Letter - 3/29/15

Dear Family and Friends,

Spring has officially come as we saw the first bloomings of the beautiful cherry blossoms here in Korea. Spring time in Korea is just the best and so beautiful! I am continually telling my companion how excited I am for this weather because it truly is the best time of the year. This week flew by just like all the others. We were busy and had lots time to strengthen others as well as ourselves.

Saturday we had a ward activity which was so fun! It was a 떡볶이 cook-off! Which I know you don't know what that food is but it's a Korean specialty with rice cakes, cabbage, vegetables, and red pepper sauce. Not really sure how to explain it but it was so fun! We had so many members come as well as our investigators! We even had a group of our students who we teach english to come and participate! It was just a good time to cook, eat, talk, and play games with everyone. I especially enjoyed when we decided to have a water balloon toss in the church parking lot and well turned into more of a water balloon fight. Luckily we didn't fill up too many water balloons though or we would have all been soaked!

While preparing for the Cook-Off we visited members, less actives, and investiagtors to invite them to the party. We were able to visit 장미정 and seeing her again was an answer to my prayers as well as hers. She has been so busy that we haven't been able to meet but when we visited her she was home and she said that having us come over was like receiving a present from Heaven. It was so sweet to hear that. We were able to follow up on lots of things and her sister from my last area has been sending her the monthly Liahona which has been great. Sadly she wasn't able to attend the Cook-Off but she did come to church this week with her boys and Sister Matamata and I have some great plans as far as helping her to continue to progress and be ready to make these amazing changes in her life. I still consider her one of the greatest miracles of my mission and everyday I think about her I realize how aware the Lord is of each and everyone of us and how perfect His timing truly is. 

Sister Matamata and I visited quite a few members this week which time with them was just a tender mercy. One specific member, not super active but not completely less active, we meet with every Friday. Her name is 홍수희 and everytime I meet with her I can't help but fill so happy, filled with the spirit and ready to improve going forth with faith. She is so humble and has so much hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for her family. Her husband is not a member but I can see that she feels confident in the Lord's timing that he will become one. We were able to have a great lesson on faith which then led to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and she bore her strong testimony of the knowledge she has of the atonement and how real it is. She truly understands Heavenly Father's love for her and is continually willing to change and find new  ways for the gospel to bless her and her family's life even more.

Another member we met with was 김원경. Now this Relief Society sister in our ward is as solid as they come. We had dinner with her and as we shared our message on recognizing answers to prayers she shared a tender story dear to her heart about an experience she had. Last year her husband and her were having a really hard time with health issues and her son had just left on his mission. She talked about how praying during that time was the only thing that got her through and then her answers always seemed to come through her sons emails when he would email her weekly. She realized that Heavenly Father often answers our prayers through other people and that's when she was able to receive the strength to carry on. Heavenly Father truly answers our prayers one prayer at a time and listens to us one person at a time. As she talked it remeinded me of Sister Jean A. Stevens talk "Fear Not I am With Thee" one quote she says by C.S Lewis says "I pray because I can't help myself, I pray because the need flows our of me all the time waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me." I know that through this missionary experience I have never prayed so much in my life and I have prayed hard. It has been a life changing experience and humbling to see how we can truly communicate with our Heavenly Father and He will communicate back through so many different ways but just by speaking peace to our soul.

All week though I spent a lot of time preparing to teach the Young Women for Sunday and this month the topic was all about the Atonement specifically how it helps us during our trials. How grateful I am for the Atonement and for the knowlegde I have that I am never alone. Having the knowledge of the Atonement give me this hope that I just can't explaing but is gives me strength everyday to carry on.

While studying I read Elder Bednar's talk "Bear Up the Burdens with Ease" and what a powerful talk. My favorite part is well all of it but specifically "There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul or heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, “No one knows what it is like. No one understands.” But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon our own power." Often we wonder why we have to bear such trials but we see countlessly in the scriptures the blessings that come after a trial. Often the Lord brings us to our lowest points only to lift us higher. He gives us trials because He trusts us that we will learn and grow from them. He knows that we are ready to learn and grow so He allows us to. While teaching the young woman on Sunday I was prompted to share my dad's story with battling his illness. All I could think about is how now as I talk to my father he says "Lyme's disease has been my greatest blessing and teacher." That's how we can look at all our trials and hardships because it is then where we are lifted with the Savior and realize He is always there beside us. " We are not and never need be alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with heavenly help. Through the Savior’s Atonement we can receive capacity and “strength beyond [our] own” I know this is true for I have experienced it. I know that my Savior lives and He truly knows each of us perfectly if we will just trust in Him and let Him take the load that He has already paid we will partake of the wonderful gift of the Atonement.

I love and miss each of you so much! I am so grateful for all your support, love, and prayers. Thank you! I hope you are all doing well! Enjoy this wonderful spring weather and remember to always smile and know that you are loved, by Me:)

Love,
드리스콜자매
Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll