HAPPY THANKSGIVING

"I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity that I have to serve the Lord. This work is amazing, 

and even though we haven't seen very much success yet, there are miracles everyday to see." 

ENGLISH CLASS

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!! :) This Thanksgiving I am especially thankful for this wonderful opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to serve Him. I am super happy here. Also, the Jurupa Zone better watch out because on Thursday, I'mma ball out at the Turkey Bowl haha. 

This week has also had its ups and downs, but I continue to be exactly obedient and give it all I have. I know things will pick up soon. 

Tuesday was a pretty good day. We had our weekly District meeting, and Elder Zeng, my companion, gave an awesome training from Chapter 4 in Preach My Gospel about Recognizing the spirit. The Holy Ghost is a powerful tool in missionary work and in life. That night, we had our first lesson with a new family we picked up. Perry, his wife YoYo, and their 2 year old son, Robin. They are so awesome. We are praying and praying hat they will continue to progress! YoYo is pregnant, so we taught them about The Plan of Salvation. The lesson went pretty well and I know they felt the spirit! 

Wednesday we had trainer/trainee meetings. We drove to the mission office, and there President Mullen, Sister Mullen, and the AP's gave us various trainings. It was awesome. I learned a lot. After that we had another meeting with multiple zones in the mission about the new Christmas initiative, "Light the World." Should be pretty cool! Take a look at it. It is powerful. Wednesday night we had English class again. Brother Yang and Perry both came which was great!! We also met with Brother Miao. He is basically the Ward Mission Leader for the Chinese members but has been traveling in Taiwan the last several weeks. He is incredible. 

We continue to work on the UCR campus to find investigators to teach. We had dinner that night with the Li Family again. They are so awesome. We had some good baozi, and also I tried some good CHICKEN FEET AND CHICKEN STOMACH!! It wasn't too bad actually. A little different though. That night we had another lesson with YoYo and Perry. We taught about our life on earth, the Savior's Atonement, and invited them to be baptized. We extended the invitation, and they said that they want to learn more before they commit to be baptized. We will see what happens! 

I went on my first exchange this week with Elder Wood! He is one of our zone leaders, and is a really awesome missionary. We got up Friday morning, and went seeking with faith. We found two really cool guys, Tyrone and Jesus. Tyrone played football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and on the Chicago Bears for awhile! He also said Jimmy Butler was his cousin!! Crazy. He was nice. We showed him a video about Jesus Christ and he really enjoyed it. Jesus is a chef in Orange County. We found him in his yard and he is also super cool. Hopefully these two people will progress for the Zone Leaders in their area! Elder Wood and I also did some service for a guy at his house that he is remodeling. We invited him to the Turkey Bowl on Thursday! 

Saturday we had our weekly Blitz in the morning. Elder Ly and I went out, and it was super fun. We contacted 16 different people, and picked up some referrals which was good! We also had dinner with Brother and Sister Li. Sister Li translates during Sacrament meeting, and they are both wonderful members. Brother Li served in Vancouver Canada and Sister Li went to Australia on their missions. Super cool examples to me.

Sunday was awesome. YoYo, her mother-in-law, and Robin, came to church! We sat by them and they seemed to really like it! Later Pan Xia called us and unfortunately she told us that she doesn't want to meet anymore. She said that she simply cannot overcome her "Scientific Mind." It is such a bummer. I know she has felt the spirit but is struggling to let faith take a bigger hold in her heart and mind. We also met with Brother Miao again last night, to discuss missionary work in the ward, and some things we can do to improve. Brother Miao is such a stud!! He has a great desire to spread the word just like I do.

I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity that I have to serve the Lord. This work is amazing and even though we haven't seen very much success yet, there are miracles everyday to see. Love you all enjoy Thanksgiving!! 

Elder Willes