The Real Thanksgiving!

Well, another week has come and gone. In fact, it was Thanksgiving! :D We were the only people in the whole mission (along with the sisters) who got to celebrate it! It was so nice, and we got to talk to a bunch of nice people.

On Tuesday, we had a chance to eat dinner with the Harper family. They are both such nice people, and I really enjoyed their company. Most of their kids are out of the house, but they have one daughter named Abby, who has high functioning autism. She reminded me a lot of Reagan. She was very sweet and apparently loves to listen to the radio in her room. Such a great family! We also got to stop by this older gentleman named Bernie Cyr. He was a very nice old man, and had a lot of stories to tell us. Particularly about the Bigfoot race, Lizard people, and other things. He loved Genealogy, and said that he loves doing it because it's a spiritual journey. It was really cool, and it made me think that I should focus on doing more family history when I go home.

Wednesday was a fairly slow day, but we met this older lady who gave us a candy made only in New England called a Peach Blossom. She gave a package of them! They taste like Reeses' hard candy. Definitely interesting.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, obviously. We went and played Turkey ball in the morning with some of the men in the ward. But due to the weather being 15 degrees plus wind chill, we decided to end relatively early on. Afterwards, we hung out with Brother Bennett. People do not like proselyting on Thanksgiving day. Then we went to spend Thanksgiving Dinner with the Nouhans'. They were very kind, and gave us a lot of food. We were definitely taken care of :) After dinner, we had an amazing Ping Pong match with the family. I'm not very good at Ping Pong, but I tried my best. :D We then went to Brandy's and played a couple games with her and the sister missionaries and Jared Reed. It was a fantastic Thanksgiving! Brother Bennett also ordered me and Elder Knowles ugly sweaters...I'm so looking forward to wearing those :) Pictures shall come.

Here is my moose burger!

Ping Pong Playa!

I will say, one of the things I love most about my area is the sheer amount of support the members give the missionaries here. They are so nice to us, and I'm so grateful to be serving here.

Now that it's December, I have a little message to share with you. Christmas is coming up, and l started a countdown that my mother gave me! In Hymn 207, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", it reads: "Peace on Earth, good will to men, From heaven's all gracious king. The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing." The message of Christ is a peaceful one, a hopeful one. One that we can all love and cherish. Focus on Christ this Christmas. It's the best thing. :)

I love you all,

Elder Wanlass

A member gave us homemade Reeses and Almond Joys.