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.

A Short, Sad Letter...

doing well just have the flu. I am doing everything to recover. love you all. Ill be ok

Very Up & Down

  Things this week have been very up and down and we have seen many miracles as we have pushed through some of the trials that we have encountered. Elder Xiong and I were doing so awesome this week and had some investigators set up to begin getting married, all of our investigators were keeping their commitments, and things were looking so good. All of a sudden on Sunday Satan dropped a big ole bomb of rude on all our investigators and a lot of them didn't show up to church. But it's ok because that isn't the end of the world and we had some really great lessons on Sunday night with some of my favorite families.

    I don't have much time so I will write one miracle and then I have to go. Elder Xiong and I stopped by a former investigator who we dropped about a month and a half ago. We taught her the restoration and after I asked to see her Book of Mormon. When I opened it up she had her book mark halfway through Alma. I thought to myself no way did she read this much. So we asked her if she read it and sure enough she said, I have read it, this book is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet. My heart pretty much exploded I was so happy. She came to church on sunday and had a great experience so we will be looking forward to her progressing more. We will call her investigator T. That's all for now, love all you guys.

I Will Probably Never Forget That Night

      Before I say anything at all....... HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYYYY MOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!! and hello to everybody else-

    Happy Birthday Mom. From everyones letters it sounds like you are doing awesome. Thanks so much for all that you have done for me these past 18 years. I have noticed so many times on my mission that the things you have taught me have been a great blessing to me and to those that I serve. Also because of you I actually do the laundry and clean my dishes. Not a skill that every missionary has mastered but because of you I'm getting the hang of it.

    When I think of all that I have learned from you I think of the story of the 2,000 strippling warriors and there faith which they had because of their mothers. In Alma Chapter 56 verses 47-48 it talks about how although the strippling warriors had never fought in war (or served a mission in this case) they did not fear because of the things their mothers taught them.

      47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

      48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

     Mom I would say that you are comparable to the mothers of the strippling warriors but I think I would have to say that you are even better. You raised me which I'm sure was a much harder task then the moms of those warriors. And not only did you raise me but you did it in a way that you really can't describe. It's like you knew the person that you wanted me to become when I was just a wee little lad and then you did everything and more to make sure I became that person. Because of that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to thank you enough. One more thing that you tried to teach me before I left on my mission was writing thank you notes. I realized that I never said thanks for the Christmas packages... sorry. But now I am officially giving you a huge thanks.

     I hope that this week was awesome for you and that your birthday was bodacious. Also when you see all of my friends moms at lunch if you could tell them two things then I think that'll do. 1. Tell them thank you for feeding me all the times that I was over at their house. 2. Tell them thank you for raising me like a son of their own. I looked up to all of their kids so much(since I was the youngest of all the boys) and I really will never forget all that their sons did for me.

     So this week has been a really good week and I have learned so much from all that happened. One of the families who we are teaching (I will put a picture in this time) was really struggling and my companion and I had an awesome lesson with them this week. There family has been struggling to get along and to have peace in their home so my companion and I decided to go over eat some pie, watch some mormon messages, and play some games. The lesson was going ok but it wasn't quite the spiritual bomb that we were hoping for. Before we left my companion asked them to all sit down on the couch together and he would take a picture of them. After he took the picture he handed the camera to the mom and said, "What do you see?" She paused for about 30 seconds and didn't say anything. Then she started crying and said, "I see a happy family." After that my companion and I both bore powerful testimonies on the plan of salvation (I think that since Chandler's death, and with my companions cousin and grandpa passing away both of us have gained such a sure knowledge that we will live forever) and I have never felt the spirit like that before. All of us in that room were quiet for a little bit and we just sat there and listened to the Spirit. I think it's safe to say that they know now what they need to do to be a happy family. I will probably never forget that night for as long as I live. Just the look on the mom's face when she looked at my companion and I and she knew that her family could be happy through the gospel. If I never do another thing on my whole mission, I could say that it was worth it just for that.

     That's all for this week and things are going really well. I love all you guys and hope that you've been keeping busy. It is spring time here in Minnesota and it's been really nice. Yesterday I think it got up in the forties so my companion and I decided to bust out the short sleeves and the Hmong ties. Peace out

     

                                                                                                        Love Elder Muaj Zoo Vwj

P.P.S. Dad thanks for those scriptures, they are so awesome.

A pic of a little p day activity that I chose for me and the other elders. Best P Day of all time.

This is the family that we taught and this is the picture that we showed them.

Global Warming... Don't Think So

So yeah this week I will be writing today and yall wont get an email on saturday. And the reason for that is because on Monday which is our P-Day it will be a high of -18. Thats right a high of -18. Our mission president told us that we are not allowed to go outside at all because apparently it is suppose to get under -40 with the wind chill at night. Global Warming... Dont think so. Im not sure if any of the tree huggers have ever been to Minnesota because it's literally so cold here that if you hug a tree, it just snaps.

     But besides the cold everything is going really well this week. One of the favorite people that I have met on my mission so far is a younger girl that we have been teaching for about three weeks now. She lives with her grandma and her aunt and her mom and dad have basically abandoned her. She told us that since she has been coming to church with us, she feels like she is happy for the first time in her life. I wanted to tell you all the story of her first prayer. As my companion and I sat in her basement with one of the young single adults we invited her to pray with us and at first she was pretty scared. The YSA with us told her if she wanted she could write out her prayer and say it out loud so that it would be a little less scary.(Way good idea) She said she would do it and this is basically what she said in her prayer, "Heavenly Father, thanks for my boots, thanks for my house, please tell me if I'm a child of God, in Jesus' name amen." When she closed her prayer that was one of the strongest times that I have felt the Spirit. This little girl had so much hard times and so much trials in her life but when she finished that prayer her face lit up like San-D! on the 4th of July. It was the coolest experience. She told us that she used to be scared every night because she thought her parents might come back and now she says she feels like God is her dad. SOCOOL! She also is quite the missionary. She has been teaching her grandma, her aunt, and all her younger cousins about the things we teach her and the things she learns at church. I think God has truly prepared this girl and he really put her in our path.

      So update for the less active and his investigator wife that came to church with us last week. We had a lesson with them a few days ago and we taught them the word of wisdom. We werent sure if they had problems with it or not but we felt like they might. At the end of the lesson we asked them if there was anything in their house that would keep them from living the word of wisdom and the mom said hold on a second. She walked out of the room, came back in, handed us all of her tea and said I promise I'll never touch it again. That was a really fun lesson. I love how as a missionary you can walk into someones house and tell them to stop doing something that they have been doing everyday since they were a little kid and they promise you that they will stop for life. The Spirit really is so amazing and it can change people's hearts so quickly.

     My companion and I have been doing really well and have seen many miracles this week. One of the things that I have realized is that God speaks to the Hmong people through their dreams. We had a lady tell us that she had a dream that she was sitting in a dark room and she felt really sad. She said that she couldn't see anything and she didn't know where to go. Then in her dream to young men dressed in white showed up at her door and the whole room lit up. We had another young girl who said that she had a dream where she was standing in between two roads and one of them one super dark and dirty and had really tall grass so she couldn't really see to far down the road. the other road was crystal clear and bright and she could see far ahead of her. She had that dream three days before we found her and she said she feels like this church is the clear road. God really does work in mysterious way to bring about the salvation of this people and I think it is so cool as a missionary to get to be a part of it. Love you all and I hope you have a super duper alliooper looptie luper jumpin week. (Only JW will get that reference)

                                    Love Elder Muaj Zoo

P.S. Mom please tell Grandma Carolyn that she is the bomb.com. Also tell Grammy that I hope her carmelitas will be in heaven because they really are the greatest thing ever.

Giving Gifts Is So Much Better Than Getting Them

Hello Everyone

 

I hope that all of you had as good as a christmas as I did because I absolutely loved it. Here are a couple of my favroite moments. We made 300 cookies and then passed them out to all the members and went caroling. As we were walking down one of the streets it was snowing and all the church bells started ringing(pretty much like in all the movies) I know that one person who is reading this letter will know the movie I am referencing. Also my companion and I got are car stuck and had to spend an hour digging it out but because of that we got to have a sleepover with the Frogtown Elders and that was really fun. We got to go visit some people who were super lonely and truly make them happy. That was probably my favorite. One of the things that I thought was funny was that my christmas dinner this year was eating noodle soup on the ground with a bunch of super old Hmong grandmas. They are actually really funny and I really enjoyed it.

     So my miracle for the week was a part member family that we have been teaching for about a month. The husband hasn't been to church since 1987 and the wife is a nonmember. We brought a lot of members over this past week and it made a huge difference. They finally brought their whole family back to church this past sunday and the husband had a really spiritual experience in the second hour. He started crying and he told me later that he hadnt been to church since his dad died and he felt like his dad was proud of him that day. Defintely the happiest moment of my life when I saw his face light up when he told me that. We also went to visit them on Christmas night and they are really struggling financially right now. They have four little girls and didnt really have any money to buy them christmas presents. The look in the moms eyes when we showed up and brought her daughters a few presents will be enough to keep me going for the rest of my life. She was so happy and never stopped saying thank. I realized then that giving gifts is so much better than getting them.

     I am really looking forward to this next week because for new years we are going ice fishing which will be way fun. The Hmong people fish by just tying explosives to the end of their fishing lines and just killing all the fish. Not really sure how that will work out on ice but I am honestly really excited to see this. Dont worry mom and dad I will be super safe. Anyways I love you all. Also if any of you were wondering yes it is cold. Our mission president actually made us stay inside our house two days ago because it was so cold and that was the first time in 3 years. It was -25. Hope all of you are stayin warm

 

                                                Love

                                                   Elder Muaj Zoo  :)

The Hmong People Here Truly Have Become My Family

Sup Yall-

     It is almost Christmasssss!!!!!!!! This is so crazy. I cant believe that it is finally here. It seems like I've only been in Minnesota for a day the next thing you know you wake up and you've been a missionary for almost 4 months. I can honestly say that this has been by far the best Christmas season of my entire life for a couple of reasons. 1.People are off work and that is really convienent when you are a missionary. 2. All of the Hmong people are making somewhat american food which is actually a pretty huge blessing to my stomach.(Hmong food is really good but when you eat nothing but super spicy peppers for a month strait it's nice to have a little break.) 3. I have finally come to understand the Spirit of Christmas. I thought that before I left on my mission I understood what Christmas was about but now that the only purpose of my whole life is to help others be happy, I feel like I understand it quite a bit better.

     It really isn't about what you have, it's what you give. When I was in the MTC I'll be honest I wasn't really looking forward to any of the holidays because I thought that they would be a little sad. But I don't know if I have ever been happier in my life. My companion and I had the chance to visit a less active couple in their late 30's a few days ago and they are now some of my favorite people on the earth. My companion and I were getting to know them and they told us how they had been pregnant with a girl a few years ago but the wife had a miscarriage. They have not been to church for a really long time and they have since forgotten most of the doctrine. After telling us that the baby had died they both looked so sad and just broken. They have been going to a Catholic church and apparently they thought that since the baby hadn't been baptized then it was damned.(I was a little confused because they said it hadn't been born yet but I guess they felt that it needed to be baptized.) I have never seen a person's eyes be filled with the Light of Christ before that day. When my companion and I told them that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ their baby is now in paradise and is happier than any of us could ever imagine, I truly saw the Light of Christ fill their eyes. It was amazing. And that is what Christmas is all about. It is not about food, presents, or staying warm inside by a fire. It's all about biking in the cold, shoveling snow with your bare hands, or changing a flat tire in the mud so that someone else can be happy. As you see the eyes of someone brighten and you know that you have helped them feel the love of God in their life, I can promise that their is no greater Christmas present than that.

     In my mission presidents letter he wrote to us and told us that he said it might be hard for us because we aren't with our families. I thought about that for a second and then I realized that all of us are family. The Hmong people here truly have become my family (don't worry mom your still #1 :)) Even though I don't understand like half of what they say and they probably think I'm super weird because worms stuffed with ramen noodles isn't my favorite food, they really are my family now. I'm realizing how big of a blessing it is to serve a mission. What better opportunity is there in the world to be happy can we have then to serve and help our family be happy for two years.

     Anyways thats all for now and I hope you all have a very merry Christmas. Also I'm glad you all enjoyed the news thing that was super fun.

      Love Elder Henrie

Also Fam I will Skype around 12:00 Minnesota time. I have no idea how it works or what your number is but I'm sure the Spirit will guide me. :) haha jk ill call you guys before and figure it out. Love ya

Awesome Miracles

MARSHALL SPEAKING HMONG ON THE NEWS:

   
What's up everybody-
 So first to answer my parents questions. Yes it is vey cold and yes all my stuff works. Im happy so no worries. Also dad Im sorry that I dont have time to answer all of your questions but things are going well.

     This week we had some super awesome miracles and some super funny stuff happen. First I want to tell the story of one of our investigators and her less active husband that we've been teaching for some time and has finally comitted to be baptized on January 18 so I am super excited for that. The dad s a less active and is a way cool guy. They are married the Hmong way and so we have to get her married legally before we can baptize her(small side note) and her and her husband are way excited. They have four little daughters. Her husband was a truck driver and he was never home before so we could never get them married. But the most amazing thing happened a few weeks ago. The husband was hunting and fell and broke his back. I know this sounds terrible but it actually was a miracle because now he is always home so we can teach them the marriage class and get them married. Right now they are having some super hard finacial times and are struggling to keep their house and their car. Also they don't have any work and don't know how to pay their bills. But God has promised that if we keep His commandments he will bless us. About one week ago we comitted her to start coming to church and reading her scriptures and she started doing it. She asked us to come over one night and pray with her that her and her husband would have enough money to pay their bills and keep their house. Two days after we prayed she got a letter in the mail that said her and her husband would be getting money from the government and it turned out to be just enough to keep their bills. When she told us that we were sitting in her house and in my head I was like OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH SNAP! It was the coolest thing of all time.

      One other crazy thing that happened this week waas this girl who is 23. We found her tracting one night at like 8. The first thing that she said to us when we walked in was that she is an athiest pull dancer who likes to drink and hates church. It kind of caught me off guard I'll be honest but I figured if she let us in that means she is interested. We taught her the entire restoration and asked her if she wanted to go to church and she said she'd think about it so I told her that we would be at her house on Sunday at 10 to pick her up and walked out. We went to her house on Sunday to pick her up and she was all acting like she didn't want to go but I could tell she did. Then she told us about a dream that she had the night before about how she was standing in between two roads and one of them was all bright and clear and the other one was all dark and muddy. She said that in her dream she didn't know which way to go. I was sitting their thinking to myself "Wait a second, you just had a dream about a good path and a bad path and you dont know which way to go, then the next day two guys from church show up and you still dont know if you want to go to church." I tthought it was pretty obvious but maybe not. She did end up going to church though and the coolest thing happened. One of her really good friends was there and she had an awesome experience.(I have learned on my mission that church is actually terrifying because you're so scared that someone is going to stand up and say something crazy and ruin your investigators experience.) It was cool to see someone who was athiest just a few days before start praying and feeling the Spirit. She now has all these awesome questions and is really coming closer to God. Her family and her boyfriend hate us but that won't stop us. Her boyfriend keeps telling us that Mormons are evil and all this stuff but she keeps inviting us back and my companion and I aren't about to get intimidated by some kid. Unfortunately for him we have God on our side so he's kind of an underdog in this one.

     So those are the two super cool stories for the week. Also I'm getting way pumped for CHRISTMAASSSSSSSS!!!!!!! None of the old Hmong people celebrate it so it's really funny to talk to them about it. You tell them oh yeah we wrap toys in newspaper and put a bunch of lights on a tree and then we have some old dude dress up in a red suit and crawl down your chimney at night and eat all of your cookies... They always give me the funniest look. But all the people here are really cool and love the missionaries and they have made this Christmas season so great. Also on my mission I've learned that it is so true that it doesn't matter if you have presents or good food or anything like that. It really is about the people that your with. And I wouldn't have it any other way than to be with my Hmong family out here in Minnesota. I really think I understand now what it means to love the people that you serve.

     I love you all too and hope you have a very merry christmas. Also you guys need to go check me out on Youtube because I got on the news. The link is Maikou Xiong talk to a group of Elders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The chanel is the HBCTV chanel. Im FAMOUS NOW!

                                                        Elder Muaj Zoo

P.S. Shout out to my boy Kiki the Sauce Boss Amachur for givin a stellar farewell talk. I hope that as you walked off the stage you lift off those firecrackers I gave you and pulled out an american flag. I have no doubt that you did though. Because I can always count on you to rep the USA! and SAN-D!

P.P.S. Mom you have to send my package to the mission home. Also could you make sure that Gracie Amachur gets my emails. \

P.P.P.S. Carl my address is 1244 Hazelwood Avenue     St.Paul Minnesota 55106

A Pretty Crazy Week

 Okay so I've had a pretty crazy week this week with a lot of ups and downs but it all turned out good. So one big downer was that our baptism planned for the 28th of December fell through. My companion and I went over to Tswv Tuam's house last night and he was there all alone.(He is the one with a wife and two step daughters.) He told us this whole story about how his wife and him have really been struggling to get along and a lot of other stuff about how his wife is kind of taking advantage of him so they have decided not to get married the legal way and just stay hmong culture married. It was pretty heart breaking. But after we talked for him for about 40 minutes his wife and kids came home and so we had a pretty good chat with all of them. I have thought this whole time that Tswv Tuam was the reason that they weren't getting married but after this last lesson I realized how wrong I was. His wife right now has a pretty hard heart. She finally came out and told us after like 10 lessons that she really doesn't want to get baptized and that she hates her life right now. She told us that since she's the wife she expects Tswv Tuam to take care of her kids and provide for the family and take care of the house... So basically do everything. She also told us that she feels like he just keeps messing up and can't be a good husband.(Not true... even though Tswv Tuam is like 5 feet tall I look up to him so much) So we told her about forgiveness and that a husband and wife are equal in responsibility. Tswv Tuam apologized to her and said that he would do better and then he sang a song for his family. He sang O My Father and it was super spiritual for my companion and I and also the 2 girls. But the mom just pulled out her phone while he was singing and she started texting. Tswv Tuam started crying after he sang and it was probably the saddest thing I've ever seen. So after that we realized that really the problem was just the wife and that was really hard for me this week but we will keep teaching her and hopefully try and work their marriage out for them.

         I think that God knew that this one got me down pretty bad because I was super pumped for their baptisms but He made up for it by giving me the coolest miracle so far on the mish. My companion and I were tracting down in West St. Paul and had been walking for a couple of hours and hadn't gotten in a house yet :'(. (Minnesota is really cold by the way I learned that this past week.) It was about time for us to head back up towards our house and we saw this big apartment building. We walk up to it but the door was locked and I couldn't get in. I was really tired and really wanted to teach so I just said to my companion "You know what we are getting in this building I don't care what it takes." So I started just ringing all the doorbells for the whole building and holding each of them down for like 5 seconds. After a couple of tries, finally someone answered and she said she would come down and see us. Her name is Txhiab and she is probably the coolest lady ever. She opened the door and we told her that God sent us to bring her a message and she let us right in. Anyways long story short we taught her the restoration, she came to watch a baptism of another recent convert, and has been committed to be baptized on January 18! She also has 6 daughters so I think we might have hit the jackpot. She does all of the commitments we extend to her and always asks what else she can do to get ready to be baptized. Before my mission I always heard stories about these kind of investigators but I didn't know that they were actually real until I met Txhiab. I'll send a picture of her next week.

     So yeah those are the two big stories for the week. Also one of the members invited my companion and I to dinner this week and he told me he is feeding me something that makes even a lot of Hmong people throw up... Pretty Excited. Apparently it's some kind of ginormous bug that they have in Thailand so we'll see how that goes. But after a month of eating frog legs, pig brain, and boiled goat hooves, I think my stomach is ready for The Big Leagues. I loved that picture of the treehouse by the way mom that is so awesome. I'm totally taking that as my room when I get back. Also dad I hope your ready for some awesome mountain biking in two years. I thought that slickrock trail in Moab was heard but then I started biking in Minnesota. The roads are just pure ice and me and my companion fall like five times a day. Don't worry we wear a helmet and also there's nothing like watching your companion fall to give you a good laugh. But everytime he falls and I start laughing I always end up falling harder than he did...Karma.

     So I love you all and Merry Christmas like three weeks early.(I'll probably say that every week for the next couple emails since Christmas is that awesome.)

                                                                                                                                                -Elder Muaj Zoo

P.S. I forgot to tell you this week one of the speakers didn't show up in sacrament meeting and so I had to give a 12 minute talk on the blessings of the sacrament in Hmong... and I thought my farewell talk was hard.

The picture is of me and the boys at Hmong New Years, the most awesome crazy party ever. The other one is of me and Elder Xyooj gettin ready for some below zero biking :)

Answers to Mom's questions:

Yes we have our gear, we drive about 3 times a week, yes it is cold, and if you think the food I've talked about sounds bad... You should see the pictures :) Im healthy don't worry

I Had a Great Thanksgiving

  This week was super awesome and I had a great thanksgiving. Hmong people don't really know to much about thanksgiving but they seemed to know that you're suppose to eat a lot of food. We had three dinner appointments back to back to back and it was way fun. It was quite the struggle to try and down that spicy hmong food for three dinner's strait but I managed to pull it off. I don't know if I look sick or something but all the Hmong grandmas here seem to think that I need to gain like 50 pounds. At one of the houses I had to eat some squirrel and some fish head soup and that was pretty rough but I managed to keep it down. 

     Although this Thanksgiving was a lot different than the ones before I will definitely never forget it. We had a huge branch football game in the morning and it was about 10 degrees(a real man's game.) Also all the members who have lived in the states for awhile were really cool about inviting us over. Something that I am starting to realize on my mission is that no matter where you are and what language you speak there is always good people. My Hmong mom (her name is Nia Na Shua) made me a pumpkin pie and that was the only american food I got. I felt kind of bad because her family is really struggling right now and it probably was a big sacrifice just to make the pie for me. When she handed it to me she had the biggest smile on her face of all time and it almost made me tear up a bit. These people don't have much but they are so humble and will give you everything they have. 

     Also this week we had Hmong new years and it was so crazy. There was about 20,000 Hmong people and then 7 white guys all dressed up in some sweet Hmong clothes. (I forgot my camera but i'll send some pictures next week.) Everyone there loved us and wanted to take a ton of pictures. All of us were standing in the middle of the market and a bunch of people came up and started talking and then all of a sudden a news team came up and started interviewing all of us. It was so crazy and since then we've gotten a ton of referrals and people to teach. It is on Channel 3 Entertainment News in the Minnesota Hmong network and will be on youtube in the next couple days so you should definitely check it out. Also all the Hmong grandmas there gave us a ton of free stuff so you'll all be getting some sweet Hmong stuff for Christmas.

     Also this for December we have a baptism set up for every saturday. We have 2 the first week 1 the second week 7 the third week and 3 the fourth week. The three on the last week are Elder Xiong and my investigators and we are so pumped for them. The work here is just crazy and the Hmong people are so ready for the gospel and accept so much of what we teach. I'm doing well and loving it. Hope you all had a good thanksgiving and I'll see y'all on Christmas(over Skype of course :)

                                                                                    -Elder Muaj Zoo

The Work Here is Going so Well

Hello Everybody,

   This week I have seen quite a few miracles and my companion and I have been so blessed. So the first one was that one of the families we are teaching is now ready to get their marriage license and will be getting married sometime around December 12. Also the mom and her two daughters will be baptized on December 28th! It is the Chue Tua Family and they are my favorite Hmong people ever. My companion and I have been teaching them since the first day that I got here and they have progressed so much. At first they only let us come over once every two weeks but now we teach them twice sometimes three times a week and they have been coming to church for about a month strait now. They told my companion and I that they were finally going to go get their marriage license and when we walked outside their house I just started yelling I was so happy. One of their daughters is 8 years old and reminds me exactly of Libby. She is always super hyper and she kind of looks like her too. I'll try and send some pictures of their family next week.

     The next miracle we had was meeting the Xiong family. My companion and I were tracting at like 730 one night and of course there was only one door left on the whole street that we hadn't knocked. We knocked on the door and they said that they were shaman and they weren't interested(which is what everyone says) but my companion and I kept talking to the wife and finally she let us in. We were talking to her and she said that her brother was actually a member of our church and then we found out that whe was the sister of one of the YSA's in our branch. Her husband came in and we taught them that God is our loving Heavenly Father and it went so well that  they intvited us to their family Thanksgiving party which we went to just yesterday. It was a blast. Hmong people really know how to throw a party. And when your the only white person in the house they really like to make you be the center of attention so we played all these crazy Hmong games and had a blast. It was so cool and they invited us to come teach them again and a lot of their relatives are really interested as well so hopefully we'll be having like 20 or 30 baptisms in January. Haha jk. But the wife and husband are way awesome and they have two little kids. We are going back to teach them next sunday and hopefully commit them to baptism so ill let you know how that goes.

     The work here is going so well and we have been getting so many people to church that they are actually considering turning our branch into a ward. They told us that if they do we will have the first Hmong ward ever! My companion and I are doing really well and working hard. This past week was obviously really tough with Chandler and Lee Pov (Elder Xiong's cousin) passing away but we've felt the Spirit so strong this week and God is giving us a little bit of a break with all the success that we have seen. Love you all and hope you're doing well.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                             -Elder Muaj Zoo

Chandler Webb has the Heart of a Champion

          Mom my mission president wants you to forward this to the Webb family when you get their email. Also I need you to pray for my companion today. Last night his cousin who was one of his best friends was murdered. They grew up together. Please pray for him to know that his cousin is happy and is in paradise.

          Dear Webb Family and Friends,

     This morning I got the news from my mission president that Chandler has passed away. He asked me to send an e-mail to all of you today. I feel so lucky to have been able to know one of the funniest, happiest, and best men that has ever lived on this earth. I'm sure that heaven is laughing a little harder now that Chandler is there. I will never forget all of the memories that I have with him. All of the doughnuts that we did in the burgundy sentra, all the cliff jumping in Lake Powell, all the times me and him would try and get super tan but then just end up getting horribly sunburned, his unparalelled love for the Jazz, and especially all the times that him and I would go get Panda Express together. I could always count on Chandler to make me laugh and smile.

     It's true that Chandler was funnier than anyone, but something that I loved even more about Chandler was his loyalty as a friend and how good of a person he really was. He was always out to make others days happier and to make others feel as though he cared. He was such a good example of how to help other people by bringing them happiness.

     This morning when I got the call from President Clements about Chandler. I was obviously devistated. The one thing that has brought me peace right now is the knowledge that I have that I will never ever truly have to say goodbye to Chandler. Only see you later. This morning I was reading in the scriptures trying to find something that would help me out and I found this scripture. In Alma 22:18 it says The sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory.

     As I read this scripture I realized something. Chandler Webb has the heart of a champion. And he fought hard these past couple weeks for all of us so that we could have a few more precious weeks with him. And then I realized that when Chandler passed away this morning, he didn't lose... He won. Because of the Savior and Chandler's decision to be faithful to this gospel, he will live forever and ever. I know without a doubt that Chandler is prepared to meet God. A week before Chandler went into a coma this is the email that he sent me. "Hi Marshall Tis chandler, I tried to text you the day before you left but apparently your phone was all broke but anywho I just thought if let you know I started my papers on Sunday, but enough with the boring stuff let's talk Jazz, trey Burke broke his finger and is out for 4-6 weeks, so I'm all depressed, how's the MTC, any hot girls? Lol how's Chinese class, that's cray you can speak that language soon, well I'm proud of you and all that stuff loves you"

     After that I wrote him an email telling him that I'm way excited for him and that I know he'll be an awesome missionary. I told him I can't wait to see him in two years and he wrote me this back. 

     Ya I'm way excited to see where I go (it better not be Russia or I'm not going) but ya it sucks I never got to say an official good bye to you:( but I guess we will just have to have the best hello ever in 2 years. In case you were wondering I now rep 9 plates benching and what's kinda weird is that during this letter I am writing some guys just knocked on my door and told me where the singles ward is, and that's weird because I was wondering where it was and know I know. Well I'm going to take a nap now, I'm out like a fat kid playing dodgeball

    Chandler knew that he was suppose to serve a mission. He was prepared by God to do it and I'm sure that he will be a great missionary where he is serving. Evidenced by this stirring email we can see that not only did he love the Jazz and his friends, but more importantly he loved God and was willing to give two years of his life to His service (except just not in Russia but that's ok because I'm sure he's warm enough in heaven). God has promised great blessings to those who are righteous like Chandler. In Alma 40:12 it talks about where we go after we die and where those who are good live. It says "And then shall it come to pass. that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."

     I know that right now Chandler is smiling, that he is happy, and that he is at peace. The people in heaven truly are priveledged to have a man as great as him with them. I love Chandler so much. Chandler told me that we would have the best hello ever in two years and it looks like I'll just have to wait a bit longer then that but I'm sure it will be glorious. I can't imagine a better place to meet a friend again than in paradise.

     To my friends. Remember all the good times we had... That should be easy because there never was any bad ones. Remember Chandler and strive to do your best to honor him. Remember that he will always be with us and will walk beside us on our missions and throughout the rest of our lives. I love you guys so much.

     Webb Family. Thank you so much for your son. He was a light to the world. His smile, his hair, and his spirit shined bright in a world that is pretty dark. No matter how sad my day was I could always count on your son to make it better. I know that this is a hard time. I remember when I lost my brother and I felt absolutely horrible every second of the day. But the one thing that gave me hope was the thought of how happy we will be when we meet again. I wrote this letter this morning when I found out about your son and it is helping me get through today. "My tears are heavy because Chandler and I have a mortal separation. But I know that through the Atonement of Christ, my tears can be just tears of anticipation. For we'll be together again walking through the golden streets of heaven, we'll laugh and reminisce while sipping celestial slurpees from the neighborhood 7-11" I know you will see your son again. Thank you for all you have done for me and for your love. I love you all so much and will pray for you every day.

I Never Thought So Much Could Happen in One Day

Hellooooo!

     So glad to hear that Chandler is still hanging in there and that he is doing his best. I'm sure that all of our prayers are helping him a lot. 

     So we had a crazy week this week and it was super fun. I never thought that so much could happen in one day. It seems like every day more stuff happens than in a whole month back home. But I guess that's bound to happen when you wake up at 630 in the morning as opposed to 2 in the afternoon.

    So I guess some more about my companion first. He is from Milwaukee and he is nineteen years old and is really cool. He has been out on his mission for almost 6 months and is doing great. He tells me that back in Milwaukee he used to be a street racer and I totally believe him because we have yet to be late to one appointment. Actually most of the time were really early. Also he has 11 brothers and sisters and his family came from Thailand in 2004. His family was Shaman but and converted to the LDS church in 2007 after his dad met the missionaries. We have a lot of fun together and he's really funny. Also he teaches me all of the Hmong superstitions so that is pretty fun. One time we were walking down the street and there was a full moon and I pointed to it and apparently in the Hmong culture if you point at the moon someone will cut your ear off. I laughed pretty hard at that one but he was dead serious.

     One cool experience we had this week was when we met a family of four when we were tracting late one night. It was about 730 and we were walking up this street and we were about to turn back and leave but then my companion said we should go all the way to the end. On the last house we knocked on this older man opened the door and said that he already went to church so he said thanks but he already knew God. So we asked him if he would tell him more about his church and he of course let us in(old Hmong guys really like to talk about their church and the war back in Laos.) After a few minutes we started teaching him the restoration and he was really interested. We asked him and his wife if they wanted to be baptized but they said they wanted to learn more before they committed. We have gone back and taught them a couple times and they are reading in the Book of Mormon and praying. They told us they wanted to come to our church last Sunday but their grandma died so they were at her funeral. Hopefully they will come next week but it's looking pretty good.

     Also some more on the Tswv Tuam family. Tswv Tuam is the dad and he is an active member. His wife's name is Mim and is in her twenties. They have two girls around ten or eleven and then a baby that was just born. Also Mim has a sister that is about 13 and she is joining in the lessons as well. They all want to be baptized but they are married the Hmong culture way and not the Mikas way so they have to be legally married before they are baptized. They have been attending a marriage class and are planning to be married mid december so we are looking forward to their family being baptized. That will probably be the best Christmas present I have ever had.

      One funny and also kind of scary story that me and my companion had last night was when we were teaching a lady named Pang. The sister missionaries referred her  to us and so we had never met her before. We were in her house and were teaching the restoration but the lesson wasn't really going anywhere. My companion and I decided it was time to go and so we said a prayer and then started to leave when all of a sudden her husband walked in. They told me that Hmong people were small back in the MTC but obviously they never met this guy. He was only about five and half feet tall but he probably weighed 250 all muscle. He started yelling at us to get out of his house and that he never wanted to see us again. So me and my companion sprint out of his house and jump in our car and drive off. The funny part was that after we left we looked at the referral from the sisters and this is what it said, "Pang is super cool and is really receptive. She is interested in the gospel and really believes in the Restoration. Also her husband is really friendly and has some good questions about the Bible." >:0 Im not sure if the sisters are just the most positive people in the world or if they were just good looking because that guy was not to friendly and Pang did not believe anything we said. My companion laughed pretty hard after we read that and decided that we probably just weren't the best teachers.

     So yeah this past week has been pretty fun and really awesome and things have been going well. Love you all and hope things in Sandy are as good as when I left.

                                                            Elder Muaj Zoo

P.S. The only bad part about Minnesota is that the Panda Express is out of my area.   :'( Other than that it's awesome.

Answers to ?'s

So mom tell me more about this crazy tree house thing your doing because that sounds awesome.

Dad here is the answer to your questions.

My bike came and its working great.

Yes we are really riding our bike in the winter. And yes it is very very cold but you learn to love it.

In our apartment it is just me and my companion and it is the most ghetto apartment of all time I seriously love it. Also no worries about me gaining weight because the only food we have is Eggo Waffles, rice, and Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce. So I should come back the perfect physical specimen I was when I left. HAHA

We have about 130 members that come to our branch usually. (I think its a branch just because we dont have that many priesthood holders. But last week we set an all time record with 165. Way awesome

In our area there is english hmong spanish nepali and koran speaking elders so we just refer everyone who isnt our language to the other missionaries.

The good food that I have tried is pretty slim. Honestly my stomach is still adjusting to the Hmong food. The weirdest thing that I have eaten so far is probably eel stomach in chicken bile. Yeah that one was pretty rough.

So hope that answers your questions and I'll try and answer all the other ones you have in the future.

The Most Humble and Funny People

Me and my companion Elder Xiong

Hey yall

So this first week in the mission has been the funniest and coolest week of my life so far. I thought that they were sending me to minnesota but I think that they put me on the wrong plane because this place is crazy. So first of all my companion and I are in east side st paul. When we were driving to our apartment the first night my companion told me that our area was the most ghetto area in the mission and at first I didn't believe him but then I saw the apartment and I started laughing so hard. And also the first night I fell asleep to police sirens and like thirty gun shots so yeah it's pretty sweet. Hahaha just kidding mom I'm perfectly safe and I love it here. One of the things that suprised me was how many Hmong people are here. Almost everyone that I live around is Hmong. They are defintiely the most humble and funny people I have ever met. My companion is actually a native Hmong and I absolutely love him. His name is Elder Xiong. He is from Miluakee and has been out in the mission for 5 months. Him and I are the 2 youngest missionaries out here and he is the missionary with the least experience besides all the new missionaries but he is such a stud. He is a super hard worker and loves to serve. It has been so crazy because he doesn't really speak english. He came over from Thailand a few years ago but he didn't go to school so he never learned how to read and write or anything like that. So during language study he teaches me Hmong for thirty minutes and then I teach him english. We have a lot of fun together and so I'm really happy about it.

     So my first full day in the field was really cool. We have a rule in our mission that you have to commit someone to be baptized within the first 24 hours of your plane hitting the ground. So my companion and I were tracting and it was about 3 o clock(and my plane had landed at about 6 the day before) so we didnt have much time left. We found a man who was raking his leaves and started to help him. We taught him the full restoration and I invited him to be baptized and he said yes!!!!! I was so excited. We came back 2 days later to teach him some more but he was having a shaman party so that one kind of fell through. One thing that they should have told me is that when someone says they will be baptized it doesnt mean that you got it in the bag. But it's all good though because it was a good experience. But the first day my companion and I invited 3 people to be baptized it was so crazy. One of them actuallly has been progressing and has a date in mid january.

     My favorite experience so far this week was teaching the Tswv Tuam family. The dad is a member but his wife and three kids are not members. My companion and I went over to teach them the plan of salvation. (Also side note they are married in the Hmong way not the legal way.) So at the end of the lesson we invited all four of them to be baptized and they all said yes. Also the wife and the husband are talking to the branch president on sunday to set a date for their wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. It was so crazy and the spirit was so strong in the lesson. We are so excited to keep teaching them and their family loves us. It turns out that all hmong people love white people who try and speak hmong so we get in to almost every house and the whole family comes and just stares at me because they dont really believe it and it's pretty funny to see their face when I start speaking. The Hmong people are really funny and they love to feed you as well. The Tswv Tuam family fed my companion and I some traditional Hmong food and my tongue almost caught on fire because they put like three thai peppers on my plate that I had to eat. 

Things are going well and I am loving it here. thanks so much for all your letters. 

Elder Muaj Zoo

My name got changed because I got adopted by one of the grandmas here

My companion Elder Xiong and I doin' the Hmong pose