Week 53

Dearest everyone...

This week I hit my year mark. It has been a year since I entered the mtc. It has been a year since I've seen my family. It doesn't feel real to me!!!! Seriously I can't believe it!! I didn't ever believe time could be this fast. I'm so scared I feel like these last 6 months are just gonna FLY by. Its crazy. Its been the best year of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. :)

Welp. this week was an emotional roller coaster to say the least! BEING A TRAINER IS CRAZY HARD. We went into Seoul on tuesday, got there at night and had trainer's training at President's house on wednesday! That's where I got my greenie! Thursday (which was also my year mark) was probably the most draining day of my mission, my first full day of being a trainer. It is so exhausting to be with a brand new missionary because they are SO reliant on you. Everything they know about being a missionary is what they learned in the mtc and what they are seeing you do. It is hard. But it is awesome. I got blessed to have the coolest greenie ever. Her name is Sister Stancliffe. She's had a smile on her face since the moment I met her last wednesday! She is so happy and positive. She isn't afraid to talk to people and try new things. She seriously is great. She's from Washington! She studied at BYU Idaho for 2 and a half years before her mission.. yeah she's older than me! But guess what I'm the mom so HA. :)

Update on our investies! Jeong Sung Kyong has been in Seoul this week.. so we weren't able to see her very much. We met her right before Sister Lykins left on tuesday and had a short lesson with her about hope and faith. We talked to her on the phone the night before and she said she felt like she had "no hope". She's kinda really been slipping away from us. not meeting with her as much is really taking a toll on her progression. She doesn't really read the book of mormon very much any more.. she's kind of at a loss of motivation. :( So obviously that's a downer. But hopefully when she gets back to Taebaek this week we'll be able to meet with her and help her get back on track! Pray for her!!

Our investigator Rose came to church yesterday, so that was awesome! We taught her the restoration after church and she accepted it all really well! We gave her a baptismal date for November 15th! WE ARE SO EXCITED :) 

Cool miracle! We were eating dinner out at a resturant and the woman sitting next to us introduced herself to us, she had met with missionaries a few years ago, she learned english from them and she thinks highly of our church! She wants to meet again. I love little miracles that are evidence that God really is placing people in our paths, wherever we are.

Becoming a trainer has been hard. I have been struggling with feelings of inadequacy a lot. But I found a talk that my mtc teacher gave me while I was in the mtc called "Notwithstanding My Weaknesses" by Elder Neil A. Maxwell, and it really helped me out. It reminded me that I need to take a step back and recognize that the feelings of inadequacy are normal. Some things I really loved from his talk.. 

- there is a difference between 'divine discontent' and the 'devil's dissonance'. Divine discontent is good for us. it pushes us to be something more than we are, we need it to progress in this life. it lifts us up. The devil's dissonance is disdain for one's self, the feelings of discouragement that satan wants us to feel. it tears us down

- accept help from others and gladly give it.

- write down and act upon the feelings that prompt self improvement.

- God is more concerned with growth than geography.

- Remember this truth. God can lift us from dispair amidst any care. He is always, always there.

This is a gospel of grand expectations. But His grace is sufficient.

Love you all! until next week.

Sister Holmes

홈스 자매

Autumn selfie.

We went to our branch president's kids' piano recital for family night! :) don't mind my scary face

Goodbye dinner for Sister Lykins with our members Kim Kye Sook and Park Kyong Mi :)

MY CHILD! Sister Stancliffe and I! :) also the random elder who tried to slip out of the picture.

In the background, our depressed investigator Rose...but she's not depressed any more because she's getting baptized woohoo!!

Another autumn selfie.