Week 4-September 23, 2020- Traumatic TRC

Week 4: Traumatic TRC Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well right now! I had a really awesome week this week and have some good stuff to share, hopefully if you have found my last few emails incredibly boring you might enjoy this one. Last week on Saturday, we had TRC during our class, which stands for teaching resource center. During this training, native speakers from across South America volunteer to let us teach them a lesson with our broken Spanish, and usually we'll rotate through volunteers, spending about 20 minutes with each. However, this week for whatever reason, we weren't fortunate enough to rotate volunteers. Soooo, my companion and one other elder from our district began our lesson with our volunteer, and things were going awesome. We taught really well, were in sync with one another as we explained the importance of doing the work of the Lord, and felt like we had done a great job filling our 20 minutes. We wrapped up the lesson, and started making some conversation for a few minutes. Then a few more minutes passed. Then about an hour passed and we were still in the same room. You may be thinking, so what? Can't these guys just have a conversation like normal people? You may think so, however I only know so much español, and like 99% of that is about the gospel. So an hour into conversation with someone who sounds like eminem speaking a different language took its toll. Occasionally we'd ask a jackpot question, and our volunteer would get talking and last for a few minutes. But everything fell apart again when she'd ask a followup question and our only response was si and the universally understood head nod with a smile. Though we left feeling like we had a tough time having a conversation, we shortly found out that one group only received 1 word responses for their hour. Hopefully we all learn to have functional conversations during the last week of MTC. I also spent the week doing some fun stuff with my family! On Sundays I am only assigned my 3 hours of daily study as well as church, but other than that I can spend time with my family. Waking up and starting at 6:30 allows me a whole day free, so this week we drove up to breckenridge to see the fall colors and go for a walk. It was really cool to see this, something that I love about Colorado every year, and that I am lucky to see this year as I am at home. This week, our MTC teachers challenged us to recognize how we hear the voice of the Lord in our life, and this experience reminded me that one of the main ways I see the hand of God is through his creations. Though it isn't difficult to feel this way in a place as beautiful as Colorado, sometimes all it takes is a simple moment of reflection to show gratitude. I've noticed whenever I become overwhelmed, pausing to think of the things I am grateful for always helps. Having a prayer of Gratitude in my heart helps me to remain hopeful, and to know that I am loved by my father in heaven. Thanks so much for all the support! Also, my mom sends out these emails, so if you want to respond to me, please write back to mcclain.easton@missionary.org! Thanks so much! Elder Easton 1. Breck with the Family 2. Ping Pong after class