Dear Family and Friends,
6 WEEKS?! That is all! Can you believe it because I sure can't but at the same time I feel at complete peace. Peace knowing that I have this amazing opportunity to represent my Savior in Korea a place that I have grown to love. I can't imagine being anywhere else to serve the mission the Lord prepared for me. I do remember though a year ago thinking the day would never come and now here it is. Time truly has flown and I am just living in complete gratitude at this time in my mission. Gratitude that any of this mission even happened because each moment I have been able to be apart of the Lord's work in some way and what joy that brings to my heart.
The last two days spent with Sister Matamata were crazy as we bounced from member to member just eating ourselves away! We visited so many members and in the process were a part of a little bus accident! The driving in Korea is a little crazy but all was well just a fender bender but it was funny! I have to say though that the training experience was something I will never forget! I truly learned so much. It was the perfect opportunity for me to learn to become more like my Savior and in the end I truly did. I remember when I received the call to be trainer I looked up in the white handbook under leadership and remember reading that a leadership calling is the opportunity to develop greater love, serve others, and learn. That is the perfect description of the last 12 weeks and I look back in gratitude seeing the Savior influencing me for the better each and everyday. I know that the Lord was truly teaching me this whole time and He put me in a situation to grow which was exactly what I needed. He saw that I was ready to grow more in ways that I didn't know I could and made it happen.
Wednesday was the start of the new transfer! I had to say good bye to all the sisters that were in the MTC with me when I first arrived which meant Sister Hunter, my companion in 금천. I can't even describe the heart break I felt by saying good bye to her. It was the worst. As we talked she told me that as she looks back at her mission one of her fondest memories was us walking the streets of 금천and I couldn't agree more! What did we do during that time, not really sure, we were both super young missionaries but we just went forth joyfully and with the right intent in our hearts.
The Lord truly has blessed me and taken such great care of me. My new companion 황지원 or Sister Hwang is a tender mercy for not only me but also the area of 곡반정. She is originally from Seoul and has been in the mission for 2 transfers now. She was born into the church and is just so humble, sweet, focused and ready to work. Her parents both served missions in Busan and are converts to the church. She doesn't speak much English but she understands everything! But we just speak Korean to each other which is so great for me as I can continue to develop this language! I am so glad to be serving with her at this time and I am so glad that President Morrise received the revelation to send her here to this area because I can just see that 곡반정 is in need of her and us as a companionship! We are ready to go and work hard to the end! I told her the other day that she needs to work me to death! She laughed because in the mission world when you go home all the missionaries just say that you died so she seriously is going to work me to death.
Our first full day together was great! We went about visiting members and delivering invitations to our Stake Conference! We didn't have much luck with catching members home but we walked and walked in the heat and by the end we were exhausted. Then Friday we had our first lessons together which we were both so nervous for because one was with an American and the other was with a Korean. So I was nervous for both and Sister Hwang was nervous for the American one because it was English speaking.
We met the American, Brandi a week ago and were able to make an appointment with her. She is from Wisconsin but has been living in Korea for 5 years teaching English. The weirdest thing was teaching a missionary lesson in English to an american. My whole mission I have yet to give a lesson in English and can I just say how grateful I am to be speaking Korean. It was hard because I wasn't limited. In Korean my only choice is to teach simply. At the end of the lesson I turned Sister Hwang and just asked her how she is able to teach in her native tongue? She said it's hard and now I totally understand. But the Lord guided our lessons and we will be meeting with Brandi again next Friday.
Then our lesson with 김지헤 who I have been meeting with for a long time was just perfect. I have never had such spirit-filled lesson! Sister Hwang and I were just very united and we were able to answer a lot of her questions about the Book of Mormon, missionary work and why we chose to come on a mission. Then near the end she asked us how she could be a missionary too! It was the best question ever! We were just able to testify and invite her to get closer to Christ. We walked away from that lesson filled with so much joy and hope. Sister Hwang is an amazing teacher, because as I spoke she filled in the gaps and then our testimonies just blended! We will be meeting with 김지헤this week on Wednesday with a member and Sister Morrise will actually be with us too so that's going to be fun! Things are continually looking up as we go forth faithfully fulfilling our purpose.
Crazy thing on Sunday though! So as we were going about visiting Less Actives that day I ran into a girl that I met on the bus 3 weeks ago! I was riding the bus and then felt a tap on my shoulder turned around and I was just shocked to see a familiar face! She said that she had tried calling us but then come to find out she had typed in the wrong number so she got the right number and we are actually meeting with her tonight! It was just cool so see the Lord put her back in our path.
Anyways time is running short I have so much more to say but have to go! I love you all and miss you all! I am so grateful to be a missionary and to be serving here in Korea! I love this gospel and all the joy it has brought into my life! I love my Savior and am so grateful to know that I can have Him by my side everyday with every step I take! Hope you all have a great week! Remember that each experience you go through is an opportunity to become more like Christ!
Love,
Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll
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