Letter - 5/10/15

Dear Family and Friends, 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Yes about 2 hours ago I had the grand opportunity to skype my wonderful family! It was all I could ask for! It was also weird to think that next month I will be seeing them! Time sure has flown! I just want to start off by thanking all the wonderful women in my life! There are way too many in order to name off every one but you know who you are! Thank you for your wonderful examples and for truly teaching me how to walk uprightly before the Lord and keep His commandments faithfully! I have been made into the woman I am today through each of you and am full of gratitude. I have been so blessed all my life to be influenced by so many righteous examples! I will never be able to give enough thanks to my Father in Heaven!

This week was the last week Sister Matamata and I had together because we received transfer calls this week and she will be moving to a new area. Training truly has been an experience never to forget but the greatest opportunity for me to learn to develop greater love and learn to serve others more valiantly. Never with all my companions have I learned this lesson so much greater! I truly learned that you serve those you love but you also grow to love those you serve. These last 12 weeks Sister Matamata and I have rejoiced together, hurt together, laughed together, and cried together. It was an adventure that I am pleased to say I was able to walk with the Lord on my side. It wasn't easy but looking back now I see that it was all worth it only to make me a little better and more like my Savior, Jesus Christ. Watching her grow has been the most humbling experience. I could not be more proud of all the work she has put in during her training. She has progressed so much and become a wonderful missionary and will only continue to be better. I am grateful to the Lord for allowing me to help her start her foundation as a missionary. I knew it was an important role when I was called as a trainer and I can only hope I accomplished for her what the Lord had planned. We have definitely built each other up and supported each other through thick and thin. 

I will receive my new companion on Wednesday! Her name is Sister 황지원. Yep so she is Korean and I am so excited! I have met her a couple times and she is just ready to be happy and work hard! We will just continue moving forward in this wonderful area of 곡반정 and seek and do as the Lord has planned. He has suffered so much in this area to help it become what it is today and so I am just honored to be able to assist Him in His work. The Lord's work will only continue to go forward so we will not back down! 

This last week was great we visited a lot of members! Sister Matatmata and I have been on this marathon of buying all these pretty flowers that are cheap for the Relief Society to just express our thanks and gratitude to them. The Relief Society in the ward truly are just amazing and I think that has been one of my favorite parts of being a missionary! Learning and growing through the examples of the women here in Korea. Hearing their testimonies, most of them are first generation members, is the most spiritual and uplifting experience for me. I am continually grateful that the Lord has helped me enough so that I can understand their testimonies and be strengthened by them.

Speaking of understanding through the spirit. This Saturday we had a Family History Meeting where all the youth of the stake got together and listened to Elder Anderson's challenge for the Youth to prepare as many names for the temple and help someone else do the same.  Well during it I couldn't understand everything because the translation went over Elder Anderson's speaking but one part I knew that he was sharing an experience from a girl who had found her grandparents throughfamilysearch.org. Like I said I couldn't understand every word but the Spirit I felt in my heart was indescribable and only seemed to plant a desire in my heart to also do family history work when I get home. That is what the Spirit does. It touches us and then plants a desire in our hearts to do something better. As the Spirit does that you then know that it is of God and influenced by His Son Jesus Christ! I just found it so amazing how we can truly feel the Spirit of God when we don't understand what completely is going on! The Spirit of God truly has no boundaries. 

Saturday night we also had the wonderful opportunity to meet with 김영숙 and 이근배 who are our recent converts from December. Meeting with them truly is just the highlight of my week. 김영숙 is just the most generous and loving person I know. I can't help but only feel love for her and from her everytime I am around her. And that love truly is Christ working inside of her and it is humbling to see. As we met with her she was expressing some of her struggles because since her husbands stroke it has just been hard because he has changed so much but as she spoke she continued to talk about turning to God in gratitude because that was what was talked about in church last week. She said that gratitude and turning to God has helped her through this hard time and all I could think is YES she is exactly right! Gratitude is all we need in our hearts to get through even the hardest times which reminds me of lady that I met while traveling on the subway. I sat next to this sweet lady who was just glowing. I said hello and she cheerfully talked back. I told her that she looked really happy and she said yes. I asked her why and she said because of all my blessings and I am just so grateful. I learned through that woman's example that it is truly impossible to be unhappy if you only remember the simple blessings of each day. I know that to be true because I have tried it! I have lived in gratitude and all I could feel was happiness and I will continue to live in a spirit of gratitude so that happiness will never leave my heart. 

Thank you for all of your love and support though! I love and miss you all but time is flying and next thing you know  I will be back in good old Idaho! But as for now I just want you all to know that I love this work! I love serving in  Korea! I could not imagine serving anywhere else! I love the Korean people! I love this gospel and I love my Savior and Heavenly Father! Remember I may have already said this but Live in a Heart of gratitude and all you will find is true happiness! 

Love, 

드리스콜자매

Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll