AMAZING

Hello everyone! This week has been so amazing. We picked up 5 new investigators this past week and 2 are on date for BAPTISM!!! I really have seen the Lord's hand in our area and in our work as we labor in His vineyard.  I love it out here. My mission brings me such joy and peace as does the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A mission is indescribably hard, but so rewarding and so amazing.

We had 2 lessons last Tuesday with YiHang Yuan and Sister Lin. Last Friday, YiHang Yuan came to our English Class and expressed much interest in learning about the Gospel. We taught him on Tuesday about the Restoration. Every time we teach about the fullness we have here on earth, I feel the spirit. We invited YiHang Yuan to pray and read from the Book of Mormon. He agreed and also wants to be baptized on April 9th! We have another lesson with him tonight. That afternoon we also had a lesson with Sister Lin. We taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel as well. Sister Lin is so awesome! She is willing to pray and read everyday and accepted a baptismal date for April 9th. We have another lesson with her tomorrow!

Wednesday was so cool. Elder Luthy (one of our Zone Leaders) and I were on exchanges. That afternoon I was able to  interview one of their candidates for baptism. Her name is Hannah Burns. She is awesome and will be baptized this coming Sunday. It was so special for me to be able to interview her and the Spirit was really strong as she shared her conversion to the Gospel with me. That night we also had another lesson with Jay Yang. It was kind of a struggle. He was struggling to understand the principles but he has a strong desire to learn and grow. We also had English Class and Jay Yang, Brother Zhao and his wife, Tina all came! It was so awesome. After class we had a lesson with Brother Zhao and Tina. We invited them to pray everyday. Prayer is so cool and so foreign to so many of God's children here on earth. He has given us a way to literally communicate with Him and to receive help and guidance. We have a lesson with Brother Zhao and Tina on Wednesday! Keep praying for these people. This is a big leap with their small seeds of faith.

Thursday was a great day up on UCR Campus. While we were walking back finishing up our Seeking with Faith time, we met a guy, Andy Zhang. We walked him into the Institute building on campus and showed him around. We also shared a lesson with him. He is now one of our investigators! Super awesome. We scheduled to meet with him yesterday but we weren't able to get a hold of him. We will keep trying. It was a super cool experience.

Friday night we had a GREAT lesson with Jay Yang before English class. We finished teaching him about the Restoration and used visual examples to help him understand. Elder Beal and I taught Jay Yang because we had another exchange that day. Jay Yang and Tina both came to English class on Friday and it was super fun. 

We had our "Weekly Blitz." Elder Match, Elder Olsen (both ASL Elders) and I all went out. We talked to a lot of people, and were able to find a referral for the Office Elders. 

This week has been amazing. I know that Heavenly Father has blessed us everyday with miracles and will continue to bless us. Never forget that the hardest times can be the greatest times for our growth. I love this work. Love you all have a great week! 

Elder Willes