[From yourself in 2004] Please read

Dearest Elizabeth, I pray to God that He has strengthened you greatly and that you still have faith. I pray that college and life has not left you empty; He is still there. I pray that you love Him with all your heart, and if by then you don't, think back on the faith and joy that you once had and the past from which He saved you. Pray for your daddy; he is changing, despite the slow pace. The years at PV Peninsula High seemed like a waste, but I hope you are still in contact with Daniel Kim, Stephanie Chi, Sean Lai, Lora Delosreyes, Sumi Kato, Richard Oberlander, Jeff, Jason, and Christina Wu, and SBECC. Don't forget Chris Chen (didi!), Truman Der and Eriç Sin; they were your most faithful brothers. Have you gotten around to calling your childhood "big brother," Johnny, yet? These are the people you loved; if you haven't spoken to them for a while, talk to them! I pray that Donny is still your fiancé or even husband, and that you are still head over heels in love with him. Have you prayed for him daily? We wanted to prove to the world that our fairytale could last; work for it. I hope you still keep your journal. If you look back on it http://foreversaved.diaryland.com, you will remember that this was your period of struggle with him, and with the temptations of the flesh. I hope you have stayed pure. Don't cry if you haven't, but make your mommy proud, and be a strong girl! Work it out. Write to Mr. Poe for advice; he is still to be respected even though you struggled in his class. Clean up the house, now, just for fun! Just to make her proud and to cheer yourself up for having actually accomplished something. Work hard; this is your ticket to freedom. Get down on your knees and pray for forgiveness of all those that you've hurt, and then go out and reconcile with them. Give thanks for what you have. Are you still at the dojo? I sure hope so, since Sensei has given you so much. If not, still go back and show him thanks for what he's done, and never stop trying to give back to him, not out of obligation, but out of gratitude. Love everybody. Even that annoying girl. Pray for old NIST classmates. How is Tim? I hope you've kept your promise to stay in touch with him. How are old friends like Allan Yang and Tien Long? Here is the schedule for the week after you receive this: Sunday: Recommit yourself to God; pray like crazy, and make an honest weekly spiritual goal for the next three months. Complete any work to be done, and study! Monday: Pray, clean like crazy, and do something very nice for your mommy. Complete any work to be done, and study! Tuesday: Try to contact those with whom you've lost touch; do something nice for Donny, something nice for Sensei, and something nice for your mommy. Complete any work to be done, and study! Wednesday: Continue on the list of friends, set yourself more chores, and build up a schedule to do them. Be more organised and responsible! Complete any work to be done, and study! Thursday: How are you doing with this week's spiritual goals? If wavering, set whatever you're doing aside for 15 minutes, and pray. Set an hour aside in the evening to read teh bible and pray. Do the chores you've just set. Complete any work to be done, and study! Friday: Email writing, if you have time. Do something nice for Daddy, and get some reading done. Complete any work to be done, and study! Saturday: Spend at least three hours in prayer and digging into the word. Promise me this, and that you will recommit to God whatever part of you has fallen away. Complete any work to be done, and study! Honey, keep yourself away from distractions. Love, but remember attention, others' impressions of you, and status is unimportant. Stop spending money on frivolous things, and remember that you can't aways focus your time and mind on the fun things of the future. You'll be a lot more relaxed when you complete what it is that you need to complete now. Take another read of How to Win Friends and Influence People, and recall how you keep yourself and your goals in control while being a good human being in society. Don't worry about who's doing what or how many friends you have. Spend more time doing what you NEED to do. Stop procrastinating. And write Donny an email besides phoning him. Pray like crazy, and give thanks. God bless, hugs and kisses. Lots of Love, ><> Elizabeth <><