Farewell, 4 weeks left

This is why they call me Nurse Jaeger

Hey fam :]

A LOT has been going on this past week and I'm surprise I can still remember my name haha. I will try and remember all that good things that went on this past week :]

MTC comp Hna R & MTC friend Hna N

On wednesday we had the farewell temple trip to all the missionaries leaving. It was such a nice experience and I loved seeing my MTC companion Hna R and N again in the temple :] it brought back flash backs of when we would all go together while in the MTC. 

The day before I was able to go on an exchange back to B for a day! Wow it felt so weird being back in my old area, it brought back a lot of good memories of Hna O and Hna S. I made a couple of the members tell Hna S I said hi and to email me haha shes so sweet and today I got 2 emails from her. 

My District!

Hermana O I trained & Hermana G ~ & MTC Companion Hermana R

Hermana T and a ton of Hermanas from the Mission

It was so cool to see I my first convert! At first she didnt recognize me and I thought,  well its okay at least I can see her :] Then when she finally looked up to see us she said, "Wow, what a miracle. I'm so surpired you are here!" It made me feel so happy to see she remembered me and was happy to see me :] because of her health she still kept falling asleep in the lessons but I knew exactly what to do to get her attention :] I realized that since I spent so much time with her I figured out a way to teach her to her needs. I also saw K O and her family :] It was so fun seeing them , K actually came out teaching with us. When I was leaving she said, "You and Hna S were my favorites". I was also able to see the J family who help me out so much driving us to different lessons when it was in the freezing winter. 

My MTC Companion!

sunday we were able to have 6 less actives at church!!!! It was so awesome and a recent convert of mine J :] it was the best thing ever! Monday night we had the farewell dinner with all 40 missionaries. It was fun talking with Hna R again, we had a lot of good laughs about our missions and our time together in the MTC. As we hugged to say goodbye i told her, "Sprint to the end!" And she replied, "Of course. We started and will finish our missions together :]". It was interesting at the farewell dinner, i didnt feel like it was my turn to go home yet. i know im supposed to be here for a reason. 

Last week Ca and G had their baby girl. Her name is A and we will hopefully get to meet her this week :]  hopefully before. 

I love you all so much! I know the last 4 weeks are going to fly by so fast and then I'll be home :] I love you all and hope everything is going well. Adios!

At the Dr again.

Week of Miracles

Hello to all my loves!

In the MTC my teacher told us something I will never forget. He said, "On my mission when we had a hard day we would call it 'the day before miracle day' because the day after we had a rough day we would see many miracles!" I have seen this happen repetidly while on my mission. Last week was defiently 'the week before miracle week'. I am grateful the Lord has felt like we were ready to receive miracles these past few days.

My Companion Hermana O and I

We have been stopping by "I"'s house every other day because she is very sick. We have been praying to know what to do with her because she wants to be baptized. Our last lesson we invited her to be baptized on August 10 (yes Kelseys birthday:]). She wasn't to sure about it but decided she would pray about is while we were there. As we knelt in prayer and she prayed in her wheelchair the spirit's presence was so strong. "I" gave a beautiful prayer and started to cry. After her heartfelt prayer she said she felt good and she wanted to prepare to be baptized on August 10 but wants to be feeling well on that day and to be able to stand. I've never seen her stand yet. But my companion and I are praying and fasting that on the day of her baptism she can stand.

We also were able to teach a man we talked to two weeks ago but havent been able to see him. He is AWESOME and has kids and a beautiful wife. We taught about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration and he liked it. He's excited to read the book of mormon and told us when we come back we better be prepared to answer his questions haha. We are excited to teach him more!

We met with a woman named I. She is excited to take the lessons and we invited her son S to go to our night of activities with the branch. We found out he liked soccer which was perfect because for this weeks activity we are playing soccer! S is excited and is going to go to the activity.

The members in the branch helpus out so much I am so grateful for them! One member Carlos Torres actually came out and BIKED with us haha it was great! How thankful I am for such helpful members in the branch. They show so much love. I know the best way to find new investigators is through the members.

It says Temecula!  That's my home :)

We go over 3 times a week to a recent converts home named P! He is older and is adorable!!! The other day we saw him at the gas stattion and we asked what he was doing. He said he wanted to go for a walk...and he lives over a mile away from the gas station haha! He went and bought my comp and I a soda :] we love visiting him because he is so funny! The other day he let us ride in his wheel chair HAHAHAHA it was so fast! He was laughing so much. We are helping him prepare to go to the temple in 4 months :] He has a picture of me as his screen saver on his phone HAHA!

Okay here is the BIGGEST miracle of the week! The other day we had to pull over and call a member. As we were on the side of the road a truck pulls up by us and the man mumbles something that sounded like, "Do you need help" We smiled and said hi and he pulled over to talk to us. We walked to his car and realized he was a deaf man. He got out a notepad he had and started writing to us explaining that he could not hear. We introduced ourselves and asked him about this life. His name is V. At age 8 he got Maleria or something and it caused him to go deaf. His mother and father have passed away.  He told us he has been sad. We told him we would invite the sign langauge missionaries to go over and teach him and he was so excited! We actually ended up "talking" to him for over an hour!!! We laughed a lot too he really enjoyed our company. We scheduled an appointment for 7pm on friday. V told us he would wait by the window until he saw the missionaries becuase there was no other way he would know someone was at the door.

My Trainee

A few days later we were on that same streeet and we saw a lady in her garage. Even though we were heading to an appointment we felt we should stop and talk to her. Her name is N and she is a devoted Christian! She is english AND spanish speaking! the more we talked to her the more things we had in common such as great faith in god, tithing, ect. She invited us into her house and started feeding us quesadillas haha! Shes in her 60s and had lost her husband and some of her children. We were able to share about our religion and she loved it! She told us what beautiful woman we were to be preaching about God to the world! As we got her information I noticed she lived on the same street as the guy V lived on! I asked if she new him and she did! She told him he needed God in his life and that would make him happy. She was excited to know we had talked to him about god! all of a sudden the sign langauge (ASL) missionaries texted us and told us they couldnt visit our other friend V that day. We asked N if we could go to V's house real quick and let him know that they werent coming. She said of course and said to invite him over to her house! As we walked up to V's house we saw him sitting by the window. He hurry and got up from his chair and opened the door for us! We told him if he could go to N's house so we could teach him. He was so excited and happy he grabbed him notepad and hurried and locked up his house!

N was so excited to see V. She loved that he was laughing and kept telling him it was a blessing he could meet the missionaries. We explained a little about our church and invited them to church the next day at 9am. They said he'd maybe come and was confused by the directions. It was a miracle we could meet N and that she knew V and we could teach both of them at the same time!

Silly Companions

Sunday came and we tried our best to get people to church but it didnt seem like we had anyone coming. As we waiting in the foyer during the opening prayer my companion goes, "Oh wow I think I just saw V pull up!" We walked outside and sure enough there was V!!! Book of Mormon and salvation pamphlet in one hand and wearing a huge smile on his face! We had him sit by us and we translated what the speakers where saying on paper so he could understand. It's a miracle the lord helped me translate in my brain from spanish to english and write it down on paper really quick for him to read! And amazing enough sacrament meeting was on the plan of salvation!!! The members were very welcoming to V. V stayed 2 hours and then had to go. We walked outside and expressed our thankfullness for him attending church and that we were happy to see him. He was very happy and was excited to learn more with the ASL missionaries on Saturday.

I know the Lord had us stop on that road at that specific time on that specific day for a reason. We needed to meet V. And even though other missionaries will now be teaching him we set a good foundation for him and we all became life long friends. At that moment I was reminded of the scripture Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weaknesses. I give unto men weaknesses that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselvs before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them". I love being a servant of God. I love being a missioanry. How grateful I am to have this gospel in my life. 

Yo se que este iglesia es la iglesia de dios. Estoy es muy agradesida por my slavador jesucristo. Me encanta ser una missionara. Yo se es muy importante tener fe en jesucristo y actuar en nuestros fe. Con Dios todo es posible!

love with all my heart- Hermana Ashley Jaeger

MTC Helps

Thins I would suggest to missionaries who are preparing to go onto a mission:

1) READ the whole book of mormon-it will strengthen your testimony so much

2) If you are called to serve a mission in a different langauge PRACTICE the langauge before you hit the mission

3) Bring shower sandals to the MTC

4) Bring a robe for the dorms in comes in handy

5) Take any seminary scripture cards or master cards with you, they will come in handy

6) Make sure to have a bottle to put water in during class

7) Bring modest gym clothes! They are so strict on that

8) Honestly, I brought ALL 3 of my hair curlers/straighteners and have barly used them haha you become so focussed on the work that doing your hair is the last thing on your mind

9) Buy a little notebook to write your favorite scriptures in, you will want to remember important scriptures

10) In the MTC just do everything that is asked of you!!! Don't be nervous to teach others, the MTC is PRACTICE for the real deal. So don't hold back

11) Bring lots of snacks to keep you awake during those long class hours haha

12) Bring picture of your family

13) Buy a little hymn book you use it 3 times a day

mtc- Apostle

Hey family!

So I have 11 days left in the MTC until I head out to Houston. It's crazy how time flies by out here in the mission. We are awake 16 hours a day and it still feels like I need more time in the day to do everything! Today was wonderful I love P-day because I have the opportunity to go to the temple :] I have never been more appreciative of the opportunity to attend the temple then now. It is such an amazing feeling to think that after all the enduring and enjoying in this life we will live in peace in the next. I love the celestial room I wish I could stay there for hours!

After we left the temple my companion and I were walking towards the MTC. It's the weirdest feeling to leave the MTC to go out into the world to visit the temple and then to go back into the MTC. Anyway as my comp and I were waiting for the crosswalk to turn green all of a sudden a young man ran past us without a shirt on. Hahaha it was the most weirdest thing I have ever experienced. For 5 weeks I have been in the presence of people always in modest clothing and seeing someone with little clothing on was just such a shock haha. I have no idea what to expect out in the field.

I told mom this already but yesterday my companion and I taught 4 people!!! Ususally we only teach one. It was the best day ever because I totally felt the presence of the Holy ghost the whole day. I know the Lord is helping me in this work. Without the Holy Ghost I would not be able to teach others about this amazing gospel. During an interview with a counselor in the presidency he asked me how I was doing. I told him how awesome I am doing especially with my companionj Sister R and how much I love her. He explained that love is not just a feeling but a verb! I love that.

On Tuesday we had a devotional by Elder Lawrence E Corbridge of the 70. What I got out of it was to step up and not waste any time as a missionary. His wife shared a story of a girl who went out on her mission speaking another language. The sister expressed how hard it was to communicate with others and it made her sad. Then one day as she was trying to talk to a women on the street the women told the sister not to worry about the language because the light that the sister held from her presence spoke more clearly then any words she could ever say. Something else I got from the devotional is how answers come to us and that though the answers we recieve may not be in the way we expect they will be for our good.

Its so important to pray to always pray with real intent!!! If we just pray without purpose or feeling the scriptures tell us those prayers aren't received. And always constantly pray for the constant companionship of the holy ghost!

I love you guys so much! Can't wait to hear form you again :] Oh I haven't picked up your package yet but I will later today. Thank you for sending me stuff! You are amazing and I miss you all so much :] Happy Easter!

Love- Hermana Ashley Jaeger

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