2/17/15 Temple Trip!

Hey family and friends,

It was a crazy week. Again it's weird being in a new area and
everything and I still feel a little dumb. I'm not sure about it yet
and we better get a car soon because it sucks being us right now! But
my first week here we had about the worst week of the mission and then
we just had the sickest week of the mission! Our mission is being
challenged to get 20 contacts a day and 3 lessons a day. Not only as a
companionship, but as a companionship for 7 days straight, along with
your whole zone getting those numbers for 7 days. All at the same
time! It can be hard because one companionship can mess it up for the
rest in the zone. It's super hard and we still haven't done it. We are
trying to do it during February. So wish us some luck! But because of
this challenge we had nearly the best teaching week of the mission
this past week. We taught like 15 lessons at least, I can't remember
exactly. It was a lot, especially for our area which is pretty
difficult to teach in.

Recently Elder Hastings really wanted to go to this girls house who's
parents are in our Ward, and she goes to the singles ward here. She
apparently was cute haha. So we go one night and her and her friend
are there! So we just talk for awhile and have a pretty sweet lesson
with the girl Ashlee, her friend Jenina, and Ashlee's sister Jenny. A
lot of girls for us missionaries! Haha it was pretty cool though.

Speaking of girls, we had some 12 year old girls or something like
that yelling at us asking how old we were... We just yelled random
ages and they were like "no you're not!!" Haha it was at the Vacaville
Junction park, and we were just going around trying to see some
people. We were about to go to these girls and invite them to repent
of their language haha. It was interesting.

So it was Valentine's Day this weekend, a missionary's favorite
holiday! Jk. But Elder Hastings got a dancing hippo from his mom that
sang, "I like big hugs and I cannot lie!" I was losing it over that
for awhile. And also, no family invited us over for valentines night
dinner....

We went to the temple this morning and it was so cool. I felt so close
to Heavenly Father and I really felt blessed we were able to go this
transfer. The temple is a sweet place, especially when there are 72
missionaries in your session! A bunch from different missions like San
Francisco and Oakland. I hope everything pulls together in our area
and we have some new people to teach recently. Thank you all for your
support and send me stuff! Haha my new address is
2751 Peppertree Dr Apt #115 Fairfield, CA 94533.

I love you guys!

Elder Janson

Beautiful parts of Fairfield.  I love it!!

North edge of our area.  Should we knock on that guys door way up there?

Me being a boss at the Oakland Temple

Me and Elder Hastings being beautiful

Me and Elder Hastings being bosses

2/9/15 In Fairfield

Hello everybody,

So I'm in a new area!! It's a really weird feeling. I feel like I have
no idea what I'm doing again!! But I'll get used to it I guess. I'm in
Fairfield 2nd ward, a nice part of Fairfield with a bunch of huge
houses and golf courses and amazing rolling hills. I think I can deal
with this haha. My new companion is Elder Hastings, a super good
golfer and the only black guy in the mission I'm pretty sure. I'm
pretty stoked. Anyways, he is from Bountiful, Utah. Pretty unique you
know? He works out at night a lot and I'm just honestly too lazy so I
sit there and write in my journal while he does work haha. Or watch a
mormon message to inspire him. Don't get me wrong sometimes I work out
after running but not at night. I'm ready to sack out at night. He
knows a lot of music I do too so it's super chill. We think of all
these songs from back home and it's funny.

We cover the Travis Air Force base and there's lots of young families
and youth, a big change from my last ward that had a bunch of older
people I will say! They all seem really excited about missionary work
and the bishop is very irritated that our area doesn't have a car
anymore. It is irritating because we have to get rides out to
Vacaville Junction a couple miles away and I haven't even been to the
base because we can't bike out on those roads to those 2 places. I'm
sure next transfer we will have a car, but for now, we must suffer
through it!

Our Ward mission leader is a super cool guy. What's funny is the first
thing he did when he saw me was tell me I look like the actor Dave
Franco. He made the comparison picture below. It's pretty funny
because I have gotten that before from multiple people. Not saying I'm
complaining hahaha. He also says Elder Hastings looks like Tiger
Woods, pretty ironic considering he loves golf. He really does look
like him! Look at the other picture...

We had dinner with the Browns is our Ward. Sis Brown is like our
missionary mom or something like that, and Bro Brown went to
Jacksonville Florida on his mission! All he talked about was how he
got rained on repeatedly and was constantly disgusting and sweaty.
Sounds right to me!

I'm excited to be out in this new area, and I hope we can find some
new people out here that are prepared. I know as we work to be
obedient, we will find them. Thank you all for your support and
awesomeness! I'll send some good pictures for you guys.

Love all of you!

Elder Janson

The Halls from my last area.

The Harlins from my last area.  They are so amazing!

My ward mission leader thinks I look just like Dave Franco.  I have heard that before!

Elder Hastings/Tiger Woods.

The north edge of our area, closest to Vacaville, CA.

2/2/15 I am getting transferred!

Hey people,

So as the subject says, I am finally leaving my greenie area and I am
moving on to Fairfield, a city like an hour and a half east from Santa
Rosa. Apparently there is the Jelly Belly factory there, so I know
where I am going on p-day. Also there is a big Air Force base there.
Only thing that sucks is there are only 9 bike areas on the mission,
and guess who's going to one!?? Fairfield 2nd ward is on stupid bikes!
But that's ok, I'll just get really big quads :)

So today is consisting of packing for the first time in 4.5 months,
which should be fun. This week was awesome though! Me and Elder
Adamson were on exchanges in our area with Elder Haynie, who is going
home tomorrow!! He certainly didn't make that a secret haha. I always
just tell everyone I'm never going home because it is so far away it
might as well be never. But he is an amazing missionary and one that I
want to become like. Me and Elder Adamson have 6 months total of
mission experience so he kind of knows more than us. Jussayin!

We had a very interesting teaching experience the other day. We went
to go see a member with the last name Youngblood (coolest last name
ever!). We are trying to go and teach members that aren't active as
well as active ones, as a kind of practice in a way. Well we find out
she is married to another female member. So we got to teach in that
unusual living situation, and just taught the restoration. It's crazy
to see such people and teach them, and really see where they come
from.

Elder Reeder had one of the funniest phone calls the other night. We
were "phone tracting" where we simply call the 600 numbers on our
phone who we don't know. He called one, and the guy immediately
starting arguing with him that we are a cult, etc. and he simply would
not accept that we are not polygamists. It honestly was hilarious to
listen to just Elder Reeder's side of the conversation. I just wonder
why people think that everything they see on tv is solid, legitimate
fact. It's quite sad actually haha. I'm getting to the point that I
see how crazy people are about us, that it's not even offensive
anymore!! Hahaha.

Probably the coolest experience was earlier this past week. We were in
a Safeway parking lot talking to people because we needed to talk to a
couple more people. One lady was literally outside of the grocery
store holding a sign asking for donations for her little sons funeral.
We got to talking to her about it, and she said her 2 year old son had
an asthma attack in the middle of the night and she couldn't get to
him. It was terrible. But as we talked with her, we testified of the
plan of salvation and gave her a pamphlet with our number and I told
her if there is ever anything she needs, just to give us a call. The
spirit in the middle of that parking lot was incredible and that was
the first time I have ever almost started crying for a complete
stranger. As we go about trying to teach everyone we see, it starts to
make sense that we really are all brothers and sisters, and when we
truly try to help them, the spirit is there as we testify of truth,
and we understand what Christ's love is. That is one thing I have
learned already, that Christ's love is something that is very hard to
feel genuinely, but when you do feel it, it is undeniable. I bore my
testimony in fast and testimony meeting yesterday, and I felt so
comfortable up there bearing my testimony it didn't feel like me! It's
amazing to see what the spirit does.

I'm so happy to be out here with a bunch of people to support me, and
thank you all for your emails and packages! It helps a lot. I'll let
you know my new address and stuff as soon as possible, and I finally
get to see what a transfer is like! Haha

I love you guys!

Elder Janson

Me and the Taylors!

The McClouds!  They are recent converts and so legit

My boy Neil ____!  The Ward Mission Leader and his abnormally cute children.  The boy is Neilson, which I find quite hilarious.

The Cuencas.  They are the coolest family ever!  Mexican/Samoan.

Renee, a recent convert in Shiloh Park Ward.

Me and Elder Adamson in Bro Lewis' restored '65 Mustang

Me and the cutest pit bull ever named Lady!

Elder Despain, soon to be zone leader in Napa and Elder Morales, spanish greenie.

Sherylyn.  She is planning on getting baptized on Feb 18, 2015.  I won't be there, but that's okay!

Elder Haynie is dying! (going home)

Recent convert Thomas!

Me and a really cute Boxer.  At a member's home.

Elder Smith, who is absolutely hilarious.

1/26/15 Half Mission Conference

Hey my beautiful people,

We had a general authority here for our half mission conference on
Wednesday! His name is Brent H. Nielsen I believe and he is some sort
of Seventy haha. He taught us so much about the enabling power of the
atonement and compared it with the redeeming power. It got super deep
and he seemed like he knew everything. I recently watched a video that
explained how the seventy go out to do assignments for the twelve, so
they go to stake conferences, etc. with apostolic keys. Pretty sweet!
We had a question/answer with him for an hour after all of the
devotionals and people asked some deep stuff, and he had some answers
for all of them. It was great. And I got to see some of my peeps from
the MTC, which brings back some wonderful memories with my roommates!

Elder Adamson is the Elder to make our companionship a trio for the
next week at least. It sure is kind of weird to have three of us.
There is either more fun involved, or more contention, and we have
kind of had both haha. We sadly argue about who's door is the next to
knock, which is absolutely ridiculous, but we do! Haha it's great
though and we get to teach him about some real work! I'm thinking I
might get transferred next week, but I can't be too sure. You never
really know what will happen with transfers, though we like to guess
anyways.

I read and finished the Book of Mormon again, and it's crazy! I really
liked is scripture which I will share with all you fine folks.

Moroni 8:16
"Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this
manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with
boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do;
for perfect love casteth out all fear."

I thought that was sweet! We as missionaries should have love for
those we contact, teach, and work with. With that love that only comes
from Christ, we have no need to fear, and fear will totally leave us.

You guys are all amazing, and I hope you can have a wonderful....
Whatever it is you do in the real world. Thank you!

Here are some pictures of our exciting life.

Love all you guys! Elder Janson

Elder Adamson is a beautiful person.

This guy had fun showing us his '26 Oldsmobile for way too long, like an hour he just talked to us about how cool it was.

Half mission conference!  I am in the middle with my head turned.

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

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