Hermana Sager is in Hemet!

Sid is finally in mission mode.  We received an email from President Mullen a few days after she arrived in Riverside. He said he was impressed by her testimony and willingness to serve.  We all know Sid and how amazing she is. The people of the Riverside  mission  are so lucky to have my girl. But I am her mother, I may be a little bit biased. 

Sister Mullen, Hermana Sager and President Mullen

On Saturday Evening I got a great surprise.   A member from Hemet emailed me a picture of her and her new companion.  I hadn't heard yet where she was serving, so it was nice to hear where she had landed.  

Hermana Sager and Hermana Rutheford @ the Hemet Stake Pioneer Celebration

Letter from July 20

Hi everyone!

I'm in California. I'm in Hemet. (That name reminds me of a turtle) and I love it here! If I were to try to describe this place, I would say that it's like a town that you would drive through to find a bathroom or food when you're on a road trip. It doesn't have the greatest scenery, there's nothing super to it. It's just a pass through town, but I get to live in it. How cool. But the people here make up for how it looks. And maybe the rain that I was told I would never see here while make things a little more green at least. It has rained the past 2 days, and we are told that it might rain again today. So that's weird and cool. Anyways, the people here are so awesome! They don't laugh at me when I speak Spanish to them, and they are so kind and caring. I think I'm gonna like it here. 

My new companions name is Hermana Rutherford. She is from Seattle, Washington. She's really cool, and we get along well. She has taught me so much, and I'm grateful for her. My companion from the MTC, is still right here with me too though. We live in the same apartment complex, and her area is just right next to ours. So we still see her a lot. I think that's awesome. 

So far, I have taught a few lessons a day, contacted random people in front of their houses, attended a whole 3 hours of completely Spanish church, and prayed a lot. Prayer is so important. As we communicate with God through prayer, he communicates back through the Spirit, the Prophet and Apostles, our church leaders, our families, our friends, the scriptures, and so much more. If God is communicating with us in so many ways, why is is so hard for us to remember to pray to him everyday? Through faithful prayer, you can access a higher relationship with our Heavenly Father, which you will better be able to recognize blessings with. I know that God answers our prayers, and that he always wants the best from us. He wants to hear from you. So, remember to pray to him daily. 

I hope that you're summers are all going well! 

Love, 

Hermana Sager

**If you are interested in sending Sid anything Her address is: 

Sister Sidney Ann Sager

California Riverside Mission

5900 Grand Avenue

Riverside, CA 92504  

Any letters sent will be forwarded to her address where she is serving.

Packages will also be forwarded if they are sent  USPS Priority Mail. 

Thanks to all of you that have taken interest in Sid's mission experience.   

I am a Real Life Missionary in California!!

Letter from July 14 

Hello!!

My mission president and his wife are so wonderful. They let us take a nice nap today, and are now letting us use their computer to send you a quick email to tell you I've made it safe. The weather is so awesome here! It was really hot when we first showed up, but it's so nice outside right now. 

So when I showed up to California, my luggage did not. All of our luggage never made it on the plane to California, so it was stuck in Dallas. But we now have our luggage, so everything is good. 

I'm so good. I'm so happy. Just extremely tired because I woke up at 11 pm California time last night (1 in Mexico), and it's now 9:30 California time. So I am ready for bed. Not sure when I'll email next, but I am safe and happy. 

I LOVE YOU. 

Hermana Sid

**On Monday I got a surprise email from the CCM from a Hermana Call with some fun pics of Sid and her CCM family. And the last pic is from today at an orientation lunch. 

THE FAB FOUR!!!

Hermana Burris, Hermana Visick, Hermana Babb, Hermana Sager

The District

The Zone

I got this one off FB.  This was today at a Orientation lunch with Hermana Babb, Hermana Sager and new sisters from the California Riverside Mission. 

I still don't believe I'm in Mexico

Letter from July 7

​It's been almost 6 weeks maybe? I don't know how to count my days anymore. But it's been a long time, and I still can't believe I'm in Mexico. I can't believe I'm a representative of Jesus Christ and his church, and I can't believe that in exactly one week I will be back in the states, teaching real lessons to real people. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here, and for all that I have learned. If the rest of my mission is going to go by as fast as this month has, then I'm gonna have to find more ways to take advantage of every single opportunity. 

Yesterday, I wasn't allowed to speak English. I spoke Spanish for the whole day and didn't even cry. So that is a good sign. It's amazing how much I have learned. But it's even more amazing how much I still have to learn. As long as people wanna talk about the gospel, then I should be good to go. But the second someone starts talking about real life, I have no idea what they're saying... I don't know what you think, but I feel like it might be important for me to carry on a normal conversation with someone.. But that's okay. 

My very first week I was here, I had the opportunity to watch the funeral session of Elder Perry. This Friday, I again have the chance to see the funeral of Elder Packer. I am grateful for all that these men have done for the church. Their testimonies have strengthened mine. 

In 2 Nephi 4:200, it says, "My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep." Remember that God is always there to support you. No matter what you are going through. He will guide you through many afflictions, and even if you feel like you are drowning, he is always there. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. He loves you, and wants you to rely on him. 

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July.

I hope you ate food all day. 

Hermana Sager

This is a little bit from our family letter.  i really liked it and would like to share it with you.

Now, I'm going to tell you about the Fourth of July. Our district had been planning our outfits for this day basically since we showed up here in Mexico. So actually wearing our outfits was awesome. I wore a navy skirt with white polka dots on it, and then a red shirt. I had the idea to make little flags for our name tags like they have at temple square, so that was super cute too. We had our whole zone, so 3 districts, wearing a flag underneath their name tags. When we showed up to breakfast, it was so awesome seeing that almost all of the Americans were wearing red, white, and blue. At lunch, the staff treated us well to some festive celebrations... As celebrative as you can get as a missionary. They laid out table cloths on all the tables, fed us some nice hamburgers, and also fed us pie and ice cream. It was awesome! While we were eating, some Elder's put a small flag in a plastic cup, and put it on top of the juice machine at the end of the cafeteria. They stood and started singing the Star Spangled Banner, and everyone joined in. Some of the workers started recording and taking pictures. It was probably the most patriotic Fourth of July I've ever been involved in, and I'm not even in the right country. My favorite parts of the day is when a Latino would come up to one of us and say "Congratulations on your Independence!" I laughed everytime. In a nice way though.

Congratulations on Your Independence!!

Here's my zone all festive on the Fourth of July with the Mexican flag in the back ground.

Week 4 is down

Letter from June 30

I am grateful for all my many wonderful friends and family like you guys. 

This week went really well! My whole district is starting to get tired though. But that's okay. We've been told that you are never not tired while on a mission, but you just learn how to get used to it. So that's awesome. One thing that I think I'm struggling with the most is having to wear a skirt 24 hours of every single day. Hopefully I will get used to that at some point in the next 17 months. I'm already almost 1/18th done with my mission, and it's already been so great. I love it. Every single part of it, and I'm not even out in the field yet, so I'm looking forward to that. 

This week was full of my teahers singing Brittney Spears, Justin Bieber, and volleyball. The past couple days we have played volleyball with a group of Latinos. They don't know how to play, and so there aren't any certain rules.. Except it might be a rule that you have to clap for everyone no matter where the ball goes when you hit it. Since there is no rules, this also means that you can have as many people on a team as you want. At one point, I think we had about 15 on each side of the net. It's so fun. 

One thing I found this week that has helped me out so much, and can help out anyone with eyes, ears, and two pinky toes is found in 1 Nephi 17:51. Nephi asks, "how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?" But... I find it a little easier to understand if you change the words to "how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should do his will?" God will provide a way for you to accomplish everything he asks you to do, or everything that gets thrown your way. You can do it. Si, se puede. 

Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Sager

here is a picture of me smiling in front of some nice scenery.

Peek a boo!!!

Sid's Room. 

Why would someone be willing to sacrifice everything?

Letter from June 23

This week went by so quickly! It was kinda nice. Super fun. I could get used to living within the walls of a 90 Acre fence in the middle of Mexico. Except for the birds. Not a fan of the birds. I almost cry about 5 times a day because a bird comes too close to me. But other than that, I'm still doin just fine! My district is awesome, my companion is awesome, It's so awesome being able to wear my tag every single day. The next year and a half are gonna be pretty great. 

I don't really have much to share this week, because I left my journal at my house, but what I do have should be enough to get you up and moving! I have a challenge for all of you. 

So this Sunday in Relief Society, we talked about the promises given to us from God in the scriptures. After doing so, we watched a bit of one of Elder Hollands talks. He testifies of the Book of Mormon while holding the exact copy that Jospeh and Hyrum Smith read out of the day they died. He makes his point very clear of Why would someone be willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING, even their life, unless they knew with all their hearts that their purpose was true? It is the strongest testimony. So here is where the challenge comes in. I challenge all of you to watch the 5 minute video of Elder Holland testifying of the Book of Mormon. I'm sorry I don't know the exact name of what to search, but I'm sure you can find it. I know that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book of any on earth. The fact that it's the only book I am more than willing to read says something by itself. I love the Book of Mormon with all my heart. I love the scriptures in general with all my heart. Including the words of the prophets. I know that Joseph Smith worked in accordance with God to organize this church. I know that if you search the scriptures and words of the prophets, that God will reveal to you all the promises that can be yours if you live faithfully. 

I´m sorry this email is shorter, but it's nice to have some variety. 

Have the most wonderful week!

Hermana Sager

I think that this is the video that Sid was talking about. if not its a good one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_M8asSSGvw

Sid wishing everyone a Happy Fathers Day!!

I think this is her Zone?

Sid's District 

Hermana Sager actually knows some Spanish now.

Letter From June 16.

Yes, you read the subject line correctly. I actually know some Spanish now. You would be surprised how much easier talking to people is when you actually know their language. 

First of all, I need to ask a very serious question: Did you know that in Mexico, Dora teaches kids English? I freaked out about this for like 10 minutes. Since I can't YouTube it, I would hope that most of you are curious enough to now do so yourself. That was probably the most important thing I learned this week... Just kidding. 

So, the CCM here is a 90 Acre property, with a solid fence topped off with barbed wire. Sounds awesome right? Well I've been here for 2 weeks now, and have been wanting to know whats on the opposite side of the terrifying fence. Today I finally got to go outside the fence, I didn't get eaten by any grievers. The city is so awesome!! So colorful. As we were riding in a big yellow bus that says CCM MEXICO on it, we saw actual real life missionaries on the street. It was so fun! We all got really excited and then a little freaked out, because that will be us soon. We were on our way to the temple. Except the temple is closed, so we were on our way to the visitors center. We got to take a tour of the visitors center, go to a little store, and then take pictures in front of the temple. 

While on tour of the visitors center, we watched a video about families. It's one that I had seen before at Temple Square. I don't know if the exhibit is still there, but a few years ago, Jenae (Brett) Barnes, as a missionary, walked our family through the rooms playing different parts of the video in each room. Before we started watching the video, they told us not to think about our families, and to think about the people we will soon be teaching... Well of course the only thing I wanted to think about after being told that was my family. I started crying during the movie because I miss my family, and then kept crying because I can't imagine not being able to be with them forever. I am so grateful for the opportunity to live with my family forever. It makes me so sad that not everyone knows that they can do so too. As I am inviting others to come unto Christ, I will make sure they know that they can be sealed together as a family in the Lord's temples FOREVER. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given us the chance to live with him and our families after we leave earth. 

One other thing I want to share with you guys is something that Elder Richard G. Scott said about Prayer. He addresses that we should focus on changing for asking what you want, to asking for what He wants for you. If you ever feel like your prayers have not been answered, you can look in sections 6,8, and 9 in the Doctrine and Covenants. When we feel that our prayers are not answered, it is a way of teaching us to exercise our faith in God. You cannot sit passively waiting for an answer. Work for your answer. You will often get promptings leading to a step-by-step process where you can then find your answer. 

You guys are all awesome. 

Hermana Sager

Mexico City Temple

Hermana Sager and Hermana Babb outside the Mexico city Temple