish is hard...anyways, so i remembered what i learned that morning when it was the end of church and i wanted to die. 

it was so hard i honestly was like why am i even here!? I'm not helping anyone I'm literally taking up space. i was struggling and I was dying so hard. and i could not do it anymore. 

sorry that is so sad and depressing. haha but i ended up having a good day-and the rest of this letter will tell you what happened. 

 

then we also went and taught 3 families;and that helped alot! seeing the children and the entire family struggling, but hearing them talk about jesus and what we can do to be good was so sweet. the kids said answers like, pray, help others, love, keep the commandments, be nice, just cute simple things like that that sometimes i think we forget about. we just need to do those simple things and the lord will help us even more. i love love that we need to become innocent like a child, cause its so true! i saw that yesterday and they are the ones who really helped me.

 

next is the family we went to, 10 yr old kevin is getting bapttized on saturday! we taught him the Word of Wisdom. and his dad speaks only spanish so during dinner and while i helped him clean up, he helped me with spanish. everyone is SO willing to help me-its amazing, and its cool cause they just barely met me and they love me enough to see I'm struggling, and to help me. That's how i know i am in the right place, cause the lord knows i need help, and hes prepared these people to open their hearts and homes to me to help me feel better.  its so sweet. 

and then another family - these guys i just met yesterday for the first time. and they were also so sweet to me and so willing to help me. 

loving the people you serve is the most important-and its so easy for me to love others so that's a big blessing.l honestly love the people i meet and teach, from the moment i see them. its such a good feeling and i know its a blessing from the lord :)

 

basically what I'm saying now is that I'm glad i studied patience yesterday morning, cause i needed it later.

and i know that everyday is so hard for me, before my mission, i would have a bad day ya know, like normally. but here, its like each day is full of good and bad feelings. its literally an emotional roller coaster and its hard to live. but i have seen that i always get happy and feel good, so i just remember those times when I'm feeling so down. and it really helps.

 

i read Alma 17:10-11 and it taught me a lot. i love that scripture. read it its beautiful:)

I've never prayed so much in my life-i know i say that always. ahah but its true. i pray for help always and guidance and the spirit. and i know with all my heart that the lord listens, i can feel him. its beautiful. its amazing that he lets us struggle, only so that we can grow closer to him. i know he puts hard things in our life, but his design is perfect. and he knows how to help us, and how to guide us to help.

visiting those families last night, reassured my of the reason i am here. because life is so hard, there are so many different trials and situations that we are put through, but no matter what it is, this gospel can bring a light into our lives.

 

I've seen it. I've been here a week, but just talking about the miracles of this gospel, with someone for a half hour, i can really see them change! and see their heart lighten, and also their burdens. i know this gospel is true, and i know it can help us in every aspect of our lives. I'm so grateful I've been so blessed to have grown up in this gospel,. with my wonderful family :) I'm so glad i have this (hard) opportunity to share what i know, and to help someone. it is amazing.

sorry I'm rambling and all my emails are super super crazy!!

 

i might encourage you to read 2 Nephi 4:17-35, i read it this week and it's when Nephi is begging for forgiveness. i just know how easy it is to say sorry please forgive me i did this wrong, but we need to follow the example of nephi and pray with all our hearts to be forgiven. forgiveness is not a light subject, christ gave his whole life for it. we need to treat it with respect, and i learned that alot through this chapter:)

this work is so hard, but i know i can do it! i know. I've gotten the feelings that i can do it. 

i love you so much guys!!! ill try to send pictures. 

this is hard work, but I'm not giving up! I'm praying for help and strength and like i said before, i know i can do it! i just gotta work work work and have a good attitude! and work on and pray for my confidence:)

love you alllll!!!!!

 

ps the biking is SO FUN! sorry i forgot. its my favorite haha i love it!! 

and tracting is so scary!-we are required 1 hour a day)

but i love it. I love meeting the people. and its so funny we always knock on doors of men, and they love us1 it amazes me how accepting and inviting the people are. like its amazing.

the people are so nice and loving and helped me to feel better when i struggle. I'm grateful.

its so hard and i get so nervous, but i always end up feeling very grateful and happy and successful after i feel so down, i guess that's just the way this is going to work.

but i know I'm for a reason, and i just gotta keep working.

I'm thankful its Pday, maybe i can take a nap!

the first 5 minutes of the day are so hard-the alarm goes off and I'm just like no way...but as soon as i get off my knees, its better! haha also at like 7-8pm it cools down and that's when i get so tired also, so its like the best/hard time of the day. but its great

haha i love it!

this week will probs be hotter, so ill let you know how much i die. but itll be okay. know i love love you guys so much, and hearing about your support and everything really helps me so much! more than you realize. thanks for everything.:) love you!

this is my hermana ps:)

 

 

Paige and her trainer, Sister Smith from West Jordan

Paige and her MTC district.

Paige and her MTC branch president in Mexico.

 

 

July 8, 2014

HOLA!!!!

so this week was great 

before i forget-i got a letter from Grandma B!!! and i wrote her one a couple weeks ago, i hope she got it! (: her letter was so sweet and uplifting! also did you guys get my letters yet??!

anyways.

so we had an ice cream party on the 4th, so great, and i wore red white and blue and the CCM Presidents complimented me and it was great cause #browniepoints haha they're so cute! it was a fun day, and during lunch the whole cafeteria sang patriotic songs holla!

okay so also all my latino friends left this week! but its so funny cause they all wanted to email me so i gave them my email and it was just adorable haha thats all.

Also I'm dreaming in spanish! like hard core. i go to bed and i cant fall asleep cause I'm thinking in spanish haha and i dream that I'm teaching people and its in spanish and i wake up speaking spanish and its so fun! i really love spanish, obviously I'm not perfect, but I'm improving so much and I'm able to understand so much and speak so much better! love it! 

also its funny cause Beyonce is stuck in my head ALL THE DAYS! its fantastic. and one elder in my district always quotes friends with me and its so fun! (:

and also k so I'm really sick still, have been for a week, so on sunday night i asked my district leader for a priesthood blessing. and it was amazing. (yesterday i was better, but today its bad again...just fyi) all the elders in my district joined in the circle. and it was just amazing the spirit was so strong. almost the exact instant they put their hands on my head i started crying! and i heard my district leaders voice, but i felt the Lord speaking to me and it was so so amazing. the spirit was so strong and i am so grateful for the priesthood and the blessings we all can receive from this gospel. i know this church is true, and i know that we can put all our trust in the lord, and he will help us. he doesn't let us struggle for no reason, we need to have faith that everything happens to us, for our own benefit and growth. I'm so grateful I'm on my mission, and I'm learning and growing so much! my testimony is so much stronger and i have so much more faith and trust in my heavenly father, i know i can get through anything.

 i am so excited to share this beautiful message with the people of Tennessee NEXT WEEK!!!

GUYYS. holy cow next week! (: 

July 1, 2014

HOLA!!!! so this week was great, i wrote down things everyday i wanted to tell you guys so you'll actually get a kinda decent email today! haha okay so first, this is sooo cute! we got latina hermanas in our casa, and they are the funnest! they help me with my spanish cause i practice talking to them-my spanish is improving A TON by the way! I'm so happy!:) anyways, so this one latina hermana had a cute bow in her hair, and i was like oh me gusta (i like that,) and she took it out of her hair and gave it to me! haha it was so cute and now i have an adorable bow! and i wrote her a thank you note, in spanish, and gave it to her, then the next day she came up to me and was like "your note was so sweet it made me cry I'm gonna put it in my journal tonight i love you,"

okay also on sunday, i gave the lesson for sunday school on being an example-it was scary haha but i did it and it was great! it went really well and i know its because I've been praying for the spirit and help- it was a great experience. also i played the piano for sacrament meeting which was great it was so fun! I'm so glad i can play-our sacrament meeting is with the entire zone, like 30 missionaries, and the branch presidency and sometimes their families-its in this cute little room and its so good, and they randomly pick like 5-6 missionaries to give a talk, so we all prepare one for every week. i was picked again! 2nd talk, holla at me ;) it was on personal revelation and i did really well. i do have a problem though, haha cause i always smile and laugh and I'm wondering if that drives the spirit away, or what so idk i wanna work on that. so sunday was great as usual!

and also tonight our zone is singing for the devotional, Gran Eres Tu, (how great thou art) and it is funny cause i joined the choir the first week (LOL) then quit cause well obvious reasons i cant sing, but then yeah iim singing tonight haha but its so pretty! i LOVE singing the spanish hymns they sound so good and really bring in the spirit.

and this is cool, the other night i wrote in my journal entirely in spanish so it was sick! i felt amazing haha

and I'm learning so much! i love it- i love the spirit i feel and how happy i am. my district is amazing cause we have times where we goof off together, but then the spirit we share with each other is absolutely wonderful and i love it. 

ALSO at gym everyday i play volleyball and basketball and not to brag or anything but i basically almost wreck everyones day in speed-haha like 2 times i almost won! it was down to me and one other elder, lets just say i let him win;) haha but gym is so fun i love it! and I'm able to work out for like 20 minutes in the morning, its not much but its better than nothing! i can run and do sit ups and push ups and i actually get sore its funny haha but its good!

oh and holla at you guys for the 4th of july this week-just remember while you're celebrating americas birthday, you're also celebrating my 1month mark!! light off at least 30 fireworks for me okay?:)

it rains all the time here i love love it! so fun we run through it to our houses haha i love it but its cold but no one cares! haha

also its great cause guess what i have 1 more p-day here!!!!! in 2 weeks ill be in Tennessee! wowowowowowoW!!!

also Hermana Hoferitza and i got called to serve as sister trainers, we are over 10 sisters in our zone, its great hah well we haven't had to do anything yet cause we don't till fridays, but its cool to have another responsibility. 

i finished teaching my 2 investigators, and out of the 3 I've had, all of them are getting baptized hehe:) we get two new ones on wednesday!

also i saw elder bartlett FINALLY! id been waiting all week and finally on saturday i saw him. He's doing great! it was great to see him that day too cause i was struggling and sad and then he was like PAIGE and I'm like wait who is saying my name no one knows that and it was just great fun. haha him and his companion are adorable and their classroom is right next to mine so i see him always! also i got the package from him-oh my gosh it was lovely. my district loves you for the candy-thanks so much!!!!:)

oh also its amazing cause they HAVE CAKE POPS IN THE STORE! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

also thats basically me week-wait one more thing haha its a great thing cause theres this AWESOME virus going around, and I'm so sick. haha like its awful. and its funny cause our whole district is sick so we all know what were all going through, so we feel for each other and pray for each other. its terrible its literally like theres a demon in my stomach haha like the exorcism movies haha. other than that, its great great great being a missionary!! i love it and i love learning here :) love you all so much, and miss you!!

PS: I've been assigned to TUTOR AN ELDER IN MY DISTRICT IN SPANISH! that must mean I'm pretty good haha its great cause he's parkers twin and i love him!

anyways bye

June 24th, 2014

sup! so this week was good. i only have 10 minutes left to write this I'm sorry!! but its been good. 

k its really hard and I'm still so scared and nervous and anxious but, its good cause i get to feel the spirit all the time!! its amazing! i cant believe the love that the lord has for every single one of us. i love it. i love being able to learn about Christ's life, and his sacrifices for us. and everything. i am so happy i am here, working in place of christ, to bring his children to him. and to save them.

i am so thankful for families. its so hard being away from you guys, but i know its for a good reason, because i know well be together for eternity. but those people in Tennessee, they don't know that. and the lord needs me to share that glorious truth with them. i am so blessed for this opportunity! 

today we got to go OUTSIDE OF THE CCM! ahhh yes! to visit the Mexico city temple (under construction) so the visitors center. so amazing, and the spirit was so strong. i got the impressions that i am going to have a great mission, touch so many peoples lives, and even tho spanish is hard and i cant speak that great, the lord is on my side and he is helping me every step of the way. even when i feel alone and like he's not there, i later realize he is. and that i learn from the times I'm at my lowest. i am grateful for prayer, and the power each of us are blessed with to be able to talk with god at anytime. i am so thankful for the plan of salvation, and I'm so happy i get to share it with others.

i love Mexico why can i not leave the ccm more! hahah its so crazy and fun and ugh. i will send lots of pictures!:) i love you guys so much and i love this church!i miss you like crazy, but i know I'm where I'm supposed to be. i know if we pray to the lord, specifically, he will help us. he is always there and he loves us so much, and he wants to hear from us! i pray for you guys all day everyday, and i know you're okay. thank you for everything!

sorry this email is weird, its not about anything that really happened this week, but just my testimony which is okay right?:) i love you!!!!!! thanks for everything!

PS: Holla its my halfway mark! haha 3 more weeks to go! party. haha sorry maybe you can add this to my blog too.

thanks so so much for doing that! my friends tell me they love it, even my comps mom! haha

thanks so much, i love you all so much and i cant wait to see you haha in 17 months no biggie, but its chill! i love you!!!

talk to you next week:)

June 17th, 2014

hello family!!!! so last tuesday at the devotional, oh my gosh so funny it rained so hard!!! it flooded the auditorium haha and we were on the front row and had to move to the back and it was hilarious. and also it was cool cause quentin l cook spoke for like 30 minutes about nothing. and then when we were finally all settled and ready and he spoke about missionary work and having confidence and knowing you're capable and stuff. it was perfect timing and i know it was from the Lord!

dad, happy fathers day!! on sunday at sacrament meeting i was crying so hard! because one of the members of our branch presidency was saying how he has already received 2 texts today from his children, and all i thougght of was i wouldve texted my dad if i could! i also wouldve hugged you so hard and cried to you how much i love you!!! i love you so much daddy! you are the most amazing dad ever and i am so lucky. you teach me so much and you inspire me to be better everyday. the branch presidency also said dont you wanna make your dad proud? and i cried even harder! dad all i want in life is to make you proud to have me as a daughter haha i'm serious, i have always lived my life with you in mind, and i really just want to make you happy:) i love you dad, i hope you had a great fathers day!!

also one more fun story:last night at 3 am we had to move houses! what! haha apparently its serious too. the carbon monoxide alarm went off cause theres a gas leak or something, haha awkward. so we moved, and I don't know if it was just for the night, or for ever! but it was an adventure. all i remember was waking up at 3 and getting into some van and being taken to a different house haha if i weren't in the CCM i would be a lot more worried haha

okay so this week was good! we got 2 new investigators : Alberto and Luiz. 

my teachers are the best!! so patient and loving and they really care about us, i am so grateful! }my spanish is improving i think.

my english is getting worse too so i think that means something haha i have a lot of bad days, but i just use the good moments to get me through the bad times. it is hard, cause i get so scared and nervous to prepare lessons and to teach them, its so scary! cause i don't know how to speak, and what i don't know how to teach!? but I'm trying really hard, and I'm not giving up. 

whoever the lord calls, the lord qualifies.

also we had a practice teaching our companions in ENGLISH and it was so easy, and we were all like what this is so easy! and our teacher is like yeah thats why you were called in spanish speaking, cause english would be too easy for you.

even though its really hard work, i'm so glad i'm here. not only so that i can bring others to the love i feel, and the peace and happiness i get when i think about our savior and all the blessings we receive from being members of this church, but also i am happy i get to strengthen my own testimony!especially on sundays and tuesdays (devotionals) because i really get to focus on myself, and not teaching/preparing for others. its great.

oh also watch these mormon messages : enduring love, and continue in patience.

they were great and i may or may not have cried during the first one. haha 

i love you all so much and i literally pray for you all the time! every night, morning, meal. just always. i love you all so much i hope you're all doing good, i know you are cause i pray. 

talk to you next week :)

PICTURES:

Hermana Eastwood and her companion

Hermana Eastwood in front of the Mexico MTC

Paige's instruction building

Paige and the other missionaries in her MTC district.

June 10th, 2014 - First week in the Mexico MTC!

so that family that took our pic at the airport, the missionary is in  my district! going to oklahoma, he's very nice. and i have 6 elders and me and my companion in my district. its very fun! 4 of them are going to the SLC mission LOL but i love them and its fun, its hard cause they're so distracting and they just talk while i'm trying to work, but i keep working. maybe thats why i was put with them, so i could work on my self-discipline. anyways. i know i'm put with them also because they teach me and i teach them and its good. apparently im good at spanish cause everyone asks me questions like how to say this haha its funny they're like how did you get so good? haha what!!??! anyways we sit with natives at meals cause they help me learn spanish and they're so nice and ya. and my branch president is awesome! he's like 30 or 32 but he's a cute little mexican and he's just so nice and sweet. and my teacher got off his mission 1.5 months ago and served in PRovo! so ya.

my spanish is actually coming along pretty well!!! well actually, my spanish is bad, and now my english is bad! when i speak in english i have a funny accent and i talk like i do in spanish its weird. but its fun! i am proud of myself for how i am, and i keep pushing myself to learn more. also yeah ive been able to focus which is also an amazing blessing!

the first night i freaked out SO HARD. i wasn't home sick (sorry) i just kept thinking, how in the world am i supposed to be doing this for 18 months!? i freaked out and got so scared and nervous that i would come home early. and i had those feelings even before i left, and i still do, but when they come i just pray so hard. im sorry, you told me to tell you how i really feel, not just the good things.

but i am okay, i just keep praying and taking it day by day, moment by moment, getting through it and learning and trying.

i taught my investigator 3 times, and committed him to baptism for july 5th! what! haha his name is roque and he's 28 and he's the cutest little guy!!!! i taught him about prayer and the Book of Mormon and stuff like that and eternal families and he has a testimony of joseph smith now (oh ya he's catholic) and its just amazing to see him so happy and nice! teaching him makes me feel so good and happy and i love it! whenever i end teaching him, i just want to go tell everyone how good this gospel is and how happy it can make you and how much love heavenly father has for each and everyone of us! 

ugh but its so hard hahaha i'm dying!!! i keep trying though, cause i know theres a reason i'm here, and theres a reason its hard, to make me stronger and better!

my testimony has grown so much!

don't worry about me i am okay, when its hard i just push through it untill it gets easier and i feel better.

ii love you and pray for you sooo much!!!} i haven't prayed this much ever hahah!

i have like 20 min left and i'm sad haha i had so much anxiety this morning knowing i could email you guys, idk why cause its a good thing! but yeah idk. next week probably around 8:30 here ill get on, so maybe 730 there so maybe watch out! if not it'll be around this time or lunch time! i love you guys soooo much!!! 

I love you so much so much!!!
Talk to you next Tuesday!