day 297, McJamos in a trio for a transfer

Well transfers are this week... I will be staying with Hermana R, and coming to us is Hermana M. We will be in a trio!!! WOOHOO :) back with my baby who I trained :) we will be together for 7 weeks, and we will be combining areas... sooo we will be covering over all of Vancouver.. Its HUGE!!! It will be an awesome transfer! we are praying and working to have some baptisms!!! this will be a busy transfer :) I am excited to continue teaching the people we have been working with here, but excited I also get to work with the people in my previous area. this is a huge blessing! fun fact... something has happened to me every transfer of my mission so far... hopefully that doesn't change ;)

Me, Hermana M & Hermana R

well it was a fantastic week,

Monday night last week the elders came with us to give one of our investigators, S, a blessing of comfort. it was awesome, we had a little visit and lesson with her.. then we went out side and... it was snowing!!! my favorite woohoo. I was so happy, I love the snow!

Tuesday I was on exchanges with Hermana P and she came to my area, it was fun and awesome to be with her again! we taught S about justice and mercy, it was a cool lesson! she accepted a date for baptism, January 11th!!!!!! she is so prepared, and she said she craves the gospel. she loves when we visit her and teach her, she thinks about it all the time! the spirit was so strong in that lesson and I was like on the edge of the couch testifying to her and she was glowing with the spirit :)

Wednesday we went to go contact a referral but they didn't live their any more, so we decided to knock a couple of doors... nada. we tracted into a guy who got mad and said no soliciting(even though we aren't soliciting) and as we walked around the corner he was there by the trashcan, so we turned and walked a different way.. then we knocked the door farthest away, and surprise, a Spanish speaking family!!! they just moved here 3 months ago from salt lake city and they aren't members.. WHAT!!! we got so excited!!!

Thursday we taught a lesson to a part-member English/Spanish family, we brought with us a member. it was such an interesting lesson... the family had their grandpa visiting and he was so funny, but we couldn't teach because he loved to talk! it was an interesting lesson to say the least hahaha it was tough because the family wanted to learn so bad!! next time we will pray for a better lesson.

Friday  we listened to Elder Corbridge, from the area 70 speak to us... I took notes and what I got out of that was to teach people and not just lessons. awesome too this night the lady we taught 2 weeks ago in McDonalds is on date for baptism on jaunary 25th, woohoo! we had some cool miracles this night tracting and finding awesome families!!

Saturday the elders had a baptism so we brought investigators! a family that we are teaching are related to the lady who got baptized, so it was cool :)

Sunday was awesome! S came to church with her kids and they loved it!! they stayed all 3 hours and it was great :) she understood most things and has a couple questions we are going by tomorrow to answer and teach, pray for us because this she is so ready!!!

Zone P-day

well yes, it was a great week of awkward, funny, and sad moments. also many miracles, as always! I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time in this area! it will be a great transfer with great miracles to come! love you all, feliz navidad! Ill see my family next week on Skype!!

awkward OYM's for the week:

1. (knock knock)

"hi whats your name!?"

"uhh, Chris..."
"wel Hi, im Sister Jaeger and we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! and we are here knocking doors, sharing a message about Jesus Christ and about his gospel! Do you believe in Christ?"

"uhh yeah, im a member.."
..............awkward....... hahahaha he was a member that just got baptized 3 months ago!

 

2. (knock knock) -[its 6:00 at night]

"oh... hi, uh sorry I was expecting the UPS guy..."

"OH! Well even better, you got.. MISSIONARIES!!!(Hermana R said excited)

"hmm, yeah you caught me at a bad time, im in a compromise... bye." haahaha awkward.!

 

least to say, a mission is awkward, but so rewarding :)

The A family.  Cutest family ever we found.  

Half Way/Hump Day!!!!!!!

I will be coming home in July!  So I'm half way!  Happy "Hump" day! Yes, I look worried.

Spanish District at Super Taco.  We pretty much eat here every week!
I love Mexican food!

Little time to email, ahh! well transfers are this week, I am going to be companions with Hermana R who came out 3 months before me. we will still be in the V branch but we will double in and cover a different area! so I will be teaching new people :)

well, we taught some great lessons this week and had some cool experiences... well duh, of course. haha I just cant remember much of what happened this week. We have been teaching someone named A, and she finally decided that she is going to get married and baptized!! that's about all the exciting news.. oh yeah I forgot to mention.... This month we will start using Facebook, and in January we will be 1 of 30 missions that will start using IPads.. What what!!! yeah, we are pretty lucky :)

well we had sisters conference this week, it was great! lots of uplifting things were said, but also more pressure to be better! its tough when "our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end." with teaching people I cant ever get past "our purpose as missionaries is to..."

Sister D & Sister B her family works in the San Diego temple too

We taught some very strong religious Jehovah witnesses last night... wow, I have really bad anxiety because I was shaking and my stomach was so tight!! its not that I was afraid of them, it was that I felt so bad that their hearts are so hard and they were only trying to prove us wrong... we had to patiently sit their, listen, and when they were finished we would ask them a question and testify. it was so hard and sad! I imagine that is how the Savior felt when he was ministering to some of the people. It was a cool experience though because towards the end I realized I have such a strong testimony of this resorted gospel!! whether I can give an answer to every question someone asks me, it doesn't matter.. what matters is what I feel and that I can testify to allow the spirit to let them feel that it is real!

My reflection

Here are some cool things I have learned this week that I want to share with you all:

-whenever we are going through a tough time we need to think and ask Heavenly Father "what am I supposed to learn from this?" if you miss the learning opportunity of a trial then you will never grow!

-for all missionaries!! take this mission into your marriage, serve your mission for the future, your family :)

-The Lord saves his best missionaries to sail the uncharted waters.

-work on becoming more like the savior, no one else!

-A baptizing missionary is how you think, pray and work.. not who is in the water.

-success is not measured by how many baptisms you have, but how many lives you helped change :)

-When Satan was cast out, the war didn't end.. it was just transferred to here.

-love is what you have been through together.. a testimony is the same

-pay your tithing with faith, not with money.

-your body is a temple, clean and maintain it.. your body is a gift from God!

Hermana M & I planning ~ Thanks for the Thanksgiving Box!

Pretty much the only mail I get ... Transfer letters! j/k

it was a great week :) I love you all so much!

Transfers & Training again :)

Tamanawas Falls Washington/Oregon

So it is transfer week, and yes I am getting transferred.. after 4 1/2 months in beautiful Hood River Oregon and White Salmon Washington I am now getting doubled into the Vancouver Spanish Branch and I will be training another new missionary... Yes my 4th companion and my 3rd time training on my mission so far. The Lord trust me so much, I need to step it up and work harder! and WOW I hit 6 months this month.... I go home in 1 year. MY mission is the best time ever. I wish everyone could see how much I have grown and how much I have learned!

Well as my time in Hood River comes to a close, I am very sad to say goodbye to this beautiful place :/ but I will be back very soon after my mission is over!

For p-day last week we went on a super fun hike to a gorgeous waterfall that we could walk behind!(see pictures!) 

Hiking with the Z Family

Hermana S, Hermana V & me hiking.

This week has been a miracle week yet again :) Well, i have some amazing stories to share! One is about The R family... The R family is a non-member family that is friends with a member family in White Salmon, the L family (he just recently got released as bishop) all the family speaks spanish. So sister L set up a dinner with the R family and invited us over to eat and talk and share a message (this happened in June). They were an amazing family. A month passed and we never heard any more about the R family.. well on saturday 2 weeks ago Sister L came with us to go teach on investigator on date, P.. well P she wasnt home :/ so sister L had a great idea, she would take us to visit the R family and see if we could teach them.. well the R family wasnt home either, but sister L said "now you know where they live, visit them soon." so 4 days later we felt a strong prompting to visit the R family.... and BAM they were home, the wife and the husband. They had just got off work. They were so nice and excited to see us! They let us in and we talked and eventually got to teach them The Restoration and give them a Book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong! well we were getting a return appointment with them and they said "why dont we have dinner again at the L's home!" we got oh so excited!!! we said yes and set up a day and time(this tuesday, right before i leave!) So we called sister L and told her the good news, she was so amazed and excited!! The L family are an AMAZING member missionary family!!! Because of them they have now brought The R family to the knowledge of this gospel :) I will have to keep you updated of what will happen tomorrow!

Thursday I was on exchanges here in Hood River with Hermana K. We tracted ALL day long! We had amazing experiences! It's truly amazing, Heavenly Father really does put prepared people in our path, all we have to do is just talk to them! One amazing experience was with a woman named O... Hermana K and I were walking to an apartment complex and about to start tracting, well I noticed a mother and her daughter sitting on the park, i said "hey lets go talk to her!" so we went over and started talking... O is so prepared, she wants to be closer to God and she wants her faith stronger!!! We taught her about The Atonement and Faith.. The spirit was so strong that we invited her to baptism and she said yes!!! AHH!!!!!! we were so excited! We  put her on date for september 28th! 

Friday I woke up to a BEAUTIFUL rainbow :)  full and bright rainbow! Well friday was an interesting day.... two drunk guys started talking and asking question and arguing with us.. why imperfect people are teaching a perfect gospel... It got me a little frustrated because NO one is perfect, all Heavenly Father has to work with are imperfect people! So i kept my chin up and testified and gave them a Book of Mormon. Hermana V looked to the drunk guy that was talking about Buddha and laughing the whole time. she says "whats your address...? what is the best time to come by?" they guy mumbles his address and says "visit me wednesday thursday friday or saturday any time" she says "sweet okay we will see you soon. here is our phone number and a Book of Mormon." they guy says "thanksssss, my phone number isss...... see you soon. you're all beautiful(and he winks at us)."  well hey, we got a new investigator!!

Sunday was an amazing day at church!! Finally after 4 months 2 some families finally came to church! It was a miracle!!!! This are progressing so much here in Hood River and White Salmon!!!! There will soon be a spanish branch, I know it!! We put another girl on date as well. Her name is M. The Elders found her and passed her to us. We had an amazing first lesson with her and she understood it! So we invited her to baptism, she said yes, and put her on date for september 21st! WOOHOO another child of God coming into the fold :)

so yes many many many miracles here in the gorgeous Columbia River Gorge. I dont want to leave!!!!! but I am excited to hear what happens :) I am excited to see what miracles will happen in Vancouver! I love you all so much, i'll talk to you all soon!! BYE :)  ~  Hermana Kelsey Jaeger

My companions and I having a little fun with shopping!

She is HERE! "She's opening up a brand new area"

Sister Jeager she is beautiful.  She is in our district ----.  After she saw the pictures of our mission at the mission home that was the desire of her heart and that is where she is.  It is the best place ever.  The ward is great.  I don’t know if your daughter told you . . . but 

she is opening up a brand new area for Spanish Sisters..  This is a really BIG deal!  

And, her companion (Sister A.) is probably THE best in the whole mission. (email from a sweet sister who takes pics).  


Kelsey's arrival ~ they had rain, wind and when they left the sun came out!  She is serving in a new area.

(Kelsey & her frist companion in the field Hermana A.   ~  "Wheres the sisters")

(Packing the car up ~ Yes, it took 5 Elders to put 1 box in the Sisters car!!!)

(Praying ~ AND ~ Eating)

President and Sister Greer

Dear Missionary Family,

We are delighted to inform you that your missionary has arrived safely to the Washington Kennewick Mission.  We already love them and are excited to serve with them.  We have enjoyed becoming acquainted with them and are confident that they will become an effective instrument in the hands of the Lord in sharing the gospel with the people of Washington and Oregon.

We have assigned them a companion who is an experienced, devoted, and motivated missionary.  All of our missionaries understand that one of the greatest privileges available in the mission is to train a new missionary.  This first companion will be a special person in your missionary’s life and will help give them a great start here.

We ................

Thank you for the sacrifices you are making at home to have your missionary in the field.  We have seen the Lord bless the families of missionaries who are serving in untold ways.  We know that His blessings will be upon you as well.

With love,

President Leonard D. Greer                                        Sister Julie Greer

Washington Kennewick Mission                                 Washington Kennewick Mission