August 22, MTC week 3

Nyob Zoo

 Thanks for all the emails and packages throughout this week. After being here for 3 weeks I have gotten pretty accustomed to how things work around here. There are really only 3 days of the week in the MTC.  There is Day, Sunday, and P-Day.  Not a lot happens because all the days are pretty similar.  Something I did learn this week though is that you have to give it all you’ve got. You have to give it 100% all the time.  The first 2 weeks I would give it 97% and wonder why I wasn’t doing all that great learning the language compared to everyone else.  But I know that if I give it my all every day, Heavenly Father will make up the rest. It's still a struggle, but I found out today, it is the 3rd hardest language to learn in the  MTC out of the 56 languages so that is pretty

humbling. The hardest to learn is Icelandic, 2nd is English, then Hmong. But nobody really learns English here, so really the 2nd hardest. This past week I have been able to say my prayers 70% in Hmong which is pretty awesome.  Also, my companion and I taught our 2nd investigator this week for the first time.  His name is Lis Xyoog.  We taught him without using our language books and everything was off memory. My companion probably said 70% of the lesson, but it was still pretty cool to see all that we have learned in 3 weeks. 

I also think how crazy it is how close you can become with your district in 3 weeks.  We are a big family and we have so much fun together.  They are all brothers and I love them.  This week the Hmong plague started which is not good.  It is the scariest thing ever.  Basically it is a throat infection that is similar to Strep Throat, but it is worse.  So far 3 people in my district have gotten it and no one else so far has gotten it and thus why it is called the Hmong Plague.  No one wants it because it makes your throat swell up super bad and also it hurts so bad you can not eat. The guy in my district who got it first hasn't eaten anything but ice cream the past 3 days. So it is pretty sketchy. We all walk around covering our mouths because no one wants to get it.  It has kind of turned into a game in a way and is pretty hilarious. It is supposed to be contagious for 14 days, so more than likely I will get, but I hope not.

Another thing that happened this week is my mom sent the 3 new bags of Lays chips for 2017. The 3 bags were Fried Green Tomato, Crispy Taco, and Everything Bagel.  I had most of the people on my floor try the chips and the one that was the most popular for sure was the Crispy Taco.  It wasn't the best out of the 3 in my opinion, but it was the most realistic for sure.  It for sure is the weirdest bag of chips I have ever had in my life.  You can literally taste the shell, the meat, and the lettuce.  It was so bizarre.  Every bite was like eating a Taco Bell taco.  If you haven't tried it yet, I definitely recommend trying them.  It's a life changing bag of chips.

We got to do our first TRC on Saturday, which I loved.  Basically we just taught members in Hmong, but it was so much better than teacher investigators because they already know the gospel.  It wasn't really a lesson, but we just had a conversation about the gospel.  Super cool experience.  I also got to do the tours again this week which is always something I love. I love talking to all the people and I always run into quite a few people I know which is awesome.  One last thing -  Brother Ferguson, who is one of my teachers, wrote a quote on the board during class that I really liked. It says, "An average missionary serves for himself.  A great missionary serves out of the love for others.  And the best missionary serves out of the love for God." I thought this quote was super awesome.  I miss all of you guys and hope you all have an awesome week.

Talk to you all in a week!

Love,

Elder Rich

The pictures are as follows: 1- The plague, 2- My classroom during the plague, 3- My roommates and I doing laundry, 4- Me helping with the tours, 5 & 6- and when I saw Jackson's fam/Landon's fam while I was playing ball.

We have literally the smallest classroom for 13 people

Elders Tarone, Lamb, Seims, Vang, Rich

Gardner and Barclay kids

Jackson's parents - it was so fun to see them

Aug 15 - MTC week 2

Nyob zoo

Thanks for all the letters and packages this week. I love reading all the emails throughout the week and hopefully, I will have time to respond to all of you today. 

This week has been awesome. It is crazy how much better this week was than the last week. The first week was so long and frustrating, but this week just flew by and I had a blast. On Wednesday I had the opportunity to help with the MTC tour which was really awesome. The MTC tours are really fun and I loved talking to all the people. I ran into quite a few people I knew so that was fun. I am pretty sure we will help with the tours once a week till the tours end which I am pretty excited about. 

This past week was a blast. It is still a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. We got 2 new elders in our district so now there are 15 of us, but they aren't speaking Hmong they are going to speak Laotian. All the elders in my district are super cool guys, but the people in our zone that are on our floor are crazy. It is probably because they have been here 7 weeks. Every morning a guy in my zone, who is going to Vietnam, sings at the top of his lungs a Patriotic song like America the Beautiful to wake us all up which is really hilarious. They are some of the craziest and funny people I have ever met. 

This week as a joke I said we should do story time and it kind of caught on as a tradition. Every night we all gather in our residence and we have one elder in our district tell us a story about their past. Either something embarrassing, dumb, funny or a combination of all 3 sometimes. My district is absolutely crazy, but we are all family. Elder Vang and I also gave everyone in our district spirit animals and also thought of animals in movies that fit their personality. Some of them are pretty hilarious. 

 When I first got here I didn't think I would run into anyone I know, but I have run into quite a few people I know which is fun. My cousin Reese is on the same floor as me, so I see him all the time and Jackson I see every so often at dinner. Me and Jackson are going to go play ball together later today which will be super sick. 

One of the guys I have got to know pretty well throughout this week is Elder Tarone. He is from Las Vegas and is a way, cool guy. He is in my room but isn't my companion. He is my companion for everything not gospel related haha. We go on splits together and play basketball together every day which is way fun. There are some pretty competitive sports here. I have really enjoyed the volleyball and basketball. As well, my district played kickball against the Thai district who are in my zone and it was hilarious because it was the most competitive kickball game ever. There was a lot on the line because they couldn't lose to the new elders. There was a lot of trash talking and a lot of cheating by their part, but we still whooped them so it was all good.

The language is coming along. It still is really hard and I am not the fastest learner compared to everyone else, but that is okay. I can almost say my prayers in Hmong which is pretty sick. I found out the other day that we actually have 9 tones instead of 8 which is awesome too (Not) haha. Our first investigator eventually became our teacher which was pretty cool as well as another guy. So we now have 3 teachers. Brother Gardiner, Brother Lee, and Brother Ferguson. 

I'll just end by telling a funny story:

I was talking to Elder McArthur while we were eating. Somehow we got to the conversation of who is your favorite sports teams. He said that his favorite football team was the Colts and we instantly bonded over that because that is my favorite team too. He told me a story which I thought was hilarious. He said the day he was getting dropped off at the MTC he went out to eat right before. His family ended up going to Red Robin. He said he was holding his emotions in real well. He then looked up at the TV and saw that ESPN was showing the Colts highlights from the last year. He then started to cry because he realized he wouldn't be able to watch football or watch the Colts play for 2 years. His whole family thought that he was crying because he was going to see his family for 2 years. His family all started crying too and gave him hugs, but that wasn't even why he was crying. I just thought that story was hilarious because I could totally relate.

Anyways I miss you all and hope to hear from you all. I love reading all your emails throughout the week. Also, the picture with the 5 people walking are all the people in my room and the dude with the glasses is Elder Tarone. 

Love Elder Rich

Austin's roommates.  They are all going to Wisconsin together Elders: Tarone, Lamb, Rich, Vang, Seims
along with Elder Gibbons ( blonde/glasses pictured below in front of Austin.)

Aug 8 - 1st letter from the MTC

Nyob Zoo (Hello)

How are all of you doing? I sure do miss you all. Thanks for all the letters and emails this week. 

I thought the transition from regular life to missionary life would be a lot harder, but it wasn't bad at all. It actually went quite smoothly. Missionary life is like a roller coaster. It has a lot of ups and downs. Some days are just the best day ever and then some are the hardest. I feel like a lot of people don't truly appreciate what missionaries do because everyone serves missions now days. I for sure have gained a greater appreciation of missionaries and missionary work over the past week because it is not easy. 

In my district there are 13 Elders and no sisters. We all arrived the same day and all are speaking Hmong. 4 are going to Minnesota, 3 to California, and 6 are going to Wisconsin. All of the Elders are super cool guys. Our district is already pretty close. We do everything together. We eat together as a district, work out together, etc. In my room there are 5 total people. Me, Elder Lamb (My companion), Elder Tarone who is from Vegas, Elder Seims who is from Alaska, and Elder Vang who is kinda fluent in Hmong is from Fresno. 

When I arrived at the MTC we went straight to class. My teacher is Brother Gardiner. He only speaks in Hmong. No English. I think over this week he might have said less than 50 words in English. It is a lot of guessing and hand signals to figure out what he is saying. A lot of people are probably wondering what the language is like and how is it going. To be honest, it is the hardest and most frustrating thing I have done in my entire life. The alphabet is all the same letters, but most of them make different sounds than what they do in English. For example, the X makes the S sound, R makes the D sound, etc and also the 8 tones. The language really humbles you because I know for sure that I can not do it by myself. I pray so much throughout the day to have comfort, patience, and help from my savior Jesus Christ. I know I can't do it without him. I even joined the MTC choir to help my tones. I don't even like choir. You know the language is hard when I would join the choir to help with my tones. My Papa would be so proud. 

This next part is a story that I thought was pretty cool:

So Friday it was my 3rd day. I knew very little of the language and I was pretty frustrated with my self because I wasn't getting it at all. I am one of the slower learners compared to the other Elders. That Friday we taught our first investigator completely in Hmong and it did not go well at all. I literally couldn't say anything and my companion literally said everything. I was so mad at myself and Heavenly Father. I thought why am I even here? This language is too hard and I will never learn it. It seems impossible and I just wanted to give up. After the 6 hours of language class. I was so angry and overwhelmed. I thought it would be so much easier to just give up and go home. I felt hopeless and like no one cared about me. Not even Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ. When I got back to the room I wanted to email home so bad and say mom I am coming home. I was so frustrated with myself. 

When we got back to the room after, I asked for a priesthood blessing. As well did the rest of the people in my room. We took turns giving each other priesthood blessings. We all felt the spirit so strongly. Even so we all started crying. Letting out all of our frustrations for the day and as well the spirit was stronger than I ever felt before.The spirit testified to all of us that everything would be okay. We felt our heavenly father's love and comfort.The next few days were much easier. The first few days were so hard, but I want to testify that it does get easier. Just stick with it and keep working hard.

I want to end with my testimony that our Heavenly Father loves us and cares for us. He knows us by name and only wants the best for us. He knows our struggles and trials. He knows how to help us, but he can't help us if we don't ask. That is one thing I have really learned throughout this past week is to pray. When I pray, I know that Heavenly Father will answer my prayers and help with whatever I may need. The MTC is such an awesome experience. It isn't always easy, but it is so rewarding. My testimony has grown so much in this past week and also my relationship with the savior. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Heavenly Father for 2 years. I know all my struggles will be worth it in the end. I honestly think if I didn't get such a strong confirmation when I opened my mission call, I would have sent that email. I know that this is where I am supposed to be and the Hmong people are waiting for me to bring this glorious gospel to them. I love this gospel with all my heart and can't wait to share it with the Hmong people.

I love you guys and I love my family!

Sib Ntsib Ntau (Goodbye)

Hlub (love) Elder Rich

P.S. I'll do a little of my language so if you guys want to try it out haha. 

Kuv puab hais tias Yesux Khetos hlub koj. ( I know that Jesus Christ loves you)

The last letter of the word are the tone you have to say it in. 

In English it would sound like Goo pua hi daya Yaysoo Kaytaw hlu gaw. 

I don't want to include the tones because that is to complex. 

Austin and his companion, Elder Lamb

Elder Rich's district

All the Hmong Elders getting their Hmong Books of Mormon

While helping with the MTC tour, Austin ran into his friend, Lexi Sorensen.
She was awesome enough to send me the photo.

Another photo of Austin and his cousin, Reese.  My favorite photo so far.

August 2: Today is the day - plus 2 surprises

Austin getting ready to load up his suitcases

Lunch at Jimmy John's before the MTC

Family Selfie while waiting in line at the MTC.

Sunglasses on ready to hide tears

Austin seemed to come to the MTC with a plan.  He told me all morning he didn't want to cry.  So we got a quick family photo and he grabbed his bags and took off.  I was glad he at least turned around and gave us a little salute.  It made goodbye a little easier on all of us to not draw out goodbye. 

No tears because he left so quickly.

1st email about 1 hour after we dropped him off:

Hello family. It has been pretty crazy so far. My escort was cool. He went to Corner Canyon. He knew the Sampson's and Fillmore's. He played volleyball at corner so he knew them from that. Once I got in line to get my badge and the guy right behind me - I asked where he was going and he is going to Wisconsin too and is speaking Hmong. Funny thing is he is in my room too. The next line I went to I talked to another guy and he was from Rupert Idaho. I don't remember his name, but I think he said that Grandma Criss and the Schow's were in his ward. Something like that.

I then went to class for 15 minutes before I am writing this. Our teacher only spoke Hmong and refuses to speak English. I will say that the language is the craziest thing I have ever heard/spoke. A lot of the letters mean completely different things. Papa was right when he said we sing when we talk. It is very weird. The language is really, really, really, hard, but so far I think it is pretty fun to learn. The teacher is already making us speak and if we say it wrong we have to keep saying it until we say right. 

Well anyways I love you guys and I asked one of the missionaries that has been here for 4 weeks and he said his P day is Tuesday so I think mine will be that day too. 

Thursday August 3: Reese's P day - and the BEST surprise - he ran into Austin and sent a picture home.  Happy happy!!!

Two days later: Surprise #2

My aunt Linda's good friend Merri, who's son Connor played basketball with Austin in middle school, sent me the following text:

"Meanwhile - on the MTC tour, look who we ran into in the cafeteria!! So fun! He looks great!!"

It made my whole day!!

August 1 - Austin's last day

Today was Ian's birthday which made this day a little easier.  It was a very emotional day for Austin, but thankfully we were pretty busy.

Birthday breakfast at Penny Ann's Cafe, plus shopping, and golf with Ian

Getting his missionary haircut

Indian food at Saffron Valley

Pictures from his setting apart as a full-time missionary.  Very sweet and emotional evening.

Austin's last 2 weeks

Apparently, Austin likes to eat out because that comprised of most of his activities his last two weeks home.  We missed a few pictures, including our Bishop, Scott Hulet, and his wife taking Austin, Greg, and Kristi to the Salt Lake temple and The Roof, lunch with Uncle Ryan at Buffalo Wild Wings, and Tucano's with Jesse Clark and Collin.

Cupbop

Wild Zucchini Grill

Take out 5 Guys and Costa Vida at Ian's fruit stand

Market Street Grill

Sushi at Saba

Lucky 13 burgers to go and a visit with Emma in the hospital

Temple day with Papa, Thai food, and golf

More sushi - Tsunami - with Jace and Hunter

La Caille with Chuck

Olive Garden and Wingers to go for a family goodbye party

Penny Ann's Cafe - Ian's birthday

Swig one last time

July 23: Austin's farewell lunch

Austin had a great turnout for his farewell address and luncheon on a very busy weekend. He had so many friends and family that came to show their support.  We are so grateful for all of you and the influence you have had in helping to prepare Austin for his mission.