Letter - 6/30/14

Family and Friends,
Well first of Happy 4th of July this week. I was thinking if I were home what would I be doing during the 4th of July weekend and then remembered its the biggest weekend of rodeo! How could I forget! Anyways good luck to my sisters who are going to be competing this week go stir up some dust.

This past week was full of adventures.

 Last Monday I mentioned that we would be meeting with a new investigator and we did. She is amazing! We met her at the church and she is just ready and willing to learn. We do the English program with her and she really struggles with English so it is interesting to teach because Sister Ward and I are still not that great at Korean but we got through it.  She doesn't have a religious background but she is so willing to do anything. We talked alot about God and who He is. We testified to her that He is our Heavenly Father who loves us. Sister Ward testified saying to the investigator "I know God loves you." When Sister Ward said that 유성은 asked How can I know that which then transitioned us into the wonderful power of prayer. We told her that it is through prayer in which we communicated with our Heavenly Father. She said she hadn't prayed since she was really really young do we taught her how to pray. I then felt prompted at the end of the lesson to ask her to give the closing prayer. At first she was a little hesitant but she prayed at the end of the lesson!!! She showed a huge step of faith and I am so grateful I was able to witness it. It was such a simple prayer thanking God just for the opportunity to meet with the missionaries but is was perfect. It was a prayer of complete gratitude which I am learning about most of my prayers are out of complete gratitude to Heavenly Father. After she prayed she asked if she could take the pamphlet that we were teaching out of about the first lesson and of course we let her and then she asked if she could see the church. We showed her the church and she really enjoyed it. We showed her the chapel and the Spirit was really special. I cannot express how much joy I was in my heart. 유성은 is a precious daughter of God and I am privileges to help her come to that knowledge.

Tuesday was kind of a rough day but the Lord was on the look out for me! I was just kind of on an emotional roller coaster and about everyday I tell Sister Ward how badly I just want to see a blue sky in the afternoon and stars at night. I know super silly and simple but it was a big deal for me that day when I looked up in the sky and saw blue. I was almost in tears I was so happy and then that night as we were walking home I was really down on myself because we had just done Ward Mission Council and I did not understand a thing but I looked up into the sky walking home and saw a star. In Korea especially the city of Seoul that is rare so I am so grateful I was able to recognize the small blessings that God gave me that day that truly turned my day around and allowed me to realize that He really does know my needs and the desires of my heart. It truly made up for the rough day as I reflected on the little blessings that manifest God's love for me.

Wednesday Sister Ward and I left District meeting seeking for guidance from the Spirit on where to go and where God needed us that night. We humbly kneeled in our study room and Sister Ward offered a prayer seeking for guidance. When we ended the prayer we just sat there staring at the map of our area for about 10  minutes and finally we shared our thoughts that we received and pondered. We ended up going to an area that we don't visit a lot but have a few times. We both felt good about the area so we were off for an adventure with the guidance from the Spirit. We went walking the streets and nothing was coming. People were rejecting us and then there would be no people at all and I began to question of if this is really where we were supposed to be and just then an old man drove up in his truck hopped out and asked if we were missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the ones who teach English. We said uh why yes we are! Well we got his information and he will be attending English class this week! It was really neat because never does a person stop their car hop out and talk to the Mormon Missionaries. Yeah it doesn't really ever happen here. Then not even 10 minutes later we ran into a lady and she absolutely loves and then next thing I know she is holding Sister Ward's hand and we are following her to I though maybe her house. Well it wasn't her house we ended up at her church!!! I was a little unsettle with the situation especially when the lady was calling for her minister. I thought oh no. Well it all turned out being okay and one lady was interested in our English program so we gave her a pamphlet but I feel the true reason God led us to that place was for a little girl who she she saw us completely lit up. The minute she saw us she was like a ray of sunshine. When I though about that little girl at the end of the night chills filled my body and I am confident that is one of the reasons so that little girl could see these two foriegner missionaries representing Jesus Christ. It was an eventful night one that I won't forget especially when the christian rock music started for the service at the church. Such and interesting experience.

Thursday...Where to start. Well we met with a lady that we met on the street a couple weeks ago and she brought a friend. It ended up being more like a bible bashing session. I didn't say a word because I had no idea what was going on but for a whole hour straight Sister Ward stood strong and testified that she knows this church is true and is God's true church. The two ladies never even gave us a chance to speak. The whole time I was just praying to Heavenly Father pleading for something to say that would soften their hearts but then I realized that whatever I said wouldn't have made a difference because they had already decided before we met they were going to tell us about all our wrong beliefs. I was hoping the appointment would have gone differently but it was our opportunity to stand super strong and defend our Faith.

So those are my adventures for the week lots of excitement and new events.Sorry it's so long but I wanted to share them all. I just want you all to know that I love you and pray for each of you daily. This week I read in the New Testament Matthew 14 when Christ walks on water. What I loved reading in this story was that Peter also walked on water for a few seconds or minutes I am not sure but he did. I know he did because his complete focus was the Savior but as soon as he turned away and saw the waves crashing he lost his focus and sunk. I know that as I keep my focus on the Savior I cannot fall but like Peter if I turn my focus away the Savior will be there immediately to pull me back up. What a great lesson taught and demonstrated in the this passage of scripture. Christ is by our sides everyday we just have to turn to Him and keep our focus on Him. I love this gospel. I am grateful to have this opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father and Savior. I love being a missionary for I know each day God is qualifying me to become is servant. Thank you for all your prayers, support and love. They give me strength each day. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep Smiling and recognize the little blessings of the day!

Love,
드리스콜자매
Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll

Letter - 6/23/14

June 23, 2014

Family and Friends,

Wow another week has come and gone!  I can't believe it! Sister Ward and I woke up to a good thunder storm this morning. Rainy season has officially started. I hear rainy season is just a joy with the humidity too. Luckily the heat and humidity so far have not been too bad. I am surviving well and really praying for a mild summer.

I never knew that when I became a missionary it automatically qualified me as a singer!  This past week I have had singing lessons like crazy as Sister Ward and I were invited to sing with the Young Women for Ward Conference. We sang A Child's Prayer from the Primary Book. What a lovely song that is. And can I say how amazing the Korean people are with music. They are all so musically talented. And in about a month the primary of the stake and the missionaries will be putting on a spiritual concert type thing for people on the street. So my district well,  we have to have a special musical number and our options are hymns. I was chosen to sing alto and can I tell you how hard it is. I am not a singer but I am determined by the end of my mission with all this singing that I am doing it will make me one. Ciarra Jean a singer?! Who knew?!

Last Monday Sister Ward and I had the privilege of meeting a potential investigator for the first time! She is amazing and interested in the gospel. The first meeting is always so important. I was really nervous because you never really know what to expect. Well she ended up wanting to meet at our church and seems to be really interested in our message. We ended up talking a lot about God and prayer. She asked us if prayer helped us and oh boy does it ever! We are meeting with her again tonight! We will be starting the first lesson and I am really excited but nervous because I will be on exchange but I know that Heavenly Father will guide the lesson as I listen to the Spirit and act on the promptings he gives me.

Speaking of the Spirit. This month our mission is focusing on Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel Recognizing the Spirit. It is amazing the miracles that are seen when we completely give up our will and surrender to the Lord's. His will is always a lot better than our own anyways. I think of Nephi when he went to get the Brass Plates where he said "I was led by the Spirit not knowing beforehand what I should do". Often that's how each day is for Sister Ward and I. We pray for guidance and then act hoping the way we act is what God wanted but if it isn't He doesn't allow us to get very far without changing the route we were originally on. As I read the story of Nephi and his brethren returning to Jerusalem for the Brass Plates I realized that the Lord just doesn't hand things over like a present. He did not hand the Brass plates over the first time they went to King Laban.  Nephi and his brethren had to go back approximately 3 times to show their commitment and faithfulness to the Lord before they received the guidance and help from the Spirit. What I love though is once we do show our faith and commitment to our Heavenly Father He will not allow us to fail. NEVER EVER! He is our Father and wants us to succeed so once we trust in Him and allow Him to guide us we will only see success.

Life truly is great here in Korea. I know I say that weekly but I mean it. I am so happy and learning so much each and everyday. I am so grateful to be serving. Sometimes I wonder if God was in His right mind when He called me to serve as a missionary in Korea and to speak the Korean language I am so inadequate but I see Him work through me everyday qualifying me little by little each day. I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. Thank you to each of you for your love, support, and prayers. They give me strength and comfort to get through each day as I know I have so much support back home. I love and miss each of you! I hope you have an amazing week! Keep smiling because life is wonderful!

Love

드리스콜자매

Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll

Letter - 6/16/14

June 16, 2014

Family and Friends,

Well it has been another great week here in South Korea. Sister Ward and I started off the new transfer well as we just continue working hard each and every day. Summer has definitely come. Somedays are super warm and humid but then somedays are not. It is bearable though so I cannot complain about the humidity yet. This week Sister Ward and I made some really good relationships with the young women of our ward as we are weekly going to be holding a little fun English class where the young women bring friends and we read Junie B. Jones. Yes, Junie B. Jones definitely took me back to when I was a little one just learning how to read. The catch was that the young women had to speak English and we had to speak Korean and summarize the few pages we read. Hardest thing of my life but I got through. It's really nice though because we all understand what each of us is going through as we try to speak each others language. I just love the young women of my ward. They are so diligent in their personal progress and always striving to do what it right. They are amazing examples to me.

This week Sister Ward and I focused a lot on Less Actives. Currently the area I am in has so many less actives and it makes me so sad. It is so difficult to get a hold of any of them to. I just know that the minute they feel of the Spirit they will desire to come back. The less actives have the gift of the Spirit they just need to remember what it is like to know they have it as a constant companion. I just know they were changed the minute they received the gift of the Holy Ghost and now it’s our job to spark that feeling just one more time and let them feel of that joy again. The Gospel truly brings joy and I love seeing the joy it brings to the Korean people’s lives for they need to feel joy and love.

This week I actually ended up finishing the Book of Mormon. To all who have or have not read it I want to encourage each of you now to let it change your life forever. I know with all my heart the Book of Mormon is true. I have prayed about it. I have read it. I have acted on its teachings and nothing but good has come into my life because of that book. The Book of Mormon has given me so much comfort and direction since I came on my mission. Before my mission when I was younger I didn't read it daily sometimes not even weekly but I always knew it was from God. Now being a missionary and studying it daily I have grown to love it so much more. The Book of Mormon has the answers to all of our questions. I compare it to a cell phone with the internet. Currently I am a missionary so I don't have a cell phone right? Yep that is correct. If I had a cell phone I would look up on google all the answers to the questions I had and take my cell phone everywhere with me. But currently my cell phone is my Book of Mormon. I take my Book of Mormon everywhere with me even though it is added weight. I search it daily to give me comfort and answer my questions. It is truly my companion and gives me all the comfort, guidance, and answers I will ever need. I know that the Book of Mormon changes lives. I have seen that process in action as I invite investigators to read and ponder its teachings. The Book of Mormon is true and the only harm it could ever do to one's life is make it better. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It was brought forth by God through His prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and proves that God is aware of all His children all over the world. I love The Book of Mormon. It has changed my life and will continue to do so. I promise to anyone who reads it and truly ponders it words will know through the power of the Spirit that it is true.

This next time reading it I am currently searching for the characteristics of Christ and our Heavenly Father. So far I have found that God is merciful. God answers prayers. He recognizes our efforts when we are trying to do what is right. Sometimes He commands hard things of us to do to test our faithfulness and when He does this He will not allow us to fail. God will always provide away. We are His children. He wants to see us succeed so He will help us to do so. The things He commands of us won't be easy. He will not just hand it over to us like a present. We must work for it. It will take time but as we put our faith and trust in Him He will give us the greatest blessings we could ever receive as we stay obedient and surrender to His will.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your love, support, prayers, and letters. I just love hearing from so many different people about what is going one in your lives. I hope and pray that each of you are doing well. This missionary work is the best thing that could ever happen in my life. It is changing me for the better and allowing me to create a life that is aligned with God's will. I love being a missionary and being a part of the Lord's great and marvelous work. It is a huge privilege. I love serving my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I love each of them so much and know they are with me each day every step of the way. I know this gospel is true. I know it has the power to changes lives for it has changes mine. I love and miss each of you! I hope you have a wonderful week full of blessings, smiles and miracles. Smile everyday and remember that everyday has its own special blessings!

Love,

드리스콜자매

Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll

Letter - 6/8/14

Family and Friends,

EVERYONE I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT TO ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL! Congrats to my brother and Joelle. What a fun time it is! Wish I could be there but as the saying says "A missionary leaves their family so that others can be with their families forever."

Well my 3rd transfer is finished! I can't believe it. Sister Ward and I received transfer calls on Saturday and GUESS WHAT!! I am staying in good old 화곡 for another transfer. I am so happy. I love serving here. Sister Ward and I have gotten so close with the members. I was so afraid I was going to leave but looks like I still have more work to do and more love to share. I am just full of gratitude right now. Heavenly Father has blessed me more than I could ever imagine this past week and this entire mission experience.

 This past transfer I learned so much. I think the most important thing I learned is that Heavenly Father is truly TRULY watching over me at every second of every day. I know this because this past week I experienced some not so fun eczema allergies. Last Monday my skin got really bad on my face kind of like when I was little. I was in tears as it flashed me back to those days when I had eczema all over my face especially around my eyes and mouth. It was so miserable. My face was a mess so I called Sister Morrise for advice and the first thing she told me was to go to the doctor. Go to the doctor in Korea?!   I though nope I don't want to go to the doctor because I won't be able to talk to them or understand them so I can just tough it out. I can't even remember the last time I went to the doctor for my eczema. But Sister Ward insisted that I go. We called a ward member who is honestly I consider my Korean mother. The first time she didn't answer and I was so sad because she was the only one that I truly would want to go with me but we tried two other amazing members who also didn't answer. I was stressed and right when we were about to try another member my Korean Mom called us back and I told her what was going on. I tried to tell her that I had eczema in Korean but she wasn't understanding so she told me to text it to her so she could look it up. She immediately called back and told us where a hospital was. She then asked if I had ever been to a doctor in Korea and I said no. She then quickly responded with I'm going with you when do you want to go? I was so grateful she dropped whatever she was doing to help me get to the doctor. When we met her at the bus stop she said that her daughter also has eczema so she understands. What a blessing that was. We went to a member's doctor's office and the coolest thing that I found was a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ on the wall. I visited the doctor and the member was with me the whole time. I explained that I have had this since I was little and it just acted up maybe from the humidity. I am not sure but he gave me a prescription ointment and said since you are a missionary you don't need to pay for your visit but you do need to pay for the prescription. I couldn't believe it. I almost broke into tears when I heard that. We went to the pharmacy and when they called my name to pay for the prescription the member jumped up with her card in hand and said it's my pleasure. I was once again in shock and in so much gratitude. As we left the building all I could do was thank the member for her kindness. I just wanted to cry because Heavenly Father was truly looking out for me. While we were walking the member told us to wait on the street and she would be right back. As we waited I just cried to Sister Ward because of all the miracles and little did I know that the member came back with a huge bag of groceries for us. She walked us to the bus stop and as we were waiting she told me that this morning she was debating whether or not to go to the temple this morning. She felt that she shouldn't go so she didn't. That was a miracle because that means Heavenly Father knew I was going to call her that day and that I needed her. She was needed by me today and Heavenly Father knew that. It was such a testimony builder for me to experience all of that. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over me and is completely aware of all my needs. I wanted to share this story for my mom so that she knows I am being well taken care of and being blessed everyday. I couldn't help but think of her that whole day. Mom, I am in good hands here in South Korea.

Thank you all for the prayers and support you have given me. Sorry my email isn't super today I had some computer issues but just know that I love you all and am praying for you. I love being a missionary and know that this is the Lord's work.  Everyday I see miracles and everyday I am reassured of Heavenly Father's love for His children. Take time each day and recognize the blessings God has given you. They are all around us. I have truly learned to appreciate the small things each day. I hope you all have a great week and continue to smile! I love you and miss each of you!

Love,
드리스콜자매
Sister Driscoll

Letter - 6/1/14

Family and Friends,
So I realized last week that I said I hit my 6 month mark but I am mistaken and got a week ahead of myself. I apologize I am losing track of time while serving the Lord. BUT this week I hit 6 months and I can't believe it. Time is flying by and I still have so much to learn and so much work to do. This week was just amazing!!!! I don't even know where to start. I will start with Sister Ward's and I adventure to her old area.

Last Monday Sister Ward and I decided we were going to travel to her old area and go to the Korean Folk Village. It was quite the travel but it was so fun. We were able to see a lot of Korean Culture and the village. My favorite part was a little horse show that they did. The minute I found out they had horses I just about lost it. I immediately told Sister Ward that's where we are going because I haven't seen a horse in who knows how long. Yeah since December. I was so excited. They just did some trick riding but it was great. We had so much fun seeing all the Korean History. It was such a beautiful area and I loved every minute of it. We definitely made memories that day and I took lots of pictures.

Tuesday was another really fun day. We meet with a certain Less Active every week, Amber. I may have mentioned her before but Sister Ward and I just love her. She calls the missionaries every morning and every night. She has a mental disability so we always want to do something special for her. We recently started doing Personal Progress with her and have talked a lot about faith. When she received her very own Personal Progress book she just lit up. We also sing I am a Child of God with her and everytime we sing she says that the song makes her feel comfortable. Sister Ward and I just continue to tell Amber how much Heavenly Father really loves her and how precious she really is. She is truly an angel and such a great example to me. I don't think anybody loves the missionaries more than Sister Amber. After Sister Amber we had a practice lesson with a member her name is 김경화. We weren't really sure what to expect because all of our other practice lessons had ended up as dinner at the members home so we prepared but weren't counting on a lot of time. We started and we sang hymns for a good half hour. She loves to sing and just lit up when we all sang her favorite hymns. It really brought the spirit and I could tell she was enjoying it so much. We did end up doing a practice lesson!!! And after the lesson she said "Can I just be baptized again?" It was so funny! She has been a member for almost 40 years and is so strong. We asked if there was anything we could do for her and she said "Can we do this every week? I want to be your investigator weekly." It was great so we are going to begin doing that to help us teach better. I just have to say how much I love my area and my ward, especially the members. It is such an honor to be serving here and I am so grateful.

Thursday we experienced a miracle with a less active. So my area has a lot of less actives so we visit less actives a lot and just pray that they open the door or that they even still live there. This particular less active we visited at the beginning of the transfer and her mom answered the door telling us that we should visit again so we did last week. The girl we were looking for was there! She opened the door and we asked if the girl was home and she said "Yes that's me!" We were in shock. We then asked if we could share a message and she said "Yes." It was crazy because she let us in and we were able to talk to her. We found out that she was baptized about 15 years ago when she was in middle school. She is now married to a Japanese man and lives in Japan. She has been visiting her mom for 6 months and left on yesterday to go back to Japan. She said she hasn't been to church since she was baptized. We shared a message about Jesus Christ and asked what she thought about Christ. She said that it has been so long that she doesn't really know because there is this distance now that she just doesn't know how to fill. We asked why she stopped attending church in the first place and she said that when she was young her friends all judged her because she was Mormon so she stopped. She asked us if we had similar experiences. We were able to share a few. I then asked if she saw missionaries in Japan very often. She said no and said "the Mormon church is in Japan?" We said yes and told her we could get her the information if she gave us some contact information so we could let her know. She lit up and I could tell she desired to go back to church. She said she was a little afraid though because her husband is Buddhist and doesn't know how he will react but she said that she would find out. The whole time meeting with her I just had this overpowering love for her and wanted to help her so bad. I felt as if she is one of the reasons I am in this area. She was truly amazing and the Spirit was so strong. When we left she said I hope to see you again. She was so sincerely grateful for our help. It was such an amazing experience and now I have her email address and can stay in contact with her. Sister Ward and I both are still in awe over the experience.

And then the biggest event of all for the week. So when I first entered Korea we were told the Elder Quentin L. Cook would be coming to our mission for a joint mission conference with the Seoul Mission and indeed he did. Elder Cook was in our mission May 31 and it was amazing! When Elder Cook entered the chapel President Ringwood (area president) announced that Elder Cook had requested to shake each of the missionaries hands one by one. The minute he announced that I could feel Elder Cook's overpowering Christlike love for each of us. The minute I shook his hand he looked at me straight in the eye and I was filled with gratitude, the spirit, and honored to be a part of the greatest work on the earth. It was so neat to watch him acknowledge each of us individually being so proud of us for being there on a mission. When he spoke he had all the missionaries stand who had been out for longer than a year and noticed that most of the missionaries in the room had been out less. He spoke then on the importance of relying on revelation and inspiration from heaven because there aren't as many experienced missionaries. We have to live the standard and the gospel and our role as missionaries in order to receive all that we are entitled to. Everyone is an emissary of the Lord. All people feel inadequate but my inadequacy is made up by my love for the Savior. He then told us that we are the message. We testify of the Savior Jesus Christ everywhere we go and we succeed by inviting even if people reject us. He spoke of 4 areas of love 1. LOVE THE PEOPLE 2. LOVE YOUR COMPANION 3. LOVE YOUR MISSION PRESIDENT 4. LOVE THE SAVIOR. When and if I do all these things I know I will go forth and accomplish the Lord's will for me. He claimed to know three things 1. Jesus Christ Lives. 2. He knows His voice. 3. All the missionaries are where they ought to be. He then left us with a blessing that I know was directed towards all my needs. He wanted each of us to understand that our decision to serve will forever bless all the loved ones you will ever have. He blessed that each of us would have the assurance that we are supposed to be here in South Korea and that each of us will have peace that we will have a successful mission no matter what happens. He said "If you are the message you will have success and you can always hold your head high and be confident." I know that nobody is capable of this work without the Lord so I cannot let incapability interfere and just have to go forth with faith and I will be successful.

Missionary life is amazing when you have the right attitude at all times. It truly is what you make of it. I love this work and am so grateful for this opportunity I have to be here in South Korea sharing the Joy of the Gospel to the Korean people. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and know that He is always with me. Everyday is a new day and has its own miracles. I am blessed to be able to see with new eyes and see the miracles that the Lord sends me everyday. I love and miss each of you dearly but wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything. I hope you all have a great week. Keep smiling and stay smiling! I love you all! Thank you for your love, support and prayers!

Love,
드리스콜자매
Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll

Letter - 5/25/14

Dear Family and Friends,

Well I don't really know where to start.This week I will be a third done with my mission. Have 6 months really gone by?? I don't know what it feels like back at home but time sure is flying in Korea. Isn't time and interesting thing. I have thought a lot about time while being a missionary as I want to use the Lord's time as wisely as possible and picture this life just a speck in the sky compared to the eternities we have after this life. We all have 24 hours in a day are we using it wisely? Are we allowing those 24 hours change us to be better and reach the full potential that Heavnly Father sees in us? That's another thought. Reaching our full potential. We reach our full potential with the Lord's help and by setting goals. As my mission currently has been focusing a lot on consecration I have been setting goals to become the consecrated missionary that I see in myself and God sees in me. Detailing everything to make this work the Lord's and make sure I do it His way. With reachable and challenging goals we can reach our potential as we push ourselves and achieve them. So each of us can push ourselves a little more in becoming the person we want to be and God wants us to be.  

This week was just another fabulous week in the Korea Seoul South Mission in the wonderful area of 화곡. Sister Ward and I are just working hard everyday really focusing on our members as well as our investigators. We have the best ward to be working with and I am so grateful for their love and help. Last week we had a lot of interaction with our members as they have been feeding us like crazy and this coming week once again I think we have about 4 dinner appointments. I love gonig to the members homes and getting to know them as well as being able to share a special message with them. Our messages usually are very simple but I have learned that simplicity is the best. Clear and simple is my testimony of this gospel. Clear and simple is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have faith, be obedient, surrender to God's will and most importantly LOVE. Love is our motivation. Love paves the way. Love is God's motivation. Love is everything.

Sister Ward and I were really busy this week with different appointments but one I want to talk about imparticular. So Friday..each Friday we meet with an investigator at her home. She is super nice and is really good at English. We do the 30/30 program with her so our 30 minutes of English we actually got on the topic of rodeo so I was able to talk a lot about my rodeo life. She thought  I was crazy that I loved to ride horses so much. When it came to teach our message we followed up and asked if she has read the repentance section the pamphlet we had given her. Well comes to find out she read the Restoration pamphlet. Repentenc and Restoration sound kind of similar in Korean so I must have not extened the commitment very clearly last week BUT it ended up being the greatest lesson ever. We decided to just base the lesson of the Restoration because thats what she read and it never hurts to review. So I specifically asked  her about Joseph Smith and what she thought about him. She then went off and siad its kind of strange but I have met with so many missionaries that say they know he is a prophet and I want to know.. How can I know? I though whoa really wants to know and we can tell her how she can know. So Sister Ward explained how she came to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and while explaining the feelings she felt from the spirit she was meaning to say she felt peace in Korean but then pronounced peace a little wrong and it translated to anger disease. You should have seen our invetigators face. She was so confused but then luckily we got it all figured out and we were all just laughing. We were able to tell her that she can pray and specifically ask the question to Heavenly Father "Is Joseph Smith really a Propeht? Did he really see Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father?" We commited her to do that this week and are currently praying that she will recieve and answer to her prayer. IT was just a really neat experience as I felt that we were really able to teach to her needs because all she really wants to know is How she can know. We were both to happy after the lesson ans so was our investigator. It was such a good experience.

Another experience this week was we met with a young girl on Monday. Our new investigator whom we just love but this next time meeting with her was just different. The first time she was super open talkative and wanting to learn but this next time she was really quiet and it was just not like last time. As we strive to lighten the mood and get her back to her bubbly self we find that she  doesn't want to learn about our message because she searched the internet and although that she knows that the internet is not always right but most things said that the Book of Mormon specifically was wrong. Sister Ward and I thought well there is only one way to find out if it really is wrong and that is to read it for yourself. I invited her to read and find out for herself and testifed that she would be able to know. We both did. But it just wasn't working. The Spirit wasn't there and she just wasn't wanting to accept. It was so hard but what I learned from that experience is not only to I have to be worthy of the Spirit at all times so that it can teach but the person or investigator has to be willing to let the Spirit teach them. She had already decided that day before we met that she did not like the Book of Mormon so she stopped the Spirit and closed her heart to its teachings. It was really hard because I thought it was all me but I then realized that it takes two. Sister Ward and I must have the Spirit but the investigator has to be willing to feel the Spirit and let it teach them.

This missionary work is by far the best experience I could ever ask for. I love that I am able to be a part of this marvelous work and love that I am growing everyday. I have so many experiences that I wish I could share all of them all at once but time is up and its time to get to work. I love each of you and miss you all. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. I hope you have a wonderful week and I want you all to know that I know this church is true. I know Heavenly Father is our Father and that He loves us. I know the Jesus Christ is my Savior and only through Him can we find true joy. I love this gospel. It truly changes lives. It is changing mine everyday. I love you all Always remember to be happy and stay smiling! Life is too short to do anything but Smile!

Love,

드리스콜자매

Sister Ciarra Jean Driscoll

Letter - 5/19/14

Family and Friends,

Well there is another birthday this week!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST SISTER IN LAW IN THE WORLD MISS JO DRISCOLL! I am realizing as I have been able to wish my family members Happy Birthday that I truly can say to the best big sister because I only have one, to the best little sister  because I only have one, to the best sister-in-law because I only have one and so on! So I am being completely honest when I say these things. Anyways, Joelle Happy Birthday from Korea! Thank you for being such a wonderful example to me and my sisters. We all look up to you so much! You have brought so much joy into our family and I cannot thank you enough! I hope you enjoy your birthday gift! Love you loads!

Well now as for me, Korea, and missionary work! This week was amazing! Tuesday night we had our final lesson with 심승연(Shim Seoun-Yeon) before her baptism. It was such a special lesson as the spirit was so strong as we asked her to bear a simple testimony and say the closing prayer. It was really special and her baptism was even more amazing. Sister Ward and I arrived at the church nice and early Saturday afternoon so we could get the font filled in time but we struggled with getting the water warm! I was a little stressed because I remember my baptism and how cold the water was and I definitely did not want that for 심승연 luckily we were able to get the water heater working. When she arrived she was just her quiet self but when she changed into the white dress she was glowing. We were able to take pictures with her and the young women who all accept her so well. It was such happy time. The actual baptism was amazing. The Spirit was so strong and after she received baptism I could just tell she was happier. The members just loved on her and gave her flowers and Sister Ward and I put together a gift for her to. She was so happy. Happier then I have ever seen her. It was interesting to watch after the baptism as the baton from the missionaries to the ward members was passed. I was kind of sad, I compare it to a Father giving a way his daughter at marriage, sad but so happy as a new life begins. I am really looking forward to the recent convert lessons with her and really focusing on strengthening her in order to endure to the end. She was a whole new person after her baptism. I don't think she noticed a big difference but I sure did. I am so grateful that I was able to witness one of God's children start on the path back to Him. This work is truly amazing and the Lord does it His way and in His timing. I am so grateful to be a part of it.

This week we had Zone Conference on Wednesday! It was the best ever. My Zone all traveled to the mission home and we went hiking to a place in Songpa called 남한산성 (I think that is the spelling). But anyways it's an old historical Korean Fortress where the Koreans defended themselves from the Chinese. It was really cool and so great to be out in nature viewing Korea. I cannot express how much I loved it!  We were told we would be going on a slightly strenuous hike and yes it was quite strenuous but beautiful! Our focus of the conference was Qualifying for the Work using Preach My Gospel Chapter 1.  As we continued having trainings and hiking we were able to accept that the way to qualify for this work is through faith, hope and charity. Faith, hope, charity, with an eye single to the glory of God qualifies us for the work or in other words consecration.  Our mission has been focusing alot the past month on becoming consecrated missionaries one step at a time and laying everything on the altar of sacrifice to show that Heavenly Father can trust us with His beautiful children in Korea. Love is our Motivation, Faith is our Action, and Hope is our desire.

While hiking up this mountain and going throughout the day I was able to witness something really special about my Mission President. Although we were holding a Zone Conference it did not stop him from talking to as many people as he could about the gospel. There were multiple times where I saw him sitting at a bench talking to a person about the gospel and bearing his personal witness of the truthfulness of our message. As I saw this I just thought to myself how lucky I am to be a part of this mission under his direction. What a role model he is to all the missionaries in the Korea Seoul South Mission.

I just want to thank each of you for all your love support and prayers. I cannot believe how time is flying by I mean I have almost been out 6 months!!! It's unreal and I still have so much to learn. I am so grateful to be in the Lord's service though. He is working through me in some way and that's all I could ever ask for. Everyday I receive blessings and everyday I am just in awe with what the Lord can do. I am so happy being a missionary. II love this life that I am living because it is creating the person God needs me to be! I love my Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ who assist me and help me everyday. I am nothing without them in my life. I will always and forever need and rely on them. They are where my true strength lies.

This week we will be attending the temple and I am so excited. I love the temple and it truly is the Lord's house. I hope you will all have a great week and always remember to keep smiling because life is amazing and time goes by fast so we might as well be happy while living this short life of ours! I love and miss each of you!

Love,

드리스콜자매

Sister Driscoll