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

A BAPTISM AND A BBQ (MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2018)

"I would invite everyone to think about the question that 司海军 asked me, "Why do you believe in God?" 

I know that God lives. I know that we are all His children. I know that He knows my name, and that He loves me."

Anna Yu's Baptism

Chinese BBQ

Hello again everyone! This past week has been another amazing week here in the good old California Riverside Mission! The highlight definitely was Anna Yu's baptism!!!! What a special day that was. 

We contacted a lady named Linda 王 this week。It is interesting because we have contacted Linda multiple times before, but this time was different. We started testifying of the Book of Mormon to her. This time the Spirit hit her and she asked if we could share a message with her. Wow did this experience really strengthen my testimony of the Book of Mormon.

We continue to teach Jacky. Please pray for him. This week we shared with Jacky the importance of putting God first in our lives. It was a great lesson, and the Spirit was really strong. Wednesday before our English Class we had an opportunity to meet with 司海军 who is one of our English Class students. About a week ago, he asked me during the middle of English Class, "Why do you believe in God?" What a powerful question. So cool. We had the opportunity to teach him, his wife, and also another lady from English Class who sat in on the lesson, Yang Jin! They all committed to read from the Book of Mormon daily. We also taught Dennis and his wife Yancy. We first contacted them a couple of weeks ago at Harada Park, and we were able to set up a time to meet with them. They are a great family and accepted invitations to read the Book of Mormon and pray, which we were very excited about! We also had the opportunity to have another lesson with Anna Yu. We topped off our night with a visit to Brother Li, who got called as the Chinese Ward Mission Leader this past Sunday!

Thursday morning Anna Yu had her interview and was found worthy to be baptized!!!! We also fasted as a Zone on Thursday about our baptismal goal for the month. Our Zone saw a lot of success that day, which was a miracle! 

Friday morning we traveled down to Menifee to have another lesson with the Du Family! We talked with them a lot about the Book of Mormon and bore testimony of the Book of Mormon. They still are very active in their current church, but are open to still having us over. They are a really nice family! Before English Class that evening, we had another lesson with Tim 张。We had 苗弟兄 come with us and we had a great lesson about the Atonement. Tim has been struggling recently and has had some trials. Please pray for him that he may find peace through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After English Class, we had another lesson with a couple of new investigators from this past week, Nicole and Carson. We are looking forward to meeting with them again this upcoming week. 

Saturday morning we had our Chinese BBQ activity. We had a lot of investigators and also friends from English Class that came. So awesome. The family that we are working with, the Hu 家庭, who has not been active, came as well! They got great fellowship! We also taught Anna today, her last lesson before baptism. She is ready and will be a great member of the Church. 

Sunday was a special day! We were able to meet with Mrs. Wei and her two friends, who went back to China today. We first tracted into their house and were able to teach them some at a follow-up appointment. I am hoping they will be able to learn more from other missionaries. We had an incredible home visit with Shannon Yang [a recent convert]. She is a true disciple of the Savior Jesus Christ. It has been so cool to watch her grow from her baptism in September until now. I love the Gospel and how we each can change through living it. The highlight of the day was that Anna Yu was baptized Sunday evening!!!! It was such a spiritual experience. Anna radiates the Light of Christ and will be an incredible addition to our Chinese Group here. She bore a powerful testimony at her baptism. I am so lucky to know these amazing people. I love them so much. 

Elder Crowther, Brother Yu, Anna Yu, Elder Willes and Elder Nelson

Miracles are everywhere! I would invite everyone to think about the question that 司海军 asked me, "Why do you believe in God?" I know that God lives. I know that we are all His children. I know that He knows my name, and that He loves me. I love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes 

ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE GOSPEL (MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018)

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old California Riverside Mission. Elder Crowther and I have continued to see many Miracles over the past week and our Zone continues to see miracles as well which is amazing! Here is how the past week went down. 

Elder Willes with the MLC of the California Riverside Mission

Monday night we were able to do some great Seeking With Faith as well as visiting a referral in Lake Elsinore. We talked to a lot of people while out and that was a lot of fun!

Tuesday morning we had our DLC and also our District Meetings. We also brought our Zone together and shared with them what we learned at MLC. That afternoon after our studies, we had another lesson with Anna Yu. Anna is doing great! She currently is on date for baptism this upcoming Sunday (June 24th) and will for sure be baptized on that day. What a Miracle! We followed up with her and her husband on their prayer and Book of Mormon reading was going. We focused again on God's Commandments, specifically the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. It was a great lesson! We also had another lesson with Jacky! Jacky is doing ok recently. I can tell the adversary is working on him. He is currently on date for baptism this upcoming Sunday the 24th as well. We taught him how to apply the teachings of the Book of Mormon in his own life. I think that is something we are all striving to do.

Wednesday morning we had our English Class, which was pretty great! After our English Class, we had our interviews with President Hammon. Before English Class we talked with President Hammon about our Zone, and then after English Class we went back to the church for our personal interviews. President Hammon is great! The rest of the day and evening was spent with seeking. 

Thursday morning we had the opportunity to have a teaching appointment with two of our new investigators from this past week, Shelly and her daughter Rebellia. We first contacted them on Wednesday night, and we were able to teach them the Restoration! We invited them to be baptized and they explained to us that they were not ready, but they said that they will read the Book of Mormon and pray as well. In the late morning, we drove down to Menifee to have another lesson with the Du Family! We taught Fang Du and his wife. They had a lot of questions about the Restoration and we talked and testified that God really did restore His church here on earth. We also shared our testimonies about the Book of Mormon. They fed us lunch which was super nice and a real treat. We had another lesson with Anna. She is doing amazing. It is so cool to see the change that has come into her life over the past couple of weeks!!! That evening, we had another lesson with Jacky. We brought 苗弟兄 with us, and we taught Jacky the Law of Chastity and also the Word of Wisdom. It was a pretty great lesson!

We taught another recent covert lesson to Sara. She is doing great. We had another lesson with Tim 张。He is doing great! Tim has been reading a little bit from the Book of Mormon. We had a weekly blitz for our Zone. Elder Beddes and I went out together and we go a bunch of referrals and an investigator for the Spanish missionaries. We went on exchanges with the APs. Elder Briggs and I were together and had an amazing day. W

Saturday we had exchanges with the AP's. In the morning, we had another Weekly Blitz for our Zone. Elder Beddes and I went out together, and we got a bunch of referrals and also picked up an investigator for the Spanish Missionaries. Elder Briggs and I were together, and we had an amazing day! We were able to pick up 3 new investigators in their area. We taught a father and a son both named Edward, and they were super cool. That night while we were out Seeking With Faith we taught a lady, Maria, in her garage. That was another miracle! 

Sunday was another great day. This past week, we had 2 people come to Church! Anna Yu and also Lou弟. Elder Crowther and I met an older Chinese lady sitting outside her house,  赵红。We talked with her as we sat outside her house and taught her the Restoration! We will be meeting with her this upcoming weekend. We also got to visit with Liang 弟兄 and also 李家庭。李姐妹invited a friend over named Kay and we met with them. The Li Family is super awesome and they help us so much in our missionary work. We should be able to teach Kay in the next several weeks. Overall, a pretty great day.

This past week has been another truly incredible week! I am so Eternally Grateful for the Gospel in my life. Jesus Christ is my Savior, and my older brother. I know that through Him, ALL is possible. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes 

HOW CAN I KNOW THAT GOD EXISTS? (MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2018)

"One of the happiest moments of my mission was seeing the joy on Brother Xiong's face 

as his wife accepted the challenge to be baptized. 

He was so excited and happy for her. That was special, and I was so grateful to be a part of that." 

Hello again everyone! This past week has been another amazing week here in the good old California, Riverside Mission. Our Zone had an amazing week! Together as a Zone, we were able to find 25 new investigators this week. Elder Crowther and I are so proud of our Zone and all of the hard work that they continue to put forth in their respective areas! Elder Crowther and I this past week witnessed many MIRACLES and I am so excited to tell you all about them!

First off, Elder Yang is heading home to China this week. I am really going to miss him. I have learned a lot from him and he has made so many sacrifices to be here serving a mission. 

Elder Willes and Elder Yang

On Monday night we drove down to Menifee to visit a referral that we received over the weekend. They were home, but more on them later! We also had our DLC Meetings, Zone Accountability and Zone Introductions, and also District Meeting. I received a lot of personal revelation during the District Meeting. Isn't that just a huge blessing that the Lord will speak to us and answer our questions? The APs also called us Tuesday and asked if Elder Yang could come be with us for the afternoon before he went to the airport to finish his mission! So the 3 of us went and taught Macky and Stella! Macky and Stella are doing amazing! They both have been reading from the Book of Mormon. Macky has read through 1 Nephi 8 and Stella has also read a couple of chapters as well. They are such a miracle! We filled the rest of our time Seeking With Faith and contacted a bunch of people. Then we drove to Riverside to drop Elder Yang off. It was sad to see him go. Elder Yang was a great missionary! 

Wednesday morning before English Class we had the opportunity to have another lesson with Joanna. She is doing great! Joanna is currently on date for Baptism for June 17th, but we are most likely going to have to change that goal. We followed up with her Book of Mormon reading and also prayer. We also talked a lot about the role of the Holy Ghost in each of our lives. I have a testimony that I shared with her that reading the scriptures, praying, and attending Church are ways to help us gain faith and feel the Holy Ghost. It was a great lesson! 

We taught a new investigator family from this past week, the Lou Family. Lou Di Xiong is a movie director, and they are a super cool family we found through English Class. The Lou family has already been to Church (2 weeks ago) and we are excited to continue to work with them. Mrs. Lou said a great prayer at the end of the lesson! We also had another lesson with Jacky. He is doing great as well! The Spirit has been so strong in our lessons with Jacky. Jacky is currently on date for baptism this upcoming Sunday, June 17th. Please pray for him that he can make that date!

Thursday evening we had another lesson with Anna Yu, Brother Xiong's wife. We talked a lot about the blessings that come through keeping God's Commandments, specifically through prayer, reading the Book of Mormon, and also attending Church. Anna has been reading the Book of Mormon everyday, and she is doing amazing! We shared Mosiah 3:19 and also Mosiah 18 with them, and invited Anna to be baptized! She accepted!!!!!!!!! We put her on date for June 24th! We are confident that she will be able to make that. The Spirit was so strong. It was an incredible lesson! One of the happiest moments of my mission was seeing the joy on Brother Xiong's face as his wife accepted the challenge to be baptized. He was so excited and happy for her. That was special, and I was so grateful to be a part of that. 

We visited the Zhang Family again, and delivered the Bible that they ordered. We talked with Brother Zhang for a while, specifically about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible helps us to understand Christ's Gospel. We also talked about the difference between the Light of Christ and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. That was super cool. He loved that! We invited them to Church, and it was a great lesson! At the end, we all listened to the first chapter in the Book of Mormon in Chinese. That was amazing. There is always a special Spirit that comes with reading from the Book of Mormon. That afternoon, right before our English Class, we had the opportunity to teach another new investigator from this past week, Tim Zhang. Tim is from Taiwan, and we first contacted him outside our English Class. We shared with him the first couple of points of the Restoration, and also talked with him about prayer and the Book of Mormon. It was a good lesson! Tim was able to say the closing prayer, and we will be meeting with him again this next week! 

Saturday morning we had our Transfer Breakfast at President Jergensen's House. After that, we had a lesson with a less-active family, the Hu Family. The Hu's were baptized in Idaho Falls about 10 years ago, and have not been coming to church for years. They have a huge family! They have 8 kids, and Sister Hu is about to have their 9th kid! We shared with them the importance of reading from the Book of Mormon. It was a great start on the road of getting their family back to Church. We also gave them a children's copy of the Book of Mormon so their kids can read too. 

Back to Menifee - Saturday afternoon, we drove down to Menifee again to visit the same referral that we visited on Monday. We then met a super nice Chinese man, Fang Du. Fang Du and his family are Christians, and actually first met LDS missionaries while in Houston, Texas. We are going back to teach him and his wife on Thursday, and we are praying for their progression in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the afternoon, we also did a home visit with Tony and Tina. They are doing great! In the evening, we then had the opportunity to teach a guy named Alan and his 11 year old daughter named Suri. Alan came up to us late one night this past week after English Class in the parking lot, and said that his wife Sherry attended our English Class. He then explained that he was interested in the Church, and also in learning English. We taught him and his daughter in the Chapel at the church building and it was so spiritual! During the lesson, Suri asked a question, "How can I know that God exists?" I felt a prompting that we needed to sing, "I am a Child of God" to them in Chinese. We sang, and the Spirit was so strong! We taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel, and it was an amazing lesson!

Sunday was awesome as well! This past week, I had the opportunity to speak in the Eastvale Ward Sacrament Meeting. We had 3 investigators that came to Church! Anna, and Mr Duan and Linda Duan, all came to Church! In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to do another Home Visit with the Liang Family. That was great! In the evening, we got to meet with Jacky again! We talked about the Sabbath Day, and the need for repentance if we do not keep the Commandments of God. Jacky said an amazing closing prayer with real intent, and we are praying that he can be baptized in the next couple of weeks!

Updates:

-The Yang Family in Chino Hills, are doing pretty well. They have not had the opportunity to pray and read, but we are working with them. We invited them to be baptized and shared Alma chapter 7 and encourage them to repent and choose to be baptized. They said that they need some more time to prepare, and so we are excited to continue to work with them and help them to Come Unto Christ!

Alma 7:27

And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and hers, and all that you possess...according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever."

-English class is booming. We had lots of people attend this week. We teach Wednesday mornings and Friday evenings.

-Thursday morning and afternoon we had our MLC meeting. We received lots of great trainings from President and Sister Hammon, the APs and President Norman. Each focused on how we can become better leaders in our mission. 

This past week has been amazing. I love the Work so much! I have never been as happy in my life as I have been on my mission. This truly is God's Work, and what a blessing it is to be a part of it. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes 

MIRACLES ARE EVERYWHERE WAITING TO BE FOUND (MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2018)

"I love this Work. I am so happy out here! Go share something you love with others. 

The missionaries need you and so does the Lord. Miracles are everywhere waiting to be found."

Elder Simpson, a good buddy serving in my area, (in the middle) is getting transferred. I'm gonna miss him.

Hello again everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old California, Riverside Mission. Actually, it has been AMAZING! This past week the Lord has blessed us immensely. We had 8 investigators that came to church and we also found 9 new investigators! I am so excited to report on this past week! Transfers came and went and Elder Crowther and I are staying together in Eastvale. This upcoming transfer will be my 6th transfer as a Zone Leader. 

We had a good start to our week with Monday night being filled with good old "Seeking With Faith." I have come to love looking for people who are searching. It is so cool when the Spirit touches them and you see in them a change as you share your testimony. I am learning so much on my mission. We had our District Meetings this week. This is such a great environment to feel the Spirit. We found and taught an investigator, Arena! We taught her and her mom about the Restoration, and it was a great lesson. They are going back to China very soon, but we hope that we can continue to meet with them in the future. We also had the opportunity to drive out to Chino Hills, CA and teach the Yang Family! The Yang family has been coming to Church for the past two weeks now. They are friends with Tony and Tina in the Eastvale Ward. They are from Tianjin, and have only been living in the United States for a very short period of time. They also have a 9 year old son, Ray. They are such a great family. We gave them a copy of the Children's Book of Mormon Stories Book. Please pray for them. They are an amazing family! 

Wednesday morning we had another great English Class. English Class was PACKED! We had about 20 people show up, and that was super fun! That evening, we had the opportunity to teach Anna Yu, who is Brother Xiong's new wife. She is doing awesome, and she is feeling ready to be baptized. We taught them the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and praying as a family. It was such a great lesson. We also taught Jacky again and focused a lot on repentance and the power and peace that can be found through the Savior's Atonement when we repent. It was an amazing lesson. The best lesson that we have had with Jacky yet! Please continue to pray for him. He is doing so great! 

Thursday was another amazing day. We taught Sara Guo another recent convert lesson. Sara is doing so well and came to Church again this past week! In the evening, Elder Crowther and I had the opportunity to do a couple of Baptismal Interviews for a family that the English Elders were teaching. This family got baptized this past Sunday, which was super cool! Nothing is better. Friday morning we went a worked and visited with residents at a care center called the Palm Terrace Care Center. Man, service makes you happy and is actually a lot of fun. 

We taught another new family, Macky and Stella. On Thursday while driving right outside our apartment, we passed a house with a garage door open. We kept driving, and I felt an overwhelming prompting that we needed to turn around. I told Elder Crowther, and so we immediately turned around. We drove up to the house with the open garage, and there was nobody outside. We got out of the car, and went up to knock the door. We met Macky, and talked to him on the front porch for like 10 minutes. He expressed a lot of interest in the Church and also in English Class. We then set up an appointment for the following day (Friday). We taught him and his wife Stella and it was an amazing lesson. They accepted a baptismal date for July 8th, and it was amazing! They also came to Church this past week. Truly a Miracle!!!!! We also taught Mr. Duan, Linda Duan, and also his wife named Carol. They also came to Church this past week! 

Sunday was an amazing day! This past week we had 8 investigators that came to Church. The Yang Family, Mr. Duan and Linda, Anna, and also Macky and Stella all came to Church this past week!!!!! It was such an incredible day. After Church, we had the opportunity to attend the Andreas Family's Baptism. Elder Crowther and I were able to share a bit at their baptism and that was super cool to be a part of. We also visited the Meaders Family. Sister Meaders is the Primary President in the Eastvale Ward and Brother Meaders is a Seminary Teacher. They both have great testimonies and we talked about the importance of doing Missionary Work! They are awesome! Go share something you love with others. The missionaries need you and so does the Lord. Miracles are everywhere waiting to be found.

This past week has been another great week. The Lord continues to bless us each and everyday. I love this Work. I am so happy out here! Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes