Week Seventy-Nine:  18 Months! [January 28, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

It's been a pretty busy and cool week. We've been able to see lots of cool miracles and see the Lord's hand in our work!

The first part of the week we were walking around and inadvertently walked by some member's work around lunch time. They ran out and called across the street and asked us if we wanted to go to lunch with them! We later on had a sort of lesson with someone who has a lot of questions. We're meeting with her again this week so we'll see how it goes. 

At one point a member called us up asking if we could give her a blessing since she had been sick for a while. She came to church on Sunday so I guess it helped! In our zone conference the sisters who came out with me gave their departing testimonies which was weird. In addition to them an Elder I've served around a lot and one of the senior missionary couples gave their departing testimonies too! It's pretty weird. 

Even though we're in a bike area this whole time we've been walking for the most part. We pulled out the bikes again this week so that's been fun. We had another lesson with Jason and it was great! We talked about the small simple things (going to church, reading, praying) and discussed how they can help us gain a personal testimony. He's progressing really well and so far he's still on track to be baptized on February 16!

I hit my 18 month mark on Saturday! I've heard that the last 6 months are the best, but I didn't expect things to start happening so quickly. We were able to talk with a lot of people Saturday and we even got a new referral! We didn't teach him a ton, but he told us we could come by whenever since he doesn't leave the house much. It's weird to think that I've been out as long as I have! I'm both excited and nervous for what's to come. 

Sunday we had a pretty cool miracle! We tried by a less-active before church started and invited him to church. When we were greeting people at the church he came in! There were quite a few members of the ward that knew him and made him feel welcome! Also when our friend Dizi came to church she said that she has decided to be baptized on April 13!

Today's been pretty crazy too! We were going to have a lesson with a referral, but that fell through. Also we helped someone move. 

Have  a great week!

Elder Jason Riches

Week Seventy-Eight:  The Floodgates Open

Hi Everyone! 

Just as predicted, this week went really well! We've been able to see a lot of miracles this week and things are beginning to pick up in the Valley Vista Ward. Here's the highlights. 

On Tuesday we had our interviews with President Nakken. Nothing too crazy was discussed this time, but it was a great way to start off the week. Also, while waiting for my companion and the elders giving us the ride we had a pretty fun chat with Sister Nakken and I  got to know her a little better. 

Wednesday we had a lesson with our new person being taught, Margret! She's been taught in the past and she's determined to make it more of a priority this time. We have another lesson this week and we're hoping that all will go well. It sounds like she's had lots of challenges and we taught her that if she lives the gospel and applies the small and simple things it will bless her. 

I went on exchanges with an Elder who knows some of my family back home so that was fun! We got to talk about some of the people we both know and had a good time chatting about that! 

We taught Jason on Friday more about baptism and what he can expect from that. By the end of the lesson we were able to set him with a baptismal date for February 16! The member that came with us to the lesson helped quite a bit and is going to continue to help prepare him! We're really happy for him and this step that he's taking in his life and we can't wait to see how the gospel will continue to bless his life! 

Nothing too crazy or noteworthy happened on Saturday and Sunday, aside from Jason coming to church, and staying for the whole thing! Small tender mercy today, when we went to the gas station to get quarters for laundry and we only had $8. The cashier pulled two dollars out of his pocket and gave us the full $10 roll! I look forward to seeing what the next week holds for us here! 

Have an amazing week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Seventy-Seven:  Quiet Week, But Not for Long [January 14, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

This week has been pretty good! We had all the missionaries in our district help us find, and there were quite a few people found! We're excited to see how that goes! We also received two new referrals and both of them sound like they're pretty interested!

We were able to teach a lesson to someone named Jason (in a part-member family) and he has a desire to be baptized! The only thing is right now he just thinks of it as a clean slate and we both feel that we need to teach him more of what it all entails before setting him with a date. We also had a sort of lesson with Dizi. 

I got an email this week from some members in Paso that Albert got the priesthood and passed the sacrament! I'm so happy for him and that he's progressing so well!

We had a really cool thing happen where we were out walking to try by someone and it took a little longer than we thought and we had a correlation meeting at the church which was far away from where we were and it didn't look like we would make it. We started to run and a member pulled up and asked us if we needed a ride! It was a cool tender mercy! 

It's been raining a lot this week and it's supposed to rain a lot more this week which will be nice. It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen this much rain which is nice! 

So far this ward has been a bit of a challenge, but I feel that it will soon change! It usually feels like it goes slow right before the floodgates open! 

I hope all of you have a fantastic week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Seventy-Six:  A New Area and an Old Friend [January 7, 2019]

Hi Everyone! 

Thus far Camarillo has been pretty good! Not a huge amount has happened, but we've been able to have some good times and even see some cool miracles along the way! I've also enjoyed getting to know my new companion Elder NeSmith. 

I got word right before I transferred that my old companion Elder Baker is in the mission. We arranged to meet up Thursday at Denny's for lunch. It was fun being able to catch up on each other's lives since we last saw each other and reminisce on old times. He's probably one of the companions I've stayed in contact with the most since our time in Templeton. 

There's one person we're teaching named Dizi who's from Albania. She's really sweet and has plans to get baptized when her daughter is able to come. We taught the last portion of the Plan of Salvation and she liked it! She was also at church on Sunday. 

We saw a pretty cool miracle as we were working in another missionaries area! We knocked on a door and told the lady who answered that we had a message about the restoration through a modern day prophet and she was pretty interested in the fact that we had a modern day prophet! We briefly taught her some things and told her about the Book of Mormon and gave her a copy! It was definitely one of the coolest tracting experiences that I've had on a mission!

That's mostly what happened this week. I had a cold for a while, but I'm feeling better now. I hope all of you have a fantastic week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Seventy-Five:  See Ya Simi [December 31, 2018]

Hi Everyone, 

I don't have a ton of time to write today. I found out yesterday (they moved what day we find out what's happening for transfers) that I'm going to be leaving Simi Valley and go to Camarillo (which is near Oxnard). 

This week has been good, but nothing super noteworthy happened. One cool thing that happened was when everyone in the zone went to some other elders area to help them find people to teach. We went to the street they wanted us to go to and we found three people pretty much one right after another! It was really cool! At the end of the evening we went to Wendy's to get some frosties. They were closed, but they let us inside which was nice! 

On Sunday we both gave talks in sacrament meeting. I pretty much re-used a talk I gave in Atascadero with some changes here and there. Elder Sorensen did a good job and a lot of people complemented him on his talk. 

It's been fun being back here in Simi even though it was only a brief stay. I've never served at or near Camarillo so I don't really know what to expect. I'll have to tell you next week! 

Have a great week! I'll give you the scoop on my new area next week! 

Elder Jason Riches