Training leaders, baptizing, and becoming: essential qualities of successful missionaries in the California Riverside Mission!

At the end of the week of outgoing and incoming missionaries, we began our leadership meetings, first with the Mission Leadership Council (MLC) on Thursday and the District Leader Training on Friday. We were excited to welcome several new zone, district, and sister training leaders. It is incredible to watch the growth and develop of these young people.

Zone and Sister Training Leaders--phenomenal young men and women--
all future leaders of the Church!

The MLC set a new mission baptismal goal for both June and July, very healthy goals that should stretch this mission and each of us. We also spent time on the following subjects: “becoming leaders and examples and establishing and maintaining the Lord’s culture”; “the why of accountability”; “setting up, following through, and assessing goals”; “adjusting to missionary life”; “working with ward councils”; “Preach My Gospel: following patterns” (strengths and weaknesses); “Sacrifice vs. Consecration and Sanctification”; and “expectation of leaders: becoming what we need to become." The Assistants (Elders Sorensen and Briggs), President Norman (Mission Presidency), Sister Hammon, and I were the presenters/facilitators.

Some things we learned about "becoming" what we need to become!

We have wonderful new and current district leaders! We extended the times for this training session because of conversations with district leaders and what we felt we needed to train on. 

New and current district leaders--all emerging leaders who continue to grow and progress and develop!

We touched on “becoming leaders and examples and establishing and maintaining the Lord’s culture,” “gaining trust of members and missionaries,” “kind and judicious correction,” the how of running a district meeting,” namebers vs. numbers,” “setting goals for the district,” “expectations of leaders and the Mission Training Plan,” “working with sister missionaries (three STLs—Sisters Harper, Marks, and Palmer—beamed in on Skype), “Preach My Gospel: short and powerful lessons,” “How to do nightly calls and using spiritual questions,” “PPIs,” and “Baptismal Interviews.” Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Well, it was, and we hope the district leaders left with a tablet full of useful information they can now share with their districts. Please ask your district leader about any of these topics.

Some things district leaders discussed!

We love baptisms in our mission. They have become one of the highlights we experience. Sister Hammon and I had the privilege to attend both Brandi’s (Sisters Marks, Fountaine, and Preator) and Jordan’s baptism (Sisters Rossignoli, Fortin, and Loranger). What great baptisms! I had the great privilege of baptizing Brandi. I had not performed a baptism for a very long time although I have attended many. There is something special about seeing someone come out of the water for the first time after being baptized. Refreshing. Rejuvenation. A change of heart. We enjoyed meeting Brandi’s husband, Daniel. 

President Hammon; Daniel, Brandi, and Janette; Sisters Marks, Fountaine, and Preator

Also, Elders Steed and Darling gave a restoration presentation at Brandi’s baptism. Plus, Sisters Gray and Fortin sang a special musical number while Sister Marks played. During Jordan’s baptism, Sisters Rossignoli and Fortin sang beautifully, and Elders Medearis and Komers gave the restoration presentation.

Elders Steed and Darling

A young man named Jordan came into the church because of his girlfriend and her family. What amazing influences are young women and their families on young men. 

Zach (baptizer); Jordan; Aliza; and Sisters Rossignoli, Fortin, and Loranger.

Enrique and his wife Isabela were baptized as well. Many missionaries have taught them. With great faith and spiritual effort they were both baptized.

Hermanas Padilla (who returned), Buitrago, Tonini; Enrique and his wife Isabela;
Hermanas Sorensen, Harper, Esplin, Flores; and Elders Osberg and Baily (kneeling)

Serving and being with missionaries continue to be two incredible privileges for us. As they grow and progress and develop, so do we. Like they are, we are becoming what the Lord wants us to become, and we are enjoying it thoroughly.

Outgoing and incoming missionaries in the California Riverside Mission

With missionaries coming and going, we had the privilege of attending a temple session at the Redlands Temple with the outgoing missionaries: Elders Heward, Beal, Hallows, Yang, Carrillo, and Jorgensen; and Hermana Grover. Elder Jorgenson went with us because he received his visa and went to India the same day as the outgoing missionaries. 

Redlands Temple

As the witness couple, we were able to be in the Celestial Room prior to everyone else. It was so inspiring to greet each missionary individually as they entered the Celestial Room. The room was so light and spiritual. After spending some personal contemplation time in the Celestial Room, we dressed and went outside for pictures.

Elders Heward, Hallows, Beal, Jorgensen (India), Yang, Carrillo; Sister Grover; and President and Sister Hammon

When missionaries go home, they come to the Mission Home to have their last interview with me and/or the mission presidency about their “My Plan,” their strategic plan post-mission. Plus, we have a delicious meal with them. For this meal, we had street tacos and all the fixings. Just divine! Sister Grover decided to break Sister Goodwine’s record of the number of street tacos eaten. I won’t tell you how many, but she did break the record (Sorry, Sister Goodwine!).

Sister Grove and her record-breaking plates of street tacos!

Missionaries for dinner

Once finished with the incredible dinner, we gathered in the living room and shared testimonies. What a wonderful testimony meeting we had. Here is a summary of the testimonies:

Elder Beal—“This is the work of salvation. People accept the gospel on their own time. As we share what we know, we can change lives.”

Elder Hallows—“The Lord can succor us (See Alma 7:11-13). I can always rely on the Savior. The Plan of Salvation has been one of my most favorite things to teach.”

Elder Yang—"The Atonement of Jesus Christ has been able to help me. Now, I need to think how I can help the Chinese people learn about the Atonement.”

Elder Jorgensen—"The month and one half I have been here have been the greatest. I know why I came here. I wasn’t ready to go to India. Now, I feel like I am.”

Elder Heward—“I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it helps us understand about the Gospel and how it changes us.”

Hermana Grover—“I have learned so much. I know my Savior died for us. He loves us so much. What joy and happiness we receive when we live by gospel precepts. I loved it when I was with my companion. She would say every day, ‘Are you ready to see the finger of God today’?”

Elder Carrillo—“The Savior sacrificed His life for us. There is nothing more precious.”

Sister Thorne—“The Lord has suffered for me and knows all of my struggles. I have learned to feast upon the scriptures, and I am still learning and growing.”

Elder Thorne—“You probably will not know what differences you have made while serving your mission. I have a testimony of the Holy Ghost because I have seen the tender mercies in my life.”

After the testimony meeting, we enjoyed some of Sister Hammon’s famous tres leches cake. Triple divine!

Outgoing missionaries: Sister Grover; Elders Carrillo, Jorgensen (India), Hallows, Beal, Yang, and Heward

Afterwards, the outgoing missionaries and I engaged in a companionship study. We studied light, one of my most favorite topics. We were enlightened, literally, by the conversation/ discussion and scriptures we read about light and the source of all light: Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. (See Doctrine and Covenants 50:24-25; 88:7-13, 49, 66-67; 93:2,12-13, 20, 28-29, 31-32, 36-37. Pretty much all of Section 93).

Outgoing missionaries: Elders Carrillo, Jorgensen (India), Yang; Sister Grover;
Sister and President Hammon; Elders Beal, Hallows, and Heward.

Tuesday morning, they were off after a quick breakfast and prayer. They were leaving from two terminals—everyone, except for Elder Beal, going out of Terminal 2. We said goodbye to them and watched them as the escalator carried them up and away. We did the same for Elder Beal in Terminal 4. There is something about missionaries leaving that tug at your hearts, cause lumps to rise in your throats, and tears emerge in your eyes. We love these missionaries and know they will do well at home.

All the outgoing plus Elder and Sister Thorne who leave at the end of June!

And off they go to the Delta gate....

And Elder Beal by himself to the American gate....

Later that evening, we welcomed Sisters Preator, Flores, Lee, and Kaiser; Elders Mills, Lai, Muathe, and Tran. Three additional elders—Elders Davis, McInnes, and Ngatuvai—had previously arrived from Nicaragua. We also were with President and Sister Wells from the Arcadia Mission who welcomed in a missionary. The Samoan Ward from the Moreno Valley Stake had just dropped off a missionary to go to the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission. They sang to her, and then they sang to our missionaries, too, as they came down the escalator. It was precious! We took the ones who arrived on Tuesday evening to the Mission Home to enjoy a chili verde meal and Tres Leches cake. Delicious! The sisters stayed the night, and the elders dispersed to the zone leaders’ apartments.

Elders Briggs and Sorensen (Assistants); Sister Kasier, Sister and President Hammon;
Sisters Preator, Lee and Flores; Elders Muathe, Mills, Lai, Acadia missionary, Tran;
and Sister and President Wells (Arcadia Mission)

The next day, we all gathered at the Mission Office and learned about Mission goals, focuses, rules, housing, finances, mission rules, cars, bikes, health and hygiene, and other Mission details. After lunch, I assigned them to their companions, listened to their beautiful testimonies, took pictures with Sister Hammon and me and with their companions, and sent them out to preach repentance and baptize converts. They are going to do spectacular! 

Hermanas Hernandez and Lee (new, going to Costa Rica)

Hermanas Flores (new, going to Costa Rica) and Tonini

Sisters Preator and Marks

Hermanas Kasier (new, going to Nicaragua) and Whitaker

Elders Lai (new) and Elder Nelson....Chinese

Elders Steed and Tran

Elders Svenson, Davis (from Nicaragua), and Bailey...Spanish

Elders Rivas, McInnes (from Nicaragua), and Moloney....Spanish

Elders Moon, Ngatuvai (from Nicaragua), and Dundon

Elder Mills (new) and Quinton

Elders Avei and Muathe (new, going to South Africa)

Missionary work continues to flow! With tears of joy and sadness, we watched missionaries go home, knowing they will be in good hands and are ready to embark on a new phase of life. It is definitely going to be the transfer of their lives. Then, we are able to see the missionaries enter the mission field, ready, eager, filled with a bit of trepidation, yet simultaneously filled with a sense of wanting to serve the Lord and become an instrument in His hands. They will—with the help of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, their companions, members, family, and friends.

And we march on…..

Good times keep rolling in the California Riverside Mission

Picture of crane at the National Memorial Cemetery (from one of our walks)

The good times continue to roll in great layers and sheets in the California Riverside Mission. We are nearing the end of a transfer, which means interviews, multi-zone conferences, and even baptisms.

Sister Hammon and I love interviews because we are able to see missionaries where they are serving. I enjoy having one-on-one conversations with them every six weeks. We can discuss many things in a short fifteen-minute interview. They are such good young men and young women who are striving—yea, diligently striving—to be the best missionaries possible.

This past week was filled with multi-zone conferences, one of the greatest gatherings we have. These conferences are where the ten zones are divided up into four different areas, so they can be taught in smaller groups. The topics are usually the same for each conference although the zone leaders, sister training leaders, and district leaders train on the same topics in their own areas. 

This time we combined La Sierra, Corona, and Jurupa into one multi-zone; 

La Sierra Zone

Corona Zone

Jurupa Zone

Moreno Valley, Mt. Rubidoux, and Riverside zones into another; 

Moreno Valley Zone

Mt. Rubidoux Zone

Riverside Zone

Menifee and Lake Elsinore zones combined into another; 

Menifee Zone

Lake Elsinore

and Hemet and San Jacinto zones combined into the fourth multi-zone conference.

Hemet Zone

San Jacinto Zone

What a great privilege it was to visit the four different multi-zone conferences. They were both very unique and very similar. First, the similarities: the spirit was strong in each of the conferences. The topics were discussed were “We make Christ our center by being obedient to His teachings and coming unto Him” by both President Hansen and President Norman. They spoke about obedience as the first law of Heaven and how important it was to be obedient. President Hansen asked: “Are we being obedient because of meekness or begrudging?” He then said, “If we want to center our lives on Christ or keep our center on Christ, we must be meek and obedient. In President’s Norman’s presentation, he counseled, “If we can learn to obey the spirit of the Lord, then we receive God’s power. God doesn’t give things to us randomly. There is always a purpose to teach us a principle.”

Of course, we had a few awards along the way, like the "Golden Plunger Awards" for having the cleanest apartments!

Elder and Sister Dickinson; Sisters Hackley and Van Quakebeke

Sisters Hammon, Hernandez, and Whitaker

Sisters Fountaine and Marks

Elder and Sister Powell; Sisters Bartschi and Neerings

Elders Davis, Beddes, and Hite

Elder Davis, Sisters Winters and Carson (matching dresses!)

Sister Hammon; Sister and Elder Powell; Sisters Moffit and McDaniel

Sister Hammon spoke about the daily schedule and how important it is to follow it. When we follow the daily schedule, we show the Lord that we will be obedient even doing the small things like getting up early, studying with our companions, going to bed on time.

             

I presented on 1) the Sabbath Day, 2) being obedient to the rules of the mission, and 3) “Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. We had a great discussion on how to teach the Sabbath Day to our investigators. That is one of the biggest challenges we have in the mission and throughout world: How to teach effectively the Sabbath Day. Many of the missionaries had great insights. Prior to mission, they were not necessarily converted to the Sabbath Day. Now, they look forward to the Sabbath Day because of the revelations and miracles they have seen on their missions because of Sabbath Day observance.

             

The Assistants, zone leaders, sister training leaders, and one district leader discussed device audits, high-level daily planning, short and power lessons, Area Book Planner and some of the challenges (syncing), elevating mission standards, and ministering as missionaries. It was fun and enlightening to watch the various “versions” of the same topic, depending on the area. For some, it was the first time presenting; for others, it was second or third time. Overall, though, they are learning how to train and deliver important gospel concepts and becoming more proficient at presenting in front of their peers.

The musical numbers were fabulous and continue to wow us. There is something about the missionaries and their singing and piano playing that marvel me. I appreciate the music that they selected and performed. 

The Relief Societies from the Corona, Riverside, Menifee, and Hemet stakes fed us well all four days. We love and appreciate what they do for us.

Corona Stake Relief Society 

Missionaries thank the Corona Stake Relief Society

Riverside Stake Relief Society sister

Hemet Stake Relief Society sisters

Menifee Stake Relief Society sisters plus Elder Powell

Plus, we have had a few baptisms these past couple of weeks. We love to attend them. Usually, the Presidency is able to divide the baptisms on weekends and attend them. We were able to attend a few, including a family of four. The spirit is really strong during baptisms. We love the missionaries who teach these wonderful people. Other missionaries give talks and present the restoration at the baptisms. Perhaps, one of the best parts is the number of members of the various wards and branches who attend and support those who are being baptized. The wards are definitely another new family of support for them.

Overall, we have had a sensational last couple of weeks. It is challenging to write about everything that goes on. Consequently, we just dabble in a few highlights here and there to show you just snippets of what is happening. The missionaries are happy. They face and overcome a host of challenges. They learn and progress and see things they would not normally see and experience anywhere else except on a mission. At the end of each week, they send a letter to me, filled with their miracles, their challenges they conquer and overcome, the great experiences they have, the goals they see come to fruition, the growth they feel, and the little and large spiritual epiphanies they receive during the studying and proselyting.

We love being here and being enlightened by watching their growth in so many areas and their struggles and how they just overcome them.

Missionary work showers us so many blessings!

President and Sister Hammon 

Sunset in the Mission Home backyard