PIG'S FOOT... JUST AS YUMMY AS IT LOOKS!

Wow another week done.  The time is flying.  My family doing family history on my birthday?...what?  Dad way to be with those names! 45? Nice work! Congrats Nate on the swoosh. Super awesome :) Jake you will get it next time!  Mom way to be an awesome DJ.  haha  That is hilarious.

This week was a great one. Consisted of 2 exchanges. One was with Elder Lllu and he came to my area. We found a great new investigator. We approached him and he didn't want to talk to us but I felt like I should show him the questions of the soul we use  when contacting and asked him which one he would like to obtain an answer to.  He said he really would like to know where we go after we die? Elder Lllu flipped to Alma 40 and taught that through Christ we will all be resurrected and taught about this life's purpose. It was super cool and we exchanged numbers with him. The next day he called us and said he would like to meet!  Elder Westover and I took him to the chapel and gave him a chapel tour. Spirit was really strong and we set a baptismal date with him for late June. Then we met with him again and taught the first lesson. Funny sidenote: Our member was there at the church and we all sang I am a Child of God and he was singing SO loud.  I was pinching my arm so I would not laugh haha so funny. But the lesson was really great and he is know reading the Book of Mormon and praying. He also came to all 3 hours of church on Sunday :) He's super great! His name is Huang2 Di4Xiong1.  Keep him in your prayers!

As for Habip he is doing great. He passed his baptismal interview on Friday and has been 5 straight days with no smoking. He is set to be baptized this coming Thursday. We are really excited for him :) Such a golden investigator with such a great testimony. He calls Elder Westover and I his brothers. Haha he is so great and we love him so much.

Shi2 Di4 Xiong1 didn't come to church but we aren't worried about him. He hasn't drank coffee or tea the last few days and is really excited be baptized on 6/14. He's really great.

Exchanges went great with Elder Gibson in his area Zhu dong. I was able to pass off Phase 1 of my Chinese which was exciting.  I'm now working on Phase 2 which is like everyday Chinese vocabulary.  2000 words or so and then after that it's Chinese characters!  Really exciting.  Elder Westover has helped me a lot with my Chinese.

Elder Willes and Elder Gibson - "His Chinese is amazing!"

Rain this week was insane. Everyday just a literal down pore.  No big deal though. On exchanges with Elder Lllu there was a mini earthquake. Kinda scary 10 seconds of shaking.  Elder Lllu was so calm and just kept reading scriptures. Sure enough it stopped and he was like, "There's always earthquakes here." It was interesting.

Also, a member had us over for dinner and I had the wonderful opportunity to eat pig foot. Umm it was ok haha. Just a pig's foot. you know..

Pig's Foot...just as yummy as it looks

Another cool experience was Elder Westover and I were at the church one night making calls and a member just stopped by and said hi. (The one who fed us pig foot) and then all of the sudden 6 random college students walk up and asked if they could learn about our church. We were like of course come on in! They came in and our member started teaching them about the deeper doctrine and they were really confused haha he stopped for like 1 second and I testified what he said was true and then Elder Westover and I took over and taught the first lesson. The spirit was strong and we gave them all a copy of the Book of Mormon. They don't live in our area but they said they would go to English class and read the Book of Mormon. It was a really cool experience.

This week was another great one. Zhou1 Chang2 En1 our recent convert is doing great. Brought his brother again to church. In the summer his little brother should have time to meet with us. Our other investigators are all slowly improving. We try our best to make daily contact with them. Keep Habip in your prayers. His baptism is this week!

Love this work. So blessed to be one of 83,000+ serving the Lord. Growing closer to Him each day. I've been really working on feasting on the words of Christ not just reading them. I am in the process of actually experiencing the Book of Mormon which has been great.

The big huge burger Elder Willes had on his birthday

They went to a member's house and baked the cake we sent for William's birthday..."Yummy"

Elder Willes' 19th birthday and P-day last week!  Happy birthday William!!!

Megan, I'm sure your farewell was awesome. You are going to be such a good missionary!  I'm praying for you :) Jia1 You2

Have a great week everyone!

Elder Willes

WELL, I GUESS I AM 19 YEARS OLD! SUPER WEIRD!

Happy Birthday Elder Willes!  (pictured with a decaying rat)

Well, I guess I am 19 years old!  Haha super weird!  First off I just want to thank everyone for the birthday letters. I got a lot of mail.  It made me so happy and I can feel everyone's love and support so thank you all so much! 

Today is p-day and my birthday.  To celebrate we are going to go to BIG City to eat.  It's like a huge mall!  I will take some pictures. Should be good. Except for today it is absolutely pouring down rain. You are right dad, looks like rain everyday. This past week it rained about everyday too.  I am always dripping wet.

This week was another great one!  I am so blessed to be able to serve.  I started reading Jesus the Christ and am really excited to learn more about Christ from reading this book. Elder Westover is great and follows up with me and asks how my reading is going and I tell him what I learn. What a great trainer. :)  Also when I got to the MTC I started over in the Book of Mormon and am now in 3 Nephi 19! I love the BoM and invite everyone to read it everyday.  Just like Joseph Smith said we can get closer to God by abiding by its precepts than any other book in the world. I learned how to say that in Chinese this week!

Elder Willes skyping last week!  A huge thank you to Thomas, a member in the ward William is serving in, who helped the missionaries Skype home.

We met with Habip multiple times!  He is having a tough time quitting smoking!  We told him we could give him a priesthood blessing and he wanted one. I had the opportunity to give this blessing and it was so so cool!  The spirit was strong and he was just smiling after!  He still hasn't quit smoking but has cut down so much!  To about 5 a day.  Keep praying for him.  We still have faith he can reach his date this upcoming Saturday night!  He is amazing and has such a deep testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ.  He also went on the temple tour in Taipei with the ward and absolutely loved it!  He said he had such good feelings there and in a few years he really wants to come to Utah to see the Salt Lake Temple!  Keep praying for him. I am so blessed to be able to teach him.

Another miracle:  A few weeks ago I pulled up on my bike at a red light and started talking to the guy next me. I asked him if I could talk to him on the side of the road for a minute. He said yes and Elder Westover and I taught a lesson. Turns out he didn't live in our area. He lives in the Sisters area. So we referred him to them and they have been teaching him!  He's been to church the last two weeks and is getting baptized on June 1st which is his birthday!  Super cool :)

Another miracle: We had a really important lesson with Sui2Jie3Mei4 scheduled. We had to find a pei3Ke4 (member to accompany us) because we couldn't be with her and another sister member because that's against the rules.  We called everyone and nobody could go with us.  20 minutes before the lesson we thought we might need to cancel.  We said a prayer and thought of Chen2Di4Xiong1, a member in our ward.  He got in a car accident 15 years ago and can't really move his right hand and has trouble walking. We felt good about him and called him and he said he could help us!  We rode our bikes to his house and (because he doesn't have a scooter/car) we then all walked together a 20 minute walk to Sui2Jie3Mei4 house! I had tears in my eyes seeing how willing this member was to help us. He has trouble walking and has a really bad limp but he didn't complain at all and was so happy. :)  To top things off we set a new baptismal date with Sui2Jie3Mei4 for 6/14 and the spirit was so strong. She still is very nervous to come to church but we are working with members on that who may be able to help her. Wow, what a tender mercy!  I love this work of salvation.

Also, we have four new investigators!  One is a little 14 year old kid (referral) who seems great. The other 3 all live together. We knocked a random house and three college guys with their shirts off and beers in their hands opened the door. I thought oh boy.  But they let us in and we taught about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Turns out they are Christians. They invited us to come back and we taught the first vision to them the next day.  They were much more reverent and were intently listening and had great questions. The spirit was strong and gave them all a copy of the Book of Mormon!  So cool to be able to teach them.  Zhu2Di4Xiong1 and his brother Zhu2Di4Xiong1 haha and their friend Hong1Di4Xiong1.

We also met with Shi2Di4Xiong1 and he is slowly trying to quit drinking tea and coffee. His date is 6/14!

Elder Willes eating pot stickers...yummy!

There are lots of interesting Chinese dishes but Elder Willes currently lives near a Costco which sells a good old pepperoni pizza.

This week was really great. Stake conference was wonderful. President Day was there!  He spoke and invited everyone to invite people to meet with the missionaries.  Really powerful. The talks at Stake Conference really focused on missionary work and getting everyone to act. There were a lot of people. Probably about a full chapel and full overflow back home. Really cool seeing faithful Latter-day Saints around the world!

Have a great week everyone!

Love you all and thanks so much for the support!

Elder Willes

APPARENTLY THE RAIN HERE IS ACID RAIN?

It was so amazing skyping you all! Such a great experience! Happy Mother's Day mom. :) Love you!  Nate and Jake you look like studs!  Way to be!!  Dad way to hold in those tears man. :)  Haha the time flew but I'm grateful I got to see my wonderful family! 

This week was another great one. Habip is coming along great. We met with him 4 times and actually went and did SOME service with him.  A recycling project. His testimony is growing so much. He is so ready for baptism.  Habip does have a pretty big obstacle with smoking. He has smoked every day for the past 10+ years. We know that he can do it!  He reads the scriptures every day and prays and his faith is so great. The ward is having a temple tour next week and he is going with them to see the temple. He said he really wants to go to the temple. His testimony is so great. It isn't a coincidence that we are teaching some random guy from Turkey in Taiwan. This is through the Lord and through Him we are helping him experience the fullness of joy this gospel can bring. :) His wife came to church too and is great! She still doesn't know the church is true, but prays and reads every day. She wants to be baptized too! They are awesome. Their faith is remarkable.

Our other investigator Sui2 Jie3Mei4 really wants to be baptized but is so, so, so scared of her family being mad at her. She hasn't come to church yet but she told us she would tell her family about her desires to be baptized this week. :) Also Shi2Di4Xiong1 is progressing. His faith is great but he is struggling with tea and coffee. We are trying to meet with his family to get his wife on-board and we think we can meet with them next week!

Finding and contacting has been super hard lately. We haven't found many new people who are prepared for the gospel. We met a new guy Hun1Di4Xiong1 who seems pretty good and we are meeting with on Saturday. This coming week is Stake Conference in ZhuBei and I'm stoked!  I am going to see a big group of LDS Chinese members gather together! Can't wait!  Also, today we went to an all you can eat barbecue meat place. You cook the meat on this heater thing.  It was super good. Also they had all you can eat ice cream. :)

Elder Willes, Thomas (a member of the church who facilitated the Skype call and is a tremendous help to the missionaries), Elder Westover and Jake.  We thought it would be brilliant to stream William up on our TV screen so we could see him more clearly.  Instead, we found the 4 of us huddled tightly around our little computer screen.  Pretty funny!  It was a fairly good connection.  Amazing technology.  We did lose Elder Willes  for about 5-8 minutes while a connection was reestablished.  Not a big deal except that he announced he had only 30 minutes to talk with us. 

It's really weird I have been in Taiwan for 6 weeks! Time is flying out here and before you know it June 26th I think I will have a new companion.  That is the next transfer date.  Elder Westover turned 20 this week! We went to a tepanyaki place to celebrate! Super good steak, rice, and vegetables.  About 4 bucks per person which is pretty expensive here! Also, at Family Home Evening we celebrated both our birthdays! Our cute ward made us a cake and sang to us in Chinese and English! Super awesome.  Our ward is great. Our bishop is really diligent and helps us with our lessons.

The family waiting for the HIGHLY anticipated call!  

It rained a lot this week and apparently the rain here is acid rain (due to heavy pollution)? People believe it makes you go bald!  So, when it rains everyone is wearing a rain hood.  Me included :) The Chinese culture is so cool. I wish you all could see it.  Everyone here has scooters instead of cars. Really interesting.  Anyway, I'm so blessed to be a missionary and am loving this work. No greater joy than seeing investigators and less actives take that leap of faith in coming to church. So grateful for my trainer who has taught me so much! I appreciate all the prayers for me and our investigators. Love you all and have a great week!

I LOVE THIS WORK! SO REMARKABLE!

"Obedience, Faith, and Trust in the Lord really does bring blessings."

Elder Willes, Zhou1 Chang2 En1, and Elder Westover
Zhou1 Chang2 En1 is 13 years old and a very tall Taiwanese young man.  He was baptized Saturday,  May 3rd, 2014.
He has been investigating the church for 6 months.
"Hands down the coolest thing I've seen on my mission!" -Elder Willes

This week was truly remarkable. The baptism went great! It started out pretty hectic because as we were filling up the font  the water pressure was super low so we were worried it wasn't going to be filled up in time. Some members came and helped us and we figured that out. Then Elder Westover had what is called a "pocket puke."  We have our planners and pamphlets in our shirt pockets. When he leaned over to feel the water temperature his planner and pamphlets all fell in the water so I had to hold him while he was reaching down and pulling things out haha. When it was all said and done everything worked out great. :) 

Zhou1 Chang2 En1 asked if I would introduce him at the pulpit so before the baptism I introduced him and that was really cool. I love that kid so much. Then four of us missionaries sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing which was super cool. We had no time to practice so it was a little rusty, but the spirit was so strong. All of Zhou1 Chang2 En1's family came. He has a less active mom, less active sister, and the rest are non-members. Cool seeing all of them! The baptism was great. Elder Westover performed it and the spirit was so strong. When they got out of the font I asked Chang En how he felt. He said hen3 hao3 (Very Good)! He had a huge smile on his face and he was super happy. Then yesterday at church a member confirmed him and he received the Holy Ghost. Standing in that circle and participating was truly a blessing.  Seeing this 13 year olds faith is truly remarkable. His family didn't come to see him get confirmed, but he was so happy :) He is going to be such a great missionary in 5 years! Hands down the coolest thing I've seen on my mission!

Zhou1 Chang2 En1 and his family with Elder Willes and Elder West over

 

Habip is doing fantastic. He and his wife keep praying every day. He reads the Book of Mormon in Turkish every day because we were able to get one for him! We asked him to pray about baptism and we followed up with him yesterday at church and he said he had a good feeling and a great experience! He is super great. His testimony is great. You can see that spiritual light in his eyes and desire to follow Jesus Christ. We are hoping he is able to be baptized on 5/24/14! We haven't taught the word of wisdom yet and we know he smokes so pray for him that he will be able to overcome that! He came to the baptism.  He and his wife also come to family home evening every week!

 

Shi2Di4Xiong1 is doing good. He has great faith in Christ. We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and he has struggles with tea and coffee, but said he would try his best to stop. He didn't show up at church yesterday when he said he would. We are a little worried, but not too much. We are trusting in the Lord that he is doing great! He is also shooting for a baptism on May 24th as well.

 

Sui2 Jie3 Mei4 is great. She didn't tell us this but she called one of our members who has accompanied us and met with her and told the member she is worried her family will get mad if she goes to church. She hasn't come to church yet, but she reads and prays every day and has a great testimony. We are praying for her to talk to her family about this! We know that when she comes to church her testimony will be solidified. It's just right now taking that step and coming to church.

 

Ivy has been busy and unable to meet. We are hoping to find a time this weekend though!

 

Lee3 Jie3Mei4 came to church again!  3rd straight week! Her son had a fever so was unable to come. They are great! We invited them to pray about baptism and are praying for them to gain to a desire to find the time to meet with us haha. They love church but their time during the week is super busy! 

Bless the Yu's for taking care of Elder Willes

 

Overall an amazing week filled with miracles! Obedience, Faith, and Trust in the Lord really does bring blessings. I love this work! So remarkable!

 

Have a great week everyone!!