Hello my family!
YAYAYAYAYAYAY!! Keefer is going to BYU! Whoooo! Are you going to live at home, or in the dorms? 
Jac, I love and miss you too, and be good too! 
Continue to prepare for your mission! [mom, that is so cute she is still focused on the mission and that she needs ties, he he he. Also really cute that she wanted to text us, and reminded us to be good.] David, I hear you are such a great helper--I am so proud of you! Keep up the good work! Keep growing big both of you!
I am becoming more like a rock, more German, than I ever was before. I think it is because the Filipinos tend to be very excitable. My hair can be put in a short ponytail now! It is getting long! I played the piano in sacrament yesterday, and apparently some of the children at first thought Barbie was playing the piano.
To all prospective missionaries: missions are no cake-walk. That being said, they are very, very worth it. There are many things you learn in such a short period of time that really prepare you for life--marriage, children, work, etc. It also gives you a very different perspective on life, and on the principles of the Gospel. Even though I grew up in the Church and know a lot of things, my perspective and attitude has been shifted to grow in understanding and see things in a new light--this has been done in such a way that could never have been done had I not served a mission. There is so much I could say, but I will leave it to this: there are many things I will change in my life when I return, and because of that I will be so much more ready to serve the Lord and lead an even more successful life. A mission is a springboard for growth and learning, the likeness of which there is no comparison!
Funny: Bill Engval "here's your sign" would have a great time here in the Philippines. They say a lot of things that are very obvious (and a Filipino is the one who made the observation). Also, an example of one of the funny things that has been said to me on the street, "Why are you beautiful?" he he he
1) In Jesus the Christ Ch 24 Elder Talmage discusses an event that occurs right after the Mount of Transfiguration--an occurrence wherein the disciples were unable to cast out a devil out of a child. He has some very interesting comments, but what I like most is the comment about the belief of the father of the possessed child: the healing was depending upon him and his belief, not the outside action or power of another. There are so many things tied up in this thought, the largest of which is that everything in this world depends on us, not on what happens to us. We are "agents unto ourselves" as it states in D&C 58:28. We are here to act, not to be acted upon, and in some ways our faith is a measure of that: the way we think, believe, and act. Do we think, believe, and act like our lives are dependent upon the actions of other people, or do we think, believe, and act as if we were the ones at the helm being proactive and taking control? Which of these leads to eternal progression and becoming like our Father in Heaven?
Btw, it is Sister Darasin's Birthday today! I will tell her happy birthday for you!
All my love!
Kat
