WHAT A PROCESS

 Zone Conferences are a twice yearly event.  We are so glad we were able to attend during our first two months.  Four Zone Conferences in a row were held throughout the mission, from upper Illinois (Lake Villa) to upper Indiana (Valparaiso). 

Two zones meet together for each day.

The week before, the Zone Leaders met and planned the schedule and activities (like the one above).  Each day there was training by the President, the Zone Leaders, and Sister Trainer Leaders.  In the activity above, using boiled eggs (investigators) and tangerines (less actives) the missionaries discovered truths about working with their contacts. 

There are usually 50-70 missionaries at a Zone Conference.

We do everything we can to keep our missionaries safe.  Sister Abbott is handing out 72 Hour Kits to every missionary along with emergency instructions for any disaster.  (Whoops - I guess that depends on how you define a disaster.)   Safety instructions for cars and bikes are also presented.

At each Zone Conference, a local Relief Society prepares a lunch.  In our Spanish branch, they view this lunch as a way to honor and help the missionaries.  Almost the whole branch came to help. This was the main course.  Soup, rolls, and desert came along with it.

We always get excited after lunch when it is time for the missionaries to sing the lunch song.  The first time we heard it, We had helped prepare the lunch, and the song brought tears to our eyes.  The missionaries punch the word "bunch" when they sing it.  And they sing it like they mean it. 

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Four of our cute Missionaries, 2 Sister and 2 Hermanas.  For Willow Canyon 2nd Ward People at home, does one of these sister look like a Warnock? 

This group just finished their activity.  Proud of how it turned out.

Now there is a handsome crew!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sister Taggart, in charge of referrals and baptism records demonstrated with this poster how important referrals are.  Many referrals take our missionaries to bridges, parking lots, etc.  But a few pan out.  These dots all represent referral baptisms in our mission for the last two years - all because some missionaries followed up on a referral, even though the chances were that it might be bogus.

Our missionaries were excited that Easter and April Conference followed Zone Conferences.  To them, as they tell it, April and October Conference is like Christmas for a missionary.  I had to agree as I listened with new ears. 

No words can express the beauty of the experience we are having on our mission.  Some days are harder, but always, we are working for the Lord as are the people around us.

  I'm thinking ----HEAVEN ????!!!!!!!  Just need all of you here.