Week One Hundred and Five:  [July 31, 2019]

Week One-Hundred and Four:  One Door Closes [July 22, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

We had a pretty eventful week! We were able to teach Bryan at the beginning of this week! It's been nice that we've been able to catch him a lot more! We read 2 Nephi 31 with him and then discussed faith, repentance and baptism. We also taught Sebastian about coming to church, reading the scriptures, and praying.

We got to take a young man with us to a lesson we were having with a member. The only thing was that he doesn’t have a car, so he had to walk. We ended up walking with him and got to know him along the way. The lesson was good and we taught prayer. After that we went and saw Dizi and taught her the restoration. It's pretty sad that we'll only have one more lesson with her!

My last zone conference was this week! It was really good! I got to see some previous companions there which was fun! I also gave my departing testimony after lunch. It was the most nervous I have been to stand at the pulpit for a long time! To finish off, Sister Nakken and President Nakken talked about how we need to use the scriptures more when we teach instead of mostly using stories, analogies, and object lessons. Near the beginning of next transfer the mission will also be reading the Book of Mormon in 5 days! President Nakken finished off by bearing his testimony about the Book of Mormon.

On Friday I had my departing interview with President Nakken! It was different from what I was expecting, but still really good! Mostly we talked about what my goals were in my first year back and he then gave me some advice on how to stay well balanced in life, saying that most of life’s stress comes from not being very well balanced. He also said that the sacrament would be a good time to re-evaluate where I’m at in staying well balanced and what I need to work on. He also said I would be lucky if I could get in an hour of personal study, but listening to the scriptures would be a good option and to take advantage of Sunday when doing scripture study. When leaving I asked President if it would be alright if we checked to see if we’re related and he said yes. Turns out he’s my 4th cousin once removed! That’s pretty close! Also Sister Nakken is my 8th cousin once removed. I got to talk to Sister Nakken a bit as well. The best part of that conversation was when she told me some funny stories about the general authorities that came for the mission tours!

In the evening we saw David! Most of the time it was just talking and seeing how he’s been. We’re now friends on Facebook! We talked a little bit about prayer, church, and the word of wisdom (which he’s living now!).  

Saturday and Sunday not a whole lot interesting happened. It's pretty weird still that this part of my life is coming to a close, but the future is looking bright! I also want to share a quote from Elder Uchtdorf that I read in my departing testimony during zone conference. It says:

"As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.

" Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.

" And I know something else…I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!

"You are not forgotten… 

" … Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.

"Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!

" He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name 

"God loves you because you are His child. He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes.

" The love of God and the power of the restored gospel are redemptive and saving. If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow."

That's all for me this time! Have a wonderful week!

Elder Jason Riches

Week One-Hundred and Three:  The Only Light in the Darkness [July 15, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

We've had some good things happen this week! Early on we were walking to go by someone and ran into a lady who used to be the landlord for someone we were working with. While we were talking with her she really opened up about her problems and trials she's had recently. We ended up walking with her back to her house and helped her carry in some groceries. It's pretty cool how God puts people in our path! We were planning on going by someone else, but met her instead! 

We taught both Dizi and Jason this week! For Dizi our lesson was focused on the ten commandments and Jason's Lesson was more about serving in the church. One cool thing that happened with Jason was Thursday night he texted us asking if we could get him a Book of Mormon to give someone he met. When we met with him on Friday he told us that it had been a success! 

Last night we were finishing up the evening and had about 30 minutes until the end of the night. There wasn't really anyone close by to stop by so we decided to go somewhere we hadn't gone yet that day. As we were approaching Denny's we saw our friend Bryan sitting out front with his mom! We talked with him for a bit and then set an appointment for Tuesday. Usually he's been a harder one to catch, but lately we've been able to see him more!

The title of my email has two meanings. The first is to describe the district picture we took Friday which I will include below. The other one is I have seen the gospel be a light in the lives of our recent converts, other people we're working with and myself! It's incredible how much joy it can bring in an unhappy world!

That's about it for me. Have a fantastic week

Elder Jason Riches

Week One-Hundred and Two:  Aftershocks [July 8, 2019]

Hi Everyone!

This week has been pretty good what with the fourth of July and everything. Here's what happened...

We got to meet with our friend Bryan three times this week! That's huge since he's one of the people we're working with who is hard to catch. One of the times we read the Book of Mormon with him and on Sunday he came before church and we did a church tour with him. He had to leave before sacrament meeting since he had to get to work. 

My 4th of July was good! In the morning we went by someone we're working with and while there we felt a small earthquake (which I later heard was a big earthquake elsewhere). That was the first time I remember ever feeling an earthquake! We also did a bit of service for a member and later on went to a members BBQ. It was a huge event and had all you can eat food! At the end of the night we watched a firework show from a freeway overpass. It was nice since I haven't seen one of those since being home. 

The next day we met with David and had a really good discussion on prayer and read out of the Book of Mormon with him. Then we went to see our friend Sebastian. While we read from the Book of Mormon with him Sebastian pointed out that the car was shaking. We were having a second earthquake! It was a little longer and a little more intense, but still not bad. 

Yesterday (Sunday) Elder Pack and I had the chance to bear our testimony in fast and testimony meeting for the last time as missionaries. It was a really good experience and there was even a member that came up afterword and bore her testimony on missionary work. She even invited the ward to have missionary moments! Later we also had dinner with the Woolsey family and invited them to have a missionary moment. Jason has come so far since I first met him!

That's my week!

Elder Jason Riches

Week: One-Hundred and One:  All the Comforts of Home [July 1, 2019]

Hi Everyone

This week has been pretty good! I had a little more time this week so it's a bit longer than the last few. 

Tuesday evening we had a really cool broadcast from the Area Presidency! In it they talked a lot about the new plan for members and missionaries to work together to help bring lasting conversion to those we teach. It was also cool because we sat by the Nakkens during it and he gave some thoughts afterwords. 

Wednesday we set some baptismal goals with the Zone Leaders. We're going to try and set David with a date before we leave so please keep him in your prayers! We also met with Dizi in the evening and she's doing much better! We talked a bit about baptism and how we renew our baptismal covenants when we partake of the sacrament. We pulled the sacrament prayers up on her Kindle and she got to read them in Albanian which she really liked!

Thursday morning we met with Eddie. For the most part our meeting with him got off topic (as it usually does), but it did have one good part. He started talking about how everything has it's opposite and we read 2 Nephi 2 with him. It seemed to interest him and he has more of a desire now to read from the Book of Mormon! 

We also ended up having interviews that afternoon. It's crazy to think that I'll only have one more interview with President Nakken! Since we would be meeting again in a few weeks our interview was short. He did give me some advice though. He said that the end of the mission is one of the best times to feel God's love and that I should work to feel that. It was also President Nakken's birthday! 

That evening we met with David. We talked a bit about baptism again and he said that that's something that he's still praying about. He also said that he's been able to feel more of a relationship with God! 

Friday we had our District Council and later in the afternoon we helped a member move some stuff in his storage unit and afterword gave us a nice little nightstand. It makes our apartment feel a little more like home. He was going to give us some other stuff, but we don't have enough room in our apartment. Later on in the evening we went by some members and as we were leaving I noticed that the TV was on and the show that was playing just so happened to be my favorite TV show! I didn't see much, but it was a little distracting. 

Saturday it seemed like the only people we were able to catch were some of the members. We ended up committing one of them to give away a Book of Mormon in the next few weeks. Also we caught a potential I haven't seen since he was first found. He's a Russian professional boxer and showed decent interest when I first met him. The conversation was brief though as he was about to go off and meet some friends. 

Sunday was good, but nothing too crazy happened. After we got home in the evening we heard a crashing noise outside of our apartment. Someone ended up crashing into one of the parking stalls and another car. It looks pretty bad. 

That's all for me this time, hope you all have a marvelous week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Picture of the crash

Week One-Hundred!:  Beginning of the End [June 24, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

It's been a pretty good week! The final transfer began Tuesday and so far it's off to a decent start. 

Tuesday we were finally able to meet with David again! He's had some difficult challenges in his family recently, but he still wants to make a change in his life! We taught him about prayer and discussed what it is, as well as what it's not. 

Wednesday was Elder Pack's birthday! He's now 22 (same as me!). We did get a good scare from Dizi though, She called us saying that she couldn't meet because her arm hurt really bad all the night before and into the day. She didn't want to go to the hospital since she didn't want to stay overnight so we prayed a lot for her. 

The next day we tried by some people and arranged to go and give Dizi a blessing when her husband got back. We didn't hear from her for a while and no one answered our calls. We found out eventually that she went to the hospital. Later on in the evening we went by and saw her. Apparently she had a blood clot in her arm. She's doing better now, but she gave us quite the scare. 

On Friday we had our first district council of the transfer. It's a much smaller district than the last one, but not bad. A lot of the people we tried by weren't home, but we did get to have a lesson with Jason. At the end my companion was saying that he wanted to try something called baloote (don't know if that's how it's spelled or not) which is a premature duck egg. Sister Woolsey got excited and they might feed us that the next time we go over for dinner. We'll see! 

Saturday we had a pass off lesson with the sisters where we taught a guy named Jake. He had some pretty interesting beliefs that I can't say was something I'd ever heard before, but he was a very nice guy and was open to meeting with us again. 

Last night we were out and about as usual and we had decided in the morning to go by someone we were teaching. Sure enough she was there, and in talking with her, we found out that she had to turn herself in to go to jail the next day. This was something we knew would happen, but we didn't know exactly when. We shared a scripture and got her info so missionaries can visit her in prison. We both thought it was pretty remarkable that we caught her on the last day we possibly could! 

That's it for me! Hope you have a wonderful week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Ninety-Nine:  All Roads Lead...[June 17, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

I ran out of time to write this week so I'll update you on everything important next week. I'll give a quick transfer update though. I'll be finishing my mission here in Camarillo with Elder Pack. It's pretty crazy since 5 transfer areas are pretty uncommon as are 3 transfer companions (at least in this mission).

I guess all roads have been leading up to this moment. It's my goal to finish strong. It's crazy to think that this next transfer will be my last. 

Wish me luck! 

Elder Jason Riches