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.