Heavenly Things: April 6, 2016

This weekend waaaasssss GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

Which was crazy by the way.

There were so many people flooding Temple Square from all over the place and we were on our feet from 8:30 am to 9 pm at night!

But it was amazing to feel the spirit that was here and to teach those who had no idea what was happening the reality of living prophets and apostles.

I learned so much from being able to teach and testify of the Restoration and realized just how special it is that we have the privilege of listening to prophets and apostles. Men like Moses and Noah, Peter, James, and John. For such a long time there was nowhere in the world that you could listen to messages from God relayed directly through a prophet that had been given the authority to do so.

And it all started with a simple prayer of a 14 year old boy.

Man so cool (Can you tell our mission focus has been on the Restoration?)

We spent all our time finding people to teach, asking for referrals, and speaking a lot of Portuguese so that was really cool. (I can understand pretty well now. )

And then to end the weekend we had a guest speaker ALEX BOYE! Who if you don't know who he is...... thats okay. Because I hadn't heard of him until my mission when we play "I'm a Mormon" messages to people all the time. But, this is he.

https://www.mormon.org/alex

So that was really fun and funny. And we got ice cream at the end so a win-win-win.

I think what I liked so much is that often time God has so many blessings that He wants to give us but there are little things in our lives that keeps us from receiving them. Things like negativity, comparing ourselves, and not being willing to change. God doesn't want us to be upset, sad, or angry. All of those thoughts are destructive and heed our personal progress.

Anyways it was really cool and I loved it a lot. I also loved some of the talks we were able to see. Namely Elder Oaks and Elder Holland's talks as they laid down the law and made no excuses for the gospel.

Well I love you all very much :)

Keep the love coming
~Sister Eging~

PS Funny Story

So this past weekend before Conference there were many meetings being held in the basement of the South Visitor's Center which is where all of our stuff is. Meetings for many of the 70 and Elder Christofferson was there too.

Well it was also a pretty stressful time in the Egalves companionship and we may have been having a bit of a cry sesh in one of the meeting rooms down the long hallway. Well just as we are wiping away our tears and crying some more we hear someone walk past, turn around, and come back to our room. And as we turn around there is Elder Christofferson with his hand out for us to shake. What the what!?!?!

So I know it doesn't sound that funny but seriously I could not stop laughing and as he walks away all we hear is Bom Dia sisters! Oi! Tudo Bem? And yes all of the seventy from all of Brazil come walking by and Sister G has this half smile half I'm going to cry/laugh any second look on her face as she says Oi! back to all of them.

I was dying.....

So funny. It really turned everything around hahaha and was hilarious. Even though I guess you had to be there.
Companions!

Conference Time Is Here – Mar 30, 2016

Yep you heard right.
Another General Conference is on its way.

For Temple Square sisters this means being able to teach and testify of the Restoration one million times over (as well as raiding everyone else's closet so that we can use their clothes for Conference...)

Sister G and I will be going to the Sunday Afternoon session so if you're tuned into Conference at that time look for a blonde American with a curly-headed Brazilian! (To find out where to see or hear General Conference go to lds.org and click on "watch general conference.")

This week I just want to talk about our miracles. Well miracle that occurred yesterday.

So yesterday morning we received serious training from the missionary department (we always have some type of training or reminder because.... #headquartersofthechurch) about just asking everyone, members of the church, non members, anyone if they knew anyone or if they themselves would like to learn more.

We are super pumped and decide to do so, with very little success....

We then go and take this family through God's Plan and it turns out they were all Catholic and one of the daughters is actually going to BYU. At the end of the presentation we keep talking and teaching and invite them to meet with Local Missionaries. The mom said that some already stop by occasionally so we left it at that. As we walk down the stairs I kept getting this impression that we needed to ask to stay in touch with them and teach over the phone. We go try and call one of our investigators who doesn't pick up...

As we walk back out I tell Sis. G that if we see the family again we are going to do it.....But I lied..... we ran into the family again and I got scared.... hahaha yeah I felt silly. But my rockstar companion made me follow through on my prompting and we circled around them before they could leave and got to stay in touch!!!! (FOLLOW YOUR PROMPTINGS!)

Then as we left we hear someone yell " Hey Sisters!!" We turn around and it is this woman chasing us down and saying "I have a referral for you!"

Yes we got chased down..... That never happens!

SO it was just some really cool realizations that when we do all we are supposed to and all that we can do then God will bless us. He doesn't want us to fail and He doesn't give us commandments to fail. Everything He asks us to do is for us to succeed and be happy.

Well yep.... this email was a little scattered haha sorry but it's all good!

Can't wait for Conference! Grab your pens, pencils, and some gold fish because it's going to be a good one this year :)

I know God loves us so much and it is such a blessing that after so long in darkness there is a living prophet on the Earth to lead and guide all of the children of God.

Love you all!

~Sister Eging~
A Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

After several pictures of Sister Eging trying to get her companion's attention, she finally succeeded!

007-March 22, 2016

ANOTHER TRANSFER!!!!!

This is crazy. Someone pinch me because I don't understand how this transfer has gone by so fast.

Transfer number 7!?!?! Yep I'm officially ancient.

This week was transfer week and with it again came some changes (though not as many as usual).

My new compenara is.....

SISTER G!

(not a complete surprise as she is still being trained but yay nonetheless!!!!)))

I'm so excited to be with her for another transfer because the last time I've stayed with someone was when I was being trained.....Yeah I know. back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

And our new assignment is..... Beehive House!!!! That's right once again throw back to training!

I can't wait, I LOVE the Beehive house and the crazy questions that go with it. (I think at this point I've heard just about everything.....and if not everything then..... a hecka lot hahahaha)

I'm also really excited for General Conference and Easter coming up!

Especially on Temple Square it makes occasions like these so special. We get to practice teaching and sharing the new Easter video released a couple of weeks ago. My favorite is the animation video. So check that one out and share it :)

https://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_SU_3-13-2016_dMIS_fSPC_xLIDyL1-A_

So this past weekend was also the baptism of G who is super amazing!
I met him when I was with Sister S and we had lost contact with him for a while. He had been meeting with the missionaries and investigating the church for a long time. Yesterday we called him and he was so happy to tell us that he finally took the step of faith to be baptized and how much the spirit confirmed to him that this was right as he received the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

This Gospel is amazing and God is so good to each and everyone of us. I'm so happy to have been able to help in whatever way I can to help bring more souls unto Christ.

Well that's all for this week! 'Till next time folks
(Next time being tomorrow because my Pday got moved to Wednesday)

Sky is Blue
Church is True

LOTS OF LOVEEEEEEEEEEE
~Sister Eging~

Sister G locked out of West Gate -- (note from Sis Eging's mother: we all know who locked her poor companion out there! I am trying to figure out how to get ahold of her companion and roommates (another companionship with sisters from the Philippines and France) to warn them of April 1 and Sis Eging's ability to pull off some extraordinary April Fool's jokes; do they have April fools in Brazil, Philippines or France? I don't think they covered this in their respective MTCs!

My Zone

March 15, 2016 – Bring on the Heat

Well this week started out warm..... #itSnowedthismorning

But with the end of winter and the beginning of summer comes Spring Break and what group of college kids wouldn't want to come to Temple Square for Spring Break!?!?!

Well I'll tell you which one's would.....Anti's

That's right folks with the warm weather comes the beginning of Anti season and they have revved up a little early this year.

But with the Anti's comes some of the coolest spiritual experiences ever.
As a missionary I have had to learn to rely completely on the Spirit. Who to talk to, what to say next, guidance, peace etc. And sometimes I'm more in tuned than other times and some cases I recognize when it is the spirit guiding me while others I don't

So flash forward to this week, the week of anti-training.

Sister G and I are on a desk assignment talking to the people who come in and we've had a couple really sweet families etc. And then in walks this big group of college students who immediately ask for a tour, and I think wow weird they knew about our free tours (not a lot of people do). I call sisters and start trying to talk with them. Where they're from, what school do they go to, what's their major etc. etc.

Now for some reason I could not speak with them. I kept asking random questions and there would be weird silences and my companion looks at me like I'm going crazy because I will tell you my tongue was tied! I have never experienced such a stupor of thought and all essence of the spirit was gone. Like just a big hole in my chest. I started freaking out, calling the sisters to see when they were coming to take the tour. I couldn't talk to these kids and I didn't know why!

The sisters show up and ask quietly if they're antis and I say no.... little did I know they were!!! 5 minutes into the tour they began Bible bashing etc etc.

In these cases there really is only one thing to do and that is to testify and let the Spirit of the Lord do the rest. For real. All questions all arguments are answerable but to a hard heart the only thing you can do is this and end the tour.

This is just one of the examples of how the spirit really does guide us in all things.... sometimes we just don't pay attention to the signs.

Oh also next week is the beginning of Transfer 7 and it looks like I will be on Temple Square for a little while longer :)

I'm so excited to see what this next transfer brings me and I'm blessed to serve here where I can bear witness and testimony every single day. I love the gospel, I love the Book of Mormon and I know with all of my heart that this is Christ's church restored on the Earth.

Love you all so much and remember,
When in doubt, testify! (insert raise the roof hand emoji....if that's still a thing hahah)

LOOOOOVE
Sister Eging

Adventures at Ensign Peak: pic 1, spelling "temple"; pic 2, human shadow temple; pic 3, Bouta drop our new album; and pic 4, our district.

It’s Good To Be Alive – March 8, 2016

Hellooooo again!

We had a wonderful morning of Deep Cleaning our Apartment (this means under, over, around, and through ever single nook and cranny......) in preparation for General Conference which will be happening shortly!! I can't wait! I love Conference and the inspiring messages that are shared throughout those two days! (It is also a time of non-stop work so I'm pumped!)

These past couple of days the Utah has been messing with us as on Sunday we had, as Sister Gs has put it, "all seasons in the day". It was sunny, it was rainy, it hailed, and then it snowed. I don't understand what was going on and I will tell you I was not dressed for the occasion!

Then this week we have also found so many new, wonderful Brazilian investigators. This one couple we had met on the square and contacted them for about five minutes. They were so sweet and said they were coming back later that week for a tour. So we said good-bye and figured that was it. Two days later some other sisters told us they had met the Brazilian couple so we booked it to the Visitor's Center looking for them! And there they were waiting for a tour!!

As we went around it was clear that they both had such a strong relationship with God and with Jesus Christ as the spirit filled each spot. They began crying as we walked through the Tabernacle and up to the Christ Statue and were touched by Joseph Smith's first vision and the restoration of Christ's church.

It was a little comical as through the whole thing both the wife and husband spoke Portuguese. The wife actually spoke a lot of English but guess who I was talking with the whole tour.....not the wife.... But the spirit worked and helped me communicate. With the little Portuguese I knew and the little English he knew we talked about God and how much He loves each one of us.

If there is one thing I have learned this week and throughout pretty much my whole mission is we can choose to be happy. Life is not easy, missions are not easy. There is rejection, culture barriers, anti's (we had the first big group of them come through as they are training for their summer season) and through it all it is easy to start to feel sorry for yourself, get frustrated or discouraged. But, that is something that we can choose. Do we wallow in our trials or sing a song and make pancakes instead? Well I choose pancakes. And I hope each of you are able to choose pancakes as well (because seriously who doesn't love pancakes?). It is the hope and faith that each day gets better than the last and through Christ all of our weaknesses will become strengths.

Love you all and remember
"Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy"
Church is true, Sky is still Blue
~~Sister Eging~~

The Big 2.0 – Mar 1, 2016

Wow...... 20 years. 2 decades. What the hay. Time goes by so fast.
And this week was certainly jam-packed!

SO to list it out

1. We had an amazing family road trip (three generations of missionaries all together!) to see M's baptism! And then ice cream after to celebrate birthdays and baptisms! If you've never been to Utah and you've never been to Leatherby's.....GO.

2. We got to go on a tour of the Tabernacle's Organ.... Yes the Tabernacle like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (and the place where the living prophets speak)

3. And then it was my BIRTHDAY!!!!! SO basically spent the day like all other days except pancakes and cake - cake for dinner!

It's weird how holidays and things are on your mission. You celebrate and they're fun but they're a little different. And you spend it doing the most amazing work in the world!!! Which reminds me also thank you everyone for the Birthday Wishes!!!

I also want to talk about R because he is awesome!!! On Temple Square we get sooooo many opportunities to teach people on the square, over the phone, and through chat, some of them are ready and willing to learn some....not so much. But R is so prepared for the gospel it is amazing. A couple of things about him, he is Hindu from India who is travelling for business and stopped in through Temple Square. When Sister G and I first start talking to him he shares with us how he has always looked at all of the different religions and just took the good from each and kind of meshed them together but has always been on this search for the truth.

Then we explain to him about how the Church of God as it was established when Christ was on the Earth was lost and over time plain and precious truths were lost as well. The whole time we speak with him he asks the most sincere and heartfelt questions. By the end of the tour he tells us of the spirit he had been feeling and accepts an invitation to be baptized and meet with the missionaries!

He is our miracle for the week! How prepared the children of God are all over the world! And Sister G and I get to help find them and be a part of this wonderful work!

I'm also learning Portuguese because we have so many Portuguese investigators that I want to be able to say something! So far I can say eu aimo voce, I love you, I like bread with butter and honey, and God is our loving Heavenly Father.

Man I love my mission.

This is the absolute best time of my life and I know with all my heart that this gospel is true.

Love you all so much!!
(Oh and if you haven't seen the devotional by Elder M. Russell Ballard. Please do! It is so good!)

Lots of Love!!!!
~~Sister Eging~~

We're All in This Together! - February 23

Well I had tried avoiding it my whole mission but I did it.
We actually went to East High where High School Musical was filmed and yes it just so happened to be right when school let out and yes it was like a flashback nightmare to high school all over again except this time I was wearing a nametag and a skirt......

So I guess it wasn't that bad, it was actually pretty cool to see everything and fun fact, that rooftop garden yeah, doesn't exist! I was peeved!

So training Sister G has been a blast and a half and I feel like I am learning and growing the most from it.

I can effectively say I love you, I am a missionary, and good night in Portuguese so you could say progress is being made.

The gift of tongues is incredibly real as I have watched Sister G just completely demolish the English language over the past couple of weeks.

This gospel is amazing and God is so good. Update as D is being baptized this weekend, so is M (whom I taught with Sister S as well) so it looks like its going to be a weekend full of beautiful birthday baptisms!!! HOORAY!!!

There's also been this new referral system where all of the Book of Mormon requests etc. get sent to us and then we call the person to see if they'd like missionaries to deliver it etc.
Which makes for some really REALLY funny phone calls when people put in requests for other people....

*See picture below**** Because this guy was not happy that we called. He apparently wasn't very happy with his waiter either which is why the waiter sent him to us hahahaha

This week has gone by sooooo fast and it feels like every week goes by faster and faster. I can't believe how fast time goes and in less than a week I'll be 20!!!!!! (don't worry I'm not going to have an emotional breakdown or anything...... I"M JUST DYING!!!!!!!!) I'm sure I'll be fine.....20's okay right? right? ...... right. good. got it.

Well that's all the news from the Square!
LOL LOTS OF LOVE

~~~~~~~SISTER EGING~~~~~~~~~~