Heeeeeyyyyyy! :D

So you know all those letters you all sent around Thanksgiving time?  They got to me in the Philippines yesterday haha :)  So Happy Thanksgiving to all of you too! :o)  Sorry I haven't been able to get any letters to y'all yet.  Lots to do and no time to do it haha.  I hope you all know that I love you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much and appreciate the love you all show me in your letters SOOOOOO much :)  I'll try and find time to write y'all back but don't know  when I'll find that free time haha, just know I'm thinking of y'all and missing and loving you all too :)

So the phone call is between Dec. 24 at noon to Dec. 26 at noon... Filipino time :o)  So that's Dec. 23 at 9 pm to Dec. 25 at 9 pm for you.  We'll have about a half hour or a tiny bit longer to talk and I can't wait to hear from my fam, I love you guys :)

Don't you dare worry about my sleeping cuz I whine! haha, I guess it's your job but I'm really fine. :)  I found that the hammock isn't so great for sleeping cuz I'm not used to hanging in the air to sleep, but it's great for relaxing for 5 minutes or reading.  My mattress is fine now, I've adapted to it just like everything else here and even though I'm tired often that's kind of part of the definition of missionary haha :o)  So no worries! :)

So mail takes forever to get here like I said haha, so I haven't gotten the Christmas package yet but I might on the next Mail Run in 2 weeks, just after Christmas no worries :)  So now that you've already sent it I thought of a couple things I'm craving haha sorry po! :o)  While at the MTC I really started liking Ranch flavored Corn Nuts and that's one random craving haha.  Another is (Grandma probably guessed this:) Swedish Fish :)  I randomly thought of them and asked another missionary if they have them here and it turns out he has the same craving hahaha.  His name's Elder Peterson from Ogden and he's looked everywhere for them here but they don't exist haha.  He said to ask for a bunch of the small packs like at cash registers instead of a big pack because once you open the pack they start melting in the humidity haha.  Words of wisdom from an experienced missionary :)

So here's a couple Journal entries (I'm on page 282 now, you keeping up Mom?;o)

Dec. 9

Man!  It rained and it Rained and it RAINED today! :)  I can see how the Lord flooded the entire Earth in just 40 days haha :P  The flooding was almost halfway up my calf in some areas.  But apparently the REALLY big storms flood up to your chest so today was nothing haha.

Man, I am tired and hungry almost all day every day haha (IGNORE THAT PART MOM;)  But it's definitely worth it for those times during lessons when I get to bear my testimony.  I really feel the Spirit at those times and whether it helps convince others of the truth or not it definitely helps me.  Taking my "shower" (bucket and ladle{IGNORE THAT TOO:)} this morning I was led to remember that this work and church and everything we do is about Jesus Christ.  I focused a lot more on Him in my testimonies and it made a big difference in my happiness and attitude :)

Dec. 11

Aww crud...... haha :)  We're doing exchanges with Elder Tidwell and Calinog again but this time... I'm staying in Panghulo with DL Elder Tidwell!  That means I'm in charge of basically everything and have to make sure everything runs smoothly but.... somtimes I still feel like I have NO idea what's going on! :/  No worries though, elder Tidwell's great and things will work out tomorrow.  Pretty scary stuff though.....

Dec. 12

Wow!  Today worked out great! :D  I was worried about all sorts of things but with the Lord's help things went well.  I learned a TON from Elder Tidwell, he's really a great missionary.  His trainer at the beginning of his mission was.... Brother Doolin from the MTC! :)  Just like last time we had exchanges I found that I am capable of doing MUCH more than I think I am.  I planned where we would go, coordinated with our members, took the lead in lessons, and took us where we needed to go.  It was a great experience to see how much I really can do and that I can take charge for a day with the help of the Lord.  GREAT DAY :)  From now on I'm going to be more involved in everything we do and not just sit back and be content with letting Elder Sidillo be in charge of everything because I feel inadequate as a missionary at times.  PaRtY-pArTy! :P

WOOT! :)  Things are going really great for me so DON'T WORRY and know that I LOVE YOU!!! :)

MaHaL kItA!! :)

Elder Powell

P.S.

Sorry for not responding to your email or you questions too much, my email just kinda flowed out of my head this time haha :P  And sorry for no warning on the Wed. Pday again.  We had a temple day today, it was great and I got an AWESOME pic of the sunrise behind the temple :D  Love ya!


P.P.S.

Happy Birthday Pops!!  Maligayang kaarawan matandang lalaki! :o)