MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! TOO SOON?

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• CHRISTMAS IS HERE!! In the Philippines Christmas is celebrated from September until December. It is called the BER months. SeptemBER. OctoBER. NovemBER. DecemBER. So many of the people we are teaching already have Christmas trees up, and yesterday I wore a Christmas tie.
• There are grave sights here called apartment style graves. Basically it is the cheapest method of burial. The body is placed inside a hole in a large concrete wall, and after 5 years it must be removed and relocated to make room for the next person. It is an interesting method, but for many people living in the city where burial land is not cheap, it is all they can afford. If the family does not have money after the 5 years to reclaim the bones of the deceased person, then those bones are removed from the coffin, transferred to a rice sack, and tossed on a shelf in a warehouse. I'll attach a photo of the apartment graves.

We all encounter hardships, and are often faced with choices. We wonder which is the right option, and sometimes we stress over past choices we have made. We look back and wonder what could have been done differently instead of looking forward to what we plan on adjusting and accomplishing. It doesn't matter where we were, where we are, but rather where we plan to be. "Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of Hope, and a love of God and of all men." And then someday you will look back and feel the joy that comes from following Jesus Christ.

Elder Hemmert