Semtember 12

Sundown to sunrise!

Another week has come and gone. Time seems to be flying by. Transfers are next week. That will be crazy. I have no idea what to think about transfers. I hope I don't get transferred but I know it is all in the Lord's hands and where he needs me to be. 

Patrick Benjamin was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. It was a really excellent baptism. It was nice, Sister Naulu and I did not have a part in the program, Patrick's mom's family took care of everything. It was a great day and so nice to sit back and just enjoy the day. He will be a great example to his family. His dad is not a member and his mom has been inactive for many years now. They all came to church yesterday and stayed for all 3 hours so that was really good. Patrick is going to be a great influence for his family and hopefully they will come around one day. I think they will.

Edith Bennett is still on track to be baptized on Saturday 24 September 2011. She is so wonderful. What a great privilege it has been to be able to teach her. The other day she told us, "I've been Mormon in my heart for a really long time. Almost all my life." She calls Sister Naulu not by her name because she can't remember it and she calls me Norton or Horton sometimes but usually she just calls me Orton and gets it right. She first called Sister Naulu, Naruru and then it went to Haruru and now she calls her "hoohoo tutu" it is really funny. She is such a joke-ster and a crack up. But the most amazing thing is how she has a such a great understanding and she already has a testimony of the gospel. 101 years old and she is still all there and paying attention and knowing what it is that we are saying. Yesterday when we went to teach her, we had let the Tithing and Fast Offering Pamphlet with her the day before, she had read it by the time we met with her and she told us that she was excited to be able to pay her one-tenth because you have to keep up the buildings, you can't just put things on paper it costs money to do stuff. And she wants to help out the poor and needy and give to those who don't have. She is great and we taught her the Word of Wisdom and she told us, I never knew that Coffee and Tea were bad but if the Heavenly Father says they are bad, I wont drink them anymore because what he says is important. She also told us that she thinks that everyone should be Mormon.

I gained a greater testimony of the guidance of the Spirit and talking to everyone yesterday. We were going to visit this less active family in Northpoint Ward and they live in this two house apartment things so they have long rows of parking and have some guest parking in certian spots and what not. Well we saw the car of a potential investigator so we were going to pull into a guest parking stall and go visit him and just as I was about to pull in, Sister Naulu said, No let's not visit him. Okay so I continued driving a little farther to find a parking spot and then got the impression to go to the road to park so we continued and went to the road. There were people passing by and Sister Naulu jumped out of the car to catch this man and his daughter to talk to them as I parked the car on the side of the road. They are the Randolph family and they are looking for a church to go to but they don't have transportation and he is a single dad of 4 and he told us the it was truly a blessing that we stopped and talked to them and we setup to have a lesson with them tonight. I'm super excited. He is a great guy and the gospel will really bless their lives. To think that we almost missed him because we were going to park in a parking stall. 

Make a mormon.org profile! It is going to be so awesome. They are doing a huge advertising blitz or something in Phoenix/Mesa area and it is going to be huge. Billboards, bus stops, commercials, you name it, people aren't going to be able to get away from mormon.org and "I Am A Mormon" you can look up online the commercials that will be playing in this area. The website is boncom.com/mormon look them up. You wont want to or be able to stop watching the videos once you start. It is going to be so greaty. I am super excited.

Well i really probably have so much more to write but mostly I am bored of tyoping now and my wrists get tired so that will be all for now. Hope to hear from you all sometime soon in the very near future. 

Keep working hard and continually striving to develop greater faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. "The gospel of Jesus Christ is a way of life." I know this is true. 

Yesterday in sacrament meeting one of the speakers quoted someone and I can't even remember now who it was but they said, "If we're not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we should not be afraid to live it. And if we are not afraid to live it, we should not be afraid to share it." Don't be afraid to share your testimony with others! They need it and it will bless not only their lives but your life as well! Let people know of the greatest happiness! I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know this is his work and I know that he is guiding me each and every day of my life, especially as a missionary and a servant of him. May we all continue to do the things that will strengthen our faith in our Savior and bless the lives of those around us. 

I know that we can all take part in assisting our Father in Heaven in accomplishing his work and glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" We have to open our mouths. I know I need to open my mouth as well! It is hard and scary but it is needed!

I love you all and know that this is true! 

Love JaNae

September 5

"I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately!" An instrument in God's hands to help in his work and his glory, to bring to pass the immortality of eternal life of man.

Hey! 
I've gotten bored with writing e-mails lately and this week is not an exception. I've just plum become lazy. Oh well haha you all don't care anyways. Well I have taken up something new this past week. I have decided to write down at least one tender mercy each day. It has been really something quite exquisite. You should trying doing it. It is really fun and neat to see Heavenly Father's hand in our lives and being able to note them each time is great. So that is my challenge to everyone this  week as well as making a mormon.org profile and sharing it with others.

On Saturday, sweet Edith Bennett who is 101 years old, we are teaching her, she came to a baptism. It was so awesome! Nancy her caregiver, Randy Pulsipher her physical therapist, and Sybl Stewart who is a member and a friend of hers who lives in the same care home, all came with Edith to the baptism. It was something else. Iddy (Edith) loved it and was so happy she was able to come. She is worried about her baptism date on September 24th but we continue to reassure her that she doesn't have to know everything and that she will be prepared for that day. She told a brother at the baptism, "These are my missionary girls and they come over to teach me so I can get baptized. Isn't it wonderful." She is the sweetest blessing I have had on my mission. What an amazing privilege it is to be able to know that Heavenly Father trusts Sister Naulu and I as well as the Parkcrest Ward to fellowship Iddy and prepare her for baptism. One of his choice daughters that has waited so long to be able to become "Mormon" as Iddy would say. She told us, "I want to be Mormon and I want to be baptized." It truly is such a great blessing and a wonderful privilege.

Patrick also came to the baptism. Patrick is also an amazing child of God. With no influence and encouragement from his immediate family at home, he has been made the journey to becoming a member with support from his extended family and his good friends and neighbors. Goes to show how we can all be examples to other around us. Patrick is going to be baptized on this coming Saturday. It will be a great baptism and he is going to be such a great example to his family. One day his family will come around and be as great as Patrick himself is. It still amazes me at his young age, the testimony and dedication to the gospel that he already has. Sister Naulu and I always say every time we leave a lesson, they just feel like our little brothers. It is true. Patrick Benjamin and his friends David P Knight and Max Clark, they are just our little brothers and it is fun and excited to hear their testimonies and be able to share ours with them as well!

Dre Pilger, he is finally going to be baptized. His mom is a member but has been less active as well as his older brother Dion. Dre is a great 8 year old. He will be 9 on September 12 and will be baptized on September 17 so he will be a convert baptism. He is such a funny boy but he has a great love for the gospel. It is sad when they are at church and he cries when his mom comes to get him early from Primary. He really wants to stay and learn more. He will be a great member of the church as well as a great example to his family.

Sister Sherwood has had a very tough week after her baptism. It seems that Satan is trying everything to get her to fall and not remember the covenants she so recently made with Heavenly Father and keep her from making more covenants. They have had a lot of struggles this past couple of weeks but she has stayed strong and Brother Sherwood is right there with her reassuring her that everything will be fine as long as they do what Heavenly Father asks of them. Sister Sherwood was in a really bad accident this past weekend and had to have a couple of surgeries. The biggest thing she was worried about was making sure that we knew how much she loved us and that she was going to be okay. Brother Sherwood called to let us know. What a great couple they are. When they get over these stumbling blocks that keep seeming to pop up out of know where, they will be great strong members and leaders of the church.

A mission is the greatest place to be. To see the change in people. Michelle Reno has changed so drastically since the first time I met her. She really wants to do everything she can to make her home a more Christ like place to be and where the spirit would want to dwell. She still has some things to work out before she can be baptized but she isn't getting discouraged. She is trying to work with her family members to help her teach her 5 year old daughter Jasmine the important things the gospel has to offer and teach her the way Christ would want us to live our lives. Floyd and Michelle came to the Visitor's Center last Tuesday with Sister Pishl and us and it was really great. They want to go again so we have it planned to go this coming Wednesday because they weren't able to see everything. It is so amazing to see how Floyd (who is Michelle's boyfriend) wants to change as well. He has seen the good change that the gospel has made in Michelle and he too wants to change. It is going to be a marvelous journey for this little family. And I get to be a part of it. What a great privilege and blessing it is.

So I was reading in the August 2011 Ensign and the talk on pg 8, I'm going to jot down a few things that stuck out to me. The Author is talking about his mission and how hard it was for him at first and he wanted to be called by his first name. During his personal study one morning he recorded these feeling and thoughts. "As I looked at my name tag, I noticed that although my first name was absent from the tag, I saw my family ;name, the name of the church, and the name of the Savior printed on it. Suddenly I recognized something that changed both my outlook and my attitude. I realized that as a missionary I wasn't there to represent myself. Instead I was serving to represent my family back home and, most importatn, I was representing my Savior and His Church." I love this little realization because it is exactly what I thought a few weeks into my mission. It was a struggle but now I wake up every morning and look at my name tag and remember who I am representing and serving and I put my whole heart and all my effort into the work that I have been called to do at this time in my life. It is the greatest honor and privilege to bear Christ's name on my chest and so close to my own family name and my heart. I love serving as a missionary. There is no greater work I could be doing at this time in my life.

Love JaNae

August 22nd

"I keep smiling cuz my philosophy is do your best and leave the rest to Fortuosity!"

What a crazy busy long week we have had. I never knew I could be so completely drained. Not just physically but physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, you name it, both Sister Naulu and I were completely drained. We had a very busy week. We taught Sister Sherwood everyday so we could get all the lessons in before she had her baptismal interview on Saturday! We taught so many lessons this past week and we walked around 2 days in the scorching hot sun or Arizona because our miles got cut and we don't want to go over, well we can't go over so we are trying to save on miles.
It was a great week though.

We taught all the lessons and commandments to Sister Sherwood last week and of course she was amazing and already knew everything and accepted every commandment and to obey everything. She is so legit! It is really cool! Several times we would be talking about something and then she would open up her Book of Mormon and say oh yeah like this scripture says and read a scripture that went along with what we were talking about. She wants to finish the Book of Mormon before her baptism. She reads like 10+ pages a day. She is really something! She had her baptismal interview on Saturday which she passed and that was really awesome! So we found out that she is a first for a lot of people. She will be my first baptism, she was our district leader, Elder Nuku's first interview, the Salt River Ward mission leader Bro. Davidson's first baptism, her husband is baptizing her and she will be his first baptism, and the list goes on. What a miracle it is and it is so great to see how happy and excited she is about everything having to do with the gospel. Yesterday we were talking about eternal marriage and the temple and she is so excited to go in a year's time. She wants Sister Naulu and I to both come. Super cool I'll still be here on my mission so I'll be able to come! I'm excited about that. It is going to be a really great baptism, she is so prepared! I love seeing how Heavenly Father prepares each of his children! Prepares each of us for what is to come in our lives. What a blessing it is to have the gospel!

Lupe Gapelu is also getting baptized on Saturday. We are going to have a busy Saturday. They are Tongan and yesterday they gave us some Tongan food. It is really delicious I will have to send some pictures if I get around to it today, if I have time to do so. They are such a sweet family.

Yesterday we had a lesson on service and Brother Smith from Park Crest Ward told us this quote that his dad has hanging in his foyer, it says something like "you love those you serve but not necessarily those who serve you" it is so true. I have found I have grown to love the people that I am serving and I have really grown to love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so much as I have been serving them.

We had a really great lesson with Patrick Benjamin. He is 14 years old and he knows the church is true and knows Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet and to restore the church of Jesus Christ. It was great. His mom is an inactive member and no one else in his family are members. He is going to seminary and he loves it and he has been coming to church and attending all of the young men activities. It is really great to see what a testimony he already has at such a young age. His friends Max Clark also came to the lesson and we asked him to bear his testimony of Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong! We invited Patrick to be baptized on September 10, he said he would check with his family and the next time we meet with him he would let us know.

The Gospel is true. I know this is Jesus Christ's church on the earth and the only true church. I know I am an instrument in God's hands in bringing souls unto Christ. What a great blessing it is to be able to share and bear my testimony of the truths I have a knowledge of with people each and every day.

Sister Naulu and I get along really well and she has a strong testimony and a good spirit about her all the time and she doesn't get uptight about any of it. I love serving with her. It is so amazing to see how when we have the same purpose in mind we are more powerful in bringing more souls unto Christ. I love knowing that my purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ. I can't force them, as much as I would love to make them understand and know these things are true, I can only invite them. They have their agency to choose. It is so important that we do our part as member's of Jesus Christ's church to share what we know with others who do not have the same knowledge. I know that it is possible and it is only possible through Jesus Christ and his help. He will guide us each and every day as we seek for his guidance and direction.

Love you all
Love always Sister JaNae Orton
Alma 29:9

August 8th

Well what an exciting week we had! I don't have much time to write but just a few things really quick. Sounds like things back at home are going well. Lots of changes. Crazy how time flies. I can't even believe it.
Well we got transfer news on Saturday night. Sister Gibby is going to Payson, she'll be in a truck, her companion will be Sister Card (those are the exact order that Elder Jacobson our district leader told them in, where, vehicle, companion we thought it was really funny). And Sister Naulu will be coming here to be my new companion. I'm not so sure about this. I'm not ready for change. I was just getting use to everything. Oh well it will be good. I'm super excited.
Okay so Saturday was a very exciting night. We had a great lesson on tithes, fasting, and fast offering with Michelle. She is excited and really wants to give her ten percent and give more that she can give. We fasted with her this past Sunday. We were fasting to help her stop smoking. She didn't smoke before she came to church and we haven't talked to her to ask her if she has or not. We are going to have a lesson tonight at the Pishl's house. The Pishl Family is so wonderful! I love them. Sister Gibby and I always talk about families that we would take home with them and the Pishl's are definitely one of them. As well as many other families. The member's here are so great and it has been so nice to know that when we have an investigator, we wont have to worry about them being fellowshipped and like with Michelle last week and even yesterday, we didn't even have to worry about her getting a ride to church because the ward took care of it. She is really progressing so much. She is so sweet and I'm excited to continue teaching her.
We went to the mission president's fireside last night which was absolutely amazing. The Spirit there was so strong. The testimonies and music shared were all so amazing and brought the spirit so strongly I love it. I was definitely very well fed yesterday, that is for sure. Sister Kiernan sang a song, a hymn actually and it was beautiful but I love this one sentence from it. "There is no sorrow on earth that heaven can't heal." It is so true. Always remember that. I need to remember that. Remember to turn to our Savior, he is there for you.
Okay so real quick! "IT'S A MIRACLE!" You know you always hear of those stories that are every missionaries dream of where they meet someone that is super prepared to be baptized, well I have always heard them and never ever thought I'd experience them and I have good news! "IT'S A MIRACLE!!!" Last sunday in the Salt River Ward, we weren't able to attend but we got news that a couple had come. Brother and Sister Sherwood, he is a returning member and she is not a member. We had an amazing lesson with them yesterday after church and she is so prepared. She has been investigating the church for awhile and together they decided they needed a change in their life so they stopped smoking and drinking a couple months ago and they started coming back to church. We set a baptism date with her for August 27, 2010! We are so excited and happy to be able to help her prepare for baptism! "IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!"
Well it has been a good week and I wish that I had more time to write you but I do not so I'll share more next week and let you know how my new companion is!!!
Love you All
Love JaNae

August 1st

Hey all! Sorry i haven't been very good at updating this blog. :(I'm going to start just posting her whole e-mails and pictures she sends starting this week. So I hope you enjoy!

We went to the Zoo this morning for our P-day Zone Activity. I'll try to send some pictures.

This week has been crazy and a little disappointing but that is okay, there is opposition in all things and we just have to remember to turn to the Lord and trust in him and he will always be with us to help us no matter what.

So Michelle came to church yesterday which was super amazing awesome because we had tried to stop by and visit her on Saturday like 3 times but no one would answer and the Spirit kept telling us to get out of there so we didn't talk to her on Saturday and arrange a ride for her to get to Church but she came. We still aren't sure who she came with but we are very glad that she did. She is really great. I love seeing how much she has changed in the couple of weeks that we have been teaching her. Last Monday night she really wanted to invite her friend to come over and meet with us, she wants him to come to church, so we walked to his house with her but she didn't want him to see us so we walked a little bit ahead of her and then Jasmine her 5 yr old daughter was being crazy so she asked us if we could watch her for a few minutes but we told her we aren't suppose to watch children and she said, "What are you going to do with her, kidnap her and take her to church?" It was really funny. Michelle is great and then she prayed at the end when we went back to her house and she said a beautiful prayer and said "thank you for helping me help someone and help me to help them come to you and I don't know what else to say but I love you" and then she ended. It was great, she is really coming along. Just a few more things we have to work on.

Brandy dropped us which is a bummer. If she would read and pray like we promised and not listen to other people. Oh well. 

Al also dropped us which was super bummer sad. He chose to go with Pastor Tony:( 

So we get to work hard and find more people to teach. After school starts up again and it cools off a little bit hopefully it will get better. 

Oh my goodness it rained last night. It was raining really hard and even though we were only able to be in it for a minute, I loved it. I just wish that we could have gone puddle jumping. It is my wish that we will be caught in a really awesome Monsoon sometime on my mission. Awesome!!! 

Well I love and miss you all. I know the work  I am doing is the Lord's work and it is true. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church with God's Priesthood authority on the earth today. It is such an amazing experience to be able to talk to people who have parts of truth and have my testimony of the church strengthened!

Thanks for your continued love and support! 

Love always JaNae

P.S. I was going to try and post the pictures she sent but I can't figure out how so save them from off of the e-mail. I'll post them as soon as I save them onto my computer.

First Letter Dated April 28, 2011

Well we got our first letter from JaNae today. She says they normally only write on P-Days but her mission president in the MTC informed them that they needed to write home and let their parents know they are alive, they have food, and they have a bed. And apparently she is alive, she has food, and she has a bed. Her first companion's name is Sister Scannell (pronounced sister scandal weird huh?) Anyway, so out of the 4 sisters she is rooming with she is the only one going to Arizona and the other four are going to Charleston west Virginia. She says her comp is really great and easily to get along with and that she is really bubbly and knowledgeable. She is from Texas. She says that when she arrived on Wednesday they showed her to her room and she was supposed to put her luggage in there but her key wouldn't work and they couldn't find a custodian to let them in so she had to carry her stuff down stairs again so that the sisters who were checking them in could watch over it. (kind of a funny story) When she received her envelope of supplies with her name tag in it she said they instantly put it on her (high on the left shoulder) its now official. she says "its so amazing to receive my name tag as an official representative of the lord. I also got a little certificate signed by President Monson stating the i have authority to preach the gospel. I did not know i would receive this. It expires on November 2, 2012 just in case you were wondering when i would be coming home. As much as I miss you all and miss the norm of everyday life especially most of all my bed, I won't be coming home anytime soon. This is the Lord's work, I've been called to spread and share. My purpose it so invite others to come unto Christ. My mission president, President Brown said yesterday in our opening orientation 'it is not the Mormon church, it is the Church of Jesus Christ'" Well that is pretty much it. I will post more as we get more updates. Have a great day!! :)

JaNae is gone. :(

Hey all this is Delite. I will be posting updates on here for JaNae as she sends e-mails and letters home so i hope you enjoy! :)
So we dropped her off at the Missionary Training Center today at about 12:50 and my mom and i kept telling JaNae that we were going to cry and she said we'd better not cause she didn't want to cry but that didn't happen. I think we were all crying except my dad but thats cause he never cries. Haha. Well this is it for now. I will post updates from JaNae as we get them. Have a wonderful grand day! :)