June 24: Last transfer!

Nyob zoo os,

Good news I am staying in Milwaukee for my last transfer. Crazy to think this is going to be my last transfer. These past 2 years have gone by way too fast. I am going to for sure make the most of the last 6 weeks I have. It is going to be a fun transfer for sure. My new companion is Elder Giddings. We served together back in Madison so it's going to be a blast together. 

This past week nothing too eventful happened, but it was still a really good week! We finished the last exchanges for the zone for the transfer. Good time with Elder Hansen in the Hmong area and another fun day with Elder Conlin in the Milwaukee area. It's a good feeling to have all 8 of those done because I am pretty tired after fitting all the things we are supposed to fit in 6 weeks all squeezed into a short 5 week transfer. I am excited for this upcoming transfer! It is going to be a blast! I am excited to give it all I have for 6 more weeks!

Thought of the week, Joseph Smith said, “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God.” As we come to know God, we begin to really know ourselves and our potential. These two things cannot be separated. Joseph Smith taught, “If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.” As we come to know God—and consequently ourselves—better, we will see more clearly and understand more deeply what it means to be His sons and daughters. We will start to glimpse the profound fact that we have divine DNA within us as well as God’s transcendent promise that we can receive and possess all that He has and is.

Love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week, 

Elder Rich

P-day at the beach this morning. We just threw rocks into the water mostly,
but I did put my feet in the water - it was really cold!

We toured the Milwaukee Bucks stadium today for P-day.

Easily my favorite pday ever

June 17: Be happy! Be positive!

Nyob zoo os,

Monday night we had a lesson with Vince. He is a super cool guy! He was so impressed that we could speak Hmong. After I said the prayer in Hmong he was like "Wow that was freaking awesome!" He was very emphatic about how cool he thought it was. He does have quite the mouth and may or may not have changed half of those words to other words haha, but hey we can work on that haha. 

We taught him about the Restoration and The Book of Mormon. He was super excited to hear about all of that. He said he has been to lots of churches, but still feel likes there is something missing and hasn't been satisfied with any of the churches he has been to. He is sincerely looking for truth and is willing to put in the effort and time to find it. I am super pumped to continue to teach him. 

Wednesday we had exchanges with the APs. I was with Elder Winborg in the Hmong area. We met a lot of Hmong people which was fun to be able to practice my Hmong. We accidentally knocked into one of the ladies we are teaching named Ze. I had a really good conversation with her. She speaks Green Hmong so I was able to have a full 30 min plus conversation with her in Green Hmong which was really cool. When I first started learning Green Hmong I had to translate between White to Green - kinda like when I first listened to White Hmong I would translate White Hmong to English, but now I just listen to it without translating. And fairly well too. It's pretty cool to see the gift of tongues in action! 

We also had another lesson with Ee. She fed us Hmong food which was really good food and also good for us to have a little time to get to know her a better. For our lesson, we talked to her about prayer. It was a really good lesson. We testified of the blessings of prayer and blessings of the Book of Mormon to help her in her life. 

Sunday we had church. We had Ze come to church which was super sweet. It was a really good Sunday for her to come. All the talks in sacrament were on the Restoration and Sunday school we read in the Book of Mormon from 3rd Nephi 11 when Jesus Christ comes to the Americas. She was like "That is the first time I ever heard about this before." I think she really enjoyed church and learned a lot of good stuff. So that is exciting. 

These past few weeks we have had a ton of cool miracles happen. Honestly so many that I can't even count them every day. It's been really cool to see how much we have been blessed in the work and with the people we are teaching. I think a lot of the success and miracles we have seen have happened because of our attitudes. No matter what happens we are smiling, laughing, and loving doing what we are doing. I think this is a really important principle. I don't think we realize how much of an impact our minds and attitudes can have towards our success and mental health. I have felt discouraged plenty on my mission and let me tell you from my experience that discouragement, negativity, and lack of faith will profit you nothing. The only one that profits is Satan because when we are discouraged, negative, and don't have faith in ourselves or the things we do we can't expect to do or to accomplish anything. We can honestly do anything we put our minds to as we believe in ourselves and have faith in God. 

"The mind is a powerful place and what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way. Just think about it for a second if you look at your face every day when you get up and think you'll never be great, you'll never be great. Not because you're not, but the hate will always find a way to cut you up and murder your faith."-NF

Don't doubt the power and the blessings that can come into your lives because of your positivity and faith. Most of the things we go through in our lives and who we become are based on our attitudes and how we decide to face the hard times. Be happy and be positive! No better way to live a happy life!

Love, 

Elder Rich 

Kelly had a day off last week so she literally drove an hour to come say hi.
We were only able to see her for about 45 minutes  then she drove back.
She is awesome. 

Happy Father's Day

Ze at church. I think it's super funny cause she is frowning in the picture that we are taller than her,
but the one we are shorter, she is smiling 

Pho with Elder Bird

June 10: Answer to prayers

Nyob zoo os,

Tuesday and Wednesday we had exchanges. I was in the Hmong area with Elder Desmond. We decided to go get some Hmong food at a big Hmong store called Phongsovan. We also brought along a couple of Elders to go out to eat with us. We got some Eggrolls which were pretty good. Afterwards, we walked around the store talking to some Hmong people. It is a really huge store so there are a ton of Hmong people. One lady we talked to was super nice. She was just so friendly and outgoing. Most Hmong people are a little more reserved and to them themselves, but she was quite the opposite. She was just impressed that I could speak Hmong and she just loved talking to me in Hmong. It was really fun. She even gave me a Xauv (Hmong necklace) for free since I can speak Hmong. Later on, we came back to her and I asked if she knew how to give Hmong names and of course she did. So we got 3 English Elders Hmong names, she gave them necklaces too, and we got a picture with her. Welcome to the Hmong family Tsim Nuj, Muaj Meej, and Muaj Koob. 

Wednesday afternoon we exchanged back. Elder Lamb and I finally got back with one of the people we are teaching named Ee. We taught her about the Book of Mormon. We gave it to her and committed her to read it. I really think she will read it. She expressed some of her desires in the lesson that she wants to be able to find increased happiness in her life, build a stronger relationship with her Heavenly Father, and overcome some her struggles that she has been going through. I know the Book of Mormon will help her with all of those. We are excited to continue to teach her. 

Friday we had MLC meeting up in Oshkosh. It was a really good meeting. President and Sister Williams have less than 3 weeks left until they are going home. The mission put together a really cool gift for them. A tree that every individual leaf is one of the 500 missionaries that have served under President and Sister Williams. I'll post a picture below because it is really cool! 

Saturday I was on exchanges with Elder Lundahl out of my area, but Elder Lamb and Elder Gibson had a really cool miracle with a guy named Vince that Elder Lamb and I knocked into him a few weeks ago. When we knocked on the door he opened the window and right when we got done introducing ourselves he said "I can't talk now but come back!" Over the past few weeks we haven't been able to get in because of his schedule and ours and it was a big mess up until Saturday when Elder Lamb stopped by again. They stopped by his house and when they started talking to him he sat them down and this was the sum up of the conversation, he said "my life isn't where I want it to be, I'm a little lost and don't know what to do and you guys have what I want. I've heard crazy things about the Book of Mormon and I've heard good things about the book of Mormon but I want to know it for myself so you guys are going to come teach me every week!" Even crazier he said how he prayed to God for guidance and direction in his life and that same day was the first time we met him. A week or so later he prayed again and that same day we stopped by, but because his sister was having a party we weren't able to meet with him, so he knows that we are the answer to his prayers and he knows that is no coincidence so he is sincerely wanting to know what our message is. We are super excited! 

Love, 

Elder Rich  

Gift for President and Sister Williams and my name

Elder Pinter

Rap snacks

Lazy man's dinner

Matching Bucks Playoffs sweatshirts.  Fear da Deer

June 3: Never drinking soda ever again

Nyob zoo os, 

Wednesday was Zone Conference and it was President and Sister Williams last zone conference since they will both be ending their missions and going home at the end of this month. It is really sad they are going home because they have been an awesome mission president and wife and I am going to miss them a lot. We had a wonderful conference. We have a tradition in our mission (I don't know if other missions do it as well) but your last transfer you bear your testimony at Zone Conference. Since it was their last transfer, they both bore their farewell testimonies. It was really cool to hear their testimonies of the Savior and the church. Their testimonies are so strong. It was also really cool to hear about their testimonies of their current mission as well as their previous missions and the blessing they have seen from those missions almost 40 years later. One thing that I really loved that President Williams said was, 

"You will see your mission through the eyes of your children, you will see your mission through the eyes of your grandchildren."

This week was a lot of finding. We have had some pretty good success getting times to come back, but them actually being home on the time they gave us has been a struggle haha. This week we did go finding in this one neighborhood and it was cool because on 2 streets back to back were just all Hmong people. Almost all of them where Hmong so around like 20-30 houses and since it's summer lots of people were outside so we were able to just walk around and talk to people instead of knocking doors which was fun since you never have that opportunity in Hmong work really. Those short glimpses of what Hmongland or the country of Hmong would be if there was such a place or such a mission - one can always dream. 

It's really weird that my mission is slowly winding down. I felt like I just got out here to Wisconsin to be a missionary, but it is also kicking in that I have been out here away from home for 22 months. Missions are amazing and the best decision anyone can make for his/her life. It is honestly the best investment of time & money that you can put into yourself compared to anything else. Nothing is going to help you to learn more, be more, and do more and it is all because of the Savior and his atonement that allows us to be better every day. 

"May we enjoy the peace and rejoicing that the sacrifice...and the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ can provide... every time we have the opportunity to live ONE MORE DAY." - Elder Taylor G. Godoy

Love, 

Elder Rich 

My district on our way to tour the Sprecher's factory

They had an 8 oz glass they gave you and you could get as many cups or flavors 
as you wanted. I wanted to try all 9 flavors so I drank 9 8oz glasses of soda.

This is the end!

Only me and 1 other kid, Elder Desmond, drank that much.
We said it was our goal to do it so we did.  It was terrible though!

Tues May 28: Foreign mission for a day!

Nyob zoo os,

This week we tracted a lot in the ghetto and the best part is we are almost out of miles in our car so we got to walk around everywhere. I've been in the ghetto a lot of times, but this week I think we were in the most ghetto of all the places I have been in my entire life. I enjoy walking the ghettos. You experience so many funny people and have some of the weirdest conversations - probably because everyone is completely high or completely wasted or most likely both. Good thing for the word of wisdom! 

If I wasn't a missionary I would probably be scared out of mind to be walking through parts of this city, but as a missionary, I really have no fears because one, I trust that God will watch over us and two, all the people love us. We are like celebrities in the hood. We just smile and wave and have no worries on our faces at all because we are as they say "The Jesus People."

A funny experience this week was that we just arrived to a new area and in our car we said a prayer and no kidding in the middle of the prayer we hear 6 gunshots so I opened my eyes looked around and saw nothing and then went back to my prayer and said "please protect us and watch over us." Good ol' Milwaukee. 

This week the highlight is that we had the opportunity to go down to Oshkosh for the Hmong tournament held there. All, but 1 of the Hmong Elders was able to go! I love the Hmong brotherhood! It's cool to see how close we have all gotten in the last 22 months. We are super good friends which is fun and a great blessing because there is no such thing as a bad companion for us in Hmong work. 

At the tournament, there were so many Hmong people. We got a brief glimpse of a foreign mission of being to street contact and talk to so many people. It was legit! Other than that we ran into a few members from some of my past areas, we walked around the merchandise booths to find souvenirs, got sunburned really bad, and even had an experience were Elder Parker and I were video recorded with a legit video recording camera. He walks over to us and it was like an interview that you see on the news. Just asking us all these questions in Hmong. It was pretty cool! So maybe we will be famous on YouTube or something someday haha. 

The funniest thing that happened at the tournament was a mother was walking with her kids and she sees us in our white shirts and ties and tells her kids these white guys know how to speak Hmong. She then speaks Hmong to us and we speak back and her kids were just mind blown. Her kids then wanted to take a picture with us. I wish I had it because it was super funny, but at least I have the memory of being a famous celebrity for 30 seconds. 

Monday we had interviews with our Mission President which is why my P-day is today. Anyways this is President and Sister Williams last transfer before they go home so Elder Lamb and I thought it would be super cool to make him Pho! So we did that and not to be prideful or anything, but he said it was one the best bowls of pho he has ever had, if not the best. So... Yeah it was pretty good haha. 

It was a great last interview and last way to show our gratitude for all that President and Sister Williams have done for us these past 22 months because it really has been a wonderful past 22 months and I wouldn't change it for anything!

Love, 

Elder Rich 

Making President Williams Pho

Hmong elders at the Hmong tournament

totally soaked

Pretty Wisconsin

Picture with my district before transfers

May 20: Mission tour with Elder Soares

Nyob zoo os,

This week is transfers and Elder Lamb and I will be staying another one in Milwaukee. Pretty excited because we are getting stuff done and having a good time. I'm excited for these last 2 transfers. 

This week we found a new investigator who I am very excited about. Her name is Eena who is a 25-year-old young mother of 3 kids. The funny thing is the first time I met her when I was on exchanges we did our door approach and she said she wasn't interested and already had a church, but we didn't give up and kept testifying of the blessings of the church and also spoke a little Hmong which opens their hearts too! 

Anyways after that, she was like "well I actually I have been looking for a church and I would be interested in you guys coming back." So we did just that and met with her twice this past week. She is super prepared. We gave her the plan of salvation pamphlet the first time we met her and when we came back she had read the whole thing and had tons of questions that we were able to answer. She is super open, prepared, and sincerely wanting to learn. So that's exciting! 

We also we able to go help a Niam Tais farm this week! It was super fun to get out and help her. She was super grateful because when we pulled up she was making slow progress, but we able to get it done very fast for her. 

The coolest thing about this week was we had Mission Tour. The whole mission came down to Milwaukee. Two of the Hmong sets stayed over at our place the night before at our apartment which was way fun and 8/10 Hmong missionaries were able to go to dinner the night before and ate some Hmong food after the conference. Hmong brotherhood ️

Saturday morning we had mission tour. We had the great opportunity of having all 160 Elders and Sisters in one building, but not only that we were all visited by Elder Ulisses of the quorum of the 12 apostles. We were all able to shake his hand which was awesome and hear him speak. 

He said a lot of things that I really liked. He talked about the process of how missionaries are called and how he has the special opportunity to call the Elders or Sisters. He said it is an amazing experience and testified that every Elder or Sister is called to where THEY need to go and WHO they can influence and not only that but also the mission president that can help them grow the most. I thought that was really cool. 

He also shared about when he was called to meet with President Nelson to become an Apostle. Elder Soares was overwhelmed and said "Why me? There are 1000s more qualified than me. I can't speak the English language very well. Why me?"  President Nelson responded by saying to him "God isn't calling you for who you are now, but who you can become." Elder Soares said he knows he has many weaknesses and isn't the most qualified, but he knows that as he tries his best the Lord will bless him with all the pieces that he currently doesn't have. I thought that was super powerful. 

To end he shared with things that we can do personally to continue to grow and stay active for the rest of our lives. Below is the counsel that Elder Soares said:

1) Live with purpose

2) Study the scriptures

3) Learn how to prioritize your time

4) Attend the temple regularly

5) Remember our temple covenants

6) Serve in the Church

7) Actively serve others who are less-active and guide them back to the Church

8) Do something good

9) Just do all we can do

10) Remember that Heavenly Father called us not necessarily for who we are, but for whom we can become

To end he said, "You all probably thought I was going to give you all tactics and strategies for how to be better missionaries, but I'm not. The best way to share the gospel is through ourselves, the light of Christ that is in us!"

I know this church is true and I know what Elder Soares said is true. The little things we do every day are going to influence who we become and our identity and others will see that in us. It is so important for us all individually to strengthen our testimonies every day, to feast upon the words of Christ, to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Savior every day through prayer and also by repenting.

Love, 

Elder Rich

Pday haircut

8/10 of us going out to dinner

all 10 Hmong elders at Mission tour

meeting up with my trainer and his fiancee last week

May 13: Go Bucks!

Nyob zoo os,

Monday was P-day and was a fun P-day. Elder Lamb and I made Pho for our whole zone. It actually turned out really, really good - surprising for 2 miskas (white boys) haha. 

Tuesday I had the wonderful opportunity to serve with my first companion aka my twin Elder Devyn Vang. That was a blast. I haven't been able to serve with him in over a year and a half. It was good to catch up and serve together again. Lots of good memories and experiences we were able to talk about. I served in his area which is the AP area. So I got to really see what the life of an AP is for a day. Super busy and lots of phone calls and logistical things. It was really good though. We also ate at Zupas which I haven't had since back home. Good food! Best of all we got to visit a recent convert family from Green Bay who was in Milwaukee. 

The work is moving forward in Milwaukee Wisconsin. This week we had a lot of time to get out and work. It was good to be able to grind again without any other things to worry about or do! We were able to meet some cool people and we are hoping to get in with them this upcoming week! 

Another cool experience is I was able to see my trainer! He came back to visit and even cooler he came back with his fiancee. We were able to meet up for a little and catch up which was super fun since it has been so long! 

Sunday was mother's day! We had a great sacrament meeting and Elders quorum about mothers. In Elder Quorum, we went around and everyone shared something that they are grateful for or learned from their mothers. That was very powerful to not only hear but to also reflect on my life and all that my mother has done for me as well as the other amazing women in my life. For me, the closest comparison of the Savior's love for us is the love of a mother to her child. I think that is exactly why in the scriptures it compares a mother to the Savior's atonement and sacrifice on the cross. It says, 

15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

The love of the Savior is something that we can't fully comprehend. A mother's love, their selfless love for their kids giving everything and more to them is the closest comparison we can make. What a wonderful compliment to mothers and women. I know my mom loves me and her Christ-like love that she has for me helped me to feel the love and more fully comprehend all that my Savior has for me. Thank you, mom and thanks to all the wonderful women in my life. 

Love, 

Elder Rich

Splits with Elder Vang

Spring is finally here

Making Pho at the church last P-day

Elder Pinera's bday

We went to the Bucks' stadium today for P-day

Go Bucks!

May 6: Birthday week, 100 days left

Nyob zoo,

To start off the week it was my birthday on Tuesday. It was also another Elder in my districts birthday as well, Elder Isaacson, so we got to celebrate together. Funny thing is last year we were in the same zone so we celebrated our birthdays together. I don't know what the odds of that are, but I'm guessing like 1%. Anyway, we went to Bdubs as a district. Got some wings and of course, the Elders wouldn't let us get away without being sung to, so the whole restaurant knew it was our birthday. It was worth it though because they gave us ice cream and a bottle of wing sauce for our birthday. Later that day we had correlation meeting. Our awesome ward mission leader's wife, Sister Murphy, made one of my favorite treats for my birthday - Raspberry brownies and they were wayyy good.

We also had 2 exchanges this week as usual. One of them, I went to Port Washington with Elder Jackson and the other I stayed in the Hmong area with Elder Lundahl. I love exchanges so of course, it was a good time. 

I'm continuing to learn the other Hmong dialect, Green Moob. I'm picking it up pretty fast and had some opportunities with some Nam Tais (Grandmas) to talk and learn Green Moob. It was pretty cool because she said I was the first missionary she's ever met that is trying to learn Green Moob. That was a cool compliment since I have been working really hard to learn it. I've been writing down all the differences and have a notebook filled with notes. I think I have figured out 97% of the differences so all I have to do is continue to improve in speaking it and understanding a little better. Pretty fun! 

This week I had the opportunity to go to MLC for the first time. It was a great meeting on talking about how the mission is doing, what we can improve on, and goal setting for this upcoming month. It was fun to see some missionaries again and learn some ways I can improve. Something that President Williams told us is that "You can accomplish more and influence people more than you think!" I liked that a lot.

Something sad this week is that I now have less than 100 days left till I head home. Time has just flown by and seems to get faster every single week. I have loved being a missionary and am super excited for this last stretch I have to continue to serve. The longer I get out the more I love to do the things that I used to not love as much. I'm just grateful for every day I have left to serve and I'm loving every minute of it. 

Love, 

Elder Rich

My birthday with my district

raspberry brownies with Elder Isaacson

Bdubs

MLC with Elder Lamb and my first
companion in Madison, Elder Vang

Yes I do!

April 29: Exchanges for days

This week went by really fast and part of that was because it was 1 less day to pday and also because we were super busy. 

Wednesday afternoon we exchanged with the Lake Michigan Elders. I went with Elder Winborg in his area. He is the nicest guy ever. Super fun to serve with him for a day.

Thursday afternoon we exchanged back and we went straight to a lesson with Avarploy and Don. We had a great discussion on the Plan of Salvation and somehow in that discussion we got to the topic of baptism and Avarploy out of nowhere say "I want to be baptized." So we are prepping her and helping her to get ready to be baptized, so that is super exciting.

Thursday night we exchanged with the Parkway Elders. I again left the area and went with Elder Pisciotta. He wasn't feeling good so a lot of our exchange we were stuck inside the apartment which was a bummer, but I took advantage of the time that I had and taught myself a lot of the other Hmong dialect, Moob leeg (Green Hmong). I put together a pretty decent list of changes between the dialects. I have been practicing speaking it for a few weeks now and I am picking it up super fast which is really fun. I am even teaching Elder Lamb some as well which is really fun. The next day we were able to go for a few hours and help a family move. They were non-members so that was a great opportunity.

Friday night we exchanged back, we were planning on exchanging with the APs and I was going to be going in the area, but it got rescheduled which was probably good so I could spend more than one day in my own area for the week haha. Elder Lamb and I were curious and out of all the 42 days the transfer, we only have 19 full days of work that we are actually together. The rest are exchanges, meetings, church, etc. Pretty crazy.

Sunday we had church and after we had a great opportunity to teach a guy named Lue. He shared with us his conversion story and after we shared him ours. It worked out perfect that we were at the church. A YSA aged member was there and overheard our conversation and asked if he could share his testimony. It was such a simple, but powerful testimony. It brought the spirit in so strong. After Lue asked us for a Book of Mormon and said he wanted to read it. It was super cool.

This week we had a lesson on trials in Priesthood. I thought it was super cool. We read the talk "Wounded" by Niel L. Anderson. In it, there was a part that I really liked. It said: 

"Along with the bright colors of happiness and joy, the darker-colored threads of trial and tragedy are woven deeply into the fabric of our Father’s plan. These struggles, although difficult, often become our greatest teachers."

I think this is very powerful and true. We all have trials in our lives. They are part of the great plan. In the moment we may not understand why, but these are all for our growth and sources for us to learn from. I remember all the hard times in my life and all the things that I learned from those experiences. It's important to remember that and also to always rely on the Savior during those times so that he can help and support us. 

Love, 

Elder Rich 

Last week we went to the Milwaukee art museum

Me and Elder Peck were dying the whole time taking pics. 

Making fun of the dumb and weird art, but some art was really cool.

Elder Peck

Pictures around Milwaukee

Cool alley in Milwaukee downtown area