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