ANOTHER AMAZING WEEK IS IN THE BOOKS

"We continue to see the Lord's hand in our work every single day and I am so so so grateful 

to be able to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent the Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I love Him and I am grateful for his atoning sacrifice for each one of us."

Another amazing week here in the CRM is in the books!!! I love this work and I love the Chinese people here!! Christine Xiong was baptized!!! It is always a special day to see someone enter into a sacred covenant with their Heavenly Father. It is definitely the highlight of any missionary's week to watch faith in Jesus Christ that grows in someone you love.

Elder Willes and Christine Xiong

Our investigators are just awesome. Last Tuesday afternoon we had the opportunity to go to Shanon's and have another lesson with her. We followed up on her commitments and taught her about the Word of Wisdom. Shanon has agreed to live the WofW for one week. She likes to drink tea. Tea is really part of the Chinese culture so please pray for her, that she through living the commandments, can know of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a great lesson and she is super awesome! Guns and his wife Anna came to church and Guns came in a white shirt and tie too!!! It was awesome. Also, we texted Hank (who was recently baptized) and he said that he is going to help with their Ward Trek!!! How cool is that? I love that guy. We are also trying to get Evangel to the temple in the next couple of weeks.

We had an exchange this week with the Eastvale English Elders. Elder Porazzo (Elder Gulbranson's new trainee), came to be with me in our area. We had a great day together! That afternoon we had an amazing lesson with Bao Jie Mei!!! We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was really strong. Bao Jie Mei really has a strong desire to learn and we are excited for her to continue to progress and Come Unto Christ. That night, we had another awesome English Class. We had a ton of people there too! After our class we had a lesson with Zoe, one of our new investigators. Zoe has been coming to English Class for awhile. It was a great lesson and Zoe was really happy! 

Thursday morning we had our first interviews with President Hammon. I love that guy. He is so awesome. You can feel of his love that he has for the missionaries all of the time. It was super awesome!  

Friday was another great day too! That night, we had another awesome English Class. We had a lot of new Chinese people come. After our class I taught Wang Di Xiong and his wife, Song Jie Mei (who we found through our English Class). Literally while I was teaching them, in the same room, Elder Nelson was teaching Michael! We had a lot of lessons that night. Isn't that the best problem to have?! Immediately after teaching Wang Di Xiong and Song Jie Mei I then sat down with Li Di Xiong and taught Jacky! A busy and awesome night.

Saturday morning we had our Weekly Blitz for some other missionaries in our Zone. Elder Williams (one of my Zone Leaders) and I went out again together. We found one awesome referral!!! He mentioned to us that his Grandpa passed away three weeks ago and also he had a 12 year old daughter that had passed away. It was so sad for him but also so powerful as we talked about the Plan of Salvation in his garage. His name is Javier. Please pray for him! It was such an amazing experience and one that I will never forget. I love that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are able to be with those we love forever. That is a gift of hope that just simply cannot be replaced with anything else. 

This week we were able to attend the best Ward Party ever. Our Chinese Ward Activity is one I've gone to before. Everyone brings stuff they don't want and everyone exchanges items. It's like a giant White Elephant Ward Party. Sunny, Vivian, and Sunny's 11 year old daughter, Isabella all came too! It was fun and a good opportunity to invite some of our investigators to attend as well! 

We had another lesson with Guns and his wife Anna, Bao Jie Mei, and her daughter Grace. It was so so so cool! We taught them all the Plan of Salvation. During the lesson, Guns told us that ever since we have been coming by it has planted a seed in Anna and given her an increased desire to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ. Elder Nelson and I were looking at each other like holy cow!!!!!! We had the biggest smiles on our faces. Guns and his wife Anna are on date for baptism for August 20th!!!! Keep praying for them.

Sunday was so awesome. Christine was BAPTIZED!!!! It was a special day and I will never forget it. Brother Miao and Brother Jiang spoke at her baptism. Brother Xiong, Christine's dad, baptized her. I felt the Spirit so strongly and it was a really special day for me. I hope and pray that the entire Xiong Family will continue to learn and grow in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Crowther, Elder Willes, Christine, Brother Xiong and Elder Nelson

This week has been amazing. We continue to see the Lord's hand in our work every single day and I am so so so grateful to be able to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent the Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him and I am grateful for his atoning sacrifice for each one of us, so that we can repent and truly develop a personal relationship with Him. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes