Another Wild One

     I think I say this every week, but it was another wild one. Elder Morrow and I have been on the bikes this last week and Minneapolis got crazy. Once it gets warm everybody comes out and you see some stuff that makes you say , "Never thought I'd see that."

     Things are going really well though and we have had a lot of success and cool miracles. Probably one of my favorite so far on my mission happened yesterday. When Elder Hardy and I were out in Eau Claire together over a year ago we taught a 21 year old girl named Nalee. She was super cool and wanted to accept the gospel for super long but couldn't bring herself to be baptized. Long story short after learning from the missionaries for the past year in Eau Claire she moved up to Minneapolis this last week and we got in contact with her on Saturday. She told us that she wanted to go to Stake Conference on Sunday so we said we'd meet her there. 5 minutes before it started she sent us a text that said she wasn't going to make it but when we walked in she was there and started laughing at us. (She got us pretty good.) After the meeting she walked up and was like, "So, I want to be baptized when can I do it." So we set a date for March 28th which is 3 days before Elder Hardy goes home. I tried to keep a strait face when she said that but the fact that my brain had exploded might have shown. Also Elder Hardy and I ran and gave each other a huge chest bump. Super Cool miracle.

     The fam is doing great and is just saving up for their marriage license. We have been doing some pooling and they might have enough by next Saturday but we will have to wait and see and just keep praying. Also K is doing solid and has some great friends in the branch now. He has come to church the past 4 weeks and loves what we teach. We are going over tonight and are planning to set a date for April 11th.

     Glad that you and dad have a chance to party down in Mexico. Yes it is 40 degrees here but that doesn't stop me from busting out my Hawaiin shirt for our frisbee golf game this afternoon. Anyways peace and love and stay solid.

Pics

#1. Bike time

#2. Biked seven miles one handed to drop off a cake. #dilligence
#3. Couples Pic

God Gave Me A Good Life

      So this last week I did get an awesome flu. I am doing all better know though. On the brightside I did have around 25 hours to watch church films and I got super inspired so this next week I am going to preach so hard. 

     This past Saturday we had an awesome baptism service for N. He was so funny the whole time and he bore a great testimony. He had everyone there laughing. It was so cool. Also one of the girls that got baptized the same day, S, was the sisters investigator but Elder Hardy and I were the ones that tracted into her while we were together in frogtown and then we passed her off to the Sister missionaries. She is the only person I have seen in the Hmong branch that has been baptized from tracting and it really was so amazing to hear her story. She talked about how she used to go to all these different churches and stopped because she felt like all of them had something missing. She had been reading the Bible and praying for a year for God to give her a path back to Him and then Elder Hardy and myself knocked on her door. It gave me the motivation to keep tracting and always knock on one more door which is cool. 

     Durning the baptism service Elder Gardiner and I read the christmas story in Luke and then shared the video He is the Gift. It was super powerful and as the both of us bore testimony that Christ is the Son of God and our Savior, the Spirit was so strong it was like you could see it on everyone's face. I love those moments. It really is an amazing opportunity during this special season to step into the circle of special witnesses of Christ, men like Ammon, Samuel the Lamanite, Abinadi, Nephi, and to bear witness to the world that Jesus is the Christ. After nearly a year and a half of serving I have come to understand a few of the reasons of why God sent me to be with the Hmong people. As I watch a people struggle through life with no knowledge of Christ, I have come to realize how much I need Him in my own. It has taught me to be humble, as I strive to learn from a people who most of them have never even learned to spell their own name. But most of all, it has taught me to be grateful for the many blessings and for the easiness of the way. God gave me a good life. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to help others find theirs. Merry Christmas Y'all.

Sorry not much time. I just wanted to follow up and see if you had a chance to put up a picture of Christ in the home. Also you are the best mom ever.

Big News This Week

Big news this week, finally getting transferred to Minneapolis. It is a super weird feeling to be leaving Frogtown since I have been here for 9 months strait but I am really looking forward to serving in Minne. Elder Hardy and I had one of the best weeks of my whole mission this last week so it is hard to leave but I am glad that I can say I left the area better then I found it. I guess that is the goal right. Here is a list of the miracles we saw last week.

-Set a date for december 13th for P's kids

-Found and taught a sweet lesson to a family of 17!!!!!!!!!!

-Taught the guy fixing our fax machine in our appartment and he totally is Hmong and super prepared.

-Being able to look back at the last 9 months in an area and feel the Lord was proud.

     I defintely couldn't be more happy with the time that I spent here and came to feel that it was truly my home. The people I served with in this area have become friends and family that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I will be really sad to leave Elder Hardy. Him and I became best friends together and we learned so much from each other. We are already planning to build a buisness based of off pigeon racing but that's another story.

     The thing I learned this past week is that the Lord truly does answer your prayers. I have seen so many times when I pray for something with real intent that the Lord answers in His own way and in His own time. Thanks so much for all your support. Happy Thanksgiving yall.

 

-Elder Henrie

The Flat Tire

Want to know the biggest joke of the year, this week someone told me that the average life expectancy of a snowman in Minnesota is 6 months. Crazy right? Yes the snow is here and yes it is cold but honestly it isn't even bad. You just have to wear like thirty coats and everything is fine.

     Last night I learned a great lesson on making lemons out of lemonade. We were driving down to Bloomington for a fireside that they have at the mission home where recent converts share their experiences and how they came into the church. While we were driving down there (in one of the members cars) our tire blewout on the freeway and we had to pullover. We just changed it so it was fine but since we were late to the meeting we decided to have our own fireside in the car and have everyone in the car share their conversion experience. It was amazing. All of them were recent converts except for our investigator and so their stories were so powerful. At the end of it we asked our investigator (whose name is K) to share her experience with meeting with us and also the first time that she felt the Spirit. At first she was a little hesitant but as she told her story the Spirit was so strong and everyone in the car knew that K could feel it. It was super sweet. She is P's daughter and has a lot of doubts about if this is the right path for her but when she bore her testimony she answered a lot of her own questions and it really helped out. So it turns out the flat tire was really a pretty huge blessing in disguise.

     The family of 6 that we are teaching is doing great. We taught the Law of Chastity on Saturday and it went way well. They are culturally married (of course) and the wife K has been divorced in the past. When we committed them to be married legally and live the Law of Chastity she brought up a fake excuse and my companion and I just sat there and stared at her. After a little bit she admitted that it was actually just her fear since she has been divorced once before that she would have to go through that again. We fasted with her on Sunday and are going back tomorrow night to see what's up. Pray for her.

      But yeah everything is A+ up here in the land of the frozen chozen and I absolutely love. Elder Hardy and I have been focusing a lot on The Book of Mormon lately in our studies and with our investigators and it is amazing to see the power that it has to change people's lives. So if you haven't read it... you should. Love you all and have a great week.

Also forgot one other thing. Shoutout to my older smaller brother Tanner who is one of 3 coolest older brother you could have for getting hitched. I wish you and Misa the best and have just one piece advice , happy wife= happy life. Goodluck you crazy cats and I can't wait to see pics of the wedding. I really hope you put a cardboard cutout of me there.

To Misa: Welcome to the fam. There are only two requirements and if you pass these you should be good. #1. Love the Utes #2. You have to know a bunch of quotes from Heavyweights and Rocketman. If you don't fulfill one of those requirements it's totally cool, there is still time.

So mom I don't know if you can help me with this but I lost my retainer last week and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to get a new one. Also my trainer A.K.A. my father Elder Xiong is standing right next to me and he says hi to the fam.

The Good News Is...

     IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah so there is a ginourmous blizzard and all of the cars are grounded and they shut down school so winter is definitely back and it is a mean one. It's all good though because this morning for our workout me and the other 3 elders I stayed with went out side and had a snowball fight and snow wrestling match. When life gives you lemons right? Things took a pretty hard turn this last week with some of our investigators but there was still some silver lining too.

     Elder Hardy and I met with P's husband and we asked him to tell about what life was like when he was in the war back in Laos to help open him up and he told us one of the saddest stories that I have ever heard. His own mother literally died on his back while he was carrying her across the border of Laos to Thailand. But in the end when we asked him about baptism for his wife and kids he said that his kids can get baptized but then he said, "my wife won't get baptized until the day I die." So that was really sad but his kids at least will be baptized this December. P was so cool though. After he left the room she just smiled and said," Don't worry, that's only the first time, we'll try again in a couple weeks." Her husband said that she can't come to church anymore either but this Sunday she showed up anyways. She really does have such great faith.

     That was to bad but the good news is that the family that we have been teaching committed to Dec. 13th for baptism and we have another lesson set up with them tonight. The biggest miracle was that the father is all for it. In Hmong culture the father is basically like a god to them and whatever he says goes. The good news is that he is the most interested out of the whole family and keeps every commitment that we give him which is really cool.

     But yeah all is well and keep up the sweet goodness everybody.

It Feels As Though This Is The Time When The Lord Is Pouring Out So Many Blessings...

Marshall's response to my question, "Can you tell us what your responsibilities are?":

Yes mom I am a zone leader. I have actually been one since the beginning of April. It is super awesome. I feel like I have 22 children that are running around the twin cities all the time and I have to clean up after them but yeah it is a blast. Are responsibilities are :Exchanges with District Leaders, Interviews with struggling missionaries, making zone goals and plans, meetings with stake leaders to discuss the missionary work in the twin cities, collecting reports from the teams weekly, doing training evaluations with new missionaries weekly, accountability calls with district leaders weekly, meeting with President monthly, monthly accountability for the zone, teaching all progressing and date sets within the zone, Leadership conference each month, conducting and planning out zone conference, interviews, and trainings, travel plans for departing missionaries and for transfer day, zone comment sheets that help evaluate missionaries, blitzing areas that are struggling, working out the housing for new sets of missionaries in the zone, and then after all that all you have to do is be a missionary and do all the other work. So it is definitely more than I took on before my mission. Pretty much my responsibilities before included: mow grass, eat food, workout, hangout with friends. So yeah I've grown a bit. But things are awesome and I totally love it. Totally forgot to say this in my other email, but I ate a next to raw bull testicle this last week and almost puked everywhere. Love ya

HIs letter this week:

    It was awesome this week to see that our area has continued to progress after our success last week. It was really neat to see C's family(the family of 7) at church this week. One of the craziest things happened when they came. Their biggest fear the whole time was that when they came, they wouldn't know anybody and might feel left out. But when they got their they found out that they actually had family in the branch and you won't believe who it was... P's family. Turn's out that C is actually P's nephew and they haven't seen each other for around 10 years. It was one of the coolest miracles. I think the Lord has been holding off on P's baptism just so that her and her kids with this other family could go through the process together. Also Sunday after church we went to teach P and her kids about replacing our fears with faith. Right at the end of the lesson her husband walks into the room and sees us. Elder Hardy and I jump out of our chairs and pretty much sprinted over to him (I have been waiting to meet this guy for like 7 months) and started getting to know him. We set a time for us to come back and talk to him about his wife's baptism. He seemed ok with it and so it looks like finally in the next few weeks, P and her kids should enter the waters of baptism, and then in about the next 6 weeks, C and his family should as well. I have been praying so hard for the Lord to help me have the ambition and ability to find, teach, and baptize a family and it looks like He is answering mine and Elder Hardy's prayers.

     It feels as though this is the time when the Lord is pouring out so many blessings that there is not room enough to receive them. It is hard sometimes as I see other missionaries that are really struggling, especially the new ones, and they think that it never gets better. There are definitely struggles in the mission field but I have also seen that the Lord makes it so much more than fair as long as you just keep trying your best to do what's right.

     Had one of the strangest miracles on my mission yesterday at church as well. One of the families brought a young man that I have seen a few times and we went up to talk to him after sacrament and he introduced himself to us. After a few minutes of talking we found out that he is a former investigator that was taught by the missionaries about two years ago but wasn't allowed to get baptized because of his parents. It turns out he has just been waiting for the missionaries to come back and see him so that he can take the lessons. SO AWESOME. The Lord really is preparing these people and has given so much to Elder Hardy and I these last couple weeks. Anyways love y'all and hope that things are well.

Stay Strong

     This week was one of the hardest and most rewarding weeks of my entire mission. When President called and let me know about Jason, I was defintely discouraged. To be honest there was a moment that I felt it was unfair. When we got back to the house the other 2 companions got out of the car and Elder Hardy asked me to wait for a minute. He really just helped me out by letting me know how grateful he was for me and how much happiness he has had being my companion so that was a huge blessing to hear that. I was sitting in the car thinking about what I was going to do for the whole next week, either falter or finish, and the words of one of my favorite hymns came into my mind. "And although all hell shall endeavor to shake, I'll never no never, no never forsake." I looked at Elder Hardy and told him that this week we were going to work harder than we had ever done before, and that's just what we did.

     The Lord did not waste our efforts. We now have a family of 7 that we tracted into that is progressing in a big way and is coming to church this week. P still doesn't have permission from husband but she told us that no matter what he says, she will never leave this church. We found a super old grandma that we teach everyday now that is being baptized on the 22nd and one of our gators Y has comitted for baptism and we're setting a date for him tomorrow afternoon. Probably one of the weeks when I have seen the Lord's hand in my life more than any other.

       Elder Carlson from the quorum of the 70 came for our Mission Conference and he is a 4 star general so you can imagine the spiritual smackdown he gave to us all. It was awesome. He asked us all to prepare talks before we came on being a consecrated missionary before we came and he would call on two people at random to speak to everyone. When he called my name I was honestly pretty excited because my talk had two main points. The first one was from Kung Fu Panda on how Po was consecrated because he realized his own potential and the second point was stolen from Uncle Kent, "The main thing, is to keep the main thing, the main thing" I talked about how we just need to keep Christ's work as the main thing and don't waste our time doing anything else so it was pretty fun. I thought I'd be nervous but I think after giving all the talks I have I've sort of use to it so it was nice not to be scared out of your mind for once. But yeah things are going well and don't worry about me. All Elder Hardy and I do is work work work. Yes I am exhausted and yes I absolutely love it. If there is one thing I have learned on my mission, it is that it is always easier to do the hard thing while on the Lord's errand, than to do the easy thing while your not. Toodles.

 

                     Muaj Zoo Vwj

P.S. Shoutout to my big bro J Dub for his birthday. Sorry I don't have any special presents for you but I will ask one of the Hmong Shamans if they can send you one of their Spirit Swords... Yes they really do have those.

P.P.S. My prayers go out to the Goff family. Stay strong.

The Thought Entered My Mind

  Nyob zoo.

  To bad to hear about Jason. I will be praying for him with everything I've got. He is such a gentle giant. I remember him, jared, and me would always have such an awesome time up in Sunvalley. We would stay up some nights for hours talking sports, life, and whatever else. I was always impressed with how much we all changed each time we would see each other again. Literally he is a foot taller every time. But even more than that he became someone I knew would always have my back and I will always count on him for an awesome laugh.

    This week we had many amazing experiences that proved to me the work is still true. One morning I was really struggling to think of what to share with one of our investigators who we have been teaching for some time and seemed to hit sort of a roadblock. I got down to pray and before I started I just asked that Heavanly Father would tell me what to pray for. The thought entered into my mind to pray and ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, which was kind of confusing because I feel that I have gained a witness quite a few times that it is true. But if there's one thing I learned on my mission, it is that the you don't ignore a prompting from the Lord. I asked God if the Book was true and I didn't have some immediate revelation that the book was true but just a feeling to be patient. So we went to church that day and in the last talk, a return missionary began to speak on the importance of the Book of Mormon. He then read Moroni 10:3-5 and I felt the Spirit so strong. I immediately felt that the thing to teach our investigator was obedience. Simply teach her that through obedience to the promptings of the Spirit and the commandments, the Lord will bless us. I had gained a personal testimony that day that through simple obedience, the Lord will give us what we need. As we taught her, we told her that obedience is not a game show, you cannot pick and choose and hope to win a prize. The guidelines the Lord has set for us is black and white, if we do what's right, we receive blessings, if we do what's wrong, we will eventually fall on our face.

     It was such a Spirit filled lesson and you could see the understanding begin to grow and also the guilt of her disobedience begin to weigh heavy until at the end she said, "Elders, to be honest, I don't even know how I'll sleep at night now." I almost laughed when she said that but we then explained that through the Atonement and continued righteous living, she would be forgiven of each of her mistakes. A feeling of peace entered the room and she said I know the both of you are right. We told her that the Spirit of God was confirming to her that what we taught was true. It was a great reminder to me of how important it is to listen to the Spirit and be obedient to our answers we receive.

      I know that through obedience to the commandments of God, each of us, no matter what we've done or who we've been in the past, will one day go back to live with our Father in Heavan. Good luck everyone. God Bless

Short Letter

so holliday this week. Things will be short. Unfortunately P's husband said no but he said he wants to meet with us because he doesn't understand to much about what she is going to do. He said if we help him understand and he feels it's good, he will let his wife get baptized so it is looking good. just need a little patience. Thanks for all the support and candy. Have an awesome week. 

But Seriously, Conference Was the Coolest Thing Ever

  So yeah, conference was pretty much the coolest thing ever. I especially loved the part in Priesthood meeting where they talked about how all Elders currently out on their missions will be trained how to use the force. Can't wait.

    But seriously,  conference was the coolest thing ever. Because I was out in Eau Claire last conference, this was the first time that I got to watch it in Hmong. It was a really spiritual experience to be able to receive personal revelation in a language that I didn't even know existed 2 years ago. I think my favorite talks were by President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland. I loved President Uchtdorf's question, Lord is it I? So many times when I talk with missionaries or when I teach investigators, they always point to others for the reason why they made a mistake (I do it plenty of times too) but when we want true growth, we must honestly acknowledge our own faults and work through the Savior to overcome them. Also when Elder Holland got up, it wouldn't have even mattered what he talked about because he is just that cool. On your mission, we have a ruole that you can't give money to homeless people but it made me think about the things I can do to help out all of the Hmong people here who are in so much poverty. I'll I've thought of so far is baking cookies but I'll ponder on it.

     This week Elder Hardy and I saw a lot of success together and really came together as companions. We are still waiting on our investigator P's husband to give her permission for herself and her two kids to be baptised and with her date on the 18th things are getting close. We had a lesson with her between conference sessions and what she said just blew my mind. We were teaching her about fasting and how it can bring us special blessings (possibly being able to have her husband's permission) and I don't know if I have ever seen so much faith in an individual, let alone someone who has only known about God for 4-5 months. We invited her to fast with us for her husbands permission and she said, "In the short time I have known God, he has blessed me with so much and brought me so much peace. How could I not do this small thing for Him, to show how much it means to me." When she said that, I couldn't help but think to myself, "This lady is a straight up woman version of Nephi. So awesome"

      We also had a really neat miracle with an 18 year old named Y. We met Y this friday and taught him the restoration. His family is all shaman but said if he wants to believe than it''s up to him. We went to stop by Sunday morning to see if he was coming and he was asleep. So of curse we woke him up and he jumps right out of bed and came and watched all of conference even though he literally had no idea what was going on. It was so cool. We're planning to go back tomorrow night and see what he thought about it.

        Everything is going great in Minnesota other than the first frost hit the twin cites today :(. I found out today that I will likely be in Frogtown for another transfer, that makes it 6. The record among the Hmong missionaries is 9 so it looks like I'm on my way. Congrats to Tanner that Misa is finally back. I already know he's excited. Dad, I love the Utes. Sorry J Dub but I can't watch that thing James sent me. Super Cool Matt is getting married. Also my prayers go out to Jason and their family.

 

                                                           -Muaj Zoo Vwj

When the Hmong People Speak of the Past...

   General conference this weekend and I can't wait. Sometimes I forget that almost everyone in the world doesn't know what conference is and so when I tell them that once every six months the living prophet and his Apostles are going to speak to us and they get the chance to hear this weekend and they stare back at me with a completely blank face, I get really confused why they aren't excited too. But anyways I can't wait for the feast of the Spirit all of us get to enjoy.

     This week was a really humbling week filled with great new investigators that are progressing really well. But I definitely learned never to judge a book by its cover. We have an investigator named P and her two kids that want to get baptized but it is being held off because the husband still does shamanism. As they described this man I honestly just felt sick, he is never home, he parties with his friends all the time, he doesn't pay for any of the kids stuff, he is abusive and many other things. We have been tying to meet with him but the mom and kids are to scared of what he will say and do to us if we do. My first thought honestly was ,"Wow, what kind of man is this?" Then I heard his story. Growing up in Laos he became a soldier at 16 and some of the guns were to heavy for him to carry. Most of his family was murdered in the village where he grew up. As he was running through the jungle from the Vietnamese, he had to carry his mom on his back because she was sick and while he was carrying her, she was shot and killed. He had to eat bugs that he found in rotten logs and went without food or water for a 2-3 days at a time. Then I realized why this man had become so rough. We have a meeting with him this Saturday to talk about his families baptism and I hope that if nothing else, he can at least find some peace for the things he has had come to him in the past. These people's stories really has helped give me such a better appreciation for God's plan for all of us and truly a love for these people. When the Hmong people speak of the past, they don't speak with anger in their voice, or with hatred for the people who did these terrible things. They simply explain that is how life is, and it is up to all of us to make the best of it. Now when American people ask the question, "How could God let such bad things happen to His children if He's really there?" I can't help but think, "Go talk to the Hmong people, they were the ones all the bad stuff happened to, and they're not crying about it."

      Also Super Cool miracle this week. Elder Hardy and I saw some people having a party in their backyard so we walk back their and we see a guy with ALMA 32:21 tattooed on his arm. We go up and talk to him and found out he met with the missionaries a few years ago but then both of them got transferred and no one came back. He is so prepared and I guess God really does work in mysterious ways.

     Love all yall and have a good week.

-Elder Henrie

Pictures: Awkward comp pics.

Each Night When She Was Dreaming...

     Dear Fam-

   Sounds like things have been going well and I'm glad to hear you all got to go to the Ogden Temple thing. That must have been a neat experience having the fam there. Each time I go to the temple I am reminded how awesome it is that families and friends are eternal. That is one of the thoughts that has given me the desire to serve these people is to help them be with families forever. Tanner, good luck on your interview and that is crazy that Misa gets back in two weeks. I remember walking upstairs when she saw the announcement that she could go, seems like yesterday. Also I know your busy this week, but if you have any advice on how to motivate other missionaries when they can't quite seem to put their whole heart into the work, that would be great. Also dad and JW if you have any that would be sweet. (Not for Elder Hardy, he is an all star.)

    This week we had an amazing experience with P. She is the mom of three members in the ward and until a few months ago was completely against the church and everything it stood for. Elder Hardy and I went to teach her twice this past week and saw many miracles. She had been really sick lately and asked us to give her a priesthood blessing. We explained to her that the blessing was somewhat conditional on her faith as well and after a few more minutes we gave her the blessing. I haven't given to many priesthood blessings on my mission in Hmong but every single time I do, the Lord puts words in my mouth that I swear I have never even heard in my life and I don't even know what they mean but when that happens I feel the Spirit so strong. Anyways at the end of the blessing we all sat there in silence for a moment, and then P started to cry. So everyone just waited until she was done and then we asked her what was on her mind. She told us that after the blessing she simply just knew that everything was going to be ok and that she knew God was real. Fast forward a few days to our next lesson and she told us something that blew my mind. She told us that each night as she was dreaming, myself and Elder Hardy would come and teach her more about Jesus Christ and how His gospel could help her. (In my head I'm thinking two things, #1 hopefully the dream version of myself and Elder Hardy aren't teaching false doctrine, #2 Turns out you actually could do missionary work in your sleep.) She has progressed so much this past week and just gave up coffee on her own. She and her son are planning to be baptized on October 18th. Can't wait.

     Hope all of you continue to do well and have fun before the winter season comes. Love yall.

Minne

     Been another carzy week in the mish. And I have some terrible news... The Cold is coming back. The first day Elder Hardy and I woke up and saw frost on the ground, I won't lie, I might have been a little sad. All the locals are saying that this is going to be the coldest winter ever and even the farmers are scared. :'(

      I'm glad that Deans funeral went well. That man for sure deserves a party for his farewell. I can help but think how grate that must have been to hear all of the memories of Dean. He was such a funny guy.

     This week we saw a lot of miracles that happened in between 8:50 and 9:00 at night. Guess it pays off to stay out as late as you can. We were planning on an appointment at 8 but it fell through and the less active we stopped by was gone so we started to go old fashion and knock some doors. At around 8:55 we knocked on the door of a guy named H. He was in his 20's and holding a Xbox controller in his hand. After getting to know him we found out that he has never been to church before and still believes in Shamanism. (these are probably my favorite people to teach because they don't have any Hmong Preacher bologna floating around in their head) We taught him the restoration and as we were talking about prayer we asked him if he has ever prayed before and he told us one time. We asked him what about and he told us that his girlfriend had broken up with him. We asked him if he felt God had answered him and he told us that  he thought we are his answer to find happiness. It was pretty neat. We are going back tonight to see him at 8 to teach him the Plan of Salvation so I'm super pumped. Sorry it will be quick today because we decided to bike to Minneapolis for P-Day and we have to bike back.

Mom,

For P day we do all kinds of stuff:golf, basketball, biking, bake stuff, build snowmans, snowball fights.

We don't play games on other days.

The grandmas feed us dinner a lot and other than that we pretty much just eat rice, hamburger helper, and peanut butter sandwiches.

It makes me laugh when I get to hangout with missionaries and talk about all the super random stuff that our investigators do.

Hardest thing about my mission is making sure that I'm living up to my potential and doing all the Lord wants me to.

Deano

 Mom- Please forward this to the Coffey family when you get the chance, thanks.

 

    Dear Coffey Fam,

       I have been so blessed in my life to have gotten to know your family. You have all been such great examples to me. I will never forget the kindness that your father showed to me growing up. I know that there is a special place in heaven for Dean. I mean who else would have wanted to coach a 11 year old soccer team named the Blue Darts, but he did. I will always remember a basketball practice that we had for our junior jazz team and Dean was giving me tips on how to shoot. After I missed like 15 shots in a row all he said was, "At least your good at defense right." I laughed so hard. That is the kind of man he was, always looking for the positive in everybody. Each time I would see him, he would yell, MARSH! How are you doin big guy? And then I would try and shake his hand really hard to crush it but his hands are the size of Hagrids so I don't think he even felt it. He really was a light in my life. Know that I am praying for your family and I love you all so much. I know that you will keep going strong because that's just what Coffeys do.

                                                                    Love,

                                                                        Elder Henrie

P.S. Matt, I can't even imagine how hard this must be for you right now, when my brother died, the thing that brought me the most comfort was Alma 40:12. Love you man

 

    So don't really have much to say this week. Things with Elder Hardy and I are going really well though. We have gotten off to a great start and the area is doing great. I really love this kid and he is defintely the companion I need right now. I have been studying a lot about Joseph Smith lately and his life and I have grown to love the opportunity to testify of his prophetic calling to everyone that I meet. Had a sweet experience a few days ago with a guy named J. We were teaching him the Restoration and he was questioning if Joseph Smith saw God and if the Book of Mormon is true.

(after him debating for a little bit I said)

Do you believe that God spoke to Prophets in the Bible? Like Abreham, Moses, and Noah

Yes

Do you believe that we are all his children and that he loves us?

Yes

Well J if you believe both of those things, there are only a few choices,

1. God lost His power to speak to us.

J says, God has all power and he doesn't change.

I said, "then 2. God doesn't love us anymore and he doesn't want to talk to us."

J says, I already told you I know he loves me.

I then told him, Then it sounds like you've chosen 3. God does love us and gives us His word through a modern prophet today, whose authority was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, in other words, God Speaks.

J paused for a long time after that and didn't say anything. Then Elder Hardy bore a sweet testimony and basically blew his mind. It was awesome. We are seeing him tonight at 6 and I am way pumped.

   Love you all and pray for Matt and his family, they are some of the greatest people I know.

 

  -Elder Henrie

Peacin' Out of Cheeseland

     That's right everybody I'm peacin out of Cheeseland and headed back to where it all began... Eastside. This week was the craziest week of transfers on my mission so far. I will be whitewashing Eastside St. Paul with Elder Moss who is an absolute stud. The Hmong district use to have four areas but it got put into two. And we have a threesome in Minneapolis of Hmong missionaries. It is going to be a blast back in the Hmong branch. Honestly I am pretty sad that I am leaving Eau Claire. I had so many miracles out here and the area was doing so well. Also I am defintely going to miss all the rednecks in the trailer parks but I am excited to get back to my Hmong people.

     Elder Hardy and I had one of the coolest miracles on my mission this last week. Because of various events he and I were out of money so we decided to skip dinner this last Thursday night. At 8 o' clock it was pouring rain and our appointment fell through so we decided to do some late night tracting. The second door that we knock on a little girl runs to the door and says come on in and flings the door open. The mom is sitting on a chair in the family room and the dad is just standing in the middle of the room and he says, "How did you find me?" We got to talking and found out that he was an inactive who had been baptised but then never really went back and he hadn't seen any missionaries for a long time. We learned that him and his fiance have been engaged for about 9 years but never were married because they don't have the money to pay a church to marry them. We responded by saying "Well your in luck because we'll marry you for free." Both of them were so happy. We taught them the Restoration and his soon to be wife comitted to baptism. They have four young kids and all of them are so cool. It was such a testimony builder to me that God really does His own work and I am just lucky enough to watch.

    Sounds like things are goin Craz-E down in San D! what with JW  graduating and moving to Cali and Libby is like this super crazy ballet,soccor, and school all star. Mom that is way cool that you and all of my friends moms went out to breakfast. I bet that was quite the awesome story time about all the dumb stuff your sons have done on missions. We also had Stake Conference this last week and we had Elder Ellis come and speak to us. He gave one of the most powerful testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith I have heard. He basically just started yelling that there is no way that Joseph Smith could not be a prophet. He said that he had received a witness from God that Joseph Smith was a prophet and he didn't care what any internet website said or what his neighbors thought of him because God had spoken to him individually that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw. It was awesome. That is exactly what I want to do to all of my investigators and the less actives. I'll try and let you all know how it goes. Hope everything is going awesome back home and that all of you took Stake Conference to heart and are striving to do more missionary work. There is nothing better in the world then watching someone's life improve through the teachings of the gospel. I know this might be pretty hard since most of our family friends are LDS but you should all try to set a date in the next two months when the missionaries can teach a non member in our home. Have them bring one of their investigators if you can't think of anyone to refer them too. You'll be blessed. I don't know what time I am calling on Mother's Day but I will try and let you know next week for sure.

 

     Elder Muaj Zoo

Happy Easter!

       Happy Easter Everybody! This was might have been the happiest and one of the most memorable holidays in my entire life. My companion and I were able to confirm 5 people as members of the church (the 4 kids and then another lady who got baptized) and the Spirit was so strong. The young mens president confirmed the son M and in his blessing he talked all about how he would serve a mission and the Holy Ghost would help him have great success as a servant of the Lord. After the confirmations we had a musical program and for some reason they asked Elder Hardy and I to sing in the choir and I don't know why because both of us sound like the Penguin that's been left on the shelf to long in Toy Story when we sing. Also there was only 3 other guys singing with us so I'm pretty sure everyone in the ward heard us but whatevs. It was one of the most spiritual sacrament meetings that I have ever been to. I feel like this last month studying about the Atonement  and the Ressurrection I have truly learned how awesome Christ is and how great of an opportunity we have to learn and grow through his example.

     Had a pretty neat experience with a young hmong guy named K last night too. We have been teaching him and his wife J for about 2 weeks and they haven't really been progressing so Elder Hardy and I felt the need to go in guns blazing last night. When we go in there appartment the craziest scene began to unfold. First of all Hmong people don't believe in air conditioning so it felt like we were in an oven except that it was humid and my companion and I had our suits on. They have four boys all under 6 and they are all naked running around screaming causing a rucus. Needless to say it was gonna be tough to bring the Spirit but my companion is a beast and he had the awesome idea of showing them the Because of Him video to start the lesson. During the video it got quiet and after it ended we all paused and just listened to the Spirit. Everything changed in that house. K and J looked up smiling and we ended up having a super awesome lesson. We committed them for baptism on May 31st so we are really excited for the two of  them. All we have to do is get them married legally before they can be baptized so that will be fun.

      Don't have to much else this week, just want you all to know that I think you're awesome and keep up the good work. Also J Dub that's crazy that you built a nuclear submarine. If you have any extra time you should work on building me the rocket ship that Vector has on Despicable Me. Also I wouldn't mind that super sweet white jumpsuit that he has. Libby congrats on getting like 100 eggs this last Easter but when I get back I promise I'm not going easy on you like everybody else. See ya :)

 Some Hmong Kids Tracting With Us

The K Family Baptism

So Much Opposition And So Many Miracles

    Well happy Easter everyone. You know that primary song about popcorn outside. That is a load of bologna. It snowed a couple inches last night and it's suppose to snow more this weekend. I have noticed that in Wisconsin it doesn't actually get warmer, when spring comes people just stop caring if its cold and come outside more.

     Things are going super duper and I have seen so much opposition and so many miracles this last week. Satan was really workng hard to get the K family to back out of their baptism this Saturday but in the end God won... shocker. Their family had a lot of stress and things were looking not so good but we had a lot of great members of the ward step in and help them out and they are right back on track. I still don't have pictures of them but I will send you some next week.

     I have some crazy miracles to tell you about so buckle up. My companion and I were walking downtown this last tuesday around 8 to one of our appointments when one of the coolest thing happened. A man across the street waved to us and said are you mormans. We said yeah and he asked us if he could walk with us. The first thing that I thought when he said that was oh no I'm about to hear the list of 1000 Reasons Why Joseph Smith Can't Be A Prophet. but the first thing out of his mouth was "out of all the religions in the world I think I would join the Mormans." I was super caught off guard by that but I was stoked I promise. I felt like a little kid who didn't see any presents under his Christmas tree only to look in the back yard and notice that his parents gave him a spaceship. It's a great feeling. Anyways he told us how he had wanted to join our religion for a few years but his wife was very against our church but that they had been divorced three days earlier. He told us that he met Morman missionaries while he was working on a grape farm in Korea and one of the Missionaries names was Elder Thomas who was actually one of my teachers in the MTC who I looked up to a lot. He told us that he was looking for a foundation for him and his 4 year old son who he had full custady of. It was so cool to think that God could put an 18 year old kid from Sandy Utah with a 40 year old man from a grape farm in Korea together on the same street in downtown Eau Claire. God really does watch over us.

     The next miracle is a girl named N X. She had been taught by the missionaries about 1 year ago and we recently picked her up. She has been struggling to understand why the church is important for her life and so we decided to take her on a church tour. At the end of the tour we were in the Chapel and my companion and I wanted to share personal experiences of when we had felt the Spirit and how it had brought us peace. We both shared our and then two members shared theirs. The Spirit was so strong. After the member finished his story we all just stopped and stared at her. No one said anything for a little while and the N X started to cry and we all just sat there. She then told us of a story of when she thought that she had felt the Spirit in her life and the room pretty much exploded in a giant SPIRIT BOMB. It was so neat to see her understand the importance of the Spirit in her life. She is now coming to church and is progressing really well. We are hoping to have a date set for baptism soon so pray for that one.

     The last thing that I wanted to talk about is how cool trials are. I was talking with a return missionary in our ward and he talked about how he wants to go back out on his mission because he wants God to test him more. He feels like life is to easy. His words really hit me and I felt the same way. The best times of my mission are when I have had the most trials. I have been the closer to God when things are rough then at any other time. I thought about this and realized that in life I would rather have a whole lot of trials and a whole lot of triumphs then just peacefully coast through it. Because in the end that is really no fun. Trials are something that I have learned to love and even try to seek out now on my mission.

     That's all for now and I love you all a bunch. Have a Happy Easter and go crazy getting all those eggs.

Pretty Awesome Experience Right There

   I don't know if it's because I'm a missionary or what but conference was like 300000000 times better than before. It probably helped that I wasn't laying on the ground with a pillow and blanket trying to fend off Gracie the whole time but still I think the Spirit gets magnified when you are a missionary. It felt like Christmas had come 8 months early this year when I woke up I was so excited. The one thought that I couldn't help having the whole time is... Who wouldn't think this church is true?

     First I'll tell about a super cool miracle that we had this week then I'll talk more about conference. Elder Hardy and I taught a man by the name of K the Restoration about two weeks ago and we had the coolest experience. He didn't seem to interested in what we are teaching but we told him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and we would come back. He texted us later and said he wasn't available to meet with us but we told him to keep reading. Over the next week we texted him a couple times and told him stuff to read and he didn't text us back. Then one night around 9 as we were headed home we got a text from him that said " Hey guys sorry I didn't get back to u yesterday. I did have a chance to read the intro u pointed out and the verses in Moroni 10:3-5. I think I'm gonna read this book every chance I get and maybe see if I can get a better understanding from the Mormans point of view. I just wanted to take the time to say thank you for giving me the book of Morman." When we got that text I was so happy. We are now teaching him and he is doing awesome. It was so cool to see the converting power of the book of morman and how it really can change people's lives.

     The next miracle is a lady named X. She is a super old less active Hmong lady that elder hardy and I felt that we just needed to stop by one day. When we walked up to her appartment building both of the doors were unlocked(that never happens) and so we walked right in. When we walked in she was standing on the second floor and said Cov tub txib, los tom no, kuv tau tos rau nej. Which means missionaries, come here, I've been waiting. So we walk upstairs and right when we sit down tears start coming down her face and no one says anything. Then we tell her that God is watching out for her and that He loves her vary much. She says, "I know." Needless to say she is now coming back to church. Pretty awesome experience right there.

     Anyways I hope all of you enjoyed conference as much as I did. I think my favorite talk was from Gary E. Stevenson when he talked about how important this life is. I don't know why but it gave me such a fire to go out and share the gospel so that people have the chance to make the most of this life. Mom before my mission you always told me that teenagers think they know everything and that once you go on your mission you'll learn that you don't know everything. Fortunately for you I still think I know everything because I have come to know that the gospel is true. And in this life that is all that really matters. Gary E. Stevenson talked about how 4 minutes was everything to those olympic athletes and how this life was just like that for us. After I heard his talk I thought about if I had four minutes to talk about my entire life and say something for people to remember me by, I would talk about my family my friends, and the gospel. That's because these are things that really matter. And because I know this I know everything... Sorry Mom.

     I love all of you and hope you had an awesome week. Tell Grammy that I hope she's feeling better and tell JW that he needs to look up the Mexican Hot Chocolate Recipe from chex. I know he likes muddy buddies so I figure he'll love that. Tanner your a stud. Libby, even though you are a super big wuss at soccer, I still love you. Dad I watched most of the conference in English but I watched a couple talks in Hmong. It was crazy and I think I want to translate when I get back. Have a good one  :)

Another Great Week Out in America's Dairyland

    Another great week out in America's Dairyland. You could say I feel like a cow in tall grass... Utterly tickled to be here. The K family is doing really well and are preparing to be baptized on the 12th this month which is really exciting. Sorry still don't have pictures of them but I will send some of them next week.

    Miracle for this week is defintely going to be a man named M. Elder Hardy and I were tracting an apartment building and we were talking about wanting some more diversity in the ward and we talked about how it would be fun to have some more african american members. Lo and behold right after we said that we knocked on the door of a 6 foot 2 220 pound extremely intimidating african american man. He said, "looks like God just sent me two of His angels." So we go in and the first thing he says to us is I know that you guys like to talk but just sit down and listen because I'm about to do some preaching of my own. He turns on this rap song by DMX that talks about God and we told him we don't listen to that stuff but he said don't worry about it I won't tell anybody plus this stuff brings the Spirit. So we listen to the song and he starts crying and then he tells us his past. He told us about how he was in a gang and was in prison for 24 years. He shows us his stab wounds, bullet wounds, and all of these burn marks and then he looks at us and says, "I'm just tired of it all and I want to find a church." He is one of the coolest guys that I have ever met and I don't know if I have ever met someone with a harder life then this man. He was planning to get married awhile back but his fiance died when the twin towers went down in New York. It was amazing to see that someone with so much hardship and so many sins could still come back and want to find God. Unfortunately he can't be baptized for awhile because he is currently on probation but we are still working with him to help him repent and it has been such a testimony builder that no matter who you are or what you've done the Atonement can bring you hope.

      This Sunday was really neat because Elder Hardy and I got to speak in church. We had known for about 4 days and Elder Hardy just kept telling me the whole time that he is absolutely terrified of speaking in front of people. He spoke before me and gave an awesome talk on the Atonement. I went after and also spoke on the Atonement and I felt the Spirit so strong throughout the meeting. Afterwards a bunch of members got our number so that their friends could start learning and also the Bishop is allowing us to use the gym every Tuesday for volleyball with the Hmong Community. Then our dinner calendar got completely filled up for the month which is pretty sweet because as much as I love oatmeal and mac and cheese, it was getting old. Anyways moral of the story is blessings come from facing your fears.

      One last thing that I was thinking about was how important it is to soften our hearts and listen to the Spirit. One of the investigators are working with had a baptismal date for two fridays ago but she failed the interview because she likes going to a hmong church and wants to be a member in both churches. Her name is P. She is also really sick and is confused at why God isn't healing her because she lives His commandments. This last time that we went to visit her we went over the story of King Lamoni's father and how he is willing to give up everything to receive forgiveness of his sins. We asked her after if she would be willing to give up the hmong church and the Spirit was so strong. She looked us right in the eyes and said no. We asked her if she felt the Spirit and she said no. My companion and I walked out of the appartment and I don't know if I have ever felt that sad about another person's words in my life. We both just stood there in the street and looked at each other just not knowing what to do. We felt like we did everything we could but she didn't want to follow truth. We decided to say a prayer that she would one day come to know that it was true and I felt so much comfort from that. It was a really hard experience but I will never forget it. I learned that it was super important to listen to the Spirit even if you don't know why and that is something I am striving to do. (The guy behind me in the library just farted so loud and he is this ginormous redneck man with like a one foot beard. I love Wisconsin) Anyways that's my advice this week. Strive to follow the Spirit and never deny it. Even if it is the smallest prompting.

     Love you all and keep up the good work. Dad I think that is super cool that you are studying the Atonement. Our mission president is having us study one talk on the Atonement per day for 30 days leading up (he just farted again) to Easter and I have grown so much appreciation for it. Mom tell Grammy I hope she is ok. Libby it sounds like you are a soccor ninja so keep up the good work.

Uff Da

  Yeah I don't know what that word means either but for some reason everyone here says it. I'll get back to you on that once I find out. Sounds like things are going great back home with Tanner, James, and Libby's birthdays. Also that is super cool about Jesse Robinson. It sounds like he is really changing people's lives and doing a lot of good. I hope that I can learn from his example and honor James the same way that he is honoring his brother Tyler.

     To answer a few of your questions. My apartment is HUGE. We have two rooms and a kitchen which is always a plus. We actually have a ward out here but only about 15 Hmong people come each week. My companion and I do english and Hmong work which at first when I heard I was a little sad because I love the Hmong people so much but then I met the Rednecks of Wisconsin and I honestly could not be happier. I say Rednecks of Wisconsin because they literally call themselves that. Most of the white people we teach live in trailer parks and it is by far one of the funniest things in my life to teach them. All of them have guns and they are not afraid to use them, one of the main purposes in life for them is to fish, and if your not a Green Bay Packers fan, then in their mind your pretty much worse than dirt. There is also quite a few Hmong people here which is nice and we have the opportunity to do some fun things to get the work going. We are starting up weekly volleyball to get the Hmong people to start coming and also create an easy environment to find new investigators. Our mission president and our ward mission leader said we can do pretty much whatever we want(as long as we don't break the rules) to get the Hmong work going so I'm really excited to get creative and help build their faith here. The biggest thing that suprised me so far was just the town of Eau Claire. Honestly it's pretty weird but I love it. Are apartment building is right next to a Mason temple and we have a huge community of Amish people right on the edge of town. Can't wait to go tract out there. I just hope they don't look down on me because I don't have as awesome as a beard as they do.

     One family that we are teaching is the K family. The mom is less active but is beginning to come back to activity. They are your typical Wisconsin family. 8 people live in a two bedroom trailer, they have 11 cats (2 are dead in the freezer), 3 dogs, and a huge python not in a pear tree. The first time I went to teach them it was so hard to focus I'll be honest. There was cats flying everywhere, a ginormous dog that they shoved in a closet barking and trying to escape, and a 5 foot python slithering around. Needless to say it takes a true man to teach Wisconsin style. I really do love this family though and they are doing really well. Four of the kids are planning to get baptized on the 12th. One of them isn't accountable, the dad doesn't have a problem with his kids going but he doesn't want to, and one of them is just now beginning to show interest. Really exciting to teach and I have a lot of funny stories already about just different things that they do.

      The miracle for this week will be a young man named J. Elder Hardy and I (just realized I haven't mentioned him but he is a bigger beast then King Kong) were doing are weekly planning session when we both felt inspired to call this guy who's name and number was just on a piece of paper in the apartment. He answered the phone and told us that he knew a lot of Mormons and his family who were members would be in town this week and he said he wanted to come to church with them. We told him that we would see him there. He showed up to church two days later and we are now just beginning to teach him the lessons. Super cool experience with just following promptings of the Spirit and receiving blessings for it. 

       That's all for this week but I love you all. Sorry dad but neither of us know the address to the apartment. The sleep deprivation of my mission has definitely caused some short term memory problems (Im just kidding). But I guess it's better to live in the now right. Tanner in response to your letter. Tanner, manner, banner, Star spangled banner, america, america, freedom, freedom to do whatever you choose, choose the right, price is right, Bob Barker, Barker, bark, dog barks, trailer parks, Redneck hearts, Rednecks, NASCAR, fast car, car, tire, wheel, role, roll, butter, nutter, nut, nutty, crazy, craze, mad, mad hatter, hat, Pat, Patrick, Patrick the Star, Taking you back down memory lane all the way to Spongebob, Bob, grandpa bob, gramps, grumps, bumps, mumps, mumps, measles, measles, weasles, Hairy rat things, things, rings, rings, bling, bling, Hip Hop, Ring Pops, Pops, John, John Henrie, Henrie, Tanner... You thought it was over but I'm pulling a Lord of the Rings three on you and having like 6 endings, endings, end, end, mend, bend, trend, fashion trends, fashion, style, style, taste, taste the flavor, FLAVA FLAVE, rapper, rap, wrap, As in just about to wrap this up, Up, down, all around, lost and found, Homeward Bound, Bound, tied, tounge tied, Twisted, twister, tornado, tornado storm, Storm in Wizard of Oz, Were not in Kansas anymore Toto, Toto, Tito, Rush Hour 2, 2, 1, 3,2,1, countdown, times up, Don't have anymore time to do this because I am a missionary and I got to go, go, stop, drop, fall, Fall, September, As in the month I left on my mission, mission, missionary, me, you, you and I, Henrie's, Legacy, Legacy Park, Homeward, Hometown, SAN-D, rhymes with Mandy, handy dandy, candy, sweet, sweet tooth, cavities, dentist, former occupation of my favorite person that is currently 24 years old. Tanner. How do you like me now? I already know you like me cuz we're family and you have to. 

      Ok now I'm really done. Love you all and have a great week. Also fam you should all put a picture of Christ up in our home and send me the pic of it hanging up on the wall. I can't send you pictures until you send me a picture of that hanging up back. (plus I forgot my camera cord thingy today so I can't send them anyways). Dad one great idea for home teaching is instead of doing the regular visit thing. Invite each family over for dinner once in a month. So if you teach four families. Go do the regular visit with three and then maybe invite one of them over for a Sunday dinner. And then after four months all the families on your list will have had a chance to get to know you and our family better. Just an idea. BYEEEEEEEEE

                                                    Elder Me