Nyob zoo,
It has been a good time in Madison so far. I am enjoying it a lot. We are still figuring out how to split the area up since there are 4 Hmong missionaries now. Madison is a really big city and we cover all the surrounding cities, so we haven’t been too worried about it so far. On Wednesday, however, Elder Carlson and I were stopping by one of our potentials in McFarland, which is one of the surrounding cities of Madison. We knocked on the door and they opened the door and let us in. It was a funny surprise to see Elder Vang and Elder Lo sitting on the couch. It was pretty awkward, but also pretty funny. Their family was super nice and pretty interested. We taught the whole Restoration, part of the Plan of Salvation, the Sacrament, and after all of that, they fed us some Hmong stir-fry.
On Saturday, we went to the farmers' market and helped a few of the recent converts and also James and Chong. The farmers' market is really cool. I’ve heard it is the biggest in the country. There are lots of people and we get to talk to a few of them as we help with the flowers. After, they took us out to eat at a place called Sumo which has a Hibachi grill. It was really fun. We also got some sushi. We really are spoiled here in Madison. I don't think I have had to make dinner once since I have been here. Everybody just takes us out to eat or has us over for dinner. It is super awesome.
This week, we had a lesson with our most progressing investigates James and Chong. I think I mentioned this last week, but I will mention it again. James is Kelly's son and Chong is James wife. They are super nice. They fed us some Hmong food and after, we shared a really good lesson with them. We read the whole chapter of Alma 22 with them and after we focused on 4 verses, verses 15-18. My favorite 2 verses in this chapter are verse 15 and verse 18. The King in verse 15 says he will give up all of his kingdom and all that he possesses to have the joys of the gospel and then in verse 18 he says that we will give up all his sins to know God.
I thought this was very cool. It is a very good reflector for me to think about - how important is the gospel to me? What would I give up to have it in my life? Am I doing all that I can to have a relationship with God? Is the gospel a priority in my life? I know this gospel is true and I know that as we put God first in our lives we will find more purpose and more happiness in life. We are so blessed to have it in our lives and I hope it is a priority in all our lives and if it isn’t, I hope that you will make it a priority.
Love,
Elder Rich
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| Dinner at Mai's again |
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| We took pictures by the capitol |
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| Dinner with James and Chong after the market. Kelly was there too |
