THIS IS IT

President and Sister Hammon with the out-going California, Riverside missionaries

Wow! Where to begin? What an incredible last week I've had here on my mission. On Wednesday, Sophia and her daughter Isabel, entered the waters of baptism. What a special day. This week has been full of miracles and there is nothing that brings me greater joy than missionary work. 

Elder Willes, Elder Crowther, & Elder Maxwell at the baptism of Isabel and Sophia

Tomorrow will be the last day I will serve as a full-time missionary and so I want to quickly share my testimony with all of you.

I know that God lives. I know that He loves each and every one of us. He truly is in the details of our everyday lives and has a perfect and magnificent plan for me and you. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of all, and that He lives today. Over the course of my mission, I have continuously felt of their love. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have  truly have carried me through trials and struggles, and through this I have had my faith strengthened immensely. My mission has changed my life forever. I look back on this time with pure joy, knowing that I served with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. I testify that I have been changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and have also been a personal witness to seeing the Infinite Atonement work in the lives of others. There is truly nothing in this world that brings more happiness than sharing and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know with all of my heart that It is true, and I have no doubt of that. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. I love my Savior and I don't want anything to come in the way of my relationship with Him. I know that as we are willing to give our hearts and will to Him, He will help us to become the disciples that we need to become. I am excited to apply all of the things that I have learned on my mission into the next phase of my life. My mission has truly been sacred and happy. I love the Lord and I love His Work! See you all soon! Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Willes 

SPRINTING TO and THROUGH the FINISH LINE (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)

Elder Willes and his previous companion, Elder Zeng who is visiting

Hello everyone! This past week has been another week full of Miracles, Miracles, and more Miracles. We are working super hard, being obedient, and the Lord is continuing to bless us. Guess what??? Sophia, and her daughter Isabel, are getting baptized tonight!!!!!!! We are so excited for them. Our first lesson with them was Friday, August 10th, and they are so prepared for truth. 

Today is our p-day because we have the opportunity to attend the Redlands Temple today! I am so so excited for that. Next Monday I will most likely email again, so this won't be the last time you will hear from me. Also, Shannon's son, Kerry (Elder Xiao) returned home from his mission last week, and we got to see him! It was so great seeing him again, with his mom now being an active member of the Church. What a blessing it was to have been a part of Shannon's teaching process, and helping them become one step closer to becoming an eternal family! Shannon and her son will most likely be going through the temple together at the end of next month. I am so excited for them and love them so much! It has been an incredible blessing and privilege to labor in this part of the vineyard right now! 

Joanna was confirmed on Sunday! I had the opportunity to perform her confirmation, and it was so awesome! It was a really spiritual experience for me. Also, Sophia and Isabel will be getting baptized tonight! We had a crazy miracle week with them, and have taught all of the lessons, they have both been found worthy, and will both be getting baptized later tonight. Words cannot begin to describe how excited we are for them! They are heading back to China at the end of this week, and so they will also be getting confirmed at their baptismal service.

We ran into Brother Miao while we were out Seeking With Faith this week. He told us that there was one of their family members from China who was visiting and he invited us over. We taught Crayon Li. It was a great lesson, and the Spirit was very strong. 

Tuesday evening we had another lesson with Sophia and Isabel. We were able to set some very clear expectations on things that they needed to do in order to join the Lord's Church. It has been such a blessing and a strength to my testimony watching how willing Sophia and Isabel are to keep the Commandments of God. They have so much faith and are willing to use their faith and act.

Wednesday morning while Seeking With Faith we had the opportunity to teach Mr. Sun. We found him at the park and he understood the need for a Restoration of Christ's Church and also why we also needed the priesthood. He accepted a baptismal date for September 16th, and it was a huge miracle! Please pray for him as he continues to progress in the Gospel. 

Wen could really use your prayers. He is preparing for his potential baptism this Sunday. We met with him Friday afternoon after service at the Palm Terrace Care Center. We taught him about the importance of Prophets, and also followed up on his personal prayer and Book of Mormon reading. We are so excited for him. 

I went out Saturday morning for a Weekly Blitz for our Zone with Elder Loveridge. Saturday evening we also taught another lesson to a new investigator, Hong Ming. We originally contacted him at the park. He accepted our invitation to read from the Book of Mormon and pray. We have spent a lot of time Seeking With Faith and the Lord has really been blessing us for that. 

Sunday we had 5 people come to church! Sophia and Isabel, Xun, Linda, and Wen ShiTao all came. 

Well everyone, my emailing time is just about over today, but I love each and every one of you! I am so excited to have another miracle-filled week and to witness the baptisms of Sophia and Isabel tonight!!! I am sprinting to and through the finish line! Love you all have another great week!

Elder Willes

ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY MISSION (Monday, August 13, 2018)

"I have felt so much peace about Grandma passing away. Although it is hard, I have felt the Savior's love 

so strong. This past week I had a little index card where I wrote, "This week is for Grandma Marchant" 

and I put it in my shirt pocket everyday. Grandma was clearly looking out for me and we finished the week 

with finding 6 new people to teach, a lot of people progressing quickly towards baptism, 

and also a baptism! What an amazing week." 

Smokey skies from the fire in Riverside

Hello everyone! This past week has been another amazing week here in the good old California, Riverside Mission. So many miracles including the baptism of Joanna Ma yesterday! What an incredible experience that was. Seriously it was one of the best days of my mission. I love Matt and Joanna and their family so much! 

Elder Maxwell, Elder Willes, Joanna, Matt, Mark and Elder Crowther at Joanna's baptism

On Tuesday we helped a lady who has been coming to English Class for a really long time, Grace Chen. After, we were able to teach her a lesson about prayer! We shared 2 Nephi 32 with her and it was a great lesson. She agreed to pray everyday. We also taught Wen, and he is doing great. Wen is still on date for baptism on August 26th. Please pray for him that he can reach that goal!

2 Nephi 32:9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

After another great English Class on Wednesday morning we had another lesson with Joanna. It was such an amazing lesson. Joanna is so prepared to accept the Gospel! Matt and Joanna told us that they wanted to buy a house in Utah so that their son Mark can grow up to be like us and serve a mission. That was so powerful and I felt the Spirit so strong. They are the best! In the afternoon we also had another lesson with Sara Guo. She is doing great, and loves her new calling in the Nursery! She is still reading from the Book of Mormon and praying everyday!

Thursday morning while doing service for a non-member in her yard, we had an Elder that had an allergic reaction from getting tree sap in his eye, so we took him to the ER. He is doing much better now and we are grateful for that! We also had a great lesson with two other new investigators from this past week, Mr. Li and his son Owen. Mr. Li and his son Owen are the family members of a former investigator that we taught, Bruce Li. Bruce is still in China, but we were able to teach them. They are a great family and we are excited to continue to work with them! Matt and Joanna took us out to lunch this week and we got her baptism all organized. 

Saturday was awesome. Although Elder Crowther was sick this past weekend, we still had a great day! We taught another new person from this past week, Linda Du. Linda called us, out of the blue, two weeks ago and said that she was looking for a church. She found our phone number through us placing a pass-along card on her door. We brought Sister Zhang to the lesson, and taught Linda all about the Restoration! We invited her to be baptized, and she said that she doesn't feel ready, but we are excited to continue to help her Come Unto Christ! We also visited a referral out in Fontana, where we taught two high school exchange students from China, Teresa and Violet. We invited them to be baptized, and they said yes! They accepted a baptismal goal for September 9th, and we are super excited for them! Another incredible miracle!

Elder Maxwell and Elder Willes

Sunday was so amazing! We had 7 non-members come to church, 4 of them being people that we are currently teaching. Joanna, Linda, Sophia and Isabel all came to church! Our Gospel Principles class was packed. It was amazing! Right after Church we had the opportunity of having Joanna's baptism! It was so amazing. Matt baptized her. I love them so much! Joanna bore an incredible testimony, and the Spirit was so strong. It was one of the most spiritual experiences on my mission. I was so happy! Sunday afternoon, we also had another amazing lesson with Sophia and Isabel. They accepted a baptismal invitation for August 22nd! We are praying for them, that they can achieve this goal. They are headed back to China on August 24th, and so we are going to do our best to help them to Come Unto Christ. 

I love the Gospel with all my heart. What a blessing and a privilege it is to be a part of the Lord's Work. My mission has changed my life forever, and I am so grateful and excited for the remaining time that I have left to work hard, be obedient, and sprint to the finish line in order to bring my Chinese brothers and sisters into the Gospel fold. :) Love you all. Have another great week! 

Elder Willes

PUT IT IN YOUR PHONE (Monday, August 6, 2018)

"Miracles are everywhere! What a blessing and a privilege I have to represent the Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him and I know that He loves me. I love the Lord and I love His Work! My mission has been the most sacred and happiest experience of my life. True joy and happiness comes through obedience and sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a testimony and I know these things are true. God and Jesus Christ live." 

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old California, Riverside Mission. Miracles were everywhere to be found this past week and I am excited to tell you about them! 

We have been Seeking With Faith a lot, and we have seen many miracles and blessings that come from this effort! We spent time every day this week out looking for those who the Lord has prepared. Good news - our car didn't break down this week and we were all happy to make it to District Council. District Council is always a time of revelation and a time I always feel the Spirit. 

We have taught some really amazing people this week. I love teaching and testifying. We had another lesson with Wen ShiTao. He is doing great! We followed up with him on how he is doing with personal prayer and reading from the Book of Mormon. Wen ShiTao loved the passage which we gave him to read, Alma 32, on faith. We focused a lot with him on faith and repentance. It was a great lesson. We had another lesson with him the following night. After teaching our lesson and teaching Wen ShiTao about baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we invited him to be baptized. He accepted a date for August 26th!!!! He even put it into his phone so that he wouldn't forget. He is so cool! 

Wednesday afternoon while out seeking, we ran into one of our former people that we were teaching, Amanda Xie. She let us into her home, and we got to talk with her for a very brief time before we had our dinner appointment. She said that we could come back another time, and share a message with her and her family! She has 2 kids, and so they are a potential family of 4!!! Thursday evening we finally were able to have another lesson with Xu Jie Mei! Shannon Yang came with us again, and we had a great lesson. We explained how the Book of Mormon helps us to learn of Christ and how Christ's sacrifice brings us hope and peace. We invited her to be baptized but she doesn't feel quite ready yet. We will continue to work with her and help her to Come Unto Christ! 

Our English Class is going so well. We normally have about 15 people consistently attending. This is truly a miracle! We also did some service this week at the Palm Terrace Care Center. We had another lesson with Matt and Joanna. My trainer, Elder Zeng is back visiting the mission, and so he came to the lesson with us. It was great to see him! We taught Matt and Joanna about the importance of reading from the scriptures as a family and also having personal scripture study. Joanna is hoping to be baptized this next Sunday, August 12th. She seems excited for that. Please pray for her that she can be baptized this upcoming Sunday! That will be the coolest thing ever to see my friend Matt, a very recent convert, baptize his wife. Friday evening, we had another great English Class. After English Class, Elder Zeng and I went to a Correlation Meeting with the leaders in the Chinese Group, while Elder Crowther and Elder Maxwell taught two new people from this past week, Sophia and her daughter Isabel! 

Saturday morning we had the mission Transfer Breakfast! I had the opportunity to bear my testimony, as it was my last Transfer Breakfast. That was a super great and spiritual experience for me. We stopped by to see a referral, and also the Hu Family, neither of which we were able to teach, but that is okay! We did have a great Home Visit with Shannon Yang. Shannon's son, Elder Xiao, comes home from his mission in the next couple of weeks. I am excited to see and meet him again. Shannon is such an incredible member of The Church and has such a strong testimony! We also visited Dennis and Yancy! They are busy, but they are doing good. We followed up with them on their prayer and Book of Mormon reading, and invited them to keep those commitments. It was a good lesson. 

Sunday was a very spiritual and amazing day. This past week, we had 4 of the people that we are teaching come to Church! Joanna, Wen, Sophia and Isabel all came to Church! It was amazing and our Gospel Principles class was super full! In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to do another Home Visit with the Su Family. We read through Matthew 14 with them and related that to sharing the Restored Gospel with friends and family. It was great! Sunday evening after dinner, we then did some more Seeking With Faith, after which we taught Sophia and Isabel! Sophia and Isabel were a referral from our recent convert Amy. They are only here for a couple of weeks, but they are very prepared! We are going to invite them to be baptized this upcoming week, and we are super excited about that! Please pray for them.

Miracles are everywhere! What a blessing and a privilege I have to represent the Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him and I know that He loves me. I love the Lord and I love His Work! My mission has been the most sacred and happiest experience of my life. True joy and happiness comes through obedience and sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a testimony and I know these things are true. God and Jesus Christ live. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

MISSIONARIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE VEIL (Monday, August 6, 2018)

Grandma & Grandpa Marchant and Elder Willes taken right before his mission


"It has been a sad time since hearing of Grandma's passing, but I have 100% faith and confidence in God's Plan for our family. I have received a priesthood blessing this morning, and that brought me so much peace. I know that the Plan of Salvation is real, and that it is true.
What an incredible reunion it will to be with each other again."

Hello everyone! To be honest, it has been a rough couple of days since hearing about Grandma. I loved her so much and looked up to her and her amazing example. Grandma has taught me so much over my life, and she truly is a Spiritual Giant. One of the things that I have learned from Grandma is the importance of always being kind to others. Grandma always had a smile on her face, and truly would treat everyone just as the Savior would. Grandma emulated the Savior's example, and she always had a Christlike light. Since hearing about Grandma's passing, I have had the opportunity to think a lot about how grateful I am for her, and how much I love her. I first received a call from President Hammon while driving to dinner on Saturday evening. After receiving the call and hearing the news, I broke down in the car. My companions have been wonderful to me and have helped me immensely. Despite the sadness over the past couple of days, I know and testify that Grandma is in a better place now, a place where she can be free from the physical limitations in this life. When the Savior entered the Spirit world after His death on the cross, He was determined to share the Gospel with the spirits there. I imagine Grandma is doing that same thing. I know that she has such a strong testimony of the Gospel and so many people are in need of that at this very moment. 

The Plan of Happiness is God's PERFECT Plan for all of His children. I know and testify that as we turn to Him during our times of suffering and trials, He will succor us, love us, care for us, and help us to be happy. I rejoice knowing that Grandma is being a missionary just like me right now, beyond the veil. What a blessing that is! I love Grandma Marchant!

Elder Willes

BROKEN DOWN (MONDAY, JULY 27, 2018)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

18 And ye cannot bear all things now; 

nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. 

The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, 

and the riches of eternity are yours.

19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; 

and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.”

-Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-19 

"I shared this scripture with my Grandpa. I know that God will continue to lift all of us in our trials and challenges. This scripture has brought a lot of comfort to me. 

We are not alone. I know God lives and loves us. He is truly our Heavenly Father 

and I know He loves each and every one of us."

Elder Maxwell, Elder Crowther and Elder Willes - Broken Down

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old California, Riverside Mission. Elder Crowther, Maxwell, and I are working really hard, and we have seen a lot of miracles over the past week. We are super excited to continue to work hard and find our prepared family of 4 this next week! Keep those prayers coming our way.

Well our car broke down this week. We were sitting idle at a stoplight, and everything just shut off. Not to mention that this was on the busiest road in Eastvale. A guy pulled over and helped us out, which we were very grateful for. We finally got the car into neutral and pushed to the side of the road, The Office Elders came and brought us a car, and then we followed our car while it got towed to the dealership. It was an interesting and funny experience.

After the car situation we went straight out to teach. Tuesday morning while out Seeking With Faith, we found a nice Chinese man, and we went back and taught him in his garage. Sadly, he didn't have time to meet again, but we were able to teach him about prayer and communicating with a loving Heavenly Father. It was a seed planted which is always great! We also taught Hong Bao again Tuesday afternoon. Sadly he went back to China this past week, but we hope that he can continue to learn and accept the Gospel in China! 

Wednesday morning we had another great English Class. We were able to do a lot of Seeking With Faith during the day and also that evening. We talked to so many people! We also had our interviews with President Hammon. It was my last interview with him as a full-time missionary. It was a great interview. President Hammon is such an amazing Mission President and I know that he has been called of God to lead our mission!

Thursday and Friday were days filled with miracles! Earlier in the week, we tracted into an older Chinese man, Mr. Zhou. We set up an appointment with him and we were able to teach him and his wife Mrs. Liu. They are super cool! As we taught them, I felt the Spirit so strongly. We explained who God is, that He loves each of His children, and also about the role of prophets. More on them later! Right after that, we had the opportunity to teach Matt and Joanna again! They are doing amazing. I love them both so much. Matt and Joanna are reading the Book of Mormon everyday and strengthening their faith everyday. Joanna currently has a baptismal date set for August 12th, and we are so excited for her baptism! We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and it was a great lesson. Joanna shared several spiritual experiences with us and basically summarized the whole first couple of chapters of 1 Nephi, which was amazing! They also took us to lunch after which was super nice of them. We topped off the night with more Seeking With Faith. Always awesome!

Matt and Joanna treating the Elders to lunch

Friday morning before our service project we met with Mr. Zhou again. Mrs. Liu was busy and she couldn't meet, but we taught Mr. Zhou specifically about baptism. We showed him the video of the Savior being baptized and the Spirit was very strong. We then invited him to be baptized and he accepted!!! He accepted a date for August 19th and we believe that he definitely can reach that goal. Originally when we invited him, he said that he was afraid that because of his age, his body wouldn't be able to handle it. We then shared 1 Nephi 3:7 about going and doing what the Lord has commanded us each to do, Mr. Zhou said that he would be willing to be baptized. It is so cool to see the amazing change of heart the Lord can help each of us make when we are ready and willing. Later Friday afternoon we had another recent convert lesson with Sara, where we taught the Law of the Fast, the Ten Commandments, and other important and essential Commandments. It was a great lesson. Sara also received a calling in the Nursery this past week, and she is super excited about that! I thought it was pretty cool that Sara was so excited about serving in the nursery. That is her first calling ever and all she wants to do is serve God. I think there is a lesson for all of us there in her example. That night we had a great English Class and then finished off another amazing day with a little more Seeking With Faith.

Saturday morning we had a lesson with another new person from this past week, Bill Gan. We first contacted Bill a couple of weeks ago. During the lesson, he asked a lot of great questions, and the Spirit was teaching him. It was a cool experience. We hope to teach the rest of his family soon! So please keep Bill and his family in your prayers. That day we did some more Seeking With Faith and talked to a lot of Chinese people which was super great too!

Sunday was another great day! This past week, Linda and Si Hai Jun came to church. Although we are not teaching Si Hai Jun right now because he isn't super interested, we were so happy to see him attend church. Linda came with her son and had a great time! In the afternoon and evening we did some more Seeking With Faith, after which we then did a Home Visit with the Li Family in Rancho Cucamonga. They are great member missionaries, and have helped us a lot!

I love my mission with all of my heart. I love the Chinese people I am fortunate to serve and teach. I know and testify that true happiness comes through obedience and through sharing the Gospel. I have never been so happy in my life as I have been on my mission. What an incredible blessing to be a part of this sacred and most important work. I love the Lord and I love His Work! Love you all hope you have another great week!

Elder Willes

AND 2 BECOMES 3 (MONDAY, JULY 20, 2018)

"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, and all deserve a chance to learn and accept the Restored Gospel. The Lord will never turn His back on any of His children. His plan is one of 

repentance and growth and change and peace and it is available to each and every one of us."

Elder Crowther, Elder Willes, and Elder Elder Maxwell

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old California, Riverside Mission. This past week we added another great Elder to the companionship! Elder Maxwell, from Bountiful, UT joined us, and the 3 of us are working super hard! This past week we have found many people to teach - as in 10 new people, and also have made a lot of progress with helping our other people that we are teaching to become converted and be baptized. 

It is super crazy to see all the pictures of my friends being home. They are the best guys and man I love them. It is super weird to think they are home! I bet they are all doing great. They all are great examples to me.

Monday night we had a killer start to the week! We had a set appointment with a lady named Wendy, who we contacted at the park last week. We went to teach her, and she brought her daughter Shirley! We started teaching them, and all of the sudden, some of Wendy's friends walked by, Ryan and YoYo. We invited them to join in and listen to the lesson, and we had the opportunity to teach all 4 of them! We taught them all and they all said that they will read from the Book of Mormon. It was truly a miracle. It helped me to recognize the importance of inviting ALL present to join in on the lesson. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, and all deserve a chance to learn and accept the Restored Gospel. It was an incredible experience! The Lord will never turn His back on any of His children. His plan is one of repentance and growth and change and peace and it is available to each and every one of us.

Tuesday morning we hit the streets for some Seeking With Faith. We also were invited to attend our Zone's DLC. We talked about the goals for the Zone and how we are going to continue to improve as missionaries. This transfer, our Zone, has 10 companionships and over 20 missionaries! It is a very large Zone. We then had our District Council, and it was a great meeting. I learned a lot and District Council is an incredible time to receive direct inspiration and revelation on how to best help the people that we are teaching. We were also able to do a lot of finding during the day and evening, which was awesome! It is always such a blast talking to people and helping them feel the Spirit. 

MLC (*borrowed from President Hammon's Blog)

Elder Willes at MLC (in the front/center)

Wednesday morning we had another great English Class! English Class is a great tool for us. The rest of the day was filled with more Seeking With Faith. That evening, we had another lesson with Wendy. She had a couple of questions, but we were able to resolve all of those, and also invite her to be baptized. She said that she needs more time to prepare, and so we will continue to work with her. We also had another lesson with Wen ShiTao. He is doing great. He currently is on date for baptism on August 5th, and we are trying to help him to achieve that goal! We will most likely be teaching his wife as well this week, which we are so excited about.

Our recent convert Sara Guo is always a highlight! When we arrived for our appointment with Sara, Xun (her husband) was there - back from work! We had the opportunity to teach them both, and we had a great lesson with them. Xun has changed a lot recently. His new job has taught him a lot, and he says that he still prays. We talked a lot about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and also the Law of Tithing. We again invited him to be baptized but Xun said he can't right now because of some obstacles that he is trying to overcome. We then taught according to his needs, and helped him with his concerns and questions. It was a great lesson! Xun is such a great man and Sara is a very bright light in her home. Do you remember Dennis and Yancy? This past week we had the opportunity to help them move into their new house. We moved a bunch of furniture for them, and it was great to serve and help them out! They said that they will be coming to church too. We also met with the Teng Family. They are a great family and we discussed how we can help grow the Chinese group here! 

Friday morning after service at the Palm Terrace Care Center, we had the opportunity to meet with Matt and Joanna again! They are doing amazing!!!!! Matt has been reading the Book of Mormon to Joanna, and they have been growing in the Gospel as a family. What a blessing that is to see! We invited Joanna to read from the Book of Mormon everyday in order to grow her faith in Jesus Christ, and she said that she would try. I felt a specific prompting to show her the Bible video of the Savior's Crucifixion, and when He was mocked and whipped. The Savior went through EVERYTHING for us. After showing her the video, I asked a question along the lines of, "If the Savior can go through all of this for you, don't you think that we can give up some time each day to read from the Book of Mormon, pray, attend church, be baptized, and worship Him?" The Spirit was very strong. We then invited her to be baptized, and she accepted!!!!!!!! She chose her baptismal date, for August 12th. She will be baptized on that day. We are so excited for her! That night we had an amazing English class too, after which we did some more Seeking With Faith, which was awesome!

Saturday morning we had a great recent convert lesson with Anna Yu. She is doing great! We reviewed the Plan of Salvation with her and talked about the importance of Family History. It was a great lesson! That night after some more Seeking With Faith, Brother Xiong and I went to teach a new couple from this past week, Kenny and Penny, while Elder Maxwell and Elder Crowther taught Li Jie Mei and her husband with the Jiang Family. We found Penny through Seeking With Faith at a park, and we taught her and her husband Kenny on Saturday. We taught them the Plan of Salvation, and it was a pretty good lesson. They said that they will most likely be coming to church this upcoming Sunday, and so we are excited for that. 

The Xiong Family is AMAZING!

Sunday was another great day! This past Sunday we had Chinese Sacrament Meeting, and that is always a favorite for me! This past Sunday, we had 2 people, being taught, who attended church! Joanna and Xun both came to church! Right after our meetings, we had such a special experience.... Matt received the Aaronic Priesthood!!!!!!! One of our members, Tony Qu performed the ordination, and it was amazing. Matt has only been baptized for 2 months now, and he will baptize his wife next month!!!!!! What a Miracle! You just can't make this stuff up.  

Sunday afternoon, we stopped by to see some families. We had the opportunity to teach Zhang Xian Sheng outside his house. We talked to him about the Restoration, and it was amazing! Zhang Xian Sheng recently found Christianity and wants to further his faith in the Savior. It was super cool. He agreed to read from the Book of Mormon. Later that night while out Seeking With Faith, I contacted Hong Bao at the park. He is from GuangZhou, and we had a lesson together. He also agreed to read from the Book of Mormon, and we will be meeting with him on Tuesday. Another miracle!

This week has been amazing. We are working super hard, and seeing miracles daily. What a privilege it is to be a part of the Lord's Work. 

Invitation for the week!!!!! Study your Patriarchal Blessing, writing down thoughts and impressions that come to your mind as you do so. After that, circle the words or phrases in your blessing that describe you, or underline phrases that describe actions you should take, after which, ask yourself, "What does my blessing teach me about the person God wants me to become?" I will do it too. 

Love you all. Have another great week!

Elder Willes 

A WARM WEEK IN THE CRM

The 4th of July was our p-day this week and we spent that day in the best way possible, teaching more people! 

Hello everyone! This past week has been another great week here in the good old California Riverside Mission. The Lord continues to bless us with many miracles each and everyday. We have also been able to find quite a few new people to teach this past week. We had 3 people who attended Sacrament Meeting this past week, that being Dennis and Yancy, and also Jacky came too! I am excited to tell you all about our week. Here is how it all went! 

First, it is really hot here. It hit 118 here in Riverside. It is always hot this time of year but the crazy heat has come earlier and warmer than usual. 

Nate's previous companion, Elder Nelson

Monday afternoon we had an awesome lesson with one of our new investigators, Wen ShiTao. I first contacted him late one evening in an Eastvale neighborhood. He is a super nice guy. We had the opportunity to teach him and it was an amazing lesson! He accepted a baptismal date for August 5th. He is going to be pretty busy over the next couple of weeks, but we fully believe that he can hit that baptismal goal. We also had the opportunity to teach a new family from this past week, TianFu and his wife Jiang Jie Mei. We first contacted them a couple of weeks ago inside their garage and they are super cool. They have 2 twin boys and they are a great family. They were baptized members of another Christian church, in China, about a year ago. We taught them at a park in Eastvale. We brought the Li family along with us, and it was a pretty good lesson! They both accepted invitations to pray and read from the Book of Mormon. Please pray for them, that they can continue to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon! Man, I would love to see a family receive these huge blessings the Gospel brings to each of us.

I love our DLC and Zone Accountability and District Council meetings. We set some great goals, as a Zone, to become better missionaries and fulfill our missionary purpose. Our Zone has been working so hard. I love being a missionary and I love helping people that I love become closer to the Savior. This week we also taught our recent-convert Sara Guo. She is doing great and continues to read from the Book of Mormon and prays daily. We also had another lesson with Jacky! He explained why he hadn't been coming to church and meeting with us. We helped to resolve his concerns. We promised Jacky that if he tries his hardest over the next week, to come to know God and Jesus Christ, he can know that our message is true. We are working with him. Please pray for him as well!

Jacky ad Elder Willes

The 4th of July was our p-day and we spent that day in the best way possible, teaching more people! After deep cleaning our apartment, we had another lesson with Dennis and Yancy. They are doing great recently! We brought Brother Xiong and Anna along to the lesson, and they helped out a lot. We followed up on how they are doing with their prayers and Book of Mormon reading. It was a great lesson and they both came to church this past week! The Li family invited us over, and said that Sister Li had some non-member friends who they wanted us to meet. So, we also had a lesson with Kay and LuLu. As part of our lesson, we watched the Restoration video in Chinese. Super cool!  We are hoping to continue to meet with Kay and LuLu and we are so grateful for the missionary efforts of the Li Family. They are the best and help us so much in this amazing work!

Elder Crowther and Elder Willes on p-day

 

We taught Lou Di Xiong another lesson over WeChat. He is doing great! He is reading from the Book of Mormon each day and coming to know that it is true! We shared Moroni 7 with him, and invited him to be baptized. He said that he doesn't feel ready yet, but we know that as he continues to read from the Book of Mormon, he will come to know that everything we share and teach is true. The Book of Mormon is so powerful, and I know that it changes lives! We also taught Ang Weng. He originally is from Tibet, and is a super nice guy. He is a Buddhist, and we had the opportunity to teach him at a park. It was a great lesson! We originally contacted him while he was walking around in a neighborhood near Eastvale. 

Friday was our MLC meeting. I learned a lot, always do. It was a great day. That night we had our English Class, but we had to end that early, because Elder Crowther got sick. 

Saturday morning we spent at the doctor. That afternoon, we had another lesson with Will and Cindy, two of our new investigators from this past week. They agreed to read from the Book of Mormon which is so great because if you can just help someone read from those powerful words, the Spirit can teach and testify of truth. The day ended with a lesson with Russell. Elder Crowther first contacted him at a park last week and he is also a baptized Christian. He wants to further his faith in Jesus Christ. It was a good lesson and we hope that we can continue to meet with these people, and to help them to truly Come Unto Christ. 

Sunday was another great day! We had 3 investigators who came to church, Dennis and Yancy, and Jacky. A miracle. We met with Xu Jie Mei and she has been praying almost daily! We shared Alma 7:11-14 with her and invited her to be baptized. She said that she doesn't feel ready yet. We will continue to help her to gain a testimony!

Alma 7:11-14

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

This past week has been amazing. The Lord continues to bless us. I know that obedience brings miracles. The more obedient you are, the happier that you will be. If we are obedient in ALL things, Heavenly Father will continue to bless us and help us. I have a testimony of that. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

PUTTING GOD FIRST

Elder Willes and Elder Porrozzo

3 Nephi 13:31-34

by Paul Anderson

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible and busy week here in the good old California Riverside Mission. I am so sorry if my emails seem repetitive, but every week the Lord continues to bless us with miracles and so I love sharing about those! Here is how my week went. 

Monday night and much of Tuesday we had the opportunity to do some good old Seeking With Faith. We were blessed during that time to talk to many awesome people and to help them feel the Spirit. We have had to shift through our teaching pool this week which is always hard, but I know the Lord is with us in this work. Tuesday morning we had our DLC, and we discussed the needs of the companionships in our Zone. Our Zone is doing amazing and working so hard. As a Zone, 2 weeks ago, we found 30 new investigators! Miracles are everywhere! What a blessing it is to be working with such hard working missionaries. 

Wednesday morning before our English Class we had the opportunity to meet with Cathy Xu again. It has been a while since we last met with her, but we had a great, short and powerful lesson! Shannon Yang came and helped us out with the lesson, and it was amazing! We helped Cathy resolve her concern about coming to church, and we shared with her
3 Nephi 13:31-34 which talks about putting God first in our lives so we can more fully receive His blessings and help. Cathy came to church this past week, which has been very difficult for her! After another great English Class, we had the opportunity to meet with Dennis and Yancy again. We taught them the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. We shared Moroni 6 with them, and we also were able to follow up to see if they have been praying and reading from the Book of Mormon recently. It was another great lesson! Wednesday night during Seeking With Faith we met a super nice couple Mrs. Fang and Mr. Han. They recently came to the United States, and we first contacted them at a park. After talking to them for a little while, we asked if we could share a message with them to strengthen the family. They agreed and so we had the opportunity to teach them right there in the park. They are going to be busy for the next couple of weeks so please pray for them that they can pray, read from the Book of Mormon, attend church, and continue to meet with us. They are a great family! It was a great lesson.

Thursday we were on exchanges. Elder Carter came to be with me in our area, and we had another great day. We went to Menifee to teach the Du family. We taught them about the importance of the Book of Mormon and also the importance of coming to know that the Book of Mormon is true. They asked a lot of questions, specifically about why we need the Book of Mormon and also about agency. We taught very clearly, and they understood the importance of using their agency to gain their own testimonies. It was a very spiritual lesson! They committed to reading the Book of Mormon everyday, and also to pray about it's truthfulness. Please pray for them that they can have their prayers answered! 

We had our Multi-Zones Conference this week. During the conference, Elder Crowther and I gave a training on the importance of setting goals and following up. It went well! We also received training from President and Sister Hammon, President Hansen, and also the Assistants and other Zone Leaders. It was a great day! This week we also met with the leaders in our Chinese group. It was very productive, and we had the opportunity to discuss the needs of the group.

The Hu family is progressing and I love teaching them! We are still working with them and we talked with Brother Hu about the importance of the Book of Mormon. We showed him how he could listen to the Book of Mormon, and he said that he would listen to it on the way to work. Lou Di Xiong has been reading from the Book of Mormon and is doing pretty well. Please pray for him specifically that he can come to church this next Sunday!

Sunday evening I had the wonderful opportunity to go down to Hemet and attend DeeDee McCrary's Baptism!!!!!!! For those of you that don't know, Elder Sorensen and I found DeeDee and taught her while I was serving in San Jacinto. Over the past 9 months, DeeDee has continued to grow and continued to overcome many trials. 9 months later, she was baptized a member of God's Church. It was so incredible! There were like 8 different missionaries in attendance who were also a part of her teaching process. What a miracle! DeeDee will be an incredible member of the Church!

DeeDee's Baptism with all the missionaries who taught her

Sunday was another good day! This past week, Cathy came to church and had a great experience. Also during Sacrament Meeting, Bishop Loudon confirmed Anna Yu a member of the Church and she received The Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was so spiritual and such an incredible experience. 

Sorry everyone this email is super long but again this week was full of miracles! I love the Gospel and I love my mission. It truly is the happiest and most spiritual time of my life. I want to give my all to the very end. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes