안녕하세요!

As I was thinking about the past events of this week, nothing really stuck out to me as significant or life changing. But, as I started to think about it more and more, I saw an underlying pattern that I am continually learning though out my mission and life.

There are many times where we are down on ourselves, unmotivated, or still struggling with a trial. This is going to happen throughout the rest of our lives. We are all in this together. We may be at different points in our lives, but we are all in the middle of some sort of change. Big or small, we are all experiencing it.

Yesterday we visited a past stake president who was in the hospital about to pass away. When we entered in, and the room was full of people giving him thanks for all that he had done for them. As me and my companion walked out of the room, we were both silent. At first I was just gathering my thoughts again and thinking about all that was happening. She then said something that was very interesting. "... all stages of life are in this small building. People moving on, babies being born, people getting better, and people enduring." As I started to think about it more, it didn't just apply to this small hospital but it applies to the entire world. When we look at our fellow brothers and sisters passing by on the street or see them at the grocery store; we can be quick to make a judgement. We must remember that they, just like us, are in the middle of a trial. Everybody is in the middle of moving on, experiencing a change of heart, progressing, or enduring. 

I have been thinking about how I can help serve people better and more effectively while they are in these stages of life, a quote from my Zone Leader kept on popping into my head. "Get motivation wherever you can find it." I always feel that March is the time of year to remind ourselves of our New Years resolutions. For me a lot of them did with missionary work (especially learning Korean). I was thinking about how I can better motivate myself and the first thing that popped into my head was my family. I want to be not only the missionary that God wants me to be, but the missionary that my family thinks I am. The optimistic, learned, motivated missionary. Another thing that that motivates me is my future, and what I can do with it. As David O. McKay has said, "Do your best this hour, and you will do better the next." Working our hardest now, will always bring results. We are all improving. With God all is possible, find whatever motivates you and use it!

This brings me to my last and final thought. Get motivation wherever you can find It...AND help others find it. All of us are here to lift each other up. I am right now working with one of my investigators on the Word of Wisdom. Last night she slipped and realized she had messed up. Both me and my companion immediately started to think of how to help her and an idea popped into my head. "Who doesn't love food?" We than said to her, if she lives the Word of Wisdom for the next week, we will reward her by taking her to dinner. We expressed how we are willing to do this because we know it will change her life. Right now, we are taking the small steps of helping motivate her to make decisions that she knows are right. I know that she will learn the importance of the Word of Wisdom over the next week. Sometimes all it takes is taking is a little motivation, love, and support. 

I love you all so much! Thank you so much for being my motivation, my love, and my support. I am loving Korea! Remember that we are all in this together and that God loves you. 

Love you all! 

Sister Ashley Farr

p.s. We are having the first English Sunday school with about 5 Filipinos. Who would of thought?!