Ask, Seek, Knock

by Mae Yen Ann Esperidion (37th Batch)

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7 (KJV)

ASK
During my first month here in my mission field, there were these two students (a boy and a girl) who would not talk to me. Even if I tried to talk to them, they would just give me a grin but never bothered to utter even a single word. What a pain it was for my ego every time they ignore me!

I did everything I can to please these two kids even if they did not even attend my class. From the start, I’ve been praying for them; I asked the Lord to open up their hearts for me to enter into their world.

Then one day, a set of new books arrived and the children crowded around the table where I was sitting. When I distributed the books to them, this girl said, “Teacher, me? English, no?”

I was stunned; I could not believe it! After two months, at last she spoke to me. From then on, she became one of the sweetest girls I have ever had in my class. One more surprising thing happened. I don’t know how and when, but the boy started coming to class, too. Now we are friends.

SEEK
Jeju Island is one of the places here in Korea where every missionary wants to step into. But personally, I was not totally elated upon learning that my mission field is in Jeju Island. I was seeking for an answer to my question, “Why Jeju?”

I think it is too far from the other missionaries. Then one day while I am slicing watermelon for our lunch, four girls (my students) came to me and widely opened their mouths. I picked a few cubes and put them in their mouths. While chewing, I could see the happiness in their eyes, and all of a sudden two of them hugged me from the back and said, “Thank you, teacher…” while another girl said, “Teacher, you are like a mother…” then she gave her biggest smile and they all went away.

Those words stuck to my mind and I came to realize that most of the children in the center where I teach have either no father or mother. Some of them live with their grandparents. Then I said, “Now I know that a part of my purpose here is to be a mother to them whenever they need me.”

KNOCK
I am the kind of person who resists changes. I want to remain as what I already am. There are so many things that I need to adjust to but I find it hard to do so because I may be closed minded. My heart is knocking at my mind’s door to open to changes so that it will not be difficult for me to face certain situations. For me, this is the hardest battle–the battle between your heart and mind. Nobody can help, except myself and our heavenly Father.

Prayer plays a big part in here so I kept on praying and now, slowly, I am opening the door to accept those changes little by little. As the saying goes, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and enjoy the dance.”

Whatever I’m going through, I know that everything has its own purpose. God is molding me to be a better person.