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

Week Seventy-Four: Christmas Miracles!! [December 25, 2018]

Hi Everyone! 

First off I just want to say Merry Christmas! I hope all of you are having a great day and that you have been able to feel the Spirit of Christ this Christmas season! Now, that being said, onto my week. 

We had an amazing miracle happen this week! We tried by someone we had found tracting a while back named Gus. We've been having a hard time trying to meet with him and it was looking like it was going to be the case this time since they were getting some plumbing work done. However when we started talking to him and his wife (Jennifer) they invited us in at that very moment! We were able to teach them the Restoration and they really enjoyed it. Both of them said that they had not heard about Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. We were able to set up a time next week to share more with them. It's also really cool for me because I haven't had many opportunities to teach families as a missionary and that's always a great thing!

After some service we did for someone named Anna we showed her the Light the World videos. She loved them and while we were talking to her she told us about one of her neighbors who had previously met with missionaries. We went by a few days later and she sounds interested in still meeting with us! Her name is Linda and for whatever reason she was not in our area book. 

Most of the missionaries in Simi Valley came to our area to help us find people to teach. It was a really powerful feeling as we felt united in bringing souls to Christ. One of the houses looked dark so we were going to walk right by it, but I got the prompting to knock. Someone ended up being there and they said we could come back! I also got to work in my last area in Simi for a bit when we went to that area!

We've also had several things that have really helped us feel the Christmas Spirit. Friday we had our Christmas Zone Conference and there were lots of talks and messages given about the Savior. The Sacrament meeting on the 23rd was good too. One of the coolest things though was when we went caroling on Christmas Eve. Even though we were just singing songs, it was cool to see how much of an impact it made on them! 

I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas! I know being able to see my family and being with the members and missionaries this day have helped make it special!

Until next time, 

Elder Jason Riches

Here are some pics from the baptism last week. 

Hello again! 

It was fun being able to see all of you today!!! Thank you Trevor for getting it figured out! I'll be looking forward to May for the next (and final for me) Skype call home! I think you left before Jenna and I did. We got to say a quick good-bye to each other before it was time to leave. I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas! My day today is pretty chill. We'll be having dinner with some members later, but that's the only plan. 

Thanks for all your help and thank you for the care package! I was especially excited about the stuff for Grandpa's brew since I haven't had that in a year! 

I attached the picture of me at the Nightmare Before Christmas house. Sorry Audra, it looks like Zero got cut off, but you get the idea. 

I love all of you so much! I hope all of you have an amazing Christmas! 

Elder Jason Riches

Week Seventy-Three:  Olivia's Baptism [December 17, 2018]

Hi Everyone! 

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

I went on exchanges with our district leader Elder 'Anitony and as we were going by one of the Spanish people they had found a while back, we ended up going to the wrong door, which ended up being inspired since they were interested. When we went to the right house we ended up meeting their husband. Elder 'Anitony talked to him for a while (since he only spoke Spanish) and he ended up letting us inside. Apparently he had found a Light the World card on the ground and looked into it,but didn't know where to find out more, and didn't know where to look. It was pretty cool even though I couldn't understand much.

When we were walking around one day we ended up talking to someone named Neil. He told us that he has actually had some questions for us and we got into a little gospel discussion. He doesn't live around here, but he said he would be fine with missionaries seeing him where he lives.

We seem to be making slow progress with Juliana. She seems to be trusting us more and we're hoping to have a lesson on the Holy Ghost this week so she could learn to recognize when she feels the Spirit.

The highlight of this week was when I got to go to the baptism of  Olivia Neil. She was someone I had taught when I was first in Simi Valley. It was probably one of the most Spiritual baptisms I've attended! She has come a long way since I first taught her at the beginning of her journey. The cool thing too is that after all this time she said she remembered in one of my last times teaching her that I had bore my testimony to her and it impacted her. Honestly I don't remember that at all, but It was cool and reminded me that even though we get transferred to different areas we still play a part in the conversion process of the people we teach.

That is it for this week. I hope all of you good one!

Elder Jason Riches