(From Jonna: Dated April 23, 2012)

Hey Yall!

(I sent AJ an email, but let him know-long story way short-I met a kid who is reporting the MTC the same day as AJ. Tim Marriot. He is going to Checkoslovokia-totally spelled wrong, I know, I know!-but he will be in the MTC for 3 months too. I told him to look out for AJ. He was way excited.)

I got Kathy's package!! Oh so sweet!!!! I shed a little tear :) It was full of notes from the kiddos in 601. Their writing is SO good! I was just impressed. Some were just so funny! Miss them all so much. I was reading them to my companion and was saying how cute they were! I miss kindergarten writing. THAT was awesome. THANKS! xoxo ;)

I also got Jeannie's letter. I'll be writing her back soon. Tell her thanks! That was so nice of her to write to me!

Well, this week has been pretty good. I forgot to mention last week, that we went tracting on the beach! Our area in Baytown goes all the way over to Cove and down to Beach City (Google it). So, the last two Saturdays, Sister Cochran and I have gotten to see the Gulf of Mexico. All the home that are one the coast (most of them) are on beams 18-25 feet high. They said that the beams weren't tall enough when Ike came through so all of them were destroyed. Now, they are built higher-which I don't understand. I don't think I'd live there after that disater happened. But, it was really fun tracting there! We met an oder woman, Bree, who wasn't interested in our message, but was really impressed at what we were doing. She invited us in, gave us a drink, offered us a sandwich, and chatted. We sang her "I Am A Child of God" and she was touched. It is a powerful song, and as I grew up with it, I didn't realize it's power until that moment. For someone who has never heard it before, it is powerful.

We got a referral from the Spanish Elders last week for a couple they met at the library. We only had the wife's name and their address. We went to the home, and her husband, Antwon, answered and gave us her number. After a few calls, visits to the home, and no success in contacting her, Awon finally said, "Don't yall wanna teach me?" Oh man! We were not being very attentative missionaries! We felt awful! We said, "Yes! We do!" Talked to him for a minute and gave him our number. Well, the very next morning, he called us and said, "I want yall to teach me today, how does 1pm sound?" We were thrilled and surprised! So, we gave Awon a Chuch Tour and let me tell you...what a prepared-tender heart! He was so full of faith and wanted more of God in his life. We got to the baptismial font on the church tour and before we could even ask him, he asked us, "When can I get baptized? I need this as soon as possible." Wow! We told him a few weeks and we could continue to teach him. He was great. He showed up at church and loved it. In fact, Sister Cochran and I sat with Pren (who is getting baptized on Thursday) and Awon. Two little white girls sitting with two black men-who are the most humble of men I've seen! It was so cool how Pren (an investigator) was fellowshipping Awon. Taking him to Priesthood and showing him the ropes at church. It was really cool! Now, there is some drama with Awon's circumstances that may cause him to move. We hope he doesn't get too far away and that wherever he goes he will be able to have the missionaries.

Scary moment this week...we almost killed a dog. Ugh-still freaks me out. So, I don't like pitbulls. Not a fan. We went to a member's home last Monday night and she had the neighbor's pitbull who keeps jumping over their front yard fence (a chain-link). The neighbors weren't home and we finally found a collar and a leash in the yard. The leash was about 18 inches long. Not long enough. So, we hooked him up to the fence. We walked away and we saw him trying to jump over the fence still! The leash was getting caught on the fence and as we were watching him, it got caught and didn't let go! We ran over to it and the pitbull's legs were barely touching the ground, his eyes were rolled back into his head-he was almost hung to death. It was so scary-we tried getting him a chair to stand on, we tried lifting him (he was about 100 lbs), we tried unlatching the leash/collar. Finally, the member (Laura) put all her strength into lifting him off the fence. It worked. Whew! SO SCARY! Another neighbor came out and said, "Hey! That dog is choking." We were like, "Yes, sir, we have identified the problem..." Haha...he was just trying to help. Finally, tied the dog up in her backyard and waited until the family got home. So, I really don't like pitbulls, but still, I was freaked out! Almost sick to my stomach.

So, on May 7th, Elder Clarke of the 70 will be visiting the mission. (He actually spoke at the MTC while I was there). The 7th is a Monday. So, we will not be having Pday that day. It will be moved to the following Thursday...my birthday! So, yall will hear from me next Monday, but you won't hear again until my birthday. I get to email on my birthday! Cool, yes? Then, I get to talk to you on Sunday and then email agian on Monday. Whoohoo! Let's just hope that I don't get too homesick...

Hey, did yall see the youth Mormon message that was from the Maricopa stake??? Jenni Merrrill (who was my EFY girl) was in it! There were probably 3 or 4 youth mormon messages that came from the Maricopa Stake. SO COOL!

This week, I have been learning a lot about faith. I encourage yall to learn more about faith. I learned a lot about faith and confidence. I studied out of Christlike attributes in PMG ch. 6. However or wherever you study faith, do it and apply it. I am trying and it is working!

Hope I didn't forget anything!

Love yall!