Austhan Jager is the second son of Reinhard and Kaarina Jager, born on September 7^th, 1984. Reinhard and Kaarina were blessed in the 118 Couples Blessing in May 1978 at Lancaster Gate, England. Reinhard is originally from Austria, and came to America in October 1980 to join IOWC. Kaarina is originally from Finland, and came to the US in 1981.

Kaarina and Reinhard first came to Albuquerque, New Mexico in May 1984 as part of the IOWC team led by Mr. Peter Koch. In August of the same year, the Jagers were assigned to Roswell (a small city in eastern New Mexico) as pioneer missionaries.

In 1985, the Jager family experienced a major tragedy. While fundraising in Albuquerque, Reinhard was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Because their mission assignment was in Roswell, New Mexico, Kaarina determined to remain there to raise her two sons alone and to continue supporting providential activities to the best of her ability.

Throughout the years, Kaarina has always worked to fulfill her responsibility as a blessed family member. She supported minister outreach efforts and the blessing providence. She participated in the 5^th blessed wives workshop at Chung Pyeong Lake, and with her sons joined the registration blessing at that time.

Austhan Jager

Since Austhan grew up in the only blessed family in their city, his mother wanted him to benefit from the educational experience at the Little Angels School in Korea. So, like his older brother Risun, Austhan spent one year (1998) in school there. During his education in Korea, he made many good friends among second generation youth.

After returning to New Mexico from Korea, Austhan was diagnosed with cancer (1999). With this began a long and painful course of treatment, as Austhan made his best effort to overcome his illness. His physical battle ended when he passed to the spiritual world on December 29^th, 2002 at the age of eighteen.

At his Seung Hwa ceremony, Austhan’s friends and family testified about his outgoing and fun-loving character. Several of his second-generation friends shared about Austhan’s adventurous nature, and that he always had a very positive attitude. Even through his years of physical pain and difficulty as he battled cancer, Austhan always remained positive, and always encouraged others not to worry about him or his situation.

Austhan’s final years in the physical world were dominated by his struggle with cancer. In such circumstances, one can see the true character of an individual. Many testified about Austhan’s caring attitude for others, even though his own situation was so difficult. For example, Austhan befriended younger children also with cancer, and would encourage and comfort them.

One person testified of how Austhan helped to bring harmony among blessed children in Albuquerque. Two BC teenaged girls had a serious conflict with each other. But they spent time with Austhan as he went through one phase of his treatment, and he helped them to reconcile their differences. At Austhan’s Won Jeon ceremony, those two girls stood together, holding hands.

Austhan’s positive and uplifting attitude was evident throughout his short life. One person remembered a touching conversation with Austhan as his condition worsened. Austhan said, "I am a very fortunate person, because I am loved. Even though I have cancer, I am in a "win-win" situation. If I overcome the cancer, I can stay in this physical world with my loving mother and brother. If I cannot beat the cancer, I can join my father in the spiritual world."

The Seung Hwa ceremony for Austhan Jager was held on January 2, 2003 in Albuquerque, NM. The details of this "joyful ascension" program were:

• Rev. Fritz Schneider, Pastor of the Albuquerque Family Church, served as officiator. Rev. Rickey Shnorr, co-pastor, gave the opening invocation.
• Austhan’s biography was presented by his friend Nam Hi Hwang, who came from his STF mission team to participate.
• The Seung Hwa address was given by Senator Mark Boitano, who shared poignant reflections about Austhan and the significance of the time of transition.
• A letter from Dr. Chang Shik Yang, FFWPU North American Continental Director, and Rev. Michael Jenkins, President of FFWPU USA was read by Mr. Jim Flynn, President of the American Family Coalition. In the letter, Dr. Yang and Rev. Jenkins wrote:

• Beautiful testimonies were offered by friends and family, including many church families from New Mexico and Arizona, Austhan’s cousin from Austria, and a touching sharing by Austhan’s mother Kaarina.
• The address for the Won Jeon ceremony was given by Jim Flynn. He read from True Father'’s speech "Understanding Life and Death", and said, "Reinhard and Kaarina came to New Mexico as pioneers, and now their family is pioneering a new dimension. With father and son in the spiritual world, and mother and son in the physical world, they are pioneering the way to build unity between both worlds in the age of Cheon Il Guk."

The location of Austhan’s gravesite is also remarkable. As noted above, Reinhard Jager passed away suddenly in 1985. At that time, his family obtained one gravesite at the Sunset Cemetery in Albuquerque. When making arrangements after Austhan’s passing, his family naturally hoped that a site could be found near Reinhard’s. The cemetery representative was very understanding, but noted that much time had passed since 1985, and that section of the cemetery was quite popular, so a site available nearby was not likely. To the astonishment of all including the cemetery personnel, when they checked the detailed location, the site directly next to Reinhard’s was available. So in a way fitting for members of a blessed family, Austhan was interred directly next to his father.

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