New companion, New area.... Again

Sending some love to all

What a great week :) Happy Birthday to my amazing father!!! I love you dad :) Hermana R is great!!! This is both our first time not training, so we are enjoying that!! There is so much excitement here in the Spanish Branch, especially to have a ton of baptisms this month. Ojala! we are praying to have a miracle this transfer! There are tons of people who we know are ready. :)

Tuesday was fun, there are two new Hermanas in the mission, so my comp and I got to take one out for the night.. it was such an amazing night, we had 1 OYM (open your mouth) that is where you talk to someone about the gospel! this guy was deaf so we communicated with him on a paper, got his information and he was so excited, we passed him on to the ASL sisters :) that night we also taught an older couple and it was such an amazing lesson, it was the first visit with them and we set the standards why we are here teaching them... they became two new investigators :) woohoo, the new missionaries bring so much success!

Doing the "Baptism" sign in sign-language.

Well the time with Hermana R is already going by fast :) she is an awesome missionary and I am so blessed to have her as my companion! we both got doubled into our area, but still working with the Spanish branch, which is a blessing. the hard part is there were no appointments set for us to teach the people here and this area had 20 investigators in the area book... or so we thought, as we went to visit some of them this week we realized  that none of these people have a desire to change.. no one is progressing! we decided to clean through and see who truly wants this! we have had some amazing success in discerning who is interested and who is not. with that saying.... we got a new investigator at the last minute last night!!!!! it is an amazing and adorable part-member family. they have come to church before, and they are okay with us coming over and teaching the whole family :)  yay!! we felt such a special spirit with this family, we hope this is the baptism we are here for!

Akaward speed limit sign

the other night we were walking on the street at 8:30pm, we needed people to talk to! so we found these 2 homeless men.. both named D, D 1 wasn't a very happy guy, but D 2 was! D 1 was mad at God and had heard false things about Joseph Smith, we tried to correct what he had heard, but he wasn't interested... meanwhile, D 2 was so interested and so grateful for the things God has given to him in his life! I'm glad I listened to the prompting to give him a Book of Mormon, because he gladly accepted it :) and I bore my testimony to him of how no matter what we have in life, big or small, the book of Mormon will fill our heart and soul and teach us of truth! :)

it is amazing to me to see how hard hearted people are and how some are so open... I have seen a lot so far on my mission and it has changed how I talk to people. just the other night we were visiting with a lady who recently started coming back to church. as I listened to her and talked with her, I was touched and started crying!  its amazing and beautiful when people go down a path but then stop and analyze where they are... they see what they need to fix and they fix it, they see how good the Lord has been to them even though they never acknowledged him.. its amazing :) its amazing how much the Lord loves us so much! he continually wants us to have happiness in this life!!

it has been just a great week! hahahaha we were talking to a funny guy and he burped super loud and acted like it was nothing, then he continued on to talking about how he is like a cat with 9 lives... hahahaha it was super interesting!

awesome note, remember the guy B and how we found him? walking outside, listened to the prompting to cross the street and talk to him at the bus stop.. he then came to church 2 times, has been reading in the book of Mormon and the English elders are now teaching him.. well the elders said he is getting baptized December 8th! woohoo!!!

there are 29 missionaries in our stake here in Vancouver, its pretty crazy... we are all going to play soccer today for pday!

Thank you to a sister from the ward who always sends me talks to read, I have been reading and realizing new things :) thanks!!!

 "Going on a mission teaches you to live the law of consecration."

 "the mission will be what you make it, it will be what you decide."

 "we are the Lords little group of warriors in this tiny corner of the US.... we matter to Him!"

the time is here, and its slipping out of my hands.... I'm hanging on and changing now to do more!!!

Love you all <3 Hermana Kelsey Jaeger

I'm not going to give up

Good morning, good Monday, good p-day!

Happy fall to everyone, it is so gorgeous here in Vancouver, freezing and leaves everywhere! Well i love you all so much, thank you (again) for all the support! i really do appreciate it :)

Las Hermanas

I never thought a part of my life would be consisted of worrying about the futures of SO MANY people. Every time i talk to someone I hesitate because i want them to have what i have and to know that its true, but i don't know how to express that in a couple seconds!!! It's so hard when you see someone progressing and feel it, but then some how Satan gets ahold of them and confuses them..... It was a tough week. a lot of out investigators told us they have no interest in changing or listening to us. For many days i continued to wonder "why am i out here? nothing is happening?" I worry about everything! I want so bad for people to know this gospel. This is the hardest work i have ever done. it is such a spiritual work that no one can describe, they must experience.

This week our most progressing investigator, B, told us she felt in her heart that she needs to go back to her old church.. she feels its right and that its where she belongs.. my heart about broke, and i almost started to cry... she said she didn't know how to tell us, but that she just wanted to be honest... I felt as if we did something wrong or as if we didn't try hard enough. It felt like someone broke up with me haha. We love her so much and she was so prepared, and she knows it too! its so hard to leave something when you felt nothing go wrong... we did everything we could, we taught with clarity, she had the most amazing friend/fellow shipper, and she came to church with her kids, everything... we tried, so hard... finding her and having her come to church was my "ah-ha" moment of why i am a missionary... and now that we are not teaching her any more its my "what the heck?" moment of why i am a missionary. we accepted what she had told us, because she truly prayed for an answer, and that is what she said she received and we cant deny it! it tore my heart... but we expressed our love for her, and she did the same to us. we peacefully left a strong spirit in her home by singing a song. :) It was a hard good-bye for teaching her, but we still want to visit her before either one of us gets transferred... We know that in the future will be the right opportunity for her, ojala!

Later that day and the next day a few more people dropped us.. i keep thinking 'how the heck is Christ supposed to come when no one is accepting the gospel?" this truly is the best time to serve a mission but one of the hardest times.

the next couple days we had no success, we had no lessons.. but we got outside and we tried, but i guess we didn't try hard enough. Heavenly Father makes sure we still have faith, because i thought everything was going so great and awesome! but now is the trial of faith, to get back up and keep pushing along, keep knocking those doors, searching day and night for those people, or that one person who is waiting!

Vancouver Sky

so yes, after a long rough week it is a sunny and new week! I am not a perfect missionary, nor will i ever be. i am trying my best to work towards strengthening my testimony of the savior and of his gospel... its tough as a missionary .. its hard because there is not enough time in the day to study and remember things, there is no time to take a day off and reflect, you just keep working and moving along.  sorry this is a long and depressing email, but I'm working on trying a little harder to be a little better each day.

Doctrine and Covenants 20: 37 ...having a determination to serve him to the end...

on the bright side, my companion is so awesome and has learned a little Russian from one of our Russian friends, and she was able to use it while talking to a Russian lady. ahah it was so cool!

I love you all so much, everyone asks how long Ive been out.. yup 8 months... they say "almost to half way!' and then i freak out, where has the time gone?! I had one baptism i had in Hood River.  right when i feel success for the lords work, everything turns into dust. i know its Heavenly father testing my faith, i have patience, i cant wait... i question things to easy. gahh its my weakness!

I love this work and i am not going to give up!! yes i will struggle, every missionary will.. but there is such a determination in me to finish this mission, to try my best to change someones life, whether i see it or not i know one day i will see a miracle that i was apart of.  i love this gospel and i know it is true!

we did have little miracles this week, sister T(an amazing member missionary) found a family at the store!! They are interested in us visiting them, so hopefully that happens this week!

 Doctrine and covenants 90:11

so here is a letter of joy my mission president emailed to all the missionaries! THIS is my focus this week and the rest of my mission. truly words given to him from the Spirit, he knew i(and many other missionaries) needed to hear this:

"Sometimes even the very best get distracted. In the mission field, the most common distraction is discouragement. We all get discouraged at times because this is hard work and success is more important than any other work we will ever do, so discouragement is always going to be part of the calling. It may be impossible to avoid discouragement, but it is essential that we do not give in to it. Trying to avoid discouragement in the mission field is sort of like trying to avoid the rain in Washington. We know it will happen so the key is in dealing with it. To be sure, it is one of Satan's best tools.

One of the best ways to deal with discouragement is to keep things in perspective. Elder Maxwell said this: "This life's temporal lens distorts. The things of the moment are grossly magnified, and the things of eternity are blurred or diminished. Even something as small as a man's thumb, when held very near the eye, can blind him to the very large sun. Yet the sun is still there. Blindness is brought upon the man by himself. When we draw other things too close, placing them first, we obscure our vision of heaven."

In this great work of salvation, we cannot know what the Lord will do in the next few seconds of our life. We can only do what He has asked us to do and do it with faith in Him whose work this is. Take for example the work of a stonecutter. I take this quote from Jacob Riis: "When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two,and I know it was not that blow that did it but all those that had gone before."

So it is with us, we can never know which person will be the one that will accept our message even though we have talked with a hundred people all ready, it may well be that hundred and first one that will be golden. Let's keep our mission in perspective and that will allow us to deal with temporary bouts with discouragement. As we do, we will see the hand of the Lord in all we do.

May the Lord bless the great Washington Vancouver Mission
President and Sister Taylor

Have a great week, i love you all! A la obra!  ~  Alma 29: 8-10

A mission is like the water rapids... RIDE THEM, HANG ON, and ENJOY THEM!

Who washes cars in church clothes?  Oh yeah, the Missionaries!

"You don't get in the way. You create the way!" I said this to someone who was having a rough time :) As missionaries we learn so much, we never stop learning.. because we are never perfect. Trials and difficulties are a part of life. It gives us the understanding of the need to rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Facing trails is not easy... but in the end and along the way trials build faith and confidence. A mission is like the water rapids... RIDE THEM, HANG ON, and ENJOY THEM! Make it to the end and accomplish it, don't quit or watch from the side. GO and DO. Life is 10% what happens and 90% how we react. 

Me & Hermana S

We did alot of service this week and my eyes have opened up... We helped with a funeral and a wedding... WOW!! seeing where life starts and ends... serving a mission is just a little time out of our life to prepare for the bigger things ahead of us. We also had interviews with the Mission President and his wife. They are amazing people!!!! They receive revelation and they have the spirit so strong to help guide and teach us missionaries... I love it :) I received a strong confirmation that I NEED to be the example, I NEED to be self motivated, I NEED to push myself and others! 

H J reception

Saturday we helped at the wedding for H and D J.. It was amazing :) it makes me excited and looking forward to the day i get married! This weekend i hit my 5 month mark.. WHAT!!! crazy! I need to get into gear! studying and working HARD! 

Sunday 4 of us missionaries in the ward spoke, it was awesome!!! we had a HUGE emphasis on member missionary work. ALL wards around the world need to work. The job of the missionaries is to TEACH the gospel. THAT is what they are called to do during their 18 months/2 years... the members need to find and support the missionaries. Everyone needs to do their callings. Sunday gospel principles class was my favorite, "faith without works is dead!" in simple words, faith is an action! We need hope... If we want a "gift" from heavenly father then we have to put in our faith and effort. we HAVE to have the desire!

As for teaching/finding people... we are teaching a girl V whos mom is a less active member. they are a sweet family :) we invited her to baptism and she is thinking about it, we really are trying our best to get people to church! We feel promtped from the Spirit to keep trying with her.. We are also teaching a very nice spanish lady named Y in washington, she knows this gospel is true and it makes sense... she loved The Plan of Salvation lesson because she really wants to be in the Celestial kingdom!! We invited her to baptism as well and she is nervous but said she will pray about it...

I love love love reading The Book of Mormon, it is amazing how much knowledge i have gained and how much my testimony has grown! I love this gospel!!!

-Hermana Kelsey Jaeger