Elder Jastal has been blessed to be able to borrow a bicycle. Sorry I'm posting from last week so late, but here's his email . . .

i don't typically get more than once a week, but that was able to happen last week because there were things i needed to get done and it involved contacting you guys at home so that is what that was all about. from now on, unless it is a special case, i will only be able to do mondays.
 we met our first investigator saturday, and he agreed to meet with us. the ward here is really nice too. the bishop is great and is really interested in seeing how we do. the ward mission leader is brother walker and we'll be working with him a lot to get on more solid ground here.
i have been doing a lot of biking by the way. i think i have done more biking here than i have done ever.
As far as anything else goes, i am doing pretty good. i have this awesome trainer who is showing me some great things about the work. We have been trying to meet more of the members so that we can be able to better work with them. so far we have only met with a couple of them and one of them was a dinner appointment. we are both just hoping that we can do what the Lord needs us to do. aside from that, we are just doing what we can.
also, as soon as you can, can you have people start mailing me? i am loving it out here, but i still want to be able to talk to people out there.
have Zach tell me how Martial Arts is going and if he's been able to use my sword at all. he tells me that sensei said he would be allowed to use it while i am gone.  how is the ward? do any of them miss me? hahaha. i am hoping that i will only ever have good stories to share with everyone at home.
By the way, the food out here is really great, but the prices are mind-blowing. Things are so much more expensive out here than they are back home. if ever you want to send me something other than a letter, and this goes for anybody, i wouldn't mind some things that would allow me to spend less money to survive.
elder lund says he doesn't know if the elder lund that we had is any close relation. he says that he might be related in some way but he doesn't know him.

Anyway, if there is anything you want to hear about that i haven't talked about so far, email me back and you will probably get an answer. 

 

Love you all And may God be with you,

Elder Jastal

Another email

Hey mom,
Well i know i have sent you a few emails over the past couple of days and here is another one. Today My companion/trainer and i are just doing some things that we need to get done. My first area is a Biking area so one of the things we are trying to do is go about getting bikes. i know i asked you to maybe try and add some money to my account but if you could add some more, if you have already, or add a lot, if you haven't, i need to be able to purchase a bike and i think they are suggesting around $450-$600.  other than that, California is hot. At least, during the day it is hot. mornings and evenings are pretty cool so it isn't all bad. I am having a great time already. i am loving it! My companion's name is Elder Lund. He was just released from being a zone leader so that he could train me so i feel like i am in really good hands. He has already shown me some stuff that they didn't really go over in the MTC. Everything is going so well that i hope i can get things done. The area we are in was closed for a couple of weeks cause one of the previous elders got hurt and had to go for a surgery, so they put us here to take control. so we are already on the way to getting things set up here.

. . . everyone to write me as often as they can find time to. so if you can remind everyone in the ward and maybe put my mailing address on my facebook for me, that would be great too. and give the mailing address to zach so he can pin it up on the board at martial arts. i would love to hear from people there as well.

Anyway, i don't think i have told you this yet, but they are going to be splitting my mission come July. so depending on what area they have me in when that time rolls around, i might end up staying in this mission, or i will end up in the Irvine mission. so i hope, that i can just stay in this mission, cause i have already met most of the people that would most likely be staying here and i am hoping that the others from my district at the MTC will be staying in the Anaheim mission as well. but i know that wherever i end up, that's where i need to be. one of the reasons i hope to stay though, is cause i have met the mission president and he is a fantastic guy. I haven't gotten a chance to meet with him much 'cause this is only my second day, but i believe that i would like to have him remain my mission president, so because this is my first area, and because i am a trainee, i don't think that is the most likely course, but if they whitewash me out with my companion after these next three months, then i will have a possibility of being in the Anaheim mission still. Whitewashing is when they transfer both of the elders from the area out and bring in two completely new elders in. so my companion and i were whitewashed into the area we're going to be serving and if they whitewash us out, then i will have a chance of staying in Anaheim instead of Irvine. but anyway, i just wanted to get this out to you and i hope you all are doing well. i love you all and know that God is smiling on you too.

Love and Godspeed

Elder Jastal

First Day in CA

Today is going to be my first day in the field. I had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. so I am really tired, but I am feeling pretty good aside from that. All the other missionaries in my mission seem pretty cool, so that is awesome. The flight out to California was pretty uneventful, so there is not much to say about that. I have met the Mission President as well. He is really nice and already seems to genuinely care about us all. I am confident that I will grow to have all confidence in him. They fed us a little snack when we got to the mission office, because they felt that we might all be pretty hungry.

I am already Loving California. It is all so beautiful out here. The air smells cleaner too. I don't know much about how things are gonna work out here, but this much I do know; these are going to be the best two years of my life.

Once again, I would like to tell you all that I love you and that I wish the best for you. They took a picture of us all so I will upload that. Tell the ward I said hi, and that i will try to update you all frequently.

Love you all.

11 March 2013 Last Full Day at the MTC

today was my last full day at the MTC. I have loved it here, but mostly because of the people. my companion refers to it as Spirit Prison. hahaha. mostly cause they don't let us out much except to go to the Temple which we were able to do again on Sunday. It is so Peaceful there. even just being on the grounds. Tomorrow i have to wake up at 4 to be able to head out to California. but we will be there finally.  I love you all. Tell the ward i love em and that i love to get email too. the address for the next 2 years will be

Elder Devin L. Jastal
California Anaheim Mission
2500 N Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706

i Love you all. Godspeed!

Elder Jastal.

First email home

Elder Jastal's email address is . . .

devin.jastal@myldsmail.net

This is his first email home:

Hey,
This is Elder Jastal. I just wanted to check in on the family and see how everyone is doing. It has been great here at the MTC. The teachers are great and the branch presidency is too. I am loving it. I have lost about 5-6 pounds since I got here and I am hoping to continue that trend. My companion and i are doing great with our "investigators" as well. The lessons have really helped me to learn so much more about the Gospel than i had ever thought possible. I am progressing so much here that I hope never to forget this experience. Anyway, tell the ward I gave them a shout and that I hope they are all doing well. I love you all and hope you all the best.

 Preparing to go through security.

 Somehow, the photos posted out of order.  Dad waited for everyone in the truck so he got to hug me first.

 Rather than have a welcoming committee, I have a goodbye committee.

God be with you 'til we meet again.

On 16th February 2013, I went to the Detroit Temple with my parents.  Mom insisted on taking a  photo.