Thanksgiving

Highlight of my week: The A family came to church! They are a less active family we have been working with. They had been going to the Jehovah Witnesses for the past 6 months. We had a great lesson with them this past week with their home teacher and they agreed to come back and really enjoyed it. The ward all welcomed them warmly and said they had been missed.

Friend of the week:  M and M are best friends who the sisters taught about a year ago, but then lost contact with. We had tried to stop by a couple times, but no one was ever home. Then one night (its a super long story), but to get back to a member's house we walked past their building complex and my companion felt like we should stop in. So we did and M was there. We quickly set up another time for us to return (we were going to be late to our other apt). We had planned on asking M about M, but when we showed up they were both there waiting for our lesson. They absorbed the lessons like sponges and were so sweet and sincere (really concerned about if animals went to heaven). Each of them got a Book of Mormon and when we met them again they had their glasses ready to read. I have such high hopes for them! A lot of their values are similar to ours, other than M strongly believes in reincarnation.

Pictures: Me, in my big fluffy jacket, taken this morning. As for the other picture...Bro Rich asked for a picture of us "doing missionary work" for the ward newsletter. So when we had dinner with the Olsen's we presented them with the odd request.

Spiritual thought: I was reading a talk today by Terence M Vinson from General Conference. The question his son Ben asked really struck me hard. "How would you feel if someone promised you something every week and never kept the promise. Do we take seriously the promise we make..." his focus was on the sacrament, but I'd like to apply it to all aspects of our lives. When we promise our Heavenly Father something - that we will read the Book of Mormon every night or pray more or go to church - and then fail again and again to achieve that promise how does Heavenly Father feel? I know how I'd feel - disappointed if not a little annoyed. If we fail to achieve that promise, are we really putting our full effort into it? Are we taking that promise seriously? If we aren't changing then we don't fully understand the Atonement or Jesus Christ. It's because of Christ that we can each change, we can each become better, become more like our Heavenly Father. BUT we have to be committed to it and put in our effort. I don't know about all of you, but I am going to pick something I need to improve on and strive to accomplish it to show my Heavenly Father that I really am thankful for His Beloved Son's sacrifice.

Thanks: I just want to express my deep gratitude for all of you supporting me back home! I'm also grateful that I was able to be raised in Christ's church and to experience all the blessing that it has brought into my life and the opportunity I have to serve a mission for the Lord to help bring His children into the fold. I will ever be thankful for all the leaders and examples I've had in the church growing up. You are who inspired me to continue on and gave me the courage to find my own testimony of the gospel. Thank you to all of my parents - Mom and Steve, Dad and Heidi - you are each motivating, inspiring, and uplifting influences in my life, even as I am hundreds of miles away. I am so grateful for my companion and her sweet encouraging spirit. It is indeed a blessing to work together with someone towards a common goal. I will never be able to thank my elder brother, Jesus Christ, for the sacrifice he bore so that I could return to my loving Heavenly Father's arms with all of my family for eternity. The gift of the Atonement is the most precious gift I've ever been given or had the joy to receive.

Other News: It was 17 degrees Saturday and we bused a lot (low on miles). Stayed warm in our giant coats, we were just glad that we got home before it dropped to 4 degrees. This morning we spend 2 hours making homemade Christmas ornaments for the upcoming ward Christmas party. They are super cute, made out of clothes pins. Tuesday was the first clear sky I've seen in a couple months, reminded me of home. We have meals Mon-Thur this week. A family invited us over for Thanksgiving with a few other friends. It should be a lot of fun. Our investigators have also insisted that we stop by and take some turkey and other things home, even if we can't come for dinner. So we will be fed very well. Most of the day however will be spent at Divine Temple serving people food. Should be a fun day! I'll be buying more stamps today so I can send letters off. Anyways, I love you all! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

With Buckets of Love,

Sister Kern