Dec 26, 2016 - Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had just as good of a Christmas as I had this year. Christmas' on a mission really are special, unique, experiences. I'm so glad I have been able to serve on Christmas twice!!

This week was pretty crazy and busy. We had Zone Conference all week which means Sister B and I were giving trainings about half of the week. It was really nice as the subject and topic of Zone Conference was on the Atonement. I can't think of a greater subject to study during Christmas than the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is why we celebrate Christmas. Without the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ we would be stuck in a sinful state forever unable to return to God. But, due to His willingness we have been given the grand opportunity to change, to become more than what we are.

After Zone Conference was Christmas! What a treat it was to be able to Skype home and see everyone! (Don't worry it wasn't too crazy for me). And my mission president got a kick out of the VR goggles Will. After that we had a Christmas Program that Sister B and I were frantically putting together in between Zone Conferences. Up unto the very last second before it started we were still finalizing details. The cherry on top of that program had to be Elder Spencer. Elder Spencer is one of the senior couples that serves here and to be honest he is quite the character. For the Christmas program Elder Spencer was able to talk the folks in charge of the Savior of the World performances into lending us costumes. And so as a special guest we had a shepherd with a massive tangled beard read from his personal scroll the story of the Savior's birth.

Comedy doesn't get much better.

All in all it was a good week to learn and grow. We never stop serving or being asked to grow. This was a week were I once again was taught to look on the positive and happy side of things. Every person has a choice to make in this life. They can either go through life as a victim allowing the world to dictate their emotions, thoughts, and decisions or they can choose happiness. Choose to not allow the situation, attitude of someone else, or hardships dictate how you will react. We are agents to act, not be acted upon. And the moments when we truly find ourselves are the moments we fight for ourselves.

I love you all so much and hope you find yourselves. Find the gospel for yourself, find your purpose, and find your happiness.

With much love,
Sister Eging

Dec 19, 2016 -- Christmas Bells Are Ringing

As well as my head, my head is ringing and spinning. I can't believe another week has come and gone and that I am soon to be entering Christmas day! How amazing is that!

I absolutely love Christmas on Temple Square, despite the crazy look that seems to enter into every sister's eyes as the sleep deprivation really starts to hit home. In fact the weeks leading up to Christmas are so busy that we could only now start writing our email because we have been helping with various situations that have taken place on the Square.

Seriously, I feel like I've been run over by a truck....not once, but at least four times.

This afternoon we were involved in supervising a tour and interview with some of the sister missionaries on Temple Square.

And this week starting tomorrow will be the beginning of Zone Conference! I'm so excited! President is going to be teaching and speaking on the Atonement. Which is truly the reason that we celebrate Christmas. Without that event there would be no reason to celebrate the birth of a lowly infant but because of the immense sacrifice that the Son of Man endured we have reason to celebrate. Beyond that we have reason to rejoice that full access to the Lord's atonement has been granted to us through the restoration of the fullness of the gospel. Of this I rejoice and it fills my heart every time I am able to bear my simple witness of the truth.

I hope that you may all find joy this Christmas season and be able to find that truth or bring others to it.

With lots of holiday cheer,
Sister Eging

Dec 12, 2016

Well this one is going to be a pretty quick and short letter.

This week was filled with spiritual contacts and really strengthened my testimony of the power of teaching the restoration to members of the church and non-members alike. There is just something so sacred about seeing others feel the Love that God their Father has for them and their families. Being able to serve in an area where visitors from everywhere come we are able to see and explain the pattern that God has established to help us find peace in our families and return to live with Him again, the only way is and always has been through the Messiah, the Savior of the world whom our Heavenly Father sent to Earth roughly 2,000 years ago. And this peace filled those who followed Him. But sadly even with the Messiah on the Earth people still rejected those truths. And that gospel, in its fullness was lost. What a time of confusion we entered into! And what a time of light we found as our God and our Savior descended and appeared to a young boy in a quiet grove. There is no more meaningful and powerful message nor importance to the world today than that of God's activities in our lives today. He has called prophets and apostles to guide us back to Christ. And I'm grateful to share this message with all the world.

In celebration of our Savior's birth much of the mission was able to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's annual Christmas Concert, this year the guest performer was Rolando Villazon. It was a pretty special event and meant a lot to be able to see it.

We then wrapped up the week with an amazing lesson with B, our new investigator who already believes the Book of Mormon to be true (he was raised reading it). He is spiritually connected and knows that God is wanting him to join the church at this time in his life. It's been amazing to be able to teach someone who already knows and believes in the Restoration but had been lost for a time. He has already set himself a baptismal date for January 7th! I am so happy!

Oh we were also to take a reporter for the Toronto Star on a tour of Temple Square with Elder Clark of the Seventy. It was pretty cool. And after Elder Clark left we were able to walk her back to her ride and explain in greater detail about the Restoration and invited her to read the Book of Mormon, she was able to receive a copy and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help someone else understand a bit more and seek for them self.
I love you all! And Merry Christmas!
LOVE Sister Eging

Sprint! - December 5, 2016

My motto for the last 6 months of my mission has been to sprint.

I have been running, working, teaching, testifying, the whole nine-yards and it is the most rewarding feeling to see how the Lord blesses us when we simply try our best and also to see how the Lord will allow us to suffer in order for us to be taught.

This past week was transfer week, which is a very busy, very hectic week and, not to mention all of the Christmas programs, and events that are being coordinated,(I never realized how much coordination went into these things before). But it was a week of Divine strength and miracles for my new companion Sister B and I.

We have found some really remarkable people these past couple of days. The one I want to mention is E. We were walking on our way to the North Visitor's Center so that we could have teaching center time, away from the distraction of the office, when we saw J, a recent convert from Sister B's outbound, about to go into the Temple. We stop and start talking with her and her husband E. E has been studying the church on his own and when J asked if he would like to go and talk with us while he waited for her he said no. He said he didn't want to and was going to explore on his own and then his wife told him about this short video about the first vision we could take him to. And he agreed. As we started talking to E he told us about dreams of his father that he had been having and of this feeling that he needed to know more about the Mormons. So he started watching videos and things online and kept wanting to learn more. We taught him the restoration and asked what it would mean if he knew there was a prophet. As we took him and watched the first vision film with him the spirit filled the room. Afterwards we invited him to pray and to ask and he said he already knew that this was true. Long story short, when we left him he had committed to pray about a January 7th baptismal date. I know God had allowed us to find E.

It was a very good week. I look forward to seeing what other blessings God has every single day for us.

I also enjoyed attending the First Presidency Christmas Devotional yesterday. It was one way to really remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas. This is not just about the Savior's birth but His life, mortal ministry, and ultimate sacrifice that we celebrate.

I'm so grateful to have access to His never ending love and to be able to share that with all that I can.

Lot's of love, Merry Christmas, Happy holidays, Feliz Navidad, and all that good stuff.

Love
Sister Eging
New Companions!
Locked Out of the Square