Hi Family,

What an interesting week this has been! Little did I know that I would end up here in Troy IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRANSFER! This is pretty much how the week has gone.

Monday night we had FHE with a family in the branch. It was really fun and we had a really good lesson about the spirit world, resurrection, judgment, and then the three degrees of glory. We played a little game with it, and they all really liked it. As we were leaving, Sis. Mickelson checked the phone for any missed calls and it said there was one. She listened to it and it was President Summerhays saying he needed us to call him back as soon as we could. We were a little worried because he sounded stressed. We waited until we were at home to call him back, so that we could all listen on speakerphone. He didn't answer so we decided to start planning and wait for him to call us back. He called back about 10 minutes later to tell us that Sister Carpenter, my MTC companion, was going home for health reasons and that he needed someone from Andalusia to go to Troy. President Summerhays proposed the situation to us and then we discussed it a little. I told him that I would do whatever he needed me to do and I would be fine with whatever. I guess that kind of sealed the deal and President Summerhays and I then talked about it. He said he felt confident that I was the one who should go to Troy, and he also felt very strongly that this is what the Lord wants. President Summerhays told me that I'll most likely be going back to Andalusia--actually he promised that I would go back because I need to be there as well. He said that for some reason the Lord wants me to be here in Troy for these couple of weeks, and I'm supposed to find out why. Then he also told me that I needed to be ready to leave Andalusia the next morning. So, I packed up enough stuff for two and a half weeks.

Tuesday morning we went to our district meeting where the Assistants picked me up and brought me to Troy. They picked up Sister Carpenter and left. My new companion is Sister Colvin from Gilbert, Arizona. She is actually related to us. She has some Allred ancestors somewhere back in her line that are the same as ours. She is great! I am glad that I get to serve with her and I hope that in the future I will be able to serve with her again. We are actually serving on the Troy State University Campus. I was nervous at first, but it is so much fun. There are a lot of international students mostly from Southeast Asia. There are a few students who are members but not very many. We go to Institute. There have only been missionaries on campus since the beginning of the year, so Sister Colvin and I are figuring out how we are supposed to do all this stuff. We are working on some things that will be campus friendly but will also allow us to teach. We have had a great response from the people that we have met so far.

Wednesday was a fairly normal proselyting day. We had dinner with the Branch President's family. They have 8 kids, one is serving his mission in Argentina, and one is at BYU. It is very much like being in Mt. Vernon. I even get to speak in Sacrament meeting and teach Relief Society this Sunday :) We had institute on Wednesday night and had two investigators come!
Thursday we had a normal day. We went to visit a member that we, the sisters, get to work with. Her son-in-law's mother died on Tuesday and Sister Colvin was asked to sing at her funeral. We went to visit the family to make sure they were doing alright.

Friday, we did missionary work as usual and then we went to the funeral. It was for a non-member and was at the funeral home, so a pastor from some Church here spoke. It was so depressing! The poor family had no comfort from what the pastor was saying. Sister Colvin and I felt so bad for the people there. The gospel brings such great comfort and hope to us especially about what happens after we die. I'm so grateful to know that this life isn't it. We will return to Heavenly Father and enjoy living with Him again! I know this is true and grateful that I know it. After the depressing funeral we went home and talked about this area and the plan of attack we are going to begin. There are several families in the branch that we are to work with along with our campus responsibities.

Today is our preparation day since not many people are on campus on Saturdays. However, we have more set appointments today then the other days of the week. Funny how that works! We also get to share a car with the elders that are in Troy. We mostly walk where ever we go, so I am really getting a feel for what many other missionaries have to deal with. I was pretty spoiled in Andalusia having a car and having some of the most miles in the mission.

My address here is 408 Elm Street #1A, Troy Alabama. I'm not sure what the zipcode is. But, just as a reminder, I'm only supposed to be here until Feb. 6. If I end up staying longer, I'll let you know.

Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope it is great! Good job in basketball, Janet! I'm so proud of you making it on tv and in the newspaper. I love you all! I should probably write to President Summerhays. I hope everyone has a good week! Love, Joanna

Dear family,
Well, due to the fabulous Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, we got to check our email at a member's so we didn't get much time which is why you get a handwritten letter this week. That was one really long sentence. Nothing too exciting happened this week. There was a possibility of snow but we didn't get any. It was cold enough to put a thick layer of frost on our car. We had to scrape the windows before we left to church. I was rather excited. No one else really was.
We keep on working day after day. The weather threw us for a little bit of a loop, but we found some ways to be productive even in the blustery weather. It wasn't always the funnest thing to be doing, but work isn't always fun.

I am the designated driver in our companionship. It is fun, but sometimes I wish I could just sit in the passenger seat for the drive. We spend a fair amount of time in the card especially when we have meetings. At a zone conference a while ago, we watched a safety video about speeding. I have done my best since then to not speed. I think you all should be well-pleased with the effort I am making to change my bad habit of speeding.

This past week, we have really noticed how much the gospel really does change people's lives. One man we are teaching has changed so much. When we first met him, he had a little bit of a temper. He would get upset and really angry and show it. I probably would have been scared to be his coworker before the gospel. Now, he has a lot more patience and doesn't get angry as easily. He has made great changes. I can't think of anything else that can make such a drastic change in people than the truth--full of the gospel. I love it!

Well, I think that is all for this week. Sorry there are not pictures. Next week there will be for sure. I love you all!

Love, Joanna

Dear Family,
Another week has gone by and Saturday was my four month mark. It's hard to believe that I've been out that long, but then again, it feels like I've been out forever. We had a pretty good week this past week and are looking forward to another one this week.

Tuesday we had Zone Conference. It was really good. We talked about work and working and how this is missionary work we are doing. I'm glad we were taught to work. Several times this past week, I have thought about what Dr. Scoresby told me at the big Scoresby reunion a year and a half ago. He said, in regards to the grade I got in his class, "I expected you to work hard because you are a Scoresby and have that hard work ethic in your family. Your ancestors worked hard and so I expect you to work hard too." I have definitely seen how that is true. Even though I didn't always look forward to Saturdays when we had to work around the house, it was good to have that instilled in us. It has definitely paid off so far here on my mission.


We had some very good lessons this week. We talked about eternal families with our investigator family. It was a really good lesson. We had a member go with us, and she bore very strong testimony of the importance of families and going to the temple to be sealed to them.
Sunday was also great. When you see your investigators make changes in their lives, you know they are starting to be converted. That same family was at church yesterday including the less-active boy that led us to meeting the rest of the family. It was great. An 8-year old girl in the branch got baptized after Church. The spirit at baptismal services is so strong. Even though this little girl had been raised in the Church, she was still entering into the first of many covenants that she'll make thoughout her life. She has opened the gate to the path that she needs to follow throughout the rest of her life. As her Mom was giving a talk about the Holy Ghost, her mom told her about how she is going to have to be an example for her little brother. She has to act in a way that Christ would. We have all entered into that same covenant being baptized into Christ's Church. If we are not faithful to that covenant, we start to wander away from the path back to Heavenly Father. There are a lot of members here who are not active. It is an astounding number that no longer do the things that they promised to do when they were baptized. They have lost sight of the end goal--celestial glory. As we were at the baptismal service, I thought about the future for all who have entered into the covenant of baptism. Things won't be a piece of cake, but there is great peace that comfort from being true to those covenants. And, it isn't just with our baptismal covenant. All of the covenants that we enter into here in this life are to bless us and to help make things easier to handle. They are guideposts along the "strait and narrow way".

It sounds like things at home are, well, normal. I love you all! Love, Joanna

Howdy y'all!
It still doesn't sound natural to say y'all, but I am working on it. Several times in my lessons yesterday at Church I had to remember that y'all is the "appropriate" form of you and I had to force my self to say it. It's coming along though. Anyway, onto other things...
We had a good week this past week ending with an amazing Sunday. Our investigators we've been teaching from the time we got here finally got engaged and are planning on getting married! We were so excited when we found out. AND, they came to Church yesterday! We were really afraid that she wouldn't come, but she did along with her son and his friend. It was so good seeing them there. They told us that they have seen a change in their lives since we started teaching them--they have been happier, their house feels like "home", etc. It is great when people can actually point out how the gospel has already blessed them. The gospel really does bless families. It is clear to see the difference between families who truly strive to live the gospel everyday in their homes and those who do not. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for teaching us the gospel at home! It has been one of the greatest blessings to me in my life.
Another investigator set his own baptismal date. We were really happy because we had set one with him that we picked out, but he didn't know if he would be ready for it. When we taught him on Friday he told us he had picked a day himself. Because he set that date himself, I'm confident he'll keep it. It isn't quite as soon as we would like, but it is very reasonable for him. His girlfriend, who is a member, was surprised when he told her it would be that soon.
This week we decided to do a little tracting. The second man we talked to told us that because he loves us he just wanted to let us know that we are going to hell. We tried to talk with him a little bit, but he just wasn't going to let go of the subtle craftiness of men that he has been blinded with long enough to listen. As we were walking on to the next house we were trying to fingure out how telling someone they are on the path to hell is love. I still don't get it and never will. If we look at Christ, the perfect example of love, he never told anyone they were going to hell even if they were guilty of serious sins (like the woman taken in adultery). True love, or charity, is kind and sees people for who they have a potential to become. Charity never condemns anyone, no matter what they are doing. One day that man will figure it out.
Other than that, it's missionary work as usual here. The weather has been ridiculous. It was pretty cool last week and then all of a sudden it got really warm and in the 70s. I hope this isn't a prediction of things to come. I don't know if I'm ready for really hot temperatures and high humidity.
I hope all is going well for you as you all have started back to "normal life" after the holidays. I love you! Love, Joanna