Letter - 7/14/14

Family and Friends,
    
Why hello once again from South Korea! Summer has come and so has the humidity along with these annoying bugs in the trees that buzz all day! I may go crazy but so far I have survived and pretty sure I am sweating out all the rice and water I put in my body everyday. I am sticky all the time but it adds a nice glimmer to my countenance right?! Life is just splendid though. This week Sister Ward and I were not quite as busy with lessons due to cancellations and due to the small teaching pool we have right now. It is so interesting how missionary work actually works. It is like a roller coaster and in all honesty I am not doing a lot of work. I am watching in awe as Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ work to bring to pass Their purpose. They are the ones in charge. They are the ones who know best. That is what I learned this week. I learned to trust in the Lord's timing and accept it. How did I learn this? Let me tell you!

Last Tuesday Sister Ward and I had a lesson with our fairly new investigator, 유성은, the one who I talked about last week who PRAYED on her own! Well we had a great english time where we talked about the weather and how it affects our lives. When we transferred over to our message we said our opening prayer. Sister Ward and I were so excited for this lesson as we were planning on giving her a soft baptismal commitment because her progress was just tremendous! When we closed the prayer we followed up with our commitment of the Book of Mormon reading. She said she read it and then immediately said "This message is not for me." I was stunned. I was devastated. I didn't know what to say. A curve ball came at us and it came hard. We only committed her to read the Introduction so I simply asked if there was anything weird that she didn't agree with in the introduction. She said no. I thought to myself then what is the problem? She just continued to say that she doesn't believe and she never has so she can't just suddenly start believing right now. Which totally made sense to Sister Ward and I which is where prayer and faith come in right? So we asked if she continued to pray this last week she said no because she doesn't believe so it would be just her talking to herself. She wants to continue to meet but she doesn't want anything to do with our message. I was in complete shock and all that I could think of to say is because of this message I have received numerous blessings. I have come to know God. I have come to believe in Him and so can you. She still wasn't accepting. I don't know what happened. A week ago she was praying, wanting to come to church and listening with an open heart but all of the sudden a complete turn around happened. I thought, "Did Sister Ward and I do something wrong?" But the more I thought about the situation and pondered on my purpose as a missionary and whose work this really is I realized that we didn't do anything wrong. We invited and we planted a seed of faith inside of her soul. We fulfilled our purpose. Heavenly Father just had another plan for her and for us at the moment. We just have to trust in His timing and His will as we continue to do our best in bringing her slowly to Him. With this experience I realized this truly is the Lord's work and all things will happen in His timing. He is the one in charge and things may not turn out the way I hoped but they turn out the best way for me and the way He wants it to be. I learned that Sister Ward and I didn't do anything wrong. We invited. We fulfilled our purpose and invited the girl who knew nothing about God to come to know Him and she tried!! That's what I love is that she tried and she prayed but right now it’s just time to strengthen her faith little by little. So that's my experience for the week!

As a part of the Korea Seoul South Mission I have the privilege of going to the temple every transfer! Can I just tell you how much I love the temple. It is truly home and truly the most peaceful place. It is the Lord's House and the love I feel inside the temple is truly undescribable.  Being at the temple is always a dream come true. It was a beautiful hot sunny day with the craziest purest blue sky I had ever seen! It was beautiful. The second I passed through with my recommend I was overcome with joy. The overwhelming peace, comfort, love and spirit I feel inside the temple is beyond undescribable. The temple workers here in the Seoul Temple just make my day. They make sure everything is perfect for not only the Lord but also us as missionaries. I love the temple and never want to leave. If I could stay there for the next 10 months and talk with Heavenly Father and ponder I would be thrilled but I know that I have plenty more work to do here in Korea. After the temple session all the missionaries met outside and I was quite the social butterfly. I was able to talk to the two newest Sister missionaries in the mission and one I actually had met at the big Sister Missionary Activity at temple square(Sister Holdaway) and the other one(Sister Parcells) well come to find out she grew up with my Beautiful Canadian Best Friend Krista Schmidt. I couldn't believe it! IT was so fun to talk to them. As I looked around at all the missionaries I was surrounded by I was in so much gratitude. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many chosen people of the Lord. What amazing examples they are to me. I am growing lasting friendships and becoming a better person because of their influences in my life.

I have so much to share and so little time when it comes to emailing. I just want you all to know that I know this church is true. I know is changes and blesses lives. I know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves each of us and knows us personally. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to this earth so we could escape the chains of Satan and return to His presence in hope to become like Him. I know Jesus Christ lives. He suffered for all of our sorrows, pains, afflictions, worries, disappointments, He suffered it all. He has perfect empathy for each of us and as we turn to Him He will take the load and pull with us through this life's journey each step of the way. I know Christ's exact church has been restored to the earth today through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and he translated the Book of Mormon through God's power and received His authority. I know the Book of Mormon is God's word, it is true. It has brought me closer to my Savior and my Heavenly Father as I read it everyday. I know God hears and answers our prayers that we express in our hearts, minds, and words. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to share this message to the people of Korea. There isn't a greater work then helping others find eternal happiness. Thank you to each of you for your prayers, support and love. I love you and miss you. Continue smiling and living life to the fullest. Recognize the blessings of each day and move forward in faith. I hope you all have a wonderful summer and week!!

Love,
드리스콜자매
Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll