I LOVE HIS WORK

"This week has been great. I can't wait for the next one!! I love the Lord, and I love His work."

This week has been awesome. I am excited to continue to work hard and help my Chinese brothers and sisters come to know their Savior. Elder Crowther is a great missionary and has a strong desire to serve the Lord. We have been seeing a lot of miracles together! This week has been great one. Here is how it all went down. 

On Monday night, we drove to Chino, to meet with Joanna, who had been a former investigator of previous missionaries. We really have been utilizing our "area book" to find more people that are prepared to receive the Gospel. We met with her, and had a great lesson about the Restoration. The Spirit was strong during the lesson and she accepted an invitation to pray and read from the Book of Mormon everyday! It is in these small steps that miracles happen.

I spent the better portion of the day on Tuesday at the hospital with Elder Gulbranson, who sadly injured his leg playing basketball. :( Please pray for him to heal! I had the opportunity of giving him a priesthood blessing and we know that it is through the Atonement, all is possible. 

Wednesday was SO COOL!!! That afternoon, we had another lesson with Shanon, one of our investigators. We arrived at her house, and we starting talking about her son who is currently on a mission in Boston. I knew that he left around the same time as I did, and so I asked her if she had any pictures of her son, to see if I knew him. She showed me a couple of pictures and it turns out, I met him while I was in the MTC! I met him on one of his first days in the MTC, and we played a lot of basketball together. It was truly a miracle. In that moment the Spirit hit us all so strong. She then explained to us that her son had expressed to her that her meeting with us was an answer to his prayers. Wow!!!! Such an amazing experience. Shanon is so awesome. Please pray that she will continue to progress and come unto Christ!! We are so grateful that we get to teach her. 

We had a full day of a multi-zone conference. I learned a lot on how I can become a better missionary. In preparation for these meetings, President Mullen asked us to read the talk, "The Tongue Can Be A Sharp Sword." This talk is amazing. It really helps me to treat everyone as Christ would. I would encourage you all to go and read it! Also, one of the things that stood out to me was during one of President Mullen's trainings, he asked us a question. "Do you have the same faith to find the elect as you do when you are giving a priesthood blessing of healing?" We have the faith in healing and miracles, but do we have the faith to find the elect? I really loved this! 

Elder Jackson - my homie

We had another awesome English Class this week and continued our visits. We were able to visit Pu Di Xiong, a less-active member in the Eastvale Ward. It was great! We shared the importance of the Sacrament and why it is important that we renew our covenants each week. 

Sunday was awesome. Evangel and Michael came to Church!!!! Evangel also brought her 11 year old daughter, Blair. We are going down to Lake Elsinore to teach her on Wednesday, and we are praying we can continue to help them come unto Christ. I also had the wonderful opportunity of Skyping home for Mother's Day which was so awesome!!! Overall, a great Sunday. :) 

This week has been great. I can't wait for the next one!! I love the Lord, and I love His work. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

THE CHINA SQUAD

The China Squad at the Riverside Stake Triathlon

Hello everyone!! This week has been pretty great and we have truly seen many miracles. I am so grateful to be a part of the hastening of God's work. Also, since this upcoming week is Mother's Day, I just wanted to give my mom a little shoutout. My mom is the best, and she is always putting her family's needs before her own. I am grateful for your example, and all that you have done to help me become the person that I am today. Love you mom! 

Tuesday and Wednesday were days filled with lots of seeking with faith and trying to figure out ways to talk to as many Chinese people that we can. It was pretty sweet. 

We went to Lake Elsinore this week to have another lesson with Evangel. Seriously, Evangel is so great. We met her roughly three weeks ago and she has already read from the start of the Book of Mormon to the book of Jacob! It is so awesome. Her testimony of the Gospel is so strong and she has a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by her baptism on May 28th. :) On Thursday we taught Evangel more about the plan of salvation as well as the law of chastity. Elder Crowther and I feel really blessed to have the opportunity of teaching her. That same afternoon, we also had a lesson with a new investigator, Shanon! Shanon is truly a miracle. She met a ward member at the airport, and they invited her to our ward in Eastvale. She came to Stake Conference last Sunday and we picked her up as an investigator this past week! Come to find out after meeting with her, Shannon's son joined the church was he was in college, and is now serving a mission in Boston, MA!!!! Isn't that crazy?? So cool. We taught her about the Restoration and it was a pretty good lesson. We look forward to continuing to meet with her! 

I had an exchange this week with my District Leader, Elder Gulbranson. He is a great missionary, and we had a lot of fun working in Eastvale. English Class continues to be a great tool for us. We had a couple of new people show up this week and said that they have interest in coming to church! Geoff and Mary came to class and we hope to meet with them this week! We are also focusing on some home visits and saw Tina and Tony, Sister Phillips, the Chen family and the Su family. We also have spent time visiting former investigators of missionaries who have served here in the past. It is awesome and we hope to see miracles generate from this.

On exchanges with Elder Gulbranson

On Saturday morning we participated in a service project. Every year, the Riverside Stake, puts on a Triathlon. We got to go and help out. Elder Crowther and I directed the bikers, and made sure that they were on the right track. It was pretty fun. :) 

Sunday was a great day! We had 3 investigators show up to church. Evangel, Michael, and Shanon all came to church!! Please pray for all of them that they can continue to progress. Sunday was a great day. It always is. There were so many Chinese people walking around church. We are excited to continue to work hard to see if we can help our "Chinese Group" turn into a "Chinese Branch" here in the Eastvale. :)  I am so excited to continue to work hard and help those elect souls repent and come to have indescribable peace and joy that can only come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that as you guys pray everyday for missionary opportunities, and share the Gospel, Heavenly Father will bless you so much. Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Willes

That is super awesome about Michael's mission call!!!!!!

A FAMILY and A CHALLENGE

"I know that as we continue to push forward and show Heavenly Father that we desire His help and guidance, 

we are blessed with people like Hank and Tina, who are so prepared and willing to receive the Gospel. 

I will never forget that day, for as long as I live!!" 

Elder Willes with Hank and Tina

Hello everyone :) This week has been amazing. First off, Hank and Tina were baptized yesterday! What a special day it was. I love them so much, and it was so amazing to see the light that radiated from them as they entered into a sacred covenant with their Heavenly Father. I will never forget that day! Probably the best day of my mission. 

I had the opportunity of baptizing Hank. What a special experience. I will never ever forget it. I love this Gospel, and I am so thankful for it. I love Hank and Tina. They are the best! They are going to become strong members of this church. What a powerful experience that it was to witness the change in them, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Are YOU planting those seeds that can help others feel this amazing gift? I would invite my family to pray for missionary opportunities everyday. Also, try and have a WEEKLY gospel conversation with a non-member. Do you think you guys can start doing that?? I know that as you do this, Heavenly Father is going to bless you and you will feel of His love and strength to provide you guys with opportunities to share the Gospel. :) 

Tuesday was a pretty cool day. In the morning, we had our weekly DDM meeting and Elder Gulbranson, our District Leader, gave a great training. That same afternoon we also had a lesson with Lexi Liu, a referral we received a while ago. We taught her about the Restoration and she really loved it! We put her on date for baptism for May 28th. But, a couple of days ago she texted us and said that she doesn't want to meet anymore. Disappointing but I know that she felt the Spirit and will accept the Gospel one day! 

I went out this week with Brother Miao to visit a less-active member, Xiao Deng. We invited him to come to Stake Conference, and also shared with him the Easter #PrinceofPeace video. Powerful stuff. Go watch that if you haven't.

Thursday was AWESOME! Elder Crowther and I went down to Lake Elsinore to have another lesson with Evangel. We followed up with her about reading the Book of Mormon. In the past week she has read all of Moroni 10 and from 1 Nephi chapter 1 through chapter 21!!!!! She is awesome, and already has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. She is currently on date for Baptism for May 28th!! Please keep her in your prayers and she continues forward in faith.

Every missionaries dream - teaching a family - and we are teaching a pretty awesome one. We received a referral and went to visit Da Xiong and his wife Andy. They have 4 kids! We taught them a short lesson about the Restoration. We hope to go back this week and teach them again. They are awesome! 

Saturday morning we visited another referral, Lulu, and her husband Kevin. They are super cool and are really willing to listen to our message. We taught them about the Restoration, and it was a really great lesson. The Spirit was very strong, and it was such a great experience. We also taught Thomas this week after English class and reviewed the doctrine found through the Restoration. 

Sunday was amazing! Amazing. This past Sunday, we had Stake Conference and we had 4 investigators that came to church. Lily Gui and her friend Grace Zhao, Evangel, and Zodiac!!! It was amazing. That afternoon, I had the coolest opportunity of attending Hank and Tina's Baptism!!!!!!!! They are so amazing. What a special day. I was so beyond happy, and so grateful for them. They are going to be great members of the Church, and have such amazing faith in Jesus Christ. I know that as we continue to push forward and show Heavenly Father that we desire His help and guidance, we are blessed with people like Hank and Tina, who are so prepared and willing to receive the Gospel. I will never forget that day, for as long as I live!! I am excited to continue to work my hardest, and help people experience eternal peace and joy that comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Love you all have a great week!

Shoutout to my cousin Jobubs who got his mission call. He will love his mission and will be a good missionary. Come join the Lord's army my brother!

Elder Willes

WE ARE SEEING MIRACLES

"On Thursday, Elder Crowther and I fasted for a way for Michael to be able to come to church. 

His boss is super strict and not willing to let him come. On Sunday morning, he texted us, 

and said that he was coming to church. He showed up for Chinese Sacrament Meeting, and came to church. :) FASTING WORKS!!! Super cool little experience."

Hello everyone! Hope everyone at home is doing well. We are seeing miracles!! 

Elder Crowther and I are working hard and doing our very best. We continue to spend lots and lots of time seeking with faith trying to find those who are ready to hear about Jesus Christ. On Wednesday after English Class we had another lesson with Michael. We reviewed the principles and doctrine surrounding the Restoration so Michael could understand better, but we really focused on prayer and reading the Book of Mormon. It was a really good lesson. 

Thursday was so sick. Elder Crowther and I went down to Lake Elsinore, to teach a referral, Evangel, and also Eva Huang, who showed up to Church last Sunday. The missionaries serving in the Lake Elsinore Ward where Eva showed up, thought that she was a less-active member. Come to find out, Eva has not been baptized. We taught both Evangel and Eva about the Restoration and invited them to pray and read from the Book of Mormon. They are both awesome and we are going back down there on Thursday to meet with them. Please pray for them! 

Evangel holding Elder Willes' Book of Mormon

Friday was pretty good. We studied and planned, spent lots of time seeking and had another great English class. We were also able to visit a less-active family - the Yu family. On Saturday we had an exchange. I was with Elder Cousineau, an English missionary. Love this guy! We stayed in my area and Elder Crowther left. That morning, we also had our Weekly Blitz. I went out with Elder Olsen, who was my first Zone Leader when I first came into the mission. It was awesome. That afternoon, Elder Cousineau and I taught Fei Chen, an investigator that we found while seeking with faith this past week. We taught him and invited him to come to church, but he ended up not coming. 

Elder Cousineau and Elder Willes

We had 4 investigators at church, and also 3 others who haven't become investigators yet. Sister Du, Michael, Christine (Brother Xiong's daughter), and Grace Zhao. Seeing more miracles. On Thursday, Elder Crowther and I fasted for a way for Michael to be able to come to church. His boss is super strict and not willing to let him come. On Sunday morning, he texted us, and said that he was coming to church. He showed up for Chinese Sacrament Meeting, and came to church. :) FASTING WORKS!!! Super cool little experience. That afternoon, we got to go to a baptism, for the Zone Leader's investigator, Norma. Elder Crowther and I shared a message about the Restoration and the Spirit was so strong. It was really cool to be a part of. This week has been awesome and it is amazing to see how Heavenly Father works miracles everyday. Love you all have a great week! 

Elder Willes

Brother and Sister Wach, members in Eastvale, fed a meal to Elder Crowther and Elder Willes