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