Oct 15 - Another transfer already? a new companion but staying in Madison!

This week is transfers. It is weird to say because I feel like I just got to Madison last week. Well anyway, we got the transfer text today and the bad news is that Elder Carlson is leaving, but good news that I am not leaving. 5 weeks was very fast and not very long to be with such an awesome companion like Elder Carlson. My new companion is Elder Giddings who was in my MTC district so I am super, super pumped. I have wanted to serve with all the Elders in my MTC group and now I get to serve with another awesome companion, Elder Giddings.  I only have one more MTC buddy left to look forward to. Let's just say this transfer is gonna be awesome!

This past week we went to a super nice sushi place called Red. It is in downtown Madison and it is super good. It is one of the nicest Sushi places in Madison. Our Zone Leaders took us out so that was awesome. Sushi is always awesome. Quick funny story - we were eating and Elder Carlson being his awesome self,  boasted me up way too much. He was saying how I could eat anything spicy and that it doesn’t phase me at all. Being 4 Elders you can probably guess what we did next. The only spicy thing in a sushi place is Wasabi, so after being boasted up this much, I had to prove myself haha.  I grabbed the whole thing of Wasabi which was about a nickel size amount and put it in my mouth and swallowed it. Man, that stuff is spicy. The nose burn was brutal, but the worst part is the taste. Worst thing I ever tasted in my life. Pretty funny though.

This week I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Lo. That was fun. I have never been on exchanges with another Hmong Elder so that was awesome. We worked really hard and met a lot of people. One family that seems really solid. Pretty exciting. 

This week we went to the Vang pre-New Years party. Lots of Hmong people, but like most Hmong people, they were all super drunk. We talked to a few people including Elder Lo's cousins. We had a couple of funny encounters with a couple drunk people and it was pretty hilarious. I am glad that I have a knowledge of the Word of Wisdom because drugs and alcohol make you do weird things haha. 

At church on Sunday, one of the older Hmong guys approached me and told me he wanted me to translate for him for priesthood. I don't think he asked me because he wanted my translating but just wanted to help me out. It was a fun 45 mins of translation. It was more of a conversation and discussion between him and me about the lesson which was fun. And of course, he corrected me a bunch which I appreciated. I still have a lot to improve, but I have also come a long way. 

This past week has been a harder one for me. My brother, Ian, just recently entered the MTC so lots of my thoughts were turned to my family this week. I am excited for my brother and the great things that he will do, but I also miss my family a lot. It has been 14 1/2 months which is crazy. It is a long time and may seem hard in the moment, but in the broader picture, it isn't honestly that long and it isn't honestly that hard. Some days I may think it is a sacrifice for what I am doing, but it really is not. I have the opportunity to bring others eternal happiness and not only that but bless my family. I have never really taken the time to see the things Heavenly Father has blessed my family with since I have been away, but this past week I did. First off, I have seen my brother make the decision to serve a mission and not only that but give his all and serve faithfully. I have seen my sister Alli gain more of a desire to read her scriptures and by doing so come closer to her Father in Heaven. I have seen my sister Jill grow her faith by giving a talk in sacrament and also fast for 21 hours and afterward email me saying that she wants to do a full 24 hour fast next month. I mean what 12-year-old does that? It is so cool. I have seen my sister Sadie try more to choose the right. These may seem little, but to me, these are all testimony builders of the importance of what I am doing and that I need to do my best every day to share this gospel. I am grateful for this gospel. I am grateful for it changing me into a better person. I am grateful for being able to learn from my younger siblings examples and from their examples, I desire to be a greater missionary.

Love you all, 

Elder Rich 

It's starting to look like Fall

This past week we had our Halloween party. It was really fun. It was Harry Potter themed.
We had piñatas, truck or treating, and even had kids throw pies at the bishop.
It was a fun party, but it was pretty cold. 

We wore mustaches

Elder Carlson saying bye to Mai's family

Oct 8 - I am grateful for conference

Well, it is finally October here in Wisconsin and it definitely is starting to feel like it. It is getting colder and colder every week. It is almost winter :(

This week we were really, really busy. It is a good thing to be busy, but we didn't have a whole lot of time to find new people because of other things we had to do. With the time we did have, we were able to talk with 2 Niam Neebs. A Niam Neeb is a female Shaman. I guess you could compare it kinda of to a Bishop or other leader in our church. They are the people that do the rituals and all the crazy stuff in the Shaman religion. It was fun to talk with them and learn a little more of their religion. 

This week we went to Mai’s as usual. She is so awesome and is such a good missionary. She told us all these things that she has been doing. First, she invited one of her friends over that same day so we talked a little with her. Second, she talked to one of her friends at work and talked about church. That friend is now interested in coming to church and seeing how things are. Third, she has a couple friends that she has been talking with. We are going to go to their church and hopefully, they will go with us to our church too. And last, she talked to her husband Alex about Hmong conference which is the conference for all the Hmong members in Wisconsin. The first time she asked him if he wanted to go he said he didn't want to, but a couple days later he said that he changed his mind and wanted to go, so that was really cool. Mai is awesome and it is cool to see her desire to share her testimony with others.

Saturday we watched conference with a Hmong family named the Changs. We watched the first session and after we had some great Hmong food. They stuffed us with a lot of food. The second session was not as good, well… I assume it was really good, but we all fell asleep. Let me defend myself real quick haha. Hmong people give us so much food and we were stuffed and they had the softest couch ever too. That is not even fair. Us 4 missionaries tried our best to stay awake, but we all failed. Game over. The kids thought it was hilarious and video recorded us.

Sunday we watched conference at the church. A lot of Hmong members came and watched it at the church including 5 of the recent converts and Mai’s husband Alex. In between the sessions, we had some great Hmong food again, but luckily this time we weren't on the comfiest couch in the world. We were on the church benches which, BTW are super uncomfortable, so that day was a win. We all stayed awake.

All jokes aside - I really enjoyed conference. My favorite talk was definitely Russel M. Nelson’s talk. Ever since I was little I always have loved hearing the prophet's words. I know he is a prophet and I know he is an inspired man of God. He talked about the name adjustment and focus on calling the church by the correct name. I thought there was such power in this. Our church isn't Mormon’s church, it isn't the saints’ church, but it is Christ’s church. And with that, we as members (me included) need to call it by the correct name. What a blessing to know that our church is Christ’s church and that he leads this church. That we have a modern-day prophet. I am grateful.  

Have a great week,

Elder Rich

We waited all day to get pictures from some members from conference but were unable to get them today.  So the pictures I have.  

Had the craziest sandwich. Similar to the McDonald's sandwich everyone makes but this was a 2.0.  Double Cheeseburger from 5 Guys and put a Chick Fila sandwich on it.  It was good but so bad for me. I've always wanted to try it. I need to exercise more haha

Oct 1 - Choose you this day whom you will serve

Nyob zoo, 

Time is flying by so fast. This upcoming week will be my 14th-month mark on my mission and also my 1-year mark for being in Wisconsin. Where does time go? 

On Monday night we went out to eat with Kelly and Shaun at a Thai restaurant called Sa Bai Thong. Really good food and it was really fun to spend time with them. Also, later in the week, Kelly took us to a different Thai restaurant. Like I said last week, we really are spoiled here!

Saturday morning we played some football and frisbee with the young men. It was fun to hang out with the youth and also to play Frisbee again. That was really fun. One of the Hmong youth plays Frisbee for his high school team. This ward is awesome and there are some awesome youth in this ward, especially the Hmong ones. They have such strong testimonies and are such great examples to me. 

The coolest thing this week, we went over to Mai’s house. Her husband asked us to come help him with some things around the house. So we went and after, we were surprised that he had prepared a whole meal for us. We went inside and ate steak, potatoes, asparagus, corn, and he even made a cake for us. It was pretty cool, especially since it was just him because his family was out of town. It has been cool to see him change since I was here the first time. The first time I was here, he wasn't going to any church and all he wanted to do was bash with us. Over this past year, he has changed and grown so much from the gospel. His wife has been a super good example of what the gospel can do and he has seen his wife change and that has affected him. Now he is going to church every week and has changed so much. We had a whole meal with him and he didn't even bash with us. We just had a friendly conversation and at the end, he even gave a heartfelt thanks to us and for what we do. He said that we helped him to realize that he was off the path and he needed to put God as the priority in life again. Even if he isn’t going to our church at the moment, it is really big progress. It is cool to see how the church can affect everyone - including nonmembers. His heart has opened so much and he really respects us now. He even called us family. One day he will be a great member. I know that will happen one day, but it is gonna be a slower process. Nonetheless very exciting. 

This week in my personal study I had a couple of verses in Joshua that really stuck out to me. 

14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

We all have those "other Gods" in our life that we "worship". Whether that be our phones, sports teams, TV, or whatever, it is important that we serve God and put him first in our lives. 

Also quick shout out to my little brother Ian. He had his farewell talk yesterday and I heard that he did great. He is heading in less than 10 days and I am excited for him and the things that he will do. He is gonna do awesome. Love you bro! 

Have a great week,

Elder Rich

Picture by the lake

Dinner with Kelly and Shaun

Sept 24 - How important is the gospel in my life?

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 

Dinner at Mai's again

We took pictures by the capitol 

Dinner with James and Chong after the market.  Kelly was there too

Sept 17 - 1st week back in Madison and it's good to be back!!

This week felt like a dream. We have been joking that we are gonna wake up and not be in Madison anymore. I am glad it is reality because it has been so much fun. My companion, Elder Carlson, is super awesome and we get along super super well, the ward is awesome, and Madison is such a cool city - plus they had free Chick-fil-A all week. Let's just say it is good to be back. 

On Wednesday we went and visited Mai and Iris who are recent converts. They were only expecting 2 missionaries, but it was a fun surprise to have 4 show up. We made egg rolls with them which was fun. The egg rolls looked a little "different" so the kids laughed at them. Even though they looked a little different they tasted really good. Anyway, they are both doing super well. Mai has been reading the Book of Mormon every day and just recently finished 3rd Nephi. It is cool to hear her share her testimony with us and the power of the Book of Mormon in her life. They are both doing super good.

Thursday we visited Kelly and Shaun who are also recent concerts. They both are doing super awesome too. They are both very busy with work and farmers market. It was super fun to talk with them again. They are super funny. It was a lot fun more fun this time because I could actually talk to them and understand most of what they said compared to when I first was here. They were both super happy that I came back.

On Friday we had volleyball night. We had a super good turnout - around 30 people that came. It was super fun. 

On Saturday we went downtown to the farmer’s market. Kelly and Shaun sell flowers. Also, a couple of our Investigators, Chong and James, sell flowers too. James is Kelly's son and Chong is Kelly's daughter in law. Anyway, we went down there with the other set of Hmong Elders and helped them. Elder Vang and Elder Carlson helped James and Chong and Elder Lo and I went and helped Kelly. It was a lot of fun. It was also the day of the BYU VS Wisconsin football game. Lots of BYU fans that were at the farmers market so it was fun to say hi to lots of members. They all thought they were gonna get wrecked against Wisconsin, but I guess Miracles happen because BYU won. So crazy! 

Overall this week has been awesome. I am so blessed to be able to be in Madison at this time. The work is going extremely well and the ward is super hyped because it is the first time a ward has ever had 2 sets of Hmong missionaries. Everybody is wanting to share the gospel even more than they already did. It is so awesome. We received 5 member referrals this week and we didn't even ask - they just said they had some people they wanted us to stop by. It is an exciting time to be in Madison. I am excited to be here and excited to be a part of this work. 

Love, 

Elder Rich 

Last P-day in Appleton and we had a huge nerf gun war

goodbye Appleton Zone elders

Shaun

Kelly

Mai and her girls

Made egg rolls with Mai

Flowers at the farmer's market

Sept 10 - It's transfer week again...and I'm headed back to Madison!!!!

Nyob zoo,

This week is transfers. After 2 transfers in Appleton with Elder Parker, I am sad to say that Elder Parker and I will not be together anymore. It has been the hardest 2 transfers of my mission, but also the 2 greatest transfers because I have learned the most these past 2 transfers. I have learned a lot from Elder Parker and will always be grateful for his example to me. He will be missed, but I know the Lord has greater plans for us both. So... I am going back to where I started my mission. Back to Madison. I am so hyped. Madison is my favorite area and I am excited to see all the people again. I will be serving with Elder Carlson who has been out for 11 months - the same time as Elder Parker. I am super excited to serve with him. I have met him a few times and he is super cool. Also, Madison will have 2 sets of Hmong missionaries. Elder Cheemeng Vang and Elder Lo will both serve in the ward too. It is gonna be a good time. 

This week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Humphries who is my District Leader. Man, that was a blast. He is super fun to be with. We ended up having the whole day to find because our lesson for the day got moved to a different day. It was pretty nice because Hmong work is all polk tracting, but in the English area, we were able to knock on any of the doors we wanted which was pretty nice. Overall it was a good day. We were able to find a few potentials for their area. 

We had a lesson with one of our Investigators Ntxhais Xyooj (Sai Xiong). She has come to church 6 times and has a really strong desire to learn more about church and God. We were able to teach her the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we talked a little about baptism and she talked about how that is something that she wants to do, but the sad thing is she is moving to Michigan for an unknown amount of time. We will miss her and hopefully, she comes back soon. She has so much faith and trust in God, it's incredible.

Our time for church changed from 11:30 to 9. So this week we had about half the Hmong members show up at 9 and the other half showed up at 11:30. So this week we translated two sacrament meetings. Afterward, my brain was fried, but it was all good because after church we went to Yami’s house. My mom would be proud because I made Pad Thai all by myself and by the way - it was super good. We also made eggrolls and Hmong lettuce wraps. I also had Hnyuv Nyuj, which is just cow intestine. I thought it was gonna be nasty, but it was actually not bad. Fun day! 

This week I have been studying a lot about prayer, and as I was thinking about this, I thought about gratitude. We really have so much to be grateful for. God has blessed us with so much and we could pray forever in gratitude for our many blessings. It is sometimes easy to forget the little things that we already have like being able to see, food, and our families. It is so much easier to focus on what we don't have and be mad or sad about what we don't have, but in reality, we already have been given so much and we just need to remember what we already do have. Gratitude is such an important aspect of our lives because when we are grateful we are happy. I know this to be true and I invite you guys to choose to be grateful and by so doing choose to be happy. 

Have a great week,

Elder Rich

Appleton district

My Pad Thai

Yami...I am pretty sad to leave.  She is awesome!

Hnyuv Nyuj (cow intestine)

 Last P-day, we went to High Cliff State Park.  We hiked and climbed this huge tower

Sept 3 - Nothing is better than sharing the gospel

For some reason that past few weeks it has rained A LOT!  So much rain that there has been some flooding. One of the days we were basically driving in a river - it felt like, haha. The rain has made it a little harder to do the work, but we do what we can!

This week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with one of my Zone Leaders Elder Soffe. He is super awesome and really fun to serve with. He and I worked in the Hmong area and it was a really good time. We knocked a lot of doors and met some cool people. At the end of the night, Elder Soffe and I went out to this Spanish restaurant since he is a Spanish speaking missionary and we treated ourselves to some way good Spanish food pupusas, tortas, and churros. It was really good. 

Also, this week we had volleyball night. It is our 3rd week doing it and every week we get more and more people, which is really fun. All of us missionaries have been inviting people to come and this week we had around 15 people come which was pretty good and even a few Hmong people. This was the first week that a Hmong person came and Elder Parker and I were pretty excited. Well the first 5 seconds of us playing, someone set it and I spiked it and it hit the Hmong girl right in the face. I felt so bad. We finally got someone to come and the first 5 seconds, I spiked it at her face. Not a good way to get people to like us missionaries haha. 

My favorite day this week was Saturday. We went down to Oshkosh which is a city about 30 mins from Appleton because there was a huge Hmong gathering. One of the biggest of the year. Hmong people came from all over - Wisconsin, Minnesota, and even some from California. They had sports teams playing, pageants, Hmong dance teams, booths to buy things, food, and lots of other things. It was really fun and really cool to see a lot of the Hmong culture. There were 8 Hmong missionaries there which was really fun. I also ran into a lot of people that I knew. The bright side of being in so many areas is that you know a lot of people. Saw lots of members, investigators, and other people I knew. I even saw Mai and her daughter, Iris, who are 2 recent converts from Madison. That was a fun surprise to run into them. Overall it was a super fun day! 

This week I hit my 13-month mark which is ridiculous. Time really does fly when you are having a good time and nothing is better than sharing the gospel, especially to people as awesome as the Hmong people. I am very blessed and very grateful for this time. 

Love, 

Elder Rich

Lots of pictures from the Hmong Tournament and festival in Oshkosh

The tie is a Hmong tie that tells part of the Hmong story. It is pretty cool.

Hmong missionaries who were able to attend the festival

Mai and her girls

Driving in Wisconsin rain