THE CHINA SQUAD

The China Squad at the Riverside Stake Triathlon

Hello everyone!! This week has been pretty great and we have truly seen many miracles. I am so grateful to be a part of the hastening of God's work. Also, since this upcoming week is Mother's Day, I just wanted to give my mom a little shoutout. My mom is the best, and she is always putting her family's needs before her own. I am grateful for your example, and all that you have done to help me become the person that I am today. Love you mom! 

Tuesday and Wednesday were days filled with lots of seeking with faith and trying to figure out ways to talk to as many Chinese people that we can. It was pretty sweet. 

We went to Lake Elsinore this week to have another lesson with Evangel. Seriously, Evangel is so great. We met her roughly three weeks ago and she has already read from the start of the Book of Mormon to the book of Jacob! It is so awesome. Her testimony of the Gospel is so strong and she has a goal to finish the Book of Mormon by her baptism on May 28th. :) On Thursday we taught Evangel more about the plan of salvation as well as the law of chastity. Elder Crowther and I feel really blessed to have the opportunity of teaching her. That same afternoon, we also had a lesson with a new investigator, Shanon! Shanon is truly a miracle. She met a ward member at the airport, and they invited her to our ward in Eastvale. She came to Stake Conference last Sunday and we picked her up as an investigator this past week! Come to find out after meeting with her, Shannon's son joined the church was he was in college, and is now serving a mission in Boston, MA!!!! Isn't that crazy?? So cool. We taught her about the Restoration and it was a pretty good lesson. We look forward to continuing to meet with her! 

I had an exchange this week with my District Leader, Elder Gulbranson. He is a great missionary, and we had a lot of fun working in Eastvale. English Class continues to be a great tool for us. We had a couple of new people show up this week and said that they have interest in coming to church! Geoff and Mary came to class and we hope to meet with them this week! We are also focusing on some home visits and saw Tina and Tony, Sister Phillips, the Chen family and the Su family. We also have spent time visiting former investigators of missionaries who have served here in the past. It is awesome and we hope to see miracles generate from this.

On exchanges with Elder Gulbranson

On Saturday morning we participated in a service project. Every year, the Riverside Stake, puts on a Triathlon. We got to go and help out. Elder Crowther and I directed the bikers, and made sure that they were on the right track. It was pretty fun. :) 

Sunday was a great day! We had 3 investigators show up to church. Evangel, Michael, and Shanon all came to church!! Please pray for all of them that they can continue to progress. Sunday was a great day. It always is. There were so many Chinese people walking around church. We are excited to continue to work hard to see if we can help our "Chinese Group" turn into a "Chinese Branch" here in the Eastvale. :)  I am so excited to continue to work hard and help those elect souls repent and come to have indescribable peace and joy that can only come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that as you guys pray everyday for missionary opportunities, and share the Gospel, Heavenly Father will bless you so much. Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Willes

That is super awesome about Michael's mission call!!!!!!

A FAMILY and A CHALLENGE

"I know that as we continue to push forward and show Heavenly Father that we desire His help and guidance, 

we are blessed with people like Hank and Tina, who are so prepared and willing to receive the Gospel. 

I will never forget that day, for as long as I live!!" 

Elder Willes with Hank and Tina

Hello everyone :) This week has been amazing. First off, Hank and Tina were baptized yesterday! What a special day it was. I love them so much, and it was so amazing to see the light that radiated from them as they entered into a sacred covenant with their Heavenly Father. I will never forget that day! Probably the best day of my mission. 

I had the opportunity of baptizing Hank. What a special experience. I will never ever forget it. I love this Gospel, and I am so thankful for it. I love Hank and Tina. They are the best! They are going to become strong members of this church. What a powerful experience that it was to witness the change in them, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Are YOU planting those seeds that can help others feel this amazing gift? I would invite my family to pray for missionary opportunities everyday. Also, try and have a WEEKLY gospel conversation with a non-member. Do you think you guys can start doing that?? I know that as you do this, Heavenly Father is going to bless you and you will feel of His love and strength to provide you guys with opportunities to share the Gospel. :) 

Tuesday was a pretty cool day. In the morning, we had our weekly DDM meeting and Elder Gulbranson, our District Leader, gave a great training. That same afternoon we also had a lesson with Lexi Liu, a referral we received a while ago. We taught her about the Restoration and she really loved it! We put her on date for baptism for May 28th. But, a couple of days ago she texted us and said that she doesn't want to meet anymore. Disappointing but I know that she felt the Spirit and will accept the Gospel one day! 

I went out this week with Brother Miao to visit a less-active member, Xiao Deng. We invited him to come to Stake Conference, and also shared with him the Easter #PrinceofPeace video. Powerful stuff. Go watch that if you haven't.

Thursday was AWESOME! Elder Crowther and I went down to Lake Elsinore to have another lesson with Evangel. We followed up with her about reading the Book of Mormon. In the past week she has read all of Moroni 10 and from 1 Nephi chapter 1 through chapter 21!!!!! She is awesome, and already has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. She is currently on date for Baptism for May 28th!! Please keep her in your prayers and she continues forward in faith.

Every missionaries dream - teaching a family - and we are teaching a pretty awesome one. We received a referral and went to visit Da Xiong and his wife Andy. They have 4 kids! We taught them a short lesson about the Restoration. We hope to go back this week and teach them again. They are awesome! 

Saturday morning we visited another referral, Lulu, and her husband Kevin. They are super cool and are really willing to listen to our message. We taught them about the Restoration, and it was a really great lesson. The Spirit was very strong, and it was such a great experience. We also taught Thomas this week after English class and reviewed the doctrine found through the Restoration. 

Sunday was amazing! Amazing. This past Sunday, we had Stake Conference and we had 4 investigators that came to church. Lily Gui and her friend Grace Zhao, Evangel, and Zodiac!!! It was amazing. That afternoon, I had the coolest opportunity of attending Hank and Tina's Baptism!!!!!!!! They are so amazing. What a special day. I was so beyond happy, and so grateful for them. They are going to be great members of the Church, and have such amazing faith in Jesus Christ. I know that as we continue to push forward and show Heavenly Father that we desire His help and guidance, we are blessed with people like Hank and Tina, who are so prepared and willing to receive the Gospel. I will never forget that day, for as long as I live!! I am excited to continue to work my hardest, and help people experience eternal peace and joy that comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Love you all have a great week!

Shoutout to my cousin Jobubs who got his mission call. He will love his mission and will be a good missionary. Come join the Lord's army my brother!

Elder Willes

WE ARE SEEING MIRACLES

"On Thursday, Elder Crowther and I fasted for a way for Michael to be able to come to church. 

His boss is super strict and not willing to let him come. On Sunday morning, he texted us, 

and said that he was coming to church. He showed up for Chinese Sacrament Meeting, and came to church. :) FASTING WORKS!!! Super cool little experience."

Hello everyone! Hope everyone at home is doing well. We are seeing miracles!! 

Elder Crowther and I are working hard and doing our very best. We continue to spend lots and lots of time seeking with faith trying to find those who are ready to hear about Jesus Christ. On Wednesday after English Class we had another lesson with Michael. We reviewed the principles and doctrine surrounding the Restoration so Michael could understand better, but we really focused on prayer and reading the Book of Mormon. It was a really good lesson. 

Thursday was so sick. Elder Crowther and I went down to Lake Elsinore, to teach a referral, Evangel, and also Eva Huang, who showed up to Church last Sunday. The missionaries serving in the Lake Elsinore Ward where Eva showed up, thought that she was a less-active member. Come to find out, Eva has not been baptized. We taught both Evangel and Eva about the Restoration and invited them to pray and read from the Book of Mormon. They are both awesome and we are going back down there on Thursday to meet with them. Please pray for them! 

Evangel holding Elder Willes' Book of Mormon

Friday was pretty good. We studied and planned, spent lots of time seeking and had another great English class. We were also able to visit a less-active family - the Yu family. On Saturday we had an exchange. I was with Elder Cousineau, an English missionary. Love this guy! We stayed in my area and Elder Crowther left. That morning, we also had our Weekly Blitz. I went out with Elder Olsen, who was my first Zone Leader when I first came into the mission. It was awesome. That afternoon, Elder Cousineau and I taught Fei Chen, an investigator that we found while seeking with faith this past week. We taught him and invited him to come to church, but he ended up not coming. 

Elder Cousineau and Elder Willes

We had 4 investigators at church, and also 3 others who haven't become investigators yet. Sister Du, Michael, Christine (Brother Xiong's daughter), and Grace Zhao. Seeing more miracles. On Thursday, Elder Crowther and I fasted for a way for Michael to be able to come to church. His boss is super strict and not willing to let him come. On Sunday morning, he texted us, and said that he was coming to church. He showed up for Chinese Sacrament Meeting, and came to church. :) FASTING WORKS!!! Super cool little experience. That afternoon, we got to go to a baptism, for the Zone Leader's investigator, Norma. Elder Crowther and I shared a message about the Restoration and the Spirit was so strong. It was really cool to be a part of. This week has been awesome and it is amazing to see how Heavenly Father works miracles everyday. Love you all have a great week! 

Elder Willes

Brother and Sister Wach, members in Eastvale, fed a meal to Elder Crowther and Elder Willes

HAPPY EASTER from EASTVALE (round 2)

"Christ had a perfected, resurrected body. 

The tomb wasn't opened to let Him out, it was opened to let us see in." 

Wow. So awesome and cool, recognizing the importance of the Resurrection. 

Christ has the power to do all things, and could have easily left the tomb, without rolling back the stone,

 but instead He invites us all to come unto Him to "see in."

Elder Willes with his new companion Elder Crowther

Hello everyone and HAPPY EASTER FROM EASTVALE!! I hope you have all had the chance to watch the #PrinceofPeace video online. If you haven't, take a minute and watch. It will make your day a little better.This week has been pretty good. My companion, Elder Crowther and I, have really been working hard to help others to come unto Christ. What a cool message to share the week of Easter. This past week, we picked up 10 new investigators. It was awesome. I love teaching about the Savior. He can help anyone. 

I have served in Eastvale and I know there are prepared Chinese here. We just have to go find them. Elder Crowther and I have really worked hard this past week to find, find, and do more finding. 

On Wednesday morning we taught one of our investigators, Sister Du. Sister Du and her family recently moved from Diamond Bar. Her husband was baptized in Diamond Bar,and she has a strong desire to follow in the Savior's example and be baptized. We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized. She accepted a date for May 14th!!! It was awesome to see her feel the Spirit and have the courage to act. I felt like the Spirit was really strong in that lesson. That night before English class, we also taught Lily Gui, and her two friends, Zou Jie Mei and Zhao Jie Mei. We taught them the first couple of points of the Restoration. It's a lot for them to take in. We also had English Class and after that, we then had a lesson with Michael. Elder Crowther was teaching another lesson, (in the same room), and I taught Michael with Sister Li. A good problem to have. More people to teach than there are missionaries. We taught Michael about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he accepted a baptismal date also for May 14th! May 14th might end of being the best day of my mission so far.

Thursday morning we taught another potential investigator, Zodiac. We taught him the first couple of points from the Restoration. It was alright. We invited him to pray and read from the Book of Mormon and testified of the truthfulness of this amazing book. He doesn't have the greatest desire but we are praying for him! This week while seeking for prepared people we found Sarah, in a park. We also taught her about the Restoration and  invited her to pray everyday. She agreed to try! 

Friday was awesome. I love doing service at the one and only Louis Roubidoux Nature Center. It was crazy being back there so quickly. I love that place. We spent most of the day on Saturday in Rancho Cucomonga. We had a lesson with a potential investigator, Sister Wang. We arrived at her house, and found another Chinese couple there. We started teaching all of them, and had a great start to the lesson. After a little while though, they become frustrated with lack of understanding. We kept trying and trying to teach it simply, but they just couldn't understand. It was such a bummer. That night, we knocked on Brother Pu's house, a less active in our ward. Yang Guang answered the door, an investigator who I taught when I served previously here in Eastvale with Elder Zeng and Elder Yang! We ended up sitting down with him and taught him the lesson on the Restoration. It was awesome! He is super great. 

Also, Sister Lin, from my last area, will most likely be baptized this coming Sunday. I will be able to go to that!!!! :) I am so excited. Please pray for her and all our investigators. 

Easter Sunday was special. Something awesome that was shared at church was about the stone, that was securing the sepulcher. "Christ had a perfected, resurrected body. The tomb wasn't opened to let Him out, it was opened to let us see in." Wow. So awesome and cool, recognizing the importance of the Resurrection. Christ has the power to do all things, and could've easily left the tomb, without rolling back the stone but instead He invites us all to Him to see. Super cool! Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes 

UNDERDOG

Elder Willes and Jay Yang

Hello everyone!!! This week has been amazing. Elder Nelson and I have been working so hard, and we have had so much success. We had 6 investigators at church on Sunday AND we have 6 investigators with a baptismal dates. There were many highlights from my week, but here are just a few.

On Tuesday morning we had our weekly DLC and DDM meetings. I gave a training on Teaching People, Not Lessons. I felt good about it and know that this is how the Savior wants us to teach. It was awesome. That afternoon, we had a lesson with Sharon, an investigator we found at UCR. We taught her about the Restoration, and she took it okay. Her desire isn't very strong, and she texted us a few days later and told us she wasn't interested. :( It was a bummer. That afternoon, we had a lesson with Lin Jie Mei. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation, and she really loved it. It was a great lesson! 

I also went on exchanges with the Spanish Elders. I went out with Elder Sanchez, and we had a pretty good day. We spent most of the day seeking and seeking. We also went and tried to visit a bunch of potential investigators. It was a fun day! Also I had exchanges on Friday with Elder Heward, who is one of the Office Elders. We spent the day moving apartments, seeking and some home visits. We've been doing a lot of those lately to help others increase their faith.

On Thursday we had a awesome lesson with Brother Xia. We also taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and he really loved it. Saturday we had another lesson with Charlie. He is awesome. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. The Plan is important. It answers lots of questions if someone is searching. I feel so blessed to have this knowledge. Brother Zhang dropped us this week. That is always very hard. His parents were very frustrated with him for meeting with us. 

Brother Xia and Elder Willes

Sunday was sweet!!!!!! We had 6 investigators at church. Vivian, Hank and Tina, Jay Yang, Lin Jie Mei, and Brother Xia all came! It was amazing. During fast and testimony meeting, I got up and bore my Testimony in Chinese, which was awesome. I wanted these investigators to hear it from me again. I wanted them to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will bring joy, peace, happiness and redemption for each one of them through our Savior and a loving Heavenly Father. After church, I had to tell all of them that I was being transferred, and it was pretty hard. Hard on me and hard on them. I love all of them so much. I hope and pray they will continue to progress towards baptism. The Lord has other work for me back in Eastvale. Eastvale has become "quiet" again. We gotta do it again baby! I am pumped. I love being the underdog. I am going to work my absolute hardest, and we are going to find success. Please pray so that we can find people to teach, who are ready and willing to receive the Gospel. Love you all have a great week!!

Elder Willes

BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS!

"RIVERSIDE GETTING THAT SHOUT OUT FROM ELDER GROW - WHAT IT IS!!! 

and

Sunday was AMAZING! We had 4 investigators meet us at the church building 

to watch the Sunday Morning Session in Chinese! The Spirit was really strong when President Monson 
taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon."

My good friend and former Zone Leader, Elder Hagler, from Herriman, UT

Hello everyone!!! This week has been super amazing. We currently have 5 investigators on date for baptism and 4 of them came to watch General Conference with us on Sunday! Yep you heard right! It was amazing. Heavenly Father continues to bless us, everyday. I am so humbled and grateful that I get to serve Him. 

Tuesday was pretty awesome. We drove down to Lake Elsinore for our Multi-Zones. That whole day we received training and President Mullen really stressed the importance of having a laser-like-focus for the work. I love that! One of the most amazing things he said was about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. He mentioned that the Savior suffered for all mankind, but not including Heavenly Father. So when Heavenly Father's children fail to return to their Heavenly Home, the pain that He feels surpasses the pain that Jesus Christ went through with the Atonement. It really helped put into perspective the importance of doing His work, and helping ALL of His children return home.

After English Class on Wednesday night, we had another lesson with Hank (his new English name) and Tina. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was super cool. We tried again to invite them to be baptized, but they still aren't ready to set a date. We will continue to work with them. 

Thursday morning we picked up another investigator, Ben Zhang. We met him on our way back to our apartment this past week. Sadly, he already told us he is not interested in our message anymore. He had a big concern with accepting additional scripture and only regards the Holy Bible as the word of God. We also taught Lin Jie Mei. We had to review the Restoration with her and also changed her baptismal date to April 23rd. It was a great lesson! These are often extremely new and foreign concepts and principles for the Chinese.

Friday we picked up two new investigators. BOOM! Charlie and Vivian. Charlie actually approached us on campus at UCR asking for directions. We got his contact information, taught him the Restoration, and put him on date for baptism for April 23rd! We also taught Vivian before English Class. We found her through English Class, and taught her the Restoration as well. She is also on date for baptism on April 23rd! That night after our English Class, we taught Hank and Tina again! We taught them about the Word of Wisdom, and they agreed to live it! They are awesome. I love them! Please pray for them.

Saturday and Sunday were better than Christmas!!! General Conference !:))) I really loved Elder Bragg's talk about the "Light of Christ." I loved how he said that "seeking the light, is in our eternal DNA." Everyone is seeking for light, we just need to help them find the "Light of Christ" again in their lives. I also loved Elder Sabin's talk about being "ALL IN." I loved the analogy he used with the "Spiritual Sleeping Bags," and also how he said, "In order to be all in, we need to stand up inside." That is so amazing. That night, I also got to sit right next to President Mullen and watch the Priesthood Session! I loved Elder Bednar's message of becoming worthy, and to love staying worthy. Also the Covenant Pathway; Priesthood, Temple, Mission. So cool. 

Sunday was AMAZING! We had 4 investigators meet us at the church building to watch the Sunday Morning Session in Chinese! Hank and Tina, Charlie, and Vivian all came. They all really seemed to enjoy it. The Spirit was really strong when President Monson taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon. I loved that. The Sunday afternoon session was awesome too. I loved Elder Costa's message. We are for sure going to share that talk with our investigators. I loved when he said, "Meeting the Missionaries, going to Church, Reading the Book of Mormon, and Repentance." These are the things our investigators need to be doing to come unto the Savior. Also, RIVERSIDE GETTING THAT SHOUT OUT FROM ELDER GROW - WHAT IT IS!!! Haha gotta love that. :) That night, we also had a lesson with Rene Zhao. Rene was a former investigator, who we found through our Area Book. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and put him on date for baptism for May 7th! We've got to get him to Church though and help him with a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon. We will continue to help him though! 

This week has been amazing. I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to Represent the Savior, and help others. Love you all have a great week! 

Elder Willes

READ THE BOOK and TUNE IN

We were teaching Brother Xia and were sharing the First Vision. After I got done sharing that, we sat in silence for a little bit, to let the Spirit work with him. All of the sudden in a quiet, sincere voice, he just says, "Wow."

Hello everyone. This week has been amazing! I have really seen the Lord's hand in our work here in this area. I know that if we continue to work hard, the Lord will continue to bless us. 

At our weekly "DLC" and "DDM" meetings I shared a training on receiving revelation through the Book of Mormon. I know there are answers for each of us in the Book if we will read and study and seek. The Book of Mormon is an essential part in an Investigator's conversion. We each must seek the direction and promise found in the introduction of the Book of Mormon (and in Moroni). "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10:3-5). Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelatory and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah."

I love bearing testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. On Tuesday afternoon, we had a GREAT lesson with Sister Lin. We taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  At the end of the lesson, she gave one of the most sincere prayers that I have ever heard. In her prayer, she expressed that she was going through tons of stress with school and coming to America. Sister Lin has to obtain at least a 3.0 GPA or else she has to leave. She expressed great gratitude to the Lord for the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She was emotional and the Spirit was so strong. 

Wednesday was pretty awesome! I went on exchanges with Elder Gossett, one of the Office Elders. We stayed and worked in our area. That night, we had another lesson with Jay Yang. We taught him about the Atonement. He has a lot of questions/concerns, but we are helping him. :) That night, we had 6 PEOPLE AT ENGLISH CLASS!! We were super pumped. After English Class, we were able to teach Brother Zhao (because Tina wasn't able to come) about the Plan of Salvation. He loved it! It was a great lesson.

Elder Gossett and Elder Willes on exchanges

English Class

Elder Nelson and I were on bikes on Thursday. We did a couple of home visits hoping to figure out what members in the ward can help our investigators. That night, we also had our Ward Correlation Meeting to discuss the work in our areas.

I also went on exchanges with Elder Fairbanks this week. He is one of our Zone Leaders. It was a fun day! We taught two lessons to their investigators. That night, we came back to our area, to teach Brother Zhao and Tina. We reviewed the Plan of Salvation. It was amazing. They are so awesome.

Sunday was AMAZING. We had 4 investigators come to Church!!! Brother Zhao, Tina, Jay Yang, and Sister Lin ALL came.  :) We were so excited! Brother Zhao and Tina went out and bought church clothes this past week. Brother Zhao showed up in a brand new suit, and a white shirt and tie. It was amazing! Jay Yang came about half-way through Sacrament Meeting, and he really enjoyed church! He came in hot and sweaty and said that he had walked 1 hour to get to church! Wow. So amazing! Sister Lin came for the last hour and we got her to Relief Society. She loved it! Sunday afternoon was amazing too. We picked up 2 new investigators, Brother Xia, and Rene Zhao. We taught them both the Restoration. We were teaching Brother Xia and were sharing the First Vision. After I got done teaching it, we sat in silence for a little bit, to let the Spirit work with him. All of the sudden in a quiet, sincere voice, he just says, "Wow." It was amazing! The Spirit was so strong. We have been so blessed this week!!

I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for the amazing chance that I have to serve the Chinese people, who I love so much. The mission is already such a sacred and worthwhile experience for me, and something I will cherish forever. I'm looking so forward to Conference. Tune in! Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes