The One With The Sister Son's Getting Back Together!

Monday April 18, 2016






SO ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS THAT COULD'VE HAPPENED WITH TRANSFERS HAS HAPPENED!!! THE SISTER SON'S ARE BACK TOGETHER!!! (A.k.a I'm gonna be companions with sister Peterson!!!)

 

Oh my gosh I am flipping out over here! So Sister Xiong is getting transferred to North St. Paul and is opening up a Hmong Sisters area and will be companions with Sister Brett. (a.k.a the sister Sister Teuscher trained after me). I am staying here and taking over La Crosse and Sister Peterson is my new companion. I've been really stressing out about taking over the area but now I'm just more excited :) God is good all the time, and all the time god is good!

So anyways! This Week,

So last Monday was AWESOME and basically a day full of Hmongness :) Sister Xiong and I went to a Hmong egg roll store because we have been craving them since forever (another food I have discovered I like on my mission)! It was so Yummy. Then we went to a cute Wisconsin souvenir shop in downtown La Crosse and I found a Wisconsin mug for my collection and a La Crosse shirt! That was fun. There was a bunch of high school students in downtown due to a school business function, so they were all dressed in business attire. It was weird. For once we didn't stand out. I felt more uncomfortable with everyone wearing skirts and dresses than just us wearing them. You can tell I've been out a while hahaha. Also on Monday I got a Hmong name! I'm Official!! I was named by a man named Cha Xiong. So now I have a really cute Hmong grandfather :) He named me Maiv Kawm Xyooj. For those of you who don't know how to read Hmong it's pronounced Mai-Ka Xiong. What it means is to study, learn and to gain knowledge continuously throughout your life. He said he gave me that name because he saw it was part of my nature to seek knowledge and to help me continue that through my name. I was so happy to finally get a name! Also I finally found the perfect fathers day present so I am all set :) Sorry Ashley, even on my mission and without the internet I still find gifts way in advance hahaha. Also keeping with the Hmong update of my life I've learned how to sing all three verses of I am a child of god in Hmong :)

On Wednesday we got to go to Young Women's and be apart of a Missionary Panel. The Young Women asked us a bunch of questions about what a mission is like and what are the hardest/ funnest things about missions, what do you do during free time, how do you deal with rejection everyday, etc... I was so impressed with these Young Women and their questions. They sincerely wanted to know about what missions are like. It was really fun, we all laughed a lot, and got to know them better. It was right up my alley, I love young women (they are the best) and i love giving advice based off of experience so i had a blast. Then my tender mercy for that day, Sister Endrizzi texted us that night. The Endrizzi's moved here I think 6 months ago and she has two girls in young women's. She texted us and said... "This is the first time in a really long time that Ashley has come home from Young Women's and said, That was fun! She loves you guys!" That made me feel so happy I can't really put it into words but it meant a lot to me. 

We had district meeting this week and were asked to give a training on one of the past general conference talks. It was frustrating that morning as we were planning for it because we COULD NOT focus our thoughts. Finally we decided how to present the training. We used the talk 'Tomorrow He Will Do Wonders Among You' by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and focused on the 5 things elder holland asks us to keep doing. Which are Keep Loving, Trying, Trusting, Believing, Growing, and why those things are important for us to keep doing and why it's important for our investigators to do as well. It went so good! Probably the best training I've ever given. Then afterwards Elder and Sister Beck took us out to Olive Garden for lunch which was DELICIOUS! 

Friday we had all the contacting miracles. It was cool to see Heavenly Father maneuver us to where we needed to be. It has been downright GOREGOUS the past couple of days and guess what!?! DAD YOU WERE RIGHT! SPRING HAS COME!!!  As we drove to the church we looked at the trees and they have leaves! Everyone was telling me that one day you would  wake up and it would be spring overnight. THAT'S ACTUALLY TRUE! The green makes my heart so happy. Oh how I've missed it. So anyways it was like 81 on Friday so after trying a couple of people who weren't home or who had moved we needed to go get safety pins before our next lesson so we found a pharmacy close by. We were just going to drive there but i was like "It's so gorgeous lets just walk" so we did. That pharmacy was closed but there was a Kwik Trip across the street so we went over to see if they had any. We go to walk in and there was a guy outside that we said hi to and started chatting with. He was really funny and nice. Then we went into the store and almost ran smack into our investigator Brian! We were able to talk with him a little and he said he's planning on coming to church on the 24th so we're really excited. He want's to take us out to lunch haha, he's so awesome. Then we said goodbye to him, and unfortunately Kwik Trip failed us and had no safety pins but then we started talking to the man outside again as we went to leave and we mentioned that we were missionaries. He told us him name was Isaiah and asked us to say a prayer for him and we gave him a mormon.org card with our number on it and invited him to church. Then just as we were getting back to our car there was a man in the yard in front of our car talking to someone on the side walk. Their conversation broke up as we walked up (as does happen a lot) and we thought we would be ignored but the man in the yard started talking to us. Then his wife came out and they were both incredibly friendly and said they had to leave in a few minutes but said we could come back anytime. That was awesome and made my day. Finding people who are willing to talk to us and are kind people who realize we are normal human beings just trying to help others are my favorite.

Funny Moments of the Week:

#1. So we had previously met a really frail old lady while trying to stop by someone missionaries had met in the past. We has asked if we could come by this week and show her a video about Christ. She said yes so we came back this week to do that. She opened this door and Sister Xiong explained that we had come back to show her the video. She looked really confused so I asked her if now was a good time. She said yes and proceeded to step back inside and close both doors. We were so confused it was a really funny situation. We think she's probably not all there hahaha.

#2. I found a giant Chicken in Holmen yesterday and took a picture with it.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

So I finished the Book of Mormon this week and have started in on the Doctrine and Covenants. I was able to pull connections from both the Book of Mormon and the Bible into what I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants which was cool. In D&C 5:7 it talks about how Joseph Smith was commanded not to show the gold plates to anyone and the reason being that...  "Behold, if they will not believe my words, they would not believe you,... if it were possible that you should show them all these things which I have committed unto you." Basically seeing isn't believing. People a lot of the times stumble over their desire to see, and think that if they can't see it in front of their face it doesn't exist or is not true. Thomas, one of Christ's disciples, was like this. He told the other disciple when they tried to tell him they had seen the resurrected Christ that "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). It's a part of human nature that we have to fight against. That's why, I believe the first principle in the gospel of Jesus Christ is to have faith. In Alma 32:34 it says " And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know..." We can't KNOW everything despite maybe the best intentions because if we do we will have no need for faith which is crucial for us to have and develop. And lastly Christ's promises that we will be blessed if we believe without seeing as he responded to Thomas by saying "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29). 

p.s sorry for scriptural overload i just got really excited with all the connections i could make and how everything made sense :D

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

-Sister Richardson

The One With The Cure for Hurt Feelings

Monday April 11, 2016

So this week was clouds with bursts of sunshine. No I am not talking about the weather :) This week was kind of meh, but we did get to see some sweet miracles (that's what i mean by bursts of sunshine). So before I get into the miracles, I have somehow roped myself and our entire zone of 6 sisters into singing at this upcoming mission conference. I have no idea how it happened or what possessed me to offer but it has happened and i can't take it back. We've decided to sing Joseph smith's first prayer to the tune of come thou fount. But another tricky thing is that the other sisters in our zone are an hour and a half away so we are going to basically only be able to practice over Skype. I'll let you know what happens with that. I face palm just thinking about it. Another musical update, Sister Xiong taught me the basics of Bass Clef on the piano so i am teaching myself how to play how firm a foundation in the hymns made easy book! I love it!

So we had a sweet miracle with a referral. Our bishop's wife, sister baker, texted us and said that a lady who had moved out of the ward like a couple of years ago had asked her to contact us and ask us to visit her friend Holly, who lives in this area whom she thought was at right time in her life to hear the gospel. So we went over on I think Wednesday and met her. She is SO CUTE! The spirit was really strong as we talked with her and testified about how the gospel blesses families. We offered to serve her or help her in any way she would need and she was really touched. She called us angles and said we could stop by whenever. We are so excited about her!!! 

So also something AWESOME!!! we were at coordination with bishop and the elders said that they were talking to Jessie Cruzan (the awesome lady who has been coming to church with her family for over the past two months) and she said that she is ready to start taking the lessons!  We are so excited because we'll get to teach her. Even more, she got up yesterday and bore her testimony and she said I'm not a member YET. Sister Xiong and I just gave each other a look that was like I heard that three letter word, that's right not yet but soon >:) SO EXCITED!

The last thing I want to write about I am just going to quote straight out of my journal from yesterday. (By the way I wrote this story the way I think someone in general conference would give it because it totally seems like a story that would be shared. Not that I'm EVER hoping to have to tell it in conference ;) ).

April 10th, 2016

Well today I made a discovery. I just found a cure for hurt feelings and bad days. I'm serious, I know it works because it just happened to me. I made a mistake while driving home tonight. We were in La Crescent, a place I've only been to twice before and it was dark. I thought we were on a double lane one way road, as is common in La Crosse, and a truck pulled in front of me going slower than i was. So I put on my blinker and went into the other lane to avoid using the brakes. To my surprise the car honked at me a I realized that the road was not a one way but was a two way and I was going in the wrong direction. I immediately slowed down and stopped to get over into the correct lane. The truck that had alerted me to my mistake also slowed down and stopped beside my car to make sure I knew he thought I was an idiot and apparently had personally offended him, his family, and the entire state of Minnesota by my mistake. That kind of lack of understanding makes me livid. I always want to yell "Yes. I made a mistake, I'm sure you've made plenty of them too", and I always want to share the story of the Savior when he is rebuking the accusers of the woman caught in Adultery. "Let he who is without sin first cast a stone at her". I let myself be angry for 30 seconds but quickly realized that that was not how the savior would react and I needed to let it go and forgive. That is not easy to do. What's worse is I got snippy with my companion Sister Xiong, who was just trying to help me feel better. My night had settled into a dull annoyance for and at everything and that's how i thought it would stay. But lucky for me Heavenly Father took this as an opportunity to teach me something that i hope will stay with me in year to come to help me. 

The cure to hurt feelings and bad days, which, is service. I know I've heard this a million times but it actually works. A lady in our apartment building, named Vicki, was having a bad day a few days ago and we could tell she was upset. Sister Xiong and I had bought cookies on Saturday to give to her with a letter to let her know that we loved her and to hopefully brighten up her day. Even though we didn't get done planning until after 9:30 and were supposed ti get ready for bed, we decided to do it tonight. So we cut out hearts and wrote her a card. We taped the hearts on her door and set the plate of cookies and the card on the mat, knocked and ran back into our apartment like the ninja sister missionaries that we are :). A few minutes late she knocked on our door to thank us. She started crying and said no one had ever done something like that for her before. She had been upset because she had just learned that she would not be able to attend her grandsons graduation, which she said she "would be willing to crawl through broken glass to get to". She was upset but immensely appreciated our love and service towards her. After we said goodbye I realized that i was happy and filled with love and light. that was all because of service. It's the cure for hurt feelings and bad days. Night! -Sister Richardson

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

Ether 6:7

7. And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. 

This reminded me of the following poem I found in a past session of Conference..

 

All the water in the world

No matter how hard it tried

Could never sink the smallest ship

Unless it got inside.

All the evil in the world

And every kind of sin

Could never damn a human soul

Unless we let it in

If we don't let sin inside there is no way it could ever harm us. We need to be strong in our testimony of the gospel and application of it in our life. Just like water if it finds the tiniest crack or hole it will immediately get inside. When we are "encompassed about by many waters [we need to] cry unto the Lord, and he [will] bring [us] forth again upon the top of the water".

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Thanks for all of the prayers and Support!

Love, Sister Richardson

The One with 7 Words for 7 Months

 

April 4, 2016

 

 

 

 

 So as of this past week I have officially been a missionary for seven months now. I came to a crazy realization as I was talking to Sister Xiong that i literally have less than a year left on my mission. (Granted I have 11 months which is basically a year but still). She asked me on Saturday (my month mark) night as we were writing in journals before bed if i had to sum up my seven months using seven words what would they be and this is what I said...

#1. Challenging. There have been countless nights and days of tears incredible amounts of fear, frustration, and being forced out of my comfort zone as I've tried to be the missionary my heavenly father needs me to be. Being a missionary is NOT an easy task.

#2. Fun. Despite how challenging being a missionary is I've also had a TON of fun. I feel like as a missionary you don't have a lot of time to just have fun and so when you get it you make the most out of it. Also the people i have come in contact with and have gotten to know both normal members, non-members, and missionaries have filled my mission with just good old fun.

 #3. Spirit-led. We as missionaries cannot do this work on our own. We don't know these people but heavenly father does. He knows them perfectly, he's there father, and without his help nothing would happen. Without the confirmation of the spirit in what we say is true and working in the lives of all those around us there would be no point in us being out here. I have had a lot of incredible experiences both in lessons, finding people (both investigators and less-actives), and simply trying to serve others when i have seen the spirit magnify my efforts to serve, teach, and convey heavenly fathers love and concern for others in a way i could never do on my own. 

#4. Cold. This one is kind of self-explanatory. I have never been so cold in my ENTIRE LIFE. Here's one to all of the firsts of winter for me. Big puffy Eskimo coats. Big puffy Eskimo coats on top of other coats. Hand warmers every day. Sticking those hand warmers in your boots to try to warm your freezing toes. Fleece lined tights. Wearing multiple pairs of fleece lined tights. Weird (but warm) head band things to keep your ears from falling off that i swore at BYUI that i would never wear. (I love them now, they are life (and ear) savers). Wearing two shirts, a sweatshirt, fleece lined tights, sweat pants, two pairs of socks, an outer jacket, with two blankets to bed, and finally being comfortable. There being such thing as wind chill that is oh so real and hits you in the face when you least expect it. And last but not least -20's. Ummm What? Why do people live here?  

#5.Service. From volunteering at food shelves, to salvation army, and just the everyday little acts of service we do as missionaries (especially for cute elderly grandmas) I LOVE it! I had never served very much outside of my family or if i did it didn't seem like it to me. I hope to make service apart of my life when i get home, it makes me joyful to be able to serve those around me.

#6. Love. This one little word blankets so much of my mission. It's what I have felt from the people in every area I have served in. It's what I have grown to feel for the Gospel and this incredible and miraculously restored church of Jesus Christ. It's what I have given and tried to show to those i serve with and talk to. What I feel from my family and all those back home who love me and are praying for me. It is what I have felt from my father in Heaven as I have pleaded for help to be more, do more, and accept things out of my control, and have seen his tender responses to those prayers. It is the reason why I am still serving a mission. I love this church and the gospel, my heavenly father, the wonderful and incredible people i have met and have yet to meet, my fellow missionaries, the fact my family can be eternal and will never be separated by death, the guidance and strength of the scriptures, the power and blessings of the priesthood and comfort it has given me, and last but not least my savior Jesus Christ who is the epitome of pure love.

#7. Growth. My dad said that as a missionary you can see yourself grow and change in some ways but that it's most apparent to those around you. If i have been stretched and pulled and molded so much in only seven months I wonder at what the next seven will bring. Heavenly Father actually did know what he was doing by telling me to serve a mission... go figure, hahaha.

So after ranting about me for forever. I'll give ya a quick rundown of what happened this week. p.s sorry about the random formatting of this email.

Lesson with 2 Brian’s and Mai:

 So we went over to Brian Spindlers house on Thursday for our appointment and brought Mai with us for rule of three. Also she's like one of my favorite people ever. And we get there and he had totally forgotten we were coming and had a buddy of his with him but let us in. And showed us a bunch of old pictures of the two of them back when they were rock stars. (They actually were believe it or not). We got talking and talked a lot about Christ and parts of the restoration and testified. Mai did such a great job! She's been a member for about a month now and is so solid! And she really liked coming teaching with us too so YAY! Brian's buddy was also named Brian but he's Brian F. and he was really interested in what we had to say and wants to know more so we got his phone number and will hopefully get in contact with him soon! That was so great. Brian S. was acting kind of strange and were thinking he wasn't all that sober. But regardless the spirit was there (I think more for Brian F's sake hahaha)

Sang in Hmong:

I learned how to sing I am a child of god in Hmong and there was one word that you have to pronounce with the back of your throat and i DIED laughing. After trying (and failing) all I could think about was the best two years when elder rogers tries to help elder Calhoun speak Dutch and he just goes "okay, yeah, you keep working on that". So funny.

 

 

 

 

Prank War:

Also this week we started a prank war between us and the elders. Mai texted us on Friday and was like "it's April fool’s day we need to play a prank on the elders!". I was soo down so we decided to saran wrap there car and we did. It was so great and so fun. I've always wanted to do that to someone. The elders were so confused. I'll send pictures. But then i was really surprised with how quickly they got us back. The next day they (including Mai) wrote with shaving cream all over our car so we had to go take it to a car wash. Soo sneaky >:l It's on.

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Youngblut to conference:

Sister Youngblut came to the morning session of Conference!!! We were so excited and then Sister Baker came to the church to see her and they hit it off so well! They were friends a while ago and it seemed like they just picked it right back up where they left off. That made our hearts so happy, that's exactly what members are supposed to do. Make people feel, loved and missed and wanted. WOOO!

 

Food with Der: 

We went over to teach over investigator Der and she has still not gotten over the fact that we only have 1 hour for lunch and dinner to cook and eat. So, she made us pho (pronounced fuh). If i had to describe I would say it was like a build your own Ramen bowl. There were noodles that you put in a broth you make and then you can add more meat and vegetables and sauces/ spices, and bean sprouts, and garlic etc. It was pretty good. It was a little bland for my taste but with a little more flavor i would really like it. I also took pictures so I'll attach those as well

 

Mary:

We went to find and old lady whose less active Named Mary and we did. She's 87 and HILARIOUS. She is such a spit fire. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel and loves her family. It was funny right as we met her i asked her how many grand kids she had she just goes "Don't ask stupid questions!" We were thinking oh no, we are going to die this lady hates us. Don't worry she likes us, she just can't remember stuff haha. Then we showed her the Easter video and she was talking about how we are all brothers and sisters. Then she's gets super straight faced and goes "I've got some ugly ones". I cracked up laughing. She is a hoot. I am excited to see her again :)

Well that's it from Wisconsin... Until next week!

-Sister Richardson

Spiritual Thought of the Week:(Some of my favorite quotes from conference)

"An unforgiving heart harbors so much needless pain"- Kevin R. Duncan

"We all know Saul like individuals with Paul like potential"- Kevin R. Duncan

"God looketh not upon the color of the jersey or the political party"- Kevin R. Duncan

"If life were truly fair we would never be able to be resurrected or be clean in the presence of god. I am grateful that life isn't fair" Dale G. Renlund

"We leap over the boat full of faith and determination and quickly learn we cannot do it alone"- Ronald A. Rasband

"Just because you have questions don't loose faith in your testimony. If you are diligent in keeping the commandments and serving in the church god will eventually help you find your answer." (Not an exact quote. This is my words/ impression) -Jairo Mazzagardi

"You might as well be baptizing a bag of sand as a man if it is not done for the remission of sins and to receive the holy ghost." - David A Bednar

"If you don't know where you want to go it doesn't matter which path you take" -Thomas S. Monson 

"May we choose the harder right than the easier wrong"- Thomas S Monson

"Challenges are sometimes a sign of gods trust in you to deal with what you face"- D. Todd Christofferson

"There is no life so shattered that cannot be rebuilt"- Dieter F. Ucthdorf

"The Great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying" Jeffrey R. Holland

"After Heavenly moments we, in essence, always return to earth"- Jeffrey R. Holland

The One Where I Ran into a Door.....Twice!!!

March 28, 2016

So I know you are all dying to hear what is new in Wisconsin, never fear i am ready to deliver all the juicy details (not really they aren't that juicy but clearly your still reading this so you must be interested in what i have to say >:) ) (I know..... I'm weird)

 

So this past Monday night we had dinner with our ward mission leaders family the Ebbert's. They are so fun and Mai was there. She's is a recent convert of about a month and she is SO FUN. I just love her. Dinner was incredibly yummy i asked Lawson (their 10 year old son) before hand just  how yummy this soup was and he said a 10.5. He was not wrong. Then we had FHE with them and Mai all about Easter and holy week, and then played a dice game called Zilch and I won. So clearly that was the best game ever. I was very happy but trying to be humble about it ;) 

 

On Tuesday we had a really cool lesson with a lady named Jessie. She's been coming to church with her kids and husband for about 2 months now. Her Grandparents were converts to the church and she received an answer to her prayer that she needed to start coming to our church. However she hasn't met with the missionaries because she wanted to make the first contact to ask us to teach her and she invited us and the elders over so she could get a blessing and ask us some of her questions. She is so sweet and kind and open and all she wants is to know what god wants her to do and to do it. I really admire her, she has so much faith and trust in god. She said she is going to start praying about when the right time to start meeting with the missionaries is so hopefully we'll hear from her soon and can start teaching her! :) 

 

So it snowed this week >:( i was not happy. I am SO DONE with snow, it's like a clingy ex, trying to come back and stay a while when you are just completely 100% done with it. Anyways... It was supposed to snow 5-12 inches on Thursday and it did start snowing but was very wimpy but our cars got grounded for half the day anyways. It did end up snowing pretty good during the night, but the next day our cars weren't grounded at all. Figure that one out. AND we had snow for Easter which is the first time that has ever happened in my life! Good thing about it, Sister Xiong and i went out and made snow angels. Sister Xiong had never made one before! I got to witness it :) 

 

So I LOVED the general women's broadcast on Saturday. Our Relief Society had an hors d'oeuvre potluck dinner an hour before which was yummy, and then we watched the broadcast and then had designer cupcakes and ice cream afterwards. (I say designer cause they looked like the cupcakes you see on the food network channel). 

And Last but not least HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! We had a good Easter. We sang in the choir and sung a pretty song called he is risen. Then i had a cool experience during our relief society where i learned that you really can receive personal revelation through church attendance. That was an awesome experience and i almost started crying in Relief Society as i saw one of my prayers answered and knew that my Heavenly Father was mindful of me.

Funny Things of the Week:

We were stopping by a less active member of the ward at night and his house was really dark but i thought i saw a light so i leaned in towards the door to see if he was coming. Little did I realize he had an outer glass door and I slammed my face on it. We left very quickly. Not only that but then I did it again! We were at our bishops house for breakfast and coordination and I ran into THEIR glass door as I was trying to leave. Man i'm as bad as those crows on the Windex commercials.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

So i have been terrible about ponderizing scriptures but i have decided to pick it back up and i LOVED this scripture i came across while reading in John. (if you don't know what ponderizing is may i refer you to the October 2015 General Conference talk 'my heart pondereth them continually'.) 

John 16:33 "These things i have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

This is so appropriate it having just been Easter and considering the past bombing in Belgium. This world is crazy and is in a lot of ways scary and it is not easy. We don't need to fear and can have peace in the knowledge that Christ has overcome all of those things. He truly has overcome the world. All of it's fear, hatred and any and all of the many negative things and feelings that exist in this world can be overcome through our savior Jesus Christ. He is truly mindful of us. 

I Love you ALL!!! 

-Sister Richardson

The One With Christmas in March!...

March 21, 2016

The scriptures speak the truth! Hahaha just Kidding

So this week has been exhausting (I feel like I say that every week but that's my life) and like no one was home so not too many things to report but here's what happened...

 

So we had district meeting this week and that was really good. We had the zone leaders (Elder Knappus and Howe) and our STL's there (Sister Sperry and Hermana Koopmans). It was so sweet the Senior couple that is in our district, elder and sister Beck, took us all out to lunch afterwards at Apple bee's. That was really yummy. So the reason that the STL's were in our area was because they came to blitz our area instead of exchanges. For all you not so familiar with missionary terms blitzing is where you all go on exchanges in the same area.

That was fun, I went with Hermana Koopmans for the first half of the day, and it was cool. We saw a miracle with one of our potentials who is soon to become an investigator (he's right on the cusp). His name is Trevor and we went and showed him the Easter video and were able to talk with him and testify to him about god being there and loving us and that he really does hear and answer our prayers. He said we could come back and i hope we are able to teach him. He has SO much potential, I can just see how happy he could be with the gospel and church in his life and want that for him. Oh also on Wednesday we went to church! We got invited to church by a referral we contacted named Brian. He's a really sweet middle aged man who invited us to church with him and said he would come to our church so we went. First time I've been to a normal church service other than that ran by our church. It was interesting and definitely a learning experience.

Unrelated to that i realized that i love sister Sperry! She is so cute, she reminds me of a softer spoken version of Ashley. She likes playing with hair and giving hugs, and is always willing to jump in and serve. It was so fun having her around on Wednesday. She said that she feels like she's known me forever and i feel exactly the same way :).

So something funny, this week we helped someone wrap Christmas gifts. Yes she knows it's march no it's not for next Christmas and no she didn't get her Jesus holidays mixed up. It's a story that has to do with her daughter that I don't feel like telling cause it's really not that important. But we spent a good couple of hours helping her wrap all of her Christmas gifts which was really fun. Sister McCoy is an amazing lady. She has had so many large and ongoing trials in her life physically and spiritually and she just keeps going and is very kind to everybody. I love her.

Also the same day as Christmas in March I got an extreme taste of Hmong culture. There is a Less active lady in our area who only speaks Hmong whose name is Ngia (Pronounced Ne-yah) and she makes traditional Hmong clothes which according to sister xiong are really good quality. Ngia finagled sister xiong into buying a $60 Hmong hat. We are quite sure how that happened. I think it had to do with the fact that she completely dressed up sister xiong in the entire traditional Hmong outfit. That was cool to see, all the different parts. Then also that same day we had dinner with the Xiongs (No relation to sister Xiong ;) ) and that was interesting. The conversation was in Hmonglish. Half English (solely for my benefit cause i was the only non-Hmong speaker present) and half in Hmong. SO weird. They also made traditional Hmong food which was surprisingly good. There was a chicken broth and tofu soup (i actually really liked it, not that i ever thought i'd say that about tofu), and a stir fry that was yummy just minus the shrimp and mushrooms. I could manage the mushrooms, but not the shrimp. Luckily it was smaller shrimp so i'd just take some water and swallow it whole. I survived :)

Well sorry but that's about it for this week... until next Monday! Love you all!

-Sister Richardson

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

This week in relief society the teacher was talking about this upcoming week being holy week and what each day meant and she said something pretty profound that i had never thought of before. She said "A lot of the times we pray and are striving to be more like Christ when a lot of Christs life was spent suffering. The trials that come can be a way to become more like Christ." I never realized that. Part of what made Christ who he was was the trials and pains he went through. And likewise some of the kindest and most Christlike and charitable people we know have had monster-sized trials in their lives. Trials and pains do truly help us to reach our potential and come closer to our goal of being like Christ. They are not fun or pleasant to experience but if we let them, they can change us and draw us closer to our father in heaven and our elder brother who has been where we have been, are or ever will be. 

The One Devoted to the Car...

March 14, 2016

So Monday night i finally met the legendary brother and sister Ebbert. Brother Ebbert is the ward mission leader and i have heard from EVERYONE who has served in La Crosse about them :) They are as wonderful as expected. He tried to help us cut our bike lock that's holding my bike hostage. We tried two different kinds of cutters and a saw and no luck. I found it pretty funny and was laughing like the whole time. Well now we know though that if you have one of those locks ain't nobody steeling your bike. I went on splits for the first time :) That was weird. Sister Xiong went with sister Countryman to visit a less active and the book of mormon class, and I went with Sister Hanks to visit some less active ysa (Young Single Adults). We had an appointment with one named Jessie and i was able to carry the conversation for about an hour. I was so impressed and surprised with myself being able to do that. It totally seemed like i was an extrovert when I'm not. When people ask me I've started labeling myself as an introvert disguised as an extrovert. I think that was one of the reasons why i needed to come on a mission is to learn how to talk to people and carry conversations without things getting awkward.

So I am now the designated driver :D No, sister Xiong didn't get a call telling us to switch, driving just really stresses her out so i volunteered to drive if that would help her. I don't mind driving. But crazy things happened with our car. We walked out of our apartment on Wednesday to go to an appointment and we had a completely flat tire! So we got our jack and temporary tire out of the back and I changed the tire. Jim, our adorable neighbor whose super old and basically our adopted grandpa, came out to see if he could help. I knew basically what to do, but it was sweet having him there. When we took the tire off we saw that there were two nails in our tire which had caused the flat. The tire couldn't be patched because of the placement of one of the nails so we spent off and on all day going in and getting a bid on new tires and then calling our vehicle coordinator elder Checketts back and forth as he got approval from Salt Lake for us to get them replaced. And remember how my bike is stuck on our bike rack? Yup, that meant that we were walking for the rest of the day. Man I was exhausted that night. Probably makes top three tired nights on the mission so far. So we got everything fixed with our tires and while we were getting them fixed the technician was able to cut our bike lock for us! YAY!!!!! My bike is now free and in our apartment :) Very happy about that. 

On Wednesday our district had interviews with President Forbes. That was really fun. We got to see the Winnona Elders, Elders Pierson and Kemberling, and i got to meet Elder and Sister Beck for the first time. We had really good training's from Sister Forbes and Elder Pierson and Kemberling. These were the longest interviews i have ever had though. It started at 10 am and we left at 1:40 even though they still weren't done. It was funny The people giving training's ran out of things to say so we opened it up to things that we had been studying lately and it was awesome. I loved being able to learn and teach each other. So i had my interview with president and it went well. My mission has made me such a cry baby though. As soon as i talk about anything I'm struggling with or my faults i start crying. President gave me some good advice to focus my prayers on gratitude and i have been striving to do that and I think it's helping. He probably thinks I'm emotionally unstable now though hahaha. He said several times "you're gonna be fine" and i was like I know i am, i just have to rub a little dirt in it, there's opposition in all things and without trials there's no growth. 

 

After interviews we went and had lunch with Sister McGuire. She's adorable and is just filled with love and you feel that she really cares about you. She told us of her conversion story and the spirit was really strong. It was cool as we left I realized that that was the first experience I've had where i knew that I am going to miss lacrosse when I leave. I also had my first experience being in a lesson where I don't speak the language and have NO idea what they are saying. I just smile and nod and wait for sister Xiong to translate from Hmong to English hahaha. It's weird. I'm sure i would get really frustrated not understanding if i had been called to speak a different language and this happened all the time for now i just thought it was really cool. Also when we play volleyball on Saturdays usually I'm the only white person in a sea of Asians. It's weird being a minority, i don't think I've ever had that happen before. Also during volleyball i realized one of the elders, elder Lao reminds me of Derek. He's quick to say it was his bad even when everyone in the room knows it wasn't, he plays hard and always tries to make it easier for others. That was a cool comparison i saw :)

So also yesterday i think I've found what brings me the most joy in missionary work. Being in the right place at the right time and speaking with the spirit to address the needs of someone you hardly know. KNOWING that you are being an instruments in the hands of god makes me very happy. We were able to have two experiences like that yesterday as we met and talked with two less active ladies. Sister Sayre and Sister Youngblut. Sister Sayre was adorable and we are hopefully going to see her again very soon. Sister Youngblut originally wasn't going to invite us in, but she did and we had a very good and lengthy conversation about life and her adorable dog. His name is Jackson and he's probably one of the largest dogs I've ever seen. He's a bulldog and weighs 120 lbs. Don't worry i have pictures :) He is so cute and sweet. The coolest part about visiting sister Younblut, besides her dog ;) was that at the end she said that she believes things happen for a reason and that we were supposed to go and see her that day. Experiences like that truly fill my heart with joy.  

First's of the Week:

First time eating Ice Cream cake :) (unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations)

First time changing a tire completely by myself.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

So I read Helaman Chapter 5 this week and it BLEW MY MIND. I spent the entire hour we have for personal study on that one chapter. I just wanted to share something I learned from that chapter.

In verses 6-12 Helaman is basically giving his sons life advice and telling them the important things to remember and do to have a happy life. He told them to Keep the commandments, be good and do good/ serve others, don't be prideful, have faith in Christ and his atonement, we are saved by grace after all we can do, and continually strengthen and rely on your testimony. I've heard the Book of Mormon compared to the ultimate parenting guidebook and it really is. I know last weeks spiritual thought was similar but the Book of Mormon is filled with how to raise a strong family both together and with god. The teachings of the prophets (Book of Mormon and Biblical) and the teachings of Christ, coupled with diligent parents willing to put the effort into teaching and implementing these teachings into their families leads to happy homes and strong family relationships. I have a very strong testimony of this. That is why god has given us the scriptures and commandments, so that through them we can become better and more like his son who is our ultimate example.

The One with Sister Xiong

March 7, 2016

Greetings from Wisconsin. It's 56 degrees here!! We walked out of our apartment today in my fleece liner and  heavy winter coat and i am able to wear no coat and not be cold! Hallelujah!!!! I thought this day would never come. It probably wont last but I'm gonna enjoy it while it's here.

Bishop & Sis Petersen

 

Pat and sister B( she's holding ivy the dog)

This is sister Anderson. She is basically the mom of all missionaries. I love her :)

At lunch with our STL's sisters Brown (the blonde) and Kirkby

So this week has been a whirlwind. So i got transfer news on Monday and then had to say goodbye to EVERYONE on Tuesday. We were literally seeing people from 9 in the morning till 9:30 at night. I'll include pictures and captions at the bottom. Then our district all met at the church to sign testimony journals and so sister Killpack and I could get blessings before transfers. That was a really cool experience the spirit was very strong both during both blessings. I'm going to miss that district and those missionaries so much. I know in like every district everyone's like "Man this district was the best district, it was so legendary", but i don't think anything will beat that district. I'll let you know if it happens though. In the Rochester Zone (the zone i am in now) missionaries are hours apart from each other so we are not allowed to meet up very often. We can have a zone p-day every 3 months and a district p-day every 3 months. And now we can only have district meetings one a month. The mission is changing a lot and the rules are getting tighter. Only reason that can be is because some missionaries somewhere were abusing them so oh well. At least we can still do them. That is a bit of an adjustment though not seeing missionaries as often. I miss it.

So anywho, i was up till 2:30am packing on Tuesday and then till 4:30am writing in testimony journals so i got 2 hours of sleep. That was fun. We headed up to the mission home and sister Killpack's new missionary training meeting. She's gonna make a great trainer. Her greenie is very lucky. I got to see so many people at the mission home! I got to see elder Anderson again (He's so great!) and Sister Young, Sister Bingham and Sister Sperry. I said goodbye to everybody and left with Hermana Koopmans on the 1 and a half hour trip down to Rochester and then met sister Xiong my new comp and headed down the extra hour and a half to La Crosse. So it took 3 hours to get down here :) We literally border the edge of the mission that's how far away we are.

 

Me and sister Xiong

 

Sister Xiong is really cute, she's from Sacramento and she came out with sister Killpack so she's been out for almost 5 months. She's spent her whole mission here in La Crosse and is such an incredible missionary. She is one of the hardest working missionaries i know. She is really organized and on top of everything and is constantly calling and setting up appointments and getting joint teachers and just like everything a missionary is supposed to be and do is pretty much Sister Xiong. Now she wouldn't agree with any of that because she's also really humble and is hard on herself as we all are, but literally i don't have to be here. She could run the missionary work in La Crosse by herself and everything would be just fine. I'm gonna learn so much from her and how to improve being a missionary. Funny thing about sister Xiong though is that she is you're classic stereotypical terrible Asian driver. She cannot follow the GPS for her life and makes so many wrong turns. She almost ran a stop sign yesterday and got an aggressive driving violation (via the tiwi... remember satan in a box?) and gets SO many check your speeds. I find it hilarious and just start laughing every time. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a call saying that I'm now the designated driver hahaha.

We do have a lot of people that we're teaching here in La Crosse. The members here are very missionary minded and will give us referrals. And believe it or not the people here are even nicer than Anoka. That's pretty hard to believe for me but it's true so i like that. One of our investigator's named Alex is getting baptized on April 9th so I'm really excited for that. She's adorable and so solid. 

Firsts of the Week:

First time I've ever been in a trailer park

First time I've ever been in Salvation Army. (I've been to goodwill and DI but never Salvation Army)

Two Funny things this week.

#1. So the Sister whom i replaced here was Sister Matagi and she finished her mission here and went home. So i get here and there is a garbage bag full of clothes that she's left and necklaces. And she just happens to have amazing style and we would've just donated it to salvation army so i took like 3/4's of it. I think i acquired enough to fill a carry on suitcase. This is so bad, I've got to stop.  

#2. So all missionary cars have bike racks on them because we all have bikes (duh) and you take your bikes with you. So i stick my bike on our car to travel the rest of the way to La Crosse and Hermana Koopmans locks on the bike lock that comes with the bike rack thinking that we had the key to unlock it. Turns out no, we don't have the key to unlock it so we have been driving around La Crosse and Onalska (the city we live in) with a bike just chillin on the bike rack. Hopefully our ward mission leader (who we're seeing tonight) has wire cutters hahaha.

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

I was reading about the army of Helaman (a.k.a the 2,000 strippling warriors) begging in Alma chapter 56 and i made a really cool connection. Every mothers day we always here this story because these young men rehearse unto their leader that "They had been taught by their mothers that if they did not doubt, god would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it." They had been taught by their mothers and probably by the examples of their fathers to trust god and have absolute faith in him to deliver us and he will. Every time. Because of the things they were taught, even though they went and fought against armies many times there size, not one of them was killed. The Gospel truly blesses families, and this is just one scriptural proof of that fact. It was the faith and example of the parents of those 2,000 warriors, and their dedication in teaching their children the principles of the gospel as well as helping to build and strengthen their testimonies that allowed them to have enough faith and trust in God to be delivered from their enemies. The influence and affect of the gospel on families can be life changing. It is so important and i am so grateful every single day that my family and i have been blessed with it.