Life is Good

Had a really neat experience yesterday at church. For some background

to the story, one week before my last transfer I decided to set the

goal of helping 3 people be baptized the last Saturday of my mission.

I was nervous because I knew that I would be sent to a new area and I

didn't know who, or if we would have people to teach but I felt that

the goal would motivate me to work hard and be obedient to the end.

Well, we are on track to hit our goal but yesterday all 3 of our date

sets had to come to church otherwise they wouldn't be able to make

their baptism on the 12th of sept.

    Sunday morning rolls around and we are at church and it's about

8:45. Their ride walks in but unfortunately our investigators weren't

with them. Turns out our ride forgot to pick them up and when we

called, our investigator didn't answer the phone. So my companion and

I sat down in the foyer pretty much as sad as I had ever been. Also we

were fasting yesterday that everything would work out so I was pretty

devastated, because I felt we had worked so hard. Well, as we're

sitting there, at about 8:55, I had the thought, "Just go get them." I

had all these doubts come up like, they live in an apartment building

and we won't be able to get in, plus they aren't answering their phone

and their probably not ready and we will make a member miss the

sacrament. Then I had the thought again, "Just go get them." So we go

grab our ward mission leader and tell him that their is some

investigators waiting for us to go pick them up, but they don't have a

ride (even though we really didn't know if they were coming or not)

and he said he would help.

    So we drive to their apartment building and get there at about

9:05, and church had started 5 minutes earlier. Of course, the

apartment was locked. But thank goodness for Hmong grandma's cooking

soup in a giant cauldron outside at 9 in the morning, because one of

them let us in. When we knocked on the door, there they both were,

ready and waiting for us to take them. So after all that, they did

make it to church, and there baptism interview is now scheduled for

this weekend. It reminded me of the scripture in Nephi 3:7 when Nephi

tells his father that he will do all things that the Lord commands

him. It was such a miracle. I'm so grateful that God is helping elder

Lao and I towards this goal. I don't know what will happen in the next

two weeks, there are still obstacles to come I'm sure, but I now have

seen with my own eyes, that if we keep faith, the Lord will answer our

prayers.

    Congrats to August Jacob Henrie for being the newest addition to

the Henrie clan. I'm excited to be an uncle of 3 now. Tell aunt

heather and uncle Kent that I love them and that I have stayed true to

uncle kent's advice, "The main thing, is to keep the main thing, the

main thing."

    Mom, you asked me to share some impressions of life in this

letter. That's a little broad, so I'm not sure what your looking for,

but I'll do my best:

    Life is good, when you don't make excuses, and do what you know

is right, then it is even better. During my mission I have never seen

the right choice turn out wrong. So I hope to be able to make the

right choice, for the right reasons, with the right attitude, for the

rest of my life. Also, a few nights ago, I read some advice that

Tanner gave to me just a few days before I left, he said, "A mission

is not all about being fast and furious, it is about slowing down, and

ministering to people one at a time, while enjoying every step of the

way." I figure the rest of life is pretty much the same. Thanks for

everything, love y'all.

I Saw A Ton Of Miracles

Fist of all, Happy Birthday to the classiest mom this world has to offer. In light of the last 19 years of you being my mother, I wrote you this poem

                                              Dear Mom

                                     You truly are the bomb

                      You wiped my boogers and picked up my socks

                      Even dragged me out of bed well past 12 o'clock.

                    Words can't describe your cooking it's tremendous

                             By golly mom I think your stupendous

                         Ya done taught me well and told me the way

                       To be a good little lad and my respects I must pay

                          Your the best in the world oh mother dear.

                   Best luck to your goals and dreams in this your 35th year

       

    This week was awesome and Elder Morrow and I saw a ton of miracles. He is doing awesome and picking up all the stuff he needs to do way fast which is nice. Me and him really get along and he actually went to the same school as Bray back in Heber which is cool.

     We have been teaching this guy named Mong for the past two weeks and his wife Nag (That's literally how you spell it in Hmong. Hilarious I know) and they finally made a huge breakthrough. Mong was raised going to church and has struggled to find out if Joseph Smith is a prophet or not. We took him on a church tour and took one of the priests from the branch teaching with us. Before we took him into the chapel the priest challenged Mong to read the first vision to himself and then to pray and ask God about it. We all sat in silence for about three minutes and then he turns to us and says, "So when I read the words, I felt really good. When I prayed about if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if this was the only church that is true on the earth I felt really good again. Then I started to think about all the reasons that I couldn't join the church and that feeling went away."

     We had him read Moroni 10:5 and then invited him to be baptized. He said yes and then added that he wanted to have his wife baptized as well. The best part though was when he said that he didn't know if he would be baptized that night, the next day, or in a month, or even next year. We were sitting there in silence and then I started nudging Elder Morrow's knee (guess I forgot to tell him about setting dates, whoops) and then Elder Morrow comitted him to the 21st of Feb. Super excited for him and his fam.

     But love ya all and happy marriage to Tanner and Misa and Happy B-Day mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!      

Pic: Selfie for mom     

          

Miracles Are Continuing to Come

     This past week was a really exciting one for Elder Moss and I. We've have seen so many miracles and also J has passed her interview so she is good to go for the 2nd.

      I realized I haven't told you much about J's family so I have to give a quick update. She was recently married to T Lee who is the younger brother of K Lee. K Lee is the second counselor in the branch and was less active about 2 months ago but our branch president called him and he just went through the temple this past Saturday. Also K has a brother named J and a sister named S. Both of them are now returning to activity as well. It has been so neat to see this whole family continue to progress together and receive so many miraculous blessings as they serve God. K also invited Elder Moss and I to attend his temple sealing with his wife which should be in the next two months. It'll be the first one I've seen so I can't wait. Also J and T already have a week that they are planning on doing there temple sealing next year. We visited with the whole family last night and watch a video about Christ's atonement. It was so cool to see them all reflect on the blessings that they have received these last couple months because of their relationship with the Savior.

      The next great miracle we witnessed this past week is family that  is the H family. They are a past member family that for the past year, none of the non members have been interested in learning at all. The mother has two daughters that are over 18 who have been baptized without her permission and also a grandaughter who has been baptized. The mother was not interested in learning until recently when she had some family arguments which have led her to turn to God for peace in her life. Last night we shared the Restoration with P(the mother) and it went really well. She has no Christian background but she has a willing heart and that has helped her understanding and her ability to feel the Spirit grow so much. She also has a daughter and two sons that we are working with to help be baptized as well. They are going on vacation to Thailand for three weeks this August but are planning on baptism 3 weeks to a month after they return. Last night after our lesson, one of the daughters texted us and said that after we left they told her mom that they had been baptized (they had kept it a secret for about 4 months) and that the mom was so happy for them. 4 months ago when they asked her if they could be baptized, the mom told them that she would kick them out and disown them as her daughters. It is so cool to see the change that she has had as she has come to church, read the scriptures, and prayed. Which actually it turns out those three things are the secret to happiness.

     So yeah things are going well and miracles are continuing to come. Thanks for all the b-day wishes. I seriously can't believe I'm turning 19 but it's cool I guess. Kuv hlub nej thiab hais ua tsaug rau nej rau qhov nej yeej txhawb nqa kuv nyob kuv txoj kev ua tub txib! MLIG MLOG.

                                       Elder Muaj Zoo Vwj

thanks to the both of you for the box. I'm sure I will enjoy all the presents. Also the two of you are pretty much the coolest parents ever. I don't know why but something about going on a mission makes you realize that your parents pretty much know everything (it's probably because when I did my laundry for the first time I threw all the whites and colors together and now some of my white shirts took on a little bit of the 70's style with the tye-dye. Turns out it's harder than it looks) But for reals you two both are such a gift in my life and dad, I'm glad to hear you are back to your mountain biking ways and that the both of you have decided to celebrate my birthday by going to P-City and Sunvalley. Have fun and just in case I forget next week HAPPY ANIVERSARY

I Have Decided To Write You A Poem

     Mom your the best. And in order to show my deep appreciation for all of the diapers you've changed, all the dinners you've made, and all the dragons you've slayed, I have decided to write you this poem.

   MOTHER DEAREST

My mother and I we're a long way from home

She's chillin in Spain and I'm with Hmong's eatin toad

I used to run amuk in the streets of San D!

But my mother taught me right, things like WWJD

She's wiped boogars changed diapers even healed the man cold

No greater woman can be found not in the whole wide world

She cool and she's funny quite a doll I'd say

Mother Dearest hope you had, a rather lovely Mother's Day

Love you all and I hope you had a great last week. Mom I chose this picture because I feel like you've raised me to be a true stripling warrior and this is the only thing related to that that I could find at all.

Love,

  Me

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.