Dia de Pavo (Turkey Day)

First off THANK YOU for all my warm clothing you sent me this week!!!! That was a blessing but now its warm haha                                                           

Thanksgiving was good some members in the branch made us food which was nice :] We had a family that we've been teaching come to the dinner! It was awesome. I love them a lot, especially C shes 9 and loves giving hugs and doing hand shakes haha. Okay I have a sad story.  So during thanskgiving the turkey they had was HUGE and one (who barely knows english) said, "look they made an ostradge" (while pointing to the turkey haha cause it was so big). Then I responded back, "No es pollo" meaning "No thats chicken"....the two hsipanic guys I was with started laughing so hard!!! Then I realized what I said and said "Ahh no es pavo!" "Ohh no its turkey" Hahaha it was so embarressing!!! I mean both chicken and turkey are birds so they could at least give me THAT credit. But when I see them now they ask, "Hey Hermana how did you like the chicken?" Haha they won't let it go.

Elders photo bombing   ~   Love this family

Oh a big miracle this week was we had 3 people at church!!!! A family in the branch took 3 of our investigators. for the past 2 weeks now i've been sitting with all these younger girls which is sooo fun but wow they are fun haha. By the end of sacrament I had atleast 8 notes saying how much they loved me, how pretty I was, and how we were best friends haha. I felt so loved Brazos Branch has a big part of my heart, when I see everyone it feels like home.

Visiting 1st area with my 1st comp!

This past week we've been able to teach a pretty good amount of people! This week I got to go back to my first area in MoCity for a day and be with Hermana K my first companion in the field! It was a lot of fun we got to see people I taught AND visit a member J L who was less active but we helped reactivate him and now hes leaving on his mission!!! He was so happy and shocked to see me. It was awesome seeing how much we helped him come back to church and now he's leaving on a mission!

J is going on a mission!

Weird that I already hit my 9 month mark!!! As dad said, "Now its all down hill form here" haha. i dont want it to go by fast!!!

Something I really loved hearing about during church was obedience. The teacher explained how as children, when we are learning to swim and dad tells us, "Come on! Trust me!"  We hesitate but trust that he will catch us and so we jump! Its the same with our heavenly father. At moment in life we are scared and not sure if we can make it. But our Heavenly Fathe ris always extending his loving arms and saying, "Come on! Trust me!" I know as we are obedient to Him and follow all his council and commandments he gives to us, we will be blessed.

Making cookies with Hermana R & my comapnion Hermana C

One quote I loved this week that I want to share with you, "God knows better than you what you need. He attemps to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us. Everything will fall int its place. The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it. When you are compelled to give up something or when things rhat are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be bealrned right now. But know also that as youa re learning this lesson, God wants to give you somehting better"

Love this fam!  Wear our bike helmets.

sorry this letter is short! know i love you so much and wish you all the best ---Hermana Ashley jaeger 

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