31 July, 2016 - Trainer Letter

31 July 2016

Wade and Marci Jewkes

                                                                345 E 450 S
                                                                Hyde Park, UT 84318
                                                                USA



Dear Brother and Sister Jewkes,

Elder Benjamin Coy Jewkes has been given the new assignment to serve as Trainer of a newly arrived missionary. He has received this assignment because of his dedication and unselfish service and because of the confidence the Lord has in him. He is a fine missionary.

The position of Trainer is considered the most important assignment in the mission, for it is the Trainer who establishes the foundation for his companion's success and the ultimate success of the mission. We appreciate his willingness to be an exemplary missionary.

We thank you for your continued support and prayers for your missionary and the work in the California Riverside Mission.

Sincerely,

John H. Mullen, PresidentCalifornia Riverside Mission

25 July, 2016 - What a week!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has sure been a hot one! We were sure blessed to stay hydrated and didn't get too burned...but now I have quite the tan lines from shirts, collars and watches. So anyway...

MONDAY- was the usual P-day stuff. This time we played Risk with a zombie twist...playing regular risk is hard enough. Then, we did our E-mailing, shopping, all that fun stuff. Then we had dinner with the Johnson's. We had tofu curry of some sort. It wasn't that bad. That was the basic extent of the day. Oh, and we planned for tomorrow (we are obedient missionaries).

TUESDAY- we had ZDM. It was rather unusual since the month was almost over. Anyway, it was super good, as usual. Then, we tried by some potentials and investigators with no luck so we went contacting to find more names to work with. After dinner, we went with a member to see good ole Daniel. He is doing well. We talked about his baptism interview and was all ready to go. Then, we started our exchange. I went to Echo Hills to be with my Zone Leader, Elder Chapman. Then, we planned for the ZL's day.

WEDNESDAY- was good. We got to see a recent convert named Joyce. A cool thing was that I gave her a baptismal interview! It was cool to see her again. Then we had lunch and visited some Less Active Elderly ladies. Then, we went on splits with no luck. Then we had a great dinner and tried to do splits again but one fell through so we went with their Ward mission leader. Then we exchanged back. It was good to be in a car for the day!

THURSDAY- we had Daniel's interview. He is getting baptized on Tuesday!!! (the 26th) we are super excited!!! It has been a rough process but through miracles, we were able to help him with his concerns and be ready to go. It is so awesome! Then we did our weekly planning and stopped by a new investigator. Then after dinner, we finished our weekly planning and planned for tomorrow.

FRIDAY- We went contacting in the morning to do so when it was cool. It was pretty successful. Then we had studies, lunch, and got in with Alec and Kiah. They are doing pretty well. We had dinner with the Gonzale's which is always fun. It was a birthday party for Luis. It was also less-active John's birthday a few days earlier so we brought him some Blue cake (we called it Smurf Cake). Then we went home and planned.

SATURDAY- we did our seeking in the morning again and picked up Lorenzo as a new investigator. Then we went to see Daniel again to finalize his baptism program. After that, we went to the Stake Pioneer Day Celebration. It was weird because I was there for last year's celebration. It was kinda a De-jah-vu moment. Kimberly and Ruben were there so we had a great talk with them. Then we tried talking to some more people afterwards then went home and planned.

SUNDAY- we had MCM, Ward Council, and church. It was good. Only Daniel showed up. Everyone is totally looking forward to the baptism though! We later found out that Kimberly and Ruben went to the wrong ward...again. We'll work with them later this week. Then we tried by some people, met with a recent convert named Kathy and we had dinner with the Gonzale's again since our dinner appointment fell through. Then we reported on our numbers and planned.

It has been a great past few weeks. The work is rolling along in Hemet. The missionaries saying is that "Hemet is Heaven". It kinda is. The people are really receptive and it is great to be here in Hemet and on a mission. I love you all. 

Until next time...

Elder Jewkes

18 July, 2016 - The Heat is on!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a great, hot, exciting week full of new experiences! It has been a blast! Anyways...

MONDAY- was just like any other p-day in Hemet: Basketball, E-mail, shopping, all that fun stuff. Then, we had dinner with the De Tomaso's. We also helped them move some couches afterwards since they are a little older. It reminded me of Office Elder Life. Then we tried contacting for the rest of the day and planned for tomorrow.

TUESDAY- we had a quick DLC at the Zone Leader's apartment since Elder Drebot was sick for most of the week. Then we got in with a member referral named Alec. He is super solid! He is open and accepts all that we had taught him! Then we tried by several people with no luck and we helped the ZL's: they needed a body to babysit Elder Drebot while Elder Chapman went to a lesson they had scheduled. I babysat this time. Then we went contacting and had dinner with the Gonzales' and taught a less active named John Gonzales while we were there. Then we went home to plan.

WEDNESDAY- was a good contacting day. We couldn't get in with anyone except a recent convert named Joseph... who I baptized with Elder Cornia last year (memories) and Kathy who provided us money for dinner the next day since she was going to a funeral. We had dinner with the Brown's, which is amazing as always and tried some more people with no luck then went home and planned for tomorrow.

THURSDAY-  we did our weekly planning... with brownies. Then after lunch we got to see Alec again and saw Tiffany and taught her the Restoration. Then we visited potentials and went contacting and used Kathy's money to get dinner at Carl's Jr. Then we went with our ward mission leader to see Daniel. He is doing well, but we need to push back his date due to word of wisdom issues. Slowly but surely. Then we went home to plan.

FRIDAY- we had our Multi-Zone meeting. It was super amazing! We had great training on contacting referrals, becoming passionate disciples, and having faith to do the Lord's work. It was amazing! That meeting was from 7am-5pm so it was rather long. We had dinner and went contacting for the rest of the night. Then we went home to plan.

SATURDAY- we saw Alec again in the morning. We went contacting and then we went with Scotty Campbell to see Leigh and her boyfriend David. It was a good lesson. Then, he went with us to contact some referrals. He also took us out to get smoothies. It was a relief from all the heat. Then we tried some people, had dinner with the Campbells (Scotty fell asleep while we were there because he works swing shifts at Big 5 and had 4 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours so he crashed on the couch. Then we saw the Redfern's, a less active couple. Then we went home to plan.

SUNDAY- we had Daniel and Mark come to church. It was great! After church, lunch, and studies, we tried some people and got in with Becca and taught her. Then we had dinner with the Ika's. First time I ever had a whole lobster. It was interesting. Then while we were contacting, we ran into Martin, who really wants a change in his life. He is super cool!

Well, that was the basics of my week. This upcoming week we have ZDM and have exchanges with the Zone Leaders. It is going to be a fun week. Love you all! 

Until next time...

Elder Jewkes

11 July, 2016 - Good ole Hemet!

Dear family and friends,

It has been an amazing week here in Hemet. The mission saying is "Hemet is Heaven" That is defiantly true. Anyway...

TUESDAY- we got our chance to E-mail since everything was closed on the 4th of July. It was all good. After E-mailing we had lunch and got in with Juan, Rodger, and Naomy (all investigators) and has pretty sweet lessons with them. We also picked up a new investigator named Tiffany. She is awesome!

WEDNESDAY- we were able to start of the day with 5 new investigators! #baptizingfamilies! It is always fun to find a family ready to hear the gospel. We had an appointment that we had scheduled a week ago canceled so we got to look for more people to teach. We were also able to see a Less Active named John. He lives with his brother and they are the best member missionaries in the world!!!

THURSDAY- We had a great service opportunity. We helped a Non-member move from our area to Fruitvale's area and she wants to start taking the lessons. Oh well, that is how missionary work is sometimes. The new investigator of the day was Ireen. She is a great lady who loves Christ. Things look good with her, she is just busy. HOW!!! No body works here...or works in Riverside. 

FRIDAY- after studies, we had our planning session which is always fun. Then, we spent most of the day looking for people to teach and visiting potentials. No one was home today...bummer. But we ran into this awesome lady who is in a pickle, but knows that she needs to come back to church and follow Christ again. She is super solid... but lives in the Little Lake Sisters' area. Our area is too small... and in downtown so who knows where everyone lives. Again, missionary work is like that sometimes.

SATURDAY- we were able to teach Regie...but he believes that Jesus is Black and said he'll read the Book of Mormon, but we could tell he wasn't that interested. After lunch, we were able to teach Hector who is going through a rough time and needs Christ in his life. Everyone has struggles in Hemet, but everyone is humbled to listen to our message so that's good. We saw our most solid investigator, Daniel. He really wants to be baptized...but he needs to work our some personal issues first. We also saw Cameron and picked up his 9 year old daughter. They seem solid.

SUNDAY- we had church. Only Daniel showed up so we are working on getting more to church. After Church, I gave my first Baptismal Interview for the Zone Leaders. That was fun. Then all of our appointments fell through and no one was really interested to hear more. After dinner, since it was later, we didn't do much for the rest of the night. Then, I collected numbers for the district and did the nightly calls. Goals are set. Work is ready to carry on!

So that was my week. It was also pretty hot...as usual, but it was fun nevertheless. I love you all. Until Next Time...

Elder Jewkes



 It is crazy how fast people are ready to leave and coming home. The package did come!!! Thank you soooooo much!! The pants were worn out and holes crept up. The bike is alright. We have a thing called "Mission Heat Alert Days". If it gets over 100, we get a text saying it is a "Mission Heat Alert Day" and they advise us to stay inside from 12pm-5pm. We try to move studies to that time and get rides with members to see people. Other than that, we call people to set up appointments and other indoor missionary work. Elder Maughan is good.  He is from Eastly, South Carolina. His dad is a Kayak Designer so he got to ride a lot. He wrestled in High School. He does have Dyslexia but that doesn't stop him. Yep, I have settled in. Everyone remembers me so that's fun! Most of the people moved on so that was sad, but that's alright. The ward is great, better than last time even. The ward mission program has gotten better, more members are coming out, people are feeding us. It's great. Same apartment. I think I am good with stuff.

 It is about the same when it comes to temperature. Hemet is kinda dry. Elder Maughan says it is a lot better than the humid South. It's "Hotter", but better. .....yeah I hope nothing happens to Tucker while biking. We got 2 people to church!! Daniel who we have been working with for a while, and Mark. It was the first time I met him so I have no clue about him.

9 July, 2016 - Regarding Protests letter from President Mullen

9 July 2016

Dear Brother and Sister Jewkes,

As you may have heard, protests have been happening nationwide and cities in the California Riverside Mission are not exempt.  We write to let you know that we are taking precautions to make sure our missionaries are not close to any political unrest.  The following is the text we sent to all missionaries in the mission:

Over today and tomorrow there will be several protests that have been scheduled throughout parts of Riverside County.  If while proselyting you come across anything that resembles a protest, please leave the area immediately and notify President or Sister Mullen.  This does not mean to return home, but to return to your car (or bike) and go to a different area.  Please do not linger to take pictures or spectate at the protest.  Thank you and have a great day!

Again, we express our gratitude for sharing Elder Jewkes with us in the missionary work of the California Riverside Mission and want you to know that his safety is our highest priority.

Faithfully Yours,

President John H. Mullen and Sister Jana L. Mullen

5 July, 2016 - Time sure does fly!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has caused me to reflect on where I am at now and what I have accomplished so far. I am grateful for this opportunity to be in the service of the Lord. Anyway...

MONDAY- was a usual P-day. Plus, I went to buy some new pants and a tire and tube because I ran over a screw almost 5 days before and it didn't deflate at all! Miracle! We had dinner with the Sanchez's which is always fun. That was basically it. They supply us with 2-5 gallon bottles of water so we don't have to drink the "Hemet Water". Thank goodness. It tastes super gross.

TUESDAY- we had our DDM. I trained on Extending commitments and following up on said commitment. It was really good. I had everyone commit someone to do something in "Popcorn" style. It was really good. After Lunch, we were able to start meeting with Cameron and Judy. Cameron was a street contact and Judy was a referral from a Recent Convert. They are awesome people. 

WEDNESDAY- We had a rather early appointment with Travis, 8am. We biked to the ZL's area because he wanted to meet with "Just us" but we plan on doing an exchange and transitioning him to the ZL's. Hope it goes well. Then we went contacting in the morning since we were out already. After lunch, we did our studies while it was 100+ degrees. Thank goodness. Then we tried seeing people with our Ward Mission Leader with no luck.

THURSDAY- We struggled to squeeze weekly planning in. We ended up doing it in sections since we had appointments scattered throughout the day. Most of those fell throughbut it was alright. Then we did some service after dinner. Bro. Herderich told us our "Service Clothes" were too nice so we told him that they wouldn't be as nice if we did more service.

FRIDAY- Was the big 1 Year Mark! I don't know what to say. I was able to celebrate with another Elder in the stake and the Little Lake sisters in our district. It was also Canada Day (Sister Keith is from Canada). We had lunch with the Stake President. It was good. After, we were able to meet up with an old Investigator named Naomi. We will see her next week.

SATURDAY- we had a blitz for the Valle Vista Sisters in my district. (I have all the sisters in the zone in my district). It was really successful. After the Blitz we were able to meet with a LA named Steven Hewitt. Good guy going through a lot. There are a lot of those in Hemet. Not much more happened.

SUNDAY- was church. We had Daniel come with us and he enjoyed it yet again. I got to meet with Bishop Minor again since he was out of town last week. He was shocked that I was back. He said I was lucky to come back. I think so... if I came back in the winter and not in the middle of Summer!!! OH well, the ward is amazing so I can't complain. After Church, we were able to see Richard and start the lessons with him. Super cool guy. Taught Bro. Gonzales' niece who isn't a member, and saw the Redfern's (LA) It was a really good day.

MONDAY (4)- 4th of July!!! It was awesome! Our mission president wanted us to be off the streets by 6 and that is when P-Day ends so we basically had a 24hr P-day.SCORE!

It has been a great year and I loved to see how much I progressed and changed and to see the person I am now compared to the Person I was last year. Love you all. Until next time...

Elder Jewkes