Week Eighty-Seven:  Transfer Update - Get Ready for Round 3! [March 25, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

It's been another fantastic week here in the Valley Vista ward! Tuesday we had our walk day and as we were walking to our area we saw Michaela at the bus stop! It was good since we missed our last lesson with her since we had scheduled it the same time as Zone Conference. We set an appointment with her for the next day. 

We were going to do a little finding the next day before Michaela, but we only got to one house since the first person we talked to turned into an hour-long visit! Her name is Edith and she told us we could come back another time! Then in our lesson with Michaela we ended up talking about the Book of Mormon and talking more about what that is! We also had a great lesson with Dizi that evening as we discussed continuing to learn in the church! 

Thursday was a finding day! We actually found three people who were all pretty open to meeting again. One of them was a professional boxer and he told us that he was actually looking for a church since he is new to the area. We'll probably have to wait a while to work with him though since he's going out of town soon. We also had a lesson with Bob this evening and he's now finished the book of Mosiah! 

We wound up giving a discussion on how to effectively work with members our last district council this transfer. Later on as we were getting our bikes we saw our friend Jason (the potential, not the recent convert) walking around! We were able to talk with him for a while and it seems like things have been rough for him the last little while. If you could keep him in your prayers that would be great! 

After our member dinner on Saturday they let us know about a part-member family in the area. We stopped by and they invited us in and we had a nice chat with them as well as share a scripture. As we were leaving they said that we could come back again soon! We're going to hopefully start working with them! 

Sunday during our member dinner we had Jason (this time the recent convert) and his family there. They had a good time and in the end we had a lovely discussion on the scriptures. 

It's that time again where we get ready for transfers. We got the call last night that Elder NeSmith will be leaving and I will be staying here in the Valley Vista ward. My new companion will be Elder Pack. He's a mission legend and is one of the most entertaining missionaries in the mission. This next transfer is going to be a lot of fun! 

That's it for me right now. Have a fantastic week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Camarillo Zone

Elders Riches, NeSmith, MacDonald and Spackman

Sisters Wynder & Carson, Hermanas Kunz & Monson and Elders Jarman, Riches and NeSmith

Week Eighty-Six:  Right Place, Right Time [March 18, 2019]

Hi Everyone!

It's been a great week! Tuesday we had a gospel principles class that our now former ward mission leader started. It had a pretty good turnout and it's a pretty good class for new or returning members as well as people being taught by us. We have even more people coming to this week's class.

This week we wrote out all the baptismal interview questions out for Dizi so she could look at them. We also re-reviewed them and translated some of the words to Albanian. Her baptism is getting pretty close and we're really happy for her! She's probably one of the most lovable people I've ever met!

Thursday we had our zone conference! We learned lots of helpful things like how to use family history in contacting, being original in our contacts and receiving revelation. We  had a lesson with Bob too. He's now read up to Words of Mormon, which is pretty good for how long he's been reading. 

Friday I was on an exchange with Elder Ravenburg. We had some pretty cool things happen! When we went out finding, pretty much everyone offered us some water and one person gave us some girl scout cookies! We also got in contact with someone named John who we've been trying to meet since I got here! Later in the evening we met with Jason and discussed saying the sacrament prayer since he would be doing that Sunday.

Saturday we had a really cool experience! We planed to go by a less active member that Elder NeSmith met on Exchanges. While we were in the neighborhood (unbeknownst to us)he was across the street walking his dogs. We knocked on his door a little after he got inside and let us in. While we were with him he told us that he saw us talking with someone across the street as he was walking his dogs and he wanted to talk to us, but didn't. He said he pretty much just walked in the house when he heard us knock on the door. He's been feeling for a long time that he needs to come back to church and he seems ready to make that step. He wants to take the lessons and we're going to start them on Tuesday! One other thing he said that was cool is that he knew we probably didn't think a lot about coming over (which is true, to us it was just another thing planned), but to him it's a miracle he will remember 10 years from now! It's so cool how God works though us and we don't notice until we find out the reasons for why we did what we did! I'm glad we were living in a way that the Spirit could work through us. It was one of the coolest experiences of my mission so far!

Sunday Jason blessed the sacrament and did a fantastic job! He's doing really well! Anyways that's about it for me! I hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Eighty-five:  Jason Got the Priesthood! [March 11, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

It's been a pretty great week! 

On Monday as we were walking back to our apartment for the evening we met someone named Michaela. We actually talked with her for a good while and she told us that we could come back and talk with her the next day! We did so and taught her the restoration and we will be teaching her again tomorrow! On Tuesday I also had my interview with President Nakken! 

We met with Dizi on Wednesday and went through the baptismal interview questions with her. She did great and she's pretty much all set for her baptism in April! We also met with Bob on Thursday and he's now read all of 1 Nephi. This next week he is going to be reading from Jacob. 

We've met a bunch of friendly people this week, some who said that we could come back, and some that weren't really that interested. We have also been doing a lot more member work this week, sharing a family mission plan with them. Hopefully it will be effective in the long run. 

Sunday, Jason received the priesthood and was ordained a priest! It was super cool being able to stand in the circle as the ordination was happening. We also had dinner with them in another member's home and had a great talk on prayer! He's doing so well and hopefully before too long he'll be headed to the temple! Later that night we got in contact with the other Jason we're working with and we're going to meet with him later tonight! 

That's pretty much it for this week, I hope all of you have a great day! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Eighty-Four:  I'm Getting Old [March 4, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

It's been a pretty great week! We've had some pretty cool things happen. 

The first bit of great news is that Dizi is feeling better! They've probably figured out why she's been getting sick so much so all should be well with her! We were able to talk about families and temples with her and she's really excited to be able to go! Also in the lesson they tried for a bit to set me up with her granddaughter who will be going to BYU...it was a little awkward. 

Bob gave us quite a surprise this last week! We had committed him to read 2 Nephi 31 and he ended up reading all of 2 Nephi! And he took a few pages of typed notes! The lesson was all over the place as usual, but this is progress. We committed him to read 1 Nephi this week. 

I went on an exchange with our district leader, Elder Wheeler. It was a pretty good day and contained pretty much everything. Going by people, dropping people, meeting new people and having a lesson with someone they're teaching. It was a pretty good day and the first time I've been in a car area since my time in Paso.

I had a pretty cool experience yesterday in church! It started with my mind being distracted and I wasn't feeling the Spirit a whole lot. I felt things needed to change and I prayed to be able to feel the Spirit and I tried to focus on the things being taught. I was surprised how quickly I was able to feel the Spirit again! 

That evening was also cool! There was a recent convert fireside in the evening and Jason bore his testimony there on how God has blessed his family and helped him find the Church! Dizi also came and loved it! 

So, now to explain the title of my email. Not only have I been out for a while and am old age wise, but I found a silver hair on my head today! I didn't expect that to happen so soon! 

That's it for me! Have a great week everyone! 

Elder Jason Riches