PRETTY COOL TO SAY YOU'VE SERVED THE LORD 1 YEAR

Transfer 8 - Week 2

"As we knelt on the hard sidewalk on the side of the road, she said one of the 

most sincere prayers I've ever heard. The spirit was so strong!"

HUMP DAY!  Pretty cool to say you've served the Lord for a full year. This past year has been amazing and I want to make every day count this coming year count so here we go! On my year mark I treated Elder Jensen and I to some AWESOME Thai food. So delicious. And spicy.

My super hilarious hump day poster.  Thanks!

This week not a ton happened, but we did see some really cool miracles just like every week. 

We got to go to the temple last week and that was awesome. Going to the temple with a ton of missionaries is one of the coolest things ever. I love it.  Can't explain it seeing all those missionaries there in common purpose and there worshipping together in the temple.  It is cool to be together and bond together.  Super special. 

Our investigator situation is pretty similar. Lin2 Li3 Jun4 is still having family opposition. We are meeting with him tomorrow and hope to meet his family this week and help them see the blessings of the gospel. He's asked multiple times if he could get baptized and his parents told him no twice. So we are hoping 3rd times a charm! Our homeless investigator Lin2 Di4 Xiong1 has cut down half of his cigarettes. But he is still smoking about a pack a day. It's hard to follow up with him because he doesn't have a phone, so we are going to try and visit him 2 or 3 times this week. He has a great desire. But to be frank quitting smoking probably isn't that easy so he's struggling. He comes to church every week and absolutely loves it. We are really optimistic about these two. Please keep them in your prayers!

Also we had a few really cool lessons this week. One was with our investigator Yang2 Jie3 Mei4 who met with missionaries before. We saw her record and called her and she set up! It's really cool because she has a huge desire to know which church is true. We taught her the restoration, and pieces of the Plan of Salvation/Gospel of Jesus Christ and then invited her to kneel with us and ask Heavenly Father if the things we shared were true. We challenged her to express everything that she was feeling and thinking. As we knelt on the hard sidewalk on the side of the road, she said one of the most sincere prayers I've ever heard. The spirit was so strong! She then set a baptismal date for 3/14/15! She's so cool! She's very busy, still has doubts, her husband opposes the church, etc. so she has a lot of obstacles, BUT she has a lot of Faith. And through Faith we can do all things! Keep her in your prayers as well as we try and help her. 

Elder Jensen teaching Elder Willes how to cook some type of spaghetti using chicken.

Gabi Chen2 was busy this week but we are excited to meet with her this week. Our new investigator is a mom Liu2 Jie3 Mei4 who we met in a park. She is really cool and we have met with her twice. We really hope to help her family meet the gospel. She shows some pretty good promise. We also met with a Less Active Return Missionary this week and boldly just invited him to do the things the Lord commands him haha. We asked him if he could come to church. He hesitated for like 2 minutes and I was praying so hard in my heart that he would say yes and he did! He came for all 3 hours and looked so happy! We hope to bring this lost sheep back. Elder Jensen and I were stoked when we came to church!

Another cool thing that happened this week we went finding at this park and just after we finished a lesson with this other lady a basketball bumps my foot. I pick it up and there were like 25 kids playing basketball. I was like "if I make a halfcourter we get to teach you all about Jesus Christ, hao3 bu4 hao3? Haha they were like ok! I was praying so hard I would make it. That thing literally was in and out. Such a bummer. SO close. But it gets better. We offered a second deal. Elder Jensen and I take on your two best players in a 5 minute game and if we win we get to teach you all about Jesus. This time we won! So sat on this big grass lawn in a circle with like 20-25 high school kids and taught them about Jesus Christ and taught them how to pray and taught them about the BoM! It was super cool. After we gave 3 copies of the Book of Mormon to 3 who had the most interest in our message. They thanked us a ton for helping them feel a gan3dong4 which just means a very special, peaceful feeling. It was really cool. One thing I will remember for a long time.

Elder Willes with a few of the kids they played basketball with and then taught the Gospel to.

This weekend I have been sick with a fever, and a very sore throat, etc.  So we stayed in for half of Saturday and called a million people haha. But no need to worry because I am on an antibiotic. So I should be good in like 2 days now! 

It's cool Bishop Black invited the ward to read Alma cause that's where I'm reading right now. I decided my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon is Alma 26 with Ammon. I love that big picture of Ammon in my room. My scripture hero! I love Alma 26 because that's how I feel about missionary work. When I'm biking and it gets hard I just will like repeat v.12 and pumps me up and I also love v.37 because God loves and knows everyone. It doesn't matter who we are, what we've done, where we live, what religion we have, He loves us. And I'm so grateful for that. Love the Book of Mormon. I testify it's true. BoM shi4 zhen1shi2de. I encourage you all to apply the Book of Mormon in your life and that's when you will get the most out of it!!

Elder Peterson and his wife are finishing up here from their mission and heading home.  He is a great guy.

PS Happy birthday tomorrow Dad! Weird that your last birthday I was on my mission too. Love you a lot and thanks for being a great example!

My bike made it here and all is well.  The package came.  Thank you.  The pop tarts are AWESOME!!!  The sink got fixed.  For the English class here I teach the beginner class.  It's fun.  I'm praying for Brother Townsend.  

Elder Willes

ONE YEAR DOWN AND ONE TO GO

TRANSFER 8 - WEEK 1

Well, tomorrow is my 1 year mark! Crazy huh? I still remember day one of my mission like yesterday. I was nervous, sad, and excited but it was a great day! I remember being dropped off late at the MTC and not receiving my supplies until the next day.  Good times! 

Elder Jensen and Elder Willes (new companions)

Packed up and leaving Zhong1 Li4

I have moved areas and have a new companion. Zhong1 Li4 is a great place and I met some amazing people there. I love and am going to miss lots of people there like David, who is now in the MTC, about to head to San Francisco on his mission as well as our Ward Mission Leader, Wu2 Di4 Xiong1. He was super sad I was leaving. I told him I was leaving on the phone and he said the area was doomed.  I was like no!!! It will be ok! He is such a great and humble guy that I really admire. Saying goodbye to Xiang4 Mu4 and Lai4 JM (recent coverts) was also really hard. Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 made us a HUGE lunch before I left and was crying because she was so sad I was leaving. They are both so great though and I know they are in Heavenly Father's hands.  I am now in Ban3Qiao2 which is in Xin1Bei3Shi4. It's just directly West of Taipei. It's a cool place! I love it so far. My new companion is AWESOME! We get along great. His name is also Elder Jensen haha and he is from Springville, Utah. He graduated in 2014 and came out the same time as the other Elder Jensen. So this Elder Jensen was just trained and now I am called his "breaker." Good stuff!

Saying goodbye to Lai4 Jie3 Mei4.  She has already gone to the temple to do temple baptisms.  Awesome!

The area looks a lot like Zhong1 Li4. Big city feel, really noisy, big, tall buildings etc. One thing I like about it is the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) which we sometimes take to get places and it's super fang1bian4 (convenient). This area has been crazy with baptisms! Elder Jensen and his trainer dunked 4 people together in two transfers and we still have some great investigators!

One investigator we have is a Lin2 Li3 Jun4. He is an 18 year old kid with a great desire to get baptized. Such a humble kid and really loves the gospel. He came to church this week and was supposed to get baptized this next week, but the problem is he has family fan3dui4 opposition. His parents won't let him be baptized until he is 20 years old. So we are going to try and set up a time this week we can meet at his house and talk to his parents. We also have another investigator, Wang2 Jie3 Mei4, a 61 year old lady who is really nice. She came to church this week and that was awesome!

Brother Lin2 in another one of our investigators. He is a homeless guy that lives at this big stadium, and is super humble. He has been to church for 6 straight weeks and really has a great desire to get baptized. He's addicted to cigarettes though and we are trying really hard to help him quit. I gave him a CTR ring and we are hoping that will help him quit. He is an awesome guy!

We have already seen a lot of miracles this week. We were out finding and we start talking to this lady and she was like "Guys! I used to have a Book of Mormon but l lost it and need a new one! I need to go to church again!" Turns out this lady met missionary from our church 20 years ago, never got baptized and lost contact with the church. Her name is Gabbi Chen2. She only has 2 teeth and is a sweet lady. We gave her a BoM and had a cool lesson with her. She also showed up to church!! That was super awesome. We are excited to continue to meet with her. She seems really prepared :). 

We also had 3 knocking lessons! Most people don't see success from knocking, but we saw 3 miracles. We found 3 ladies who were super nice and all 3 let us share a message with them. 2 set baptismal dates and it was awesome. We just really tried to chat with them and help them feel comfortable before we went into the gospel and it worked. We sang for this Catholic lady and it was really cool. We are already seeing tons of miracles and I'm super excited about what the next week has in store for Elder Jensen and I. 

The ward is really small. It's the Xin1 Ban3 ward. There are about 60 active members. They just split the ward so it's really small but a great ward. I was able to share my testimony in sacrament meeting and that was cool! 

Our sink got clogged this week and the pipe fell out and started flooding our apartment! I will send a picture of us cleaning up the mini flood haha. Things are good. 

I am super grateful for a really humble, enthusiastic, hard working companion. Excited to go to the temple today! It's been a long enough wait. 

Love you all! When we put others first that's when we are the most happy. I've learned this week that the only thing we can give Heavenly Father is our will. The rest is everything He has already given us. When we surrender ourselves, thrust in our sickle, that's when we can allow God to change us and mold us into who He wants us to become! I will always remember in Priests Quorum reciting D&C 4. That's my motto chapter for the year! Go read it. Love you all! One year down  and one to go. Couldn't be more excited for the adventure ahead. Love you all!

Reading scriptures with Chiang Kai-shek
For p-day last week Elder Jensen and I went with Elder Dexter and his companion to  Da4 Xi1.  Lots of cool statues of Chiang Kai-shek.  It is a really pretty place.  A great last p-day.

Elder Willes and Elder Dexter (MTC companions) 

Elder Willes and Elder Jensen

My old bag.  Pretty beat up.

Went on exchanges with my Zone Leader, Elder Darger, a convert, last week before leaving.   A great exchange!  

Elder Willes

WE GOT SCHOOLED

Hello Da4 Jia1!

This week was another good one. A week filled with some pretty cool miracles. One day Elder Jensen and I were out finding and we said a prayer and then both felt like we should go a specific direction. We knocked on this door and this super nice Christian lady opened up. We taught her the Restoration and then got to the Book of Mormon and realized neither of us had a Book of Mormon! Zao1Gao1! We told her we would run home and grab one. So we ran home, grabbed one, came back and then taught her and gave her a copy. It was cool! She's pretty busy but we hope to meet with her in the next few weeks.

This is Brother Wu2, our ward mission leader.  He is awesome!

It was Brother Wu2's birthday this week so we bought him a cake and ate it after church.   I love that guy so much!

I keep forgetting to tell you that I've been the English Leader this transfer for our English classes.  It is fun, but kinda stressful! We also switched and now teach the little kids' class. Our students consist of a cute family that has 2 little kids. We taught them the ABC's and the "wise man built his house upon the rock" song.  Super awesome.  This week we will also be having our English party!

This is David.  He has been such a big help! He heads off for his mission tomorrow to San Francisco.  He is gonna be a great missionary.  David is such a chill kid.  I'm excited to hang out with him after the mish.  He might go to BYU.

One day we felt we needed to visit a member but we didn't know who. After praying, I felt like we should visit Mike in the hospital. About 10 minutes later Mike called us and was like I'm out of the hospital! So we met him and he is going to start coming to church again. So good to have him back. 

The funniest thing happened on Saturday. We were out finding at a park and kept getting rejected over and over and over. So we were like, "OK, we gotta make contacting more fun to brighten our spirits." We saw all these high school kids playing basketball. We went up to them and were like, "Hey we will play you guys 3-3 (1 Asian with us) and if we win we get to sit down with you all and share a message about Jesus Christ." They were like OK!!! We played and oh man we got schooled hahaha. It was kinda embarrassing. I did drain a deep 3, but us American missionaries were rusty and those Asians teenagers took it to us. It was hilarious and unfortunately we didn't get a lesson out of that. It was something to remember for sure!

On a spiritual note, church was really special yesterday. The talks were about Lai2 Kan4, Elder Bednar's Come and See talk. It was cool. A member talked about how when she was helping the missionaries with a lesson and the investigator was just talking about how her church was more correct and not letting the missionaries talk at all. This member shared how the missionaries were great examples of love and patience and how that experience had influenced this member. It reminded me to always be a good example at all times, so we can help people! 

The Bell family.  Brother Bell is from England.  They let us come over to their house this week and do some painting.

This group just showed up at our church and wanted to interview us about missionary work.   It was really cool.  We gave them all a copy of the Book of Mormon.

We have a new investigator, Ian, a Filipino who is pretty cool! Set a date for February. Most our other investigators are busy lately, but we will keep pressing on. I love sharing the Restoration of the Gospel because I can feel the spirit working through me. Each part of the Restoration means a lot to me and I encourage everyone to ponder what the Gospel means to YOU?

We were out English boarding and so were the sisters.  We both saw these 15 yr old kids. One boy and one girl.  I started talking to the boy and the sisters were talking to the girl. The kid told me he was a member of our church in another city. I was like are you sure it's our church?? Then to prove it he said the baptismal prayer! I was like WHOA. That's cool! I had a great lesson with him about the BoM. The reason he hasn't been going to church was because he doesn't have a ride so we are going to try and work that out. The sisters had a lesson with his friend and gave her a BoM. So now those two are going to start going to church together. Just rains miracles here! 

Love you all! Have a good week.

Just want to give a S/O to my cousin Kinsey. I heard her farewell was awesome and it's really cool she is joining the missionary army! Chile is lucky to have her!! Good luck! Jia1 You2.

Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Willes

Last week for p-day we went to Costco! The sad thing is Costco here doesn't have pepperoni pizza anymore. I was crushed. I was like please I'm American! I need pepperoni pizza. I will pay extra!! 

BACK-TO-BACK

"It was one of those nights where all of the setbacks and frustrations of a mission disappear 

and you forget them all because the joy is so sweet.  Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 asked if she could bear her testimony.  She went up there like a BOSS and shared how much prayer has helped her.  And whenever she faces trials she thinks of the phrase, "I am a daughter of God.  He will help me!"

Dear Friends and Fam,

This week was another good one. Mainly because we had back-to-back baptisms! Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 was baptized on January 3rd and confirmed on January 4th. So so so so so cool! 

Sean, Elder Jensen, Elder Willes and Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 

Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 with her family

We did a lot of preparation for her baptism because we really wanted a lot of members to come and support her. It was really cool because her husband and two kids also came to support her which was awesome! Her son who is 10, is really cute, and we are hoping to start meeting with them and get them in the water! We had LOTS of members show up for the baptism. We also had all the members sign a card and give it to her. The chapel was full just like a packed house at a sporting event haha. It was great. Sean, the miracle man we found 4 months ago, baptized her and did great! He practiced that prayer over and over again! 1st times a charm :) It was great. 

Elder Jensen, Elder Willes, Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 and her family, Sean and Xiang4 Mu4 Jie3 Mei4 on the far right who was baptized on Christmas Day and is moving to Japan on January 24th.  We are in the process of helping her
get situated in her ward in Japan.

At the baptism our missionary district sang Nearer My God to Thee and it was really cool. It was one of those nights where all of the setbacks and frustrations of a mission disappear and you forget them all because the joy is so sweet. I'm sure that's how Lehi felt after being rejected and mocked but then tasting the fruit of God's love. Super cool.  Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 bore a great testimony. It was cute because she prepared a little talk and shared a lot about how her faith has grown so much and she's so excited to start her journey on the straight and narrow path. It was great too because last week's baptism Xiang4 Mu4 Jie3 Mei4 was there and sat next to Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 and helped her every step of the way. It's cool to see how both of our RC's have become such great friends. 

Then the Ward Mission Leader and the Bishop asked me if I would confirm Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 the following day in Sacrament meeting. So I had the privilege of confirming her a member and participate in helping her receive the Holy Ghost. I was really nervous but I'm grateful it was fast Sunday because I was fasting and praying hard so I would know what the Lord wanted to say. It was a really special moment for me and one I can't really describe. I know the spirit guided me and helped me. It was super cool and  Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 was crying after. :) She said she felt like she had a lot of spiritual strength. Then during fast and testimony meeting she asked us if she could go and bear her testimony. We were like OF COURSE! Do it! She went up there like a BOSS! Shared Alma 34:8-12 about how prayer has helped her so much and whenever she has trials she just thinks of the phrase, "I am a daughter of God. He will help me!" It was so powerful. She is so golden! She and Xiang4 Mu4 Jie3 Mei4 are great. Love them both so much! 

Sean, Lai4 Jie3 Mei4 (who always give us fruit) with Elders Willes and Jensen.
These small oranges reminded me so much of home.

Also at church a 10 year old boy went up and bore his testimony about how at school for New Years the teacher gave everyone a cup of tea. He told the teacher he couldn't drink tea, and then the teacher started questioning him and making fun of him. But this brave 10 year old shared how good he felt for standing up for his beliefs and how God had helped him. Talk about a testimony right there! YEAAAA. This week was so great!

Tired after a long and busy day

Then on the street we had a white guy from Europe self contact us and tell us that he was a less active  member but really wants a Book of Mormon again. He testified to us he still knows the church is true. It's really cool and we hope to meet with him this week. It's awesome how the Lord places people in our paths. Miracles appear daily. 

My bike was stolen over 4 months ago.  I finally ordered and received my new bike.
Soooooo much better!  That thing flies!

Buddhist Temple

A big Buddhist Temple

Inside the Buddhist Temple

I got to go on exchanges with Elder Nelson this week and we had a few cool lessons with some students. The weather here is pretty warm. I hope everyone is enjoying the cold back at home. I will enjoy the warm and sun for now :) Love you all! Set some new years goals of how to become a better person! You will see changes.

Habib sent me this text on Christmas.  Man I love him!

Elder Willes and Jensen with Ekrem, our new investigator,  from Turkey.  He sounds just like Habib.

Chen2 DX always treats us so well.  He took us out for BBQ and ice-cream

Elder Willes