MIRACLES (Monday, March 19, 2018)

"We believe firmly the best time we have in the mission field is being with missionaries. They are wonderful. They are smart. They are spiritual. They have testimonies. They are innovative. They want to serve the Lord. They want to do good things. They want to progress and grow. They are some of the finest young men and women in the entire world." President Hammon, California Riverside Mission 

We tried to send Elder Willes cupcakes in the mail for his birthday. Mostly they melted. :)

Hello everyone! This past week has been incredible. Thank you to so many who have remembered me in some way for my birthday. Messages from home sure pump me up. Thank you so much!!

Elder Johnson is my new companion, and he is from Layton, UT. He is a great missionary! We have a lot in common and are having fun and working hard together. We have been able to find 4 new investigators, and 2 of them came to church this past week! The Lord continues to bless us everyday, and I am loving the work! Here is how our week went down. 

Elder Johnson and Elder Willes

The incoming missionaries and their trainers. (Pics borrowed from President Hammon's blog.)

Monday and Tuesday I spent with Elder Osberg, who is training this transfer as well. We spent a lot of time out and about, doing some good old Seeking With Faith. We also did a home visit with a really cool family in the Spanish Ward. Elder Yang has been transferred to an English speaking area before he heads home to China next month. He was really happy about that and I'm happy for him.

On Wednesday morning Elder Osberg and I went to the Mission Office for the trainer/trainee meeting. We had a meeting in the morning for all of the trainers, after which we got to meet all of the new incoming missionaries and have lunch with them. After lunch, we then were paired with our new companions, and then we had a testimony meeting! After that, our companions got to put their pictures up on the board in President Hammon's office, which was cool. Right after our meeting ended, about 20 minutes after, Elder Johnson and I taught a lesson! We taught a lady named JiYi. Elder Johnson got to invite her to baptism, and that was super cool! We also taught this week 2 new investigators. We taught Allen Lou, and his friend Dona. 

Friday was amazing. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet with Wang Guili! The next part you guys are not going to believe - but I am so excited to tell you!!!! When we followed up with Wang Guili about her Book of Mormon reading, she told us that she had read up to Jacob 3. That is 147 pages in the Chinese Book of Mormon!!!! When we asked her what kind of things she has learned from the Book of Mormon, she replied and told us that she reads it as if it were any other book, but when she faces a challenge/struggle, she REMEMBERS what she has read and applies it into her life. WOW!!! It was an incredible lesson, and she is doing awesome! She has accepted a baptismal date for April 22nd. Truly a Miracle! 

Saturday morning we had another Weekly Blitz. Elder Pells and I went out together, and we found a lot of referrals for the missionaries in their area. That afternoon, we did some good old Seeking With Faith. In the evening, we had the opportunity to teach another new investigator from this past week, Fan QingSong! He is super cool, and likes to skateboard. We taught him about the Restoration, and he also accepted a baptismal date for April 29th! We are super excited for him. 

Sunday was another great day. Fan QingSong came with Hank to the University Heights Ward, and also YiHang Yuan came to the YSA ward! That evening after some Seeking With Faith, we then went and visited Hank again. He is doing awesome, and we are preparing to help him receive the Mel. Priesthood. Please pray for him and all of our current investigators! 

Sorry this email is super long haha but there were just so many Miracles, I was so excited to tell all of you! Anyways, I love the Lord, and I love my mission. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. The Book of Mormon is true. Love you all have a great week! 

Elder Willes

[Mom note: The California Riverside Mission has become a smart phone mission. It was strange to see that Nathan
had updated his Facebook page. Elder Willes hasn't shared much with us about his feelings about the smart phone.
I'm sure it's a bit of an adjustment.]

TRAINING (Monday, March 12, 2018)

"I visibly saw a light coming from YiHang Yuan, and I know that he is in the process of changing his life around. It is such a neat thing to see. The power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real! I know that to be true."

The look of a happy and busy missionary

Elder Willes and Elder Maughan with matching ties

Hello everyone! This past week has been another pretty great week here in the CRM. Transfers came again this past week, and I was told that I am training! I am pretty excited about that. [Mom note: The CRM hasn't received a new Chinese speaking missionary since Elder Crowther, who came in November of 2016]. My new companion's name is Elder Johnson and he is from Utah. He is visa waiter and is waiting for a visa to Taiwan. I pick him up on Wednesday. President Hammon also told me the CRM is getting a missionary from Taiwan next transfer. [Mom note: Elder Yang, Nathan's current companion, goes home in April. Elder Yang has been transferred to an English speaking area.] 

Elder Yang and I were able to find 1 new investigator this week and Wang GuiLi and YiHang Yuan both came to church! Definitely a highlight. They are both doing super well and we are praying for their progression in the Gospel! 

Tuesday was a super awesome day! That afternoon we taught Wang GuiLi again! Some background on her... Wang GuiLi is from Harbin, China, which is super Northern China. She is so awesome. Her husband is going to school at UCR and we first contacted her walking on campus. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and it was an incredible lesson. We really focused on the Atonement and repentance, and the Spirit was so strong. On campus that day, we finished the lesson and invited Wang GuiLi to offer the closing prayer. During the prayer, she asked for forgiveness for not being kind to her husband that morning. It was one of the most spiritual prayers I have ever heard! While I've been on my mission, I have never seen anyone grasp a Gospel principle as quickly as Wang GuiLi did. That day she was completely ready to learn and hear about the Atonement and repentance. The Spirit really taught her, and it was such a blessing to be a part of that! Please pray for her, that she can continue to progress. We are very excited for her. 

We have been walking a lot over the past week and we have met some really cool Chinese people! Any free time we have, we Seek with Faith. I am always surprised at the people who are ready and the conditions that we may find them in. Often those circumstances don't seem likely, but the Lord knows who is ready and then we just need to have enough faith with actions to contact them.

We had another lesson with Jason Ti. We showed him the General Conference talk by Elder Christofferson from the October, General Conference. Elder Christofferson spoke about our need to align our hearts and actions with the Lord's. "If we yearn to dwell in Christ and have Him dwell in us, then holiness is what we seek. ...The doctrine of Christ expresses what we must do to receive atoning grace. It is to believe and have faith in Christ, to repent and be baptized, and to receive the Holy Ghost, “and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” This is the gate, our access to the Savior’s atoning grace and to the strait and narrow path leading to His kingdom.

“Wherefore, if ye shall press forward [on that path], feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."" 

Jason said to us that he knows that what we share is true, but that he is not willing to act upon his answer. Super sad! I love him so much. He has taken so many steps forward but has really slowed down. We had to pause him and told him that we will not be meeting anymore, which was sad and hard. I know that when we have the faith to pause people, Heavenly Father will put those who are prepared to accept the Gospel, in our path. It was super sad, but I know Jason will accept the Gospel one day. He is such a great guy.

Friday night we had another great lesson with YiHang Yuan! He is doing so well. We taught him the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom, and he accepted to live them! Random fact, Yihang Yuan is a straight baller at the piano. The guy seriously is a beast, and makes my piano playing skills look bad haha. He currently is on date for April 1st, and we are super excited for him! 

We had another Weekly Blitz. Elder Egbert and I went out together in the pouring rain, which was fun! We tracted a bunch of houses, and that was pretty cool! That afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet with John Yang, the recent convert who was baptized in this area a couple of months ago. We taught him the importance of the temple and family history. That was super awesome! We also attended the Saturday evening session of the Riverside Stake Conference. That was super cool too.

Elder Willes and Elder Egbert

After Stake Conference

Sunday was so so awesome! Both Wang GuiLi and YiHang Yuan came to Stake Conference! It was so awesome. After the meeting, President and Sister Hammon came up to talk to YiHang Yuan. I visibly saw a light coming from YiHang Yuan, and I know that he is in the process of changing his life around. It is such a neat thing to see. The power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real! I know that to be true. That afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet with Will Xue, who we street contacted this past week. We taught him the Restoration, which was pretty awesome. Please pray for him as well, that he may know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon! That night, we had the opportunity to visit Hank! Hank is doing awesome. Please pray for him. He is thinking about receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and going to the temple! Pray for Hank!

Elder Yang, Hank and Elder Willes

This has been such an incredible week. I am super excited to train, and we are going to work hard! Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

STEADILY IMPROVING (Monday, March 5, 2018)

Elder Willes on exchanges

Hello! am so sorry, but today we have no time to email. Things here have been super crazy but this past week has been so, so awesome. Elder Yang and I are seeing so, so many miracles in our area!!!!! This past week we were able to find 2 new investigators and things are steadily improving here at UCR. This past week, I have really tried to focus on improving my personal study and having the faith to know we can find those ready to accept the Gospel. I love the Lord and I love His work. Things are going awesome here! I am so excited to continue to labor in the Lord's Vineyard, and help those in need to Come Unto Christ. 

Also, after fasting and prayer I have finally made a decision. August 28th, will be my official outgoing date. I am going to continue to give it all that I have to help my Chinese brothers and sisters to come to know their Savior! Hurrah for Israel! Love you all and have a great week! (Mom note: It's going to be an extremely quick turnaround for Nathan. He will come home sometime August 28th and will need to be at BYU orientation on the 30th. School starts a couple of days after that.)

pics "borrowed" from President Hammon's blog

Elder Willes and Elder Yang awarded a Golden Plunger Award for a really clean apartment

(Mom note: Keith has started asking Nathan a couple of random questions each week. I thought I'd include some of his answers.) Our apartment is close to the UCR campus. It is about a 10 minute bike ride. The church is about a 15 minute bike ride from our apartment. So both very close. My knees and foot are feeling better. The Lord has definitely been blessing me. I am currently studying in Mormon. I am reading the Book of Mormon in Chinese (a mix of characters and Pinyin). 

Elder Willes

WOW - WHAT A WEEK (February 26, 2018)

"The Gospel is here to comfort the afflicted, but also to afflict those that become comfortable. 

Always remember that our testimonies are a living, breathing thing. We must constantly strive to put our faith and trust in the Savior and to be constantly acting to grow our faith. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that it is so simple and perfect. It changes lives, and I know that because it has changed mine."

Multi-Zones on top of Mt. Rubidoux (pic "borrowed' from President Hammon's Blog)

Hey everyone! This past week has been another incredible week here in the good old CRM. Elder Yang and I have really seen many miracles and had a GREAT week! I know I say that a lot, but the Lord definitely continues to bless us each and everyday. We have found 4 new investigators from this past week, and also we currently have 4 investigators on date for baptism. Please continue to pray for our investigators that they may continue to progress. We are super excited for some great things that are happening in our area! Loving' it! Seriously I am so PUMPED for our area right now. 

Monday night we were out doing some Seeking With Faith and we met a super cool Chinese guy named Peixi. We walked and talked with him for a while. He was super cool and we got his contact info! More info on him later.

Tuesday was another day full of walking and talking to people, doing some good old Seeking With Faith.

Wednesday morning we had service with Feeding America, which was fun! That afternoon, we had the opportunity to teach Peixi! We met with him at the UCR Institute building, and it was a pretty great lesson! We taught him about the Restoration. Peixi currently doesn't have a religion, but he does attend another church with his friends. Please pray for him! That night, we had another great English Class. After class we taught Jason Ti. We showed him the General Conference talk from April of 2017, Elder Costa's talk. Remember that one? He loved the talk, but still has some concerns that we are struggling to help him overcome. Please pray for him that he can come to know of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Thursday morning and afternoon we had our Multi-Zones. We received a lot of great trainings and I definitely learned a lot. Our mission is becoming a smartphone mission pretty soon, and so that will be pretty interesting. Also, we are going to have WeChat, which will be a big benefit for the Chinese work here. (mom note: WeChat is a Chinese social media and messaging app) That evening after our Multi-Zones Conference, Elder Yang and I taught another new investigator from this past week, August Pan. We first contacted August on campus this past week, and he is at UCR studying film. He loves Marvel movies, and is a super cool guy. We taught him about the Restoration and it was a great lesson! We are excited to continue to work with him.

Friday afternoon we had the opportunity to teach Liu Tianchi again! We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was pretty great again. Liu Tianchi is struggling a little bit as far as a sincere desire to accept the Gospel Message. Please pray for him as well, and that he can attend church! That night, we had another great English Class and had 3 people come. All three of them are our current investigators :)

Saturday morning our ward and the Canyon Crest Ward had a Softball and Pancake Activity. It was fun to watch some softball, and was good talking to some members as well! I didn't play. The knees and feet are giving me some probs. That day we also got to move a ton of mulch around in someone's backyard. That evening after doing some Seeking With Faith, we then had another home visit with Hank! He is doing so well. He was Skying with Tina (who now lives in NoCal) and so I got to see her too! They are doing awesome. We are praying that Hank can get the Melchizedek Priesthood soon and they can go to the temple to be sealed! They are so awesome.

Sunday was another awesome and busy day. Jason Ti came to church again! This past Sunday was our Ward Conference, and that was pretty good! Jason loves church, which is great. YiHang Yuan came for about the last 5 minutes, but we had the opportunity to teach him directly after our meetings at the building. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was a great lesson, We got to ask him some  a lot of inspired questions and share a bunch of scriptures with him. He currently is on date for baptism for April 1st! Please pray for him. We also had another lesson with Tan Cheng, and his wife Hou Yu. We first contacted Tan Cheng at the bus stop a couple of weeks ago. He was super interested, but we struggled to set up a time due to his midterms and school projects. We finally got to meet, and he brought his wife too! They are such a nice couple, and we taught them the Restoration. It was such a spiritual lesson! WOW. They asked us some great questions, and committed to baptism on April 8th! Such a blessing. At the end of the lesson, Tan Cheng asked us how he could learn and understand more. We then helped him download the Gospel Library App, so that he has access to other church materials. Please pray for them that they can resist false teachings and come to know the truth! 

Sorry this email is so long but wow, what a week! I am super pumped for our area, Our Ward Conference was this past Sunday. I learned something that I loved. The Gospel is here to comfort the afflicted, but also to afflict those that become comfortable. Always remember that our testimonies are a living, breathing thing. We must constantly strive to put our faith and trust in the Savior and to be constantly acting to grow our faith. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that it is so simple and perfect. It changes lives, and I know that because it has changed mine. I love my mission. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes

MIRACLES AT UCR (and 18 months this week)

"It is hard to sum up an entire week of miracles in one email, but if there is one thing that I want everyone to know it is that I know that Jesus is the Christ, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true."

Elder Yang and Elder Willes in front of the #selfie wall we put together for our Chinese New Year Activity

on campus

Hello everyone! This past week has been another super busy and awesome week for Elder Yang and I. We have seen so many miracles this week! We were able to find 3 new investigators and have 3 investigators on date for baptism. Please continue to pray for our investigators and for us that we will be able to help them learn and progress through the Spirit. We have been walking and biking a ton over the past little while and things are definitely picking up here! Potentially very soon, we will start covering the YSA Ward and become the YSA Chinese Elders which would allow Elder Yang and I to cover all of the colleges in the Riverside Stake. We are super pumped about that! 

One of the definite highlights from this week was going to the temple on Tuesday. It was a straight up spiritual feast that day that ended with a great District meeting. Elder Yang and I spend every free minute Seeking With Faith and most of Wednesday and Thursday was spent doing just that. The cool blessing is, that we now have a ton of potential investigators and we hope to meet with them over the next week! 

After our English Class on Wednesday night, we had the opportunity to meet with Shelby, who has been coming to our English Class for the past couple of weeks. Super cool background on Shelby---there was one day a couple of weeks ago when Elder Yang and I were taking a quick 15 minute break from Seeking With Faith. We were in the Institute building on campus. Right as we were about to leave and walk out, we heard a knock at the door. A Chinese lady was standing outside the Institute door. We were super surprised! People looking for us, just doesn't happen too often. We opened the door and she explained that she was looking for our English Class and was she at the correct place. We told her yes it was! Not to mention she dropped by only hours before our English Class. It is truly amazing how the Lord prepares individuals and puts them in our path as missionaries. It is our job to listen and be ready. If we would have left or not have been there, we may have never gotten to know Shelby! Definitely a miracle! 

Friday afternoon we had another lesson with Liu Tianchi. He is doing so awesome! We taught him about the Plan of Salvation and he seemed to really enjoy the lesson and feel the Spirit! He accepted a baptismal date for March 25th, and so we are super excited about that! That night, we also had a YSA Chinese New Year Activity. We had a bunch of Chinese food and a fair amount of YSA students came. Jason Ti was one who came. He loved playing Chinese chess and teaching some of the YSA kids how to play! It was super awesome. Right after the activity, we had the opportunity to meet with Chen ZhenHang, who is one of our investigators. We taught him a little about the Restoration. It was a really spiritual lesson! He gave an amazing closing prayer and the Spirit was very strong. I love these people so much. I am learning so much from them.

Elder Yang and I in the car with the ASL/University Heights Ward Elders

Saturday afternoon we had a SUPER COOL lesson with two new investigators from this past week, Tiffany and Alicia. We first contacted them on campus. We taught them about the Restoration and it was an incredible lesson! Tiffany, who had never said a prayer in her life, offered the closing prayer. The Spirit was so strong. She was so happy after saying that prayer! Isn't it so cool to think of someone offering their very first prayer? It is powerful when someone understands that God listens to them when they speak to Him. Please pray for Tiffany and Alicia that we can continue to help them Come Unto Christ. The also met with John Yang, a recent convert who was baptized here a couple of months ago. We reviewed some lessons with him, including tithing, so that he can continue to progress. That was super cool as well! Saturday night, Elder Yang and I were doing some more Seeking With Faith and we contacted a man named Jose. We started talking with him and he said that he had some time to meet with us right then. Another miracle! We walked back to the Institute with him and taught him the Restoration. We picked Jose up as a new investigator for the YSA Elders in the other Zone, because he is not Chinese. It was a super cool experience. He really enjoyed the Book of Mormon which is always  awesome! 

Sunday was another great day. Jason Ti came to church again! He literally biked 30 minutes uphill to be at church. That is great faith. Please pray for him that he can continue to progress and receive an answer to his prayers!

The before and after haircut pics. Oh Great Clips!

This past week I hit 18 months. Crazy! I will continue to labor diligently until the end! I will give it my all and I am super excited for the time I still have left to serve the Lord! 

Sorry this email is super long haha. It is hard to sum up an entire week of Miracles in one email, but if there is one thing that I want everyone to know, it is that I know that Jesus is the Christ, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. The Book of Mormon is true. President Nelson is God's Prophet on the earth today. I love this Gospel with all of my heart. I love the Chinese people. I love my mission. I love you all. Have a great week!

Elder Willes

A GREAT WEEK AT UCR (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)

Hey everyone! My p-day is today (Tuesday) because we got to go to the temple. Sorry again, this email is going to be pretty short but this past week has been another awesome week here in the UCR area. Elder Yang and I were able to find 2 new investigators this week, and Jason Ti came to church! Today we had the opportunity to go to the temple, which was so so awesome! I will send you all some pictures. 

Our view after leaving the Redlands Temple

#caferioafterthetemple #tendermercies 

I love my mission and things are going great. We have been walking and biking a lot recently, and the Lord has really blessed us for that. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes 

BACK AT UCR - what is uppp

"Seeking With Faith" - You've got to find them before you can teach them!

Hello everyone! This past week has been another great week. Sorry for no email last p-day. I moved back to UCR on Monday and then we immediately went to work to find some people to teach here. Elder Yang and I are ready to kick off another transfer together. We have really been working hard and the Lord definitely has blessed us over the past week. I have seen lots of small miracles. This past week, we were able to find 3 new investigators and we even had an investigator come to church! We were super excited about that. Here is how my week went!

Monday evening we hit the ground running. I dropped off my stuff and Elder Yang and I headed out and spent that evening out and about doing some good old Seeking With Faith. We have been talking to a lot of people and have seen a lot of miracles from being willing look for those who might be seeking and ready! Tuesday we had Zone and District Meetings and the rest of the afternoon (you guessed it) we spent on campus doing some more Seeking With Faith. You gotta find them before you can teach them.

Wednesday was super awesome! That morning we worked with Feeding America, and got to sort through a bunch of food. I have really learned to love giving service and love the blessings it brings into all of our lives! That afternoon, we were able to have a lesson with 2 new investigators we found this past week, John and Lan Huang! We first met Lan on Monday night on campus, and also her friend Cindy. We set up a time to meet, and Lan brought her boyfriend John to the lesson! We taught them about the Restoration and it was a pretty great lesson! Wednesday night we also had a pretty great English Class and 2 people came. That is one of our goals in the coming weeks to build up that program again on campus.

Elder Steiner from my old Jurupa Zone. He is a stud missionary.

Elder Roper and I. He is also a friend from my old Jurupa Zone and is a super great missionary too!

Thursday afternoon we spent a bunch of time again out and about doing some good old Seeking With Faith. That afternoon on campus, we contacted a man named Ge ShaoKui. He invited us to come by his home later that evening and to teach him! When we went to see Ge ShaoKui at his home, we began teaching him about the Restoration. It was a great lesson until we got to the Book of Mormon. That was a real stretch for Ge ShaoKui and he then objected  to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He told us that he wasn't interested in learning anymore. It was really sad. I expressed to him that we are here to find and help people that are prepared and that perhaps he was simply not ready at that time. It was sad, but I know with all of my heart that the Book of Mormon is true!

Friday we spent a lot of time doing some Seeking With Faith as well. That night after our English Class, we had the opportunity to meet with YiHang Yuan, who was a former investigator from when I was last in this area. We taught him about the Restoration again and he accepted an invitation to be baptized on March 11th! We are super excited for him. Please pray for him! It was a very spiritual lesson and I feel grateful to have been able to teach him again..

Saturday night was super super cool. That night, we had the opportunity to visit the one and only HANK!!!!! Ahh man I love that guy! He is doing so well! Hank is currently preparing to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and to enter into the temple as well. He currently is serving as a Ward Missionary in the University Heights Ward and it is the coolest thing to see his growth. He is an incredible member of the church! Tina, Hank's wife, now lives in the Bay Area because of work, but it sounds like she is doing awesome too!

Elder Willes and Hank

Sweet potato and rice soup :)

Sunday was another great day! YiHang Yuan came to church!!!!! He only came for the first hour, but we were really happy to see him there. During second hour of church, we attended the Temple Prep class with Hank, which was super awesome! That afternoon, we spent some more time Seeking With Faith and also hanging up a bunch of fliers on campus for our English Class. 

We are really excited to continue the work of the Lord here in the UCR Chinese area. I love my mission. I love the Lord. I know that because of Him, each and every one of us has the opportunity to repent and to become clean. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Willes