"Do What is Right" - September 12, 2022

Hello everyone!

This week was full of exchanges! We had exchanges with the Clarksburg sisters from Tuesday to Wednesday. I stayed here in Fairmont with Sister Webb and Sister Johnson. Sister Livingston and Sister Smith were in Clarksburg! It was so much fun!! We had a little lesson with Billie and her husband Paul! It was awesome! They are a sweet couple and I love them so much!! Later that day we went to a Farmers Market for some street contacting! We talked to some people and had some great conversations.

We exchanged back Wednesday morning and then went to service at Soup Opera! It was so cool! Soup Opera is a place that serves one hot meal a day to those who may not get a meal. Later that evening we had an amazing lesson with our friends Donald and Ashley. They are so ready for this gospel message. We began sharing the Plan of Salvation message with them and the Spirit was so strong. Sister Livingston and I were able to bear powerful testimonies to them about the truthfulness of our message. We invited them to pray about what we had shared and Donald said he would. Ashley said she wouldn't but said she would ponder about what we had shared. We are going by to see them again today!! Please keep them all in your prayers.

A sweet couple in the ward, the Hendersons, invited us over Thursday evening. Rex is the oldest member in the ward AND the oldest member in the stake! He's 95! His wife, Anna, is such a kind lady! They shared many stories with us from when they served a mission out in Washington State! I'm excited to get to know them more!

We had more exchanges on Friday! This time we were with the Morgantown sisters! I stayed in Fairmont, again, with Sister Garrison! Sister Livingston went with Sister Webb to Morgantown. Yup! We have two Sister Webbs in the zone! We tried to visit a couple of people but they either weren't home or weren't interested. However, Morgantown Sister Webb had posted a Free Book of Mormon ad on Facebook market place and a lady in Fairmont had responded to it! So, Sister Garrison and I went by to deliver it! We pulled up to the apartment complex and talked with two people standing outside. One of them was the daughter of a member that hasn't been to church in a while so it was great being able to talk with her! We knocked on the apartment door and a nice lady came out. She said she hadn't requested a copy but we continued talking with her. Her husband was in the living room listening and said he would like to look at the Book! We gave them the elder's number, along with ours and said goodbye! They closed the door and we walked away, however, we had somehow forgotten to give them the Book! A couple seconds later the lady opened the door again and said, "Wait! Could we get the book?" It was awesome!! We happily gave it to her! We are super excited for them!! Also, later we found her on Facebook and we are pretty sure she is the lady who reached out to Sister Webb but then when we really did show up on her doorstep with the Book she got nervous, haha! We aren't quite sure but we think that's what happened. Anyways, the point is she got the Book of Mormon in the end! She and her husband live in the elder's area so they are going to stop by later this week! We will see what happens!!

Sister Livingston and I reunited on Saturday! It was a long, tough day. Nothing seemed to be working out. We also felt exhausted from the week. We knocked on a beautiful door and a lady answered. She immediately said she knew us and that she had attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when she was 15. She proceeded to tell us we are a cult and that we should get out of there as soon as we can. She blessed us and then shut the door. We walked away and somehow I didn't feel discouraged at all! It all just made me laugh and smile!! And somehow gave me even more motivation to continue knocking doors, haha!! After a couple more houses we decided to try street contacting at Palatine Park! They usually have events happening on Saturday nights, so we drove over! When we pulled up there was ONE SINGLE SOLITARY CAR IN THE WHOLE PARKING LOT! Literally one car. Literally. One. Car. AND the people who owned the car were SITTING in that car! So basically the park was empty. We got out, though, and began walking around. We did find some people fishing along the river but they weren't interested. So we began walking back to our car. We saw a lady sitting on a bench with her dog so we went up and talked with her! She knew the Bishop and his family!! It was such a miracle! We testified of some simple truths to her and had a great conversation. Even though the rest of the day was crazy it was nice to end with a little blessing. I know Heavenly Father sees each of us and knows who we are!

I spoke in church on Sunday and led the music! It was cool! I spoke on Isaiah chapters 1-12 and specifically talked about the gathering of Israel! After my talk we had an intermediate Hymn, The Day Dawn is Breaking. At one point the song changes time signatures! 3-4 to 9-8!! It was awful!!! I had no idea how to lead that so I tried to lead it in 3-4 which mostly worked, haha!! There were two ladies in the ward who were smiling at me the whole time and laughing a little but it just made me smile! One was also tapping the beat out and the other was leading to herself. They are so kind! I tried to follow along with them but it wasn't really working out. Later we had dinner with the Filder Family! They are so awesome!!

Also, on Tuesday we stopped by what we thought was a members home. It turned out that he had moved and a nice lady named Lani now lives there with her daughter! We prayed with them, because that is what we felt we should do. Lani then said we could come back again! So, on Sunday we stopped by! She was out on her front porch and welcomed us right in! She had just baked pumpkin cookies and she gave us some!! We talked with her and gave her a Restoration pamphlet. She said she would look at it and then said we could come back again!! We haven't really taught her anything yet but we look forward to continuing to meet with her! Please keep her and her daughter in your prayers!

Marshell came to church!!!!! She has come once before, back in June I think, and then said she wouldn't ever come back. But we invited her to come hear me speak and she did!! It was such a cool miracle! Tony didn't come because his back was hurting. We stopped by Bethany and Matt's for our lesson but they weren't home. Although, Vanessa, was home and she said she has been reading from the Book of Mormon!! We are super excited for her! Please continue to pray for our friends!

Song of the Week: "Do What is Right" Hymn 237. This song has been going through my Minda lot this week. We must always do what is right, even when it is hard. Doing what is right means we obey! Obedience is so important!! It keeps us safe and helps us to avoid harm! Jesus Christ is the perfect example of obedience. He obeyed Heavenly Father's commandments. I'm grateful for His example to me. Even though I'm not perfect, I strive to be. And when I mess up I know I can be forgiven and try again! We all can!!

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

Love,

Sister Sariah Francis

Pictures!!!