圣诞节快乐

MICE EVERYWHERE

"Despite having no investigators at church this past week, 

I was grateful for the amazing opportunity to partake of the Sacrament, 

and renew my sacred covenants with a Loving Heavenly Father." 

December 18, 2017

Hello everyone! Another incredible week here in Eastvale. Transfers came this past week, and Elder Nelson and I will be staying in Eastvale together! I was so excited as we are working hard and trying to help a lot of people here. We are excited to help as many people as we can truly Come Unto Christ. This past week, we were able to find 5 new investigators, which truly was a Miracle! Here is how it all went down!

I had a cool experience this week. Last Monday night we were out and about doing some good old fashioned Seeking With Faith. I felt a really strong prompting to go and knock on the door at a house that we have already knocked on before. Hua Di Xiong, our Ward Mission Leader, had told us that the people living in the house were Chinese. We went and knocked and met He Di Xiong, an awesome Chinese man. He invited us in and we shared a couple of points from the Restoration with him. We taught him how to pray and we are excited for him to continue to learn! We are going to try to see him again this weekend. It was a small little miracle for me this week. 

We had another lesson with Angela Zhang this week and it was another great lesson! Please pray for Angela, and also her mom Annie, that they can recognize the importance of baptism! Our English classes this week were great and on Friday, Tom, one of our students, taught me about the name of the company, North Face. One of my favorites. Pretty cool stuff!

The Elders with the Li family from the Eastvale Ward

Aileen and Linda giving us some Christmas gifts

Thursday was so so awesome! Because we had absolutely NO time that day, we ate dinner at like 9:40 pm. A good sign of an awesome day. :) That afternoon we went by and visited Pius and his son Arthur. Pius was a referral from some other Elders in the Corona Zone. Pius is from Taiwan, and is super cool! He loves camping, and the outdoors. We were able to teach him and his 15 year old son Arthur. They were super excited about reading from the Book of Mormon, and it was an awesome lesson! Right after that, we went and visited Brian Chen. Brian was a referral, and we first contacted him through a doorbell contact where we rang the doorbell and set up an appointment. Brian knows the Jiang's (a Chinese family in the Eastvale Ward), and is super cool! We taught him a little bit from the Restoration and about the importance of prayer. It was a great lesson! Soon after that, we went to Wang Jie Mei and Yang Di Xiong's house to have another lesson with them! We taught them the Plan of Salvation and it was a great lesson too! We brought Jiang Di Xiong along with us, and the spirit was really strong. Directly after that lesson, we went and taught Cliff Yang, another super cool Chinese guy that recently moved into Annie Zhang's house. We first met Cliff when we went over and taught Angela this past week, and set up an appointment with him. We taught him the Restoration, and he accepted an invitation to be baptized on January 21st! We are super excited for him, and please pray that he can continue to progress towards that baptismal date! 

Pretty funny story...Wednesday morning we had a cool service project and moved a ton of gifts into the Stake Center for them to be wrapped for Christmas. These gifts had been stored in storage units. Our job was to move them from storage units to the church. Funny thing about this, when we were opening up some of the boxes, there were mice! Mice everywhere! We chased some mice around, inside the building and all over the parking lot. We caught like 11 of those babies! Of course, we let them free later, but it was super funny! 

Saturday was another day full of service! We did an awesome service project at Roubidoux High School, where we gave out a bunch of presents, blankets, books, and other awesome things to the kids there. I love the Spirit that comes from serving others! That afternoon, we had another lesson with Crystal Cui! We taught her about the Law of Tithing, and it was another great lesson! Crystal is doing so awesome and has read to 1 Nephi Chapter 14 in her personal Book of Mormon reading!

Elder Willes and Elder Nelson with their investigator Crystal

Sunday was another great day! Despite having no investigators at church this past week, I was grateful for the amazing opportunity to partake of the Sacrament, and renew my sacred covenants with a Loving Heavenly Father. 

*Mom note - (Elder Nathan and Elder Willes became companions January 23, 2016.
Since then, they have served together as companions except for a 6 week period of time. Crazy unique huh?? We are so grateful for Elder Nelson and how hard he and Elder Willes are working together. They are planting seeds
all over the Riverside Mission. Picture "borrowed" from Elder Nelson.)

This week has been amazing. Love you all have a great week! Merry Christmas!

Elder Willes

ANOTHER GREAT WEEK IN EASTVALE

"The Gospel is perfect."

Hello everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in Eastvale. We continue to see a lot of blessings and Heavenly Father continues to help us each and every day! Elder Nelson and spend every extra minute finding and seeking for people to teach. This past week Elder Nelson and I found 2 new investigators and also 6 of our investigators came to church, Boom! Another Miracle! I LOVE MY MISSION! This week has been amazing. Here is how it all went down.

On Monday night we had a big windstorm in Eastvale but the wind wasn't going stop us. We were out trying to find more prepared people to teach. We went by to visit a referral that we had received and no one was home. Across the street was a less-active member's house, Ryan Chen. Ryan was baptized about 2 years ago and has been extremely less-active since then. Elder Nelson and I both felt really prompted that we needed to go by and knock on his door. We went and he let us in! We talked with Ryan for a little bit and shared a spiritual message with him and shared helpful scriptures found in the Book of Mormon. Ryan has a 15 year old son named Rui, who was baptized at the same time as his dad. Ryan talked about how he wants to be a good example to his son, so that he will serve a mission. We told him that he CAN be that example to his son, and he needs to keep the commandments to do that. It was a really spiritual experience and I was really grateful to have been there that night! More on him later! Also, Elder Nelson and I had pretty much the exact same thought when we knocked on the referral's door. We both thought, "We are not here for the referral." But when we both saw Ryan's house we both recognized that that was why we were there. Pretty cool how the Spirit works with you and your companion! 

We have lots of investigators progressing towards baptism. We are really hoping to have 4 baptisms in December and 4 in January. We met with Eva Wang, a Chinese woman that we contacted in her garage. We brought Li Di Xiong to the lesson and taught her about the Restoration. Eva is willing to read from the Book of Mormon which is awesome! We also had another lesson with Xun and Sara! We read through 3 Nephi 11 with them and invited them to be baptized. Sadly, they declined a baptismal date. A big obstacle for them is that they feel that they don't have a stable life here in the U.S.. Xun doesn't have a job and so we are praying for them that they can recognize the importance of baptism! They are the greatest people and are coming to Utah for a few days, with members, over the holidays. Please pray for them.

Wednesday we had our MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) which was super awesome. President Hammon and Sister Hammon, and the AP's, all gave great trainings and we are excited to implement what we learned to become better servants in the Lord's Hands!

Thursday we went on exchanges with the Eastvale Elders. Elder Hale and I went  out together and we worked in their area. We biked and walked a lot which was awesome! We were able to find 6 potential investigators for Elder Hale and his companion and we saw a lot of success that day, which was awesome as well!! Saturday morning we had another "Weekly Blitz." Elder Fairbanks and I went out together, and we were able to get a couple of referrals for the Eastvale Elders. It was awesome! The rest of the day we spent a lot of time out and about, doing some good old Seeking With Faith. The Lord has really been blessing us every single day!

Elder Hale and Elder Willes

Friday night we had another awesome English Class. We are trying to focus on growing our English Class, and helping more people attend so that they can feel the Spirit!

Sunday was another amazing day! We were able to have 6 investigators that attended church. Xun and Sara, Angela, Li Feng, Crystal, and also Vivian Wang! Before church, we met again with Crystal! We had the opportunity to teach her the Law of Chastity and also the Word of Wisdom. We moved her baptismal date to February 4th, because she feels like she needs more time to learn. It was a great lesson and the Spirit was definitely there! After church, we also got to meet with Vivian Wang, one of Tina Qu's friends that she brought to church! Vivian actually lives in Canada, but is progressing really fast! Overall, an amazing Sunday!

This past week has been amazing and we are so excited to continue to help all people to #LighttheWorld during this Christmas season and to truly Come Unto Christ. The Gospel is perfect. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

这个星期过得非常好

"This past week has been incredible! 

We currently have 4 investigators on date for baptism.

We have 4 investigators that came to church.

We found 4 new investigators this week! 

It was so awesome and we really have seen the Lord's hand."

大家好!!!! This past week has been another awesome week for Elder Nelson and I. We truly have seen many miracles and the Lord continues to bless us each and every day. We currently have a lot of investigators progressing towards baptism, and also 4 of our investigators currently have a baptismal date! We also had 4 of our investigators that came to church this past week, which was another miracle! 

Here is how my week went!

Monday night we had our first lesson with a new investigator from this last week, Burt Zhang! We met Burt while out doing some seeking with faith, and he allowed us to share a message with him! We shared the Restoration, and it was a pretty good lesson. Burt has some concerns about resurrection vs. reincarnation and so we are hoping that we can meet again to help him!

This week we went on exchanges with the AP's. Elder Gulbranson and I were together, and we had a great day! We went down to San Jacinto for their DLC and DDM Meetings. We also we were able to find an investigator for their area! We taught a man named John Marquart, and we taught him on his front porch. We taught the second half of the Restoration to him and I really felt the Spirit as I invited him to repent and change in his life. John accepted a baptismal date for January 7th and it was super cool experience! I love feeling the Spirit so strongly and so quickly on my mission. 

Elder Gulbranson and Elder Willes

Wednesday night we had another awesome English Class, and after class we had the opportunity to meet with Xun and Sara again! We taught them the Law of Tithing along with Li Di Xiong and Li Jie Mei. It was an awesome lesson, and they agreed to obey the Law of Tithing! This is a HUGE stretch of faith and money for them. I loved seeing their willingness to cling to faith instead of their doubts. We are going to invite them to be baptized this week so please please pray for them! 

Thursday we had a few meetings but spent most of our day was spent out and about doing some good old Seeking With Faith. We met a lot of really really cool Chinese people! Friday was another great day spent doing a lot of Seeking. We really have been trying to find more Chinese people to teach and the Lord has really blessed us for our efforts.

Saturday morning we had another Weekly Blitz for the Jurupa Elders in our Zone. Elder Steiner (one of the River Heights Elders) and I went out together, and we had an amazing Blitz! We talked to a lot of cool people and we were able to get 4 referrals for the Jurupa Elders which was awesome! That day, we also went on exchanges with the Jurupa Elders. Elder Roper came to our area to be with me, and Elder Nelson went to their area. We had another great day! That night, we had the opportunity to attend our Ward Christmas party. It was awesome, and a lot of the Chinese members came! That evening after the Christmas party, Elder Roper and I drove out to Riverside, to stop by and see Vincent Wang. We talked to him, and he allowed us to share another message with him! We also were able to teach his wife, Linda Wu, and that was super cool! We taught them the Restoration, and they had a lot of questions. We were able to resolve some of their concerns, and that was pretty great!!!! 

Elder Roper and Elder Willes

Sunday was amazing! We had 4 investigators that came to church this past week. Li Feng, Xun and Sara, and also Angela all came to Church this past Sunday!!!! It was so awesome, feeling the Spirit at church too. That night, we had the opportunity to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk, which was incredible! If you haven't watched it, you totally should. 

That night, we had the opportunity to teach Wang Jie Mei and Yang Di Xiong. Elder Nelson and I street contacted them this past week, and they just moved to Eastvale from Arcadia. They are super awesome! We taught them the Restoration, and the Spirit was so strong! 

They said that they felt a different  kind of happiness and peace when we came by and taught them. Wow. It was so amazing to see someone recognize the Spirit, and it was so cool! They accepted a baptismal date for January 14th, and so please pray for them as well! Truly a Miracle. 

This past week has been another amazing week. I love the Lord, and I love His work. Always remember during the Christmas season the perfect life and example of Jesus Christ. I know He is my Savior, and I know that He is my Redeemer. Love you all have a great week!!!!

Elder Willes

TURKEY BOWL STATS - 2 REC, 1 TD

Thanksgiving Dinner (MOM NOTE: Bless this family for sharing their holiday and feeding these missionaries.
This is the 2nd year in a row that Elder Willes has been to this member's home for Thanksgiving.)

Hello everyone! If you pay attention to the title of this email, there are my good old Turkey Bowl stats from this past years' Turkey Bowl. It was super fun, and I caught a TD too! This past week has been incredible, and we really have seen a lot of miracles. Elder Nelson and I this past week have found 3 new investigators, and we had 2 investigators that attended church this past Sunday which was awesome! Here is how my week went!

Tuesday was super cool! That morning, we had our weekly DLC and DDM meetings and received some great training. That evening, we were invited over to Shannon Yang's (a recent convert) house, to have dinner with her and some investigators! Shannon is on fire, and invited Aileen Xu, her husband, and Linda over too, and we all ate dinner together! It was super awesome, and it is super cool to see a recent convert being so missionary-minded!

Elder Willes with Linda, Shannon, Aileen and Elder Nelson. Shannon invited these missionaries
and investigators over for dinner. Shannon is a new convert. (Aileen's husband took the picture.)

Wednesday morning we had an awesome lesson with April Huang, a new investigator that we contacted at Harada Park. April is so prepared! We taught her about the Restoration, and it was an awesome lesson! April told us she used to try and attend a Christian church in China, and she has been looking for someone to help her learn more about the Savior and also to accept His teachings. So when we found April at the park she felt like she was being helped. April Huang accepted a baptismal date for December 31st and we are super excited for her! 

Thursday was Thanksgiving! Our Zone, the La-Sierra Zone, and the Corona Zone held a turkey bowl Thanksgiving morning. It was pretty fun! That day we also spent time doing our Weekly Planning Session and discussed how we can help our investigators progress and also help the work moved forward in our area. That afternoon, we went to Sister Budica's house to have an awesome Thanksgiving Dinner! If any of you remember, I went there last year for Thanksgiving too! Sister Budica is super awesome, and they made us some really good food! That night, we had a Zone Activity which was super fun too!

Friday we spent a lot of time finding and doing some good old seeking with faith. We have talking to some really cool Chinese people recently and the Lord has really blessed us through our continued efforts in finding and diligence! Finding people to teach is full of far more rejections than anything else but when you find someone who is really trying to find the Lord, I feel so grateful that we keep looking and looking.

Saturday morning we had a Weekly Blitz for a companionship in our Zone. Elder Hale and I went out together. We were able to get one referral for the other missionaries, and I talked to a lady from Taiwan too! That afternoon, we also had another lesson with Crystal at the church! We brought Su Jie Mei along to the lesson, and it was another great lesson! We taught Crystal the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Spirit was really strong! 

This week we did a "Church Tour," which we have been advertising through our English Class. We had 6 people come too! We had 3 people from our "English Class," and also Aileen Xu and Linda came too! After the Tour, Aileen told us that that aren't sure if they are going to continue to attend our church. Aileen said that they want to attend a full Chinese Church here, to have the experience. It was really sad. Please pray for them! Later that afternoon, we went to Riverside to visit a referral for a Chinese couple that we had received from some other missionaries. We met Vincent Wang, who is a super cool guy! Vincent is an Atheist, and has a lot of questions about Christianity. He asked us some pretty tough questions, and we truly felt the Lord's hand as we answered all of his questions. We are going to go back this week, and hopefully meet his wife too! We are super excited about that!

Sunday was another awesome day! We had two investigators come to Church this past week. Li Feng and also Crystal came to church this past week! Right after church, we had another lesson with Li Feng! We invited Li Di Xiong to help us with the lesson, and we taught him the Restoration, which was an awesome lesson! Please pray for Li Feng, that he can understand the truthfulness of the Gospel. That night, we had a lesson with Bill Qin, another new investigator that we found this past week. We invited Tony and Tina to come with us to that lesson, and it was pretty good! We taught him the Restoration as well, and it was pretty good! Please pray for him, and also all of our investigators. I love the Lord and I love His work!!!!!

Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

上周我们在教会有七个慕道友

Thankful and Grateful

Hello everyone! This past week has been another awesome week here in Eastvale, and the Lord continues to bless us every single day with Miracles! This past week, we were able to find 1 new investigator, and we also had 7 investigators that attended Church this past week! 

On Wednesday morning I had the opportunity to interview the University Chinese Elders' candidate for baptism! His name is Yang Di Xiong. It was super cool to have that opportunity. He should have had another interview this past week with President Hammon and I hope that he is able to be baptized! Soon after a weekly miracle came our way when we received a phone call from Jenny Jackson. We first taught Jenny all the way back in June and since then we haven't been able to teach her. We continued to call her and text her, and after multiple attempts, we were about to give up, and then she called us and said that she wanted to meet! We went over, and had a conversation with her, and answered a lot of her concerns about the church. Over the past couple of months, Jenny has had a couple of anti-influences and friends who have ditched her because she was attending church and learning about the Gospel, so please pray for Jenny that we can continue to help her learn of the truth! 

This week we also went to Corona, CA and had lunch with Du Di Xiong and Du Jie Mei! They are awesome, and they gave us some super good Chinese food. That night, we met with Mary Kong at the Harada Park again. We taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon, and invited her to church! It was a busy day because right after that, we had another lesson with Xun and Sara. We met with them at the Li's house, and taught them the about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. We are pretty sure that we will teach them about Tithing this next week which has been a real concern for them, so please pray for them! 

Friday afternoon we got to meet with Shannon! We reviewed the Restoration of the Gospel with her, and she is such an incredible member of the Church already. She has a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is doing awesome! 

Saturday afternoon we had a lesson with Crystal again! We met at the Serendipity Building (our chapel), and we taught her the Plan of Salvation. We invited Shannon (recent convert) to the lesson, and she came and helped us! It was an incredible lesson, and Shannon talked about the importance of baptism, which was super cool! The Spirit was really strong, and Crystal accepted a baptismal invitation for December 24th! Wouldn't that be the best Christmas ever? We are super excited for her.

Sunday was another awesome day! We had 7 investigators that came to church. 7 at church baby which was truly another miracle. Xun and Sara, Angela, Mary Kong, Li Feng (who we recently taught a couple of weeks ago), and Aileen and Linda all came! It was incredible, and we are going to try and meet with all of them again this next upcoming week. 

I have been pretty sick this week, but the work must go on. Our English classes were both great. We also had a Correlation Meeting with Hua Di Xiong and discussed the work in our area! And as usual, any spare time we spent out and about doing some more good old Seeking With Faith, which is awesome!

This week I am so grateful for this time of Thanksgiving, and the happiness that gratitude and thankfulness can bring into peoples lives. I am so grateful for my family and your amazing example to me. You have helped me so much to become the missionary that I am today. I am so grateful for your unconditional love and support that you show to family and also those around you. You truly are an examples of Christlike love, and that is such a great example to me. I am so grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I have to be here, and to be serving the Lord at this time. The mission is truly the greatest and happiest time of my life. I am so grateful for the extended time that I have left, and I am so excited to give it all that I have to serve the Lord! I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and for the Savior, Jesus Christ. They have given me so much. I love that I am out trying to teach others about them. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve my Chinese brothers and sisters, who I love so much. They are amazing! My Chinese has been improving, and I can say most things that I want to now. I can write and read a little bit too now! It is pretty awesome, and I am going to work my hardest to improve my Chinese. 

I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father at this time. The Mission is the best! Love you all have a great week! Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey for me.

Elder Willes 

DIANA WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!

Words cannot begin to express how much I love the Lord's work. 

This is the best experience of my whole life. THE MISSION IS THE BEST!!!!! 

Hello everyone! This past week has been an incredible one in the good old California, Riverside Mission. Elder Nelson and I have seen a lot of miracles this past week, including Diana Sun's baptism this past Sunday. That was a special day. It is a day I will never forget. Elder Nelson and I have had another incredible week here in Eastvale! We are working so hard and the Lord is really blessing and helping us.

Elder Crowther, Elder Nelson, Diana, & Elder Willes

We were able to teach Xun and Sara again this week! They are a great family. We read through Alma 32 with them and we all really felt the spirit. Xun and Sara came to church again this past week and are slowly progressing. Please pray for them!

Elder Willes and Elder Nelson with Xun and Sara and their baby

Wednesday morning we had another lesson with Diana and that afternoon, Diana had her interview and was found worthy for baptism! This week we also had some good old service time at the Jensen Alvarado Ranch. After doing service, we whipped out some homemade tortillas and also apple turnover things that were super good! Any spare time this week we spent out and about Seeking With Faith. We also attended a Stake MCM Meeting, where we discussed the missionary work in the Jurupa Stake. Our Zone has improved a lot over the last transfer. I love that we are all digging in and working hard. That is awesome!

This week at one of our English classes, (Friday night) we had a lot of new Chinese people come, We had about 12 people there which is a great turnout for us! On Saturday morning, we had our Transfer Breakfast at President Jergensen's home. That was pretty cool! We also had the opportunity to teach Sharon Yang, someone that we met while Seeking With Faith last week. We taught her in her garage with the garage door open (because her husband wasn't home) and it was an awesome lesson! I am always reminded that the Spirit can reach us any place at any time if we just have a willing heart. Sharon Yang accepted a baptismal date for December 17th! It was an awesome lesson. We also had our Chinese Ward Group Activity for Thanksgiving and had a food contest! Jing, one of our investigators, brought some NiuRouMian, and won 2nd place for the Best Dish! It was super good and we had a lot of investigators come! 

Some of our investigators at the Chinese Ward Group Activity

Elder Willes & Liang Di Xiong

Elder Willes and Deng

Another highlight from the week was the visit from Elder and Sister Keetch. He spoke to us yesterday, which is why I'm a day late in emailing. It was such an amazing experience and I really felt the Spirit. He also taught us how important our callings as missionaries are and how much the Lord trusts his missionaries when we really give our best to Him. 

Elder Willes, Elder and Sister Keetch & Elder Nelson

Sunday was so awesome. We had 6 investigators at church! That was incredible. It is so cool when investigators come to church. Right after church, we had the opportunity to have Diana Sun's baptism! It was a special day. Liang Di Xiong spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Li Di Xiong spoke on the importance of baptism. I had the opportunity to baptize Diana which was super amazing! Diana bore a powerful testimony that day! President & Sister Hammon attended her baptism, So did our investigators Aileen Xu and her sister Linda!! We met them at the park this past week! Aileen and Linda came to English Class, church on Sunday, and Diana's baptism! It was so cool, and we are looking forward to teaching them more about Jesus Christ. That night, we went with Hua Di Xiong and taught a referral, Crystal. Crystal just moved here from San Diego and is super awesome! Please pray for her, and all of our investigators. 

Words cannot begin to express how much I love the Lord's work. This is the best experience of my whole life, and THE MISSION IS THE BEST!!!!! I love you all and hope you have the best week ever!

Elder Willes

我很喜欢我的传教

We continue to see miracles and blessings everyday. I am loving the work here!  

Hello everyone! This past week has been another great week here in Eastvale. Transfers came around this past Saturday, and Elder Nelson and I are both staying in Eastvale! We are really excited to continue to help our Chinese brothers and sisters Come Unto Christ. This past week, we were able to find 3 new investigators and also we had 3 investigators that came to Stake Conference this past Sunday! It was awesome. Here is how our week went! 

Elder Ly and Elder Willes catching up at MLC. Elder Ly is now a Zone Leader in Lake Elsinore

Monday Night we got to visit with the Li Family again and they are so awesome! They are doing well and are going to Utah sometime over Christmas vacation! They are strong members of the Church, and Li Di Xiong loves helping us out in our missionary work!

Tuesday morning we had our Weekly DLC and DDM Meetings. We received great training and learned a lot about becoming better missionaries. That night, we had our Zone's Halloween Activity. We had the opportunity to watch (with President Hammon's permission) The Other Side of Heaven, which was a pretty good movie! Our Zone did a Blackout which was pretty cool!

The Halloween Blackout

Wednesday morning we had the opportunity to have another lesson with Diana. She is doing awesome and progressing and learning more about the commandments. It was a great lesson. Diana has such an incredible understanding and willingness to keep all of God's commandments! She is an example to me of someone who willingly acts upon her faith. We also met with Annie Zhang, the recent convert who moved into the Eastvale Ward from Diamond Bar. She is awesome! 

On Thursday we had our MLC (Missionary Leadership Conference) with all of the Zone Leaders, STL's, the AP's, and President and Sister Hammon. I was asked to play the piano for the meeting and everything went pretty well! Later that evening President Hammon called me, and asked me to be in charge of playing some hymns when Elder Keetch (a member of the Seventy) comes to visit our mission next week! That evening, we also had our first Chinese Correlation Meeting with our new Ward Mission Leader, Hua Di Xiong, and also with our recently called Ward Missionaries!!!!! Hua Di Xiong served his mission in Leeds, England, and is from Shanghai, China. He is super awesome, and it is so great to see all of the Chinese members receiving and accepting callings and progressing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Friday night we had another awesome English Class. After our class we had another lesson with Xun and Sara! Hua Di Xiong was with us and as we taught them we were able to find out one of their concerns. It turns out they Xun and Sara feel that they won't be able to pay their tithing. Please pray for them. I know that if they can commit to obey God's commandments, He will bless them. They are a great family.

Saturday was another pretty awesome day. That morning, we had another Weekly Blitz. Elder Fairbanks and I went out together. Elder Fairbanks was my Zone Leader in the Mt. Roubidoux Zone a while ago. It was fun to be working side by side with him again. We were able to get 2 referrals for the other missionaries in their area. The rest of the day we were really struggling. No one wanted to talk to us and nothing seemed to be happening in our area. All missionaries have these days and they can be long and hard. We kept trying to have a good and positive attitude but we were having a hard time. While we were Seeking With Faith, and trying to be patient in our trials and afflictions, the Lord blessed us. We met an awesome Chinese guy named Leao Li, or Li Feng. He is from Beijing, and a really nice guy! We taught him specifically about  having faith in Jesus Christ and also about prayer. It was awesome and truly a miracle!

Sunday we attended Stake Conference and it was awesome! Diana, Xun, and Sara all came! President Hammon came right up to all of our investigators after the meeting to introduce himself. President Hammon is awesome and was so good to our investigators! Sunday afternoon we had the opportunity to teach Jewel Ge and her son Vincent Liu. We taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel. They currently attend another Christian church, but please pray for them that they can read from the Book of Mormon! Are your reading daily from the Book of Mormon? It will bless your life too. Love you all and have a great week!

One more from our blackout

Elder Willes