HELLO!

Sorry....this letter is going to be short because I was busy busy busy during this email time setting up skype, doing photos,....etc etc.

I hope you are all having a good Christmas break!  I never thought I'd miss the freezing weather in Utah at this time, but I do!  I am glad it snowed!  You will have a white Christmas.  Stay safe driving and skiing!  I'm SO out of my mind excited to Skype you!  It will be so much fun.  I can't wait to see all of your beautiful faces.  

Just a little Christmas message (and a quote that Pres. Rahlf shared with us)....

I am so blessed to be sharing the gospel here, and especially blessed to be sharing the gospel at this wonderful, magical time of the year.  Even though there's no snow, not many decor, and probably won't be many presents, Christmas is magical here.  People are a little kinder, a little sweeter, and a lot more accepting of the gospel.  Each time we say, "mahal na mahal ng Diyos kayo!" (God loves you!), the people smile or let out a little laugh.  It's as if they're surprised!  But we should never be surprised that we have a Heavenly Father and a Savior who love us.  When we think about Christmas, and think about the birth of the Savior, we must also think, "why?"  Why was a Savior born?  A Savior was born....for US.  For every single one of us.  He was born, He lived, and He died and rose again because He loves us.  I love the story of Christmas.  I wish you all the best Christmas!  Always remember the Savior and how much He loves you.  HE is Christmas.  HE is the best gift that you or I could ever have or give. 

One Solitary Life by Author Unknown

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenters shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.  He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a house. He never went to college.  He never visited a big city.  He never traveled two hundred miles from the pace he was born.  He did none of the things he usually associated with greatness.  He had no credentials but himself.  He was only thirty three when the tide of public opinion turned against him.  His friends ran away.  He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.  He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.  While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth.  When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.  Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind's progress.  All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life”

I LOVE YOU!  I can't wait to Skype you!

xoxo Sister Anna Ray Allen

District activity!  It was raining so we had to do it at the church.

Flood water in the left hand corner is the road. Ah!

The rest is the rice fields in our area. 

(there was 2 typhoons last week that hit the Philippines...)

Stockings (and lights) hung with care on the bunkbed. :)

My festive desk.