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