Mission Leadership Council, General Conference Weekend

We have Mission Leadership Council once a month. It was a big group this time. When MLC falls twice in a transfer (happens once every 3 months), we invite the district leaders to join in with the zone leaders and sister training leaders.

In the morning we had training and instruction from Glen and the assistants. The whole meeting was geared toward the role and responsibilities of a district leader.

The Radfords provide the lunch for us. She usually orders the main part of it from a restaurant, he goes to pick it up, and then she supplies the rest. Like gigantic homemade cookies or yummy Magnum ice cream bars for dessert. Something like that.

They definitely like to spoil the missionaries.

Elder Radford is announcing there is lots of food left for seconds.

In the afternoon we had rotating classes where the zone leaders and sister training leaders were teaching. This class was about how to have an effective district meeting.

These sister training leaders were teaching about the importance of following up and how to do it. They brought props to spruce up their training session.

These sisters taught about going on exchanges.

These elders were teaching about creating missionary-minded wards and the role of a district leader to accomplish that.

These elders taught from a wonderful talk given by Elder Sterling W. Sill entitled "The Problem is Always the Same" and that is lack of leadership. Thus, leadership was the topic in this class.

An elder was having a birthday that very day, so he stood there looking very embarrassed as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

Last fall I was wondering if the leaves would turn colors and fall off the trees. The answer is yes, some of the trees do follow the same pattern we have seen back home in Utah.

The missionaries (including us) always look forward to general conference weekend.

Since Saturdays are our usual planning meeting day with the assistants, Glen invited them to our home between sessions of conference to have our meeting. The other missionary entered the mission mid-transfer and was with the assistants until transfers when he got assigned to train a new missionary.

We fed them a wings lunch before they left to go back to the church to join the other missionaries in their zone watching the afternoon session of general conference.

I enjoyed watching the priesthood session from home while Glen was watching it at the church. I loved listening to the fathers and sons singing. I especially enjoyed "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." 

It inspired me in my writing of my latest "Wave" article. We publish a mission newsletter once a transfer and it is always very nice when something I hear or read triggers an idea for me to write about.

I love hearing the divinely inspired messages our leaders deliver at general conference. There is so much good stuff in them. Glen and I both love to listen to them over and over again until the next general conference.

During the Sunday morning session, Elder Zwick told about 16-year-old Beau Richey who was killed in a rollover ATV accident.

At the hospital, when the police officer handed Beau's cell phone to his mother, an alarm sounded. Beau had set his phone to ring every day. His mom read the message "Remember to put Jesus Christ at the center of your life today."

Elder Zwick pointed out that "Beau's focus on the Savior gives great hope and meaning to Beau's life and life choices. It allows his family and friends to look beyond only the grief of his early death to the joyful realities of the next life. What a tender mercy for Beau's parents to see through their son's eyes the thing he most prized."

Beau's sister is serving in our mission (the missionary in the middle). It made her so happy to hear Elder Zwick sharing that story about her brother.

We were able to spend the whole Sabbath Day at home listening to conference. 

Glen ate some Starburst (Thomas family Sunday tradition) to make his Sunday complete.