It's rainy
season in Korea ladies and gentlemen and you know what that means.... Well it
means there's a lot of rain. We got soaked this week and I have
never before seen anything like it. In Utah we don't really have much rain. It
might rain for an hour or so and then quit, but in in Korea it will pour for 20
minutes and then taper off and then it will pour again. It will repeat this cycle for days on end. In reality it never actually stops raining, even if their aren't raindrops coming down it is so humid that it feels like it's constantly misting and you end
up wet even during the breaks between showers. It is definitely a new, and soggy, experience for me.
The days seem to be flying by a little bit, which is good I guess as that means I'm busy. But at the same time, the time that it takes for the days to become weeks seem like
they take forever. I feel as though this may be the pattern of my entire
mission. Each week feels like a month, but when the end of the week comes it seems like it's only been a day. I can't decide if this is a good thing or not,
but it is what it is, and thats what I've got, so I'm going to try and enjoy it.
Hope has been on my mind a lot this week.
As I
mentioned a couple of weeks ago, suddenly finding myself in a foreign country has not an easy adjustment. I feel as though I've had a harder time with it because
I am expected to learn the language (and I want to learn the language), but it
just hasn't quite come yet. I know that I have only been here for 3 weeks, but
it is easy to get discouraged when I can't even understand what little
children are saying (maybe that is a bad marker of my progress).
Thankfully, I
think I have found the answer to my frustration, and that solution is hope.
Perhaps to you it doesn't sound like a real and tangible solution. You might even think that it's
just an excuse to put off finding an actual solution to my problems, but I don't
see it that way.
I have though about hope this week through a different lens, one of need. Finding myself really longing for something for the first time, I see that hope is having trust that the
Lord will fulfill His promises to you. Finding hope is looking at past
experiences and past trials, evaluating them, and then realizing that your Father in
Heaven carried you through those trials and He can, and will, get you through whatever trials you are dealing with right now.
I know that
my call to Korea was divinely inspired. I am not sure why I need to be here right now serving as a missionary and learning Korean; but I know that the Lord wants me here. I have felt the peace in my heart that only can come through the witness of the Holy Ghost. Because of this confirmation I know that my Heavenly Father knows me better than anyone else does. I
know that He wants to help me through this. I know He wants and needs me to succeed. I have been promised that as I work my
hardest and stay obedient I will receive blessings, and I will have the Lord's help
in my work.
I also know
that it is the same for everyone. Whatever is going on in your life, God has a
plan for you. It may not be through an exact set route, but it is easiest reached through His set path. The push forward will be easier is If you turn to Him. Believe that it is possible, hope than you can, and have faith that you will succeed. Have a perfect brightness of hope in His plan. This phrase promises warmth , joy, and enlightenment. To have this hope we must trust His
promise that He will get you through anything. The brightness of hope suggests that the blessings we will receive after being steadfast in the path of Christ will be
greater than anything we could ever imagine.
I love you
all and hope you are well.
Sister Annie
