CONFERENCE FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS! (Monday, April 2, 2018)

When I was in the MTC, Elder Bednar came and spoke to us there. 

He said something that really stuck out to me. 

He said, "Conference got better because YOU got better."

"I know that God answers each of our prayers and I know that He loves each and every one of us. 

He truly knows our name, and He hopes that we will come to Him. Never ever forget when you feel lonely, discouraged, depressed, or like you aren't good enough, try and imagine how God thinks of you. 

He has a love for us that we cannot comprehend in this life." Elder Willes

Hello everyone from beautiful Riverside! This past week has been another pretty awesome week here in the good old California Riverside Mission. Elder Johnson and I have worked really hard, and we have seen many miracles over the past week. The Lord is truly hastening His work here on earth and wants each of us to give a little more than what we are giving  today. What an incredible opportunity this past weekend to have heard from our beloved Prophet, President Nelson, and all of the leaders of the Church. I love them and sustain them. They truly are representatives of the Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Elder Johnson and I had a good start of our week and spent Monday evening out doing some Seeking With Faith! At our District Meeting this week we received an awesome training about improving and becoming better instruments in the Lord's hands. I have a strong desire to finish my mission with as much effort as I can give. This week was also interesting because UCR was on Spring Break and so we spent a significant amount of time at RCC [Mom note: Riverside City College]. We spent much of the week walking and talking with any student there who would talk with us.

Thursday afternoon we had the opportunity to meet with Qingsong again. He is doing great! He has read through 1 Nephi 4, and has been consistently attending church. He currently is on date for baptism on April 29th. Please pray for him. We had a great lesson with him and the Spirit was strong but when an investigator starts to progress that is when the adversary really heaps lots upon them. So keep him in your prayers. 

Friday morning we had some service at the Valencia Care Center where we had an Easter Activity. I love going there and helping others to feel loved and valued. It was fun. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet with a new investigator from this past week, Riddle. Riddle is an RCC student, and he is pretty cool! He currently lives with an LDS family as well. We taught him the Restoration and he has a lot of questions. His mind has a hard time accepting the idea of God as he believes a lot in science. Please pray for him as well. That night, only Wang Guili came to English Class, but that still went well! Wednesday we had a bigger English Class which made us happy.

Saturday was the first day of General Conference! While serving my mission, Conference feels like Christmas. I love it so much! When I was in the MTC, Elder Bednar came and spoke to us there. He said something that really stuck out to me. He said, "Conference got better because YOU got better." I love that. If we truly want to learn from the modern-day Prophets and Apostles, we need to improve and repent daily in order to receive personal revelation. What an incredible experience to be able to witness two newly called Apostles, and the sustaining of a new Prophet. During the Saturday sessions, I really enjoyed Elder Taniela B. Wakolo's talk. "We need to thank the Savior everyday, everyday, everyday." Loved that! Of course, I also loved President Nelson's talk from Priesthood Session. As bearers of the Holy Priesthood, we need to Rise Up! The Lord cares about how we serve, and not where we serve. That was amazing! Qingsong came to Priesthood session with a member, Brother Smith, and he seemed like he had a great time. That guy is a straight up boss! Please pray for him.

Elder Brown and Elder Willes

Sunday morning conference we watched with Wang Guili and the ASL Missionaries in Chinese at the Church Building. She seemed to like it and had a good experience! I loved President Uchtdorf's talk. So cool. "Because of Jesus Christ, our sins can not only be erased, but they can be forgotten." The Atoning power of the Savior is real! In the afternoon, we spent a lot of time Seeking With Faith, and we witnessed a miracle! Right when we started our Seeking With Faith, I felt a prompting to return back to the Institute, and grab a Chinese Book of Mormon and a pamphlet. We had been praying to find another new investigator, and we needed to EXPECT to teach someone. While we were out seeking, we met a Chinese student named Zhang Hao, and we taught him right there on campus! We taught him the full Restoration, and it was incredible. What a miracle. I was so grateful for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. 

I know that God answers each of our prayers and I know that He loves each and every one of us. He truly knows our name, and He hopes that we will come to Him. Never ever forget when you feel lonely, discouraged, depressed, or like you aren't good enough, try and imagine how God thinks of you. He has a love for us that we cannot comprehend in this life, and I am so grateful I get to feel of that everyday. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes