Keep moving forward ... Saving lives!! Ah Ha Moment..

Thank you for your emails, they really do bring a lot of happiness into my life. I get pretty dang emotional when I teach about the plan of salvation and how families have the opportunity to be together forever. When it feels right, I explain that as a missionary I am away from my family for a year and a half to help other families be together forever. i miss my family so much and its sad being away from y'all but how much more grateful I am for the plan of salvation and to know that I will be with my family not just temporarily in earth but forever.

This sunday we had two people attend church! R and a new guy J.  is hard because he feels he is going to receive his answer in the bible. We are praying that we will know which of our investigators is ready to be baptized.

This week our investigator I was in the hospital. sunday we got to go visit her with some members of the church. How sad it was to see 50 year old I sitting in the hospital bed with tubes hooked up and needles intact with her skin. And still with all shes been through, she was wearing a smile. We made her a card and she loved it.  she cried as she expressed how she didnt want to be like this anymore, be so sick.  As we stood and listened my companion started balling. We decided to sign a hymn to her because she loves the church songs, they give her peace. As we sang in her hospital room a group of people stood outside the door, listening. I know the some didnt understand the spanish words we were singing but I know that they were drawn to the music becuase they could feel the spirit. We sang "Abide with Me" which brought tears to my eyes. We prayed with I for strength and comfort. Afterward she prayed, expressed her love for her heavenly father and for the members of the chruch who came to visit, she named us off all individually. she expressed in her prayer her desire to be baptized. this made me cry even more. Many things limit her.  we promised her we would stop by when we can and pray with her. Walking out of the hospital I realized why I am a missionary. I want to be a nurse because I love helping people. i feel its my job to save lives. Now is the time for me to save lives spiritually. As my cimpanion and I knelt in our apartment to pray we asked our father in heaven to take special care our Irma. I know the lord watches of her his children.

I've noticed a difference in myself since when I came to Texas and where I am at now. At first I was super shy to preach the gospel. I was nervous. I worried people would judge me and I would be picked on. I barely opened my mouth because I didnt know what to say, especially in a new language. Coming to a new area my 3rd transfer, having to be a senior companion, and follow up train was an even bigger struggle. I already relied so muchon the lord because of the language but now I was desperate for his guidance because now I was over a whole new area. Instead of being the junior companion and following what my senior companion would do, I had to be the one to say the first word, I had to lead out the lessons, I had to start out extending baptismal dates. A lot is put on the shoulders of a senior companion and after 12 weeks of being in texas i didnt think i was ready for this. I remember, and still have, many nights where I cry unto my father in heaven to help me speak the language, to help me meet people who are ready to change, to help me be a good servant of his. As I started to shift my thoughts from myself and all my worries and struggles to worrying about my investiogators i believe this was the moment when the miracles started to pour in. Yes I havent had a baptism yet. But I have seen this gospel change lives without them commiting to baptism yet. Ive seen eyes light up as we share about the story of a boy who humbled himself to his Father in heaven to know which church he should join and in the procees he sees God and Jesus christ. I see peoples hearts touched by the spirit as we bear testimomny of our savior and his life. I see those who are sick physically, confused mentally, or lost spiritually find hope in this gospel, the gospel of jesus christ. I know with all my heart and souls that this is the true and only church of jesus christ. I will not stop moving this work forward until my savior says so.

I love this work. How gratefulI am for this opportunity in my life to help others

"He/She who sings prays twice" (Temple Day, Service, Death)

Well first off oh my GOODNESS how exciting my brother Austin is going to Santiago Chile!!!! Austin I love that you will be coming home Spanish speaking :D Be prepared to get some letters in Spanish after you hit a year (because by then I hope you can understand my spanish haha). Austin please know that I prayed so fervently this past week that wherever you were going that the people there would need you and love you. I know with all my heart the Lord is sending you there because he knows the people in Chile need YOU and only YOU can touch their lives. Please take my advice and study spanish haha it will pay off and you will be so ahead of the game!!! Please know that your call really did come from the Lord and no one else.

Where you all able to watch the Broadcast on Sunday about missionary work form the members? I loved it!!! We seriously cannot do this work without the members of the church. As I was sitting there I received the strongest reconfirmation that being on a mission is exactly what I need to be doing right now in my life. I am so grateful for following the promptings of the spirit and going on a mission. If I didnt go I know for a fact later down the road I would have regreted it.

Texas Houston Temple Day

I have been learning a lot. We moved our P-Day to wednesday so we could go to the temple on monday. The temple was so beautiful and the bishops wife was so kind and took us. I have never felt such peace in any other place as the peace I have felt as I enter the Lords sacred houses. What a blessing it is to be able to have a temple in our mission.

We actually have the opportunity to teach some new people this week! E granddaughter 10 has been interested in taking the discussions! We were finally able to teach her and the 3rd lesson with her she accepted to be baptized on July 13! She wants to be a member of the church so badly! She told her grandma that when she grows up she wants to be a missionary like Hermana K and Jaeger! I thought that was such an awesome thing to hear!!! We are still teaching E, we gave her 3 dates and asked her to pray about which she feels she needs to be baptized on. 

Service with Hermana V and S G

The other night we visited the D family. We had fun listening to the girls stories about girls came and were able to talk about the improtance of the scripture "ye cannot serve two masters". As we were talking abou this topic the Spirit brought to rememberance something I learned a long time ago in Young Womens class!!! I explained this demonstration of when we put a ball on a table what does it do? The ball rolls to one side or the other. This demonstration can be related to us! We are the ball and we are always moving in some direction, we cannot stand still. So we need to make sure that we are always moving in the correct direction during our lifetime. The family was sweet and the older son had gone out and bought us Blue Bell ice cream because he know how much we loved it!!! They were so kind and we asked in next week we could come by and have a family home evening with them. They were excited and agreed to be there. 

We also were able to teach two new young girls this week named A who is 12 and V 6. When we walked to their house we had planned to teach O who is 19 but as we got to the house they were having a huge party with a ton of alcohol. A and V walked over to us and told us what they were all celebrating. We taught a simple and quick lesson of the plan of salvation to them which was awesome! They loved it and we set up another time to go back and teach the whole family.

Okay so a few weeks ago we meet T family who are 3 sisters in their 30s that are neighbors. They are a great family and they love being together as a family playing volleyball and BBQing. About 4 week ago we went over to visit. We talked to one of the sisters P and met her hsuband. the husband was nice and the family jokingly told him he needed to listen to the lesson because he needs to stop drinking. The husband scheduled a day for us to go back and told us his kids need God in their lives. The day we were suppost to teach the family they were having aparty and told us to stop by in 2 weeks after all the festivities. The day we went back the family was awkwardly quiet but nice. We soon found out from one of their neighbors that P husband had died 2 weeks ago from drinking and driving. We were shocked it made me cry to think here we are as missionaries in this area and we weren't able to teach him about the gospel before he unexpectidly passed away!! I felt so sick because I woundered what he would have thought if we were abel to teach him before he died. We went over again to the family, we played vollyball with them and tried to get to know them more. Its hard because so we decided we are going to try and find a way to do service for her and have the opportunity to teach her about the Plan of Salvation.

Studies

We have been biking more often because now we have a limit of miles haha. We have had to bike quite a bit and I give props to missionaries whos only transportation is a bike. Everytime we bike I always sing a hymn because I love to sing to myself haha and too "he/she who sings prays twice" so I feel its double the protection and a continual prayer when I sing and bike haha! I love this area and the people in it! Hermana K and I see a lot of great potential in our investigators and I have a feeling this next transfer is going to be awesome.

I love you all and hope you have a great week! I will talk to you again on Monday :]

Love-Hermana Ashley Jaeger