Then Is My Soul Filled With Joy! ~ 2 Baptisms! ~ Last letter as a Missionary!

My companion Hermana B and I

Wow, my last letter to send home as a missionary. I cannot put into the words all the good and sad emotions I have felt the past few days. I think at church on Sunday it really hit me that I am going home (especially after having to say a closing prayer or bear my testimony in each class or meeting haha). I love the Hispanic people, every time I see one I just want to talk to them and just help them feel of the love their Savior has for them :] they are a beautiful people and I have been so blessed to work with them throughout my mission. 

good bye cake  ~  hispanic tradition to "mordida" or bite the cake 

(so they can push your face into it)haha

How grateful I am to have followed the prompting of extending my mission. The few weeks before the extention and during the last 4 weeks that I extended my mission were probably some of the most hardest weeks I had to face during my whole mission, actually during my whole life to be honest. But I have grown from those experiences, and I am who I am today because of what I have gone through and grown through :] A few weeks ago I had a normal interview with President Ashton of the mission. As I expressed to him my concerns about my area and going home he simply said, "Stop stressing. Just put your trust in the Lord". That has been something I have been learning even BEFORE my mission! To trust in the Lord, replace my fear with faith. 

Our investigator C has been progressing so well! The other day we stopped by to say hello and found her mom and grandmother came to visit from Mexico. We shared a quick message about families and left. I put my trust in the Lord that things will be fine :] and she will be baptized when she is ready. She called us later that week andshe said she was ready to be baptized:] We also have another investigator J who has been progressing so well in the gospel! The only things holding him back was that he just wanted to know more before baptism. J didnt even have his baptismal interview until sunday morning before church started, he passed:]

C and J Baptism  :]

Hermana B  and I were able to be apart of the baptisms for BOTH C and J!!!!!!!! My heart was filled with so much joy!!! How grateful I am to have been able to see the fruits of our labors, especially right before I head home :]

"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent,and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy;then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, eventhat he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember hismerciful arm which  he extended towards me."(alma 29:9-10)

I testify to these words, all the good that has occured on my mission has not been because of me, but of the Lord. How grateful I am to have been an intrusment in the Lords hands for the past 19 months, the mission I've experienced has not only changed the lives of others but has changed mine as well. No joy has been greater for me then that of seeing others change for the better and follow Jesus christ.  I am forever grateful for my savior jesus christ, and will serve him for the rest of my life and onward. How blessed I am for my family in California :] for my parents who have supported me here on my mission through all I have gone through. How happy I am to also have another part of my newly found family here in Texas :] I know one day I will return to see all those who I have met on my mission, if not then I know in Heaven I will be able to see them with open arms and smiling faces :]

Forgot umbrellas...SOAKED  ~  Sister pic :]

Zone pic  ~  J took me here!  :]

I know without a doubt I have a Heavenly Father, he loves me. How grateful I am for ALL the good and bad I went through during my mission. It has changed me for the better. How excited I am to be reunited with my sweet family :] returning with honor not as a returned missionary, but as a released missionary :]

I love you all! See you all very soon :] Adios!

love- Hermana Ashley Susan Jaeger

Hermana P teaching me to cook  ~  Rainy days in TX

Payback for scaring her  ~  Last time I will see this

Houston Texas

LET IT GO

Well this past week has gone by  so very slow haha. As hard as I try I have been so distracted about coming home haha, I am really excited to see you all :] I received a package from mom this past week that had a cd in it. The words to one of the songs really stuck out to me, "Let it go". I read a talk this past week that also used this phrase of "letting it go" or "leaving things alone".One of the apostles of the church shared a story about a man who eventually learned to "let things go"

I believe the story happened in the early 1900's There was a newly couple who were expecting their first child. The night the wife went into labor she started having problems. Her husband tried to contact the local city doctor to have him rush over to help with the birth of the child. The doctor finally arrived at the home, he had just come rushing from helping a sickly person at another home a few blocks away. The doctor seeing that the pregnancy was risking the lives of both the baby and the mother he did the best he could and the beautiful baby was born. A few days later the new mother passed away from an illness the doctor was treating with the person he had previously visited right before he rushed over to help with the pregnancy. The new father was filled with devistation and depression. This father stuggled for many years to get over what had happened. He had many hard feelings against the doctor. A few years after the accident the father was pulled in my the stake president. The stake president knew of his situation and simply told him, "Let it alone. There is nothing you can do to bring her back". The father came to his senses and looked at the situation in the perspective of the doctor, he learned how to forgive him and "let it go". 

so fun when youre crossing the road and a train comes and gets in the way

I've realized in my life that I struggle with EVER letting anything good go! As I come to the close of my mission I yearn to hold on and wanting to stay longer! Just because I am filled with such a beautiful joy as I am in the service of texans here in the hispanic culture. But I know that I have served the Lord with all I have and now is my time to come home. I am filled with so much excitment to finally be able to see you guys again :] its been a long time and I know seeing you all again will be that much sweeter because of how long we have been apart. I lvoe you! see you next week (haha literally I'll totally be able to see you next week :D!!!!!)

YEEEES ill be there soon! - Houston City DownTown

Texas Roads - dog jumped in our car hahaha

fiestas partias :] the kids did a dance for texas  -  Gave some little kids CTR rings to remind them to choose the right!!! 

part of austins bday gift I made to mail to Chile :]  -  Hna P

My Testimony ~ You all are my family

Someone bought us smoothies :)

The weeks have been flying by. This past week I realized that Sept 7 would be my last fast Sunday on my mission, and i felt super impressed the day before church to share my testimony. We had a miracle of having C with her baby come to church, another investigators J H, M R, and a FAMILY A and Y and their kids and a grand kid. It was so fun sitting with the family.  The other day as we talked about the power of hope through Jesus Christ we invited them to church and they all came :]

As I walked up and sat in the chairs at the pulpit waiting to talk, my eyes glanced at all the familiar faces I knew and I started to get emotional. I've really grown to love the members of H 1. the people of the Hispanic culture have such a tender spot in my heart. As I bore my testimony I was filled with the spirit. I explained, "For those of you who do not know a lot about missionaries, we leave our families for 18 months to 2 years to peach the gospel of Jesus Christ. But every Sunday as I come to church I feel as though you are all my family. And we are, because we are all children of God and we are all apart of the same family". 

Its hard to think I only have 2 more Sundays here in Texas as a missionary. Through all the extremely hard trials I have gone through on my mission I would not change a thing. My whole mission, the good and the bad, have all brought me closer to my Savior. all that I went through the past 19 months have been for Him because I love him. I have grown to know him more and feel a LITTLE glimpse of what he suffer through for me, and for those here that i have been blessed to serve with. He has taught me the power of forgiveness. And though I have been rejected for preaching this gospel and hated for being a light I will never let down my standards, I will never stop letting my light shine. I am and will always be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am a daughter of god, I know that will never change. He loves me and I love him. I know he knows whats best for me which is why I trust in him, and why I am not quick to get mad at him when a trial passes through my life. I know my Father has my best interest in mind. How excited I am to return home with honor to my beautiful family. I believe when I see you all it will be the same feeling I will have one day when I am reunited with my Father, and his son Christ and with all those whos lives I have been able to touch because I am an instrument in the Lords hands. He works through me, this is his work, and his church.

-Hermana Jaeger

The other side of Houston TX!  Maybe cousin A can read this for us when she returnes from S Korea ... 3 days after me!

 I spy.... ~  Comp thought the shirt was a skunk!

The Family

Haha This is the only animal we were allowed to pet!!

Duck lips with Hna B ~ Hna S

I Love my companion Hermana B.  Fun at the Zoo

I feel impressed to talk about families. I know Satan is really attacking the family unit because in the family is where we gain our most strength, belonging, and love. One thing I really want to stress is for the importance for men to stay worthy of their priesthood! I see that Satan attacks with so much greater force on the men today because they are the ones who have this authority to help the world make and keep covenants with God. Without the priesthood we could not do anything, take the sacrament, go on a mission, make covenants with God such as baptism, ect. Also I see the importance for woman to be virtuous and dress modestly. woman have a great influence on men and when we are woman of righteousness and goodness the men are also the same. 

This week we were able to read the Family Proclamation to a young couple we are teaching.  I understand and see the importance of waiting on the Lords timing in all things and following his counsel. How grateful I am for such a wonderful family. I am grateful for every fathers blessing I've ever received in my life. I am grateful for all the times my mom took me to mutual or any kind of young woman activity. I've noticed that the daily things my parents did for me really did shape me into the person I am today. I love each and every one of my siblings. I've always had a great desire to be a good example for them and even though im not the most perfect example for them, as long as they see that I put God first in my life thats all that matters. i love you all so much and am really grateful for everything you do for me.   love-hna jaeger

Looked up a former investigator and this was the door we were led to! ~ Comp calls me Little Mermaid cause of this skirt

Dress we got for the Baby shower

Frogs ... reminds me of my sis

 Heard a frog in a tunnel!  But hey a guy said we can stop by anytime to teach him!  ~  S & R kids :)

Attitude of Gratitude

last pday i forgot my nametag at home :[ during the day we were STARVING so we decided to eat at jimmy johns. i parked by this SUPER raised truck that had fatty tires. i noticed i parked kind of clsoe to the truck so I scooted through. Bad idea...I got nasty black grease all over my skirt just before going to eat. THEN as we walk outside after eating I notice I spilt some sauce on my shirt hahaha i was trying to look like a representative of christ but it wasnt workin for me that day. probably why my nametag got left at home haha God knew.

This week I came across a story about a mormon pioneer. His story of what he suffered through to get to salt lake touched my heart. And through all he went through he expressed his gratitude for his trials. for during that trial of  trecking to the salt lake valley in the blistering snow is where he said, "I came to know God". I felt impressed last week to start working on being more grateful in life. for as I look back through the 22 years of my life I realize that I have come to know my Father in Heaven more during my trials. How incredibly grateful I am, first and foremost, for my parents and ancestors, for because of their righteous actions and choices I am here today. Because of you and them I want to be a good person. Because of my Savior I want to be like him. 

As I was reading last weeks email from my brother Elder Jaeger I really like what he was talking about sitting in a battlefield. Haha I feel like I'm there too, and Im sure we can all relate to that one way or another. Life wasn't meant to be easy though, we weren't sent here to dance merrily through the flowers and live in innocence. We came here to be tried and tested. But why? The answer to this goes ALL the way back to our first ancestors/parents on earth "After (God) had created our first parents...it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 nephi 2:15-16). 

We could not act for ourselves unless we had two choices, the good and the bad. THATS why we needed to come to earth :] to try and test our agency. God hopes that all his children will return back home to him. That is why he sent his son Christ, so that through him we may be forgiven. But we must do our part to receive this grace and mercy. How grateful I am for my heavenly fathers love! Even with our imperfections He loves us! He does not expect us to become perfect here on earth, but he does expect us to try. How grateful I am for this moment in life to help others come unto Christ. 

I love you all so much :]

love-Hna Jaeger

Goodly Parents

 Texas Sunsets in Houston

Hey!  Wow how blessed I am to be serving here in H 1. We have so GREAT invesitgators right now. Most of them are apart of part- member families. (this is to you austin, if you want new investigators that will stay in the church go teach the less active or part-member families. you will find potential investigators there :]). Of course, when I met these investigators whos families are all mormon expect them, most of them were not open to learning about the gospel. But as my companion and I found ways to serve such as cleaning homes or helping in the yards these non-members started to open up more to us and started to see that we are not there to just baptize them but we are there to love them, care for them, and help them receive more happiness in life. 

With this topic I want to talk about one really sweet investigators we have right now. C has been kind of interested in learning more about the church but since the time is getting closer to when the baby is due shes more open to learning and preparing for baptism. We are praying and hoping and having faith that she will be baptized. I know this step of baptism will help them as a family work towards going to the temple :]

We have a lot of families who at least one of the spouses are not a member. For the rest of my mission I hope that I can help ALL the part-member families in my area have the goal of going to the temple. We are planning on giving temple pictures to the part member families in our area to help them remember where they should be heading. We hope form this that the nonmembers will see that baptism is just one of the steps to go to the temple and to be sealed with their families for eternity. That it is essential, not an opption, to be sealed in the temple as a family so we may live with them for ever. 

 Comp make Tacos Durados  ~  I'm burnt like a tomato

How grateful I am for my parents and for their choice to be married and sealed in the temple. Mom and Dad your choices have made a great impact upon my life and I thank you for making such righteous decisions. Your actions have really blessed and shaped my life. I am who am I am because of the example you have set for me by the way you both have lived your lives. I know my heavenly father is a god of miracles, this week we had the miracle of having 7 investigtors a church. I know this happen because of our faith in god and obedience to his commandments. I love you all and am so excited to see you in september, I know the extra 4 weeks on my mission will make our reunion all the more sweeter :]  love- hermana ashley jaeger

 Happy 4th of July

Patience Pays-Off

Me and my Comp Hermana B.  Representing our TEAM!

This week was a pretty normal week, we visited a lot of member. I've come to a conclusion of the different ways members react to trials. The conclusion was that those members who have already been through the temple bear their burdens with more strength in the Lord then those who have not gone to the temple. Our goal for the rest of my time here in H 1 is to get at least a temple picture into every one of our members homes, so they may remember where they should be heading in life.

 A couple of members have been asking me why I decided to lengthen out my mission for a month. I told them its because I have a great desire to help others come unto christ. And its true. I have VERY specific people here in H 1 that I want to help them progress towards baptism before I leave. I know if I have enough faith in God and work to my full potential I will be able to see these miracle baptisms happen. How grateful I am for this time I have to be here. Thank you mom and dad and grandparents for all the sacrifices you go through to help support me here on my mission. It is the best decision I have ever made in my life. 

this past sunday we had stake conference. As I looked and said hello to familiar faces I went up and talked to the M couple, the first of my investigators that got baptized. As I talked to them and reminded hno M that he said hed share his testimony before i left my mission he replied back that he was sharing his testimony that day in sacrament meeting and how nervous he was! Haha it was so incredible hearing his beautiful testimony of how his wife had waited 27 years until he was baptized. He said how MANY missionaries would come and go but hed never want to listen. He expressed his gratitude for the patient sisters who worked with him for so long to help him get baptized and he named off each sister, sister k, m, j, and jaeger. My heart filled with gratitude for the tender mercy I had to be able to listen to hno m testimony and to see how the gospel has changed his life. I know this gospel can change lives, for the better. Now him and his wife are working to be sealed into the temple :]

I know the importance of being patient in life. SOmetimes the lords timing isdifferent from ours, and in these moments we just need to wait and remember that he is waiting with us too. i like the lyrics of an EFY song that explains of how we need not rush things "I dont need to rush or wait for my future, He knows I'm strong enough and he has a plan...for the girl I am"

I know He has a plan for me and each one of you. Trust in him and believe in good things to come :] be patient and faithful until he calls you home.   love- hna jaeger

New hair cut & Making cupcakes with little A  ~  The S Family

Waiting at church