I just realized two seconds ago today is my seventh month mark... Gosh I'm so old and wise.  Quick, someone take counsel from me. 

Just kidding. Guess what!  I’m moving again today!  Again, so that makes... 9 companions,  4 areas, and all in 7 months (not including the MTC). Hmm. I am a nomad (sounds kinda poetic doesnt it?).  CLEARLY Heavenly Father knows I need to learn from a lot of different people lol.  I'm starting to think I'd feel itchy being with one person too long in one place. I've never had a companion longer than 9 weeks. It's sorta kinda fun. So many friends. 

So here's the deal: New missionaries come in this week, so the whole mission is being reorganized. There are about 15 sisters?  We barely have that many to train so some American companions will have native companions and all kinds of things. Its going to be fun. Then in a couple weeks we get more.  Crazy.  So everyone is moving this week or next.  I was told I'm going to Tanzi for a week with a sister who is going home soon, and then will go back to my old original area with a new companion.   A new mystery companion.  Ooooo thrilling no? My mission life is a soap opera.  Tune in next week on "the blog" to see who it is. 

So about that plane crash in Taiwan a couple weeks ago: apparently the Taibei mission president, his wife, the assistants, and two other companionships were all booked on that flight, and changed it last minute. .. yup. Crazy. God watches out. 

SO CHINESE NEW YEARS

1. They blow up fireworks all night. Yup.  I'm really well rested. 
2. They make you drink vinegar to help with "digestion". But its really a plot because I never see them drink it themselves, lol. 
3. It’s socially unacceptable to refuse anything they give you. Vinegar and all. 
4. You may not leave the table until you eat every.   single.   dish.  Those straight butter rolls included.  Yup. 
5. Its mostly delicious. 

THINGS I LEARNED FROM THESE COMPANIONS

1. The bread here has lard in it to make it soft. LARD.  What kind of sick joke is that?  Who does that?  Sick. 
2. Zhao and Zao.  Shi, Si, Zi.  They are all the same sound with a Taiwanese accent.  Good luck learning this language.  lol
3. Sometimes bugs fly into your eyes while your riding your bike and get stuck.  But you have to keep riding. 
4. Everyone who says they understand 100% of the language is a fake and cannot be trusted (accept Sister Henderson, who we went on exchanges again with. Because she's fabulous).  Also, Faking it is about 70% of getting this language down.  Fake fake fake nod nod nod smile smile smile- they will say something if you keep them talking and you'll start to get what they are saying. Genius. 
5. Not even the Taiwanese understand Chinese. So we don't need to feel bad when they don't understand what we are saying. 
6. Also, Sister Sears has been teaching me how to box. Way fun.  Doing that when I get home. 

FUNNY EXPERIENCES FROM THESE COMPANIONS

• My companion told me she wanted to learn to harmonize to hymns so I told her, "great, but first you wax my bike.  We start tomorrow."  Now every time she does well with harmonizing I whisper, "wax on, wax off." 
• Sister Sears and I have the same shoes (because we are two stylish peas in a pod).  Our Taiwanese companion was like so... Did the MTC give you those shoes?  Because I think they forgot mine."  We laughed so hard trying to tell her that the church didn’t jip her of shoes.
• While we were at Seven Eleven I was like, "Hey Sister Sears, look, Seven Eleven has cameras for thieves... like you."  Haha I don't know how funny she thought it was [see last week's story if you don't get it]. 
• We were at a lesson last night and my companion asked a woman what her job was- she said to guess- and Sister Sears guessed Math teacher.  The woman looked startled and asked how Sister Sears immediately knew.  Sister Sears told her it was the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I leaned over and said, "awww the force is strong with this one" and we both started laughing. Then, all of the Asians started laughing. But, we knew there was no way they understood, so we started laughing at their fake laughter, which made them laughed hard, which made us laugh harder. Awww Chinese saving face is the best. 
• We went to a lesson after a HUGE lunch, and we had to be at another dinner in an hour.  So, we walk into this lesson and this woman just has food out.  Food out everywhere.  And butter rolls (omgsh the calories).  And Sister Sears is like, no I'm not doing it.  I cant"  So she points to some origami things and is like, "hey can you teach me how to make that while we talk?" Well we do, but it turns out we are actually learning to fold things to burn at ancestor worship... So here we are teaching about the restored gospel and making things to be burned to idols... not a position I saw myself in when I got up that morning. lol

SOMETIMES I really want to write more about investigators and the miracles we are seeing in their lives, but a lot of that is confidential.  So- when one gets baptized hopefully in the next couples weeks I will be able to tell you all a lot more!!! 

Spiritual Share: 

This week I had a friend write me saying, "I dont have enough energy to move my life forward and spend my energy on the past at the same time. " I also had an old roommate write me and tell me about Elder Hollands talk when he said, "Don't take counsel from your fears." Wow are those both things I can better apply to my life. I was reading a few months ago ine the Bible Dictionary and it says. “Fear is not something worthy of a child of God.”  Wow... did that slap me in the face.  Not that we shouldnt fear, but that it was living so far below our privledges?  Literally everything we could worry about can be fixed or solved in the eternal scheme of things.  Everything we want is in the future, ahead of us, and not the past.  The more we study fear, the more we'll find that God condemns it.  He has matchless power.  And he's already got all your problems all worked out. In fact, he's just asked that you keep the commandments and stay for the ride so He can grow you into what He needs you to be.  It is practically the best deal ever. 

And I know He really does already plan and work everything out for us. He knows what we need far before we pray and ask for it. He loves you. You and the Lord are the majority. 

Remember: Attitude is half the battle. 

Love you all

I tried to teach my Taiwanese companion "Howdy Partner." It didn't quite catch on.

I have the best companionship in the whole world. One Taiwanese who is super sweet and one American who is super awesome and super funny. Life is good. 

MY COMPANION IS A FUGITIVE

So my companion stole. 

Its was before we were companions, but she's still basically an outlaw on the run, afraid she'll be put in a Taiwanese jail (and believe me, you should be afraid of that). Here's the story:

She and her companion were going hiking with a less-active member. She was already out by the bus stop, waiting, when the member calls and said, "hey it's gunna rain. You need a rain jacket." And she went inside the Seven Eleven to grab a raincoat. She's looking at the raincoats when her companion screams, "The BUS IS HERE!" So she SPRINTS and bangs on the bus door, it stops, and they hop in and go on. 

Then she looks down. Oh no. Because what is stuffed into the outside pocket of her bag? Yup. Two raincoats. And there is no Seven Eleven in sight. 

She freaks out a little because one (1) she stole, (2) she stole as a missionary and (3) jail is scary. 

She cant speak a lot of Chinese at this point, but she decides its best to go back to the store and make a go at an apology. She she refolds it all to make it look really pretty and new and returns. 

So she goes back, puts the coats on the counter, and says. "Bu Hoa Yisi" which literally means' "Bad meaning" but it it used for like "excuse me" and "how embarrassing". So she says, "Bu Hao Yisi, I stole this morning." And the really grumpy guy says, "I know... I saw you on the video." 

Then he proceeds to show her on the camera. There she is looking at the coats, and literally .5 seconds she is breaking into a full stride elongated sprint towards the door, and the employees heads just turn. They just figured she REALLY needed those rain coats. 

The employees actually thought it was hilarious and apparently watched it again and again lol. 

MIRACLES:

(1) So we had miracles this week. First, we were terrified our investigator would not come to the baptism because she was not answering our calls, but she showed up right at seven when it started! She also scared us again when we couldn't find her at church to be confirmed and wouldn't answer her phone! When we finally gave up and went in to tell the bishop she wouldn't be there, loo and behold she was sitting in the pews! My body cant take the stress haha. 

(2)  We met a girl on Saturday; she came to church on Sunday- but she came for the wrong time. So, she just waited for us. !!!  For three hours. At the church. And then attend church with us when we arrived. Also, the Book of Mormon we gave her Saturday? Ya, she put it in a protective case. The prayer we asked her to do? She prayer for two hours. She said, "God and I just had a to talk about." Yes, she is a little golden miracle and yes she has a baptism date.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM MY MTC COMPANION:

"If you ever wondered if it was possible to crush up fish eggs and dry them like fruit leather, the answer is yes. But it doesn't mean you should try to do it. And you don't have to give it to your friends."

And I think that about sums up our diet here. This week is Chinese New Years. We have over ten buffets set up with members... we aren't allowed to say no and each one is about ten hours. My companion and I have a very rigorous exercise plan set up and we aren't buying grocers this week, but it wont be enough. And Elder told me he gained 13 pounds in one week last year. Oh heaven help us. 

Prayers people. I need prayers. 

No like seriously put a self-time on your phone or something. 

GOD IS TOO GOOD: 

You know, I've been thinking a lot about how to be more of a consecrated missionary or how to work harder, and I've just discovered God is way too good. Every time we pray for specific miracles as missionaries, it literally happens. The second miracle this week was a result of a specific prayer. I was praying so hard last transfer for specific help with Chinese and now I have a fantastic American companion and a Chinese native. No one else gets that experience after training, I mean no one. 

I feel like every day I just am so humbled. None of us really really speak this language well, and at least we can't write it, but every day I just tell Heavenly Father, "okay I have this and this meager ability. Do what you will with them." And every day he says, "Sister Wawro, I can do miracles with that". And he does. Because I, Ashley, in this country, and with this language, can do almost nothing. And He is so forgiving and gives me so much grace. 

I think and hope this mission will be the most humbling experience of my life. Heavenly Father has really been helping me be stripped of all pride and bringing me low. Maybe someday after he'll build me up again after. 

I hope that you all know how much Heavenly Father is willing to help, and to forgive. Completely forgive. He is far too too good, and it almost leaves me amazed. I pray you will each take full advantage of the atonement to feel his grace for yourselves, sot hat you can gain a more full testimony of it, and invite others to do so. May you be a living testimony of what is grace can do. 

I love you all. I have a long list of people from home I pray for every day. You really are in my heart. Much love, 

Sister Wawro 

Baptisms! And a toilet restaurant... they have themed restaurants here. This was not my first choice either... I didn't really eat much, lets just say that

P.S.

Also I spent about five minutes laughing at my two parents different reactions the the ducks in the pool. I know who loves the ducks and who doesn't: 

from Dad... 

The ducks are back!  Living at the pond (your swimming pool) in the back yard.  Koda runs out multiple times as day  not to chase them away but to say hi to his long lost friends.  What a watch dog!

from Mom... 

The ducks are back in the pool. Dirty birds, they are messy things.

No, they may not stay this year!!!!

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So this week has been like a sitcom. 

First of all. I have not laughed so hard in months. I mean mooooonths. So much that I refuse to drink things around Sister Sears for the fear that I will spit up water. 

You think I'm being obsessive. I'm not. Its happened three times already. 

Seriously the only other person who makes me laugh this hard is Rachel Paxton. I laughed so hard I was crying last night.  Crying.  And that's happened like every night in a row. 

New Companions: 

So! I am in a trio again! Lol because my trainer went home. Its okay because woot hello to getting work done fast, just the way I like it. One of the sisters is Taiwanese and the other, Sister Sears is straight up hilarious. Its so good to laugh because I have not laughed this hard in so long and just done the work. She's like living with Jay Leno but she's actually funny.  And Sister Cao is the most patient diligent person I know.  Good gosh that woman is like an ox (but with much better hair. Fabulous hair).  It is such such a blessing. Wow. I'm so happy! I'll get a new companion in maybe a week. But for now I am loving life. 

Also, Sister Cao is a professional masseuse.  I'm in heaven.  She started giving me a shoulder massage and I was like- 

“
Hello…. shell shock right now. This is fabulous"

The first time I typed hello shock. haha. 

Also sorry I have a no spell-check policy.  Sacrifices have to be made. 

Realizations: 

1. I realized this week I'm funnier when I'm happy. And then I’m happy because other people think I'm a funny.  It’s a vicious/ delicious cycle. 

2. Also I realized I’m not so good at getting other people to come to church.  A friend told me me about how he was disappointed that he only got four people to come to church this week.  I was like pssssssh when I can get four people to come to church I kiss the chapel floor. 

3. It doesn’t matter if you are a ten-speed bike and your companion is a three-speed, when you have harmony baptisms literally fall into your lap.

any speaking of baptisms...

BAPTISM MIRACLES: 

So you know how when you set weekly goals as a missionary and you just put in a “ ne" for people that baptized that week because you can't put a "zero". Ya so IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.  A miralce baptism just fell out of the sky! We visited an eternal investigator who had no interest before. Apparently she had a lot of questions and Sister Sears asked her last time, “So you have a lot of questions you've worked up.  So are you working up a lot of prayer and scripture reading?  My job isn’t to give you the answers- it’s to tell you how to get your own."

Yes she’s really honest with people. It's my favorite thing about her. 

Anyway, we met with her this week and she was like, "Ya I'm getting baptized." And set her own date!  She had a baptismal interview before church and BAM it is rolling friends!  We're getting all this praise and we did nothing. Especially me. I'm just like yaaaa whooo really had a break a sweat on that one.  Just let me hop into this companionship just in time for the glory moment. Go team?  haha. But the best part... 

IS MY INVESTIGATOR FROM SEATTLE IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEK IN SEATTLE!  I am so so so so so so so happy that I'm not gunna sleep all week.  Happier than a body buildier with an unlimited supply of protien shakes.  Gosh life is good. 

Sorry no spiritual note this week. I really need to manage my time better but love you all!