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