A few weeks ago, I asked my friend Yvette, a refugee from the Congo, what I could teach her and her friends to help them acclimate to their new life in the United States. Yvette said, “Teach us how to cook in America! We do not know how to cook or bake the things our children have come to love.”

Having a warm coat and winter gear for you or your children is something that most people don’t even think twice about. But if you are a newly resettled refugee relocated from a desert climate to Cleveland, Ohio, preparing for the bitter cold of winter may not be something that comes naturally or that you have funds for.

I began volunteering in refugee camps near Frankfurt, Germany, when my daughter’s school gymnasium was converted into an emergency shelter in October 2015. Among the many refugees who have been examples to me is a good friend of mine from northern Iraq.

Over the past few years, a wave of Haitian immigrants has arrived in the greater Santiago area. More than 40,000 Haitians have reportedly settled around the Chilean capital city. While technically not classified as refugees, most of the Haitian immigrants trying to make a life in Chile are facing challenges familiar to refugees.

For the Christmas season, our ward decided to serve the refugees in our community through a two-part project. The first part was carried out by families in our ward, and the second part was largely the responsibility of the youth.

Many women have responded to the call to support refugees in their communities. Here are five ways that sisters are reaching out.

When my stake president told me he wanted our stake to go to a refugee camp known as “The Jungle” in Calais, France, and provide the refugees there with 5,000 meals, I thought he was joking. I looked a little closer at him and started to realize that he wasn’t! The challenge was set—the Savior had fed 5,000 poor and hungry people, and we were going to follow His example.

During Christmastime, many families, wards, and individuals search for acts of service to participate in as part of their holiday celebration. This desire to serve gets to the heart of the Christmas season and draws us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Find the courage to be a friend at all times. Just as the Savior is our friend, we should be friends to those around us.

For the past few years, over 2,500 refugees have settled in Houston, Texas, each year. In response to the “I Was a Stranger” effort, our stake decided to host the Northeast Houston Refugee Festival to help Church members get involved in relief and support efforts for local refugees.