1st Week in New Area

1/25/2016

This week was amazing! It rained EVERYDAY! And something new happened to me, I finally found a reason to hate rain. I HATE riding a bike in rain. IT SUCKS!! Riding a bike in the rain is awful because you get soaked form head to toe and every little piece of mud you accidentally run over gets flung right back up at you. Bu I'm proud to say I can ride my bike with no handle bars now! I like to pretend I'm a bird flapping it's wings while flying off into the distance! It makes me feel cool mostly though. 

We found 9 NEW INVESTIGATORS this past week just through street contacting! Elder Brenneman and I are killing it out here in Porterville and are excited for our baptism that we have this weekend (the first of many). They are 2 girls named Destiny (11) and her sister Megen (9). They aee super cool and know and comprehend a lot about the gospel! I'm so excited for them!! 

These past 2 weeks I was also able to go back up to Merced for some baptisms for 2 different investigators that I taught! It was so awesome and I'm so proud of Emily and Nancy and their decisions to be baptized! 

Hope you all had a great week! Kuv Hlub Nej

Elder Richardson

Riding in the rain

Elder Brenneman crashed - he's okay.

1st Transfer on my Mission

1/18/2016

HEYO,

So on Tuesday morning I had to separate from Elder Pace (hardest thing of my mission thus far). I got him to cry! It's his first time crying on his mission and i'm the one who got him to do it! Our last 4 1/2 months together i will never forget. He is an amazing, missionary, teacher, and friend. he is going to amazing things is Merced as a zone leader now. I will miss the awesome duets we used to do in our car while we were jamming out.

Anyways, I got transfered to Porterville now!!! My new companions name is Elder Brenneman! He's a super awesome, fun loving, red head who loves to joke around as much as I do! We absolutely love each other already!! He can do a super awesome Kronk voice ( from Emperors New Groove)!

On Wednesday we went to the church for an hour to get some paperwork done (yes, missionaries have to do paperwork...it sucks) and we come back out and my bike was stolen!!! All that was left was my companions bike and my helmet was lying on the ground! So at least I got to walk home safely!! 

On Thursday we went and tracted out a Hmong referral that some other Elders had sent us and I was alone in speaking Hmong for the first time! But all is well!! I spoke as much as I could and he ended up saying we could come back!! I'm so excited to practice more Hmong!! 

On Sunday we have church at 10 and it was really weird being in a ward of not just Hmong people...
I'm not sure how I feel about it yet...

That's all for this week though! Love you all! 

Love you guys!!

Elder Richardson!!

I was able to come back on Saturday to see Emily get Baptized!  Awesome!

Hard to say goodbye!

SUNGLASSES!  We didn't want a picture with us crying.

Mission President Blog Page about Hmong New Year

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016

HMONG NEW YEAR 2015

Every year, Fresno hosts the International Hmong New Year during the week after Christmas.  Hundreds of thousands of Hmong people pour in to Fresno from all over California, Wisconsin and other states, and even France and Laos.  They enjoy the atmosphere of Kwv Txhiaj (traditional poetic chants), ball-tossing traditions, and stores sporting a smorgasbord of Hmong materials.  They can buy Hmong books, traditional clothing, instruments, and medicines while enjoying performances from dancers and singers on the stage.

 

The Hmong New Year event was a remarkable success for the Hmong missionaries here in the California Fresno Mission.  Over seven days, the eight Hmong Elders alongside supportive members from the Hmong ward and the two YSA Elders with Hmong stewardship collected 1,223 names of people who were willing to meet with the missionaries.  About 400 of those names are from people here in Fresno, many from the Merced area, and 250 are being sent to other missions such as Sacramento CA, Milwaukee WI, and Anchorage AL.  Many other names only have phone numbers and the work is under way to locate them and connect them with the proper missionaries.  So rather than settling down for long winter naps, the Hmong missionaries are now excitedly contacting scores of brand new people interested in the message of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ.  And for a real treat, go to ldsmissionary on instagram to see one of our Hmong Missionaries rap a portion of the Plan of Salvation.

BRAND NEW NISSAN ROGUE

1/11/2016

Dear people outside of the best mission in the whole world ( it's the Fresno California mission to let you all know),

   This past week has been crazy fun!

   On Tuesday we were eating lunch at the house and got a call saying that I was going to be companions with one of our zone leaders for the rest of the week! It was a blast! His name is Elder Eggleston and he lives with some members that have a ping pong table in the basement where we live (I have become a master ping pong player over this past week). My record right now is about 17-6! And going strong too! 

   His area covers 2 branches (1st ward and the YSA branch). And because of that we get to stay out till 10:30 teaching instead of the regular 10!! I love YSA people! They are so much fun to interact with! 

   We also got a new car this week! We drove down to Fresno in a 2012 Toyota Corrola and got a BRAND NEW 2016 NISSAN ROUGE that had 48 miles when we got it! It also has no TIWI (a little device that forces missionaries to drive a little slower and yells at you if you don't) right now which made for a super fun ride home!! Also, with the fact that it's been raining all week, some of the fields were a little muddy and our car accidentally found it's way into one of them (wink wink).

   On Saturday was transfer calls and Elder Pace and I are both getting transferred! I'm so excited for this new adventure and can't wait to see where I go next!!!

Love you all, 

Elder Richardson

FUN IN THE MUD

BRAND NEW NISSAN ROGUE

GOOD BYE TO PHOUA

IT WAS A HARD GOODBYE.  MANY TEARS.

PING PONG CHAMP

ANOTHER TRIP TO YOSEMITE

SNOW MAN

HMONG NEW YEAR

1-4-2016

Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab! (Happy New Years!!),

This past week was incredible!! All the Hmong Elders went down to Fresno for IHNY (International Hmong New Years)!!! Hmong people come from ALL over the world to come to this week long party! They have booths set up all over. The missionaries had one too! And we go around asking Hmong people if they're OK with us coming to visit them in the next year and get their information! We got over 1200 names!!!! Our goal was 1000, we crushed it!!!! 

New Years was great! We all hung out and kicked back and loved each other the way missionaries do!  We drove home Sunday morning and realized we now had church at  and rushed to get their and barely made it on time!!

Today we went to Yosemite and played in the snow! It was freezing cold and my hands are basically frostbitten but it was awesome!!! Hope you all had a great week and new years!! Love you all!!

Elder Richardson

HMONG NEW YEAR DECOR

ELDER CUNNINGHAM RAPPED THE PLAN OF SALVATION IN HMONG

MY LITTLE PONY

HMONG RAPPER - REAL DEAL

MATCHING CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

12-28-2015

Zoo Siab Christmas, 

Hi everyone! Hope your Christmas was wonderful!! 

This past week was fun and boring. It was fun in the sense that we had lots of Christmas meals and lessons with people, but boring because we didn't have a lot of lessons with investigators due to this busy Christmas season! 

My companions and I took some cute Christmas pictures with matching sweaters though! Cause we're adorable of course. 

Christmas was FANTASTIC!!!!!! We woke up at ^ and opened our Christmas packages and then  slept in for another 2 hours! Then got ready and we all got to Skype our families which was the BEST Christmas gift ever!!! 

After that we were aloud to watch a Disney movie!!! And being the adult, mature missionaries we are...we watched High School Musical 3 (and yes, I sang every song at the top of my lungs with pristine grace and elegance as well)!!! 

For the rest of Christmas we went and moved a couch for some members in another ward (because everyone loves the Hmong missionaries more than their own ward missionaries, not hard to see why). Then we packed up and left for Fresno for the week for this huge thing called Hmong New Year!! 

Hmong New Year is an event held every year all over different parts of California all around the end of the year where Hmong people from all over the world (France, Laos, Thailand, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc...) and set up booths to sell things and just celebrate Hmong people in general! ANd from 5AM-9PM we go around asking people to sign a list if they would be ok with missionaries coming and visiting them within the next year and then right down their information! It's so much fun!! 

That's about it for this week though!  

Love you all, 

Elder Tub Ntxawg

ELDER PACE, ELDER GRAY AND ME

Red Hair

12/21/2015

Merry Earler Christmas!!, 

This past week was super fun! On Monday Elder Gray (trainee) had to get a haircut. And while we were waiting, one of the ladies that has previously given me a haircut their asked me if I wanted to get my hair dyed. I said I wish but I'm on a mission right now. She told me she would do it for free and the stuff she would use washes out immediately...after thinking about it for 10 minutes...i said no...HAHA just kidding I Immediately jumped up and said "Heck YA!" . So she died my hair purple and red. it was SOOO much fun for those 15 minutes! And then when she was washing it out for me she legitimately scared me and kept saying "oh no it's not coming out!". it did though so no worries mom and dad I no longer have purple and red hair. 

This past week has been COLD!!! Holy cow it's so cold here. Coming from Arizona where the low is like 55, this is freezing to me!

We picked up 4 new investigators! My personal favorite so far is this 9 year old named Joy. She is the niece of another one of our investigators. Not yesterday, but last Sunday we were teaching her aunt (Yer Chang) and she called Joy into the room right as we started cause Joy has been wanting to learn about God for a while!! The rest of the lesson went fantastic and we even got her to pray at the very end!! We went over again on Thursday and gave her a Book of Mormon and told her we would be back in 30 minutes cause we had another quick appointment to go to. We came back and she had already read the first 2 chapters and knew about the specifics in detail! She prays everyday and "receives messages" (Holy Ghost) from God when she prays! She couldn't be more golden!! The only problem now is that her parents refuse to meet with us (their Shaman)...and we have to get permission to baptize her or hopefully, baptize the family. We set a date in January for her. So if you all wouldn't mind, will you pray for Joy's parents hearts to be softened and receive us into their house so we can meet with them. I know that if we can just have Joy and her parents sit with us in a lesson that the Holy Ghost will do the rest and show Joy's parents that what we're teaching Joy is what they need to have in their lives as well. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas season!!! Merry Christmas and if you haven't yet. Go check out the awesome Savior Is Born video on christmas.mormon.org! It's awesome and really helps you think about the real reason we celebrate Christmas! 

Love you all!! Your favorite white Hmong speaking guy, 

Elder Richy 

MY NAME TAG AND THE BOOK OF MORMON IN HMONG

RED HAIR

ELDER GRAY FELL ASLEEP

JOY DREW ME A PICTURE