All of April 2019

April 23, 2019
Happy Easter!

This week has been a blast as we have had tons of time to be on the streets.  We got some big Easter posters with a picture of Christ and it has been fun having a street stand!

Everything in Norway shuts down during Easter and most people aren't home which make missionary work a lot more difficult.  

We heard some amazing talks in Church this Sunday.  I love the focus of the resurrection of Christ and the message behind it.  We know that because Christ was resurrected, that we will be resurrected.  

Hope you all have an amazing week!

Eldste Egan

This week was fun and also long. Easter in Norway means let's party and go on vacation. Nobody here really cares about what Easter means. If you ask them on the street "what does Easter mean to you" you will either get response #1 of "it means I can go to the mountains and do absolutely nothing. Or #2 "I worship Satan and will have fun in hell"

But because of Easter all of the streets are pretty empty and nobody is home. It makes for a long weekend of walking around doing nothing. But President and Sister Tew had a lot of missionaries over on Friday evening and it was a blast. We had these burritos made with lamb and the tortilla was nan bread. (I don't think I spelled that right)

Saturday a member reached out to us and invited us over for dinner. He said he knew we probably had nothing to do and because nobody was home we probably weren't getting fed. It was way fun as we ate dinner on the roof of the building he lives in. You could see the city from a whole new perspective! And the food was amazing. We had Turkey! This is the only place on my entire mission that I have had Turkey besides with Americans in Stavanger on Thanksgiving.

Sunday we had a small miracle and a person I taught a little bit my first time in Oslo who had been meeting with missionaries for about a year before I got there came to church again on Sunday. She is one who begged the missionaries to get baptized for months and has done personal progress and everything but because her parents were Muslim and she was under the age of 18 we couldn't do it. We have been trying our best to get back in contact and out of nowhere she shows up to church. We will be meeting with her today and hope it all goes well. 

If you don't get an email or a longer email from me next week, it is because I had to stavanger on Monday and will be there until late Wednesday night.

I head to Fredrikstad in the morning for 2 days and then zone conferences begin on Friday. 

It's going to be a busy but fun week! Love you.

Travel arrangements have been made for me to come home.  

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Your trip

Booking ref:

PLSVZO

CheckMyTrip

Document Issue Date:

09 April 2019

Baggage Info

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Traveler

Easton Taft Egan (624728-R)

Agency

CHURCH TRAVEL CWT

50 East North Temple St

SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150

Telephone

801 240-5111

Fax

801-240-5115

Agent initial

KK

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Thursday 04 July 2019

Delta Air Lines DL 9345 (Operated by Klm Royal Dutch Airlines, KL1142)

Departure

04 July 09:20 AM

Oslo, (Gardermoen) (+)

Arrival

04 July 11:10 AM

Amsterdam, (Schiphol Airport) (+)

Duration

01:50 (Non stop)

Distance

595 Miles

Check-in

Booking status

Confirmed

Class

Economy (B)

Baggage allowance

1 Piece(s) for Easton Taft Egan

Seat

(Aisle seat, No smoking seat) confirmed for Easton Taft Egan

Equipment

EMBRAER 190

Flight meal

Snack or brunch

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Thursday 04 July 2019

Delta Air Lines DL 163

Departure

04 July 12:50 PM

Amsterdam, (Schiphol Airport) (+)

Arrival

04 July 02:53 PM

Minneapolis/St Paul, (St Paul Intl) (+)

Terminal: 1 - Terminal 1 - Lindbergh

Check-in

Duration

09:03 (Non stop)

Distance

4,152 Miles

Booking status

Confirmed

Class

Economy (B)

Baggage allowance

1 Piece(s) for Easton Taft Egan

Seat

(No smoking seat) confirmed for Easton Taft Egan

Equipment

AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-300

Flight meal

Lunch

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Thursday 04 July 2019

Delta Air Lines DL 2819

Departure

04 July 05:35 PM

Minneapolis/St Paul, (St Paul Intl) (+)

Terminal: 1 - Terminal 1 - Lindbergh

Arrival

04 July 07:24 PM

Salt Lake City, (Salt Lake City Intl) (+)

Terminal: 2 - Terminal Unit 2

Check-in

Duration

02:49 (Non stop)

Distance

988 Miles

Booking status

Confirmed

Class

Economy (B)

Baggage allowance

1 Piece(s) for Easton Taft Egan

Seat

(No smoking seat) confirmed for Easton Taft Egan

Equipment

AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A319

Flight meal

Refreshments for purchase

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General Information NORWAY OSLO MISSION MISSION PRESIDENT WAYNE L TEW PH B/XXX XX XXXX-1270 H/011 47 6741-3750 2018004@LDSCHURCH.ORG *** PLEASE CHECK YOUR ITINERARY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RESERVATIONS ARE BOOKED AS REQUESTED *** . *** THANK YOU FOR CALLING CHURCH TRAVEL-801-240-5149*** . ** ELECTRONIC TICKETS HAVE BEEN PURCHASED AND ARE READY FOR TRAVEL*** *** WE HAVE 24 HOURS AFTER TICKETS ARE PURCHASED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. AFTER 24 HOURS ALL APPLICABLE CANCELATION OR CHANGE FEES MAY APPLY. *** **NOTICE**ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT 1 HOUR PRIOR TO DOMESTIC FLIGHTS AND 2 HOURS PRIOR TO INT*L FLIGHTS WITH REQUIRED STATE OR FEDERAL PHOTO ID AND TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, FLIGHT CHANGES ENROUTE, OR SIGNIFICANT DELAYS, IMMEDIATELY TELEPHONE MISSIONARY TRAVEL (800)537-3537 OR (801)240-5111 EMPLOYEE TRAVEL (800)537-1232 OR (801)240-1000 GENERAL AUTHORITY TRAVEL (800)453-3860 OR (801)240-1000

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March 26, 2019- 100 days until coming home!

I loved being back in Stavanger and I am super excited to go back this week! Awesome week in Norway.  This week was fun and had some busy moments and not so busy moments at the same time.  It all stared with taking a flight last p-day to my old area of Stavanger. We got there early enough to go on an amazing hike with some of the missionaries and with President and Sister Tew.  We then had an amazing zone conference on Wednesday with home made Cafe Rio for lunch.  Wow was it good!

On Thursday we drove to the airport to pick up one of the new senior couples. We then spent the rest of the evening on the streets contacting.  To be honest, nobody talked to us that evening except right towards the end when we approached this man and right after we said something he stopped and said, "I am not interested but I know 95% of the people here wont talk to you so I will talk with you" ha ha made my day!  And of course by the end of the 15 minute conversation we were talking about the gospel. 

Friday was another amazing zone conference in Drammen.  And to end the night, we ate some Kebab.(meat and veggies roasted on a skewer)

Saturday was amazing as I had my first lesson since being in this area.  It was a Norwegian man from the top right corner of Norway. His dialect was a fun one but we are excited to meet with him again this week. Another miracle this week was during my last transfer in Stavanger, my companion and I started teaching these 2 younger boys.  They were baptized on Saturday and even though I only taught them a couple of times, it truly has been a blessing.  I know that serving mission benefits your life and others!

It's still winter here in Norway.  It's been a proud week for the Norwegian people as the Norwegian coast guard has rescued many people from the stranded Viking Sky Cruise ship off the western coast in the Norwegian Sea.  Almost 500 passengers were taken off one by one from a helicopter in an amazing rescue done in horrible conditions.  Thank goodness everyone is safe. 

If you haven't, go read the Book of Mormon!  

Have an amazing week!

Eldste Egan

March 21, 2019

Hey Mom.

I am writing you on a plane using my phone. I am on my way to Stavanger for the next 2 days.  

I will be doing the Dalsnuten hike today and then busy in the evening.

This week has been great. It went by extremely fast. We had an amazing zone conference here on Wednesday and it was fun to see Elder Hansen and joke around. 

On Thursday we went on splits and the Fredrikstad Elders came to Oslo.  We had a really great time and it was fun being around Elder Welch (another Elder from the MTC)

We are really trying to get things going in our area but it is slow and go. I still haven't taught a lesson since being in this area but we should have some things lined up for this week hopefully. 

Yesterday we had an amazing meeting with President Tew. I learned so much from it and it will really shape the rest of my mission. 

I also talked with President Tew about schooling and I don't want to take the economics class until my sophomore year. We will be talking but overall things are starting to line up. It fully hit me this week that I will be heading home soon and I just can't believe it.  Time is flying. 

 

Love you,

Elder Egan

March 14, 2019

A Few weeks worth of updates:

Hey Mom and Dad,

The snow has come back and today's emails will be short due to the fact that there is a new missionary coming in.  He is Norwegian so it will be nice to have a native Norwegian in the mission.  

This week was full of changes as I got a new companion and drove the missionaries going home to the airport.  I don't think the going away dinner at the mission home will be all that special because I have been to 2 of them already. ha  But the food that the Tew's make is amazing!  I will be eating there tonight.

Sunday was a fun day as we walked home from church all the way across the city.  Always worth it as we get a ton of time to contact and it being one of the best times to do so.  The route that we take goes past the oldest church/building in all of Norway.  I have always wanted to go inside but the doors have always been locked to the church.  But on Sunday I went and tried one more time and the door was open.  All the lights were off but the second we stepped foot inside the organ started playing.  I have no idea if that is what they have as the alarm or what but we were the only ones in there.  The inside was super cool and we took about 15 steps inside before we left.  

Yesterday we had mission leadership conference.  Amazing to learn from President Tew.  

As of studying. I have been focusing on the Doctrine and Covenants in English and the Book of Mormon in Norwegian.  In my free time I have also been reading The Saints and finished it.  It was super good.  Way cool to read all of the stories.  

Haven't taught a lesson since the first week of January but we will get there.  

Everything is great!

Love you

Eldste Egan

_____

Hey everyone!

This week has been a blast. I got a new companion.  He is from Dallas Texas. He is a great guy and I am looking forward to working with him the next couple of months.

Everything happened really fast this week.  One of my previous companions that I spent 4 1/2 months with finished his mission this week. It was fun to be able to drive him to the airport.  

Sunday was an amazing day. We decided to walk home from church and not take the normal public transport.  It was a perfect time to be out and contact.  Had a really fun conversation with a guy.  We then had the musical and it was an early showing and again it was fun.  One lady got mad at me this week saying we take advantage of the Musical, and then a minute later she takes a book....

We had a great time learning from our mission President on Monday.

Overall everything is great. Here is a pic from the musical:

I got punched for the first time on my mission this week.  (the rest of the story will be explained another time)(after the mission)(after our trip)

Other than that, this week was amazing and full of work.  We have gotten zone conferences organized and we are getting pretty excited for everything to happen this week and next.

I still haven't taught a lesson to a non member in 2 or so months but we have some potential happening here.  

We are working with a returning member who is way cool from Northern Norway.  He speaks a dialect and it is super cool and fun to hear.  Besides being in the crazy dialect of Stavanger, most of my mission has been the same. 

We had breakfast and a meeting at the mission home this week.  I love that place so much and the Tew's are so amazing.  I look up to both of them a lot!

I didn't travel anywhere this week but next week I will be spending my P-day in Stavanger and I will be spending the night because the following day is zone conference. 

Tonight Elder Hansen is in town!  We have zone conference in the morning here in Oslo. 

I got the email this week about my departure home and the information I am supposed to fill out.  This is getting weird.  

Talk to you soon

Eldste Egan

February 21, 2019

This week was awesome!  It started out with having all of the trainers and new missionaries come into Oslo to have a 2 day conference/training meeting.  It was a blast.  The new missionaries here have such amazing Norwegian.  I don't know what they are doing in the MTC but it seems to be working.  

Come Friday morning we packed up and headed to the airport to go on splits in a city called Trondheim.  There is a train stop from the airport to the city called Hell.  So we got some good pictures there and then I was blessed to be able to go on splits with Eldste Hansen.  He is such an amazing missionary and such a hard worker.  We have waited for this moment to go on splits our entire mission.  

While in Trondheim, I got the chance to run into a friend who was a foreign exchange student at Alta.  It was way cool to see her and to speak to her in her own language.  Elder Hansen and I had some time to contact around the city.  One of our best conversations we had was with a guy from France on vacation.  We talked to him for about 30 min.  He didn't believe in God but was open to talk about it.  I think it is so amazing that we are able to tell people that God can answer their prayers.  I am also surprised about how more people aren't willing to just try and see if God exists.  Our message is so amazing and simple and I know it can change everyone's lives.  

On the plane ride home, this younger man sat next to me on the plane and we had a fun conversation.  The reason he knew about the church is because his school band has practiced in a couple of our buildings.  By the end he wasn't interested but it sure made the plane flight a lot of fun.

Sadly, we didn't teach anyone this week but we will get one this next.

Monday was full of meetings and other things.  This next week is going to be really busy but fun. We have a guy from Salt Lake coming who works with the missionary department.  I am excited to learn from him.

I a grateful to be out here on my mission.  I know this church is Gods Church on earth.  And I know that we can all get answers to our prayers if we are willing to try.

Have a good one.

med vennlig hilsen 

Eldste Egan

February 15, 2019

Hi Mom and Dad,

This week was great.  It started out with flying to Trondheim and wow was it cold.  It was a really cool city and fun experience.  We had another amazing zone conference there.  President Tew does an amazing job!  It has been fun to travel and to be apart of all of the zone conferences.  

Thursday was a day of fun and work.  I honestly can't remember much from this day besides the fact that we had to go and pick up some bibles for the missionaries because the MTC wont provide anymore Norwegian bibles to the missionaries.  And every day for the past week and a half, it has just constantly snowed.  I also had a blender crack and explode all over me in the apartment.  

Friday, we drove many missionaries from the south zone to conference.  We had a fun conference again and I got the chance to meet about 6 missionaries that I have never had the chance to meet before.  Again another day of constant snow.  On the way home from conference, it started to rain, and knowing that there is about 3 feet of snow here and then add rain made for a lot of ice.  Lets just say I got the van stuck on a hill of ice and barely made it home.  Nothing like a little luck.  

Saturday we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and also a district council.  We also had the musical and it was an eventful one.  Started out with prostitutes that came to us and asked us some questions right before the musical got out.  This then led to an eventful time of passing out books again.  This led to trying to pass out books to the taxi drivers. Sometimes I feel like this it what it would be like to serve your mission in Las Vegas.  

Sunday we had church and our new Bishop who is from Scotland who served his mission here about 8 years ago gave an amazing talk about doing the Lords will.  He is an amazing example of fulfilling your calling. 

Monday we had lots to do in the office because we have all of the new missionaries who came in this transfer come back to Oslo and go through a 2 day training sort of thing.  It will be a ton of fun.  And the SUN CAME OUT FOR MORE THAN 5 MINUTES TODAY.  Wow, I forgot how it feels and that there is joy when you see the sun.  I was totally fine with the dark until I saw the sun again and realized how nice it is.  It felt like a completely different world.

I again will fly to Trondheim this week on Friday.  It is possible but extremely rare to see the Northern lights there but it will probably be my only shot so I sure hope it happens on Friday night.  

Everything is going great.  Time is flying and luckily i can keep myself busy.  I haven't taught a lesson in over a month but that will come.  I am grateful to be serving here in Norway.

Thanks for all that you do.

Hello everyone. 

Another great week in Oslo.  The sun came out this week and it was amazing. I didn't realize how much I missed it until it was back.

This week has been full of zone conferences and other things but the Book of Mormon musical is still going on and has been a big success.  We as a mission have given out a rough estimate of 65,000 copies of the Book of Mormon since the musical started at the beginning of my mission.  

I was able to travel to the beautiful city of Trondheim this past week and it was an amazing place with the most famous old church building in Norway.  It was super cold but we had a great zone conference there.

The work is fun and going well.  I love serving here in Norway.  Time seems to fly by and I can't believe it is already the middle of February.  

-- 

Elder Egan

Fun Pictures from Elder and Sister Naylor who serve in Trondheim.  They took Elder Egan and Elder Garlick to the town of Hell.  

Pretending to call home

Elder and Sister Naylor

February 15, 2019- Latter-day Saint Missionaries Can Now Call, Text Home Weekly, First Presidency Announces

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday an update to guidelines regarding communication between full-time missionaries and their families.

Effective immediately, the Church’s 65,000 missionaries are authorized to communicate with their families each week on preparation day by text messages, online messaging, phone calls, and video chats, in addition to letters and emails.

“Regular communication with their families is an important part of a missionary’s service,” said the First Presidency in a statement. “One of the major purposes of this adjustment is to encourage families to be more involved in their missionary’s efforts and experiences.”

The significant adaptations to missionary communication are the result of the “options, possibilities, and technologies now offered in some parts of the world,” said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and chairman of the Church’s Missionary Executive Council.

Communication should occur on the missionary’s preparation day and be initiated by the missionary. Missionaries are asked to use good judgment in determining the length of phone calls and video chats and to be considerate of their companions.

With the new advances in technology, this communication should take place at little or no cost to the Church, the missionaries, or their families.

In those few locations where families or missionaries do not have access to computers or phones, missionaries are encouraged to continue using their current means of communication.

In addition to weekly communication, missionaries are also encouraged to contact family on other special occasions such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, parents’ birthdays, and other culturally significant holidays.

“We encourage missionaries to communicate with their families each week using whatever approved method missionaries decide,” said Elder Uchtdorf. “This may vary based on their circumstances, locations, and schedules for that week. It is not expected that all missionaries will call or video chat with their parents every week. The precise manner of communication is left up to the missionary as he or she decides what will best meet their needs.”

Elder Uchtdorf said the new guidelines offer several additional benefits, including accommodating varied family circumstances, as well as better supporting those missionaries who would benefit from increased personal contact with family at home.

“As families, we love our missionaries,” he said. “Missionaries love their families. They want to communicate with them.”

Elder Uchtdorf called this communication—made possible by technology—a wonderful thing. “We communicate with our Heavenly Father every day, and we would like to have our families communicate with the missionaries every week—maybe by letter or maybe by email, or now maybe by video chats or phone calls. This is an addition which brings more confidence, more peace.”

He rejected the philosophy that calling home more than twice a year will weaken or distract missionaries.

“Our missionaries are pretty tough,” said Elder Uchtdorf. “They receive rejection every day. They have tough weather conditions. They have to learn a lot. They have to work with new cultures, with new circumstances. But above all, they know in their hearts and minds that they are servants and representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Further, Elder Uchtdorf said new options of communication with home will be a motivating force, not a distraction. After their communication with families—in whatever form the missionaries select—they can “go out there and serve the Lord with even a brighter heart, a more joyful countenance.” They can smile at the people they meet and teach and say, “‘I just talked to my parents. They send their greetings and they send their love.’” 

Church leaders trust the missionaries, he said. “They do this very well on Christmas or whatever the occasion is. We are confident that this will be very nicely done among the missionary companionships.”

Increased communication can help to unify missionaries and their families in this “great and marvelous work,” said Elder Uchtdorf. Missionaries can share with their families “the wonderful experiences they have in the field.”

Increased communication may also help missionaries who are homesick and could benefit from the “comforting voice of their parents,” said Elder Uchtdorf.

To avoid disruption to missionary schedules, family members are asked not to initiate calls or chats but instead wait for the missionary to contact them on his or her weekly preparation day. If a missionary’s parents live in different locations, he or she may contact each parent separately.

Parents should remember that the missionaries have an important work to do. “They are called to bring the gospel message to all the world. They are called to find, teach, baptize, and help people to become disciples of Jesus Christ. They are the ones in charge of communication.”

Missionaries “initiate the call to their parents because they have a schedule they want to fulfill. Missionaries and parents can plan ahead to find a time convenient to both. On preparation day, missionaries want to prepare physically, mentally, and spiritually for the rest of the week. They know best which time would be best for them to call home.”

Elder Uchtdorf added, “The Lord loves the missionaries and their families. We are confident that the expanded ways of weekly communication between missionaries and their families by letters, emails, online messaging, video chats, or phone calls will have a positive effect on the efforts to gather Israel, both in the mission field and at home.”