Dear Mom, Dad, and Cole Family,

I know it's Christmas time and all, but I don't think that the Filipino kids asked Santa for another typhoon to come.  But I am glad to say that everything here in Calabanga is good.  We had a lot of strong winds and rain for about three consecutive days but there wasn't a lot of damage done here.  But church was cancelled yesterday because of the weather which meant I had a really long personal study ha ha.  Three days of being inside the apartment just about killed me!  But along with not being able to leave the apartment (except to get food),  there were eight Elders in our small apartment for those three days.  That's exactly the present that every Elder wants ha ha.  Apparently our apartment is another districts evacuation point.

I'm sorry that this letter is fairly short due to the circumstances which I was placed in this week so there isn't a lot I can talk about.  But I would like to thank you all for your prayers and support that you've given me.  As 2014 is coming to a close I'm starting to get a little more nervous for what life's going to be life after the mission.  I mean of course every missionary is excited to see his family, but I want make sure that I've left everything here.  I don't want to look back on this time with regrets but I want to be proud of what I've accomplished.  Being a missionary is easily the best thing that I've ever chosen to do. I know I'm still not even 20 yet but I feel that I've grown a lot more.  Of course my personality is still the same but when I look in the mirror in the morning I see somebody that is a little better than he was before.

Mahal na mahal ko po kayo!!! May God be with you around this Christmas season and may we always strive to remember our Savior by doing what we can to serve those around us.

                                         -Elder Cole