Christmas Greetings!!

So my first transfer is almost over already.... I don't get how time is moving so fast right now! It is crazy fer sure!! 

This week has been full of surprises. Monday we went over to our Bishop's house for dinner and for a Q&A type of night with their friends who recently lost a loved one. At the end of the discussion (Bishop was leading it for the most part), Bishop Vance asked to share my testimony on prayer because that was the topic we were currently on. I got to share my experience of over the summer with my ankle and the college. 

Long story short for those who don't remember, I was blessed with an opportunity to go to a college for basketball scholarship. The Friday before I left, I "rolled" my ankle (found out it was fractured about 3.5 months later) at a trampoline bounce house. It was hard to walk after that night. So I head out to Encinitas, California and the first two days of the camp was brutal and excruciating for me. I was saying prayers in my heart and every night since. The third day and fourth days I had some pain but it was minimal and I was able to play more. The coach, after one of the drills, came over to me and asked me if I was LDS and if I was serving a mission. I told him I dont know right now. He then told me that he served in Brazil and how much that has changed his life, so he encouraged me to pray and talk this over with my father. I did. I prayed so much. The next morning, The coach asked me again and I said "...after praying and discussing it over, I will be serving a mission." right as I said that I was filled with peace and explain to the two potential investigators that the peace they feel is the Holy Ghost bearing witness to them and making them feeling calm. IT WAS AWESOME!

  Wednesday, we had another opportunity with MORE interested people! Again after a dinner appointment! We shared a message about Jesus' birth in Luke 2. The investigators were intrigued I think and our dinner appointment said that on Monday (today), he is going to invite them to take the missionary discussions!! Can't wait!

And then yesterday, we went to an investigators house who we thought dropped away... BUT HE WAS HOME and we got to see how he was doing. He is in the middle of some predicament with his daughter and will be going to court to sort things out... :( Right now he is still interested in learning more about our church and will be coming to church this Sunday!!

Very interesting week! 

I hope you all have a very, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 

~Elder Ekberg~

Update on JT’s ankle- he said it is feeling much better.  He is ‘deciding’ to take it easy on it for a while.  Let’s hope so!

He is doing really well and he loves his companion.  He would love to hear from you- even if it is a quick email saying hi and maybe a few basketball box scores!

We love him and are looking forward to doing the Skype thing on Christmas day!!  Love this kid!!

We asked JT a few additional questions:

Favorite meal this week:  roast and funeral potatoes last night :)

Funniest experience this week:  Wed, we went to Sister Margolis' house where we made wreaths and such. when we were leaving, she gave us homemade fudge. Elder Gardner didn't eat his when we got home so he gave it to Elder Gilbert who is trying to watch what he eats and his comp, E. Loveless, is like.. I don't know. you can say "motivating" him. So Gilbert is in the other room with the fudge and Loveless is in Gardners and I's room and we hear Gilbert moaning! we go in and he has a piece fudge sitting on his chest and is slowly chewing on a finished piece! Loveless got some fudge out but then we snuck him another piece! it was pretty funny!! 

What are you doing for Christmas Eve:  Christmas eve we have to be in our apartments by 2 but we can still go to dinner.

What are you doing for Christmas Day:  Christmas Day we will be going up to the temple's Visitor’s Center and have a mission party :)

Advice for your friends and family for Christmas:  Read, Pray and Search diligently. Pray for help to seek missionary work in your lives. Missionaries aren't good unless we have the help of the members!!!!!

This is a picture JT took at Sister Margolis' house- it is on the Potomac River- has a private boat dock- pretty cool!!

1 Month!!

So on the 13th I hit my month mark! 23 more to go!! hahah 

this past week has been ok. our members here are awesome and LOVE feeding the missionaries! this week we tracted and hour each day. and our goals are to try and talk to 5 people (unless we use our time ). we had a total of 15 contacts which is really good in our area. I think tracting is cool but it's really weird.. im still not used to this yet! 

one of our investigators had a futsol game at our gym we go to each morning, so we went to that Saturday night and watched him play, and he has some fancy footwork i have to admit that! and he is pretty fast! 

I am TOTALLY EXCITED for Christmas this year! still working on the Christmas presents for the fam :) 

time is just flying by... yes it has only been a month, but it feels like i have been out longer than that! Crazy!! 

anyways, i love you all! 

Elder Ekberg

Psalms 27: 1 & 14

*******************************

We received some additional emails from JT this week.  One set back- he is having some additional ankle troubles. Still painful, swelling and discomfort.  It isn't slowing him down any, that is for sure. He won't write publicly about it- however it is a weighing heavy on his mind and frustrating.  We have found a Dr. in his mission who will be working with him.  Please include him in your prayers that all will be well.  

We have some other fun things he wrote to us about that we would like to share:

1- When you go tracting- how many doors do you get in?

We get in 0 doors- sadly!!  We did give away cards that invite people to the festival of lights at the visitors center at the temple.  We get to go to the festival of lights if bring people we are teaching.  We are trying to get our futsol friend and his grandma to go- hopefully they will!

2-  What progress have you seen while proselyting on the internet?

It is slow honestly- it is awesome though and we get to share some great messages.

3- Are your investigators close to baptism?

We think so but they still need some work...we have two- the guy who plays futsol and his grandma.  They have concerns with the Family- A proclamation to the World.  It is very stressful but they will get through it- I know they will!!  

4- Do you work and visit with less active members?

We do work with them a lot.  They sign up for dinner which is AWESOME!!  This month our message has focused on Christmas and teaching them to follow Christ's example, love everyone and love to serve each 

other.

5- How often do you visit members homes?

We do just normal visits, getting to know them better, spiritual thoughts, finding people to teach.  The members here are really cool!!  The members do great missionary work.  It is a little slow right now because of the holiday's I guess.  Everyone is very busy all the time.

6-  What was your favorite dinner this week?  

I can't remember my favorite- they were all good!!  It has been a fast week!  HAHAHA

7- What was Zone Conference like this week?

We did workshops on teaching, thoughts and lessons, it was a Zone Conference with all the Suiteland Stake.  President and Sister Cooke were there too.  Everyone gets interviewed which is cool.  They are really cool- I love them a lot!!

We love hearing from our missionary!!

Week 2 = Chicken for Dayzz!

We received the standard email today for JT's P-day, and we also were surprised to get a handwritten letter last week! His penmanship wasn't that bad. Here are some excerpts:

11/30/2013
Thanksgiving was good- we had a great dinner appointment.  We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, beans home made rolls. For dessert, there were 4 pies!  Chocolate, pecan, Pumpkin and Pumpkin cheesecake.  There was also apple crisp-  I had the apple crisp!
Since I have been in DC, it has been pretty cold.  it snowed once but because it was not so cold, it didn't stick...There are no mountains, so I get lost really easily now!  At night it is pretty clear and you can see a lot of stars.  Reminds me of Utah up at Moon Lake.
We exercise every day.  I have a rubber exercise band.  We attach a bouncy ball to it and shoot it at the ironing board- pretty funny.

12/8/13
Tender mercies- The bishops wife sent Deanna a text of a picture she took of JT and his companion at the ward Christmas party.  It turns out she grew up in Cottonwood Heights, went to Brighton (graduated in 1999) and knows our wonderful Elders Quorum President- Aaron Roundy.  It is a small world!  She said they put him to work, and he and his companion are very helpful!  

12/9/13

WOW- week 2 is in the books!! man is time flying by! I cannot believe it has almost been a month since I have been out! O.o sooooo crazy!! 

anyways! we've been getting to know our ward more and more. We have some very nice people I was kinda surprised. Lots of dinner appointments but we dont have one for tonight... HASH BROWNS AND STEAKS TONIGHT!!! ;) haha our district has been going to one of the local gyms here in Waldorf and i have bulked up a bunch!! Crazy fact: When I entered the mtc, I weighed 175lbs. Guess how much I am now??! 195! I am proud for pushing and building myself and doing work! :) 

Saturday was our wards Christmas Party and they know how to feed people... chicken for dayzz!! there was so. much. CHICKEN!!! and lots of cake and goodies too ;) I will attach pics of the cool nativities in a few emails so sorry in advance!! 

Sunday are church got cancelled for all the ice that was on the road. No one out in our area can drive on the ice or snow.... Noobs! Sunday we just read the book of Mormon, played a few bored game and we also had a quick wrestling match.. That's what happens when you tell missionaries to stay in their apartments! haha  

And for P-day today I got a jump rope and a RC helicopter for kicks and giggles hehe :) I am such a little kid still... It's awesome! anyways I LOVE YOU ALL!!! 

Proverbs 25:25

Love,

Elder Ekberg

We were able to share a couple of emails back and forth today.  He shared the following with us-

Question- What has been the best & most challenging as you have been in the field for a couple of weeks?

I am enjoying studying which is weird because... well I dont like to study! but because its mostly BoM (Book of Mormon) and PMG (Preach my Gospel) and its the only two things we are focusing on to study haha i'm starting to like doing it. I am finding a lot of inspirational scriptures that i like which is good! and not enjoying much of the no tracting thing because everyone is getting home so late from work everyday. 

I love you and tell mom I love her too. and sisters.

...Love you too son!

Week 1: 'Not Here By Chance'

The first week went by SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fast holy crap!! But it was way fun! 

Thanksgiving day was pretty fun as well. Played some basketball with our ward mission leader and a few other ward members. It was really nice to get to play ball again! I have missed it a lot! But I still didn't do much because of my ankle... My shot is still good!! :)  

We don't do much tracting out here because everyone, literally everyone works in Downtown DC so they leave super early and they get home super late around 6pm and then go to bed around 7:30-8pm ish. We rely heavily on Member Referral’s and through Facebook as well!

About the Facebook deal, I have made another account just for mission purposes only which means I can't talk normally to you which stinks but that's why we have email!! :)

The weather here is alright. The humidity makes it seem colder than what it really is BUT it feels really nice!! 

Well that sums up my week pretty much! 

PS:  I might send some pictures tomorrow to you all with some MTC and Mission pictures so BE WATCHING! ;)

Elder Ekberg

***************************************

We asked JT a few questions this week- here are his responses.

Answers to your questions:

1-      Who is your companion?'

       My companion is Elder Gardner, he is from Provo and went to Timpview- played  

       basketball, 6 ft about 200lbs. He has been out 10 months- really cool guy!

2-      What city are you in and tell us about the people you are currently teaching.

I am in an area called White Plains 2 near Waldorf Maryland.  We cover 1 ward; we are in a car- 2014 Toyota Corolla.  Investigators at the moment we have 3 that are really interested. Sister Neismith and her grandson Jorden Brown, and Brother Jenkins. Brother Jenkins wants to be baptized but his wife won't let him and the other two I am not sure where they are at yet- still trying to remember everyone that we meet.  HAHA!

3-      Tell us about missionary work using social media:  

      Washington DC North mission is 1 of 8 missions that use social media.  I set up a missionary facebook account (you might get friend requests from me).  We spend an hour a day answering emails from investigators through facebook contact, visitor center referrals and Mormon.org.  We get ipads in a week or so to help us teach- using videos and stuff like that- pretty sick!!  It can’t be used to talk with people at home- unless it is to answer gospel questions, helping people get in contact with missionaries etc.. so don’t get mad if you post something and I don’t respond to you.  Just know that I see it, and feel free to comment on my posts!! J

4-      Do you get a lot of dinner appointments?

      We actually do get a lot of dinner appointments but sometimes no one follows through with it but December for the next two weeks I think we have every day filled with dinner appointments.

5-      What do you have for breakfast?

       Eggs and Jimmy Dean sausage croissants- LOL!

6-      Tell us about your most spiritual experience this week:

We were discussing some doctrine with our district and then we did a role play thing.  After that we got asked what we felt about our missionary purpose and I felt a prompting to take out my patriarchal blessing. I did and the section I shared was my new found mission quote and why I was there on a mission: "You are not here by chance, you are here by Assignment."

Love our missionary!!

The First Transfer!

Today was JT's first transfer- Missionary Training Center to Washington DC!  We were able to speak with him on the phone for a little bit.  He sounded wonderful!!  It is interesting how a couple of weeks of immersion and focus can refine someone.  JT mentioned how the spirit was very recognizable to him- his words- 'It was SWEET!'.  I asked him what his favorite scripture he studied in the MTC - Jacob 6- He has found this chapter helps him understand that he is on a mission to help those he meets understand they can repent, and follow Christ.  Even though sometimes the path is narrow- we all can make it.  Certainly his perspective has been re-aligned, he has his mind focused and is ready to serve.

We had a nice call from the mission president tonight.  The message said- 'Elder Ekberg made it
safe, he ate a BIG meal, had a great testimony meeting and he is doing magnificently!

Love this missionary!

Sunday Surprise!

We were surprised to get a quick note from our missionary today.  His note had some pictures of him and his companion Elder Ellis.  I asked JT some specific questions to give us an idea of what it is like in the field... an idea I got from our friends the Brey's - their son AJ is serving in Peru and played ball with JT at Hillcrest!  Here are the questions, his answers, and a few pics he sent.  Enjoy!

1- What do you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

USUALLY CEREAL AND MUFFINS, LUNCH AND DINNER USUALLY DEPENDS ON IF WHAT THEY HAVE SOUNDS/LOOKS GOOD OR NOT LOL

2- What is your daily schedule like?

WEEKDAYS: PERSONAL STUDY BREAKFAST, CLASS FOR LIKE 3-4 HOURS THEN LUNCH, COMPANIONSHIP STUDY THEN CLASS AGAIN, DINNER,MORE STUDY TIME AND SOMETIMES WE WILL GIVE BLESSINGS TO THE SISTERS

3- When is your p day and what do you do?

PDAY FOR US IS THURSDAY AND WE WILL DO THINGS LIKE LAUNDRY AND CLEAN AND HANGOUT WITH THE OTHER ELDERS I GUESS HAHAHA

4- How much scripture study are you doing- and do you have a favorite one?

THERE IS SO MUCH!! AND PERSONALLY I LIKED 1NEPHI 10:18 (PLEASE READ!!!!!!!)

5- Tell us about your zone leader job!  what do you have to do??

ZONE LEADER IS FAIRLY EASY! WE HAVE TO KEEP THE DISTRICT LEADER INLINE IS BASICALLY IT! WE WILL MAKE AN AGENDA FOR PRIESTHOOD NEXT SUNDAY BEFORE WE LEAVE AND GET THAT ORGANIZED.

On the 3rd day- we got a letter!

Hey y'all!!

Just wanted to let you all know about my 3 days of the mtc experience so far!

So the first day was very emotional at some parts of the day. When we got situated, we went to the classroom to meet the other elders in our mission and our companions for the MTC stay. My companion is from arizona and is pretty awesome! He played football in high school and is pretty big! We have two other elders in our room and their names are Elder Paul (from Las Vegas) and Elder Humphrey! Elder Humphrey and I went to Hillcrest together! All 4 of us will be flying out on the same day on the same flight!!! I have never been so excited about a plane ride before!

The second went by slow but good and the food here, ya it is pretty good not gonna lie!

The third day we had gym time and I played basketball with the other elders there and it probably wasn't the best idea. I got a blessing from the elders in my room and the next day it was feeling a little better!

Hope you all are doing great!!

"When we receive revelation of any kind, we receive faith and confidence not only in our self, but also in the Lord and this will lead to a change of heart and conversion."

With Love,

Elder Ekberg 

And He is OFF!!

The day has finally arrived!  JT entered the MTC today!  The family went to breakfast together- He chose Denny's for some reason??!!  It was the first time I witnessed him not finishing a meal!!  He may have been nervous, excited and anxious to get this first leap over with!  After breakfast we went and got his bags, received a father's blessing and we made our way to the MTC.   We were able to spend some time as a family at the Provo temple grounds.  JT was able to meet a few Elders and Sisters - everyone was super friendly.  We were able to spend some last moments with him at the temple- lots of hugs, tears, laughter and fun!
We dropped him off at 12:45; station #23.  His host was Elder Shulemberg from Germany who is going to Japan, Nagayo- Imagine that!!  The 2 and half minutes to say good bye were precious and powerful.  He gave us all great big JT hugs, said good bye and went forth boldly and with great faith.  We love our missionary- and are excited for this adventure!