Week 22: Merry Christmas!!! [December 25, 2017]

This week has been pretty good so far. It's still a little strange being in a new area but I can tell I'll like it here! I don't have my journal with me as I'm writing this today so I'm not 100% when everything happened and in what order (The days sometimes blend together). 

We met with a referral from church headquarters named James. It turned out really well! He has had a rough past and has some regrets, but as he's gotten older his perspective has changed and he's come closer to God. He shows a lot of promise and we have an appointment with him Wednesday.

We met with a less active family right as they were heading out of town for the holidays. They were super friendly and said that we could talk with them again once they get back from their trip.

I got to meet one of the recent converts about my second day here. His name is Art and he was baptized at 92 years old! 

Christmas has been a little weird out here, but it's been good. Christmas Eve and Christmas were pretty much days off (since not many people besides members would want to see us). 

Christmas Eve we went to sacrement meeting. It was mostly just music which was pretty good. Afterwards we went to a Christmas brunch with the Dunn family. My companion, Elder Richards (yes, it is confusing) made his call home there so I got to talk with them as he did that. Once he was done with his call we left for our dinner appointment with the Wren family. We had homemade pizza which was fun for me because my family always has pizza on Christmas.

Christmas (today) was awesome. We walked out by the beach (not on the beach) which was cool. After that I got to make my Skype call home which was easily the highlight of my day. It was so much fun to see everyone's faces and get to talk with them face to face. The only problem is that we don't get enough time☹. Once that was over we hung out with the missionaries in our district for a while. One thing that was cool was I found the entrance to the roof of the church so we got to walk on that. For our Christmas dinner we went to the Dunns again. They gave us Christmas presents and my companion and I got matching ties! We had steak and potatoes and their son - who served his mission in France - made some French potatoes and escargot which as strange as it sounds isn't that bad (but is a little weird).

This Christmas season out here has been very different from what I'm used to, but has also been one of the more rewarding Christmases I've had. This year I really was able to focus more on the true meaning of Christmas, and the blessing we have that Christ came to earth to show us the way and suffer the atonement for us all. Even though Christmas is over, I encourage all of you to watch the Mormon Message "The Christmas Spirit" and remember that we we should have the spirit of Christ with us always.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas season!

Elder Jason Riches

'Twas the Night Before Christmas with Jason and Friends 

[Christmas Eve 2017]

Even though he is not with us this time of year, we are so grateful for this memory we have to share of him.  He continues to impress us each and every day, and we hope this fun video will make you laugh and smile, and maybe show you a side of Elder Riches you've never known before! 

Merry Christmas!       

                         

Week 21: Farewell, Simi Valley [December 18, 2017]

Hello Everyone,

As you can probably tell from my title, I will be leaving Simi Valley after being here for four months. In all honesty I'm a little sad to go. Simi Valley has been my mission so far and I've really enjoyed it here. There have been a lot of people I've grown close to and the work here had been progressing. In the mission everyone who serves in Simi always goes back so I'll be back at some point. I just hope it's the same ward. This next transfer I will be going to Santa Barbara. It's funny because all my companions with the exception of Elder Olacsi have served in the ward I'm going to. I also sort of know my companion because he was in my zone my first two transfers here. His name is Elder Richards so that won't be confusing at all. People out here call me Elder Richards quite a bit so it will be interesting to see how that works. 

Tuesday we found a new potential named Gerrald who actually knows Elder Olacsi's grandpa! We met a less active who said we could come back and had dinner with a active/less active family.

Wednesday we talked with a potential but he said he wasn't ready yet. He later drove by us and asked us if there was anything he could do for us because we were "The real deal." We told him to keep us in his prayers and he said he would do that. We also met with a new potential family. It was kind of interesting because he got into some deep doctrine, all before he learned about the restoration, so that was fun. 

Thursday we had a lesson with Our investigator Olivia. We went over the Gospel of Jesus Christ and asked her to pray if January 20 is the right day for her to be baptized!

Friday we talked to a guy who wanted to know if it is okay to kill someone if they are threatening someone close to you. We told him if it is in defense of others then it's not sinning but he was sure that we were wrong. We also had a restoration lesson with a former investigator, Frank, who invited us to lunch the next day. 

Saturday we had lunch with Frank at a sushi place (I found sushi isn't that bad). We also went caroling as a district to the investigators and less actives everyone has been working with. We also got our transfer calls.

Sunday after church I went around to different families I wanted to say goodbye to. 

I hope everyone has a merry Christmas! 

Until then, 

Elder Jason Riches.

Week 20: Wind and Fire [December 11, 2017]

Hello Everyone!

I'm sure that a lot of you have heard about the fires here in my mission. Fortunately all of the missionaries that were in the fires path were safely evacuated and are okay. I would like to ask you all to keep those who are in the fire's path and who have lost there homes in your prayers. Here in Simi we were supposed to be ready to go at any time. We had to have a bag packed and for a few days we had some other elders from our district stay in our apartment since they were closer to the fire. It was fun but a little cramped since our apartment is pretty small. Fortunately we did not get any fire our way but we did get some very heavy wind. Normally wind has never bothered me but since we're on bikes it is harder. It always feels like it's blowing against us so even when biking on flat ground it feels like we're peddling uphill. I just try and remember that when we have hard times we have to push through them and we'll be stronger for it. Hopefully that's what will happen here.

On Tuesday we had exchanges. Because of the heavy winds we decided to walk which was good, but very tiring.  We exchanged back early and did service for one of the members in the ward by pulling Christmas decorations out of her shed so the beehives could help her decorate. We then visited a less active, but we had to cut it short. Because of the fires they wanted us to go in early so we got 5 calls from the district leader and 1 from the zone leaders. Then I didn't want the next call to say President Nakken so I awkwardly told him we had to go.

Wednesday we had our designated walking day. We had a meeting with a guy named Jackson who had met with missionaries in the past. He's now a new investigator and we have an appointment with him next week. We also helped one of our less actives dust his house. Before we started though I gave him a haircut which was a new experience for me. I was glad he just wanted a buzz cut because I don't think I could have done much more than that.

Not much happened Thursday. I started reading the Bible starting at the Old Testament. One of the apps on our phone has a easy to read version on one side and the original on the other which was helpful. I ended up reading 10 chapters that day. We also visited with Our investigator Olivia. We taught her the plan of salvation. She has a lot of promise, but she's moving to another area in Simi soon so we won't have her for much longer.

Nothing really on Friday. Just trying to find people.

Saturday we had the ward party which was fun. I had a mess up with our investor Cathy though that was a little embarissing. We were teaching the plan of salvation and I was talking about how because of the atonement and how Jesus has felt the problems and pain that I have felt, I feel much closer to him when I pray to him. I have no idea why I said "pray to him" so I was really hoping that she wouldn't notice, but of course the next thing she said was "So you pray to Jesus?"

Nothing much happened Sunday.

That's pretty much it for this week! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Elder Jason Riches

P.S. We have a weird place in our area called the Knowles. Usually there's some weird stuff up there. Here's a picture of a peacock (which I had seen a few times before) and a pig.

Our District went ice skating for our P-Day activity:

Week 19: California on Fire [December 4, 2017]

Hey Everyone!

We got phones this week! Already I have seen how they can help missionary work. One of my favorite things is the Gospel Library app. I feel like I am able to get so much more out of my studies! One thing we have been doing is showing people the light the world videos. If you haven't heard about them or seen them then I would encourage you all to go to mormon.org and check it out. It was also cool because when we set up phones I got to see my MTC companion Elder Ujhely, who I haven't seen since I got to California.

On Wednesday I had my first experience putting up Christmas lights on a members house. Since most houses here are one story it wasn't so bad.

Thursday the district and Spanish elders helped the YMCA unload a crazy amount of Christmas trees (real ones) by the end of it everyone smelled like pine trees and I ended up losing one of my name tags (it was eventually found). 

Not much on Friday.

Saturday I had exchanges with the district leader and I found that he and I get along pretty well. I started to feel like I've been here a while because all the people (investigator and member) I had met before on previous exchanges.

Sunday we has the usual Sunday stuff and we finally were able to meet with a less active we have been trying to meet with for months

That sums up this week. Remember to look up light the world and read the initiative and do it! It will bless the lives of others and yourself so much.

Until next time,

Elder Jason Riches

Week 18: Happy Thanksgiving! [November 27, 2017]

Hi Everyone!

For starters, I set off the fire alarm twice this week. The first time I  was cooking some hamburger patties and the second time I cooked a quesadilla for a little too long. The apartment smelled like burned quesadilla for a few days. Aside from me burning things we got to help a guy move a refrigerator! Whenever we get to do random acts of kindness it's always rewarding.

On Wednesday we had what's called a field day which is where you go arround and knock on doors, but you don't get let in anywhere except dinner and your apartment. We had a lesson (outside) with one of our investigators so that was good. In the white handbook it says that holidays are one of the best times to find people but we found out that's false.

Thanksgiving was really good. We went over to the Oakford's house for lunch/dinner and we had the Perry family come as well. Afterwords we met with one of the less actives and visited her for a while.

The rest of the week was mostly going by people on the lists we have and tried to find out if they were still interested or moved.

One really cool thing that happened was that while we were meeting with one of our investigators, she said that if she found out that the Book of Mormon is true then she would be baptized!

That's pretty much it for this week! I just want to remind you that the light the world initiative is now up. I encourage all of you to do it and see how it blesses the lives of others.

Elder Jason Riches

(As of yesterday, Jason has been serving for 4 months)

Week 17: Bike Problems [November 20, 2017]

Hi everyone!

This week has been another really good week. On Tuesday we had a walking day, which meant we weren't supposed to use any vehicles (cars, bikes, etc.) until 5:00. It ended up being pretty effective. We gave out a Book of Mormon to a guy waiting for a bus ride and we had a lesson with a investigator named Sam that went quite well.

 On Wednesday we had a less active take us out to lunch and we were able to share a message about hope with him that he really liked. My bike chain also broke that night, so we had to take it back to the apartment and walk the rest of the night.

Thursday when I took my bike out to get it fixed I found that the tire was flatter than flat so I had to get a new chain, and a new inner tube. When we got back we found that some of the Elders found a beat up, dirty, toddler car and dropped it off on our doorstep. We also had a lesson with an investigator named Olivia. Near the end she was asking us what kinds of things she would have to do to get baptized! It seems like something she may be considering.

Friday we got to have interviews with our mission president. I also got my smartphone! I'll actually be able to use it a week from tomorrow!

Saturday and Sunday were pretty basic. We tried to go around and talk to people and we were able to get to know some of the people we want to work with a little better. I also found out that my bike is apparently a girls bike 

That sums up my week. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Elder Jason Riches

Week 16: So far, so good! [November 13, 2017]

This week has been really good. It was the start of my third transfer in Simi Valley with my new companion Elder Olacsi (O-la-chi). Yes, he is the  third companion I have had to put in a pronunciation guide. We also stared riding bikes this transfer. Even though bikes are a little exhausting, they're a good way to stop and talk to people. We were able to meet two potential investigators that we've had a hard time getting in touch with. We also met a less active who said that he might want to come back to church. We were able to have a lesson with a less active who opened up a lot more this last visit.

We had a few interesting things happen this week. We knocked the door of a less active who lives in a trailer park and when she opened the door she got mad and said that we weren't allowed to be there because it was private property. She also threatened to call the cops. We probably won't be going by there again. We also had and investigator come to church this past week. She's been meeting with the Hermanas (Spanish sisters) but they want to pass her off to us because she doesn't speak Spanish. 

That's pretty much it for the week. 

Elder Jason Riches

Week 15: Gear Up for Round 3! [November 6, 2017]

This week was pretty good. For the most part we had things to do the whole week. On Halloween we put together some IKEA furniture (scary) for a less active lady we're working with. We also met with a former investigator and talked about the Book of Mormon. By the end he committed himself to read all of 1 Nephi by the next time we meet.  

This week did a lot of "floods" which is where all the members of the district go into one persons area and try and find people for them. It ended up being pretty successful, but Elder Kopaunik and I ran into a lot of crazy people. Everyone got some potentials to go by so it ended up being a success.

We had a really good lesson with a less active this week. We brought over one of the priests whose planning on serving a mission, and we did a practice lesson with our less active. At one point the less active pretty much bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon to his non-member wife. It was really cool. 

I found out this week that I'll be staying in Simi. I also found out that I will be on a bike this next transfer (still don't know how I feel about that). As I've been here though I've come to enjoy my area so I'm actually pretty happy I'm staying. I will have another companion though so I'll give you more details about that next week.

Until next time,

Elder Jason Riches 

Week 14: Slow Week [October 30, 2017]

Not much happened this week. We ended up doing a lot of trackting and trying to find people to teach. One of the houses we knocked was a Jehovah's Witness who gave us their version of the Bible. We couldn't really say no because he had no hands and said "I want to give you this book." I have considered saying this to people when giving them a Book of Mormon because it just sounds harder to say no to. We had a pretty good lesson with a former investigator though. We shared Helaman 5:12 with him and he said he agreed with everything it said.

Funny thing last night. We had dinner with the Brand family and they have three pretty energetic boys. One of them is into drawing and he drew both of us a picture of a bird. The parents thought it was funny because they could now say "Our son gave the missionaries the bird!" 

This week has helped me to always keep working even if we don't really have anyone to visit. I also hit my 3 month mark!

Until next week.

Elder Jason Riches

Week 13: Call 911! [October 23, 2017]

I had a pretty crazy week this week. We got to go on exchanges with the zone leaders and I got to do a lot of tracting. It went pretty well considering that we found three potentials for them. We also had a good lesson with one of our more difficult investigators. We taught her how the scriptures will bless our lives if we study from them and follow their teachings. We also had a lunch with one of the less actives we're trying to work with. He's a pretty cool guy and it sounds like we'll be able to meet with him more often. We also had dinner with a part member family and talked about baptism and why it's important. 

We had zone conference on Friday where we talked about how technology will help move the work along. I'm really exited for all the new things coming up! We got to watch some of the new district videos and see how cell phones will move the work forward.

I got to use my bike for the first time this week. I was on exchanges in one of the bike areas and the main thing I took from it was that I'm out of shape.

Now for the  crazy story. Sunday morning we were driving to see one of our investigators when we saw a guy running in the street and jumping in front of cars (not in a suicidal way but a "I'm on drugs kind of way). He then went into some bushes and started to make gun gestures to cars and acting like he was calling someone. When we drove past Elder Kopaunik gave him the peace sign and he gave it back and yelled at us. We called 911 and we thought that was that. A little later we saw him in a grocery store parking lot. We drove in and he started chasing our car trying to ram it with a shopping cart. At that very moment a police car drove up an turned on his lights. He yelled at the guy and we watched as the police talked with him and he started waving his hair brush like a sword and showing them his belly button. They eventually arrested him. It made us feel like we helped clean up the streets! (Elder Kopaunik got pictures).

We gave talks in sacrement meeting on member missionary work. And we got a new ward mission leader, Brother Gover. It was kind of sad that Brother Harper won't be our ward mission leader anymore, but he told us today that he'll be a ward missionary so we'll still be able to work with him.

That's all for this week!

Elder Jason Riches

Week 12: Over 100 Contacts!...Sort of [October 16, 2017]

This week has been interesting. Remember how I said that we had a lot of appointments this week? Well all of them except like one of them cancelled (usually they sent us a text about ten minutes before we would go) so there was a lot of running around trying to find people last minute. A lot of this week was meeting with less actives. We were able to do service for two of them. One was washing windows, the other was trimming trees. We also got to meet two of them who we've been trying to meet with for a long time (one was over a month).

Elder Kopaunik and I got to do something pretty cool this week. The scouts in the area went and biked to all the different churches to learn about what they believe. We got to teach the first part of the restoration lesson to all of them. The guy who did it with us said that we should tell people that we had over 100 contacts this week.

We also had stake conference this week. All of the talks were really good. One of the members of the stake presidency talked about how he had known his wife for 5 days and the Spirit told him to propose to her which freaked him out a little. He told us that she had had the confirmation that she would marry him a day before and so had her father (who was the bishop) so he was the last to know. 

My mission president gave some pretty good advice during interviews for when things get slow. He said that sometimes we just need to park the car and walk. Missionary work is kind of like fishing. You cast your line out all day and get nothing, but there will be those sweet spots where the fishing gets good!

That's pretty much it! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week 11: The Spirit Works in Many Languages [October 9, 2017]

Not a whole lot this week.

I can't remember if I said this or not, but our investigators Amar and Besin moved to another ward so we ended up passing them off to the other elders in that ward. It was hard to see them go, but I know that they're in good hands. We were also able to do some service for a less active in the ward, and he came to church and bore his testimony!

We were also able to go to a Spanish baptism for one of the Hermanas investigators. I didn't understand much but I could still feel the Spirit there. I've found that perhaps the times I feel the Spirit most are at the Temple and at baptismal services.

Nothing else super eventful happened. We were able to meet with some people and make appointments with them so hopefully we'll have a lot to teach next week.

Elder Jason Riches

Week 10: A New Beginning [October 2,2017]

This week has been pretty crazy. We had transfers on Tuesday and I got a new companion. His name is Elder Kopaunik (Co-pawn-ick) and we've been getting along quite well so far. Since he's new to the area and I sort of know it, I feel like I've been senior companion a few times.

On Wednesday we had two really long lessons but they were both really good. We met with Amar, and his brother Besin at their new house. Unfortunately they will not be in our area anymore but I am happy for the missionaries that will get to teach them. At some point we will be doing a hand-off lesson with the Elders in their area. Wednesday evening we also met with a guy named Dante who was curious about the church. We had a great restoration lesson with him and we ended up doing service for him on Thursday.

Friday was another really good day. I got to meet the new people in the district and start to develop relationships with them. In the evening we went to an eight year old baptism for one of the families in the ward. Near the end, one of the less actives who we have tried multiple times to meet walked in and sat down next to us. We talked to him afterward for a bit and he said that he wants to talk to us sometime. 

General Conference was amazing! I felt that I gained a lot more out of this Conference than I ever have before. One of the things that really stuck out to me was their emphasis on serving and loving those around you. I also really liked the talks on the Book of Mormon and how much it will bless our lives if we continually study it and follow the teachings inside it.

Thank you for all the love and support!

Elder Jason Riches

Week 9: The best week yet!!! [September 25, 2017]

This week has been pretty eventful. We had a great lesson with our investigator Cathy. We had it at her neighbor's (the Newberrys) house. We were planning on re-teaching the restoration but we had a scripture read instead. I think it really helped her get started on reading. We talked with her breifly later this week and she said that she read 20 pages! 

We also had a great discussion with our less active Kim. The Elder's Quorm President went with us and I think what he said really resonated with her. We talked how she needs to take small steps in coming back to church instead of jumping right back to the state that she was in before.

I also got to go to the temple this week with our ward mission leader Brother Harper. It was such a spiritual experience (as the temple always is).

I finished The Book of Mormon for the first time since coming out. It really strengthened my testimony and things have gotten a little easier since then.

 We had a really cool experience this week. We were walking to a potential investigator's house and we saw a young woman crying. We asked if she was okay, but she just waved us off. We walked away but felt prompted to go back and talk to her. When we got there she was gone. Elder Hansen said a prayer and we ended up finding her at the train station. We talked with her for a bit and when the train came she hesitated going on until the last second and she missed it. She started to walk away crying again and we left too because we felt like she would be upset with us now (because it was mostly because she was talking to us that she missed the train). We ended up feeling that we should go back again. We found her and by the time we were done, she was smiling and laughing. We invited her to say a prayer and she offered one of the most sincere prayers I've ever heard. We gave her a Book of Mormon and our phone number so we'll have to see if we come in contact again. If not, then I still feel good that we were able to make her feel better.

We also had the primary program this week and I had fond memories of when I was a primary teacher doing that.

By the way I will be staying in Simi Valley this next transfer, but I will not be with Elder Hansen. It's going to be weird not being able to talk about Murray anymore. It's funny though because my new companion will be Elder Hansen's MTC companion, and he trained Elder Ujhely (my MTC companion) this last transfer.

That's pretty much it. Thank you for all the love and support.

Elder Jason Riches

Week 8: TV Service [September 18, 2017]

Hi All,

Not much has happened since the last email but I have a few things to share.

We stopped by one of our investigators just to follow up and see if the appointment we made was still a good time to stop by. We ended up helping her get rid of her old TV and setting up her new one. One cool thing she said when she answered the door was "You guys always show up when I'm having a hard time." It was fun helping her and when we were done she gave us girl scout cookies and said that she would come to church. On Sunday when we showed up she was outside waiting for us. When we went inside there were a lot of members that said hi and gave her hugs. I felt that she knows more of the ward than I do.

Amar has kind of slowed down. He told us that he likes our church, but doesn't like that we don't use the cross and made it clear that he won't give that up. He also doesn't seem too keen on giving up tea. 

Aside from that not much else happened. We have someone named Kim Williams we're seeing and she's going through a really hard time. Please keep her in your prayers.

Talk to ya next week!

Elder Jason Riches

Week 7 [September 13, 2017]

This week was pretty slow. A lot of our investigators have been pretty flaky with us so we don't know what will happen with them. We were able to give two blessings this week and both of those were pretty spiritual. I had my birthday this week as well. I'm 21 so I can now legally drink (not that I will). Someone asked me how old I was and when I said 21 it felt really weird. Just like in the MTC I am the oldest Elder but there's a Sister who is older than me. I'm even older than the ones who are leaving soon! 

We had a zone conference this week with two members of the Seventy. We had Elder Wokolo who replaced Elder Hamula and Elder Schwitzer. It was a very spiritual meeting with lots of great moments.

Every one here is excited about the upcoming General Conference. They say that Conference in the field is amazing.

Not much else happened. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Elder Jason Riches

Week 6 [September 4, 2017]

Burgers Again!?!?

This week was pretty slow but it had some good moments. On Tuesday I got to have interviews with President Nakken. We had interviews at our apartment so we were cleaning a lot on Monday. I'm really glad that I have a cool mission president and mission mom. One of my concerns about a mission was that I would have a super strict mission president like my mom had, so I'm glad to see that that's not the case. 

The really cool stuff has been with our new investigator Amar. I don't think I've mentioned him before so I'll give some background. Amar and his brother Besin are referrals that we got from the Hermanas in our district. We met with Besin first and told us that we could usually find Amar in the park. We tried that but with a million people in the park and not knowing what he looked like we decided it wouldn't work. The next day we were walking around and we Offered a picture of Jesus Christ to him and he started talking with a Syrian accent. My companion asked if his name was Amar which startled him at first but we explained that his brother told us about him. We talked and he said he would be interested in coming to church and that week he came! (At this point he wasn't even and investigator). This week we had our first lesson with him and he says that he wants to get baptized when he knows more and he's wants to live the word of wisdom!!! The only challenge is the language barrier. He wanted to know how long before Joseph Smith the Book of Mormon takes place and I told him several years. Apparently that was bad wording because he now thinks that it takes place seven years before. But he like the church and how friendly everyone is (he came again this week! ), and he really admires Joseph Smith! I can't wait to see how he progresses.

I thought in coming on a mission that I would eat healthier, but a lot of people down hear like to get fast food so it feels like I have burgers like every other day! I hope I don't end up getting sick of them by the end of the transfer. 

That's pretty much it for this week. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

Elder Jason Riches