Everybody was Hot hot HOT!! (Insert that song if you're familiar with that one song...)‏ -- June 21, 2016

Well another week has come and gone in the good 'ole San Diego Mission.
For those of you who were not aware we had a massive amount of heat
this past weekend and it got up to 114 F (something Celsius for the
rest of the world). We slathered up with some good ole sunscreen and
went out to work (die, melt, you get the gist) and of course we also
had to make some home made sun baked cookies! (See pictures.....yes,
it actually worked).

Also this week marked me being out on my mission for exactly a year!
No way! I honestly can't even believe just how fast this past year has
flown by. There's ups and downs but it seriously feels like I blinked
and somehow landed here......

In other news the week has been really slow and it has been really
difficult finding people to teach but, we persevered and kept chugging
along. Nothing that a huge helping of overloaded optimism won't fix
(fake it till you make it). But we did have an amazing miracle of
being able to find T.

During one of our crazy Jamul days, that are spent 99% of the time
just trying to figure out where in the world a house would possibly be
out in the middle of the desert, we had just driven away from a
potential investigators home and down this street. Off of the street
was this little house with a pretty long driveway and this old woman
sitting outside by herself. So just before we drive away we decide ‘hey
lets go try talking to her’ (which normally doesn't happen out here in
Jamul). Well really we didn't decide but the spirit pretty strongly
(but not overbearingly that's the key haha) pressed us to go and talk
to her. We U-turn it and go to talk to her. As we approach we can
tell she is clearly not speaking English and we keep trying anyways
(hey I know how to say mucho mucho calor (though no...I don't know how
to spell it or anything else)). And all of a sudden her 20-ish year
old son walks out and he speaks English!!!! As we talk to him he tells
us that he has recently found his own spirituality but continues to
tell us that his girlfriend T is a member of the church! (Yeah
not on the list at all). T invites us in and she has been
inactive for years but has always driven past and wanted to go back.
We listen and teach and give her a copy of the Book of Mormon and will
be going back to keep seeing her and helping her come back. What
really struck me was when T was explaining how her grandpa was
such a huge part of her testimony and her being active but then he
passed. She said that she knew her grandpa had sent us to her.

Biggest lesson....follow the spirit. Even the little promptings, because they lead to BIG miracles down the road.

Love you all so much!

Happy Father's Day Dadddd and Happy Birthday mom!

I love you both!

LOVE
Sister Eging



Sun-baked cookies; Driving; Got to do some mission yoga!; Mission cat; Fires in our mission but not near me.

Transfer numero 9‏ -- June 14, 2016

Yeah. Another day, another Transfer, another week, month, year flies by.

So in way of updates I am staying with Sister G for my last transfer here in San Diego and we are staying in the Hillsdale/Jamul area!
(not nearly as many changes occur out here).

This week was pretty good....service, lessons, taught relief society, the works.

Oh and I experienced my very first California earthquake!!
It was the middle of the night and everything started shaking and got all loud all of a sudden. I was in this dream daze state, woke up, fell back asleep, and totally forgot it happened until the next morning when Sister G asked me if I felt the Earth quake!!! I thought I had dreamt the whole thing!?! I felt a little silly after that but it was still cool to say that yeah...I survived an earthquake (even if it was just a baby sized one).


This week however, there seemed to be a lot of reflecting on families and the importance of protecting them, and providing them with a safe, happy, spiritual atmosphere to grow in.

We have been so blessed to be welcomed into so many homes of members of the church who have their families centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ. There is no other way, no other pattern, no other source for which families can find as much happiness and peace as they will be able to have through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I just want to invite everyone to think of their families and think of 5 things that they’re grateful for. Share the love with your families (especially your dad this week :)
And look for families around who may not have the same foundation, may need someone to help or someone to guide them and offer that help. Look for service and missionary opportunities; they both go hand in hand.

I love you all so much and want to say Happy Father's day to my great dad who helped me get out on my mission.

I remember the stories of New Zealand, and your love for the food, the people, and the gospel. Thank you for your encouragement to read my scriptures and say my prayers, for reading the Book of Mormon with us over dinner, for providing us with much needed advice and correction.

For those who don't have the same kind of memories, who feel as if they're lacking in earthly parental figures take some time to appreciate and develop your relationship with your Heavenly Father. He knows you, He provides for you, and He loves you.

Lot and lots of love,
Sister Eging

Think Outside the Border – June 7, 2016

Hey Fammmmiiiilllllylyyyyyy and friends and whoever reads this weekly
letter. I don't have a lot of time to write my weekly email so I will
stick with the important things of the week. First off,

T GOT BAPTIZED!!!!

Did you hear that!?!?!?!?!

Baptism with a Capitol B!!!

He is an amazing guy and has made so many changes in his life that
have lead him to this point. (We had a little scare an hour before as
he almost cancelled due to a lack of ties, pants, etc. But he showed
up!) What made it even more special was he was baptized on his 40th
birthday. What better day to be baptized on?

Then comes the epic story........ SO we cover two areas....Hillsdale a small nice community and Jamul, a large massive, mountainous range that stretches down to the Mexican border. SO often times we run into these crazy trails that we need to drive on in order to reach someone's house way out in the middle of no where and this Sunday was one of those times. Not only was this house way out there but you could see the Mexican border from our car (keep this in mind....it will be important later on in the story). We're driving along, have to pull down a dirt road and it's no problem. In fact it's beautiful straight out of a Lord of the Rings movie. We're chugging along and the road starts to get rough...like really rough. I'm hopping out throwing huge rocks out of the way and Sister G is maneuvering around them and many times we should've turned back but 1. No turn radius 2. We had already come so far and 3. This man needed the gospel! We get to this slightly steep crack in the middle of the road and I get out to direct Sister G on how to straddle the ravine with the car.
And it is at this moment that Border Patrol catches us.....

Big guy in a uniform walking down the ravine calling out to us "Are you crazy?"

"Yes sir, I feel slightly crazy"

"What are you two doing here?"

"We're missionaries!"

And then we explain just what we are doing out here. Then a second one walks down. They explain that this road just leads to the top of a mountain and that if we had gone any further we probably would've turned the car over. Then they tell us that they work with a Mormon. Awesome! As we talk they are trying to figure out what to do with us and a third border patrol man walks up. He looks at us shakes his head and says "sisters" then proceeds to shake our hands. Well these nice officers direct us how to back up and turn the car around and then escort us back to the main road and actually take us to the house we are trying to find WOOOO!!!!
They had all left their cars to go and get us because their jeeps always got stuck.....In fact they were amazed we had made it that far. Yeah Corolla power!

And moral of the story. When you see the border you've gone too far.

Love you all!!!!

Stay safe.

Love life, love the gospel.

~SisterEging~

Too Blessed to be Stressed (well okay maybe a little stressed)‏ -- May 31, 2016

Stress is my big topic for this week and something that I am learning
slowly and steadily to control and manage. This week was jam-packed
with events and lessons and many other stressors that would be enough
to make anyone crazy but we survived :)

What made this week so amazing though was the oh so wise council from
an apostle of the Lord. No, really, a living apostle in fact one of
(in my opinion) the coolest apostles, Elder Holland!

You heard correct, Elder Holland came to visit the mission. How's that
for some real luck! He came and on Friday we all woke up, put on our
nicest dresses, and drove to hear him speak and shake his hand.
To be brief what struck me the most was his overwhelming love for each
of us and his address focused on the love we need to have for
ourselves (or at least that's what I got from it) that we need to love
and enjoy our missions. Love the Lord and be obedient because we love
him. But, don't beat ourselves up over every little thing. It will all
work towards our benefit and as long as we have been converted than we
are successful missionaries. He also spoke on just how impactful
serving a mission is. It can and will change the very course of our
lives if we let it and if we let go of what is holding us back from
serving..... If you're thinking about serving a mission....take it to
the Lord, and FOLLOW HIM. Just do it if He tells you you need to.

Also in case you were wondering when the second coming is....
"I don't know, and you can quote me on that" -Elder Holland

Later that week we met M and S. Now how did we meet them?
Well we have been teaching T and sometimes we have to teach him
outside of Starbucks.... Which is the ultimate hang out for Arabic
speakers. After the lesson they stopped us and asked about the church
etc. We ended up having a pass-off lesson with them the next day to
give them to the Arabic Elders but, they were amazing. M was golden
and for so long had been studying the different Bibles wondering why
there are so many differences between religions. As we left that
lesson M asks about our badges. After learning that we spent only 2
weeks in a "training center" he turns and says "I will get that badge
in one".

Lastly I just want to leave you with my testimony that the Savior is
always there when we need Him. He will always lift us up and never cut
us down. We don't have to be perfect, we don't have to be successful
in the world's eyes because as long as we are trying, we are
successful to Him.

Also..... Please READ THIS TALK (it's what Sister G and I taught
to relief society on Sunday)

“One Thing Needful”: Becoming Women of Greater Faith in Christ
By Patricia T. Holland

"We must have the courage to be imperfect while striving for perfection."
Patricia T. Holland

Love you all so much!!!!

(Enjoy the pictures of me frolicking in the California fields and all
the horse and llama love <3 )

SISTER EGING

(S)He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named‏ - May 24, 2016

This week has been a very very VERY interesting one to say the least. Don't worry the cat and horse are still alive and are doing well. (Tippy ((the cat)) and I have our nightly waltzes after planning so the relationship is blossoming beautifully).

We had what is called "MTE's" this week. Missionary Training Experiences (I think) for anyone not with the San Diego lingo. This is where we take like 2-3 zones and switch companionships up. All companionships are divinely inspired and for a whole day I was with Sister W, our Sister Training Leader (which is like a Zone Leader for those who have never heard of one before...because I hadn't...) and I learned SO MUCH!!! She was awesome at talking with everyone and had an almost fool-proof way of asking everybody if they needed service done on lawns, houses, moving or if anyone in the neighborhood needed something done! It was awesome because then people weren't immediately turned off by the name-tag and would actually stop to talk!

T, our investigator is doing well and is preparing himself for baptism. It's been amazing to see the changes in him. And we have found a couple of new investigators who really seem sincere!

This week we did a lot of trying to contact potential and former investigators that had been left behind or forgotten, they did not know the true meaning of Ohana.... for those of you who haven't seen Lilo and Stitch... I'm sorry..... It's a great movie.

And we ended up at this one house and they weren't interested so we ask "Who do you know?" Ah that famous question. "Well the next door neighbors go to church a lot." So we go to try them.....

And that's when we met her. She cracked open the door and stared at us with sunken eyes and in a low raspy voice asks "Can I help you?" SO we go on and explain and talk and she opens her door to show us her statues of Jesus Christ and then explains that she is a deacon. And as if to show us evidence rolls up her sleeve and shows off the meanest and baddest dark-mark tattoo on her forearm. She followed Voldemort! (Not really but it was a pretty cool tattoo).

Well that's my story for the week. Wish me luck in the missionary efforts this week! I love you all so much and have loved seeing the change in people's lives as they come unto Christ. I know that this work is true and that missionary work would NOT be successful without the help and support of the wards and members. You are all the heart of the church and you can touch and change the lives of so many. Don't ever underestimate your impact or your testimony and invite others to learn more. This is the fullness of the gospel! We should be sharing it :)

Give the missionaries in your home ward a little love and buy them a pizza or something :)

Lots of Love
Sister Eging