My First Week in Minneapolis Went Awesome

     This last week was pretty awesome because I got a combination of Thanksgiving and Hmong New Years. Hmong people throw some awesome parties and the New Years Party is the granddaddy of them all. They have this huge celebration that lasts for 3 days in downtown St. Paul and we set up a booth at the party. We found some awesome investigators through and look forward to seeing what happens with their progress. At the new years party they have a talent show, breakdancing competition, a huge market place, tons of crazy old hmong games, and other random stuff. So that's how we celebrated thanksgiving. It was great because their was 8 of us their and everyone wanted to talk to us because we were white guys wearing Hmong clothes that could speak Hmong. We even got pictures with a bunch of their famous actors and got pictures on the red carpet. I was laughing so hard when they were taking pictures. So yeah it was good times. Also we had the annual branch turkey bowl. When the football game started it was -1. It was cold but also super fun.

     My first week in Minneapolis went awesome. Elder Gardiner is my new companion and he is a stud. He is super obedient and really wants to be here and I couldn't ask for anything else so I am excited. He is from Cali and has been out on his mission for 6 months now.

     This week we got a referral from the mission office for a lady named M. We went to visit her and found out that she was learning from the missionaries in Wisconsin and has already been taught all the lessons. She moved up here because she was having struggles with her family down there and was looking for a fresh start. Our very first lesson with her was really powerful and we comitted her to baptism on Dec. 27th. She is working on overcoming smoking but she has such a great desire to change which should really help. It would be pretty awesome to have a Christmas miracle go through and also she has a cousin in the branch that is rooting for her as well so things are looking great.

     Hope you all have a wonderful week. 

-Elder Henrie

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.

I Don't Know If I Have Ever Felt So Much Love For A Complete Stranger

 That's right everybody. I finally get to go to the temple this week after like a 9 month absence. I am pumpeddd!!!!! But even better is that this week, I am not going for the usual but get to witness the sealing of a family that Elder Moss and I have been teaching for the past 4 months. They were less active and all of a sudden in just 4 short months, the father became the 2nd counselor in the branch, the wife is in primary, and their daughter was baptized. They are probably one of the favorite families on my whole mission and I can't wait for this Saturday. Also T is the dad's brother and he is returning to activity and is preparing for the melchezidek priesthood in a few months and J our recent convert just got called to be the Secratary in young womens which is awesome. So to wrap it up, things are pretty much as sweet as the Utes crushing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

     This past week Elder Moss and I saw many miracles and one in particular built my testimony of fasting a lot. The Spanish Elders that live near us were struggling to find people to teach and were having a hard time so I decided to do a fast with them that things would begin to improve. Elder Moss was out on exchanges at the time and one of the Karen missionaries was with me. But anyways during the exchange we ended up finding a young man named Jose on the street and set up an appointment the next day and at the time I didn't really think anything about it. But then the next day when we went back we met the coolest Spanish family who is so prepared to hear the gospel. The mom was raised Catholic and it was the first time she had prayed without reciting words and the Spirit was so strong even though she was speaking in Spanish and I had no idea what she said in her prayer, I know the Lord answered her. The Spanish missionaries are now teaching them. God really does answer when we fast.

      This second miracle was a little bit of a sadder note but still really cool. A family in our branch has a father that has cancer and they called us over to give him a priesthood blessing. Before the blessing we asked them to share some of their favorite memories about their dad. The oldest daughter shared a story that I will never forget. She said, " I remember when I was around 11 years old living in Laos and we were running away from the soldiers and guards who were trying to kill us. There was about 100 of us in the group and my dad was the leader. Many of the younger people in the group would often go hungry and my dad would give them his food and go days without eating. I remember watching him eat the grass that would grow because he was so hungry and there was nothing left to eat. My dad led us through the hardest things anyone could imagine and he never complained once. If that's not a true father, then I don't know what is." Her father was never a member of the church and still hasn't accepted the gospel, but before I said the prayer for them, I looked over at the man, who was skinny to the bone and looked frailer than anyone I've ever seen, I felt in my heart that he was one of the most Christlike people I had ever met. I learned a really good lesson that day.        

        Yes, this is the true church, and yes you do need the ordinances performed by the priesthood, but the more important thing is that we are Christlike. I don't know if I have ever felt so much love for a complete stranger but I will be grateful forever the example that he set for me that day.

       Hope we all strive to do something a little more Christlike today.

                                           

 

                                                                   Elder Muaj Zoo

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

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.

I'm Coming to Minnesota With the Fire of the Gospel

UPDATE:  Marshall called from the airport today!  He spoke Hmong, and it was sooooo fun to hear!  He is so excited to get to Minnesota. His friends were at the airport flying out to  play in a UVU soccer game, and sent this photo:

Dear Everybody,

     HEYYYYYYYYYYY. So I have one hour left in the MTC and Im getting so excited to head out and preach the gospel.

Im finally going to meet the amazing people who I know absolutely nothing about. I hope their ready for me because Im coming to Minnesota with the fire of the gospel and the strength of all of your prayers. I don't know if I've learned a lot at the MTC or nothing at all I guess we'll find out in the next couple hours. But if there's one thing that I've learned here it's really not about how much you know, it's about how hard you try and how strong the Spirit is with you. When you have the Spirit amazing things start to happen and I see it every day. As all of you know Im definitely not the brightest guy in the world but somehow God has allowed me to pickup this language(I'm sure I really don't know it but right now I think I do) and Im so grateful for it. I took two years of high school spanish and Im pretty sure that I only know how to say hello and goodbye. Queso and Buenos noches right? haha jk but really the Gift of Tongues is real and I see it every day.

       I dont have any more time but I just want to tell all of you that I love you and thank you so much for everything you've done for me and all the awesome times that we have had which have prepared me to go and teach my people in Minnesota. I know God lives and that he loves us and that through Him all is possible. Through His power we can truly do miracles. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and that when we read it daily we cannot go astray. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I have serious respect for that man and no matter how many times someone tells me Joseph Smith is a liar or that he is an evil man, I will have no problem politely replying that Joseph Smith has done more for them than they could ever imagine and that when he was just 14 years old the God of the universe and His Son Jesus Christ really did appear to him. I know that to be true and no one will ever take that from me. I know this church is true and I love it with all my heart. I think the reason that I know it's true is that it makes me happy. Take away all the awesome stuff like through the priesthood you can split the Red Sea or that you can live in heaven with your family and friends FOREVER(which is pretty awesome) or that through God and this church we can perform daily miracles, and I would still be a member of this church because it truly does make me happy. Anyways its time to head out. Love yall and I'll sure to send some pics of me and the Hmong Clan Leader when I meet him. Peace Out.

 Me and my tus khub halloween costume. He's the baseball player and I'm the scuba diver

Ghost bustin at the MTC:  ME and my teacher brother Koob Meej

Cool clouds and whatnot

 Me and my district doin the Hmong pose with our tus nais khus tij laug Lor

 Elder Henrie & his HS pal, Elder  Johnson

SNOOWWWWWWWW

Best Week of My Life

     Alright so to start this letter I have a couple shoutouts to my homeys. First to The Utes for takin down supposedly 5th ranked stanford in the game of the century. 2nd to my main man the Chan-meister for starting his mission papers. I'm so proud of you and God just got a great missionary so I know that He's smiling right now to. Shout out to Brandy for pulling one of the greatest Gracie pranks yet with the whole October 2nd move. That was great I laughed so hard. Shoutout to my Pops for being a stud and my mom for being perfect. Shoutout to Sam Hoole in Cali cuz I like him

      So anyways this week has been by far the best week of my life. I if you all have been praying for me like ten times more or what but this week has gone so well. One thing that was really cool was that finally two of our fake investigators got baptized. I know that it's fake but I have never felt the Spirit like I did when they told us that they were willing to be baptized. Something else that I never really thought about before my mission but I now realize happens quite a bit is priesthood blessings. I have had the chance to give a couple of them while at the MTC and it is awesome. Neither of my blessings were very impressive but I could feel the Spirit guiding my words it was really cool. The first was an Elder who was feeling homesick in my district and after that day he hasn't even talked to me about home once.(Which I think is a good thing.) The second was a sister who was really sick and then she hurt her ribs or something like that and asked for a blessing. I just blessed her that her sickness and her injury would not slow down her work and that she would have a good nights rest and the next day she said she still hurt but she felt good and was ready for class so that was pretty awesome.

     My companion is an amazing guy and a really hard worker and were pretty much best friends. He really has so much courage and I look up to him a ton. He's like a brother to me We do so well together and I have come to love him so much.

     
     Last night was one of the coolest nights of my life. We had a devotional by ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS!!!!!! It was so amazing. When he walked into the room the Spirit testified to me so powerfully that he is truly a man of God. It was super weird to hear him talk in conference though because he wasn't as serious and he even threw in a couple of jokes. He talked a lot about how on your mission you will learn the mission language naturally and you will come to know that the doctrines of the gospel are true but one thing that you will never learn unless you put forth all your effort is learning how to love. It was really good for our district to hear and we've been working really hard to serve and become friends with others in the MTC. One thing that I've noticed on my mission is that when you serve other people you grow 100000000000 X faster than when you serve yourself. So that's something that I've been working on this last week and it's been awesome to see how the language comes faster when I help other Elders learn it and I know more about the doctrine when I try and help other Elders plan their lesson.

    
 The language is going really well and I finally feel like I can comfortably teach a lesson to an investigator without having to think to much about what I want to say. But I'm sure that will change the first day that I'm in Minnesota. The hard thing is understanding people when they speak fast because one word can mean so many different things depending on what tone you use. I guess it could mean eight things if you want to be exact. But yeah I love Hmong and the Hmong people. Something that will definitely be difficult is breaking the barrier of their religion because it is quite a bit different than ours. It's actually really sad because they do animal sacrifice and torture their bodies and stuff like that so that they can talk to Spirits. I guess it's just their way of trying to grow closer to God with the truths that they have.  We actually heard this funny story from our teacher about a female shaman in Minnesota. After she received the gift of the Holy Ghost she came up to my teacher and said, "I really like this Spirit, it's a lot nicer than the other ones and I don't even have to kill a chicken to talk to it." I laughed so hard. I can't wait to help them feel the Spirit the right way and to bring them to a knowledge of the gospel.Learning about the darkness that they are stuck in and how blessed they will be when they have the truth has given me so much motivation to go and serve them.

      And it's kind of crazy but that's only three weeks from now. In fact we get our travel plans next week sometime and I'm so excited. I love the MTC and I've grown so much here but I feel like my family is in Minnesota and I can't wait to meet them. I hope all of you are super-dee-duper back home and having a grand ole time. I hope youre having fun in Cali and dad don't tell Tanner the cheats for the Toy Story ride because I don't want him to beat my high score. And tell Marianne and Devin congrats from me.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  -Love Es Daws Huaj Vam\

P.S. Mom could you send this part to Lexi

SISTER GOFF how are you. I hope that you're being a boss on your mission. JK I know you are. And that's so funny that you ran into Sam Hoole. Tell him hi for me and tell him that I think that he's a stud. Also the language is going so well. I am still in the MTC but I head out in three weeks. You gotta send me some investigator stories. But yeah im doing really well and Im sure you are too since youre my couzzz and what not. Love you tons and I'll see you soon

Elder Huaj Vam (that's my Hmong name)

                                                                   

My Doctrine is Christ's Doctrine

Hey everyone,
So first things first congratulations to JW and Jess for the new member of their family. I heard that you named him Charles John and you're calling him Charlie but he will forever be Moose to me. He looks so much like James it's crazy. Since I can't be there to impart my wisdom to him for the next two years I request that you teach him only two things. 1. Teach him to love the UTES! 2. Teach him to love Panda Express. If you can teach him those two things he'll be successful in life. Mom that is such an amazing experience that you had and I would love if you wrote me about it in more detail because that is so awesome. Dad it turns out that I have been spelling my name wrong this whole time. It's actually spelled Huaj Vam and it means Hope. I'll try and get Hmong names for the rest of you sometime soon. Mom I have to tell you a way funny story that happened with me and my companion. I was showing him pictures of our family and I showed him the one of when me and you were standing next to each other outside the Englands house at Junior Prom and he asked if you were my girlfriend. I laughed so hard and when he asked me why I was laughing I told him that it was my mom. 

   This week was so awesome and I had a lot of really cool experiences that have been a huge blessing. During one of my classes we had two native Hmong elders who were leaving to serve in Wisconsin the next day but they wanted to come talk to us. They testified to us about the importance of missions and it was really cool but even cooler than that, they talked about how grateful they were to all of us for going to teach their people. Then one of the elders got in our districts faces a little bit and told us that we needed to learn more and work harder. It was really good for our district to hear and we have been working a lot harder ever since. Also we had two devotionals, one on Sunday and one Tuesday and both of them were crazy awesome. The speaker Sunday said something that I don't think I will ever forget. He told us a quote from Bruce R. McConkie(pretty sure I spelled that wrong) and he says this, "My acts are Christ's acts, My voice is Christ's voice, and my doctrine is Christ's doctrine." During our district review after our devotional things were going well but not quite as well as they were in past reviews. I stood up and promised the elders 3 things. I told them they would learn the language faster, feel the Spirit more strongly, and serve a successful full time mission if they could tell themselves each night when they went to sleep that, "Today my acts were His acts, My voice was His voice, and His doctrine was my doctrine." After my testimony one of the elders stood up and bore one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard and he promised all of us that he was oing to work hard to learn the language

and be a good missionary. It has been amazing to see the change in him since that night.

     Something pretty scary happened last night. I was talking to one of the Elders in my district and he told me how he had been crying himself to sleep like every night and that he had been thinking of going home. I was absolutely terrified because I love him so much. I told him that before we said anything else we should say a prayer. After the prayer we talked for a little bit and he's doing a lot better now and he's working hard to learn the language. It really has been a miracle to see how much God looks out for His missionaries and wants them to succeed.

     So yeah things are going really well here now and this week has been amazing. I hope Jameser gets feeling better and that Moose does well. I love you all.

Elder Huaj Vam

Me and my Hmong brothers Elder Lee on the right and Elder Vang on the far left My companion Elder Pratt in the middle

Just takin' out the trash

Me and Elder Pratt bein downright fabulous

P.S. Shoutout to Liggy for his killer farewell talk. Even though I wasn't there I'm sure it was stellar because I'm pretty sure he used quotes from my talk(at least he told me he would.) Shoutout to K. Amachur for gettin his call to serve the people of Compton. Shoutout to Hessman for being to legit. Shoutout to RJ for representin SAN D until at least October 30 and being a boss at Smash Bros

I Thought My Tongue Was Going to Catch on Fire

Dear peeps,

     So this week has been really sad but also really great. (my shift button is broken so im not capitalizing anything by the way.) it has been pretty sad because brother brewster has been on my mind a lot. i respect him and love him so much. he was one of the reasons that i got my eagle and also that i am here right now. ive been praying a lot for him and even though it is sad i know without a shadow of a doubt that he will be with God. i have come really far in the language this week and it has been a huge boost for me. i teach a pretend investigator about four times a week now and my compaion and i can teach about a fifteen to twenty minute lesson which is crazy. there are defintely some awkward pauses here and there but it's so cool to feel the Spirit when im testifying in a language that just six months ago i never even knew existed. i have had a few classes on the hmong (or hmoob whichever you prefer) culture and i am starting to really love them. they've had such a hard life and have been so humbled by the challenges they've faced (according to my teachers who i completely trust.) But one thing that will be pretty difficult for me is their food. its the hottest thing on the planet. they had us try one of the peppers that they sprinkle on top of pretty much everything and i thought my tounge was going to catch on fire but hopefully ill get used to it.

     one funny thing that happened this week was during the sunday night devotional they showed a short clip from this movie called ephraims rescue. in one of the scenes two people kiss and all the elders went crazy. one of the kids in my district covered his eyes and he's one of those kids where he might be serious but i couldnt tell so i started laughing for like ten minutes but he didnt know that i was laughing about him so its all good. on tuesday night i had the chance to sing in the choir at the devotional. there was so many missionaries that we had to go to the marriot center (byu's basketball arena) for it. we sang Joseph Smith's first prayer and i don't know if all of you know this or not but it turns out that angels sing with you at the MTC whenever a hymn is sung. the spirit was so strong and im pretty sure every single person in the whole room knew that Joseph Smith really did see God and Jesus Christ in the sacred grove at fourteen. it truly is amazing when you stop and think about the fact that God, the Creator of absolutely everything, chose to show Himself to a teenage boy. That must have been pretty suprising for Joseph. 

     At the devotional the speaker talked about how he served as a mission president in russia and how he was watching two missionaries in a chapel one day. one of the missionaries was on his last week on the mission and all of the members in the ward were giving him letters and saying goodbye to him because the elder had become part of their family. the other elder was sitting on the side reading his scriptures by himself. he then talked about how studying the scriptures and your language is awesome. the best thing that you can do as a missionary is to serve and love the people. when he said that i got so pumped up to go see the Hmong people (even though I can't talk to them.) that i just wanted to run all the way to minnesota to meet them.

     As his wife was speaking she read us a quote that got me thinking a little bit. an elder she knew once said "you'll spend every day of your mission thinking at least for a second about your home. but when you get back you'll spend the rest of your life thinking about your mission." that made me realize that the best way to serve is with everything i have because ill miss it when it's over. i definitely miss all you guys but it hasn't been to much of a distraction for me. however one or two of the elders in my district can't do anything because all they do is think about the people back home and it's really sad. i've told them that the best way to be happy isn't to worry about the things you can't have but to work hard to show God that your grateful for the things that you do.

     I'm glad that uncle Tom got to hangout this week he's such a great guy and I've learned a lot from him. also tell james that i think stump grinders are pretty awesome too. Libby tell your turtle squeak hi for me and also keep up the good work on making those messes i never liked it when are house was clean it just didn't feel right. Also it would be cool if i got an update on baby Moose. please tell bishop brewster that i love him and that ill miss him. i love you all and ill see you soon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    -Elder Huav Vam

P.S. mom everybody loves the nerf guns and the football game we had a huge tournament today so thanks for the package.