"Free My Soul" - Isaiah 43:1 - December 12, 2022

December 12, 2022

Hello family and friends!!

We had a blitz with the Morgantown Sisters Tuesday morning! I was with Sister Webb! We knocked a couple doors and had some crazy experiences! The first door was a couple who was previously taught by missionaries! The lady was sick but said to come back, so that was exciting! We knocked the next door and after knocking two times a lady opened the door and immediately slammed it shut. It was sad but we then got to talk to her neighbor who was outside. He wasn't interested but it was a positive contact! We were then looking for a person named Hannah. We knocked on the door that was supposedly hers and a nice lady answered. We asked if she was Hannah and she said no. We then asked if we could still share a message with her even though she wasn't Hannah. She looked at us and said, "But I'm not Hannah." We said, "We know you aren't Hannah but could we still share a message?" She proceeded to tell us that we should be teaching the media about Jesus and how the media is bad. At one point her cat ran out of the house so we had to corner her back in, haha! In closing the lady grabbed her cross necklace and said "I was praying and doing my spells before you nice lady's showed up. Some people think I'm into the dark stuff but I say you gotta be in the dark to get to the light." Then she went inside and closed the door. Sister Webb and I just looked at each other sooo confused! She is right that you have to have the opposition in your life to see the goodness that comes from Jesus Christ but you should strive to be in the Light, not in the darkness just looking at the light. It was crazy.

That afternoon we had a blitz with the YSA sisters!! I was with the one and only Sister Morales!!!!! It was soo much fun!! We talked to these two kids, Sydney and Tee, and had a fabulous conversation about school and missionary work! It was awesome!!

This week we met with Sister Haws! We had dinner with her on Tuesday! It was delicious! During the lesson we asked her if she would join us for a lesson with Donald and Ashley. She said she would! She and Donald are both in the Army so we figured that would be a good connection they could make. Our lesson was on Friday with them! It could not have been more perfect! We go in and sit down and the third and fourth sentences out of Sister Haws's mouth were, "Hey are you coming to the Ward Christmas Dinner tomorrow? And the primary program is on Sunday if Annabell wants to be a part of it." Sister Livingston and I were so shocked! Sister Haws just jumped right in! They weren't able to come to the Christmas dinner but!!!!!! Donald AND Ashley came on Sunday!!! It was incredible! We were a little doubtful thst Ashley would ever come to a Sunday meeting. She's been to ward parties before but hasn't shown much commitment to coming to church. But she came!!! Annabell was sooo cute during the Primary Program! Instead of saying her part she talked about the "church ladies" that come over (talking about Sister Livingston and I, haha) and how she scraped her knee when she got out of the car. It was so cute!!! They also stayed for second hour!! It was probably one of the best Sundays of my mission so far!!!

We had a lovely ward Christmas Dinner, Saturday evening. It was so wonderful! The Veterans with Guitars group performed!! A couple of the members of the ward are a part of the group. It was amazing! I love listening to Christmas music! One of the members had a 12 string guitar! After the performance, Sister Livingston and I talked to him! His guitar looked so cool!

Song of the Week: "Free My Soul" 2020 LDS Youth Song. This song is so beautiful! It describes the process we go through when we use Jesus Christ's Atonement to repent or change and become more like Him. I love the chorus and how it says that wherever we go, He will find us. It reminds me of how one of Christ's names is the Good Shepherd. When a shepherd loses a sheep he goes and finds it. When we lose our path in life, Christ comes and finds us. The scripture this week is Isaiah 43:1. At the Christmas Dinner one of the performers recited that scripture to Sister Livingston and I when she found out we were missionaries. Christ doesn't just find us where we are. He calls us by name and helps us individually. He is our Shepherd, our Light, our Savior. I love being out here serving Him. He is my greatest Friend.

I hope you all have a festive and cozy week! Talk to y'all next Monday!

Love,

Sister Sariah Francis

Pictures!!!