Back In The Game!

January 14, 2015

Today is a GREAT day for JT and the Washington DC North Mission!!

Back in June, JT came home after serving 8 months in the DC North Mission- he was medically released as a missionary.  
He had surgery on June 30, 2014 to remove bone spurs that had formed on his left ankle from previous basketball injuries.  In addition to bone spurs, the cartilage had separated from the tibia and ankle and had to be removed. The surgeon performed a micro fracture procedure on the bottom of the tibia to generate stem cells that formed new cartilage material in its place.  Finally while in surgery, the peroneal  tendon was looked at to ensure it was free of damage; which thankfully it was. 

JT's recovery consisted of 8 weeks non-bearing recovery, and 8 weeks of physical therapy 3 times per week.  After many grueling sessions of physical therapy, JT was cleared to return to normal activity.

He still experiences slight discomfort, but his daily routine of exercise and personal PT, he will continue to heal.

This has been a challenging time for him personally.  We are so proud of the decision he has made to finish his missionary service.  He loves the Lord.  Despite 'heckling' from the stands,he has risen to the challenge and returned to the starting lineup in the ranks of the missionaries!

We give thanks to all - family, friends , co-workers, coaches & teammates- who have supported him, put your arms around him and loved him for who he is and not where he was or wasn't. May God bless you for your kindness.

We offer our love to even those who attempted to discourage him- it has made him even stronger and brought him closer to Heavenly Father.

We love him, we are humbled by the opportunity to be associated with such a dedicated son.  He is an incredible missionary and will unlock many opportunities and blessings for those he serves in Washington DC.

God speed son-

Dad, Mom, Becca & Rachel

**JT has met up with the missionaries called to the DC North Mission in the Missionary Training Center.  He will spend a week in the MTC and fly out to DC on January 20th.

Weekly Update- 6/16/14

Given my medical issues with my ankle and foot, I am not able to do too much.  I was able to go to the visitors center on the temple grounds this past week and see Brother Topper speak at the 'Why I Believe' conference.  He spoke of his conversion, shared his testimony- called me out a few times which was touching.  I was able to find out he is preparing for his priesthood ordination.  It was great to see him, I am really excited about that and so grateful to be a part of his life.

I had an appointment at the Georgetown University Medical Center this week to see a foot specialist.
Here is what the diagnosis is with my ankle: I have a bone spur, a cartilage defect, bone fragments from my fracture a year ago, and also a possible perineal (?) tendon tear. Wednesday I will be taking an MRI to find out for sure if there is a tendon tear and we will go from there.. :/ 

I'm still very grateful for the doctor finding out what is the problem this time!  Hopefully soon we will be able to put together a course of action to get this taken care of.

Love you all and have a great week!

Elder JT Ekberg

Ankle Update & Frustrations- Still doing what I can!

The last little while has really sucked. I have been back at our apartment everyday this last week inside, and off of my foot. For those of you who know me, you know that I want to out working or doing something haha. Well, with this injury, I am not able to walk or bike
without major pain stirring around in my ankle. I was able to go out once this week for a few minutes to see if I could bare (bear? I'm not good with these but I think it is the first one! Haha) the pain, but once we got about half way to our destination, I couldn't handle it.
So I am in the process of waiting for a doctors appointment in 2 weeks. This week was not the greatest.

I hope you guys have a wonderful week! I love you all so much for the love and support you have given me. I know that whatever happens is God's will for me.

PS: just a friendly reminder to send letters to the mission office
(11700 Falls Rd Potomac, MD 20854) for now on.

Elder JT Ekberg

Yes I have a cane....

June 2, 2014- We are Professional Movers!!

Bonjour ma famille et les amis!

This week was really crazy. So there is this guy who lives in the
same complex as us. He asked us if we could help him move out of his
apartment (this was at the beginning of the month). We said yes and
that is what we did this week! We took most of his furniture and
placed it in ours so that the mission could come and see what they
need. Our apartment was pretty packed with all this stuff and it was
very hard to maneuver around. There was like one walkway leading from
the entry to the kitchen :o I don't like stuff. Especially that MUCH!

Then on Wednesday, we were heading home for dinner and we wanted to
talk to this guy walking towards us. So I'm like " Alright, I got
this." I introduce us as missionaries and asked if I could give him a
card (he seemed to be in a rush) he just kept saying no and saying "I
gotta pee!", "don't hold me up, I'll pee my pants!" It was really
quite hysterical! And then while he was making this scene, he looked
at me and said " don't look at me like I'm crazy! I really gonna pee!
STOP LOOKING AT ME WITH THAT CRAZY LOOK!" Well what else do you want
me to do? Stare at you cross eyed? Geez! Hahaha it was very funny!


Saturday was another very busy moving day. We had 2 people that had
asked us to help them move, so we thought we could make both of them.
Well, we ended up going on another exchange with our roommates. Elder
Fuller (roommate ) and I went to an investigator in our area and spent
the whole day moving this guy and the others did the same thing. BUT I
got a guitar out of helping this person! It was a great day!


We have some bad news... Paula the recent convert, decided that she
doesn't want to get confirmed because of things that she doesn't like
about the church. She read some things on Google and that just added
on to her doubts. 

We are sad :( I am getting really frustrated with my
ankle. I can't walk without a limp, and pain searing all over and
around my ankle. Please keep me in your prayers... I will be talking
with both mission president and his wife Tuesday.

I love you all and I hope to here from y'all soon whether via email or
letters! :)

Love Elder JT Ekberg
Washington, D.C. Zone!

First Full Week In My New Area- DC 3rd

 This week was the first full week of being in my new area. It's
really cool to see how the key indicators/numbers are different from
being in a car. In a car, we can't talk to everyone because it is
kinda awkward driving up to someone and getting out. I am sure they
think they are gonna get jumped or something. Being on a bike we are
supposed to talk... I am still working on it hahah.

  Wednesday, I went with our roommate to help teach one of their
investigators named Lee. He lives like right around the corner from
the White House! And he is a very cool guy. We talked about the plan
of salvation and he taught the lesson! He told us everything about it!
From Pre-mortal life, birth, death, spirit paradise, the resurrection
and judgement AND The 3 Kingdoms of Glory. Let's say he is one of
those golden investigators! Lee is an IT kinda guy, so we connected
really well :)

  Friday, we went on exchange with our zone leaders: Elder Tavana and
Elder Hansen. Elder Hansen came here with me and he is a very sweet
person. We started off the day by going up to this bike shop up by the
National Mall to get me a bike tube. That took all morning pretty
much. When we get off at our metro stop, we go to this place called
&pizza. It's basically like subway but with pizza. Holy. Smokes. IT IS
THE BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!! It is a rectangular pizza and as
bigger than a foot long! Just tying this is making want to go get some
more!! :P

Then at night, we took one of our investigators up to the Visitors
Center to have a lesson on the plan of salvation. He felt the spirit
so strongly that night, so he kept expressing what he was feeling
inside. Really touching!!

  Saturday was not the best day for me.. Friday was just as bad
because of all the walking. But on Saturday I didn't go out because I
could hardly put pressure on my foot. It is so frustrating that this
is happening again to me, but The Lord has his reasons for these
trials for us.

  Lastly, yesterday we went down to the Mall to see Ceasar, who is a
retired marine and feeds us like every weekend. But he was in the
Memorial Day parade with the Rolling Thunder Bike brigade. Instead,
since we missed the big group of motorcyclists, we talked to people.
Which was fun for a little bit. We were walking around the Washington
Monument and we saw some random guy standing on a wall preaching. At
first we thought he was a JW (Jehovah's Witness), but turns out they
were Baptists. We talked to one of the guys handing out flyers which
normally we shouldn't take, but we took anyways to exchange for one of
our cards. Their beliefs are similar to ours but not really.. haha

Thank you Linda Watson for the letter this week, and also, thank you
to all those who have written me! I really enjoy reading about the
cool stories each of youi have so please continue to write! :)

I Love you all so very much! Have an awesome week my friends!

Avec beaucoup d'amour,

Elder JT Ekberg

Sent from my iPad Mini

My First Transfer!!

So this is what happened this week:

Tuesday, the day before transfers, We had a great day with a senior
missionary couple named the Biolos(? I don't think I spelled that
right). First we had an appointment with Scott Jenkins (investigator)
and reassured him that his decision to be baptized will be the best
decision that he will ever make. Scott is amazing. His testimony is so
strong and he already acts like he is a member! I hope that when he
does get baptized I can get to go to that

Wednesday was transfers! And guess what? I GOT TRANSFERRED!! =D I am now in Northeast D.C. in the D.C. 3rd ward. When we got to the apartment, basically unpacked for a little bit and then we went to
dinner at the chapel. This ward doesn't do a meal calendar so we get fed like 1-2 times a week :(

Thursday night was very interesting. We went over to see one of the investigators we have. We get there and is friend answers the door and we asked him if he would want to learn more about a prophet. At first, he hesitated. Then he warmed up to the idea of 5-10 minutes. Well, it wasn't 5-10 minutes lol. It was more like one hour! As we were talking to him, one of his roommates came down to see what was up. These two individuals are both Theological scholars at the Catholic University, just down the street from where we are living. So it turned into a mini Bible bash! We mostly talked about The Fall of Adam and Eve and
they learned A LOT!! I was happy:)

Friday was really cool. In the evening, we went by Paula's, an
investigator, to finish her baptismal program and to have the baptism
interview from the Zone Leaders. She got baptized yesterday! :) She is
such a strong and faithful person. Her testimony is awesome. And what
drew her to the church, was the peace and warmth she felt whenever she
was in the building.

Saturday was the best day I have ever had being in the mission field.
Why you might wonder? It was because we got to hear from Elder
Ballard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D  Basically in short, he told us that
we need to talk to more people in order to see more people come into
the church. He issued us all (3 Missions so about 760 missionaries) to
talk to 10 people each and every day. So this will be very interesting
for me to see the growth that comes from this.

I love you all oh so very much. The Savior lives. His gospel is truly
real. He suffered the ultimate sacrifice for all the world that no man
could ever do.

Ps: I have a new address! Please send JUST LETTERS to this address:
120 Michigan Ave. Apt # K-31
Washington, D.C. 20017-1023

and then packages to
11700 Falls Rd
Potomac, MD 20854

THak you all!!!! ❤️☺️😏😃 :)

Breaking News- TRANSFERS!!!

BIG SPIDER!!!

My Lil Buddy

**BREAKING NEWS** brought to you by the DC north mission news choppa!

So after being in the area of white plains, md for 6 months, I will be
getting transferred! And I will be going on bike somewhere! I'm pretty
excited to go but I am hoping my ankle won't give out suddenly while
on bike.

This weekend was pretty awesome. We had a last lesson with the toppers
on Friday on receiving a patriarchal blessing, and then we had dinner
at there house the next day! We were so thankful for them having us
over two days in a row! Breakfast for dinner is like the best dinner
ever! Then of course Mother's Day yesterday! I wish we could have more
time to talk with our moms and our families :( start the countdown for
Christmas! :)


Today we went on a little "nature hike". I really wish Maryland had
mountains because then we can really go mountain biking! But we got a
couple ticks and luckily they didn't burrow inside us! We found some
frogs and some cool scenery, still not as cool as it would be with the
mountains! ;)

Sorry this one was short but here are some pics and keep writing me!

Rehearsing for the Cumorah Pageant

Please send all mail to
Elder Jonathon Ekberg
11700 Falls Rd
Potomac, MD 20854

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Elder JT Ekberg