FINAL MISSION POST (Can You Believe It?)

(Mom:  It seems so strange that this is the last official post I'll be sharing for Carina's 18-month mission.  She'll be home this coming Monday evening, Feb. 23rd, 2015.  What a blessing it has been to watch her grow in beauty, grace, and testimony during her service.  She is a true example to me of someone dedicated to the Lord in every way.  Feeling blessed to have this sweet young woman in my life!)

So, I don't know too much about coming home - still getting final details.  I have a seminar on Thursday as well as interviews.  I also have a departure dinner on Sunday.  :)  I'm guessing they'll tell you more as it comes closer?  Our luggage is taken care of, so we will just need a little money for food in the airport.

Sister Rodda is getting a bunch of my clothes.  LOL!  Lots others were donated because of holes, rips, tears, fading, stains, etc.  Not worth bringing home...

Thanks for the Valentines Day package of goodies - I got mine but Sister Rodda didn't get hers.  Don't worry, I shared my candy with her.  Ha ha   (Mom:  So weird, since I mailed both of them priority mail, same day, same time, same location - one got there Saturday, the other not until today, Tuesday?  Hmmmm...)

My Testimony

It has taken lots of prayer and hard work and diligence and trial and blessings to gain the testimony I have today.  The road has not always been easy, and many times I have lost my way and doubted.  But somehow I always found my way back, and my trials seemed to have grounded me and made me better.  If I had not gone through all that I have, I don’t know if my testimony would be as strong as it is today.

I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.  I know that he questioned and he wondered and searched for which of the many churches to go to.  In humble prayer, he knelt and asked Heavenly Father, in faith, which all of all the churches was right and which he should join.  I know that God the Father and His son Jesus Christ appeared to him, as two separate beings, with bodies of flesh and blood.  I know this because every time I recite the first vision, I get teary.  I feel the spirit testify to me of its truth.  When I first started my mission, I couldn’t even get through the first vision without crying, the spirit just spoke to me so strongly.  I know God called Joseph Smith to restore that same church that Christ had back on the earth today because He loves us and wanted us to have His gospel.  How blessed are we to live in the time where that fullness is back on the earth, for there were many who wandered without it.

I know that because God knew many would disbelieve Joseph Smith and his vision, He brought forth an ancient record of people in the Americas called the Book of Mormon.  I know that Joseph Smith, having little to no education, could not have translated this record unless he had that power of God.  I know that power, the Priesthood, was restored to Joseph Smith.  I know the priesthood is real, and it is the power of God and it really is on the earth today.  I have witnessed the power of it in my own life as I’ve received priesthood blessings that truly were from God.  I’ve had too many experiences that I just cannot deny this power.  I know the Book of Mormon really is the word of God.  When I first read it, I felt a burning and desire in my heart to read more and more.  As I knelt and asked in prayer if it was true, I felt that it was, the spirit told me, and I cannot deny it.  I know it goes hand and hand with the Bible and when we read them together we really will draw closer to the Lord and understand His doctrine.

I know that the Plan of Salvation is real.  It just makes sense.  We were with God before we came to this life, we knew Him and He loved us.  We come to earth for a purpose to learn and to grow, we have trials to shape us and make us better.  I know this life is not the end, there is so so much more after this life.  I know death will not separate us from our loved ones, but through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, because He overcame death, we will have the opportunity to be with our loved ones again.  Families are designed to be eternal...eternal marriage, eternal sealing to our children and parents, all helping up get back to our Heavenly Father.  I know that He is on our side about this whole thing, He is rooting for us!  That gives me great hope.  I remember in the MTC, lying in bed, just before I went to sleep, I was thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong while I was gone.  What if something happens to my family, what if my dad loses his job, what if a sibling dies?  I was just lying there so scared to leave my family, in the off chance that a tragedy would happen and I would be gone, and secondly - how could I handle such a thing?  Then I remember just feeling a sense of Hope that no matter what happened I knew the church was true!  If something happened, the Atonement would carry me through.  If someone passed away, I knew I would see them again.  I remember just being so grateful to have such a knowledge of hope.

I know that the basic principles and commandments of the gospel are going to bring us the most happiness we could ever imagine.  Commandments are designed to protect us and to bless us and I definitely have a strong testimony of this.  I know that the happiest times in my life have been when I am living the gospel to its fullest, and when I am not happy it's usually because I am slipping somewhere in the gospel.  I find much strength in D&C 120:30-31 that says “when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience.” I know that when I put God first in all things, He really will take care of me.  I know when I pay an honest tithing, and give a generous fast offering, and truly just live the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have His blessing in my life.

Most importantly, I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior.  I know that He was a perfect example of all things.  I know He was selfless in all ways.  I know that He suffered for our sins and sorrows in Gethsemane and then on the cross, taking that pain one more time before He died and returned to our Father in Heaven.  I know that we can be forgiven of our sins, because of Him.  I know He can take away our guilt and shame and I have felt that burden lifted in the past, especially while I was in college striving to put my life in order.  I felt the hand of the Savior in my life.  I felt His love when I was alone.  As I plead on my knees for His help and His strength and His comfort, I felt peace.  I knew He was there.  I have had moments on my mission where I struggled to feel that same comfort I once felt, but I know that He is there.  He has to be, I know the feelings I felt were real and they were from God, and I cannot deny it.  This is the most important truth that I know, that I will cherish and strive to keep as my foundation.

I know that no matter the trials that lie ahead of me, I can rely on the gospel of Jesus Christ to be my foundation.  What a blessing that I have come to know these truths of myself, and not have to rely on the testimonies of others any longer.  I know God has a perfect plan for me and if I stay close to Him, He will stay close to me forever.  Because He not only loves me, but loves me perfectly.  I rejoice in the day I can stand before him in confidence and gratitude for all I have been blessed with.

See you soon :)  Love you!

Sister Carina Wawro

PICTURES:

THIS IS MY FAVE pic

 

Played soccer for our last district p-day.. it was SOOOOOOOOOO FFFFFFFUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN.

And Elder Lambourgne and I were on a team playing world cup and we kept winning!  I was impressed with myself!  LOL!  Sister Rodda was so proud.  :)

 

 

Love these people!

Beginning packing for home, its crazy!!

The Weibling family I LOVE!  She reminds me EXACTLY of my Aunt Stacy.  Just a super funny personality.  :)

 Service with the Elders

 My sweet Sister Hunsaker.  LOVE HER!  She makes the best taco salad!

Enough said!

VIDEOS:

  Sister Rodda made up a song for our family.  LOL!

Mom-Janene
Dad-Bill
Gabe-brother
Brittan-sister
Derek-brother

LOLOLOL!!!!!!

This is why I love her.....

Take One...

 

Take Two...

Take Three...

 

Another funny tracting video!  CATS! 

"I Have Been Changed For Good"

As one of my favorite musicals 'Wicked' sings, "I have been changed for good."  My mission truly has changed me and my life forever.  I have grown immensely from the person I was before my mission, to the person I am now.  It really all comes down to the basics...if you are reading your scriptures, saying your prayers, being obedient in all things, and using the Atonement, then you are on the path becoming the person Heavenly Father wants you to be.  As I have learned to apply these basic principles, it has changed not only me, but the entire course of my life that lays ahead of me.  I feel so blessed to have learned these truths while I am young and can continually apply throughout the remainder of my life.

Scripture Study and Prayer

Before my mission, I didn’t love the scriptures.  They were hard, confusing, and not even in the English language if you asked me!  It was like this foreign text I just did not get, and it was a true chore to read.  In my family we always said family prayer at dinner and at night before we went to bed, but as for personal prayers, it wasn’t a daily habit.  Like many in the world today, I usually just prayed when I was in need of something serious or going through a hard trial.

Now, I can’t even explain the love I have for the scriptures.  I remember when I came out to the mission field, I knelt in prayer just before I began the Book of Mormon, for the first time in my whole life.  I prayed and said Heavenly Father, the scriptures are confusing to me, but I want to read those, help me, help me understand the words and the stories.  Then I began reading, and I fell in love with the Book of Mormon, it came alive to me!  I understood what I was reading, the stories made sense, and I didn’t want to put it down.  I went on to read the Old and New Testament, then the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.  I was able to read the entire standard works, and I loved every minute of it, and I can’t wait to read it again and again.  I have been able to read the Book of Mormon a number of times, and I have found so much strength, guidance and answers to prayers in it.  As for my prayers, I now pray at least 20 times a day, if not more.  I love praying before I go to sleep and accounting with my Heavenly Father and thanking Him for all the numerous blessings I saw that day, and then I can wake up and set goals with Him, and ask for help for the things I am in need of.  This is a pattern I want to apply for the rest of my life, as it has helped me strengthen my relationship with God.  I know He is there and He listens and will often answer our prayers through the scriptures.

Obedience

Before my mission I was slightly rebellious.  I didn’t care too much about consequences or not, because it seemed like I was always in trouble with my parents for disobedience.  I didn’t have too much of a conscience because I was so far from the spirit.  I lied and I stole and I hid things and I was very into the natural man and the temporal happiness that comes along with that.  I had good moments, and good phases where I did want to be good, but for the most part I was just not a righteous young women.  It wasn’t until I got to college and left home, and started my true conversion to Jesus Christ.  But most of my teenage years and high school, I was not living up to the potential God saw in me.  The worst part is I didn’t really care about where I stood with God.

Now that is all I want.  I want to be right with God, I want to stand before Him in absolute confidence, and I want nothing to stain my garments with sin.  I love God, I want to please Him.  I have focused so much on improving the spiritual man in me and overcoming the natural man through daily repentance.  As I have sought every day to purify myself and my life, I have drawn closer than ever to the spirit.  This has truly increased my spirituality and my desire for obedience to become a pure vessel for the spirit to dwell.  I remember one period in my mission, I was surrounded by some disobedience of others, as I strived to stand up for what was right, which was scary, I found in my life an increased sense of happiness in my life.  While I was seeking counsel from my parents, my dad said “We are all asked to stand in holy places....leaders are the ones who are willing to stand there alone.”  I want to forever be a leader in the Lord’s army standing for truth and righteousness.  I want to be obedient in all things.  I love (and also don’t love so much) that as I have drawn closer to the spirit, even the smallest things have touched my conscience and made me want to change, where before I didn’t even really feel a conscience.  As I have become even closer to the spirit and my heart has been refined, every imperfection has been burned deep within me, causing me to change.  I hope to continue in this process forever until that day I can stand spotless before Heavenly Father.

The Atonement

Before my mission, this is how I pictured The Atonement.  I pictured a piece of paper with my name on it.  Every time I sinned, it got written down, then when I repented, it got a line through it, but never erased.  So yes I had been forgiven, but really never forgotten.  Then I pictured the final judgment, “Oh my, Carina, you had many papers with many lines crossed out.  I’m glad you repented, but still, couldn’t you just have been a little better?”  Maybe that’s why in my youth I didn’t change because I felt hopeless to true and real forgiveness?  As I got older, even on my mission as I became more purified, this always brought me much sorrow, I yearned to go back and to change my mistakes and my choices, I would do anything to have a blank paper.  As I was once explain this theory during an interview with my mission president, that I REALLY thought this was how the Atonement worked, my eyes were opened to another way.

Now picture this, that same piece of paper, with my name on it.  Every time I sinned, it got written down.  But this time when I repented, because of the atonement, the sin was erased.  It was deleted, backspaced, whited out.  My page went back to being blank, because of the Atonement the “...Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42).  This gave so much more hope!  I really could let my past go and be forgiven and The Lord would never bring them back up, especially not in final judgment.  The atonement is really everything.  It covers our sins, our sorrows, our grief, our pain, the unfairness of life, the ripple effect of sins that cause hurt to others we can never erase.  It covers everything and most importantly everyone.  I have taught many people that needed the Atonement in their life, and I testified to them of its reality.  I once even taught a man that had spent 25 years in prison, and had made many wrong choices in his life, he more than anyone needed the Atonement.  As I testified of the power of the Atonement in his life and how he truly could be forgiven of everything in his entire life, I felt the spirit.  I knew that Heavenly Father loved this man, I knew he could be forgiven of his past, as dark as it was.  Then as I attended his baptism, it was the most spiritual baptism I have ever been to.  He received a remission of his sins, and he felt it.  As he stood in that baptismal font, fresh out of the water, he just sobbed, muscles, tattoos and all.  He had been forgiven.  And then I realized, if he can be forgiven, if the Atonement is for everyone, then maybe, just maybe it can be for me too.  I can be healed too.  Heavenly Father loves me just as much, I too can have my paper wiped clean, back to being blank.  This truth has changed me the more than anything.  I yearn so much to be clean in the eyes of God, and now I know how I can be, it is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Because He loved me just enough.  All I have to do is sincerely repent and then keep living the commandments.  Although I believe in this principle, I am still striving to just believe it, and know it can be for me too.  I have come so far in my testimony of the Atonement, and I will strive the rest of my life to fully believe, understand and strive to apply it in my life.
            
I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve a mission.  It has truly and forever changed the course of my life.  I feel so blessed to have learned these truths while I am young and can continually apply throughout the remainder of my life.  I know as I read my scriptures daily, pray in the morning and the evening, live all the commandments and apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life, I can stand forever be ready to stand blameless before my Heavenly Father with the utmost assurance that I did serve Him with all my heart, might, mind and strength (D&C 4:2).

Sister Carina Wawro

PICTURES:

Fun Pics from the Week

Now this sign just cracked us up!

District Lunch, that was fun! We have some great elders, they are quirky.

The King family, whom I LOVE, definitely one of my favs.

Well-Worn Boots!!

This week was a really spiritual one for Sister Rodda and I.

First we met a former investigator named 'K'.  He texted us and said he wanted to meet with us.  We found him in our area book and sure enough he was a former, that had met with missionaries before.  We pretty excited because we have been striving to find people and this seemed like it could be a real miracle.  So we met him at the library and established our purpose as missionaries and then brought out The Restoration pamphlets to begin, then he goes, before we begin, 'I have a few questions if that's okay? ' So we are like yeah of course.... oh... and this is just when it went downhill.  He was NOT there with real intent to learn more, all his questions were cynical, confrontational and not with the desire to learn more but to prove us wrong.

The cool thing though was every time I bore my testimony I felt the Spirit come back into my heart and manifest that what I was saying, was in fact true.  He was very intelligent and was throwing out all these big words and ideas that just went right over my head, at one point I just said, "you know sir, I am only 20 years old, and I don't know everything, and everything you just said right there went right over my head, but what I do know is that Joseph Smith really IS a prophet of God and through him the fullness of the gospel was restored."  Once again I felt the Spirit so strong.  At the very end, we are sitting across from each other at the table and he goes "One of us is going to heaven and the other is not, and you REALLY think its you?  That is frightening."  I once again felt the Spirit as I bore testimony of the plan of salvation and felt so strong and happy as I said that I was not even a LITTLE bit worried.  We ended our meeting of course, as we felt there was nothing we could do for him.  As Sister Rodda and I sat in the car, we were filled with gratitude as we talked about how amazing it was that we had strong testimonies that could not be shaken.  I know if I would have had that confrontation at various other periods in my life, and it may have shaken me up a bit.  I am grateful that it did not and for where I am today.

The story gets better actually.  Then we met with the Bishop later and were telling him about our week.  As we brought up 'K', he goes, "Oh no... did no one warn you about him??  Don't you have notes in your area book?"  I told him that we had notes but nothing that said anything about his intent, just that he wasn't interested.  He told us how he had met with 'K' and he is actually a part of 2 organizations and his calling is to convert Mormons!  So he was coming to convert us.  Bishop pulled up his profile on the computer, it was crazy.  On the website it even says "the missionaries will tell you to read and to pray, under NO circumstances should you do this!!"  LOL!  I couldn't believe it. I had never even heard of such a thing.  Once again, as Sister Rodda and I went back to the car, we were grateful because I know that as 'K' went back home he knew there was no way he converted us, or shook our beliefs.  I am grateful for an unshakeable testimony.

Then we FINALLY we able to make contact with 'B'.  We have been so worried about him because he hasn't been coming to church and he has this new dog from the Czech Republic so we aren't about to just show up there, but he called us this week and wanted to meet.  So we went over and caught up with him and his wife.  At the end we showed the "Because of Him" video and I bore my testimony of Jesus Christ and how everything is really possible because of Him.  Then, all of a sudden I turned to 'B' and I bore testimony of the Atonement, and I thanked him for showing me the TRUE power of the Atonement.  I told him how I have always struggled to understand how it works, I have struggled with believing it can apply to me too, and until I met 'B', I didn't.  But when I came here and I taught him and I saw his change, I knew that if a man that had been in prison for 25 years could be forgiven, then so could I.  That is one of the strongest times I have ever felt the Spirit, I didn't even plan on saying any of that, it just came out. I was crying, his wife was crying, Sister Rodda was crying, and even 'B' was crying.  It was silent for a while, then through tears in his eyes, 'B' looked down and muffled out "thanks Wawro."  I know he felt the Spirit.

I was grateful for those experiences because they really helped me to recognize how much I have grown on my mission.  I am truly thankful for the Spirit and the power it has on everyone.  I will miss the experiences I get to have like this.  But I'm sure there are many more to come in my life.   :)

Home three weeks from today - crazy!  So, I am going to take some online classes while I am home.  Just some foundations courses.  Its actually pretty cool - I am deffered for the Fall 2015 semester, but at BYU-Idaho they let returned missionaries attend back in whatever semester they want.  So while I'm at home I'm gonna take just a few online classes.  The spring online semester is only from April 21st to July 23rd.  That will still give me a break after the mission, and then keep me fresh when I go back to school.  So I'm excited about that.  The classes are pretty cheap too...like one of the science classes is only $35 bucks.

Mom - loved the muffins, thanks for sending more!  :)

LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Wawro

PICTURES:

The sign of true missionary shoes!  (Mom:  throw those out!  Right now!  LOL!)

So the Elders are always pranking us.  We came home to this beauty...a couch from the dumpster.  LOL!  But we called them and made them move it.   haha

I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Tennant who is from KELLER TEXAS!!!!! We just had a blast.

Sister Lawson who goes home at the same time as me!!

Elder Lambourgne and I in our matching "tent dweller" shirts.  Everyone in the mission has these silly "tent dweller shirts" (like from the scripture "my father dwelt in a tent").  Well, I've seen them everywhere and I was complaining about how I wanted one and it turns out, Elder Lambourgne in my district is the one that created them, and he only had one left!  So I got it!  On the back it says the "I'm Mormon.  I know it.  I live it.  I love it" that quote that was going around a while ago.  :)

Beautiful Washington

50 Bible Videos

This week was a little slower.  We are struggling to keep contact with all those people we've found over the past few weeks.  They don't return calls, or show up to appointments, so that's been rough.  A mission is ALL about a roller coaster of emotions.

If anyone remembers "D.H." that I talked about on Whidbey Island, "sometimes I just feel like I'm in another world" or the one that says God is actually a unisex being, both man and woman, handsome and beautiful... yeah.  Well I think I've met his twin brother! Seriously, we met a guy this week that told us all about his baptism of fire in the mountains where messianic Jews meet.  40 people prayed over his body and he thought he was dying, but then he realized this intense heat was actually his baptism of fire.  Oh poor Sister Rodda, welcome to mission life.  The good the bad and the ugly.  Haha that was sure interesting.  Also his wife see auras and his daughter sees spirits.  He closed our lesson with a beautiful recitation of poetry.

We did have a few good lessons though, we found some new less-active members that are interesting in returning to activity.  Our sweet "R" that got baptized a while ago (we had to move her baptism up because she was diagnosed with cancer) she is doing so well.  She only has one more chemo and 2 radiation treatments left, she is looking better and better, and remaining in high spirits.  She is such an example to me.  She really has kept the faith.

"A" is doing well and preparing for baptism.  We went through the baptism interview questions with her and she was great.  The craziest thing is, her dad showed up and he starts telling us how he has met with missionaries in the past too and he was thinking about doing it again, he didn't even know that "A" was getting ready to be baptized!  So that was really awesome, I know that was no coincidence.

I got the "Life of Jesus Christ: 50 Bible Videos" (THANKS MOM!!!) And it is just amazing.  Sister Rodda and I have been watching it every day in all our free time.  We have used it in lessons and brought it to member dinners as we share a message and then play a video about The Savior.  It has really helped to strengthen my relationship with Christ especially as I am reading the New Testament.  These videos help to just bring those stories to life.  My favorite video is the "Because of Him"  we have especially loved bringing that into members homes because it just brings the spirit immediately.  Every time I watch it, I get teary.  Every time I testify of Christ and how He really is the reason for everything, I get teary.  Its the best video ever and I recommend if you haven't seen it to watch it!  Also this DVD is great and its only $5 on the lds store, or you can watch them all free online at https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/?lang=eng

"Because of Him" Video - Click Here

Our mission president sent all the departing missionaries an email all about going home stuff.  It's just crazy to fathom.  All these interviews, conferences, go home dinners, figuring out where to sleep.  Its crazy

I cant believe we only have 3 email days left......

Love you all!

Sister Wawro

PICTURES:

Pics: The sweet Ridgley family.  They are like our grandparents, we love them.  They SPOIL us.  This week they took us to a super nice asian Mongolian grill place.  :)  I love it because I can get my seafood on!

P-Day

VIDEO:

1-21-15 "The Seahawks Are In!"

Well this week was pretty good!  We are finding more and more people to teach.  We found a super sweet young couple, part-member family.  He is less active and she is not a member.  They lost a child a few years ago and it really shook their faith in God.  They have 2 small children now, one is a super cute infant baby.  :0)  But we were able to teach them the Restoration focusing on God' s love for His children and it went really well.  Sister Rodda is just getting better and better and more confident in her teaching, its such a joy to see her grow! :) We were even able to invite him to say the closing prayer and HE SAID IT, it was awesome, it was the first vocal prayer he said in a long time, it was simple, but so perfect.  So that was a blessing.

Then "C", who was supposed to get baptized in December but has like, no support from her family, or especially her boyfriend who is Catholic and thinks our church is of the devil - so she got scared.  But I sent her a letter last week that was like 5 pages and it was all my testimony and my experiences.  She texted us and said she wanted to meet and we talked all about recognizing the spirit.  She said she wants to come back to the Mormon church, but she is scared because of the negativity of her family.  Her other concern was she said she keep praying for an answer and just hasn't received it.  She said if she is going to give up her family and her boyfriend over a religion, she NEEDS a confirmation from God that it is right.

This made me think of when I was deciding to go on a mission or not.  I remember I started getting some subtle promptings, when I was away at school, but I kept pushing them off.  Then they came stronger and so then I began to pray.  The thought of serving TERRIFIED me.  I was still barely gaining a testimony for the first time in my life on my own, away from home, making my own decisions.  I still felt like a newbie in the gospel.  The though of serving brought me much anxiety, what about school, what about my friends? What about my family, how will I pay for this?? It all overwhelmed me.  So I felt similar to "C", if I am going to give so much up and make this huge step, I NEED a confirmation that its right.  I was so frustrated as I kept praying and asking 'Yes or No God, tell me yes or no'.  And feeling like I got nothing.  I remember sitting in the Rexburg temple parking lot, in tears.  I called Dad and was telling him all my frustrations.  (I am SOOO forever grateful for the counsel he gave that day) but he said "instead of saying tell me tell me tell me, make a decision, present it God, and then just pray to feel peace.  Sometimes God just trusts us enough to make our own decisions."  LIGHTBULB.  So I did just that.  I sat in the temple.  I prayed and said "Okay Heavenly Father, I am scared to go on a mission, I am scared to leave my family and my friends, but I think this is right. I am going to go ahead and go, if this is right, help me feel peace, if this is wrong, direct me another way!"  And then I waited.  And the answer didn't come at first, it didn't even come until the last 5 minutes of me sitting in the chapel and then WHOOOSH, I just felt an undeniable peace, overwhelming peace.  After I was through in the temple, I sat in the foyer and wrote ALL my experiences from all the "coincidences" I had happen that made me think of a mission, all the impressions, my prayers, my experience in the temple and after about 7 pages later I realized God had been telling me to go on a mission for quite some time, I just had difficulty recognizing it.

I shared this experience with "C" and hoped it helped her in how she is feeling now.

Okay, remember the single mom last week that we had a SUPER spiritual lesson with?  We were able to go back and meet her sweet daughter.  She is in 8th grade and she is experiencing some really bad bullying.  She hasn't gone to school for weeks.  As we met and talked with her, I just felt so much love for her.  It was like a little taste of what God feels for all his children, I'm sure.  I just loved this sweet girl, and I barely new her.  I wanted to wrap her up and hug her and love her and protect her from the world, I wanted nothing more than to take that pain away and make everything okay.  It was a really neat experience.  Sister Rodda and I shared Alma 26 with her and we both felt the spirit just so strong.

Alma 26:27 - "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

And then we we talked about how they felt much like she did:

28 "And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation...and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been stoned, and taken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison... And we have suffered all manner of afflictions."

We related these scriptures to how she was feeling, and how when we want to give up, because life is just too hard, turn to The Lord, and He will comfort us.  Just hold on and endure those trials for a little while and our Heavenly Father will pull us through it.  I was just teary the whole lesson, it was really tender.

Finally, we had our zone conference yesterday, and it was my last one ever, which was so sad.  They always have the missionaries going home leave with their testimonies, so I had to go up there and bear my "go home" testimony as they call it.  And since it was alphabetically and there were like 20 of us, I was one of the last ones.  I cried before I got up, I cried in my testimony and cried when I sat down.  It was not pleasant.  Lol!  But I really felt the spirit so strong.  Oh!  And they had this obedience contest/questionnaire thing, where they read these questions and all the missionaries are standing and you stay standing if you can answer yes to the questions, the last ones get a prize! They start off with questions like "did you floss this morning" "did you make your bed this whole week" then they get trickier like "did you bear testimony in all teaching appointments" "did you clean your car on pday" all this stuff, and yeah - its individual not companionship and Sister Rodda and I both separately won!  Ha ha

Oh and the Seahawks of course are in the superbowl, so the crowds are gettin wild around here.  Seahawk stuff EVERYWHERE.  :)

THE LETTERS FROM HOME WERE GREAT.   Derek was the sweetest, counting down the days till I got home.  I got teary in our Relief Society meeting on Sunday thinking about him.  This lady talked about being 8 years old holding her baby brother and just wanting to forever protect him.  I instnantly thought of little D.  I was 8 when he was born and I got to help change diapers and hold him and love him and play with him.  I have always had a special spot in my heart for him and wanted to just protect him.  It just got me teary, LOL!  Love this little man!

Mom, you asked what to send during my last month...do a package with the pumpkin muffins again!  WE ANNIHILATED THOSE IN ONE DAY!  I swear they were still warm and moist.   We were fasting that day - broke our fast, checked the mail on the way to dinner and just INHALED those.  Good thinking, mom!  LOL!

Love you all!

Sister Wawro

PICTURES:

People LOVE their Seahawks!  :)

We hit our dates!

We met a guy that had a 12th man flag that ALL the players have signed! 

He hasn't missed a game in like 20 years or something.  Crazy!  :)

FAMILY PIC!

The ones on both sides of me are missionaries I trained, and then Sister Oswald is training now too!!

Seahawk shirts...only $13.50 at Target!  :)

 

I have now got Sister Rodda into the 'smash book' frenzy :) ;)
This is what our P-day consisted of!

Funny Videos

I can't believe today starts my last transfer, my last 6 weeks in the mission field.  The time has gone by way too fast. 

This week was a really great week and we saw lots of miracles.  We did lots of tracting and we found some great people.  We found "T" this week, he is in his 30's and has met with missionaries before.  We taught him the restoration and he even said the closing prayer, the first time he ever prayed out loud.  It was awesome!  We also met a lady named "A".  This was the highlight of our week.  She is a single mom of 2 kids, and you could clearly see that she has had a hard life.  She let us right in and we began to teach her the Restoration.  We teach the first principle, that God is our Loving Heavenly Father and she just breaks down.  Through tears in her eyes she says how she hasn't had a father, and neither do her kids, and the fact that they can rely on God as a father to them that loves them, gave her hope.  We weren't even able to get through the rest of our leasson because the spirit directed us to focus solely on her importance as a daughter of God, and His eternal love for her.  We bore our testimonies of how we were guided and directed to visit her at that specific time, and that God knows her and her needs and He sent us to help her.  She just cried the entire time, it was such a powerful lesson.  Sister Rodda was amazing, seriously this was our best lesson together.  With tears in her eyes she bore powerful testimony of God's love.  I was just so proud of her.  It was such a miracle!

So I finished the entire standard works cover to cover, and it was AMAZING so I have decided to read again.  This time I have started with the New Testament.  I have been specifically studying the parables lately.  Christ taught in such a perfect way and he gives such perfect answers to all things.  I just recently read the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.  What a great story of hope.  Although the laborers all came at different times, and worked different hours, even the ones that came "in the eleventh hour" still got the same pay, a penny, that the laborers that worked since the morning, or "first hour."  When I first read this and how those that worked all day were expecting to get a higher pay as they saw those that came last got paid a penny, they were then disappointed when they too only received a penny.  I get their frustration!  I would be a little upset and see it as unfair. Although there can be many interpretations of this meaning, one great meaning I think is that Christ uses this as such a great example of those that are born into the church, they work hard from the beginning, then there are some converts that come along, a little later, but they too get the same reward of eternal life.  The same reward of those who were born with the privilege of having the gospel.  Christ is perfect and His gospel is perfect and He wants everyone to come, with no limitations.  They get the same reward, the Atonement is still for them too.  Also Elder Holland gives a great talk on this, and Christ's compassion on those who only worked for an hour.  They would have been happy for anything, any chance to work and even though they came last, Christ with His compassion paid them too, in full.  There are so many good lessons to learn from all these parables and I look forward to reading them all again and studying them out.  :)

Also I have been studying the life of the Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, since he is the one we are studying this year in Relief Society.  What a great man he was, so humble and kind.  And boy did he love the Book of Mormon.  It was neat reading about how he was called to work with 24 boys in a youth group.  He loved them and taught them, and all 22 stayed active.  A number of years later when he checked on them, the 2 that had fallen away he checked on and helped them back to activity and later performed their temple sealings.  He also had such a love for his country and truly saw America as a chosen land of love and liberty and freedom.  He was asked by President Eisenhower to serve on his cabinet in the position of Secretary of Agriculture for the entire nation.  The best part of this is he was currently also an Apostle at the time, and he began all government meetings with prayer.  Can you imagine the change of difference in our government if every government official began with a prayer?  Inviting The Lord to guide and direct them in the needs of the country?  As I was reading I was feeling so saddened that I didn't even get to know this sweet man I have been studying about.  But then at the very end I read that he died May 30, 1994, so we were on the earth together for 14 days!  :)  But really how blessed are we to have prophets to lead and guide us in these last days.

So next Monday, the 19th, the library is closed and then Tuesday we have a zone conference and will be gone all day so I am not sure when I'll be emailing.  So just letting you know - maybe Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, we'll see.

I hope to work as hard as I can these last few weeks in the field.  We haven't received the transfer text yet, but I am feeling pretty safe given that I am still training Sister Rodda.  :)

Love you all!
Sister Wawro

VIDEOS:

Took a video while in the car wash... being silly.  We got a little carried away and didn't realize the car wash was over..... the guy had to come over and tap on our car for us to move.  It cracked us up!!!!!!!!!!!

#howdypal
#onthedaily

#hellojanene (Mom:  this one cracked me up!!)

PICTURES:

 Our zone!

Being silly in the car wash (see video!  LOL!)

Love this city!

So beautiful!!

#eatinhealthy

A Week of Blessings

Well, I can't even believe it's 2015!  Where did the time go?  I remember when I first got my call letter and I thought, my goodness I will be serving from 2013-2015 that is a LONG time.  But then it just went by so quick!

We had interviews with our mission president this week, and he really is just so great.  He is kind and truly cares about each individual missionary.  I had a great interview with him, and he really lifted me up and made me feel like I am a great missionary, even though I am oftentimes too hard on myself.  Our instruction at interviews was great as well, and really made me want to just sanctify myself.

So that night I prayed to feel the spirit that next day, and as I was exactly exactly obedient in everything I could do, with gratitude and a positive attitude, I would feel blessed.  And that next day was seriously one of the best days I have ever had on my mission!  I tried to do everything to a "T"...exactly out the door on time, talk to everyone, follow EVERY prompting, be gracious in all things, talk about spiritual things.  And guess what, did we find any investigators that day? No.  But did we work harder than ever?  Yes.  And were we happier than ever?  YES.  It was such a great day - that's what missionary work is about.  Although it's fun and great to teach all day and have lots of baptisms, that's not what it's about.  When you are doing what is right, at the end of the night when you kneel down to pray, you just feel accomplished and at peace with yourself and the day and know you truly did serve the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength (D&C 4:2).  I've always tried to be obedient, but when you really try and give your whole self to God that day and focus on what you are doing every moment of the day and how it relates to your purpose "Invite others to Come unto Christ", it's amazing.  How did I not apply this uhhhm...16 months ago?  Lol

On New Years' Eve we had to be in early at 5pm, so we did our weekly planning, then I scrap booked and we watched "Mountain of The Lord.'"  We decided to make a new years resolution of no sweets, since we just got crammed this holiday season... so to have our last sweets-night while we watched the movie, we had a big bowl of popcorn with extra butter, M&M's and Gummy Bears.  :)  We also weren't allowed to go out on New Years' Day either, so we went to Mount Vernon with our district and played volleyball - it was super fun!

A really sweet thing happened this week.  A member cancelled dinner with us, so they gave us money to go out to eat.  We went to Olive Garden - MY FAVE - and I got my favorite soup.  While we are eating, this really sweet young couple with a little baby comes up to our table - the guy puts out his hand and says "Thank you for doing the Lord's work sisters, we just paid for your meal."  I literally dropped my fork and then my mouth and was like 'whaaaaat?!'  It was so sweet!  We graciously said thank you to both of them - it brought tears to our eyes and was just the sweetest thing ever.  Then we were asking our district and describing this couple to them to see who they were, and they were from Mount Vernon - he is a recent convert and she is a non-member taking the lessons!  So sweet!!!  It made me want to work even harder and truly try and DO the Lord's work to the fullest extent possible.

And...FINAL miracle.  We found a new investigator yesterday.  Her name is Savannah and she is 17.  Her dad was on our potentials sheets and said missionaries could stop by.  The family is very religious and open to learning.  We taught her about the Restoration and it went so well at the end she even prayed "help me to know if this is the path I should be on, and if I am on the wrong path in life, show me what is right and I'll follow."  She is great!  We have a return appointment where we are supposed to meet the rest of her family!

Sorry this letter is long, but one more thing.  We went on exchanges this week.  I went to Arlington with Sister Lawson who I came out with.  It was a great exchange, she is serving in a single ward and it is SO FUN to work with young adults.  At one point in the day we were at a red light and she goes, "I think that car in front of us is YSA (Young Single Adults), go talk to them!"  So I jump out of the car and thankfully this car of guys all had their windows rolled down and I was like "Hi! We want to invite you to church!"  Right as I am about to explain that our congregation is from ages 18-30, there the F-bombs go...I think I startled him, it even made him drop his cigarette.  LOL!  But then the light turned green and I gave him a card with the information about church and ran back to the car - it was such an adrenaline rush, I don't think I would have been able to do that at the beginning of my mission.  ha ha

We also taught this YSA from Ghana, his name is Rchlue (rish-loo) and he was AWESOME.  He has a cool story of how he got here - he was just one of 6 out of 300 that won a scholarship from his high school to come to America.  So he is here in college and wants to be a doctor so he can go back to his country and serve his people.  He is so sweet.  So we taught him about the Book of Mormon and I just felt the spirit so strongly about prophets, as we read 1st Nephi Chapter 1.  I can't tell you how many times I have read 1st Nephi 1, but its so great because Lehi is prophesying to Jerusalem to repent or they will be destroyed and they don't listen.  God commands them to leave so they head to the wilderness, and we know from the Old Testament especially Jer. 39 that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon does come, and kills Zedekiah King of Judah, all but one of his sons, destroys the city and takes the Jews captive into Babylon.  So they totally didn't listen and were taken in bondage! This is exactly how prophets are today...they teach us and invite us to repent to keep us from SPIRITUAL BONDAGE so we aren't taken captive by temptation and sin.  And I never even caught that until I was testifying of that to Rchlue!  It's so cool when the spirit tells you something and then you say it and teach yourself too!  It was great.

So yeah - GREAT week!

Love you all!

Sister Wawro

PICTURES:

Another screenshot of our Skype/Facetime visit on Christmas Day (yes, we did both when one program crashed!)

Yummy!

Mom and dad, thank you!  Love the speakers for Christmas!

So I've decided I want to get a fish when I get home!  And I've found the perfect fish bowl too!!

We had to take this online survey for mission stuff and this just CRACKED me up!  "Are you from Utah or outside of Utah?"  Lol!  Like Utah is its own country.  LOL!

These signs are all over Washington.  I think it means no religious people...

This is how i did my hair today... I thought Brit might appreciate this!  LOL

At the library with Sis. Rodda