Elder Kaden Rees

  你们好！ The last two weeks have flown by! I was very busy last week and was not able to get an email out so I will cover the last two weeks in this email. On Tuesday the 18th I left the MTC and had a layover in Pheonix before flying into the Ontario Airport in California. My mission president picked me up and took me to the mission office. I then met my trainer. Elder Ferguson, who is from San Antonio Texas. We have gotten along great and he has taught me a lot. Right now I am in the Hacienda Heights area, and it is wonderful. There is so many Chinese natives here that most the stores and billboards are in Chinese.  My apartment is in Rowland heights and everyone in our neighborhood either speaks Chinese or Spanish. Also fun fact, the mall from Back to the Future is near our apartment so that's pretty cool. I have had the opportunity to teach many lessons so far. It has been hard to understand all these natives speakers Chinese but I am seeing improvement. There are so many imm...

  THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS   CALIFORNIA ARCADIA MISSION   614 West Foothill Boulevard                                                                                                                   Arcadia, California 91006-2030                                                                                                                        October 28...

  你们好! My last week at the MTC was great. It was a good reminder to me of what my purpose is as a missionary and how I will be able to serve others as I get out into the field.  This morning my companion and most of my district left on their missions, so there are only 4 people left in my district.  I leave Tuesday morning at 7:44 am with three other Elders who are going to Arcadia from another district.  This last Tuesday I had the chance to attend a devotional with Elder Rasband and his wife. There were three things that Elder Rasband emphasized in the devotional that I would like to share with you. He told us we should learn more about the Savior and as we learn more about him we will love him more, as we love him more we will want to serve him more. I also learned Rasband is still a huge Utes fan and drives a big red truck. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend in the MTC to learn and grow my testimony and I look forward to being able to apply all I h...

  你们好! Next Tuesday I finally head out to California and I couldn't be more excited. I have learned so much in the MTC but am ready to move on to the mission field. It is starting to get cold up in provo so I look forward to some nice California weather. Not much has been going on here but I have enjoyed my time and hope my Chinese is good enough for the field. Scripture of the Week:        Luke 9:62           And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the  a plough , and  b looking  back, is fit for the kingdom of God.  I particularly like this scripture because it teaches me that we should not look back, but put our shoulder to the wheel and look ahead. Sometimes it is hard to have faith and move ahead when you are unsure of the road ahead. Heavenly Father wants us to have faith to try, try, and try some more, and when we fail, learn from it. Anyways, that is all for this week. I hope you all are doing ...

  你好! This past week has flown by and I only have two weeks left in the MTC. I am ready to get out to the field and start teaching although my Chinese still isn't great. I was able to see my family this week at the MTC as they went to the Utah State vs Byu game, and that was awesome. It is too bad the Aggies couldn't pull off a win though.  Saturday and Sunday I had the opportunity to watch all of General Conference at the MTC. There was so much good shared that taking it all in felt like trying to stop Niagara falls with a straw. I can't wait to reread all the talks and learn from them a 2nd time. My personal favorite talk was Elder Bednar's about the parable of the wedding feast. If any of you did not get the chance to see that talk I would challenge you to find some time to watch it. There were a couple key points that stood out to me this conference that I would like to emphasize: 1. God loves ALL his children and we need to love ALL his child...