Dear Family,

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! It was a great day! We spent the morning tracting on a muddy dirt road where all the dogs were barking at us the whole way down the road. Then we had a good lesson with Jose, and a couple other investigators. Then we went contacting at Goodwill. They have a really nice Goodwill that is always packed with cars and lots of people are there. We talked to this lady there. She had good friends who were members so she was excited to talk to us. She also said the elders who cover where she lives could come talk to her. On top of talking to her, I found a nice pair of pants that I just had to buy. Then we had another lessons, got kicked out of a neighborhood, tried contacting at a mercadito (no such luck), and then had dinner with a member. It was really good. The taco salad was excellent. They are a great family! They are always willing to help us with the work, and they have a genuine love for us. I especially want to thank Emily for her very thoughtful and personal gift. It really meant a lot.

Other than that the week was pretty normal. Missionary work is missionary work. We met a guy named Alan Perkins from Iowa who said that the name Scoresby sounded familiar. Does anyone know an Alan Perkins? Maybe he'll remember why it sounds familiar before we go back to teach him.

Jose our investigator is getting excited for his baptism. We had some really good lessons with him this week. He is 19 years old and just moved down here from Kentucky. he has had a rough life in the past, but since he has been learning he has seen the joy the restored gospel brings into our lives. He was talking this week about going on a mission. We told him that maybe he would get called to where we are from and we can help him teach investigators. Wouldn't that be a great experience.

President Summerhays challenged us to read the Book of Mormon before our next zone conference (so it gives us 26 days). It has been a really neat thing to do. This week I was reading in Alma 27 about the people of Ammon. It describes them as being highly favored of the Lord. As I was thinking about that and the conditions it mentions for being highly favored. We all want to be highly favored of the Lord, so are we willing to do what the Lord tells us we need to do? It was neat thinking about that.

It has been really nice here. This past couple of days have been about 70 degrees and sunny. I feel like it should be April, but it is only February. I'll remember Jeff in my prayers. I'm glad Casie got accepted to BYU. She'll really like it.

Well, that's about it for today. I love you all! Thanks for you prayers and support!

Love, Joanna