English Classes getting bigger

All of us missionaries pile on a bus after district class.

This week went quite well for us. The best part was probably the English class. Somehow we were able to have about 30 people in our class. It has been growing a lot lately with the help of missionaries, members, and those who attend class. We might have to split the class into two if it keeps growing. 

We have actually been able to see the fruits as well. The other day Elder B and I were able to set many appointments with certain people who come to our class. We have been able to visit many of them and teach them after already having a great confidence and friendship with them. The other missionaries are visiting those that respond to their sectors and seeing progress as well. We will keep focusing our efforts in finding new people who could have an interest in the gospel.

An ex missionary as well came back to visit some people and was able to go out with us and help us with our sector. So we are now able to work a lot more with people he used to visit that seemed really nice. We will see what we do this Thursday for thanksgiving!

Happy for you girls/sisters to get your jobs and get things ready in Utah. Love you guys and ill talk soon:) bye.

Picking cherries

ELDER NELSON!

It was pretty awesome to have Elder Nelson and Elder Viñas here with us yesterday. We each got to go up and shake their hands. We got to hear each of them and their wives speak. I wrote down a bunch of notes from all of them. 

Elder B, Elder A and I

Elder Viñas basically talked about the importance of baptism, retention, and reactivation and I am going to try to focus a lot more on reactivation in my mission. Hermana Nelson talked a lot about our premortal life and what we would have been like before, which was very special to think about. Just looking into the heavens for 5 minutes would give us a greater knowledge of any subject than if we studied it for all our life. Than Elder Nelson talked started by saying something that has now become my favorite quote. "Begin with the end in mind." And i love how he later used that to explain a story of a friend who later became a member. He said he saw his friend and thought of how good he would look in baptismal clothing, but even better in temple clothing. That is the goal for everyone. It was very special at the end when he said, "I as an apostle, invoke a blessing upon you now," and blessed us with many things among devotion and being a true disciple of Christ.

He taught us of how awesome the Spanish scriptures are and the guide for scripture study  which the English scriptures don't have. He taught us of ten doctrines and the greatest was what he said of Jesus Christ and how much there is to study about him. The whole experience was cool and i am pumped to study everything he shared.

Today we went to piedra roja because it is just a chill place to be. They have a dunkin donuts, starbucks, papa johns, sushi restaurants, and a whole bunch of other stuff there by the lake. It was nice and relaxing to be there with a donut from the outside porch deal they had their. And we visited another place after where we could buy a bunch of gringo candy and drinks! i totally forgot how could butter fingers were after one year! Love you guys, Talks to you later! bye:) sorry I wasn't able to reply to all the emails. 

  fish from my favorite place called Piedra Roja.  It reminds me of home.

District Leader & Trainer - ELDER HOLLAND

Elder Hollands visit

I wont have much time to get back to all my emails this week. But i did just get changed from an area to the area directly above my sector. Its sad because i had such a short time there there with everyone but good as i am moving forward with everything. I am now a Trainer and District Leader so we will see how it goes. There are about 20 district leaders out of the 250 or somewhat missionaries here. And on top of that i am training, double duty. I am really nervous. but i have trust in the lord. Theres a reason for everything.

This past week we were teaching a family. They have the same situation as many where they have to get married first. So we shared with them and the kids and they are really excited if the mom can get baptized. She has always wanted to and knows it is true so that is awesome. I am excited for this calling and will show the Lord what i can do.

Thanks for all your support and help with everything.  Bye love you guys. thanks for everything.

My last Sector

Late night snack.  Found a store that sells US food.  Soda for the Elders

Our group from the CCM

The snow doe!!

Posing with some guys board.  Cant
wait to come back after my mission.

Went to Portillo, Andes Mountain between Chile and Argentina.  Crossed into Argentina for a bit. Another elder andI  we were looking at the map of which route we "would take" if we could ski.  haha. A few more years.

This week the two quotes that i have thought a lot about are not from the scriptures but really mean a lot to me. One is from Mumford and sons in a song that says, "keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn." And it helps me to think of my service as a missionary. My eyes to serve as i should always be looking for those who are in need in any kind of way, and that i may learn from the lord in using my hands as instruments to preach the gospel. It has many meanings the way you look at it, but always makes me think of what i am doing with my service to the lord. And the other is from a different song that says, "If you're lost and alone, or you're sinking like a stone, carry on. May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground. Carry on." This one means a bit more of whatever may be happening, just keep going. Move forward no matter what. 

 Grandpa look what i found  -  Kids, Kites, siesta

I am having a good time in my mission and these activities lately help a lot. Our district is probably the closest in the mission. A few nights back we all got together in our house because with all the changes . We all talked about what we needed to and it was good to have a little devotional/ meeting thing. 

Dont worry about me, this is my service to the lord, not to any other person. We've had lots of exchanges for the day in our district to help us all stay energized. All is well for me as usual. - Love you Bye:)

Early in the morning waiting for a taxi

 Crossed into Arentina for a bit - dreaming

Me, snowman & Elder B  -  Portillo

 

Portillo, Andes Mountain between Chile & Argentina  -  My trainer Elder D

Pday up the mountain  -  Some famous dog hotel

Bus ride.  Long day

Lots of scripture reading this week

Makes me happy!  From a member

So i pretty much spent a bunch of my week just reading the scriptures. There are many great scriptures i have been marking. I keep finding more and more of an importance to the scriptures. That is probably where my testimony has grown strongest during my mission. They were written hundreds and thousands of years back but we can still understand and use them in our day. Our mission president is probably the best out there. He knows exactly what to say and do. We are all pumped here with our president. 

Ive been learning a lot lately in the importance of a companionship and the way the lord does things. Well it just started raining haha and i dont have a jacket or anything, so this will be fun to walk home to. Thanks you guys for everything. I hope you all have a good week:) chao

Headed to the Santiago Temple.  Comp Elder M and I 

Santiago Chile  -  Tallest building

Got to see my friend Elder C from home in the CCM. Other Elders who had seen my blog

Temple

Things are gettin real

Chile CCM

Today is the first day that i am going to have to be speaking Spanish. I will be attending all Spanish classes and church and everything will be only Spanish from now on. I have got it all down though so I'm not worried. 

Two more weeks in here and we leave on December 3rd. Oh also there are tons of earthquakes here, but I'm used to them. sorry this letter will be all over the place because I'm checking the random notes i write throughout the week to email. Happy birthday to dad as well! hope you have a good one. 

Well this week we went to lunch and saw some "sausage," so we did what any hungry guy would do. We got some and started eating them, they didn't taste bad. As we look around the room no body else had eaten theres. So i lean over and ask one of the latinos why no body wants them. He said something in Spanish and I asked him again. He said "sangre." Now sangre means blood. So it ended up being cow blood and pepper haha.  Well I love pepper and it wasn't half bad at all.  

Well, i don't have much time to email. But i am still doing good here. -Elder A Jaeger 

ELDER Jeffery R. HOLLAND was here!!!!!

My District in the CCM

What a great and special week. I wish i could send you everything that Elder Holland said. But i have 45 mins to type up as much as i can. I miss all you guys and love you, but staying focused on this work and giving everything i have. So i will start by talking about how Elder Holland came by and Elder Christopherson (i dont know how to spell it) The ccm doesnt have very many missionaries right now because they all left so id say there is maybe 70 of us, pretty small and you know everyone by name. Elder Holland he got to speak to the few of us in person.

Hearing from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was a very special experience. We werent expecting him to come by and it was a surprise. He walked down our hall while we were having class and everyone came out to greet him. It felt so powerful to have the spirit carried with him. We all went to a small room like a young womens type of room. And opened by singing called to serve in spanish while standing as he entered. Then he got up to speak to us and did so for around a half hour, and spoke with great power. "This is one of the greatest  moments in the history of the church," he started as we all listened solely to the words he spoke. "This moment ranks with the 1st vision, the coming forth of the book of mormon, and the restoration of the priesthood." He said that we are a great part of this work that is going forth. He than gave church statistics and talked about temples and said how we will soon be counting temples by the hundreds and maybe even thousands later. A new temple will be built in Concepcion Chile soon. 

"This is not only the last dispensation, but it is the greatest dispensation." He said we are here to help and save many people and "it all starts with one convert and then goes forward." He then shared a story about a mission president in Europe who was having a hard time with his missionaries being discouraged as many dont want to hear the gospel over there. So the mission president prayed and heard in is prayer "Please dont let you missionaries be discouraged, they are doing OUR work." Now he doesnt know who said that to him but knew their work needed to be done. People have been waiting for their work to be done and Elder Holland said that everyone you baptize will lead to more and more baptisms.

"One of the most fatal mistakes you can make is to go into a mission without a vision." He talked about how we need to know what we want to accomplish and have goals. And talked about Joseph smith. Sorry i am trying to go through all i can with ten minutes left to type.

This week was great and I've been GAINING SOME WEIGHT!!! My favorite foods used to be potatoes rice and pasta and we are having it every day here haha. I have never been better and next week will be the start of only speaking spanish. Jello is the only thing us americans like to eat at meals too haha, everything else is always the same. oh and i kicked out two park lights accidentally when we were playing soccer. i am having so much fun here and cant wait to get out soon. ive got it down really good and can carry a conversation with those who speak only spanish. Sorry about my bad typing as i try to do it quick. have a great week everyone. now i get to go out and eat some pizza hut. bye

"If you will give this your heart and soul, and be devoted to god and the prophets and apostles, if you will take your stand with them, your life will be blessed forever and ever and ever." - Elder holland. he said that right before he finished.
bye- Elder Austin jaeger

Semana 1 (week 1)

Chile Santiago Temple (P-day in the CCM)

Wow time has been flying by. It has been so busy here but all good. I only have 30 minutes to type so i will just send out one big email today. I was setting up all of my email and figuring out my camera. Well anyway today was obviously p day but you only get three hours to do what you want and an hour at most to email.

Me and my companion walked around a lot. We have a good time together. And while buying food from a small store we ran into some 15 year old school boys who we talked to for a while and then they went on their way. But as we were coming back down the road after picking up what we needed we saw them sitting on a bench so we talked to the three of them. we all understood each other pretty well and talked for 15 min in spanish and try to tell them about ourselves. and then as one of the boys was writing down his information their bus came to pick them up and they had to hurry on and go. But it was good to get practice and talk with nice people

Me and my Comp from Tennessee 

These past few days have been filled with so much. learning, praying, spanish, gospel, reading, writing, singing, speaking, and yes eating. The food was a little different at first but you get used to it. all of the missionaries that have been here warn about the "pan" or bread. they say if you eat too much, like more than one piece you will be having a hard time in the bathroom haha. We eat potatoes, rice and chicken all the time which is great for me because ill always eat it. there is also fish, soup, and other things sometimes. Ohh my gosh and i have to tell you about breakfast!! ok so for breakfast you come to the table which is already set and has lots of things out. you pour a bowl of cereal and then pour a bunch of yogurt on top! it is so different but it is the custom and because of the milk here. I like it because i like yogurt. The milk is never refirgertaed and is put on a shelf, and when it expires they boil it and put it back in. it is really different.

The spanish language is coming great to me! I am rooming in the ccm with some latino elders and they are so funny and nice. We teach them english and they teach us spanish. It is so fun and we always laugh. 

My p day and time might change around with so many missionaries coming in and out. A normal day is waking up before 7 and studying for an hour then going to excersise and go to the huge park with all the elders and play soccer and other games. then the rest of the day is study study study and lots of class. 

I am so happy about everything though and it will go by fast. Thanks for the prayers and such, i will keep you filled in but these weeks at the ccm will be jam packed and rush to get all the learning in that i can.

Well i have a few minutes left and wish i could talk about everything. But i love you guys. I love you mom, dad, garrett, blake, kelsey, and ashley. And of course i definitley love kennedy. As well everyone else in the family and grandparents:) I hope you are all doing okay. There is so much i have to say but i am writing in my journal every night so you guys will be fully filled in in two years. I love you guys so much! have a great week and i know i will!

i tried to attach lots of pictures but it wont send so many. The pictures of the road are a main road that is connected to the ccm and temple and many stores if you walk down in either direction. There is a picutre of me in front of the temple and one with my companion. One picture is of the ccm from the front and another is the temple from the front.

He Made it to CHILE ~ Arrival EMAIL!!!!

So after a long flight and making sure i had everything done, i got here at 8ish in the morning chile time! I didnt see any missionaries in CA or TX but when i got to chile there was a sea of them. We were all paying our fee and getting through security and customs. It took about an hour to get through customs and police and find our bags. once we got out of the airport it was crazy to see how many of us had come! probably almost 40 missionaries! and we are all going to either north or south mission. They said that last year they were averaging 30 missionaries in at a time but this group came in and was bigger. Now there are more than 100 here and training, about half from america and the other half from south america. 

My companion is really cool and is from tenessesee. We both wear gray suits to stand out! I am staying in the mtc (everyone calls it ccm in spanish) with a few other guys. They said we had to pick a few things to take out of our suitcases like three different outfits and other things. They will wash everything often and had to put our suitcases in storage until we head to our mission because there is so many of us and not enough room for everything. But i got what i needed and will be good for the six weeks here! 

There is less than ten bedrooms in the mtc so i got lucky to be put in here. And the other big group of people are all across the street in a housing place. Everything is going great though! It feels weird for us all because we see missionaries and dont think we would be one, but we are! 

The food was different at first but i got used to it for dinner. Well i usually put gallons of pepper on my food and did when we were eating. They put chili powder in the pepper.  So i probably will put less. Oh and they drink soda with every meal and all the time. But the water is fine in chile and to drink out of the tap. 

We are all tired from none of us getting very much sleep. I am doing great here and will find out my p-day some time this week. Love you guys all so much. Eveything is good here and i will tell you as much as i can when i get more time to email but they only gave us ten minutes to type this real quick. Thank you guys and i will talk soon. Love you so much.

-Elder Jaeger