Week 6

Hello All!

Everything's the same as always. Still at the MTC, truckin away! It's exciting though knowing that by the end of the month I'll be halfway across the world!! Whoo hoo!!
On Sunday, the oldest group of Korean speakers head out to Korea and my group becomes the oldest! It feels like just yesterday I got here, and now I'm on the top of the food chain! Where did all the time go? I definitely don't feel like I know enough Korean to be the oldest, but s'all good.

Consequently, Elder Wagner got released as Zone Leader last Sunday. I was really sad, he's been such a good example and great friend to me, I'm sad I don't get to spend nearly as much time with him anymore. The new ZL with me is Elder South. He went to Yale before this and is a genius at everything, including Korean. It's been fun to get to know him better, and we work really great together. We've had some issues with travel plans for missionaries in our zone already, and we've had to spend a lot of time jumping through all the loopholes at the MTC to get the problem fixed. Seriously all the travel and international offices are good for is sending us back to the other one. It's ridiculous. 

Every Wednesday we have personal gym time, meaning we're not allowed to go to the gyms and instead have to exercise in our dorms or outside. My district has created this thing called "Nature Walks". We go out and watch all the crazy runners sprint around the buildings. Literally though I am pretty sure some of them think it's the Olympics or something... it's really funny. Anyways this week we decided to take some paper cups and fill them with water, then we waited until the runners came by and ran out to them to hand them water cups like they're in a marathon our something. It was pretty dang hilarious- some got super mad and would hit the cup into the air, some would just look so confused and others would laugh and take it. It was great to have a good laugh.

I know no one would believe it, but I started doing a workout program with my zone! Haha a girl in my district leads it, her name is Sister Seegmiller. We all call her Sister Jillian Michaels because she is fitness woman to the max! Pretty sure she's stronger than all the elders here! It's awesome. Anyways she had us do some P90X ab workouts on Tuesday and I'm pretty sure I still can't breathe without being sore. Luckily for me now my abs look like they were chiseled by Michaelangelo... not. Haha.

Yesterday Elder Wilkinson and I ate lunch with a teacher from Brisbane, Australia. He served his mission in Perth, and we basically bugged him for 45 minutes with all sorts of questions about Sydney and Australia in general. He was so nice and laid back, I hope that's how all the Australians will be! But seriously it made me so stoked to head out to Down Under. I think I forgot a little bit about how much I love Australia and how excited I am to go there, but this conversation definitely reminded me again. I am counting down the days until I go! Although I heard from another missionary that Australia's been a little difficult lately with getting visas, so we'll have to see how that turns out. Cross your fingers that mine comes in time!!

As far as Korean, this has been a big step for me this week not so much understanding it better but just feeling okay with the pace that I'm moving with it. I am certainly getting more comfortable with the language and the phrases that I do know, and it definitely helps to have native speakers right next door to my classroom to help me out. I can now teach most all the lessons in Korean without writing it all down, which is exciting!! (Even if my sentences are more simple than a kinder-gardener's, haha). I can really feel all your prayers, thank you thank you so much for them. 

This week I've really been pondering on a certain phrase we hear all the time at the MTC: "Put your whole heart into it". I guess I had never really thought about it before, but this week I've really tried applying it to my life. I think putting your whole heart into it means that you've literally done EVERYTHING you can, and that's when the Lord will take care of the rest. Have I really been doing my best, my very best with all of this? We all know I may have a particular problem with napping, so I'm proud to inform you that this missionary here has officially made it through a full day without napping during class! It's been awesome to really see the benefits of trying to put my whole heart into learning this language. Not only do I have more focus, but anytime my drive dies down I try to remind myself of that phrase and it gets me going again. Hopefully it'll last!

Well youraboon (Y'all in Korean), that's all I have to report. Just want to remind you all of the love I have for you and also the love I have for my Savior. The gospel is true and will bring us true peace and happiness if all we do is adhere to it's guidance and message. I know the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith truly was and is a prophet of God, and that Heavenly Father knows and loves me. I am so thankful to be a missionary and want you all to know that I promise to put my whole heart into this work, for there's no greater blessing than serving our Heavenly Father. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

Talk to you soon,

Elder Easton