"I Heard Him Come" - May 23, 2022

 Hello, hello everyone! Oh, what a week!

We have transfers this Thursday and I will be staying in Beckley with Sister Wilkins! However, we are getting a third companion! Hopefully we really are because that's what they told me last transfer when Sister Smith left but we ended up just getting Sister Wilkins! I guess we will see!

This week was spiritually challenging. At the beginning of the week I was doubting everything. Was this really what Heavenly Father needed me to be doing? I decided I would continue forward. If Heavenly Father needed me doing something else then I'd find out the hard way. Well, during personal study on Thursday morning I was reading through some missionary materials and came across some quotes about really serving a mission and not missing out on what's happening! They also talked about Heavenly Father having a plan for us. That's when it all came together. Of course I needed to be a missionary! This is the Lord's work! Satan doesn't want the work to move forward. The doubts I was having were coming from him! Oh man! Everything just made sense. I'm so grateful I can be a missionary for Jesus Christ! He is the Savior of the World. 

This week was also full of miracles! A nice girl named Katie messaged Sister Wilkins asking to meet with us to learn about what we believe! WHAT?! That never happens! We found out she was dating someone from the ward! They had gone to the Washington DC Temple open house. While there she had felt so good inside and wanted to learn how to feel like that more! It was the Spirit! We met up on Wednesday and taught her the Restoration message! Oh it was wonderful! She accepted a Book of Mormon! We met up again on Friday to help her find a dress for Sunday because she wanted to come to church! While at the store she told us she had read 24 pages of the Book of Mormon! WOW! So amazing!! We taught her a crash course version of the Plan of Salvation. It was so cool! Katie is amazing!!

We also met with Krista and Melissa on Wednesday! We had such a good lesson with them, filled with the Spirit! They understood what we were talking about and loved learning about it all! After the lesson, Brayden and Ryan, Krista's sons, joined us for the closing prayer. They are such a wonderful family!

We had a great lesson with Misty this week! We talked about the importance of coming to church, why prayer matters and how scripture study can uplift us! Such a good lesson! Misty has gone through some hard things in life so Sister Wilkins and I have been trying to help her see that the past doesn't define the future! It is all up to us! What choices we make determine the future! At one point I got very bold and told Misty that I believe part of the reason I'm here in Beckley is to help her. She needs to LET us help her, though. She asked us before if we've ever not been able to help someone. We told her we can help anyone! It's up to that individual if they let us help them. We chose for ourselves, everyone! No one makes choices for us unless we CHOOSE to give them that power. That's the beauty of free agency. Misty and her sons will come to understand that, I know they will. They have the desire to know, now they need to turn it into action!

Sunday was the best! We had 5 friends come to church!!!!!! Katie came with her boyfriend! Krista, Brayden and Ryan came! And our friend Charles came! Charles was a referral who remembered referring himself, which was amazing! He has wanted to come to church for about a month but we finally figured out a ride for him and everything so he came yesterday! The talks during sacrament meeting were perfect! The speakers talked about opposition in all things and having a change of heart. Great talks for those investigating our religion! Later we were messaging with Krista and she is excited to continue learning and growing! Oh! Heavenly Father knows us and He is so aware of everything happening!

Also, on Saturday we went to the founders day celebration here in Beckley! We walked there and the sun was shining very brightly! I got sunburned, haha! Oh the joys of this work!

Last Monday we drove up to Charleston and played tennis with our district AND President and Sister Newman! It was so much fun! We had a great time! The Newmans are really good! They taught us a few things about playing! Then, today, Sister McCarthy took the elders and my companion and I on a tour of the Summit Bechtel Reserve! IT WAS AMAZING!!! For those that don't know, Scouting has always been a huge part of my family. It was a wonderful experience to see everything!

Song of the Week: "I Heard Him Come" by Afterglow. I heard this song yesterday and it seemed to describe my week. Life gets hard. But as we turn to the Savior, He can help us. He created this earth under the direction of Heavenly Father. He can command all things! The work we do as missionaries is His work. He leads this church! And yet, all the glory goes to Heavenly Father. He chooses to be known as our Father, not just God. Isn't it all so wonderful?! Could you imagine if Satan's plan had won in the premortal life?? Life would be much different. Even though things are still hard, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father are there. And they love us! 

I hope everyone has a great week! Talk to y'all next Monday!


- Sister Sariah Francis

Pictures!!!

Rhododendrons! WV's state flower

West Virginia Tech University

A cool cardinal statue! WV's state bird

Tracting in more rain

Baked potatoes for dinner

Summit Bechtel Reserve

Perry Park Overlook

Playing tennis with the Newman's and my district



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