Week 4 MTC

Okay so this week in the MTC has been cool. My district is now the oldest district in the zone for the next 2 weeks. So weird. Yesterday my companion and I had to teach 4 people!!! Usually you just teach one person but it was the best day I've ever had while out on the mission. I love to teach people but again, it's way hard to do in another language.

OH! I have an embarressing story. So thanks mom for typing all my letters onto the blog....maybe I should clarify ahead of time what I do and don't want on there HAHA. I'm not mad I just can't believe this happened.

So I have 2 teachers Hermano W and Hermana R. The other day Hermana R came across my youtube video of me opening my call. She sent that video to all the teachers that knew me. Then I think my blog link is somewhere on the youtube account. So my teacher Hemana R clicked on it and started reading my blog. She laughed when she say me talking about my first P-Day and I had said something like, "The language is hard but the view is nice, but don't worry the teacher is married". I almost died haha I told her not to tell Hermano W until AFTER I left but who knows he may have already read it haha. All the girls in my district joke about it. Yesterday Hermano W told us to give him our parents emails so he can email you guys. Then he said if we wanted to give him our emails or blogs to see how we are doing. ALL the sisters looked at me and started laughing so hard, it was way embarressing. When he asked what we were laughing about I told him nothing.

It's so hard being here in the MTC for 6 weeks it feels so long! And weird to think I've already passed a month since I reported to the MTC.

I came across a scripture that I LOVE! It's Helaman 5. It talks about how Nephi and Lehi (NOT the Nephi and Lehi at the beginning of the Book of Mormon these are 2 completely different people. they are brothers) Nephi and Lehi were remembering the words their father Helaman spoke to them.
in vs 6 it says, "Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. behold i have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of jerusalem; and this I have doine that when you remember your names ye may remember them, and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said and also written that they were good"

I like to take this verse and read it as if my Heavenly Father was speaking to me as a missionary about receiving/wearing the name of Christ. "Behold my missionary I desire that ye should remember to keep my commandments. and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. behold i have given unto you the name of your Savior, Jesus christ from Bethlehem. And this I have done that when you remember and read his name upon your nametag ye may remember him. and when ye remember him ye may remember his works. and when you remember his works ye ye may know how that it is said and also written that they were good"

I love you so much! I'm sorry this letter is random. I will go on later today and write more :]

Oh could you please tell Sister V F that I say hi, i love her, and thank her for sending me joel and brandon's letters! Tell her I see Joel every once in awhile and he is so happy! the other day he sent me canadian candy haha he's so sweet. Everytime I see him i wish i could hug him because he's such a good friend of mine! i'de send you a pic but i lost my card...

Oh also say hi and thank you to sister B for the letter :] and Emily S tell her I love her and appreciate her letters to me about if i need anything.

Take care! Love you so much!!!

Love-Hermana Ashley Jaeger

Week 3 MTC ~ "...and down ascended two CARROTS!" & Elder Holland visited

Buenos Dias!  email 1 today!!

I hope you all are doing well :] Well my Spanish is SLOWLY starting to improve. Yesterday we were teaching an investigator/teacher and he had expressed that his wife had a miscarriage. I'm surprised I even understood what he said. I got a little emotional and explained that my mom had a miscarriage but that this gospel makes me happy because I know I will live with him again. So "hijo" is son and "hermano" is brother. After our lesson the investigator/teacher pulled me out of class. I had told him that I had a miscarriage because I said "hijo" not "hermano" haha I was so embarrassed because my teacher thought it was probably an issue if I had a miscarriage and was out in the field. So embarrassing. Needless to say my Spanish still needs A LOT of work. It's okay though one Elder in our district said that Jesus was a women and the other Elder said Joseph Smith saw a pillar of light and down ascended two carrots hahaha! Aww learning a new language is awesome.

Our teacher was asking us questions and he asked my companion and I if we followed satan. We were so focused on what he was saying that we just expected he asked "do you two follow the example of jesus christ" instead he said "do you two follow the example of satan". We said yes and everyone started busting up laughing. it was so embarressing haha

Oh here's an even more embarressing story. Our zone loves to play volleyball during gym. I was standing out of the court waiting for the ball. All of a sudden the ball starts coming to me and I just hit it back in the court. A new Elder in our District was running towards the ball. It was super awkward when he ran into me and accidently put his hands on my waist. haha we were embarrassed because you're not suppost to hug/touch/do anything with someone of the opposite gender. Obviously our whole zone jokes about it now. He asked me the other day if I could take a picture with him to send home to his mom so she could see which girl is the cause of him getting sent home. hahaha he's not getting sent home, we just joke because if an elder and sister hugged or did anything like that they would most likely get sent home.

I saw Joel F yesterday! He tried to give me a hug twice!! haha he's well and is really happy to being the MTC!

Let everyone know I love them and thank them for theri letters and prayers.  Someone told me that under the Prophet the missionaries probably recieve the most prayers!  I am grateful for this because I need those prayers. A quote by Elder Bednar really toughted me, escpeciall as I am trying to learn Spanish.  "IT IS MORE IMPORTANT WHO YOU ARE, THEN WHAT YOU WILL EVERY SAY."  

(pic above this was the volleyball 'toucher" Elder C in the middle!!!)

Sister W from home ~  (going to Japan) 

How grateful I am to have felt the prompting to go on a mossion, prayed sincerely about it then by faith (fe') acted upon it!  That's how our faith grows.  I love everyone and miss you all so much.  I hope all is well and I know this church is true.

Love, Hermana Ashely Jaeger

Email 2 today!!!

I love Hermana N!

*I also learned that we need to be willing to walk like Lehi, not knowing where you are going but by faith you keep walking.

*"Mother's are magical"-elder holland (i so agree)

*The Book of Mormon was a record kept not for those who wrote the record but it was written for us!!!

*We don't worship the prophet, we HONOR the prophet.

*"you may be missing your dad and aching for your mom" -elder holland

"Don't take for grantid to have been born in the last dispentation. The gospel has not been on the earth for a long time amoung many people. Almost nobody had the gospel! Everytime the gospel started there came an Apostacy. I believe someday, probably not until heaven, when we see the panarama of the history of the earth that we will understand what it was we were given and to what time we were born. A mission is not just a break from 'the real world'. And don't think that after your mission you are going back into the real woRLD, THIS IS THE REAL WORLD! You will never be closer to God then on your mission. Everything God does is devoted to the saving of His children. We are favoredpeople of God to bring about the latter day glory and kingdom of God. think of the prophets of old, they knew the gospel wouldn't last long in their time but they still diligently worked. Love the scriptures and master preach my gospel because you are the generation that is going to make it!Prophets of old stuck it out because they knew that we were destined to win. This is the day and you are the troops. Others on the other side are cheering you on knowing that you can do this!!!How many temples did we have before Joseph Smith? One. And that temple was stadnign for only a few decades. Today we have about 139 temples! That example alone is amazing. Do this work for the Savior. Dont let him walk alone. My mission meant everything because it was a break through of finding these truths" -Elder Holland

Week 2 MTC done! "Walk By Faith" - & Elder Faust visited

Protection while cleaning our room

So I just finished my week 2 at the MTC! It's been such a growing experience. To anyone who wants to serve a mission at a young age or as a senior companion mission may I offer some advice, prepare now. Read the scriptrues daily, pray daily and always, and know that the mission will be a humbling but rewarding experience. I know the gospel of Jesus christ is true and I will live the rest of my life sharing its truth to others. Remember when you receive your missionary tag that you are a representative of your family, the church, and most importantly jesus christ.

 

(My District Hermanas ~ My Companion Hermana R and I)

Yesterday we had to teach a lesson to a member of the church but in spanish. So our first member to teach was guy who went on his mission 6 years ago. He was speaking spanglish so i could kind of understand him. Going into this lesson I did not feel prepared. As we were trying to teach he kept telling me to relax because i looked so tense and stiff haha. I tried so hard not to get nervous but it was hard to try and understand what he was saying. Then as we were teaching our lesson I guess my eyes started to water and right in the middle of my companion speaking he looks at me and asks whats wrong. I started crying because I was so sad I couldn't express how i felt in spanish! He was so kind and shared with me a scripture Exodus 4:10 :] read it, ponder it, love it.  Basically the scripture was about a prophet who asked God why he was poor in speaking and God said it was for his own good, that faith in him would give him the power he needed to speak. That's exactly what i needed to hear. After we teach the members they write about what we taught them. Our teacher said that because of us it made him want to go and serve another mission:]

(Pday/Temple Trip ~ NO Touching ~ Hermana M ~ Elder C from home/Zone Leader)

Oh and I can honestly say I have never prayed so much in my life!!! I pray atleast 6 times a day. I know the Lord listens to our prayers and answers them. But usually after we ask a question we receive INSTRUCTIONS first from the Lord before receiving an answer. Here's a story to back up that thought. When Lehi and his sons were in the wilderness and all the bows and arrows broke they started to murmur. Lehi went to the lord and asked him where they should go to find food. The Lord instructed him to look upon the Liahonna to find an answer. The Liahonna only worked when Lehi and his family had faith. Pretty interesting story.

Sister Missionaries from my Zone!

I love my time here in the MTC and even though it's not the easiest thing in the world I am grateful for the preperation it is giving me before I head out into the field. Today we are going to the temple today and I am so excited! I love the temple.

Sis Kelsey and I spotted each other far away during Choir.

 I love this gospel. How grateful I am for Joseph Smith and for him to have faith to pray to God to know what he should do. His example caused me to pray to my Heavenly Father to know if I needed to go on a mission or not. ALWAYS be intuned with the Holy Ghost! He witnessed to me that I needed to go on a mission. I like how James E Faust explained the spirit, "The spirits voice is ever present but is calm...listen to and follow the spirit. This is an ancient and eternal solution...This solutions requires pateince in a world that requires instant gratification. The voice is quiet, peaceful, and sudden. This solution requires you to walk by faith in a world governed by sight. Learn to ponder the things of the spirit and respond to its promptings...As you become atuned to the spirit thin ears shall hear a word behind thee syagin 'this is the way, walk ye in it'".

Me, Friend from home and sis Kelsey in MTC

I know if we follow all the commandments of God and be EXACT obedience we will be able to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Pray specifically to heavenly father, let him know EXACTLY what you need. The book of mormon is so true, that is one of the ways the Lord answers our prayers is through the scriptures, prophets, personal revelation.

I love you all so much and pray for you everyday. Thank you for the sweet letters and the packages! I am so blessed!

Love-Hermana Ashley Jaeger

Week 1 MTC! "Obedience brings blessing, but exact obedience brings miracles"

Hola!!!!

I've had to wait 8 days to finally receive my P-Day haha so I'm happy it's finally here. I miss you guys so much and hope all is well. Thank you for all the letters and everyone else. I get at least 3 everyday and it makes the other missionaries jealous haha not that I want them to feel like that but it makes me feel loved to receive letters:] Oh side note, Kels is doing great and she loves you.

Okay so here's how the MTC has been for me. First 2 days were awesome and so spiritual! Ive never experienced anything like the MTC. My companion is Hermana R from Utah she is so funny. We have grown a lot together. Shes just as sarcastic as me, as tall as me, and likes to laugh like me. The first thing she said to me when I met her, "Oh my gosh I watched your video on youtube of you opening your call! I cant believe your my companion!" Her mom said that I am famous in their house hold hahaha!

I am slowly getting use to the language. after 4 or 5 days in the MTC (its called CCM in spanish) we had to teach our first lesson in spanish to an investigator which is actually a teacher. The lesson went horrible because the investigator did not understand A WORD we were saying in spanish! After the lesson we went out and cried and prayed so hard! I have never prayed so much in my life. But as the days go on and I pray more and more and read the scriptures my knowledge grows and I'm starting to get the hang of things. I know we can be blessed with the gift of tongues aslong as we a diligent in learning the lanuage.

I've seen a couple FRIENDS here like Elder F, Sister W, Sister L, and a few others!! Oh FYI we arent singing at Conference haha someone said that and it spreadlike crazy, it was a false statement.

Elder Finnie (friend from home & Hermana Ashley Jaeger)

I have so little time and I am trying to think what to say!! Just know that I KNOW this church is true! I believe it with all my heart. We must always strive to be obedient to be able to hear the voice of the Holy Ghost. "Obedience brings blessing, but exact obedience brings miracles".

I see my sis Kelsey every night! I love it. I feel I must always protect her because I'm her older sister.

How blessed I am to follow the spirits promptings and go on a mission. Its hard no doubt but it's helping me grow and become what God wants me to be. I want to live my life always in his service. I know his words are true and he lives. How excited I am to teach others the love of this gospel!

I love you guys so much. I pray for you all the time. Sorry this letter is all over the place. I'll try and explain more in writing :]

Until we meet again,

Hermana Ashley Jaeger

1st letter in the mail box :)

2/27/1

Hello to everyone and thank you for the letters!!!  :)

Dear Mi Famila!

First day in the MTC was good!  It was weird leaving you guys because I just had this feeling that it was my time to go.  I miss you guys.

My Companion is awesome!  Her name is Hermana R she is from Utah.  We get along so well. She loves to laugh and sing like me. :)  First class was Spanish and wow it was crazy!

Oh sis Kelsey is  2 doors down from me :).  Sometimes I think I hear her laugh so I look out the door and its not her :(  but I do hear her at times and I have seen her 3 times today.  I met her companion and shes nice.

So theres 6 girls and 4 guys in our district.  3 girls and 4 guys are going to Southern Houston :).  The girls in my district are so cool!  We all get along well.  My p-days will be on thursday I believe.

I'll write more but just wanted to send a quick note of how my first day was :).  In two days we will have to teach in Spanish!  I'm so nervous!

Oh an Elder played a beautiful musical number on the piano and I couldn't help but think of my bro Austin :).  Tell him to keep practicing those special piano Hymns, it will pay off!  There are SO many young Elders here they look like babies!

I love and miss you guys :).  You are always in my thoughts and payers.

Love ~ Hermana Ashley Jaeger

Good Bye ~ The Drop Off

On our way to the MTC!

Saying goodbyes at the Provo Temple

 

Saw Elder Finnie as we entered!!

  

Look at all those cute Host Missionaries!

"God be with you 'till we meet again"

And there they go!  :)