Thanksgiving here and gone

Highlight of my week: Thanksgiving! We volunteered at Divine Temple of Christ to pass out food. Lots of African Americans there, which was so fun! Boy can they cook (we only tried a little homemade mac and cheese though). Super friendly! Then we went to the R family for dinner. They had 2 friends over besides us and lots of food. They even sent us home with left overs. They make things a little different then they do back home. No marshmallows on yams, they have apples instead and instead of cranberries they had cranberry relish. Pretty good though! We also went and visited with our investigators, they are doing great and will be baptized on the 28th of this month. I received plenty of letters and a package the day before Thanksgiving so no homesickness for me! Thank you all so much!

Pictures:

1. We found a way to be both warm and fashionable at Goodwill (don't worry I'm smart enough not to try heels when its icy)

2. Bro R, Bro W, Me, C, Sis R

3. You can't really tell, but that house is a bright pepto-bismol pink. This is how Green Bay celebrates Christmas

Spiritual thought: At testimony meeting this past Sunday it was all about missionary work. I loved the comment that was made by a new member to our ward. She talked about how this earth isn't our home, but church is like our home away from home. It is a place where anyone should be able to enter and feel at home. To feel the spirit and welcoming smiles. Our ward here has stepped up its game a lot in the past month. Every time we have an investigator or less active come there are 5-6 people who say hi and introduce themselves. Not in a overbearing way, but casually and with love. A simple "hello, I don't think I've met you before" or "I'm glad you were able to come" or "We can't wait to see you again next week" makes such a difference in our investigators experiences. Church truly is our home away from home. A place we can be with those we love and strengthen each other. A place to feel the Holy Ghost and our Father's love. Take the time this next Sunday to look for those you don't know or don't know well.

Other News: Our phone died, went all wacko and kicked the bucket. We will be 2-3 days phoneless. Not sure how that's going to work...Transfers are on the 18th so anything sent after this week should be sent to the mission office - it takes 2-3 weeks to get to me when it's sent there so if it takes longer for me to reply, that's why. I was in the city newspaper. It is suppose to warm the beginning of this week and drop into 20-10 degrees on Friday. A high of 19 and low of 4. Woot! I can't really think of anything else so I love you all! Happy Holidays! Don't forget to put Christ in Christmas.

With Buckets of Love,

Sister Kern