October 31

Hi All, Happy Halloween.
Halloween here is not really much. The stores have some decorations and stuff but they don't go trick or treating. Sunday is All Saints Day, which is kind of like our Memorial Day where people buy flowers to put on the graves.
We went to a funeral today, for a boat captain who died in a boating accident in the typhoon a couple of weeks ago. We traveled to a neighboring island on the same kind of boat he was driving. We mostly knew his wife and daughters because we have met them and worked with them in our Self Reliance assignment. It was sad for his wife and his six daughters (the youngest one is 7 years old). His wife and one of his daughters spoke at the funeral and they sang a song as a family. There was a lot of people there and a lot of non-members from his work. The father had been less active for some years but had come back into activity and was serving as a counselor to the Branch President for the past two months.
The gospel of Jesus Christ brings a lot of hope and faith into people's life. I think that outside of the Church, we would not see the kind of faith and hope as we were able to see from this family, at such a difficult time.
I am thankful for the Church and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is wonderful to know where we came from, why we are here and what becomes of us when we depart this earth life. It is a blessing to know in whom we have trusted and to have a reason for that hope that is in Jesus Christ.
I love you all,
Dad