Week Fifty-one:  Time to Say Good-bye to Atascadero [July 16, 2018]

Hi Everyone! 

I don't have a lot of time today so I'll have to make this week short. 

 Last P-Day we had a BBQ with our zone. We had to move to three different parks, because the first one had a homeless guy who wouldn't leave us alone and was being a little creepy with the sisters and the next park didn't have a grill. It was fun though being able to see the whole zone and have a good time with them. 

We had a really good talk with a less-active named Holly. She, and some of the people close to her have been having a really hard time as of late and when we gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet she was excited to read through it. 

Thursday was one of the craziest days of the mission so far. We did service in the morning helping a member pour some cement. During lunch we got word that there was a missionary that was going home early and they wanted to know if we could help with that. We then had to run to a lesson with Fred where we talked about the small and simple things. After Fred we went and helped out at the youth conference marking their luggage with their names and what group number they were in. We had dinner after that, went to a Bible study and then met with our ward mission leader. Dinner was really our only time that day to take things easy. 

We talked with Jackson's mom, Erica, Saturday morning. She says that the Mormon church isn't for her, but she does want to understand us better. We also briefly saw Mikaela and Jeff. 

That night we got our transfer calls. I will sadly be leaving Atascadero and going to Lompoc with Elder Fenn. Elder Mills will be staying and they will only be having one set of missionaries here now so he'll be pretty busy. Yesterday and today have been crazy with helping Elder Horman get ready to go home and trying to get everything done before I go. I don't expect to have any rest time until tomorrow night. I'm excited to see a new area, but I'll also miss the many people I've grown close to while I've been here. 

Hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Pictures

1. The Bergmanns

2. The Richardsons 

3. The Kessengers 

4. Fred Cole

Week Fifty:  Hamburgers Again? [July 9, 2018]

Hi Everyone! 

First, Let me explain the title.  A good while ago I used the title "Week Six: Burgers Again!?!?" Because I was being fed burgers all the time. I felt it was appropriate to use the title again since I'm re-living the past. The past two weeks I've had a good amount of Hamburgers and I know that I'll be having at least two more before the transfer ends. It's getting a little annoying that this always happens when I try to be healthier. Anyway, on to my week

We did a lot of emergency service this week. We did everything from putting up a shed, tying re bar and hauling wheelbarrows of sand and dirt. 

We wern' t able to meet with Mikaela this week and unfortunately there is probably going to be some opposition. One of the times we tried by her neighbor came up to us and told us to never come back to her house and that street. We're being a little more careful going by now (not walking by his house and driving by to see if she's home first). We'll probably see if we can meet at the church or a member's house from now on. 

The Fourth of July was different as a missionary, but not all together bad. We had a ward breakfast in the morning and we were able to find good fellowship for Jackson (who we talked with briefly on Saturday). One of the young woman in the ward has known him since kindergarten and the rest of the family seems to know him pretty well. It just might be difficult to meet with him because his summer job is going to keep him super busy. We were also able to meet someone we've been trying to talk with for a while since it was his only day off! We also caught him right as he was about to leave for somewhere else so I definitely believe it was divine intervention. At our dinner that night we also read through the Declaration of Independence which was pretty cool. 

Fred's been doing good! Since the blessing he hasn't given into his addiction and has even turned it down when other people have offered it to him. The other exciting news was that we set him with a baptismal date for August 11!!! The biggest challenge now, assuming that he doesn't give into his addiction, will be his busy schedule. Even though we're trying to get him to come to a later church meeting other things have come up that have prevented him from coming. Keep him in your prayers that he'll be able to find some way to find the time to come to church. Also pray that he'll still have the strength to live the word of wisdom. 

We had the opportunity to go give a blessing to a less active who got bucked off a horse and broke a shoulder. The Spirit was really strong and I'm pretty sure he felt it too. 

We got to meet with Jeff this week as well. They're still really busy with things, but hopefully we will be able to meet with them more coming up. We did share a portion of President Nelson's talk on receiving personal revelation with him. I'd like to share what we read with you. 

"The Prophet Joseph Smith set a pattern for us to follow in resolving our questions. Drawn to the promise of James that if we lack wisdom we may ask of God, the boy Joseph took his question directly to Heavenly Father. He sought personal revelation, and his seeking opened this last dispensation.

"In like manner, what will your seeking open for you? What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

"Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”

"Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course … as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.”

" You don’t have to wonder about what is true. You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true."

I hope all of you have a great week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Forty-nine [July 2, 2018]

Hi Everyone! 

This week didn't have a ton of significant things, but it was still good. 

I got to go on two exchanges this week (Wednesday and Thursday) with the Spanish missionaries. The first one was with Elder Haslam in his area. One fun thing was I got to stay in the same apartment that I lived in when I was in Templeton. It was also fun getting to know Elder Haslam better since we've served around each other a bit. One cool blessing we saw was as we were going by some Spanish people in our area we met one of the people who we've been trying to get in contact with since I first got here! His name is Eric, and we have an appointment with him later this evening. We also talked with one guy who basically tried to argue with us that we are going to hell because we believe in a works based salvation (I explained that we don't but he didn't listen). We also taught a part-member family that I remember from my time in Templeton. 

The next exchange was with Elder 'Anitony in our area. We were super busy the whole day and taught three lessons. We gave Fred a blessing to help him overcome his addiction. It was a really powerful experience and the Spirit was really strong. We read from Ether 12 afterwords and had a discussion on faith. Our next lesson was with Ginny who  has been meeting with missionaries off and on for a while. We were able to teach the plan of salvation with an emphasis on our life on earth to help her understand why baptism is essential. Our final lesson was with Brooke and Byron. We read from Ether 12 again and had a really good talk and what faith means to them. At the end we sang a hymn with them which really brought in the Spirit. Both of the exchanges were great experiences and I learned a lot from them. 

The rest of the week was pretty basic (stopping by people here and there). We were able to get to know some of the people who are interested a bit better. By the way, they updated Preach My Gospel and instead of calling people investigators and potential investigators they are now referred to as people being taught and people who are interested. There are a few other small changes here and there, but I haven't had the chance to look through everything yet. 

Hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July!

Until next week, 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Forty-eight:  Interviews and Zone Conference [June 25,2018]

Hi Everyone!

Good things are happening here in Atascadero. Here's a run-down of my week. 

We got to teach Fred the word of wisdom, which is one of the things that will be more difficult for him. He wants to follow this commandment and has asked if he could get a blessing to help him do so. We're planning on doing that this week. 

For service this week we helped a potential named Ginny put some sand into a wheelbarrow and move it. We also helped Lynn cut down a tree and put up a shed. 

Thursday was really inspiring. In the morning I had my interviews with President which really motivated me to focus on my purpose as a missionary. We also talked about how both of our year marks are coming up soon! In the evening we had our zone conference. During the last portion members from the ward council came and we had a powerful meeting on the impact member missionary work has. The Spirit was definitely present the entire day. 

We're trying to get better at utilizing Facebook in our proselyting, so Friday morning we worked with the other Atascadero Elders to make a video to introduce ourselves. You can check them out on Facebook. The one I'm in is on my companion's page (Kason Mills) and the one I filmed is on Kyle Horman's page. I don't particularly enjoy watching the one I'm in, but maybe you'll like it. 

Saturday we were able to teach the Restoration twice! The first one was with a potential named Andy. He was a little apprehensive about our message, but he did invite us back and he accepted a Book of Mormon. The other one was with Mikaela and she absorbed what we said like a sponge.

Yesterday was our ward conference. There were lots of good talks given and afterwards there was a "munch and mingle" I also got to see Cowboy Larry (remember him?). 

I remember before the mission that everyone told me that I would have perfect weather year round and that they were jealous. You don't have to be jealous anymore. This week got in the 100's 

Also my 11 month mark is tomorrow! It's crazy how fast the time goes. 

Not a ton happened this week, but I still enjoyed it. Hope all of you have a marvelous week! 

Until next time, 

Elder Jason Riches 

https://www.facebook.com/kason.mills/videos/1753423874774559/?t=0

Week Forty-seven:  Bible Study [June 18, 2018]

Hi Everyone!

This week was pretty different. We didn't meet with some of the usual people like Judy or Jeff and Heidi but it was still good. 

We had our third lesson with Fred on the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end we talked a bit about baptism and he told us he knows what he needs to do to get to that point and he's very willing. The only hold-up with him right now is that he's really busy with work and it conflicts with coming to church. Keep him in your prayers that he'll be able to find a way to come. 

Our new investigator Karen invited us to come to her Bible study with some of her friends. Usually these are a bad idea when you're a missionary, because people try to Bible bash with you a lot. We prayed a lot about whether or not we should go and We ultimately came to the conclusion that we should. The people there were pretty nice; however, the pastor who was leading the discussion seemed to be dropping a few things that he wanted us to argue on (the Bible is it, don't rely on the works of men, etc), but we mostly kept silent. Karen actually gave him more trouble than we did. At one point he was talking about how when we die we go either directly to heaven or hell and she asked "I thought there was some sort of waiting period where we would go until the resurrection."  Also when we were talking about if baptism was necessary he said no and we shared John 3:5. One of the people there said how she used to think baptism wasn't necessary, but now she's not sure. We were invited back and we'll probably go. I'm sure the pastor will come with some ammo so we'll have to be careful. 

Some  other cool things happened. We had some people call us over and wanted us to share a scripture from "our Bible" with them and pray with them and one of them really wanted us to come back. 

There's also a potential named Andy who we've talked with a few times. At the end of our last talk with him we asked if we could set up a teaching appointment and he said he enjoyed our talks and would be looking forward to it! We also helped some members move two pianos! 

As always things are looking up for this area and I'm excited to see where everything goes. 

I hope everyone has a fantastic week

Until Next time, 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Forty-six:  A Week Full of Lessons and Three New Investigators...Sort Of [June 10,2018]

Hi Everyone! 

This week has been awesome. We've definitely been able to see the Lord's hand in our work! 

Elder Horman, who covers the other side of Atascadero is training a new missionary named Elder Bounous. It's been fun being around them and seeing what I may have looked like when I first got out here. He's doing really well though. 

On Wednesday we got to teach two lessons. The first one was with Judy teaching her about tithing. She's doing really well and paid tithing for the first time a few weeks ago. We also taught Fred the plan of salvation. After that he's officially a new investigator! 

Friday we got to meet the new district. It's crazy to think that I've been in this district since the very end of January. It's completely different from when I first got here. We tried by a few people after that. One guy said that he would have us arrested if we came back again. I'm not sure what he could arrest us on, but we probably won't be going back. After that we went by a potential to set up an appointment with her. Once we did that our area book app made her a new investigator even though it doesn't feel like she is. 

We were finally able to see Heidi this week. We didn't have a long conversation because she is super busy with work and stuff which has made it harder and harder to meet. It was a good conversation though. 

Remember how last week I talked about how we talked to a potential named Erika, but her son was more interested? His name is Jackson and we were able to teach him the restoration and he seems pretty interested. He told us how he could see himself going down this path! He was also a new investigator! 

On Sunday we got blessings from the bishop to help us in our work. That evening we had some cool experiences. We tried by a potential we met last week, but she wasn't home. We decided to go by another potential we met a while ago and we were able to talk with her for a bit. She asked where the church was and talked about coming next week. We also saw another potential we found a week ago and gave him a Restoration pamphlet. As we were walking to the next place we had planned we noticed that the light was on at the one potential we originally planned to go by. We decided to try again and it was a good thing we did. She's the one that we gave the plan of salvation pamphlet to last week. We ended up teaching her the plan of salvation and she really enjoyed it! She would be a new investigator too if we were able to get a return appointment. She did tell us to stop by whenever and she was really happy when we gave her a Book of Mormon!

I'm really happy that I was able to stay here and see all the miracles I have seen this last week! It'll be exciting to see what happens next! 

As always, I hope you have a great week and until next time! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Forty-five:  Here I'll Stay [June 4, 2018]

Hi Everyone! 

This week has been great! Here's what happened. 

A  few weeks ago some members told us about a former investigator that they've seen a few times. We were able to meet him and this last Tuesday we were able to teach him and get to know him better. His name is Fred and he's pretty cool. He promised his wife (who was LDS) that he would get baptized and sealed to her before she died. We taught him the restoration and he agreed with it all. He even said that he believed that if there was one true church, he believed it would be ours. We have an appointment with him this week too so we're both exited to see how that goes. 

When we did service for Lynn this week we were able to tell him how the missionary program works and what we do as missionaries. We're hoping to bring up some more stuff this next time. We also had our lesson with Judy on continuing to learn and serve in the church. 

We got the chance to teach our now new investigator named Karen...sort of. We didn't really have an outlined lesson, it was mostly just answering questions she has about the church. Fortunately her questions are out of curiosity and not trying to prove us wrong. It'll be interesting to see how our next lesson goes. 

We've also been trying to meet with more members of the ward that we don't know. Some of the less actives we've met seem pretty open. 

We were able to get a few more potentials that sound interested. One of them we checked into and we gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet. It was a good choice since she just had someone close to her pass away. Another person was someone we had talked with last week named Erika. We ended up talking with her son more and he seemed really interested. Yesterday we went by a born again preacher who we talked with a while ago to see if he knew where someone lived. As he was bearing his testimony to us I felt that I should share a scripture with him and give him a Book of Mormon, which he accepted and said he would read from it. He seems to be pretty spiritually sensitive so we're hoping that the Spirit will speak to him as he reads. Finally we talked with someone who was working on his truck. He was really nice and said that if we ever needed anything that we could come by (he mentioned laundry too, who does that?!?). 

After a few weeks we were finally able to meet with Jeff. They've both been super busy these past few weeks and went on vacation as well. He still seems pretty on track with everything, but we'll probably have to go at a slower pace with Heidi. 

As for what will happen for transfers... I will be staying here with Elder Mills. This is the first time that I've had a companion for more that two transfers. After all the miracles we've seen as well I'm exited to see how it all plays out next transfer! 

Have a great week! 

Elder Jason Riches

Dinner at the Bergmann's