BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS!

"RIVERSIDE GETTING THAT SHOUT OUT FROM ELDER GROW - WHAT IT IS!!! 

and

Sunday was AMAZING! We had 4 investigators meet us at the church building 

to watch the Sunday Morning Session in Chinese! The Spirit was really strong when President Monson 
taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon."

My good friend and former Zone Leader, Elder Hagler, from Herriman, UT

Hello everyone!!! This week has been super amazing. We currently have 5 investigators on date for baptism and 4 of them came to watch General Conference with us on Sunday! Yep you heard right! It was amazing. Heavenly Father continues to bless us, everyday. I am so humbled and grateful that I get to serve Him. 

Tuesday was pretty awesome. We drove down to Lake Elsinore for our Multi-Zones. That whole day we received training and President Mullen really stressed the importance of having a laser-like-focus for the work. I love that! One of the most amazing things he said was about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. He mentioned that the Savior suffered for all mankind, but not including Heavenly Father. So when Heavenly Father's children fail to return to their Heavenly Home, the pain that He feels surpasses the pain that Jesus Christ went through with the Atonement. It really helped put into perspective the importance of doing His work, and helping ALL of His children return home.

After English Class on Wednesday night, we had another lesson with Hank (his new English name) and Tina. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was super cool. We tried again to invite them to be baptized, but they still aren't ready to set a date. We will continue to work with them. 

Thursday morning we picked up another investigator, Ben Zhang. We met him on our way back to our apartment this past week. Sadly, he already told us he is not interested in our message anymore. He had a big concern with accepting additional scripture and only regards the Holy Bible as the word of God. We also taught Lin Jie Mei. We had to review the Restoration with her and also changed her baptismal date to April 23rd. It was a great lesson! These are often extremely new and foreign concepts and principles for the Chinese.

Friday we picked up two new investigators. BOOM! Charlie and Vivian. Charlie actually approached us on campus at UCR asking for directions. We got his contact information, taught him the Restoration, and put him on date for baptism for April 23rd! We also taught Vivian before English Class. We found her through English Class, and taught her the Restoration as well. She is also on date for baptism on April 23rd! That night after our English Class, we taught Hank and Tina again! We taught them about the Word of Wisdom, and they agreed to live it! They are awesome. I love them! Please pray for them.

Saturday and Sunday were better than Christmas!!! General Conference !:))) I really loved Elder Bragg's talk about the "Light of Christ." I loved how he said that "seeking the light, is in our eternal DNA." Everyone is seeking for light, we just need to help them find the "Light of Christ" again in their lives. I also loved Elder Sabin's talk about being "ALL IN." I loved the analogy he used with the "Spiritual Sleeping Bags," and also how he said, "In order to be all in, we need to stand up inside." That is so amazing. That night, I also got to sit right next to President Mullen and watch the Priesthood Session! I loved Elder Bednar's message of becoming worthy, and to love staying worthy. Also the Covenant Pathway; Priesthood, Temple, Mission. So cool. 

Sunday was AMAZING! We had 4 investigators meet us at the church building to watch the Sunday Morning Session in Chinese! Hank and Tina, Charlie, and Vivian all came. They all really seemed to enjoy it. The Spirit was really strong when President Monson taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon. I loved that. The Sunday afternoon session was awesome too. I loved Elder Costa's message. We are for sure going to share that talk with our investigators. I loved when he said, "Meeting the Missionaries, going to Church, Reading the Book of Mormon, and Repentance." These are the things our investigators need to be doing to come unto the Savior. Also, RIVERSIDE GETTING THAT SHOUT OUT FROM ELDER GROW - WHAT IT IS!!! Haha gotta love that. :) That night, we also had a lesson with Rene Zhao. Rene was a former investigator, who we found through our Area Book. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and put him on date for baptism for May 7th! We've got to get him to Church though and help him with a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon. We will continue to help him though! 

This week has been amazing. I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to Represent the Savior, and help others. Love you all have a great week! 

Elder Willes