Off To Wisconsin

   That's right everyone, I am off to Wisconsin. Transfers was posted today and I found out that I will be serving in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. When I found out this morning I was so shocked but I also felt that it is right for me. My companion's name is Elder Hardy and he was serving in the Hmong branch with me for 2 transfers so I already know him pretty well. He is a really good missionary and also way funny so I am excited. I am sad to be leaving the Hmong branch here because of all the success that Elder Meyer and I had but I think that it will also be such a great opportunity for me. Elder Hardy and I will be opening up a new area and doing full Hmong work which will be really fun. There was a thriving Hmong branch out in Eau Claire around ten years ago but I guess it fell apart. There is a lot of Hmong people there so I am sure it will be an exciting experience.

    Things went really well this past week and there was so many eye opening experiences when I just had to stop and say to myself, "I can't believe that just happened." For some reason when you're on a mission the Lord kind of makes you forget that your only 18 years old and your serving as a marriage counselor, depression therapist, english teacher, and many other callings as well. I don't know how missionaries have the capacity to do it all but I guess through the Spirit anything is possible. The one experience that made me think all of this was a lady named P. She is the mom of our investigators A&E who are the 12 and 13 year old boys who were going to get baptized a few weeks ago but their mom said no. A little background on P. She is 35 has 7 kids, smokes, her husband beats her, fully shaman, put up one of her kids for adoption, 3 other kids live with her in laws, 2 kids under 4, and unemployed. Needless to say there was quite the mountain in front of us as we walked into her appartment to check up on how she was doing. As we sat down she expressed to us that she now feels as though there is nowhere for her to go in life. The in laws were not letting her see her kids anymore and she had to continue living with her 2nd husband even though he was abusive because she had no other way to pay for the 2 younger kids food. (this is why I mentioned how inadequate I feel as an 18 year old trying to solve other people's problems.) I decided to ask her, Are you worried that you and your family will not be able to be together again because of all the problems you are facing? She said yes. My companion said, " What affect will this have on your children growing up without their mother?" She looked so sad and couldn't really give an answer. We then testified to her that Christ is there to lead her and that through His teachings she and her family could be together forever. We read 2 Nep 32:3 which says Feast upon the words of Christ for the words of Christ will show you all things which you should do. We then asked her how could Christ's words help lead her and her family to happiness? She bore a powerful testimony of her own about Christ and His love for her and her family. I then realized what a missionary is there to do. He is not there to bear his own testimony but rather to help investigators testify themselves of how the gospel can bless them. Bearing a testimony is an act of faith and faith always leads to repentence. After she bore her testimony the Spirit was so strong in that little brokendown appartment. At that moment she knew that this was the way. We invited her to begin learning from the missionaries and she accepted with a smile on her face. The mother who just a few weeks earlier had told my companion and I that there was NO WAY! her sons were getting baptized, is now on that path herself. What a miracle.

     Mom tell Steve Gasik's family that I love him. I will never forget that he taught me the 5 P's. Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. A principle that is very true in missionary work. I really loved him and always loved to hear his stories about the air force and his testimony at young men's camps. Also his son Steven is a huge example to me. Tell Suzy these exact words, "Vid-E, you are an absolute stud and I know the people of Montreal are about to get hit by a wave of awesomeness. Get ready for the best 18 months of your entire life." To Dallas Heiner- "You are the bees knees. I will never forget all the awesome times we had. The people of Guatemala are lucky to have a man like you."

     I am glad everyone is doing well back home and that Youth Conference went well. There are so many heros still alive today. I get to be with them everyday of my life as I watch missionaries sacrifice nearly everything to bless the lives of complete strangers. Tanner... Happy Birthday you crazy awesome brother. Tell James Batman says hi and tell Libby that I want to be in her Nature Club. Love you all and all is well.

                                      Elder Henrie

Sorry Dad I forgot to tell you. I cant use names. President's rules.

Elder Meyer and I in a hail storm

 

The Corner of Marshall and Kent Street. Yeah I know best place ever. I am going to live here when I'm older.

 

The daughter of our investigator J. She is the funniest little girl ever.

God Really Does Know Each of Us

   First of all before I say anything else. Major shoutout to the BIG BRO for getting into Stanford. That is super awesome and I am way proud (not suprised) and they are lucky to have you.

     Super amazing week this week. To answer your question dad. T did get baptized. She is the wife of the young man in the picture who is baptizing her. It was one of the most spiritual experiences. Honestly the day of the baptism was pretty stressful because we didn't have any jumpsuits and we didn't have the church reserved and all of these people who had planned to help out didn't show up. (I figure this is kind of what a wedding is like and once it's over your happy.) But everything ended up working out find and when she was baptized it was probably one of the happiest moments of my life. She had been investigating the church for about 6 months. It was so amazing to see the change in the 4 weeks that Elder Meyer and I taught her. I really don't know how it happened. She turned from this super shy girl who didn't want to get baptized because of her parents into the most outgoing girl who has one of the strongest testimonies of Jesus Christ that I have heard. She grew up in Thailand and came to America when she was a young teenager. Her family was very devout Buddhist and did not want anything to do with Christianity. Her story of all the miracles that had to happen in order for her to be able to know the gospel and feel the blessings of the Atonement was such a faith builder that God really does know each of us and is closely involved in each of our lives.

    This Sunday was also really neat when we confirmed her a member of the Church and also gave her the Holy Ghost. As we were confirming her it felt like the Spirit just filled my whole soul and that it was literally moving from all of us to her. Super wierd feeling but also powerful and unforgettable.

     The miracle that I want to tell you about this week is about a man named V. We met him in the strangest way possible. Elder Meyer and I were running for our bus (as usual) and there was a man standing in the sidewalk blocking our way. Because of that we ended up missing our bus because we literally ran into him. God works in mysterious ways what can I say. We ended up talking to him for a few minutes and set up an appointment for us to go meet him at his house a few days later. We went to see him and found out quickly that he had quite the mountain to climb. He has struggled with depression his whole life and because of that has drinking, smoking, and other obeidience to commandment issues. He is probably one of my favorite people on the whole earth. He is the most happy jolly guy and can really make anyone smile. The hard part is when he hits one of his depression episodes. It has been so interesting and has built my love for this man so much. I have seen what he could be with the gospel in his life and know that he has the ability to overcome all of his trials. He wants to change but has so much in his life that is trying to pull him down. But we ran into him Tuesday, taught him on Thursday, came to church on Sunday and he'll be a changed man in just a few more Saturdays, a true blessing from the Lord.

      Mom-to answer some of your questions. Day to day life=eat preach sleep. How do I cook=cans of chicken noodle soup and oatmeal. How do I organize my day=daily planning every night. How do I get around= bike walk or bus if its snowing or really far.

      Dad- I honestly have no idea why I thought Libby was getting baptized this year. I totally remember when her Bowen and that other girl got baptized and Tanner had to speak at it. But yes, I have never been more tired in my whole entire life which I guess is probably a good sign. One of the things I have noticed though is that as a missionary falling asleep at 10:30 is like blinking, you don't even have to try.

     Love all of you and congrats to JW. I know he'll make the right choice though and go to the U because the Utes have the greatest college football team known to man. Tell Trevin that I'm proud of him and he will be a great missionary. I know the church is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. If it wasn't I wouldn't be here. Christ lives and walks with us daily. Sib ntsib dua kuv tsev neeg. Kuv hlub nej sawv daws. Kuv hais tej yam no los ntawm Yexus Khetos lub npe zoo. Amees. (Note from Erin:  On Google Translate, this translates to:
Goodbye my family. I love all of you. I say these things of Jesus Christ. Amen.)                      
Elder Muaj Zoo Vwj

"Elder Henrie, turn around..."

     Nyob kuv cov kwv tij sawv daws!

  I hope all is well back in Utah. I just read moms letter and I  found out that I will have been a missionary for 6 months... EW. Word to the wise mom. After a man says he feels like he's short on time. Don't remind him he's short on time. JK I love you you're the best but that is kind of scary. Things are going really well as of late and I am getting really excited for the baptism of T this Saturday. She really is one of the funniest coolest people I have met and she has an amazing story. Her whole family is Buddhist and is super opposed to her being baptized but she has such a strong testimony and really knows that this church is true. Also her husband has come back to being active in the church and will be baptizing her which will be a super neat sight. I will have pictures this next weak of them.

     This whole Fast for 40 days thing has turned out to be pretty sweet. The Spirit has been so strong in the work and I have had the opportunity to see miracles that I thought you only saw in movies. There are sometimes when your a missionary when you just have to stop and say to yourself, did that really just happen. The two miracles that I want to share with you this week the people involved both have the same name. We will call them T#2 and T#3.

     One of my favorite experiences on my mission was with a young man named T#2. T#2 is being faced with a lot of family opposition and can't decide what to do because he knows that the church is true. As we taught him on his stairwell this past thursday the most amazing thing happened. The Spirit was amazingly strong and both Elder Meyer and I knew that he had gained a witness that the church was true. We decided to seize on that. We told him that after our lesson we wanted him to walk up to his father and tell him that he knew that our church was true through the power of the Holy Ghost and to tell his father that he would continue meeting with the missionaries. At first he stared at us completely shocked and so we just sat there and watched him and let the Spirit do its work. We sat in silence for about a minute and a half while he twiddled his thumbs and stared at the ground. As he did so I thought of Peter as he kept his eye on Christ and when he looked down he fell. This is exactly what was going on in my head as I watched. I thought I might be crazy but I just tried to keep my faith. Finally after what seemed like forever he looked up at us with a different and new light in his eyes and he said "OK." It was one of the biggest testimony builders on my mission of the power of the Spirit. I will never forget the look on Elder Meyer's face when we walked out and I'm sure I had the same look on mine. Super awesome.

    The other miracle is with T#3 and S. We had a baptism this past Friday at 7:30 for three investigators in Minneapolis and it was really cool to see but anyways after the meeting we had a neat thing happen. Elder Meyer and I were talking with some members after the baptism when all of a sudden 2 people walked in from outside (This was at 9. Who walks into a church at 9 at night.) They asked to use the bathroom and we showed them where it was and then went outside because it was time for us to go home and we didn't really think of it. For some reason we got caught up outside and didn't leave for a few minutes but I can't remember why. The young couple came back out and we started talking for a little bit. We said goodbye and then started walking to the car. When we were about 10 feet from the car all of a sudden I had the thought to stop so I did. Then I had this voice in my head say Elder Henrie, turn around and sprint after that couple as fast as you can. And when that happens you don't ask questions you just start running. So I started sprinting after them and Elder Meyer didn't say anything he just started sprinting too. We run and catch up to them and say, "Sorry we forgot to tell you this but God has a plan for the both of you and your new young family. He needs you to hear it and we'd love to send some missionaries to your house so that you can know this plan for yourselves." They accepted and we referred them to the English Elders. I have no idea what happened to them but I have a feeling that I will know someday.

     So yeah that's it for this week and I love all of you. Dad and Mom I know you will do awesome at youth conference. Also Tanner you might be able to bench more when I get back but I bet I can sprint faster. All of these buses I have to catch each day are making me think I should have done cross country back in high school. Libby I hope you are getting pumped for your baptism next month and it doesn't suprise me that you are talking it up in school. JW. Hope all is good with the boys. Tell Jessi hi for me.

    Love Elder Muaj Zoo Vwj

P.S. Shoutout to Moose and James for being awesome. Tell James Batman will be sending him a letter soon.

P.P.S. Pictures 1 one of the og's (original gangsters. That's really what they call them in Hmong if they are an old guy.) 2 snowman 3 crazy snowman from Doctor Who

I Want To Become So Much More Like Christ

     This past week was by far the most successful week of my mission and there were so many miracles I almost can't believe it. Elder Meyer and I truly have seen great miracles in times of great trial. Here are a few examples of what I mean. Our phone broke this last week so we weren't able to contact members to come to lessons for us but for some reasons the members in our area felt "impressed" to reach out to our investigators and have been hanging out with them throughout the week and inviting them to dinner and stuff like that. It helped so much and was a big miracle. Also this week I got bit by a dog (don't worry I'm healthy and fine and I haven't turned into one of those I Am Legend zombies from rabies yet) and the people that we went to go see that morning felt so bad and all of them came to church. I'm not sure if that was because they felt bad for me or because they wanted to come closer to Christ but either way I'll take it. One of the investigators in our area who has been taught for around 7 months finally comitted to be baptized. She has strong family opposition but she finally said to us, "I don't care what my parents think, I have a husband, I have a baby, I know this is right, and I can choose for myself." Probably one of the greatest moments of my entire life when that happened. She is being baptized not this Saturday but the next.

      So yeah things are going awesome in Frogtown. Elder Meyer and I are stilling getting along super well. One thing that I am nervous about this week though is that I have an exchange with the District Leader today until Wednesday and then exchanges with the Zone leaders Wednesday through Thursday night. I still don't know the area super well but if all else fails I guess I can always pull out my Liahona and just use a little faith. (They gave us those bad boys last zone conference, pretty sweet eh?) I think the reason for Elder Meyer and my success together has been because of three things: 1. The Spirit 2. The same goals 3. Hard Work. The first one is defintely the most important and I have felt it so strongly these past couple days. One of the things that Elder Meyer and I have decided to do and have been doing for the past couple days is called the PURE ANGLER FAST. What you do is pray and fast for a day and ask God what things are keeping you from feeling the Spirit and what things you need to do to have the Spirit more and then you do or don't do those things for 40 days. It has been amazing to see how much difference this has made in the work and also in me. Before my mission I thought that I would come out to the mission field, do the work, then come home a little better of a person with some cool stories to tell. But now that I have been doing this PAF thing my whole outlook on life has changed. I don't want to come back just a little different, I want to become something on my mission now. I want to become so much more like Christ and the way that I can do that is through the Spirit.

      One thing that I have realized about having the Spirit was that all of those gifts that it talks about in the scriptures are so real. I had an experience when Elder Meyer and I were teaching a young man and the lesson was going absolutely nowhere. All of a sudden I had this thought that I needed to speak Hmong to him (which is weird because most of the younger generation prefers english) and I needed to ask him why he felt it was stressful being the oldest son in the family. After I did that he opened up so much and the Spirit was able to teach him and it turned out to be a great lesson. There are just so many little things like that which make me know that the Spirit is what really guides this work.

      One of our investigators, investigator J, who we have been teaching for a few weeks now had a super amazing experience that I wanted to share with all of you this past Sunday. We have been working towards March 22 with her for baptism but she has had a lot of family opposition and so it has been hard for her to commit. We decided to take her on a church tour after church yesterday and show her the baptismal font and also give her a chance to sit in the chapel and pray when there was nobody else there. As we were standing in the back of the chapel the Spirit was so strong it felt like if I opened my mouth I could drink it. (Just realized how weird that sounds but you know what I mean) Anyways she prayed with us about baptism on the 22 and right as she began her prayer I knew there was no way in this world that she wasn't going to get an answer. As soon as she finished her prayer she looked up at my companion and I and just said yes. All of us knew at that moment that God just answered her prayer. Super Cool

      I read this quote this morning and I thought that it applies so well to everything you do as a missionary. It says, "Don't miss the opportunity of a lifetime because you didn't seize it in the lifetime of the opportunity." That's how I feel about this work now. I know I still have like 18 months left but for some reason it feels like there is not enough time. If I could I would stay here for another 30 years but I'd probably still feel the same way after 29. I'll ask President about it and see what he says. I love you all and I hope all is going Dandy! in San-D!

                            Love Elder Muaj Zoo Vwj

P.S. Mom I got the package thanks so much. Making that pizza was awesome. J Dub... I put twinkies on it.

Pictures are THE BEST PIZZA EVER, ME AND THE MEYER MIESTER, ME AND ELDER WHITE ON EXCHANGES

We were like "YOLO"

   Dear People,

       This week was by far one of the most jam packed week of miracles so far on my mission and for some reason everything is just going handy dandy. Our district hasn't been having to many baptisms lately and so last Sunday we decided to hold a district fast to help with the work. To make a long story short three days later Elder Meyer and I had four people who have committed to baptism and the two other elders in Minneapolis had four as well. The Spirit was so strong this week and for some reason all of our lessons just went amazing.

        One of the coolest miracles that I have seen on my mission so far actually happened on the bus this week. Elder Meyer and I almost always are out of the apartment by 12 because we have all our study and then lunch but for some reason both of us felt like we should hurry and take the 1130 bus downtown which is super weird because our appointment wasn't even close to downtown but we were like "YOLO" so we got on and started riding downtown. A super grumpy looking lady sat down next to me and my first thought was "AHHHHHHH I really just don't feel like trying to talk to her right now." After a few seconds I had this thought that I REALLY needed to talk to her. I started talking to her and after a few minutes she explained how her husband had lung cancer and might be passing away soon and that she really wanted God in her life and she felt like our church was the one that could do that. She then told me how she for some reason caught the 1130 bus this morning even though everyday for 6 months she had been taking the 1200 bus. Then she said she always sat in the back corner of the bus but for some reason (The Spirit) she decided to sit in the front today. She is now meeting with the English missionaries and is progressing really well. It really was the biggest testimony builder to me that the Spirit really leads us to the people we need to see. It was a neat experience.

       The other thing that happened this week was with A&E. They are preparing for baptism on March 8 and their legal guardian has already said yes but we wanted to get their biological mom involved with their baptism too so we went over to her house to talk to her about it. And surprise surprise their mom was super deep into shaman culture. Their grandpa was actually a full blooded shaman through and through and so it was a pretty intense lesson. We went in and explained to this mom who had so many hard times in her life why it was important for her kids to be baptized. She has 7 kids no husband and is 30years old. She had her first kid when she was 14 and got into drugs and alcohol. Most of her kids had been given up for adoption and she told us how if her 2 sons started going to church she felt like it might drive their family apart even more. Elder Meyer and I both testified about how our families back home were so blessed by the gospel and that nothing can bring a family closer together than Christ and His gospel. She then accepted and has allowed her two kids to be baptized and is also planning on coming to watch. It was way cool to watch her change and watch the Spirit testify to her that this could save her family.

      There's so many other miracles this week too. An atheist came to believe in God in 40 minutes, we taught 7 people who don't speak Hmong or English(they speak Koran), and we watched a single mom who was feeling the weight of the world decide to be baptized and give her life over to God. So basically, miracles are real and they can happen every day if we are willing to do our part and if we have the faith. Love all of you and I hope that you are doing awesome. Sounds like things are going well back in the 801

 

                                                                                             Love Elder Muaj Zoo

I Love This Kid a Ton

 Sorry mom about the horribly short email last week. But in my defense I was so sick I really just sat up on my chair typed that and then laid back down on the grown in the library and puked into a garbage can that I was holding. There really was nothing more that I could write. The best way that I think I can describe the sickness that I had was probably a man cold mixed in with a little bit of the black plague with a sprinkle of absolutely horrible pnuemonia. Nothing for the faint of heart I can assure you. The good news is I am back to skinnier than I was before my mission since I lost a solid 15 pounds. No worries mom we are planning on going to an asian buffet today so I should be able to gain about half of that back by 2:00 this afternoon.

     The other big news this week is that I am getting transfered to Frogtown. I went from the ghetto part of St.Paul to THE GHETTO part of St.Paul and I am actually way excited. I am pretty sad about leaving Eastside because their are so many cool people here and there are so many investigators and less actives that I am going to miss but my new companion will be Elder Meyer and he is an absolute stud as a missionary. He has been out for about 1 year and a half and is really hitting his prime so I am excited to see how that goes.

       So now for the miracle of the week. His name is investigator K and he is probably my favorite person in the whole entire world. When he told me his life's story I almost started crying (I know I am a wuss) because he really has had one of the hardest lives I have ever heard. His mom kicked him out of the house so he went to go live with his dad who is an alcoholic and addicted to some pretty heavy drugs. Also his grandma and her boyfriend live there and they are doing shaman stuff just about every weekend which is pretty hard on him. When his mom kicked him out of his house he had to walk around and sleep in parks and he started hallucinating because of lack of food and sleep (he said he was just daydreaming but by the way he described it I'm pretty sure he was hallucinating) but he said it was summer so at least he wasn't to cold. He is only 13 and is like the smartest kid ever though. He built his own computer and does way good in school. His dad and grandparents only speak hmong but he can't speak it so he doesn't even talk to them at all.

     Anyways so that is his background. We found him one day tracting and honestly when he opened the door I thought to myself, oh boy this will be a tuff one. He looked so sad and was shy but he let us in. We taught him the restoration and it went ok. Towards the end of the lesson he said something to me that I will probably never forget, "I like the way that you guys smile, it makes me happy and I haven't been happy for a really long time." It showed me how important it is to smile and be happy so that your investigators can feel your testimony. After that we invited him to pray to ask if Heavenly Father is there and the strongest spirit came into the room. After the prayer he paused and said, "What is happening, my body is getting all warm and I feel super light. I feel like I could run a marathon. What is this?" We then explained to him very clearly that Heavenly Father just told him that He is there and that He loves him. I have never seen a 13 year old boy smile like that after we told him that. It truly was a modern day miracle and I will never forget that day. He is planning to be baptized on March 1 and has already completely changed. At first in our lessons we couldn't get him to say a word now all he does is laugh and talk so much it is hard to teach him anything but I don't even care because he really has changed so much and I love this kid a ton.

     I hope that after I leave Eastside he will continue to progress and be able to become a member of this church and come unto Christ. Things are going really well here now and I am feeling so much better. Honestly I haven't felt this good so far on my mission and I feel like really good things are about to happen. After having been stuck in my bed for 2 days all I want to do is run around with a giant microphone yelling that the Church of Jesus Christ is back and you can have eternal salvation through the Savior and His Atonement. I didn't because I don't want to end up being one of those old guys who walks around with a sign and everyone thinks is crazy but I thought about it.

      Love you all and I hope you are all doing super well.

                            Love Elder Henrie

The boy K

 Me eating with a less active couple and we are eating some super spicy pho. It doesn't even phase them its so sad.

P.S. Mom and Dad you should both buy a picture of Christ and hang it up in our home. I have noticed more than ever on my mish how much Satan tries to destroy families and the only way to stay strong is Christ. I want you guys to send me a picture of it hanging up in our home next week. You'll be blessed I promise.

P.P.S. Tanner I'll believe that extra 30 pounds of muscle when I see it. Also we are having a benching competition right when I get back and I still have my badge on. There is no way that you will beat me when I've got missionary power.

P.P.P.S. Tell Libby thank you so much for her letter that she sent me on Christmas and tell her when I get back from my mission maybe me and her can buy a german sheppard together. Also tell her I hope that her dog she has right now is doing well and that I think it's really cool.