"As Now We Take the Sacrament" - Monday, Feb 14, 2022

 Hello family and friends! I am so excited to tell you all about this past week!

Happy Valentines Day!!!!! I love you!

We did service at the Food Bank on Tuesday. It was so wonderful!! We helped put food into boxes! So, funny story that I promise is related to the Food Bank. Sister Humphries has a really pretty flower that she named Tilapia, after the fish! Haha! We love it! So, at the food bank on Tuesday, we were putting packaged meat into boxes and there was some fish! Well, there were two whole Tilapia fish! So I took a picture to commemorate Sister Humphries flower! It was so funny!! Hope that all made sense!

We had district council on Wednesday this week because the Zone Leaders were visiting other districts on Thursday and Friday. It was so wonderful! Afterward, we had a lesson with Sister Sisler from the ward! We read 2 Nephi 32 and talked about the influence of the Holy Ghost. We then met with Willis and Mary! They are so sweet! I love them, even if Willis is a little stubborn, haha! 

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were incredible!!! We had soooo many lessons!!! It was the best!!! Our friend Chelsea randomly messaged us and told us she had just had surgery and wanted us to come visit her! So we set up an appointment to stop by! When we went over we chatted for a bit and then asked if we could share a message. Her fiance, James, was there and just sat in a corner of the room, not paying much attention to us. We began teaching the Restoration and talked with Chelsea about her own beliefs. After a little bit of discussion James chimed in! He said he struggles with his belief in God because of some hard things he has gone through. We realized then that James had been listening!! We gave them a Book of Mormon and challenged them to read it! We planned to come back on Saturday but Chelsea wasn't feeling too well. Hopefully we will be able to go by this week!

On Friday we met with Jame! She also volunteers at the food bank and talked with some of the previous sisters in Barboursville. We met at Wendys! She had some questions about what made our religions different. We helped her understand that we aren't much different than anyone else. We have the Word of Wisdom to help us stay healthy but it is still up to us! We can all choose for ourselves. It was a wonderful meeting and we are hoping to meet up with her again soon!

We had a lesson with the Sutherlands on Tuesday and Saturday! They are a new family in the ward and they are so much fun!!! All of their names begin with a J! So cool! We talked to them about the scriptures and the Holy Ghost. They have strong faith and love the gospel! It has truly changed their lives!

Sunday was an incredible day! We were able to attend church this week!! I was asked to lead the music again! Oh I love doing it so much!! The talks were the best! Brother Perry talked about being 1% better, just like the talk from this past general conference. We decided to stop by some of our grey dots and see if they were interested in meeting with missionaries again. It was so cool! Each one we stopped by set up a return appointment! We are super excited! But, the biggest miracle of all was meeting Casey!

After visiting the grey dots on our list we had some extra time before going to the West's for dinner! We decided to do some knocking. The first few people very politely declined us. Then we knocked on Caseys door. He opened the door and we said something to the effect of "Hi! We are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are sharing a message of Jesus Christ. Would you be interested in listening?" And guess what he said???!!!! He said, "Ya. Sure. Come on in." It was incredible!!! His mom was there with one of his nieces. We sat down at the dining room table and began teaching the Restoration. He then asked us how we see faith in our lives. He has visited many other churches with his friends but hasn't ever felt what they feel. He expressed how maybe God has given him little signs and he just hasn't been able to see them. Casey said he wished God would just put His face through the window and say "Here is your answer!" But maybe, he said, that us coming and knocking on his door was his answer! We were so impressed with him!! He accepted our challenge to read the Book of Mormon each day and he said he would!! He is starting in 3 Nephi 11 when Jesus Christ visits the people in the Americas. Everyone pray for Casey please!!!

Song of the Week: "As Now We Take the Sacrament" Hymn 169. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. It is there for all of us to use, all the time. It is the most selfless act of love ever done. Christ sacrificed Himself for us, because He loves us. He suffered for all of us, individually. He knows who we are and loves us. I know this is true and I love my Savior so much! Who is someone you can reach out to in love this week?

I hope you all have a lovely week! Talk to y'all next Monday!

- Sister Sariah Francis

Pictures!!!

Tilapia

After district council, the ZLs had to leave quickly so they weren't in the picture

Super cool lisence plate!

Cool bridges and small roads

Tractor sign

Us sitting on the curb by the church trying to get wifi and service for our phones while waiting for Kyle from T Mobile to call us so we can fix Sister Morales's phone! Haha!! Good memories.