Lots of hugs from me to you!

Merry Christmas!!! Hehe, here in the Philippines, the polite holiday greeting is "Merry Christmas Po!" It makes me laugh to put the Po at the end, but that's how to address people with respect. It was so good to talk on the phone with you! Sounds like you had a great Christmas. It was a good Christmas here too, although it was really weird without snow! We sang Christmas carols and gave out Book of Mormons at the hospital, had a zone activity, and ward/stake Christmas parties. Hehe, here in the Philippines, they really love to dance. Everyone. And sing. The ward parties are much more lively than any I've seen before - they remind me of youth/EFY activities. It's so fun because all of the adults get really involved in the dancing and activities. I love the Filipino people - they are so sweet and warm and friendly. And they are always smiling. They love to give lots of hugs too. I love how colorful it is here. All of the houses are surrounded by all sorts of tropical green trees and bamboo. Most of the houses have bamboo roofs. Whenever we go to someone's house, instead of knocking, we yell "Tao Po!" (i.e. anyone home?) The roads are very busy - lots of Jeepneys and trikes. No stoplights and so we just have to cross wherever we get the chance. I think I'm getting used to it though.

Thank you so much for your wonderful emails! I love you all very much. Oh, did I tell you that I did meet Elder Anderson from Fairview, and Elder Titensor in Aunt Gracie's ward. That's wonderful that Sister Allred was able to contact you! She told me she would email you. She and President Allred took me and Sister Broadhead (the other American sister in my batch) out for lunch on Saturday and bought us a bunch of "American" groceries (which is good because neither of us have been eating very much lately). Today, they will be taking us both for most of our P-day to Rosales. I am looking forward to it a lot! There have been a lot of challenges this week, but I know that Heavenly Father will help me. This is His work. I appreciate your prayers. I know that this is His restored gospel. I'm so grateful to have it. So many people here don't understand what life is all about, and it's sad to see how different life can be without that knowledge.

I know Heavenly Father loves us! Life is happy!
Have a great week!
Love always, Rebecca

P.S. Send my love to my dearest sweetheart, Alex! I'm so proud of him for being such a dedicated hard-working missionary :)