Week 13

Well first of all yesterday at church we had some fun visitors. Sister Christensen and I were teaching a class in primary and so we met the 2 little visitors there and of course we asked where they are from. Utah. So of course the interrogation began. Where in Utah? Orem?! Where in Orem? Stonehenge 2nd ward?! (or something like that) so I asked if he knew the Blosils and the Mattingly's etc. etc. and the little boy said he does carpool with the Blosils and so then I met his sisters and his mom and they live in Marissa Stowell's ward I think just in that neighborhood and anyways so I asked how old they were and one of the girls was like 9th grade and I got SO excited "do you know penny mills?!?!?!" "ya!" It was such a happy moment!! So anyways I met the Sampson family! Lindsay and Kelsey and their brother is Brad who worked with Kate in the play ya? Brad didn't come with them to England because they are at some camps or something but it was so fun!!

Random side note: I'm glad you loved HP! We haven't met anyone that has seen it yet so we can't ask them details... ha ha they aren't quite as enthusiastic about things as they are in America over here. "Oh Harry Potter is out? Ya I'm sure we'll get round to seeing it sometime" ha ha But mom... who won biggest loser? ha ha ha just curious!

Oh! cool random thing, last night on our way home we got a phone call from GERMANY! There are some sisters there that just baptised a man from Ghana that is coming to Exeter for Uni and so they gave us all his information so we could continue teaching him. Their mission president was on the line too and it was just really cool to hear about the work in other places!

So speaking of people coming to Exeter for Uni, there are SO many university students here. We teach a lot a lot of university students. One of our favorite finding techniques is to go on uni walks. We walk close to the high street down some streets that lead us up and around near the university and we get to talk to so many cool people from so many cool places! Well the other day we were walking and Sister Christensen was telling me about a time they went on a uni walk and they stopped a man and asked him something and he said you know i was JUST asking myself that and i was thinking wow that's so cool, i hope that happens to me! Well not even 5 minutes later we stopped this chinese girl called Macy. We started talking to her and asked her some questions and for all of them she just looked at us with her mouth gaping open and then she would say... i was just asking myself that. She is SO cool. We have been able to teach her a few times since that experience and it is so different to teach someone from the ground up. Someone that had never heard of Christianity before and didn't know much about God either. And it's so beautiful to see them pray for the first time and start to feel the love that God has for them and to see them want to know more because they love that feeling so much! She brought one of her friends to church as well and now her friend wants to know, her friend wants to feel those things too! Wow. So so wonderful.

Well these were a few of my favorite things this week:

*One benefit of being from Utah county... when you are watching a little church clip about the priesthood with a new investigator and Russell Wesley is in the clip! ha ha it was so funny

*Alec and Jason received the priesthood this week!!!!! They are able to hold the power of God now... So cool.

*Having members of the ward from Ghana= Jalaffa rice. Mmmmmm

*Curry!!!! Everyone loves curry here. Last week we had curry just about everyday... it is delish.

*When our recent converts or investigators are little missionaries!! Robin is in hospital and has been for 3 weeks now waiting for surgery (NHS... what do you expect... ha ha) and he has told all the nurses about the church and we gave him some Restoration pamphlets and he has given them all away! :) little cutie.

Ok I'm going to attach some pictures and hope that I have left enough time for them to send. I love your guts!!!

PICTURES:

-Oh man this is a story. After zone conference our zone was going to get together and eat at a place called Nando's for dinner before everyone continued driving on to plymouth and cornwall and the elders told us to run and grab a seat while they waited for the others to find parking so we did and they called and told us just to order... so we did and then they came and told us they changed their mind and wanted to go to burger king. so this is sis. c and i with our nando's takeout at burger king. ps nandos is like the equivalent of pf changs but it's portuguese. oh well, it was yummy! ha ha

-TA DA!!!! Howell Road. :) Enough said.

-Magnum bars!!!!

-Lindsay and Kelsey Sampson, Chloe Williams, and me :)

And the pictures from our service day on the farm!!!! There is the most hilarious video of me catching a little piglet that you will see when I send my memory card home. It's funny. ha ha

-On the little boys toy tractor :)

-the field is white :) ha ha us with little Marcus Johns

-we had to spray the piglets with this blue stuff when they have been fighting and they have cuts all over them, it protects it.

-You can't see it but in the corner there was a spider web... CHARLOTTE'S WEB!!! ha ha

-There's the web

Week 12

Hello! I have so much to tell you today I don't even know where to begin! This last week has been beautiful madness. We had a zone conference on Thursday in Poole and the drive there... mom you would have been in heaven. Valleys and valleys of green, flowers, and thatched roof cottages all along the way. England is so beautiful!!! I still can't get over it. Zone conference was amazing, we talked a lot about member missionary work and how we can help the members here get excited about helping us in the work. President Shamo was the head of the audiovisual department for the church so pretty much any movie you have seen from the church... he made it. So he used that talent of his and made a movie of a woman that lives in Staines zone called Jean Hearne that they call Jean the Machine. She is an 80 year old woman that is just pure member missionary. Every day she goes out she makes sure she has 2 or 3 copies of the Book of Mormon that she can give out to people along the way. They interviewed her and she gave a few examples of how she approaches people and it is so easy for her because she simply loves the gospel and wants to share that love with others as well. I'm going to try to get a copy so maybe I can send it home or something because cute little Jean is so inspirational. Ps everyone go take a look at mormon.org. We tell people to go look at it all the time and Sister Christensen and I finally got a chance the other day to go take a look and the testimonies on there are so amazing.

But I am SO grateful to be in this mission. President and Sister Shamo are simply amazing. They really really are. President came to Newton Abbot on Sunday to do a fireside and we had no intentions of going even though we knew it would be fabulous but on Sunday we were at the hospital visiting an investigator that is about to have surgery and as we were leaving we both just decided we needed to go invite Karina and Martin. We had no idea why and we thought it was absolutely mad that we were going all the way over to their house to invite them to a fireside that we would have to leave for pretty much right when we got there but... we did it anyways. And guess what? THEY WANTED TO COME!! Well Karina wanted to come and Martin is just so sweet he said if she wanted to go he would go as well. So we went and President got up and said that he wasn't going to talk about what he had planned, instead he talked about coincidence. One thing he said that I loved, "Coincidence- where miracles happen and God remains anonymous." I remember I said something about coincidence in the last email as well but it's amazing how many coincidences we see but really... they are just miracles happening. For Martin.. that was exactly what he needed to hear. It wasn't coincidence that we decided to go to their house and invite them over, and it wasn't coincidence that President talked about what Martin needed to hear. President also talked about how the resoration of the gospel wasn't a coincidence and the way he explained it was so beautiful and when he read from the scriptures I opened mine and Karina was looking over at them and then Martin was leaning over her so he could see them too, he was so excited after that! We went over the next day for tea and we asked Martin if he enjoyed it and he said that he was so happy when he left and the night seemed to be better and it felt the same as when we go over to teach him. :) AND after the fireside President Shamo and Martin talked for a bit and Martin really really liked President Shamo (who doesn't!) but their humor is so similar and Martin just kept talking the rest of the night how brilliant President Shamo is. It was just something so little that Martin needed. I love that I was able to help the Lord bring that beautiful miracle to Martin.

We also had zone training on Monday and President talked a lot about anti Mormon stuff. It was so perfect for Sister Christensen and I because we have been teaching a girl from the Philipines that has been searching out anti Mormon stuff because she just wants to study and see if it's true... ugh. President said something like "if you put your hand in a fire you are going to get burned" Who cares what random men say about this church. That doesn't matter. People are different and people are going to have different opinions about religion and guess what, that doesn't matter. What matters is what God says. And guess what? God says that this church is true. Enough said. :) ha ha oh but ok so Sister Shamo used to be a drama teacher and the way she speaks is SOOO dramatic it is so powerful and... kind of amusing as well. ha ha ha it reminds me of Kate's stories :) I love them!

Ok well I just have to tell you one more miracle first. Seriously this week has been a week of miracles. Our zone has been praying and fasting for the seekers to be found and for people that are seeking the gospel to find us. Well Saturday afternoon we got a call from a chap from the ward called Barry Stanley. He had been at the church doing family history stuff and a chap called Patrick called the church just asking about it. Barry said he knew 2 people that could answer his questions better than he could and called us with his number. We called Patrick, talked to him for a while and invited him to church. He came on Sunday and he loved it. We called him on Monday to make sure we could still meet wth him on Tuesday and while we were talking he said to us "I want to get baptised, I just want to learn more about your church first. But I like you and I like your friend and the way I feel when I talk to you and when I was at church... I just want to keep feeling that." :O Did we start jump up and down for joy in the middle of the street? Yes, yes we did. :) ha ha The Lord is preparing people everywhere to learn and accept the gospel. Ps Patrick stopped drinking 5 years ago and stopped smoking 2 years ago because he just felt like it wasn't good for his body. (Well duh.. ha ha) .... Um sweet! Oh and he is from Belfast, Ireland and we have STRAINNNNNNN our ears to try to understand what he is saying. ha ha ha I love it. Dad did we go to Belfast last summer? I don't remember- oops. ha ha

I love you all!! Pray and ask the Lord how you can help him bring miracles to peoples lives and to your own life! I'll give you a hint... you can start by just simply keeping the commandments. :) ha ha ok I don't have time to send pictures again oops sorry! Bye!

Week 11

Dear America, I miss you. Love, Janna

ha ha oh my goodness!!!! It's the 4th of July! My favorite holiday ever! I'm so glad Shan Jas Evie Denny and Rita are all there with you together, I love that! Sister Christensen and I the other day were just saying some of our favorite family memories and I said the day that sticks out the most right now is when Evie was blessed. We were all sitting in the living room and in the kitchen together talking, laughing, making silly cartoons on Shannon's ipad with all of us and Denny and Rita and it was just... bliss! I'm sad I'm not there to do that with you all now but I'm SO grateful for the pictures you sent! I have a lot of fabulous pictures to send you BUT I'm not going to have time to send them this week because we are going to Newton Abbot today for a 4th of July celebration!! Last night we decided that we needed to do something so we called the district and decided we would all get together and celebrate by having fireworks (those little party popper confetti things) and have a barbeque (.... mcdonalds... ha ha) real American like! Then we called the Blackham's and they said they have this barbequer and so we are going to have a REAL barbeque now! They are also bringing their laptops to the Newton Abbot chapel so what I don't finish writing right now I'll send in another email because I only have .... "oh about 5 minos" left. :D ha ha ha ha ok this morning I looked at the clock and realized we only had 5 more minutes of personal study left and "oh about 5 minos" came to my mind and I just started laughing and laughing... I had to explain the story to Sister Christensen of course but she loved it. :)

SOOOOOOO we are having a multi zone conference on Thursday which will be fantastic! and Oh and before I forget, next Monday we are having zone training so we won't have pday so I won't be emailing on Monday fyi! I don't know when we will have pday so that will just be a little surprise I guess :) um ok sorry I have to go but I'll finish in just a bit! Beautiful train ride to Newton Abbot, here we come!!!!

A little while later....

I'm back again. :) So I got to read your email on the train ride over and it really sounds like you all had such an amazing week! Ohhh girls camp I cant wait to see pictures! Ok and I hope Nat Karl and Haley took pictures too, tell them I want to see them! Oh and the parade is this morning, yay!!! Daysa please take a pictures with cotton candy like we did last year :) ha ha i loved hearing from Days Cabays that was such a great surprise! Fireworks were Saturday night then? Oh that picture was perfect that you sent, you and Evie with everyone sitting around you in the pictues and jeff! ha ha :) And Oh. My. Gosh. that picture of Evie hugging the picture of me on the computer... i love that so much!!! And my picture is the screensaver? You guys are nice :) I was going to say Shan please make sure Evie is getting her Janna time everyday ok? Just show her pictures, video, my little cartoon I made for her. Deal?

Okk so just a few things.. some of my favorite things if you will:

*Again-thank you for the music!! Sister Christensen just wanted me to make sure I told you that again. We turn it on and dance around to it often. :) Oh Kate do you have the Alex Boye cd? If so.... send it to me? ha ha ps please turn with me now to page 138 of the gospel principles manual... Alex Boye is in congregation of that picture! ha ha we realized that yesterday morning, it was great

*Ok we have been teaching this couple and the wife is called Tezza and she likes to play Farmville on Facebook and she named sheep after Sister Christensen and I! I'm cute. I have stars that change colors. Oh ya and I'm a Ram. ha ha ha but anyways... we are trying to help her see that the gopel can make her happier than Farmville can.... :)

*We went and taught the Lennon-Miller's last week and in Andrew's prayer he said "we are grateful for the vibrant colors and the lovely nature and our lovely familly." :) That family is so great. They are all growing so strongly in the gospel together.

*Sister Christensen's cousin is Jason Hewlett the entertainer, he does stuff at the scera and what not and she will tell me things from his acts and I want to see him perform when I get home! So family and friends... go see him perform and tll me how it is!

*We went and did service for a guy called Ed this week, his wife is a member and we were at their house for tea last week and he said he could use help on the farm.. so we went andd we were farmers for a few hours and it was SOOO cool. And so hard. ha ha I'll send the pictures next week!

*It is amazing to me how we always seem to be at the right place at the right time... always. For example, there is a woman called Kim that we ran into my first Sunday here and we talked with her and we see her ALL the time, we ran into her again this morning because we decided to do a little shopping before emailing today and there she was right on high street, she finally gave us her phone number so we will see how that goes but I love that! I love recognizing people on the street because we have talked to them before and they realize that it's such a weird coincidence that they keep running into us... coincidence? I think not!!!!!!!! :)

*We just had our bbq and we brought some poppers that we had leftover (we had a party for Sister Christensen's 9 month mark on Saturday and had balloons and poppers, i was fun!) and we just sang the star spangled banner at the top of our lungs and then popped our poppers, it was the perfect way to celebrate! :)

Well everyone... just keep on keepin on, ya? :) I love you!

Janna sent pictures! As soon as I can get them onto my computer I will post them here!