10/14/2016 P-Day #104

10/17/2016

大家好！

Thanks Tenley for the letter this week! 

Well this week went by incredibly fast! I probably say that every week, but whenever I sit down to write this email, my mind is just blown by how quickly it goes by! I feel like I was just writing last week's email!

We found an amazing family this week! We were visiting a less active family, the Pu's, and their friend asked us if they could come to church with us! They have gone to Christian churches in China and haven't been baptized yet! It's even funnier because this is the same house where we found the Li's and Liu Ting Ting! Hopefully things continue to go well with them!

I love when members make dumplings for dinner but the problem is that they make tooons of them and expect us to eat them all! I probably ate over 25 dumplings at one meal this week and felt like I was going to explode! Thankfully they taste delicious!

Moving apartments this week was quite stressful! The office elders were supposed to come bring us beds and all the other necessities, such as plates, silver ware, tables, chairs, desks, etc. When they showed up they had nothing with them. They thought they were just going to help move a bed from another apartment and that was it! So we had to wait a few more hours for them to come back and bring the stuff with them! We unloaded all the stuff into the apartment and started to organize all of it! Then we realized that they had forgotten to bring us some essentials, such as trash cans, shower curtains, and bath mats... So we ended up waiting another few hours for a senior couple to come and bring that stuff with them! They ended up not bringing it with them because the office elders said they could bring it to us that night... So long story not very short, last P-day was quite stressful! But we're settled in now and all is well :)

Saturday was a busy day for us! We had lunch with Brother Yang at a Vietnamese restaurant! It was quite good! He told us that he want to be baptized, but because his daughter disagrees and she is their translator and chauffeur, he doesn't want to rock the boat. Hopefully he will eventually be able to! We'll see what the Lord has in store. We also went and visited Sister Wang, and had a really good lesson with her. Unfortunately she is too "busy" to come to church and won't commit to coming. Oh well. It's going to be a slower process for her!

We also went to go help our zone leaders in their area because they have been struggling a little bit. I went with Elder Wood to go seeking with faith. We prayed before hand to set up return appointments with five people. As we were talking with people, nobody was very interested! It was a little bit frustrating! Before we even started talking to one man, he yelled out "I'm not interested!" Elder Wood responded with "I haven't even offered you anything!" It was pretty funny because the man didn't know how to respond! We talked to him and he told us about a neighbor that needs some help with service. Then we talked to one guy who lived down the street for almost an hour! He had so many good questions that the Plan of Salvation perfectly answers! He also had some crazy ideas where he believes the Jesus was just a magician and didn't actually perform miracle. He just fooled everyone.. But he was very willing to let us back into his home the following weekend! And guess how many people are in his family!? FIVE! It's funny how the Lord works some times. He always answers our prayers, but it may not be in the way that we expect it!

Well I love and miss all of you and am excited to see you all next week! Keep serving the Lord with your all and He will bless you!

Love,

Elder Warren
吴长老 

10/10/2016 P-Day #103

10/10/2016

大家好,

Hellooo everybody! Hope you all had an awesome week!

This week went by pretty well for us! We moved again this morning! Woohoo! We are moved to the building right next door to us! Since we will be in a trio the last week of this transfer and there will be three elders here after I leave, they wanted to give us an apartment with two bathrooms! We're just waiting for the office elders to come and bring all of our new furniture! So right now everything is sitting in a pile in our living room!

This week we had some really good days at the UCR campus! We talked to a lot of people and found some investigators that have a lot of good potential! 

Last week we had called a former investigator and she was super excited to have us come back and visit her! We drove 25 minutes over to her house in Corona and when she knocked on the door she looked really surprised! She told us "Oh, I thought you were Christian missionaries that were calling me.. Not Mormons!" We tried to explain that we are Christians, but she was not taking it! Haha so she gave us some water and then asked us to leave. She said we could try coming back in a few years because their opinions might have changed by then!

We also met this super cool family in the park and went to go see them on Saturday! The husband's younger sister went to school at USU and was baptized there! They said she's married now and is working/living in Salt Lake City! Small world! It's crazy to see how the Lord prepares His children to receive His gospel.

Things at UCR are going pretty well! We just walk on the campus and talk with people all day! It can get pretty monotonous, so we have to find ways to make it interesting! We're teaching two English classes now! We have one at UCR and one in Eastvale! The one at UCR is only on Fridays, so we have to split with other missionaries in order to teach both classes! It's pretty crazy! We have a couple students that come to the UCR  class, but hopefully we'll get more coming! I like the UCR English class a lot more! The students there already speak pretty good English, so we'll play games with them  and find ways to help them practice speaking. At Eastvale it's a lot of memorizing vocabulary which can be pretty boring at times! Last Friday we played Apples to Apples with our class and it was a lot of fun! Two of our students are a couple in their 70's from Taiwan! They are soooo funny! The husband worked as a professor at a bunch of different universities all around the world! So he speaks fluent Portugese, English, Chinese, and Taiwanese! The wife is still working on English, but she's doing very well!

Well that was the majority of our week! Love and miss all of you!

Love,

Elder Warren

吴长老

10/3/2016 P-Day #102

10/3/2016

大家好!

This week was soooo slow until the weekend! It seemed like nothing was working out for us. I can't count how many weeks happen like this, where the Lord waits until the very last minute to bless us! Maybe there's something I still need to learn!

As of this past week, we cover two proselyting areas! Due to a lack of Chinese-speaking missionaries, we cover both Eastvale and the UCR college campus areas! We spend 1.5 days over at the UCR campus and the rest of the week at Eastvale. It's been pretty slow since we're starting with absolutely nothing! They all just got back in school, so we have to find a lot of new investigators! Since Elder Zeng has served there before and will be coming back to Eastvale when I leave, we got to go on exchanges with him to start working in UCR! I went with him Wednesday and Thursday this week to go walk around on the campus. We also teach an English class there every Friday night, so Elder Yang and I will have to split up to teach that! 

This Friday was our multizone conference and it was sooo long! We had to be at the church at 7:00 am and we didn't leave until around 4:30 pm! It was a super spiritual experience, though! At the end, we had a testimony meeting and all the new missionaries and the ones that are leaving go up and bear their testimonies. It was a super weird feeling. My head knows that I only have a few weeks left, but it doesn't feel like it's happening yet. I also sang a musical number with a sister missionary who goes home next transfer. We sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again". Quite a few people started crying! Haha

And then this weekend was General Conference! I loved it so much! I was thinking about what I wanted to share, but I couldn't pick a single talk that I liked the most. They were all amazing! The trending theme seemed to be true repentance and truly coming to know our Savior! I loved the member of the Seventy (his name was really long and Japanese so I don't remember it haha) that talked about being ambitious for Christ! I've been reading through Alma and it's amazing to see as the people were following Christ, giving their all, the Lord blessed them! He didn't just make the Lamanites *poof* and disappear, even though He could have, but He gave them the strength to keep going and keep fighting. I think of the stripling warriors, where none of them were killed in battle because of their strong faith, but all of them were wounded. We're going to receive our own wounds, physical and spiritual, but that's why we have the Atonement. There's no scar or wound that our Savior's sacrifice can't heal! I also loved the talks on the Book of Mormon. The stories inside it have come alive for me these past two years. I get excited when I get to read from it every morning. It's changed my life and I love sharing it with others because I know it will change their lives as well! I hope all of you will take some time every day, it doesn't have to be long, to strengthen or develop your testimony of the Book of Mormon. It's the word of God and has a power to help us face our lives towards the Savior.

When names are translated into Chinese, they often do the translation by sound. The word for Christ is 基督. Before a week or so ago, I hadn't really thought about what each individual character meant. 基 means a foundation, or base. 督 means a governor, or to oversee, to superintend. Christ is the foundation of all that we do, of everything we have, and of everything we are. It is through His sacrifice that we can become someone better. He is also the head of His church. He is watching over us and guiding His work on this earth. If we are built on His foundation then we have no need to fear because He will lead us. I love my Savior and His doctrine. I'm striving every day to apply the Atonment!

I love and miss you all!

Love,

Elder Warren

吴长老

9/26/2016 P-Day #101

9/26/2016

大家好!

This week was all right! Nothing too crazy happened over here!

Thanks Maddy for the letter and the Leathermans for the package!

Brother Yang is unfortunately no longer getting baptized next week. His daughter called us and said that he's too old and learning about all this church stuff is too stressful. She also told us that he's too busy to meet with us and come to church. He needs to learn English and help take care of his grandson. So we will no longer be going by to visit with him. :(

We went to visit Q last Monday and had a really good lesson with him! He really opened up and actually talked with us! Haha it was a miracle! We committed him to read from the Book of Mormon for 10 minutes every day after school to help him build a testimony of Jesus Christ. We're going back tonight to follow up and also invite him to start praying every day! We'll see how it goes. We're just teaching him very very slowly so we don't overwhelm him or make him feel like we are trying to be controlling!

We went on splits Saturday night! Elder Yang went to go visit Brother Li, the one who is going back to China soon! He taught him the Word of Wisdom and said it went really well! He committed to live it, so I hope that he will find the strength to do so! I went with the other Brother Li, the recent convert one, to go visit a former investigator, Joanna. I taught her with Elder Dyer and then she just disappeared one day! We called her and she told us that she moved to Chino Hills. We went by and had a pretty good lesson with her. Unfortunately there are other Chinese elders that cover that area, so we will have to let them go by and keep teaching her.

On Sunday, one of the Chinese members came up to me and asked if I would give a 10 minute talk on October 23 at our Chinese sacrament meeting! In Chinese! I'm a little nervous, but we'll see how it goes! He didn't give me much of a topic, just to talk about what I've learned as a missionary.

Also on Sunday, Yoyo came up with me before Church to ask her if I would go up and translate her testimony into English! It was so adorable! She bore her testimony on fasting and talked about how Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights! She was super nervous, but she did very well!

Hopefully this week picks up a little bit! Usually when we have a slow week, the next one goes by much faster!

I'm excited for General Conference this weekend! I love hearing our prophet and apostles teach us about our Savior! It's always a spiritually uplifting experience!

I love and miss you all so much! 

Love,

Elder Warren

吴长老

 I think this might be Elder Warren teaching the English Class.

 I am assuming this is from the English Class.

This milk expires the same day that Elder Warren's mission expires

9/19/2016 P-Day #100

大家好!

Hope you all had an excellent week! I know that we did!

It's been pretty cold over here in the mornings! When we run to the gym at 6:24, it's a freezing 60 degrees! Brrr! But yesterday got back up into the 100's, so that was nice! Haha

This week has been another crazy busy one for us! Lots of meetings! Wednesday was our Zone Meeting, which was fun! I mean, they didn't have Chick-fil-a cater, but it was still a spiritually filling experience! Haha 

Thursday I had District Leader Training at the mission office. It was a lot of fun! It was a lot of review, but it was good! When we review some of the trainings from previous Multi-Zone Conferences, Sister Mullen talked about going out "in the strength of the Lord". As I've been reading through the Book of Mormon recently, I've noticed this phrase a lot. When people trusted in the Lord, humbled themselves, and prayed for His strength, they overcame the trials they were faced with. When they didn't trust in the Lord, the trials overcame them! It's been a constant reminder for me to be aware of how much I need His help. There's absolutely no way I could make it through this life without Him. I've been finding myself constantly praying for His help, for His strength. And I've felt it come!

Friday was a really weird day! In the morning I had to do some online training called "My Plan". Basically every Friday morning, I'll get on a computer and set goals for what I want to do when I am no longer a missionary. Then Friday afternoon I had my "outgoing interview" with President Mullen. Same as My Plan, he talked about goals I had for when I got home! The first thing he said when I walked into his office was, "Elder Warren, I'd like to thank you for your service." In my head I was thinking: "I still have five more weeks to serve!!! Don't say that!!!" Haha but it was a good experience. 

Saturday and Sunday were awesome days!! Saturday we took Brother and Sister Chen with us to go visit Brother Yang and it went really well! We talked about the Book of Mormon with him and he committed to read at least 10 minutes every day! After we left, the Chens stayed and talked with him for a while! On Sunday, they pulled us aside before church and said that they gave him a specific chapter to read from the Book of Mormon and he read it all that night and told them that he feels like he's ready to be baptized! Sunday after church, we went to the Chen's home to have a lesson with Brother Yang! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and review a little bit about the Restoration! (He also asked why we don't drink tea, so we talked about the Word of Wisdom as well!) He's planning on being baptized on October 2nd! The Spirit has definitely worked a lot to change his heart! 

Today I wanted to share the Chinese word for salvation: 救恩

The first word, 救, means to save, help, or rescue. The second word, 恩, means a gift, favor, or kindness. So salvation is a gift from a loving Heavenly Father that will save, or rescue, us from this mortal state. If we are faithful in this life, and live the Gospel of Christ, we have His promise that when we return back to His presence, we will be worthy to stay in His presence! That's why I'm here in Riverside serving a mission. I love my Heavenly Father and His plan. I have been called to help open the doors of the heaven for Heavenly Father's children. As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent, are baptized, and endure to the end, we will become clean. The stains from our sins and mistakes will be washed away and we will stand spotless before our Heavenly Father.

I love all of you and miss you! Go out and serve God with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength!

Love,

Elder Warren

吴长老

9/12/2016 P-Day #99

9/12/2016

大家好!

This week has been another crazy one for us! I can't believe the first  transfer with Elder Yang went by that fast! 

Last Monday we went to lunch with the Miaos and the Lis at a really yummy salad/soup buffet in Rancho Cucamonga. It was Alice Li's seventh birthday this week, so the Lis invited all of us to go out to lunch with them! It's funny to see them argue over who is going to pay the bill. In the Chinese culture you can't just split the bill between everyone's families, that would be incredibly rude. One person has to pay for the whole thing! So they've argue back and forth until someone finally gives in and lets the other person pay! Monday night, we went on splits. I went with Daniel, who's getting ready to go on his mission, to visit our investigator Tang Chen. We met him at English class and went to teach about the restoration. It went really well! He's very humble and really wants to find the truth! Unfortunately, he has to go back to China for about two weeks, but he's working towards being baptized on October 22nd!

On Wednesday we went on exchanges with the zone leaders and Elder Yang had the opportunity to take over the area for the first time. I think it was a good experience for him. He was a little worried, but he did pretty well! 

Thursday we went and met with Lucy, a referral we received last week. She actually lives in the Lasselle ward boundaries, so it was exciting to go back to Moreno Valley! Haha! She is super busy! She works at a restaurant and only has Thursdays off! She said she wants to talk to her boss, though, to find out if she can get Sundays off as well! Our lesson got cut short because her son, who lives with family in Beverly Hills, showed up to spend some time with her and go shopping. We're going back tomorrow to give her a tour of the church!

Thursday night, we went and visited Li Feng and his son, Jerry. They're the father and son that we met last week when we knocked on a former investigator's door. We had a really spiritual lesson with them. We originally were planning on teaching the Restoration, but as we were walking up to the door, we felt that we needed to teach about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went really well! We're trying to help him feel ready to be baptized on the 24th of this month, because he leaves to go back to China on the 30th... His concern is that he's worried there won't be any members or church meetings in the city where he lives. We went back on Sunday night and taught about the Restoration. He's still a little worried about the church/China situation, but we can see that he's made a lot of progress just within this past week.

Saturday we went on splits again! I went with Daniel to go visit some former investigators and referrals, but nobody was home. We met some really nice people in the parks that said they wanted to come to English class! On our way home, we made a quick stop at Sonic for some milkshakes because we worked hard and needed some kind of reward haha!

Sunday was another good day! A less active member showed up to church with her mom who isn't a member! The daughter wants to start coming back to church, and her mom will be staying here for about six months! We're going by on Wednesday to see them!

Today was pretty crazy! We had to swap apartments with the sisters who live in the same complex as us! They will have another set of sisters coming to live with them, so they needed our apartment which had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I was a little upset, but after seeing how roomy their apartment is, I won't complain! Haha 

Well we've got to get going, but I hope you all have an awesome week! Remember that God loves you and is aware of your circumstances!

Much love,

Elder Wu

9/5/2016 P-Day #98

9/5/2016

大家好!

Thanks Omie and Papa for the package this week!

This week felt slower for some reason. The time still flew by, but it seemed like the work went by slower. We were working really hard and doing everything we could! But we received some really solid referrals last week that we're going to go and visit this week! I'm super excited!

We were trying to find new people to teach this past week, so we went knocking on some doors where we knew investigators used to live at. We knocked on one door and found this one dad and his son who were super excited to see us and let us in! They've been in America for a few months but go back to China at the end of September. The son has been going to a Catholic school while they've been here and they've attended a Christian church a few times! The son loves learning about the Bible stories and really believes in Jesus Christ. The Dad isn't opposed, but not necessarily interested in believing it! He does, however, firmly believe that if everybody believed in Christianity, the world would be a much better place! Haha they came to church on Sunday and it seemed like they enjoyed it! They only stayed for sacrament meeting, but said that next week they would come to all of the meetings. I'm excited to work with them, even if it's only for a few weeks! 

Umm.. what else happened this week... Honestly, this week was pretty boring haha we're really trying to move on and find people that are really prepared. Everyone we are working with right now are just not quite prepared. They aren't ready yet. 

We got a referral for a lady named Lucy this past week. She contacted missionaries in Arcadia and asked if she could meet with them and learn more about church. She went to church out there once and then she moved over here to Riverside. We got in contact with her and the only problem is that she is crazy busy! She works from 9:00-9:00 every day except Thursday! I'm not sure about the weekends.. When she called us she was talking really fast and the connection wasn't super good, so I handed Elder Yang the phone halfway through the conversation to see if he could understand what she was saying!哈哈! We're going to see her this Thursday and I'm excited!

We also have a new investigator named Chen Tang! He showed up to our English class and is a great guy! The first day at English class, we taught about prayer and how to pray. He didn't seem super into it, but the next English class, he was talking to one of the sister missionaries and telling them how he needs to pray to Jesus for help! Maybe he's the one that's ready? We'll see! He was supposed to come to church yesterday, but he didn't. We're going to stop by his house tonight!

Today I wanted to share the word for covenant in Chinese, which is 圣约 (sheng yue). 

圣 means sacred or holy

约 means an agreement

So a covenant is a sacred agreement between us and God. Both of us agree to do something. For example, the baptism covenant. We agree to take upon us the name of Christ, serve others around us, comfort them, keep the commandments, and stand as a witness of God. God promises us that He will forgive our sins as we repent, and bless us with His Spirit. I've been really trying to remember the covenants that I've made as I go throughout my day! They're so sacred and it's an opportunity for us to express our love to our Heavenly Father. It's a chance for us to receive blessings and exercise our faith as we remember and keep the promises we have made. 

I love you all and miss you tons!

Love,

Elder Warren

吴长老

This is a wedding gift Cole made for his cousin. It says Families are Eternal.