Elder Joseph Janson, California Santa Rosa Mission: September 7, 2015 Greenie!

Hey everyone!

Well it's been one long crazy week! I was in Santa Rosa for two days
with all the other trainers. On Tuesday president meets all the new
missionaries and then that night they choose who we will be with. So
Wednesday morning I got Elder Thomas! He's from La Jara, Colorado, a
tiny little town in the southern part of the state. He has an amazing
backwoods country accent. On the way driving up to Eureka with him and
two other missionaries he was not feeling good and was on the verge of
throwing up, but he's doing better now! It makes me think of back in
the day when I was in his shoes! Everything seems real scary then. But
he's super fun and about as dumb as me so we get along :). It's great
because we are the "Thomas Janson" companionship!

I think it was Friday when we were going all over Eureka helping
people. Sis Scott in our ward needed help switching out her old stove
for a new one, so we had to help her roommate Don take the old one out
of her extremely tiny trailer and get the new one in, all in our
proselyting clothes. It was interesting but we did it! Don was so
happy and thanked us a bunch in his hick accent! Then that night we
helped the sisters in first ward move a bunch of furniture out of
their apartment. Those poor sisters have been so sick and we gave them
both blessings and they missed church yesterday. I hope they are doing
better today. They handed off this girl named Taylor that they had
been teaching but she is in our area. She is about 11 and wants to be
baptized. Her mom is a returning member and it's so funny to see how
simply she thinks. She just knows she needs to get baptized! So that
should be happening soon.

Really the biggest piece of news is that Byron got baptized on
Saturday! It was great to see a lot of missionaries and members there
to support and he even brought his brother and other friend who aren't
members. And they loved it as well! It is amazing to see Byron and his
crazy self be so willing to make this change and sacrifice in his
life. He certainly is determined. The spirit that was there was
amazing and his brother felt it too and thanked all of us
missionaries. I can testify that the spirit is present when someone is
using the atonement! Nothing is more powerful than that.

Speaking of that topic, the Mormon channel online has some INCREDIBLE
videos that are following the 12 step program. 12 videos for each one,
and they are so powerful. I know that the atonement can bless anyone
who struggles with addiction, because Jesus Christ knows what you are
going through! Jeffrey R. Holland says this in his talk "Teaching,
Preaching, Healing" in Jan 2003 Ensign,

"However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the
Savior of the world. As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen,
even in a resurrected, otherwise perfected body, to retain for the
benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and
in His side--signs, if you will, that painful things happen even to
the pure and the perfect; signs, if you will, that pain in this world
is not evidence that God doesn’t love you; signs, if you will, that
problems pass and happiness can be ours. Remind others that it is the
wounded Christ who is the Captain of our souls, He who yet bears the
scars of our forgiveness, the lesions of His love and humility, the
torn flesh of obedience and sacrifice."

I testify that what he says is true, even Jesus Christ our savior, the
only perfect man to walk the earth, suffered, and he suffered more
than you can imagine. We must be eternally grateful. I love you guys!

Elder Janson