With greater faith comes greater trials (bike accident)

This past week has been the most stressful week of my mission. I know that the more faith Hna Beltran and myself keep exercising the more trials keep coming, and believe me this past week were some of the most hardest trials I've had to deal with in the mission. And as much as I would love to write one by one of all the trials I had to face this week I will try and keep the letter short and leave it on a good note. 

This past week our car broke down so we were put on bikes. We were able to bike to visit C our investigator who is ready to be baptized :] We went over the baptismal questions and everything was good! We set up for her to have her baptismal interview on sunday. As we left her apartment to go to the next appointment we crossed a pretty busy road. My companion Hna B was riding in front of me when a guy in a big car made a turn without looking and ran right into Hna B. It was one of the most scariest moments I've had on the mission. As the car hit my companion Hna B her bike got pulled under his car but she got pushed back and flew a good amount of feet away from the car and landed in her backpack. The ambulance came and took her to the hospital. I had no idea what to do. Something I learned from my dad is laughing is the best medicine. As much as I wanted to freak out at the situation I know I needed to stay calm for Hna B. She laughed when the medic was asking for her first name and I got it wrong. I replied, "Gesh Hna B I've been with you for about 15 week and still cant get your first name right". Though her eyes were holding back many tears she laughed. At the hospital we waited a long time for results, miraculously Hna B walked away with just some pulled ligaments which will take a few weeks to heal but she will get better. G and N were kind enough to pick us up from the hospital at 10:30pm and take us home. The next few days were rough for Hna, from the accident it left her SUPER sore so shes needed help getting up out of bed, sitting down, basically the poor thing can barely move. While all this is going on I took phone calls from numerous people wanted to know how she was doing, then canceling and rescheduling appointments because there was no way we could go out and teach people. 

On sunday my companion had enough strength to go to church. C showed up (thank goodness) and had her baptismal interview and passed :] now we have to wait on the doctors to see if its okay if she can be baptized. C and G will be married this week :]

I look back now at the weeks I was figuring out if I should extend and I'm so grateful God gave me the prompting to extend my Mission and I did. I know that I'm not only here 4 more week to help our investigators be baptized but I'm here to help my companion Hermana B. I love her so much and am really blessed to have her as my companion. The trials we are going through are only making us stronger and more determined to do Gods will. I know Satan is really trying to bring us down so that people wont be baptized but I know god is more powerful that satan, this is gods work and I know he will help us through it. I love you all. Please keep my companion Hermana B in your prayers.   love-Hermana Jaeger

Baptism, Sheri Dew, Leaving Brazos Bike area after 7 months!

My comp took a pic of me praying

Wow this has been one of my most favorite and saddest weeks of my mission. Today I found out that after 6 months here in my Brazos bike area I am being transfered to somewhere new. I'm excited to see where is the next place God wants me to work but I am sad to leave the people I've grown to love so much

                       

Fixing a flat tire ... again!

This week I got another flat tire haha! 3rd new tires this transfer. My bike is ready for a break but I just want to keep going!

It's cold today.  Piled on the layers.

 I dont even remember all that happened this week. It just flew by! But I do vividly remember Thursday night. I'm pretty sure the weather got down to like the 20s thursday night. As we were biking over to see J's I asked my companion if I could grab some more clothes to put on. I walked out of the apartment with 3 scarfs, two beanies, 2 shirts, 2 sweaters, 3 pants, a skirt, and boots haha. As we biked to J's house which is 15 minutes away I had a moment to think about my situation. WHY would I put myself on a bike in the winter with 20 degree weather pushing through the wind blowing against me if I didnt know this church was true? As I started getting wind burn I started crying. Not becuase it hurt haha but because with all my heart I know this cuhrch is true. 've realized that I will do anything to share and spread this gospel to the world. We showed up to J's physically tired but spiritually strong. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and specifically about the spirit world. He was really interested in knowing about what happens on the other side after we die. As we finished the talk I started to bear my testimony. My eyes filled with tears as I tried to allow the spirit to speak through me to my investigator, J. As we left Jorge kept expressing how excited he was for his baptism tomorrow :]

Friday we woke up early to leave at 7am to go to the Sister conference. We walked out to the Hermanas to get a ride with them and one of the doors was so frozen over that we couldnt open it haha.   What a BLESSING that the whole day friday we were inside because the weather dropped down to the 20's! The weather was bad and my comp and I were unable to pick up Sheri Dew. I received so much guidance during the sisters conference!!! President Ashton talked about how he wants our missions to change our lives. He wants us to go home a different person. He said, "I dont want you to go through the mission, I want the mission to go through you". I've seen the mission change who I am. Its a daily process. He also mentioned how to "not worry about family at home! The Lord is taking good care of them". That gave me great comfort because I do naturally worry about my family. The world is a harsh place. People are critical because they are in the world. But those people need to be "in the world,. and not of the world". And to my loving sister who HONORABLY got released from her mission and served with all her heart, to you my love I say, "the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1samuel 16:7). Hermana Jaeger God knows you :] He has a plan for you. He knows exactly what you need to go through to become perfected. Trust in him like you are doing and everything will be okay :]

Frozen door.  Won't open.

So going back to sister conference, we had the priveledge of having Sheri Dew come and speak to our mission! wow she is amazing. Sheri Dew talked a lot about how we are the noble ones who have been saved for these days. She went on to explain that the prophets of old have been testifying of the last days and how bad they are going to get. Sister Dew then explained, "god knows all. He knows these last days are going to get rough. Do you thing he would just send ANYONE to preach his gospel in these days? No. He saved the noble and great ones for these last days. You are his noble and great ones. He knew you would be the ones to not fall into temptation, to stand up against the world and not be afraid to share the light and gospel of Christ. You were born of noble birth". At the end of the Sister Conference Sheri Dew had to leave quickly for a conference call. I was a lil sad I couldnt talk to her but was so happy to have listened to her! At one point I lost my companion so another sister and I went to go look for her. I saw her in Presidents office so I walked in. I noticed she was talking with Sheri Dew....hahah I was so taken back. Sheri Dew was so nice and I got to introduce myself and talk a little with Sheri Dew :]

J's Baptism.  A joyful day.  Comp Hermana C and I

After the Conference we got home at 6, ate chips for dinner HAHA then at 6:05 members came to pick us up to get everything ready for the baptism of J!! As we entered the church I heard the sweet sound of the font being filled with water. We walked into the room with J to get everything ready. J was so excited, adn nervous haha. He was so funny and giddy! As we were taking pictures all together J kept being funny and putting rabbit ears behind my head during the pictures.  The baptism turned out beautiful and the spirit was really strong :] J was so happy and took lots of pictures to send to his mom in Mexico.

Sunday we were waiting for church to start. As I was distrcted and waiting someone mentioned to me 5 minutes before church was about to start, "Where is J?" Ahh I forgot he was going to receive the Spirit that day and I didnt even think to call him!!! I freaked and started to call and text him but he didnt pick up. We hurry and got on our bikes and started to bike to his house. As we got to the home the lady who lives in the house said, "No J left. I think he went to work." My heart dropped. I couldnt believe I forgot to call him in the morning. As we were turning to go back to the church we get a text from one of the members, "Hey J is here at the church". Haha I was so excited that it made me bike super fast back to the church :] J received the gift of the Holy Ghost and is an official member of the church :] The temple president spoke in our branch too! He gave a great talk and shared an experience he had, "Well 2 weeks ago I actually had the priveledge of meeting J at stake conference! He explained how he was planning on being baptized and wanted to know more about the church. after talking for awhile I asked him, 'J do you have any ancestors that you want to the temple work for? To be baptized for?' J responded, 'Yes, my father". My eyes filled with tears again. I know J's dad helped with during our lessons so he could feel the spirit and know of the truth of this gospel. Now J has the chance to do the work and be baptized for his father. I know J's dad is just waiting with excitment, he's been waiting since 1994. After sacrament J showed me a picture of his father. They look exactly alike. We set up a time this week to start doing family history work to find his fathers info so we can all go to the temple together to do baptisms for those who have passed. So J can take his dads name to the temple :]

Hermana S and I are being transferred!  I'm gonna miss her.

I'm sad to leave the B area. I wont be able to keep visiting J and help him do the work of his Father. I wont get to see the familiar faces I've seen on a daily basis. I wont bike these same streets again. But I know and have felt like my work here in the area is done. On saturday after J's baptism we were biking on a normal road. Everytime we pass this specific road theres always a BEAUTIFUL white crain that just sits in the water. As we were biking we passed the same spot and I spotted that white crain I saw him lift his beautiful wings and fly away. That's when it hit me that I was leaving the area. Now its' my time to leave and find my new home. Help and lift others in another area. I know god is going to put me where I can help those in need. I'm ready and excited for the task :] I'll go where He wants me to go.

Christ's Been There Before~ Trials...

My bestie Hermana S!!!

This week was a definetly trying my faith. I've had crazy bad bike problems that have been stressing me out. This past week a sweet member in the branch replaced my brakes. The day I got my bike back I got a flat tire as we were biking to a lesson! I was so sad, the investigators was nice and we rescheduled our lesson with him. We went to walmart and got a new tire. Then two days later I got another flat tire on the same street I had biked on the other day. This time we just patched up the hole in the tire but it was so stressful :/ then I tried to fix a part on my brakes and I made them waaay to tight and I struggled biking haha. I was so slow its like if you were trying to bike and there was a sock stuck in the wheel that was slowing you down. Plus the super crazy wind wasn't in my favor haha. As we biked long distances to a lesson and the investigators werent home or didnt have time for us I kept thinking to myself, "Wow, I wish they could realize the sacrifice I've made for them. They have no clue". As soon as I thought about that the Savior and his atonment came to my mind. I felt peace and comfort knowing that Christ has been there before, he knows exactly how it feels when you've sacrificed your all and more and people wont let you in. But still you love them. And you wont give up on them because you know how much this gospel can bless their life. I want to share the gospel with everyone, not because its my calling. But because there are too many people in the world who have no idea how much their Savior has done for them! They have no idea how much he sacrificed for them. In Luke 22 it talks about when Christ was praying in the Garden of Gethsemani. As he felt the pains and sufferings and sins of EVERYONE instead of giving up, he prayed more ernestly that he could complete his Fathers will. That he could complete the Atonemnt. This is not my mission. It is the Lords mission and I will keep going until I complete HIS will. I know it wont be easy. I know I will struggle. But I also know that I wont be alone. That is work is for the one who has felt my pains and bared them with love. To him I will give my all, and never hold back.

With our investigators this week it was both good and bad.  All this past week we talked to K about baptism and watched a video of when christ was baptized. We also shared a scripture in John about how we need to be baptized to enter into the kingdom of heaven. She said she would pray and talk to her mom about being bap[tized. We finally got to talk to K's mom, she is totally against K being baptized. After I heard those word my eyes filled with tears of sorrow. I couldn't hold my emotions in. I could barely speak but when I did I expressed how much all the members in the church really do love K. That she is a beautiful daughter of God and became such a good girl because of her mother. It makes me sad to see that she cannot be baptized right now. This Sunday she came to church again, for the 8th time haha. She bore her testimony! At first she got the the pulpit and stood their with fear. I was so nervous for her but knew I needed to let her build up courgae on her own to speak. Then, she spoke. She shared her favorite scripture which was the one we shareed with her in John about baptism. The spirit touched my heart as she finished her testimony. I know that even though K cannot be baptized now, someday she will be. She will always remember going to church and they way it made her feel. I know I have a special place in her heart as does she in mine. We are still going to be teaching her in hopes that when the day comes she can chose for herself to be baptized. K's brother also came to church.

J is a new investigator who is a "golden investigator" meaning that he is 100% for sure going to be baptized! He is so ready. He is doing all he can to preapre for baptism for the 25th of this month. He doesnt know a lot about religion but wants a change in his life and he knows that being a member of the church will change his life for the better. Our first lesson with him he said he couldnt come to church on sunday cause he had work, he felt so bad! He told us he really wanted to come but couldn't. The next time we saw him he said he talked to his boss and the boss allowed him to start work later so he could come to the first hour of church!!! I thought that was so awesome! We didnt even need to tell him to talk to his boss he just went and did it! He even gave us the info of his mother so we can send the missionaries over to her house :D

We have also been helping less actives come back to church and so far we've gotten two back! One we met this past week her name is R. Haha shes older but really funny. She has a quiet voice. She told us she was going to a different church. Then she shares, "During church I'll get up on the piew and start dancing! The pastor told me ,'R in church you cant stand up and start dancing in front of all the people' and so I responded 'Pastor..I'm not dancin for the people, I'm dancin for Jesus" HAHAHAHA I tried so hard not to laugh but it was just so funny to picture an older sweet lady at church dancing during the services. R actually came to church on sunday! No worries though there were no special dancing solos haha.

I love Brazos bike. I've grown really close to all the people in my area. Someone mentioned the otherday how long I've been her in B branch! I told them its been over 6 months and the member responded, "Good! I dont want them taking you to a different area". I said if I ever left I'de ask to be transfered to Hawaii haha. Thank you again for all you do. I really do have such an amazing family! I was so happy to see a package from mom today that had meds which I told her about 7 days ago haha I was shocked how fast the package came and that you even sent me something mom! I lvoe you all soo much and pray for you always :] I am doing really well! Weird to think next month I hit my year mark. My mission is going by to fast and it making me nervous! The amount of time I've spent here in Brazos is the amount of time I have left utnil I come home...I love you all so very much.

favorite scripture 2 corinthians 12:9-10 "For my strength is made perfect in weakness...I take pleasure in..persecutions in distress for christ's sake, for when i am weak then i am strong"

Christmas!!

SYPING the fam & sister on her Mission in WA Vancouver!

"One hundred years from now it wont matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank nor how my clothes looked like BUT the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child" -Forest Witcraft

Good morning!  Thank you so soooo much for making Christmas so special!!! I made sure not to open anything until Christmas morning! But I did open the Christmas pjs and loved them :] It was kind of hectic with Skype haha but im glad everything worked out :] Aus Im sorry I didn't get to see you but know how much I love you and again I always appreciate you coming here and surprising me, im glad I got to see ya :]

Thank you for all my gifts!

The rest of Christmas day we thankfully got to see a few people. Hermana M a member in the branch taught us how to make tamales!!! Daaha they are pretty dang hard! Sad day though is we didn't get to eat them :[ The rest of the night we had no one to see so we went and caroled at members

houses and gave them candy :] the last house we went to the lady gave us a plate and guess what it was...tamales!!! Haha I was so happy! We have so much fooood I am getting sick of candy haha and Its not even gone!

Making tamales!!!!!

This week we got to do some service. We helped rack leaves for some members and had our little invtestigator k help us. Shes so cute and was so funny! At the end we had her hide under all the leaves and scare people haha it was so funny! She came to church again on sunday :] She sat two rows in front of me then during the middle hymn she moved and came and sat by me and said, "Hey! I missed you!!" Haha I love her and sitting with her, people see us together and keep telling me I am going to be a good mom :] She comes to church and brings some used scriptures and uses a happy birthday bag to hold her scriptures in.  so For Christmas we gave her a book of Mormon of her own and wrote in it :] also gave her some coloring crayons to mark her scriptures and a scripture bag (cause mom sent me an extra, thanks mom!) she loved it and now always asks us when we can read so she can mark her book of Mormon haha! we want her to be baptized but needs approval. Pray that her fam will have an open heart and allow k to be baptized!

Oh the day after Christmas we went caroling at the older peoples home....haha all the missionaries were sick and no one wanted to sing expect my comp. but it turned out well and the older people were really happy we came by :] one lady came up to me and kept giving me so many sweet complements!

Thank you again for the Christmas presents! you all did soo much and I loved every little thing :] Pray for me that I will have the strength to keep working hard! im really sick again :[ Thank you for all you do! I love you!

Merry Christmas!

Going on 7 months of biking .. look what I got for christmas! A new bike!

Woooow I cant believe its almost christmas!!! I am so excited to skype everyone! i hope i have the chance to see my siblings on a mission kelsey and austin but if not know I love you both sooo much and hopefully we can all see each other on Mothers Day :]

this past week the branch had their christmas party! It was fun.  there was a good turn out we got some of our investigators to show up and there was a loooot of food! one of my best friends in the branch E was santa clause hahaha it was so funny! they covered his face with so much hair you couldnt even see his face. so it was like looking at santa but with ALL his hair covering his face AND he was speaking in spanish hahaha it was so awesome! 

Love them!

we also had the mission christmas party which was so awesome! we had a guy come who is a patriarch and he explained about the abrahamic covenent and the 12 tribes and things like that, it was really awesome! got to hear some talks, watched ephriums rescue. it was a pretty cheese movie, some parts were touching because its based on a real life person. i would totally recommend you guys watching it :] there was a kissing scene and it was so funny to see all the different reactions of the missionaries!!! some people whistled, others covered their eyes hahaha funny enough even i thought the kissing scene was awkward! i feel so over protected sometimes haha the food was so good there was sooo much of it! one of the servers was awkward though he was an RM who was totally hitting on my friend Hermana S and i haha. There was a talent show and one kid went up there and did a miming skit. I was actually laughing really hard! Then my friend next to me starts busting up laughing to then says, "HAHAHAHA oh I am so deprived of television. I have no sense of humor anymore" which made me laugh even more! then they had a mission slide show with pictures of all the missionaries of 2013. Wow that made me laugh and cry. Just seeing how quickly time flies by and then all of a sudden you're done with your mission. Mission president and his family played out the nativity! It was so cute the have 7 kids all under the age of 15 it was so cute. 

Best friend Hermana S  ~  other friend Hermana E

Trained Hermana O - MTC comp Hermana R! - Hermana N (right) same MTC district!

Our Mission President's sweet family acted out the Nativity

Im sorry this letter is so short! I dont have a lot of time today but know i love you all so much am so blessed to be a member of this church :] thank you or all you do and have done for me!

Going on 5th transfer in same area on a Bike

Found out today I'll be having another 6 weeks here in B Bike area. Obviously whatever God wants me to learn here I haven't learned yet haha.  if its his will that I should stay another transfer here in B that I would do everything I can to start being more dedicated to baptize our investigators. I know this is why I'm here another transfer. We have investigators who need both Hermana C and I. I know that my trials and tribulations "worketh patience" (Romans 5:3) and that I need to "continue in patience until [I] am perfected" (D&C 67:13).

I love being in this area for so long. Because I've been here since July a lot of people have remembered my name, even though its a hard one for Hispanics to say :] P the 78 year old member called us the other day and said, "Its gonna be cold outside today!! Are you going to stay inside? You probably should." Haha then we'd say, "We have to go work P! We are going outside." Then the otherday he said, 'Hermanita Jaeger did you know your name is in the bible?!!" I laughed so hard and told him I had no idea!! He said, "Yeah its in Genesis 31:47!!" In the Spanish scriptures it uses the word Jegar hahaha but in the English bible it like jegarhsaholhfeu or something like that. I thought it was so cute for some reason he went and was reading and looked up or found my name :] Like I've mentioned before I feel really loved in this area, and wanted. I know this is where I'm suppost to be.

This email is going to be pretty short because I don't have a ton to write about haha. BUT after church a member in the branch took us to go and decorate I's house for Christmas! When we got there she was on oxygen for her asthma :[ like the one the boys use to use? It was sad. I gave her a hug and started helping to decorate. Then as we were decorating her house she asked if I would help fold the laundry on her bed. I sat down by her and helped fold her laundry while everyone else decorated the house. She was so happy to see all the lights and Navitity Set! It brought a big smile onto her face :] we sang Silent night which helped bring in the spirit as well :]

During studies this week I realized something. Everyone will go through trials in life. Trials don't come because we are bad people. Job from the bible had trials, and he was a great man! Jesus Christ was perfect and he had the greatest trials of all. I know that trials come into our lives because they give us an opportunity to rely and strengthen our faith in God. Like my mom said, "God gives his toughest battles to his shoudlers". I also love what it says in my blessing that "the lord challenges those and allows adversity to  come into the lives of the great ones". How grateful I am to be here on a mission. I love this time of year!!! The spirit of Christ is just so strong during this time of year. Hope you all have agreat week :] I love you!

Ho Ho Holy Cold Weather!

Hola! I cannot explain how FREEZING it has been here in Rosenburg! We got a message form the president telling us to be careful this week becuase its going to the in the low 20s. Haha even though I've had on two pairs of leggins, warm socks, boots, two shirts, a sweater, a jacket, gloves, and a beanie on I'm still so cold! I feel like I'm in a snow globe Hahaha the humidity here makes the temperature feel a lot colder than it is. I swear at one point I thought there was little flecks of snow dropping. Now I can say I've BIKED in the hottest weather in texas AND the coldest weather...yay. Haha :]

This week has been a really good week! Monday we had a zone activity. We played a game called, "Do you love your neighbor" HAHA it was so fun but one Elder kept saying, "Umm we should rather say do you RESPECT your neighbor. Its more appropriate." Either way the game was fun. Also went to look up a guy named A. He wasnt home but we saw a guy outside and started talking to him. Come to find out it was A!!! Haha he was so nice and was pretty interested in our message. We tried to visit him again this week but havent been able to see him :/

Tuesday we went and helped an investigators kids with homework! Angel knows very little English so I tried my best teahcing him math and he got it! Then we moved onto Reading and it was in spanish. Haha I feel like I learned more form A's homework then he did! The homework has us read a sentence then draw a picture of what the sentence said. the first sentence was, "Tengo un paragua"....I had a confused look on my face and A's mom started laughing cause she knows how little spanish i understand HAHA! A drew the picture and I found out paragua is an umbrella.  After a volleyball activity one of the members, who reminds me of dad cause hes a "big guy" haha he went and sat on my bike and BROKE IT! We were all laughing so hard and I felt bad cause he felt bad. He was kind and the next morning took my bike in and fixed it and its all good! I didnt have to pay for anything :] I'm not sure why so many people try and sit on my bike haha

Wednesday I dont remember haha!

thusrday I had a different Hermana come to my area for the day. I had to bike slower so she could keep up  I'vr been on a bike going on 6 months now!  But it was interesting to be with her cause she broke up with her boyfriend and was having a hard time and so since i had just recently gone through that I was able to help her! 

So happy to spend a day with my old companion!

Friday was AWESOME!!! Hermana O my old companion got to come back to the area here with me! It ws so fun catching up and being together like old times. We had a miracle day and were able to have 8 lessons AND have two of our investigators accept to prepare to be baptized!!! My fav lesson was with an investigator M. Shes a mom of 5 kids and is taking care of them on her own. she is amazing. she started reading 3 nephi 11 where christ visits the americas was confused about the "small voice". We helped explain that that was the holy ghost and how the holy ghost speaks to us in a quiet voice, or more like feelings. She loved it and wants to be baptized in january! We set up a return lesson for today so we can teach her WHOLE fmaily!!! We also talked to a ton of people outside (which was a miracle cause it was like in the 20s) and one guy we met his name was A! Hes about dads age and asked us to come back someother time to teach him.

Saturday I dont remember either!  haha.

Sunday was good! We woke up early and biked to peoples houses to get them up for 9am church but no one answered :[ i think like my sister Kelsey too how when people dont answer the door I picture the photo of the savior knocking on the door, waiting for someone to let him in. We did have one person come to church K. ITs so funny she loves to sit by me and she will start to put her head on my shoulder and I'll have to tell her that she need to sit up. Rules in the misison are you cant really be affectionate to kids so its hard cause I LOVE KIDS! Anyway ya the past 3 weeks I've only sat by kids and young woman and someone commented that someday I'll be a great mom :] After church we went back and tried that A guy, and he was home! The spirit was so strong during the lesson for me. We taught the REstoration and found out more about A. He is into construction but work has been really bad. Hes been debating wether or not to move his family to mexico or stay in texas. For some reaon his wife told him they should stay. That sunday A was at home with the tv on but thinking really intently about life and wanting help and guidance from God. Thats when he heard a knock on the door, and there were the missionaries. He knew that his family needed to stay here in texas to hear about htis gospel. I was so amazed that he was so open and ready to hear about this message and change his life! He said when he ran into us the other day outside he didnt have time to talk. When we left he told his wife how amazing it was that young people were outside in the freezing cold preaching about God. A's wife felt the same and they wanted to know more about our church. We are going over this week to share this message with their whole fmaily.

I know God puts specific people in our paths who are ready to hear the gospel! We (not just missionaries) but all of us need to always open out mouths to others and share with them this gospel! And yes not everyone will be interested in listening but God just wants us to try. Really, we are like 6 month olds compared to ur Heavenly Father and the knowledge he has. Do we expect a 6 month old to talk perfectly? do we expect a 6 month old to start running? No! We are just exited that they are trying to blabber or move their legs. Its the same with our relationship to God. He doesn't expect us to do everything perfectly! BUT he does expect us to try. I know our heavenly father lives and loves us. Becuase of that he sent his son jesus christ. I know as we follow in the saviors footsteps we will have more peace in our lives and in the end we will return back home to our heavnly father :] i love you all so much and am happy to see you on Christmas!  love- hermana jaeger

Hola ~ Happy Halloween!

Nothing SUPER excited has happened this week. I'de call this past week "the week before miracle week" haha. We only have about 5 investigators right now so we are in the process of finding new people to teach. 

This past week we have been spending a lot of time with the members. How grateful I am for the members in the church! without them missionary work could not go forward. this past week we helped bake halloweeen cookies with a member for the halloween party! she made the cookies by scratch!!! we made about 80 haha it was a lot of fun.  

Hermana R. made by scratch 80 halloween cookies!  :) 

At night on bikes here its been pretty sketchy. The other night we saw a guy walking by with a scary mask on hahaha. In our district we have 2 sister companionships. One of the sisters just left for Argentina today so now the three of us sisters will be combining our area together and working the car and bike area. And on halloween we have to be in the house at 7pm. 

This sunday the primary kids had a primary program!!! Theres only 10 kids in the primary but the program was so beautiful!! I got so emotional hearing the sweet songs in spanish!!

Sorry this email is SUPER short! I know the work will start picking up it'll just take some time and more faith :] i love you all so much! Have a great week and a happy halloween!

Stormy days in September

So this week has been CRAZY weather!!! Haha i have no idea whats been going on. Yesterday we were biking to someones house. The ride there and during the lesson it didnt rain at all. As we leave the house to our apartment it starts DOWN POURING haha like so bad that I cant even look straight infrount of me!!! We got home totally soaked with only 5 minutes to get ready for a devotional we were going to. God has a great sense of humor.

This week we had the miracle of having 3 investigators show up to church!! I thank the lord for this miracle becuase its so hard to get people to church. S and A are a couple who came and then a girl A came with her cousins who are members! It was awesome. S is the sweetest woman ever and A is so funny. S met A when she was 15 and they soon got married after that and have been together ever since :]

A is a cousin of K a member. A and K LOVE us, they already added me on insta and facebook haha and K has me as her screen saver.  K also has the opportunity to go to the temple now so we brought up baptisms for the dead and told her she could take a family name to the temple! She's really excited and this upcoming Sunday we are going to try and have K and her family participate in the fmaily history class in the branch. We taught K family about the importance of family home evenings, praying, and reading together. We are going to visit with them tuesday.

M is the grandma of K, the O family. We got to teach about FHE and the importance of family time with M there. She loved the idea and wants to be apart of the FHE with her daughter and grandkids.

S and A the couple came to church this sunday to see what it was like and staid the first hour. We had the J family come out with us and after the lesson we found out that S is the God mother of Hermana J!! This helped S and A feel more comfortable going to church and while there Hermana J sat with them! We had a great lesson.

R attended the devotional this past sunday and loved it. He still has a desire to learn more but will not accept a baptismal date until he receives an answer that the book of mormon is true. He has been reading and keeping commitments. we also had a noche de mormona with R at a members house!

T is a new lady we passed by on the street. This week we got to sit down and teach her and her son J. Both accepted dates for october 5. We asked T and J to start reading the book of mormon together and he started reading right away haha!! T said this week she wants us to go to her mothers house (who lives in our area) and teach her! We are praying that the next lesson we can teach her husband. He believes in God but doesnt believe we need to go to church. 

Singing in the RAIN

Hola mi familia :]

This week has been full of unexpected situations. We were planning on having our investigator R go to an FHE at a members house last week. 30  minutes before we were suppost to have the lesson it started down pouring! The ground on our appartment complex flooded because the storm was so bad!! Sad to say R couldnt make it to the FHE activity because its super dangerous to drive in standing water. But we were able to teach Hermana A and her 3 little grand babies!!!  So to make them focus I taught the first vision of jospeh smith using sour patch kids HAHAHA. I wasnt being disrespectful I just wanted them to learn about the first vision. I promised them after the lesson they could have some sour patch kids and they were sooo attentive after that :] and they understood the first vision.

We were able to teach a new lady T who accepted a baptismal date right after we taught her the first lesson! it was so cool and she really wants to learn more. :]

R is good but a hard investogator. We taught him the law of chastity and he easily accepted to follow it! then last night we taught tithing and he had a problem with it because he belives we should just give as much as we want. but its okay hes progressing little by little and i know someday SOON he will be baptized. Hes a great guy.

Panchito the old member is funny. he bikes to see our investigators. everytime he sees me he goes "Jjjjaaaeger!" Haha hes happy he finally is able to pronounce my name :]

This week we've had a hard time teaching people. We talked to EVERYONE but very few would let us in a dn teach. My comp and I went to knock a house which the person was taught awhile ago, her name was E. This 23 year old kid with an eyebrow piercing opened the door hahaha.  I said, "Hi um does an E live here?" He said no and kept looking at us so I thought well heck what a good opportunity to share the gospel! So as I started to explain that we were missionaries his friend comes from the other room, no shirt on, skinny as a stick, long hair and you could tell right away he was smoking something. He stood behind the otehr guy and looked at me and said, "You have pretty eyes" HAHAHA I instantly said, "Oh thanks. Okay well have a great day!" And we walked away. Later that night I told Hermana O'Neill, "People are going to remember you by the girl with the glasses" she laughed and replied "and you are going to be remembered by the girl with the pretty eyes" Hahaha i cannot tell you how many times weird guys have complemented on my eyeballs. 

I know the work will not go forward without the help and support of the members! We are not suppost to knock doors anymore. We are suppost to receive new people to teach through the members. this week we have a few lessons set up with members which i pray will go well.

This past week had an amzing family drop us. We walked in the hosue and all the kids were excited to see us. We sat down and the mom who is super catholic explained she respects us as missionaries but because we believe differently and read from different books she doesnt want us to teach her family anymore. This was hard because a few weeks ago we had an amzingly spiritual lesson with the dad and kids. As the wife spoke the father just sat there with his head down. I know he wants to learn more about this gospel, but also doesnt want contention in the family. They handed us back the book of mormons and my heart just dropped. I told them i respect their beliefs and just like them, my religion is my life. We left with a prayer and said goodbye. The kids were sad and so were we. But I pray one day the mom will have an open heart to hear of this gospel again.

Two hours later we were teaching another lady, there we met her 20 year old daughter M. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and she asked for us to come by her house and teach her more. At that moment I realized, God knows exactly which people are ready to listen and change for this gospel and which aren't. God allowed at that moment for L and his family to stop seeing us so we can have mroe time to teach M who is ready to change. I know this is the lords work and its important to follow his guidance to attcheive,

The past week it has been extremely HOT.  As I bike down the looong roads in the hot Texas sun with my super grande backpack I cant help but imagine my savior when he had to carry his cross, alone, down a long lonely road. My testimony of my savior grows more and mroe as the days go by. I know he suffered for all of us so we dont have to suffer alone. Hes felt our pains, afflictions, difficulties, temptations. Hes been there! But through it all he loved those that cursed him, bore his pain with patience, and did the fathers will. He is the perfect example of enduring to the end. when times are rough he's there to lift up my spirits. He's the reason why I keep moving forward. I keep biking the extra miles. Keep visiting the investigator who has no time to listen. Keep acting on my faith in God.

I love this work. I love being a representative of christ. I know things happen for a reason. Some days the sun shines brighter then others. But even as the storms of life pass over me, i still find myself singing in the rain!!!

Great Blessings

This past week we were at our investigators house & guess who we see!  P biking to see our investigator!!!!  He BIKED about 1 1/2 miles to come say hello.  He is an amazing member!

For branch conference in Brazos Hermana O and I were able to get R to church! We had a member call and invite him to church and then another member went and picked him up! I know it means a lot more when a member of the branch calls and invites and investigator to church instead of us missionaries doing it every week. The meeting was very powerful and during President P's talk he pointed out R and how blessed he is to have the chance to live in America right now and have the chance to learn about the gospel. R had a great time at church, so many people were talking to him and making him feel welcome. After church President P asked if we could go visit with him and R and have like a simple lesson. We were able to have a member with us too and we taught him at the park. It was amazing to see how President P taught with such simpleness but power. Without telling President what R needed help with, President P spoke about everything R needed to hear to understand more about Joseph smith and other topics. I could tell R's mind was enlightened and he wants to be baptized. right now he just is praying for himself what day he feels god wants him to be baptized on. 

M is the grandma of some members in our branch. She loves learning about the gospel. We have an FHE set up this week at the members home. Hopefully hearing the testimony of her kids and grandkids will make her feel more excited and understand the importance of baptism and going to the correct church. 

L and his family are new. We were able to teach the dad and 3 of his kids this week. The mom and other daughter were not home. The lesson was really good we used alot of the how to begin teaching points and invited the spirit in with a prayer. We were able to teach the restoration and watch the restoration movie. The family really liked it and L is really interested in learning more about the church. They accepted to read and pray about the book of mormon. Invited them to church. We are visiting their family this monday to teach them more.

A for I we are praying to know what to do with her. She had a blessing from the elders which afterward she said during the blessing she felt no pain. she loves our visits but we are worried shes not remembering what we are teaching her.

S has been taught for about a month now. Shes going through a lot which is the reason why she was open to talking to us. this last lesson we taught the restoration. we had a member family the J's with us. the lesson was good and S was open to reading the book of mormon. at the end of the lesson Hermana J asked if S knew the mother of Hermana Juarez. She said yes and they gave each other a big hug! We found out that S is the god mother of Hermana J and they lost conact with each other at least 10 years ago!!! we were shocked and because of that we were finally able to talk to the husband of S. He was so excited to see Hermana J again and he told us that him and S would try and make it to church sept 1 to see what its like and since they have friends who go to the church!! :)

My Companion Hermana O with our bike helmet/lights :)

I am starting to understand how important it is to stay on the Lords time and do things the way he wants them to be done. When R wasn't able to be baptized on the origional date he accepted (aug22) i was really upset and wondered why couldnt God just make him not have work so he can go to church! But after the lesson with President P I understand know why R's baptism fell through. I feel it was more the date I wanted R to be baptized and I didnt go and prayer with all my heart to God to know if that was his will. I know I cannot be do this work without the help and guidance from my Heavenly Father. 

-Hermana Ashley Jaeger

Storm Season

We thought the storm would pass... nope

This week we had such a crazy storm!!! The weather here is so weird! Its been so hot and sunny. then after dinner the other day we walked outside and the sky was crazy gray. we knew a strom was coming but just thought its pass. as we were biking to our appartment to get something the wind got soooo strong haha we couldnt bike so we got off and started pushing our bikes along the side of the road (rememebr in my area theres no sidewalks haha). some car pulled infront of us and stopped. it was a lady with a 6 month old baby in the car. she asked us if she could take us home. we told her we were only 2 minutes away from our house and she said, "please i want to take you home! if my kids were in your position i would hope someone would take them home too". as we started putting our bikes in her car lighting cracked 20 feet away from us no joke!!! it was so loud and crazy! we got in the car real quick, her poor baby was crying :[ as she took us home we quickly got to know shes a baptist and has a big family.  shes so sweet and she accepted for us to leave her a church cad with our number on it. as we walked away the lady said, now you all be careful!! i know you go around knocking doors" haha,. as we got in the appartment the assistance told everyone to stay in side for the next 1 1/2 hour until the storm passed. as we waited we got a call. it was the same lady saying we left a helmet in her car haha! she said she could drive it right over. i struggled to think what we could give her a s athank you.  for some reason a book of mormon popped into my head. SO I grabbed one, wrote a quick thought in the front, and as we meet with her i said, "i know this is random but if you ever want to know more about yout purpose here on earth, read this book" she smiled and tookt he book. I'm not sure if she'll ever read it or ever join the church but one thing I do know is that on that stormy day a tiiiny little seed was planted into her heart.

Pday with the Hermanas

This past week we have been praying fervently for R. we prayed that hed have the opportunity to go to church this past sunday because mission rule is investigators need to go to church twice before they are baptized. we even did a fast for him saturday that hed have the chance to go to church. We meet with R saturday night at the church. then after the lesson we asked if he is going to church on sunday. he said he couldnt because he had work. my heart sunk so low and my comp and i just looked at each other. we explained he needed to go twice before his baptism. he said he just wanted to learn more before being baptized. we finished the lesson real quick and left. for the next 25 minutes ebfore we could head home i just cried. i felt i did all i can as a missionary to have R go to church and he wasnt able going. this moment was probably one of the hardest moments ive had on the mission. because R is ready!! he knows its true and its sad that work is going to keep him from baptism. sunday night we actually ran into R and taught about the mercy of god and how we need the atonment or else we cannot be saved. it was a powerful lesson and he said hed make a rgeater effort to goto church this time.

I lost one of my name tags and was really sad.  I prayed and prayed that I would find it.  One day I went out and somehow it was clipped onto my bike helmet :).  I was so happy!

My lost name tag appeared!

today i read a talk by deiter f utchdorf titled your ownderful journey home. its amazing that as i read the words of prophets and apostles i find exactly what i need to hear, "it is not your responsibility to convert anyone. that is the work of the holy ghost. your task is to share your beliefs and to not be afraid". i quickly realized after entering the mission field that this work was going to be hard. i believe christ understood the same about his mission here on earth. but i know with all my heart that as we endure well our trials in the end it will all be worth it. just hang in there! And as trials come upon you remember the sweet words christ spoke "do not fear, for i the lord am with you".

love-hermana ashley jaeger