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

Dear Family,

This week was work as usual. I don't really have much new to report. We had some really good lessons where we were able to commit a couple of people to be baptized. It is exciting to see the results of hard work through laboring and prayer. That is how the Lord teaches us to gain results from the effort that we put forth in everything that we do.

Yesterday the branch president was telling people that they need to have us, the missionaries, in their homes and how you get to know us, etc. etc. We went into the priesthood to talk about the priesthood helping us with missionary work, and it came up that it was my birthday. So, the priesthood sang happy birthday to me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They didn't sound too bad either :)

I'm really excited about going to Grandma's. That will be my third stake conference of the year and my second satellite one, so it will be fun. Oh, I'd like to go to the temple soon after I get home, like the next day if that is possible.

Sorry this is such a short email. I don't think I'm gonna get much time because the library here is pretty busy today. Thanks for all of your love and support and prayers. I love you!

Love, Joanna

Hi Family!

Because of MLK day yesterday, today is p-day. We had a pretty good week this week.

We had Zone Conference Friday and then Stake Conference Saturday and Sunday. Elder Costa of the Presidency of the Seventy came to Stake Conference. We had an investigator go so we could go on Saturday and Sunday. It was so good. The investigator who came set a baptismal date the night before. We introduced him to Elder Costa and Elder Costa said that he was going to be a great leader in the future. He also told us to have President Summerhays write him a note telling him when Jose gets baptized so that Elder Costa can send Jose something! Isn't that amazing that he would make that effort for a young man who is getting baptized? Zone Conference was great as always. Some of the Elders that I have served around for most of my mission were there which is always a happy reunion.

Other than that missionary work is missionary work. We teach people, find people, and are going to baptize people. It is so great! I can't believe you are already getting official mail about me coming home. I think my zone leader likes to remind me how much time I have left. He always asks things like, "so how many zone conferences do you have left?" "what's the first thing your going to do when you get home?" Silly elders.

I did get my debit card. Thanks. I also got a great letter from Meghan and Nikki! Thanks for all the love and support! I really appreciate it! I really like dad's truck. Do we still have my truck? I'll also remember to be safe and look out for 'accidents'. We always watch a safety video at zone conferences so we are always reminded of it.

Congrats to Ben on his boards! It sounds like things are great with the family!

I'll have to write more about our investigators and life in Destin some other time. There isn't enough time to write about all the great experiences of a mission in just one weekly email home.

Well, I love you all so much!

Love, Joanna

Hi Family,

Here is the real email. I have a little more time to write, so hopefully I can get it all written down. A lot has happened since last Monday, but I'll answer your questions first.

If you could deposit my check that would be best. I have nowhere that I could deposit or even cash a check here. Apparently, Wells Fargo is not a southern thing. And, I will definitely let you know when I get my debit card. I was thinking about that this week.

The weather turned a little bit cooler this week. But, it still is a lot warmer than where you are. I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. I'll try and get some more. Pictures just don't capture the beauty of this area.

Have you happened to find me a job yet? I don't think I need anything permanent when I get home, but some thing that pays nice would be wonderful. After I spend the summer with you I'm going to move elsewhere. I'm not sure where yet, but somewhere else.

Do you think that you could send me the recipe for The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford and also a recipe for Taco Salad? A member here has requested that they feed us on our birthdays (Sister Hartman's is today) and she will make whatever we want. That is what I want, and I want it exactly the way you make it. That is why I want a recipe for Taco Salad. I don't want the member to mess it up. I love Destin!

I can't believe that I'm almost done. I spent a little bit of time with President and Sister Summerhays this week (I'll explain in a little bit), and we talked about it. President says it is a terrible thing that my time is almost over, but he knows it is right. Today I have been on my mission for 16 months. That is so hard to believe! It has gone so much faster than I thought possible. I guess that is the way life is. Jacob, in the Book of Mormon, describes it as a dream, and that is what it feels like. It will be fun to continue on with my life, though.

So, all of the excitement of this week resulted in me going back to Andalusia for a little bit. President Summerhays called me up Tuesday morning and told me that he had been thinking about me and how I need to go back there for a little bit. he also needed me to help him with some things there, so he asked me if I would go. He told me to figure out when would be best for us in Destin for me to go. Later on Tuesday evening, we talked again and decided that leaving the next day would work out the best with transfers and everything. One Wednesday morning, the three of us met President and he took me up to Andalusia. It was so great to be back. I got to spend time with the members I love so much, the investigators I love so much, the area I love so much, everything! And, such great things happened while I was there. Melissa, Donnie's wife, set a baptismal date of 15 February. We taught a lesson to a part-member's sister-in-law. That was a realy miracle, because that is how we can get the part-member a member. I was there until last night, when President and Sister Summerhays picked me up on their way home from a Stake Conference and dropped me off back with Sister Stowers and Sister Hartman. I had such a good time back in Andalusia. It was like I never left. Things hadn't changed at all. Here is a little bit from my letter to President Summerhays (sorry it is kind of long):

"The work is truly amazing! It's the Lord's work, so it has to be amazing. The whole time I served in Andalusia, I worked on having faith to produce miracles there because that was the only way to have anything happen, and this past week I saw that those miracles are still happening. It was amazing to see that it is still the same. Andalusia really is my own waters of Mormon. I learned so many things there and will always be remembering the things I learned there. I know years from now I will be reminded of things that I learned in Andalusia, and I will cherish those memories for all eternity. Thank you so much for letting me go back. I love Andalusia! I love the members! I love the investigators! I love the demands of missionary work found there!
Things have to be done the Lord's way or else the don't work out the way they are supposed to work out. No matter how much I want to do things my way, following the counsel in the white handbook, really being a Preach My Gospel Remember This... missionary, praying, studying the scriptures, heeding your counsel as the mission president is truly the only way to find success and happiness in the work of the Lord. Obedience and being fully committed to our purpose is how we can find happiness now and how we will always find happiness. It is so simple, but people don't realize how simple it is. I guess it is the easiness of the way that blinds them. That is so sad.
The Spirit was so strong. I had some of the most personal personal studies where I learned so much about the Savior and the reality of the Atonement in my life, some of the most powerful testimonies of the restoration of the gospel, some necessary insights for the work here in Destin this next week, and above all I was strengthened beyond what I thought possible. As I have reflected on the past 5 days I have seen how the Lord does bear us up in our times of need. It was tough. But, I am grateful for the things the Lord placed before me to learn. I have no idea about what my future will hold and the experiences that will happen, but I am so grateful for the things the Lord has helped me learn since I have been here on my mission. I know everything will work out for my good the way Heavenly Father sees it. I feel like I am in the best class for my life."

I love being part of the Lord's work. I am so grateful for the decision I made to serve a mission. I would be so under equipped to live my life if I didn't come. We have Zone Conference this week, and I am really excited for it. I love Zone Conferences! They really are the best things ever!

While I was with President and Sister Summerhays driving in the car we had some time to talk. President and Sister Summerhays asked me to tell them about my family. I gave them a glowing report. It wasn't hard because y'all are a really great family! I couldn't have asked for a better one. I told them I was going to spend some time at home after I get home and then they asked what I am going to do when I get home. I told them that you said I would have to get a job and President laughed. He said that I would be so bored if I didn't work because it is part of who I am. Remember how before my mission I wanted to go early enough so that I would be home before I turned 24? Well, I'm glad I didn't because I needed to have President Summerhays as my mission president the whole time. Things work out wonderfully in the Lord's plan.

I love you all so much! Sarah, I'm going to write you a letter this week, so be watching for it.

Love, Joanna

Note: Joanna sent this originally on Dec. 28. It bounced and she re-sent it the next week. I just got it today. So the news is old, but I thought you'd enjoy it.

Dear Family,

It was great talking to you on Christmas. Here are the long awaited for pictures from here in Destin. The first one is one of our investigators named Manuel. If you recall last week's email I talked about him there. We spent Christmas Eve there and it was great! He can really feel the power that the gospel brings into our lives. We are going to keep meeting with him. The other pictures are from last Monday at the beach. It is gorgeous. One day we had dinner with some members in one of the condos in the background. It was a totally different experience.

We had a good week. It was somewhat quiet, but we were able to see how the Lord works miracles in His quiet way. We didn't have any new investigators until Friday, but were then able to reach the goal that we had set. I know that it is only through the Lord that we were able to accomplish the goals that we set for this week.

We went on splits for Church on Sunday so that we could be in both areas. I stayed here in Destin, while Sister Stowers and Sister Hartman went over to Panama City Beach. I know why the Lord has us in companionships, because it can be a little stressful trying to make sure your investigators are set and also trying to make sure you get all the missionary business done that you need to. On the other hand, I think I will make the adjustment to not having a companion just fine when I get home. The members were really good to help us out by making sure that I wasn't alone, etc.

I love you all! I'm so grateful that I have y'all as my family. I wouldn't have picked it any other way. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

Love, Joanna