Nope.

So..... I didn't get transfered... yet. Transfers are next week and we

still have no idea who is leaving. We didn't get to a computer on

tuesday because we were really busy. We taught an 17 year old named

Mario. He goes to school at Newark Memorial and we talked to him

outside a member's house. We had a good lesson on tuesday. He is

really quiet though. We also had the opportunity to bring along

Elijah, so that was great to hear him bare testimony.

Last week we had a pretty intense ward activity. It was a medieval

theme, complete with a kilted sword fight. It was cool and we were

able to get a less active member there who we've been working on since

I got here. A very well done activity, and lots of people were in

attendance. Missionaries love activities like that, because we have an

excuse to invite everyone to the church building.

This week, a senior couple landed in the zone. Elder and Sister Orvin

will be working with the ASL branch, and the rescue of members in some

surrounding wards in the stake. They will also help out with a ward in

the San Jose stake that has a n ASL magnet. It will be cool to have

senior missionaries in the zone. They will work really closely with

the current ASL missionaries. They still are learning sign language,

and they still have the dear in the headlights look. Senior

missionaries are the same as regulard missionaries.

Richard didn't get baptized last and has flaked on us a lot. We are

disappointed, but still working on him and are excited for all the new

and potential investigators we have.

Last Pday was fun. We hiked mission peak. It is a 2,000 mile elevation

change over 2.5 miles of switchbacks. Not too bad. I'm in pristine

hill climbing condition. Even though it was only 2,500 feet, we could

see across the bay in to Palo Alto, all of Fremont, Some of San Jose,

and Pleasenton and Livermore. It was a pretty cool hike. We saw a

rattlesnake, some hawks and a few squirrells.

So if you don't get an email from me next week, I've been transfered

and I'll be emailing next Monday, since most places' libraries are

open on Monday. If I don't get transfered, or I get transfered to a

place that emails on tuesday, then you'll get an email at the normal

time. Have a Good week!

-Elder James Richards

One of the districts in the zone

Half-way up with hald the group

Victory Capri Sun at the peak

the comp

The triumphant climbers

A hawk that was chilling. He let us get way too close to him.

Holy Conference!

This week was nuts. We had our temple trip, zone leader council, zone conference, district meeting, and general conference. Lots of time spent in meetings. We did pretty well. Our family didn't come to any sessions of conference, so we had to drop their date. Sad Face. Richard has been harder to reach as well. He's been to church enough times that he can be baptized whenever, but he chose the weekend of the 20th, which we think is great, and we're working for that. Still needs to be interviewed, and since he is on parole, it all depends on that interview. He's doing good though.

Earlier today was our Zone Training Meeting. It is a new meeting that the zone leaders teach. It is a great time to instruct the zone and just have fun. We did an exercise in street contacting, and the Elder that won got a signed picture of Elder Suzuki and I. It was pretty funny. We focused a lot on our goal for quarter 4. President has asked every missionary to have a hand in 3 baptisms between the beginning of October and the end of the year. That would be big if the mission gets even half that.

My favorite talk was Elder Christofferson's talk in priesthood session. He talked about becoming men of the Priesthood. We need to become productive, righteous, and capable men and priesthood holders. That goes against the current world view, but we need to step up and not be the stereotype. I really enjoyed priesthood session. Conference was good.

This week is week 5 of the transfer. I have no idea where the last month went. One of us will be moving at the end of the transfer. I could go, since I've been here forever, or Elder Suzuki could go back in to the Vietnamese branch, so we don't know what will happen. Whatever happens will work out. We're just trying to do as much as we can, in the time we have.

The temple was great this week. It is always nice to go up there. Cool thing is, it's 20 minutes from here! If there is traffic however, that's a different story... the temple is an amazing place. I really enjoyed it and the spirit that accompanies it. It really is the house of the Lord. Hopefully the FL temple stays on track for the end of 2013. Elder Platt was actually in our session the other day because Pleasanton came up for the same session. Pretty cool.

This week will be back to normal. Thanks for all the support.

Elder James Richards

A great sandwich

Hello all!

So this coming week will be the nuttiest week of my mission. Yesterday, Monday, was not PDay, since we are going to the Oakland temple on Wednesday. It has been way easier finding a ride here then in my last area. 30 minutes vs 2 hours makes a big difference. We also have Zone Conference, General Conference, and Zone Leader Council this week, so today was the only normal morning we had.

This past week was pretty good. We were able to see Richard before he went to southern California. He is very committed now to giving up coffee. There was a random member at the church when we were teaching Richard there and we invited the member to sit in. He rambled and was really bold. Elder Suzuki and I were getting really antsy, but Richard actually really enjoyed the boldness of the member. He left with a renewed vigor to give up coffee. Elder Suzuki and I left thankful that Richard enjoys the church as much as he does and didn't get turned off at all! He's doing great and the pressure from his family seems to be lessening. We are going to try and set a baptismal date with him for the 13th of October. He's been to church enough times and he's doing good. He'll still need to pass the interview, but he should be good.

Elijah is doing really well. He went to youth conference a few weeks ago and loved it more then any youth has ever loved youth conference. He was bummed because he had to work saturday night, so he had to leave early. There is a family in the ward that picks him up for seminary everyday and he loves seminary. He also blesses the sacrament weekly.

The Russell family is doing good. Teaching a whole family creates it's challenges for the missionaries. There are now 5 people with different concerns instead of just one. Kevin, the husband, loves us, but has been a little turned off to Sunday worship since he put a lot of work into his last church until the pastor got very money-motivated. Kathleen, the wife, is probably the most prepared and is sincerely searching. She committed to come this past Sunday, but something came up... Something always comes up... But they are a great family and are doing really well. They love what we teach them. It is cool to be able to teach a family.

 This past week we started teaching a lady named Bev. She has two neighbors that are members of the church and has known them for the last 30 years. When we were eating dinner at one of the member's houses, they invited Bev. She's been in contact with the church for 30+ years, but has never actually sat down with the missionaries until last week. We were a little wary because we weren't sure if we could be real bold, and extend strong committments, but we talked to the member and she said to just treat her like a normal investigator. I guess we were just intimidated by how much contact she has already had with the church.

Elder Suzuki and I were talking about it and we've been able to help 2 less actives right up to the threshold of activity, and another to being completely active. That is something really cool that the numbers don't reflect.

Also, today, I made the greatest sandwich of life.

Have a good week. I'm including some pictures from mission Pday and Newark days and such.

-Elder James Richards.

Crazy Elders at mission Pday

Elder Suzuki, Samson and I manning the booth at Newark days.

Year 2.

We were able to make our presence known in the community this past week. The annual Newark Days festival was this past week and we manned a booth with different ward members. We were able to hand out a lot of cards and talk to a lot of people. we were also able to generate interest in our activity on the 3rd of November. Since our WML loves photography, he has done free family portraits in the past. He touches the photos, puts them on a CD and we deliver them to the people who got their pictures taken.  It's genius in that it gets people in the church for the photos, and we have an address and we can try to pick them up as investigators. We also talked to a man who was pretty interested in learning about the church, so we're giving him a call today.

Last week we had a powerful experience while contacting. We were walking up the street to our car in one of the sketchier parts of town and I stopped to talk to a lady that was walking up the street with here son in a stroller. We got to talking, and she opened up to us that she was going that day to get an abortion. We talked to her and testified to her that families are forever, that our choices here have consequences in the eternities, and that the family is a unit that God has given us. She was explaining the father was abusive and he was in jail and that she already had a few kids with him, and that her keeping the child would still connect her to him, which she didn't want. As we left her, she had decided not to go ahead with the abortion. We got a number and tried to call her a few times latter in the week, but she dodged us, so we were worried she'd gone through with it. Then, at Newark Days, we saw her and she signed up for the photo event. She seemed happy to see us and was still friendly. We don't know if she went through with it, but we were able to testify to her and help her see the answer. I just hope she stuck to it. Families are so important.

New development: Richard answers his phone now. He told us about some pressures he's been having with his family. His wife and kids aren't the most supportive. They think he will get baptized and flake, or that he will get baptized and "mess up" and that will be some crazy egregious sin. They don't understand the atonement or repentance through Jesus Christ. Richard has decided though to keep coming to church and commit himself to the commandments, so that he can show his family that this is what he really wants. We're working on helping him meet ward members, and so he's met with the Bishop and has met other members. He's doing good and we're hoping to get him in the water in October. He really wants to get baptized.

The family we are teaching is doing well, and the grandma loves the relief society president. We're working on some member fellowshippers for the couple, and the daughter already knows members at her high school. Kind of nice that there is one High School in Newark, so all the members go there.

We've started teaching the 14 year old son of a less active member and he was in church this past week. Richard was as well, so we were excited to have two investigators there and some other Less active members, who at this point, aren't so less active any more. One man, who moved here from New Mexico after he got divorced, is doing great. He was away for a while in New Mexico and here, but he ran into the Spanish missionaries, who gave his info to us. He's been pretty much active since we had dinner with him and two young families. He knows people and even asked us if he had a home teacher and how he could start home teaching again. It's great to see people come back.

Some exciting news from my last area, a man named Tony is getting baptized. He is deaf and had been going to church pretty much every week for something like the last year. He'd been taught by the ASL elders before, but he had concerns and Fremont was so far away from Salinas that it made it hard. Now there are an odd number of ASL missionaries and where does one get sent? Salinas 2nd ward. I'm fairly certain that President didn't know about this, and so it's another testimony to me that where we are placed is inspired. I'm going to try to get a ride and go down to the baptism. Hopefully we can get there, it's a little far.

Yesterday was mission Pday which was fun. We went to a park in San Jose and did some service and play some sports and had a big bbq. I'll send pictures next week, we are crunched for time now because we have an appointment with Richard now.

Have a good week.

Elder James Richards

One. Whole. Year.

This week was pretty good. We taught Richard this week and went over the baptismal interview questions with him. As it turns out, he is on parole. We don't think it is for much longer, but we need to figure out for sure. We knew that, and President Watkins doesn't immediately rule all parole and probation cases out, so we still believe he can still pass the interview and get baptized. He is an amazing person and has already tried to do so much good and change his life. Problem was, he missed church again this last Sunday. Sad face. He still needs to come at least one more time. He's doing good and we should be able to teach him today or tomorrow. He'll be baptized by the end of the transfer, and hopefully by the end of the month.

Also last week, we made a break through with one of the Less actives that we teach. He is in his late 20's and is a returned missionary. He absolutely loved his mission and talks about it all the time with us. A few years after his mission he had an expirience where he was able to baptize a girl he was dating. He leaves to school and finds out that one of the missionaries that had taught the girl, went home, came back, and ruined everything. The girl leaves the church, and the guy that we teach is dealt a huge blow and goes in active. He hasn't really been to church in 3 years. He seems to be trying to move on, but as you can imagine, it is tough for him. It is horrible how one person can ruin so many lives. He volunteered this info for the first time this week, and he knows he really needs to go to church. His testimony is still so strong and he loves his mission. We're seeing him tonight.

Last night was one of the best nights I've had here. First, we went to dinner and the members had invited a non-member neighbor. We talked with her, taught a bit, and are teaching about temples and eternal families this Thursday. Member referrals are the best.

Also last night, we taught a non-member family. They are a referral from a member in walnut creek, who is the Dad's boss and friend. We've seen them a lot, and they already love us, but we were able to finally teach the restoration last night because the friend was able to come down from Walnut Creek. It was one of the most powerful expiriences I've ever had when teaching about the restoration. We were able to teach simply, and clearly, and also powerfully. The family has been prepared and we were able to commit them to be baptized on October 27th. Last night the lesson was with mom, dad, and Grandma. They also have a 15 year old daughter, a 9 year old, a 6 year old and a 1 year old. Hopefully we'll be able to start teaching the kids as well. They are an awesome family. We were able to help a few of their concerns. They were worried about a family member not accepting them as they were baptized. We talked about the power of prayer, being an example, and how important this gospel is. The Grandma, Geri, has a sister that was baptized and very active before she passed away, so Geri knows a ton about the church already. Kevin and Kathleen, the couple, have strong faith and want to do what is right for their family. They're awesome people. I love this family and hopefully I don't get moved before they are baptized, but if I do, I'll be back.

Elijah is doing good. He blessed the sacrament for the first time this past Sunday, and the ward is ecstatic to have two priests.  He is also attending seminary faithfully. He said he fell asleep one day this week, and I couldn't help but laugh. I never did that...

Also this week, Samson, a member here, got his mission call to the Alaska Anchorage Mission. There were tons of people there as he opened it (you know, polynesians) and he is a really example to his family. Not always active, he's turned around a lot, gave up playing time at one of the top Junior College football programs, and is an example to his family that includes his brother who just got home from juvy and his step-dad who samson baptized 2ish years ago. It is interesting that just like everyone in our stake going to the west, everyone here goes to cold places. I've seen two Canadas, a Utica, and now Alaska in the time I've been here. Good thing I didn't leave from the Fremont stake...

Well Newark is doing great. The mission is having a rough time however. We had 0 baptisms last week. It is the first time in at least 5 years. President is hurting, but he is setting a goal for 1 baptism a month, per companionship, for the last quarter of the year. If that happens, or even if we get close, it will double baptisms for the year. Hopefully we can make it happen. Most of the companionships in Fremont actually have potential to do that. President wants us to get things going in the last quarter.

Everything is going great. The members are awesome, the investigators are awesome, Elder Suzuki is awesome, the zone is awesome, and the first year was awesome. Talk to you next week from year 2.

-Elder James Richards

Another Transfer Down

So today was transfer meeting. Two of the Elders in the zone went home and one got transfered. I served with both the Elders that are going home in both this zone and the Monterey zone. Great Elders, and I'm sure I'll see them after the mission. Especially since on of them is a Chem-E at BYU.

This week went great. We were able to see and teach Richard again! His new baptismal date is for the 22nd of September. He is doing great. We taught him the word of wisdom, and we were afriad since he is a heavy coffee drinker. He actually embraced the commandment well, and is trying to quit. We're helping him and he's been doing well. He needs to be in church this sunday, so we're making sure he gets there. Elijah's still doing good, and has been a big example for the 15 year old girl that was just baptized in the spanish branch. He's been faithfully attending seminary this past week. 

This transfer we're going to try and work really hard to help the zone do even better. As for our stake numbers, we've had 12 baptisms this year. Ft Lauderdale with 92 is crazy! We're plugging away and have climbed up from being the lowest baptizing zone. We hope to keep climbing. Baptisms are down this year, but as a reference point, the Menlo Park (west of us) and Monterey stakes are leading the mission with about 45 and 37 baptisms, respectively. Most are hovering around the 20s. The affluency of the area makes it difficult, but the menlo park stake includes Palo Alto, so its not all about that. I've noticed the leaders make a huge difference. In Monterey, the stake president and bishops were always pushing the temple. Making the temple a focus for all of the active, less active, and recently converted members actually really helped missionary work. He're the leaders are starting to catch the missionary spirit, and our stake president loves all the missionaries in the zone, and the high councilman over missionary work is on fire.

Elder Suzuki and I are doing great and are playing the find new investigators game. We have some good potentials who hopefully pan out.

  

-Elder James Richards

Some Elders from the zone at transfers this morning.

Fre-money Zone.

So this past week was pretty good. Richard won't be getting baptized this weekend because he had the flu and didn't make it to church. Communication with him has been sporadic, since he is terrible at his phone, but the interactions we have had with him have still been promising. He'll be baptized, hopefully before the month is up.

The Fremont zone is doing really well though. The spanish Elders have a baptism the last weekend (the 8th) before one of those elders goes home. She is a 15 year old girl, who Elijah has actually had some influence over. He's been a good example to her. Her uncle, Jose, who is one of the coolest people ever, will recieve the priesthood and be able to baptize her. Other companionships are making break throughs. The ASL elders got someone to committ to baptism in the English ward they cover. He was of the I-need-to-know-everything-first opinion. It is great to see the Elders there doing work, because they are so young in the mission, but are excellent Elders. There are a few companionships still struggling, but we have such a good caliber of missionaries here that things are looking up. There aren't any problem missionaries, and it will be sad to see so many leave next week, since it is transfers. Hopefully, their replacements will work just as hard.

This past week we had 5 less active members that we teach in church. One of them is now toeing the line of activity and strengthening her testimony everyday. One man, Jess, came after we had a great dinner with him and some members. He loved it. It is great to see him there. He joined the church in New Mexico, while he was married. His Ex-wife is a member, who was less than faithful. After he got divorced, he moved out here with his family, none of which are members. It would have been very easy for him to be hidden and not go to church. The spanish Elders street contacted him and he told them he was a member. They referred him to us and we've been working with him since. He has a testimony and is actually very forgiving of some of the things his Ex did to him. He is a great guy and hopefully he'll be coming on a regular basis now.

Elijah starts seminary tomorrow, and we're going to go over the sacrament procedure with him this week. He was late last week, but he had mentioned he was really nervous. He's still going strong. He even walks to church when he can't get a ride.

The ward here is good. It doesn't turn over like back home. In fact, this ward is pretty old. There are some good young families though. Everyone loves us.

I'm including some pictures from Zone Training Meeting and other things. Have a good week.

-Elder James Richards

The Fremont Zone

We're cool.

This cat is my buddy. He wanted to go home with me.