Saturday, January 31, 2015

1/19/15 Some Crazy News

Hey everybody.

So we got an interesting call this morning. President Alba called and
left a message as we are getting ready this morning, and Elder Reeder
sees it after his shower and runs in. "President called, Elder!!" I
was like... Uhhhhh haha. So he told us that for the last two weeks of
this transfer we are going to be training this missionary who is on
his first transfer!!! So we are both fairly new missionaries, but
president said that he was in a trio companionship before that was
being disobedient and wasn't a good example for him, so he chose US!?
Haha we are freaking out. We will be a trio!! Needless to say we had
to clean our apartment this morning.

So Sherlyn is good for baptism on the 31st! We finished teaching her
lesson 4 last night with another Filipino member in another ward. She
is so solid! I didn't really expect a baptism in my first area but it
is probably a couple days before I get transferred, since I'm pretty
sure I'm out of this area in two weeks. We also invited this older
lady Lisa to be baptized on Valentine's Day. What a day right?? She
almost came to church yesterday but she had food poisoning. Darn.

So I'm turning over a new leaf this week. I've actually been running
in the morning! Now by running I mean we are really only out for 20
minutes, and Elder Reeder refuses to run haha so I run back and forth
while he walks. It's pretty fun I must say. I figured I need to work
on that 15 pounds I have gained, plus it feels wonderful to run again!

We had the funniest tracting experience yet the other night. We just
went to some neighborhood we hadn't been to, and it was only 7:15, so
we figured that's fine. I mean we usuallyl tract then and people are
fine with it. But we get to one street and something happens. One
door, the guy opens and says, "really!?" As if suggesting that we are
being ridiculous for knocking on his door at such a "late" hour. Then
I finally said what I've been wanting to say. I'm like, "well yes! I
don't think it's ever too late for a message about Jesus Christ!"
Hahaha it was amazing!! Then the next 5 doors said the same thing!
Either through the door or just yelling at us, that it was way too
late to tract. And the whole time we are just busting up laughing
between doors. We're like, it's 7:30!!! Hahaha we always knock at that
time!! Anyways, just thought I'd share that.

We had such a good lesson with a member and his daughter the other
night. It was with this German guy we have been teaching who is so
cool! He is a stone mason, and loves to read the bible and learn of
Christ. He has the greatest love for Christ I have really seen out of
the church. But Brother Harlin came with us with his daughter who is
about 9. And Elder Reeder asked her to share an experience as part of
the lesson. So we were teaching him, and then asked her to share. She
shared about how God helped her and her family in her car crash. Right
when she started talking the spirit flowed into that room instantly.
She talked for maybe 20 seconds then stopped, and the room was silent.
We were all stunned! It was such a cool experience, and the
investigator could feel it too. I'm so glad we had the spirit there,
because it so helpful, and he has such a desire to read the Book of
Mormon now. All we can say, is the spirit is real!! Haha

Thank you everybody for being awesome! Keep praying for Sherlyn and
her baptism date, as well as her health. She frequently goes in for
dialysis for her kidneys, and she's wanted to be baptized for awhile.
I'm so glad to be out here and feel the Lord blessing us, and maybe
testing us with a new missionary!

I love all of you guys!

Elder Janson

Monday, January 12, 2015

1/12/15 We are the best! Haha

Hello people!

It's been a ridiculous week! We have been trying to get at least 20
contacts, and we are going to do "mission possible" where our whole
zone will talk to 20 people every day for 7 days straight. Sounds
simple, but it is HARD to get everyone in the zone to be that
consistent. We are gonna have to go hard!!!

So I've had some pretty funny dreams. One of them, and this might make
my mom freak out, but I had a dream that my mom had another baby boy!!
Hahaha I was never so confused as that! I was like, this is super
weird! Then I woke up and I was like oh thank goodness! Haha not that
that's bad to have a kid, but it freaked me out! Haha

We've had a great opportunity to do some service for Habitat for
Humanity, the Restore part of it. We basically clean up all the
donations they get, which includes household appliances and things
like doors and windows. It's really cool to just simply help people
and have an opportunity to just work! It's like I almost missed
working! Weird huh?? Haha we are supposed to try to do 10 hours of
service a week, and it's a great time to rest from our proselyting
duties!

What is kind of funny is this Sunday, yesterday, me and Elder Reeder
noticed that it seems everyone was complimenting us out of nowhere.
The bishop said to everyone in ward council that we are some of the
best missionaries our Ward has had. I was like... Uhhhhhh what did I
do!? Haha we have been sending a weekly email to the bishop and
members of the ward council of which less actives we have tried to see
and the info with that. Apparently they really appreciate that haha.
But I'm not saying this to like boast or something haha because that
is dumb. But Elder Reeder has said that we are doing so well just
because we are doing what is expected, we aren't perfect, but we are
trying to do what we need to. And people can see that in you when you
try to live up to what you are called to do, and they will see a
difference!

So earlier this past week, we had a power hour with the Harlins in our
Ward. Power hour is where the members family choose where we go tract
or talk to people for an hour, and they pray specifically for us to
find those who are ready for the message. It works like nothing else!!
That night, the first door we knock, the lady was not interested. As
we walk to the next door, another lady comes out of that first house
and yells, "hey Jehovah witnesses!" Haha we went back and talked to
her (and did tell her we are Mormons) and she was super interested in
learning and reading the BOM. We hope to be able to see her soon. We
only knocked on like 5 doors in that whole hour, and we were able to
get so much done and find a new investigator. That is incredible!
Power hour and the prayers of members really works folks!!

Last night we had the most amazing lesson of the mission! We were
teaching Sherlyn, our lady who has a baptism date on the 31st. We
watched the testaments movie with her in the Allisons home, members
who are friends with her. It was so beautiful! I've seen that movie
before, but the spirit was like ridiculous in there! Then a nonmember
comes in who knows the Allisons, and they invite her to sit down and
watch, and she does! At the end, you could tell she felt the spirit as
well. Sherlyn then told us of a dream she had, which was an answer to
her prayers. She said she saw Jesus Christ and he told her she will be
healed of every health problem she has because of her faith. As she
told this, the room was full of the spirit, and me and Elder Reeder
were speechless when she stopped. That was really the first time I
almost cried in a lesson! Haha we are so excited for her, and she is
working towards baptism. We were so pumped last night after that
incredible experience.

I really am feeling the love that Christ speaks of when we serve
others. Brother Allison was so happy to have that lesson in his home,
and we expressed how much we cared and loved him. He is so awesome! He
started tearing up when we said that and he's like "get out of here
elders!" Haha jokingly of course. I've never felt the love that is
described over and over by Christ, but I think I'm starting to
understand what it really means. I love the people I'm teaching! It's
weird!

Thank you guys for being there for me, and I love telling you guys
what's going on here. We are doing amazing, and we hope you all are
still chugging along! Please pray for Sherlyn that she will be ready
for baptism this month. It would be awesome to have your help!

Elder Janson

1/5/15 New Years!

Hey all y'all people of the real world!

It's been a pretty amazing week. Let me try to think of what even happened...
So on New Years it was so cool! We got to stay up until 10:30! Isn't
that awesome!??? Oh and yes that is our normal bedtime. Anyways
apparently Elder Reeder stayed up until midnight, but I checked out as
I do every night. Once I decide, I can go to sleep pretty fast these
days.

We were driving home from the church on New Years Eve, considering we
couldn't really proselyte that night haha. Everything weird we saw we
blamed on drunk people. Then I asked Elder Reeder, jokingly, "so...
Why don't we drink!?" He then proceeds to think, and says, "well, I
think it's because when we are drunk, we don't read our scriptures."
Immediately when he said that we both started cracking up, I was like,
how did he think that!? Haha these are the things we find funny at 9
o'clock which is early for everyone else, but like midnight for us.
Elder Reeder says he might be the biggest idiot ever.

Recently we have been listening to any music we can on the gospel
library app. That and Motab is what we can listen to. So we are
jamming out everyday to strength of youth themes like "Arise" and mom,
you should tell Meredith Rodgers that we have listened to the 2013
youth theme called "Stand" sung by her probably like 23 times in the
past 3 days. :) we are a bit deprived of music! Haha

Anyways, we were asked to do the missionary moment in a baptism for an
8 year old kid in the Shiloh park ward, which shares our building. It
was right after the baptism of there recent convert. So that convert
got to go to her baptism, then another literally right after! It was
sweet, and I'd never done a missionary moment before. We basically
just taught the restoration in a very straightforward, simple way. As
I recited Joseph smiths vision by memory for like the millionth time,
I could tell that whole room was zeroed in on what I was saying. How
can something so simple and repetitive be so powerful! It was a pretty
cool experience. It was also so cool to see Elder Bulow, who went home
recently in November I think, and came back for this girls baptism,
because he helped teach her. That is so awesome of him to fly back and
simply go to her baptism. It shows how you should feel about those we
bring into the gospel.

So we had an amazing lesson with this lady Sherlyn. It was at the
Allison's home, some amazing members in our ward. Sherlyn is Filipino,
and Sis Allison is also, so it's such a help to have her be a good
friend to her. Bro Allison is so enthusiastic about helping us with
missionary work, so he offered his home for the lesson. And he's
Canadian, so he's awesome haha. That has never happened to me yet! We
always try to have members at our lessons, but having them at their
house like never happens! We were able to get a baptismal date for
Sherlyn on January 31st, and she seems so ready for it. Her mother was
a member before she died about a year ago. I can tell the lord has
prepared her for quite awhile, because she has been meeting with
missionaries for a good time. I fasted for her yesterday, and I
realized last night that lesson was a direct answer and blessing form
the fast. He really hears if we are willing to call on him. It would
be awesome if you all can pray for her and that she will be able to
make it to church the next couple weeks.

I'm so glad I'm here to do the lords work, and we are doing so well at
talking rand contacting everyone we pass on the street. It was hard at
first, but we are on fire right now! Thank you all for supporting me,
and I'll keep you all updated on everything, well mostly everything.
Haha

I love all you guys!

Elder Janson