THE GOSPEL IS PERFECT AND BRINGS COUNTLESS BLESSINGS (Monday, May 7, 2018)

"He felt the presence of God helping him to resolve his work concerns. Ever since that time, Matt has been searching for someone to help him learn about God so he could thank Him for all of the blessings he received. Matt said that this was one of the biggest reasons for him coming to America. He wants to find God. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? Many of the Chinese migrating here are so prepared! " 

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old CRM. I continue to learn and grow each and everyday. I am trying to become the missionary that Heavenly Father wants me to become. This past week was full of miracles, and I am so excited to tell you about all of them! 

Last Tuesday we went on exchanges with the AP's. It was super fun. Guess who I was with? Elder Sorensen, my former companion who I served with while speaking English, in Hemet. He is now an AP. We had a fun day together, talking about the experiences we had while serving in the Diamond Valley Ward. During the day, we did a lot of Seeking With Faith, and also we were able to teach one of the AP's investigators right outside his apartment. We reviewed the Restoration with him and it was a pretty powerful lesson! He currently is on date for baptism and expressed a strong desire to be baptized! It was a fun day, and we worked hard! 

Elder Willes and Elder Sorensen (a former companion)

Wednesday was super cool too. In the morning, we had another great English Class. We also had the opportunity to meet with the Zhang family again. We discussed the Word of Wisdom. Brother Zhang has quite a few Word of Wisdom concerns. We are going to help him though, and I know that with God's help, ALL is possible. Please pray for him and his family! That same afternoon during our Seeking With Faith, we contacted Rayman Zhao at the park while he was sitting at a table. We started talking to him, and ultimately, he invited us to sit down and talk some more! He then expressed to us how he has been a Buddhist his whole life (30+ Years), and that before he had no intention of changing.About a year ago, Rayman's mom sadly passed away. After that happened, Rayman thought about a lot of things, including Christianity. The Lord truly had softened his heart, and he was very humble and willing to listen to our message. We shared a little bit about the Plan of Salvation with him, and the Spirit was strong! We had to cut the lesson short because he had to leave, but said that he was interested, and that we could meet again! Please pray for him! That night, we had the opportunity to do a Home Visit with the Yu Family. They are awesome! We talked about the Jurupa Stake's Mission Plan, and invited them to do Missionary Work. It was great!

Thursday was MLC (Missionary Leadership Council). That was fun. MLC has changed a lot since I was first there. We received some great training from President and Sister Hammon, and the AP's as well. I definitely learned a lot. It is always important that we always try to apply what we learn. We also had another lesson with Amy Hanstad. We had planned to teach her a specific lesson, but we were prompted that we needed to teach something different, and followed the Spirit. It was a good lesson, and we are hoping that Amy can be baptized this upcoming Sunday! She missed last Sunday so please pray for her that we can help to have your questions and concerns answered through the Spirit.

Friday was super cool. We met with Sara again. [mom note: Sara was just baptized last week. Sara, Xun and their baby Grace came and spent a day with us in December. They are a beautiful family who we now consider life-long friends.] Sara is preparing for her Confirmation this upcoming Sunday. She is excited for that! Sara has such strong faith, and knows the importance of sharing the Gospel with her husband, Xun.

At our evening English class on Friday we had a couple who came - Matt and Joanna. We first met them through WeChat. Next thing you know they have come to English Class and want to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are super cool! More on them in a minute. That night after English Class, we had the opportunity to do a Home Visit with Brother Miao. Brother Miao is just so awesome and is such a great member missionary. He helps us so much. 

Saturday afternoon we met with Matt and Joanna at the Li's house! We taught them the Restoration, and it was a special  lesson. During the lesson, Matt shared an incredible experience with us. While he was working in China he had a lot of crazy things happen. And yet he felt the presence of God helping him to resolve his work concerns. Ever since that time, Matt has been searching for someone to help him learn about God so he could thank Him for all of the blessings he received. Matt said that this was one of the biggest reasons for him coming to America. He wants to find God. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? Many of the Chinese migrating here are so prepared! It was incredible, and such a spiritual lesson. Both Matt and Joanna are currently on date for baptism on June 17th. Please pray for them that they can hit that goal! As a side note: We gave Matt (as his English name) to him Friday at English class. :)

Sunday was full of miracles as well. This past week, we had 4 investigators that came to Church! Matt, William Cui, Amy, and guess who??? Do you remember Jacky from a while ago? He showed up to church this past week!!!!! It was so good to see him. After church we drove out to have a lesson with Jacky. He told us that he got a new job in San Bernardino, and is still making Sushi! He also said that he has more time to meet now. We answered a lot of his questions, specifically about the Plan of Salvation, and showed him The Hope of God's Light video. It was powerful. What a Miracle! Please pray for Jacky! He is such a great dude and we are super pumped that wants to continue learning. That night, we had the opportunity to teach another new investigator from this past week, Jenny Dong. We went over with Brother Teng, and taught her. Jenny is a former investigator, and we answered a lot of her questions. I love when our investigators have questions because that means their hearts and minds are wrestling and trying to find truth. Jenny agreed that she is going to pray and read from the Book of Mormon. It was a great lesson! We are meeting with her again this upcoming Sunday. Please pray for her as well!

This past week has been INCREDIBLE. What an amazing privilege I have to be here, and to represent 

my Savior, Jesus Christ. There are literal miracles to be found everywhere each and everyday. 

Something I heard earlier on in my mission that continues to stick with me is, "If we fail to recognize the little miracles that come into our lives each and everyday, then we lack faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ." 

It is because of Him, that I have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help people learn of Him, 

and accept the Savior's Gospel, which truly is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is perfect, and brings countless blessings. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

P.S. I'll see you fam on Sunday! I cannot believe another Skype call is here haha. That is crazy. Love you guys!