Elder Head in the Philippines - Deep thoughts from Mitch :)

Hey Mom and Dad, I'm trying to update Family Tree real quick because it's my P-Day and it doesn't look like Ryan is on here under your children. I added him, but will you mind updating him for me? Or better yet, can you tell him to put in his own information on here. Tell him to look at some of our family, it's really cool to see our heritage. I'm grateful that Grandma and Dad have been so diligent in their family History. I'm sure you are too Momma, but I haven't had the chance to look at your family history yet. I think that's so cool that you and Dad had the opportunity to be sealed for Grandma and Grandpa Chambers in the Draper temple. That's really so neat. Also, please find a picture to make as my profile picture on Family search where I don't have braces. Really anything else would be great. Okay so I've looked at your side now too. Try and upload some pictures for our family and for Grandma and Grandpa and especially Grandma Alice. I think it'd be so nice if you'd take some time to update her profile. You have so many memories of her and now you have so many pictures of her from her life. Would you mind sharing some of them on Family Search? I feel like I knew her, but I didn't really know her that well when she was young and I'd really like to. This would be a great way for me to be able to know more about her even from half way around the world. Thanks Mom, I'd really appreciate it. :)

I'm really sorry for the skimpy emails lately, I feel like there's just always so much we need to do here. It's hard to keep a good track of time. This week however seems that it's already longer than the last two, so far so good. This past week we were doing exit interviews for this batch of missionaries who are about to go home, and oh man it is so weird. So basically the procedure is that we take their excess support that they've received from the mission, then we get them enough cash to make it through the week and get them home, then we do the ceremonial punching of their support card. In a lot of the interviews, they gave me some words of wisdom. Almost all went a little like this. Work hard, be obedient, and use your time wisely because you'll be going home before you know it.

It got me thinking about how true that is. This time seems like it'll never get here when you're young, when you finally get here you'll never run out of time (If you're doing your mission right, it'll be in the best of meanings. But that depends of the standpoint of the individual missionary.), then you wish you had more time to keep doing the work, then before you know it, you're already homeward bound once more, and for the rest of your life you can look back with love and fond memories of your time here.

Which is similar to our lives here on earth. Before we came to earth, we waited with eagerness and anticipation, feeling this time would never come. When we're here, we think it'll never end (the YOLO mentality). Later in life, we look back and think of the time that's left and how much we still would like to do with our limited time. Then we're homeward bound once more. I pray that we are using our time wisely here. That we work hard, be obedient, and make use of our time doing the things that will bring us the most happiness.

On my mission, I've seen a lot of different kinds of happiness but there are three that come to mind at this moment. Temporary happiness, such as the happiness of a child who get's a peso snack; Fake happiness, the charade of happiness of people who use means of alcohol to do away with their problems to become happy; The last is true happiness which, coincidentally, is the kind that lasts. True happiness is the kind of happiness that comes from a life of obedience to God's laws, from having a clear conscience of guilt from sin, from doing those things that will qualify you to have the Spirit with you in your life, and from the confidence that you are doing the things that will qualify you to live in God's presence with your eternal family for time and all eternity.

I know that true happiness comes only through obedience to all the laws and ordinances of the gospel and through following the counsels of our God. I'm grateful for the opportunity that we can hear the counsel for us from our Father in the upcoming General Conference. I'm grateful for living prophets and apostles this day that give us guidance from on high. I hope that as we prepare ourselves for this, we will review what has been shared in the last Conference, and take a personal inventory. See if we've made the changes we need to, to become who God wants us to be. I know that if we follow the counsels of our leaders, we can meet the full measure of our eternal potential.

Also, I'm sorry that it's so late, but Happy Birthday Dad. Thank you for your hard work. I have fond memories of all the opportunities you've provided for me. I'm grateful for your example of magnifying your calling. I've seen you as a Young Men's President twice, a member of the bishopric twice, a Sunday school teacher, and now as a secretary to the Stake Presidency. In every calling, you've been so diligent and it has not gone unnoticed. Thank you so much for your love for me, your example for me as a priesthood holder, and thank you for your fatherhood. I love you and can't wait to attend your 52nd birthday.

Love,

Elder Mitchell Jeffrey Head

This is called a Budol fight. You eat off a banana leaf and you
eat with your hands which is much more lami (Sarap [tasty])
That was last week :)

My shoes have bitten the dust. Haha. I stepped in some dogs's deeds
and they got inside of the cracks of my shoes and I can't get it out. Plus
a happy, little family of red ants have made a nest in the cracks of my
right heel. So that's great. Haha. I've been rocking some cheap, rubber shoes.

Elder Saluta and Elder Black

Some great Filipino friends :)