Outgoing Missionaries from the California Riverside Mission attend the Rendlands Temple!

We thoroughly enjoyed an incredible day on Thursday, June 13, 2019 at the Redlands Temple with 12 missionaries who will leaving to go home next week—Sisters Parker, McDaniel, Peters, Hackley; Elders Casper, McInnes, Davis, Ngatuvai, Gallacher, Jackson, Porrazzo, and Escobar; and one missionary going to her mission in New Caledonia after being here for six weeks (visa waiter)—Sister Edwards. We love these missionaries!

Front: Sisters Edwards, Hackley, Parker; President and Sister Hammon; Sisters McDaniel and Peters;
Back: Elders Casper, McInnes, Davis, Ngatuvai, Gallacher, Jackson, Porrazzo, and Escobar

 Going to the temple with outgoing missionaries is a highlight of serving with them. Every six weeks, missionaries go home. As part of the many events prior to going home is attending the Redlands Temple for the last time as a missionary. We love going with them and enjoying the quiet, sacred time being in the temple with some of the finest people we know and have ever associated with.

All the missionaries going home or back to their missions with Elder and Sister Samuelson
who are serving here as Member Leadership Support. 

Many years ago, President Gordan B. Hinckley said, “Until you have received the sacred... ordinances of the [temple], you have not received all of the wonderful blessings which this Church has to offer. The great and crowning blessings of membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are those blessings which come to us in the house of the Lord” (President Gordon B. Hinckley “Recurring Themes of President Hinckley,” Ensign, June 2000, p. 19).

Elders Ngatuvai, Davis, and McInnes with President and Sister Hammon. These three call themselves
 "the refugees from Nicaragua." They arrived in our mission after their missions were closed.
 Incredible missionaries and leaders, all three!

Sister Hammon and I completely believe what President Hinckley said. In fact, to us, the temple is truly a place where we feel peace, a place where we can quietly worship, a place where we can and shall receive personal revelation, a place where our vision is open and we see things as we have not seen them before, a place where we can feel safe and secure from the evil elements of the earth, a place where the spirit of the Lord whispers to us, a place where the renewal of our spirit and soul culminates, and we become one with our Father in Heaven.

Outgoing missionaries in front of the Redlands Temple

President Hunter once wrote: “...the temple ordinances are absolutely crucial; we cannot return to God’s presence without them…[it is in the temple where] “we learn more richly and deeply the purpose of life and the significance of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ensign, February 1995, p. 5).

Facing the Redlands Temple

Yes, temples are special places, even the House of the Lord. May we all remember the reasons why temples are built and dedicated unto to the Lord: to seal families together for time and eternity so that we may live with them forever.

Sister and President Hammon at the Redlands Temple

Multi-zone conferences, spiritual experiences, and food galore!

This week has been one of those incredible weeks when the missionaries gather in three different areas in multi-zone conferences (MZC). We listened to and participated in a variety of trainings that help us become better and more effective missionaries and leaders.

First day, the Corona and Jurupa zones met in Jurupa.

Corona Zone

Jurupa Zone

Second day, the Moreno Valley and Riverside zones met in Moreno Valley.

Moreno Valley Zone

Riverside Zone

Third day, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, and Menifee zones met in Menifee.

Hemet Zone

Lake Elsinore Zone

Menifee Zone

The spirit was strong every single day. We enjoyed every minute of it. Part of what makes MZCs incredible are the phenomenal musical numbers. We have such wonderfully talented missionaries who sang and were accompanied by missionaries playing the piano, flute, and cello.

These were the topics the sister training leaders, zone leaders, and we trained on:

1. Spiritual Self-Reliance Principle 7: “We Gain Self-Reliance when we come to realize that the Lord requires hard things of us.”
2. “Increasing Baptisms and Retention”
3. “Now is the time: The Urgency and Willingness to Do the Work All the Time”
4. “How to Work Effectively with Members and Branch/Ward Leaders”
5. Skill Training: “Teaching a Coherent Lesson—a Beginning, a Middle, and an End/Invitation”
6. “Power of Family History in Conversion and Retention”
7. “How to Work with Part-Member and Less-Active Families”
8. Skill Training: “Faith to Pause”
9. Skill Training: “Contacting and Teaching in the Moment”
10. Summary, discussion topics, and invitations

The leaders did a really good job, expounding upon these topics. One of the things we did differently this MZC is the leaders previously met together in our Mission Leadership Council (MLC). Three companionships of leaders were assigned one topic. They worked and developed the topic and presentation together. Thus, every missionary received the same training throughout the Mission. Every leadership companionship were impressive in their training, their spirit, and their invitations and brought a wonderful sense of unity to the Mission. We were impressed.

A bonus was Elder Bruce and Sister Julie Jones from Hemet came to participate. They are the new Church Service Mission Leaders. Their mission overlaps our boundaries and are in charge of all of the young Church Service Missionaries in our area. The unique thing is Elder Jones is from Menan, Idaho. Can you believe two Menan boys serving in the same mission? Amazing!

Of course, the food was delicious. The Relief Societies from Jurupa, Menifee, and Moreno Valley stakes provided meals from pizza/salad to a baked potato bar to enchiladas, topped with brownies, ice cream, and “Sweet is the Work” bags full of candy and goodies. One of the highlights of lunch is when the missionaries recite 2 Nephi 25:26: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” Then, the missionaries sing “The Armies of Helaman.” There is not usually a lunch that goes by without someone—or lots of someones, including us—shedding a few tears as the missionaries sing this poignant missionary hymn. Some of the Relief Society sisters have sons and daughters and even grandchildren on missions. It is a happy reminder that their missionaries are being taken care of by others, too. We thank them for serving our missionaries.

Moreno Valley Relief Society

Corona Relief Society with High Councilor

Menifee Relief Society with a Bishop

Sisters and lunch

Sisters enjoying lunch together

Elders and food: Perfect match!

Of course, there are lots of birthdays from the last multi-zone conferences.

Birthdays: Sisters Gaughan, Durham, and Grant: Elders Newey, Webb, and Carlisle

Birthdays: Sister Dickinson; Elder Ballard; Sisters Christensen, Reynolds, and Rane

Birthdays: Sisters Weston and Anderson; Elders Castro, Escobar, Ngatuvai, Steiner, Atanascio, and Bailey

Then, there is the issue of clean apartments. We give out a “Golden Plunger Award” to the apartment in the zone who has the cleanest apartment after they were inspected by the housing inspectors who are Church Service Missionaries from each stake.

The quad: "Elders Mackay, Mills, Ottman, and Evans

Another quad: Elders Carter, Hunt, Steiner, and Chapman

Elder and Sister Dickinson (Housing) and Sisters Ellsworth and Foster

Elders Dalmas and Amago

Sisters Preator and Corder

Hermanas Stettler and Cardiel

Everyone multi-zone begins with a car inspection. We have only one picture. I am sure there will be others posted to the website. Watch for them.

Hermanas Rane and Maxfield with Sister McDaniel in the middle
who helped them wash their car while she was on exchanges.

Yes, we had a grand week with all of the missionaries in our mission! There are not many things that excite us, motivate us, and simultaneously exhaust us more than multi-zone conferences do. They were definitely a spiritual feast. President Norman who spoke on “The Lord Will Expect Hard Things from Us,” said it best, “It’s been my best week for a long time.”

Ready to recite and sing!

And thus it was!