Letter - 5/25/15

Dear Family and Friends,

Well another week has come and gone! My family I assume celebrated a birthday this week too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREATEST AND BEST SISTER-IN-LAW IN THE WORLD! JOELLE! I really hope Tyler spoiled you because I know you deserve it. Thanks for being a part of my family and adding so much joy and happiness! I read your letter about "when I need to laugh" and it works! I truly laugh every time! Thanks for the fun memories and the many more to come! 

 Sister Hwang and I are beginning to melt over here in Korea! Summer has come and the sun is beating down on us pretty good! We have some interesting tan lines on our feet and have I mentioned that my hair is going blonde. That may be exaggerated but the sun really is bleaching it out!  

This week we were quite busy and at times I felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head chopped off. It was just one of those crazy weeks where there was so much to do and we didn't know where to start but we got through happily with smiles on our faces! Luckily Sister Hwang is just super patient and positive all the time! Even when our plans fell completely apart we were still able to fulfill our purpose and end with a smile on our faces! 

We met with the girl I talked about last week and she is now our new investigator! I still can't believe I ran into her again on the bus but I am so glad I did! Her name is 염시은 and is preparing to go to Australia in August so wants to study English with us. We will be meeting with her every Monday! She doesn't have a religious background and usually they are my favorite to teach because I can help someone first come to know and understand that they have a Heavenly Father who LOVES them. If everyone in the world just knew that one fact oh how great would be my joy! I am just so grateful that I have the opportunity now to help others understand that and that the Lord is using me as His instrument to be able to deliver His love to His children. 

The Lord truly is aware of His children and their simple prayers they offer to Him each day. This last Saturday we had english class and we usually leave right after but for some reason we stayed and the next thing we knew we were helping our relief society president clean the church. We didn't think much of it because it was just something we were to do because she was the only one who came to clean. At the end of cleaning she turned to us and said I told my husband that the sisters of the ward were probably not going to come today because last week was stake conference so we weren't able to announce that it was our time to clean the church. He told me to say a prayer to Heavenly Father to provide some helpers for me. When I came to the church and you started helping me I knew that you were the answer. Her husband was right. Hearing her tell the story just brought so much joy in my heart seeing once again the Lord working in His own ways to answer His children's prayers and prove to them that He is aware and He is watching over each one of us. 

We had the great pleasure to do missionary work for 3 hours with Sister Morrise Wednesday night after interviews with President Morrise and it was so much fun! We had English class so she helped us prepare and teach our basic english class. We made up a song because Sister Morrise is very musically talented and taught it to the class! It was very enjoyable. I used to not enjoy teaching English that much but now I really enjoy it and like helping the Korean people learn and also just feel good about themselves because they truly are all really good at English! After English class Sister Morrise, Sister Hwang and I went and had a practice lesson with one of our members. It was so fun and our member was so cute. She was so nervous to have the Mission Presidents wife over to her home but it turned into an enjoyable time where we talked about Sister Neil F. Marriots talk from October general conference about sharing our light. Sister Morrise shared an experience while being in Korea that I want to share it with all of you so that you can understand the simplicity of sharing your light. 

When Sister Morrise first got to Korea she was riding on the busy subway and noticed an old man huddled up in the corner. He was gloomy and she knew he wasn't happy. She told herself "I need to help that man smile." So she started with giving a gentle smile at him. He noticed and kind of gave a smile back but then she kept smiling brighter and brighter. By the time she got off the subway the old man was standing up and twirling is cane and glowing. There was a complete change in a matter of minutes. Through her telling this story I just realized how simple it truly is to share the light of Christ to those around you. I thought of the many people I have smiled at and could see there countenance change. That is truly the Lord working through us to bring the joy He wants to give to His children. Never forget the power of your positive influence or your bright smile! So SMILE ON!!! 

As we finished the night we were all smiles because we were able to help Sister Morrise fulfill one of her bucket list goals while being in Korean. In our area we have this big circle bridge and it's been Sister Morrise's dream to walk around it at night, so after our lesson she immediately asked "Do we have time to walk around the bridge?" Of course we did! She had told me about that goal of hers back in December and I was just hoping to be the one to do it with her so when I found out that we had the opportunity to be with her that night Sister Hwang and I set aside special time just for that. It was like giving a child a piece of candy but such a wonderful happy memory that Sister Hwang, Sister Morrise, and I will be able to cherish forever! 

I love being a missionary. Having one of my last interviews with President Morrise was one of the craziest things to think about but as I talked to him all I could feel was peace. As I spoke to him about the different feelings I had been having and different challenges I had faced he stopped me in the middle of my sentence and said "Sister Driscoll I am so proud of you. I just felt like I needed to say that to you." At that moment hearing those words come from his mouth was so unbelievable. It was as if my Heavenly Father was speaking to me and it felt so real. I of course just cried because that simple phrase was all I needed to hear. It was as if I had received the Lord's approval for all that I had done in just a small simple phrase and He used His worthy servant President Morrise to tell me. I felt so much peace about going into this last month and am just going to continue enjoying this opportunity and taking advantage of every moment. I know it is not the end and that this mission will continue for the rest of my life. I love this work. I love serving in Korea as a representative of the Savior Jesus Christ. I love Korea. I love my Heavenly Father and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. Have a great week! Remember to SMILE ON! 

Love, 

드리스콜자매

Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll  

P.S.  Always remember that the Lord is proud of you! He loves you and will always be smiling down upon you because He is an optimist. He sees who you are and who you are striving to become!