Zone Conference Three
The third and final day of zone conference began with Dave, all ready for the day in his suit and tie came to the door of our bedroom and asked if we would like to join him for a small piece of fruitcake and cheese. This was charming....since I made the fruitcake - under Judy's tutelage. I had taken him one for Christmas, and this was the second in the batch that I took with me on Tuesday (these things last for a long time in the refrigerator).
So we sat in his kitchen for just a few minutes and munched on fruitcake, remembering our mother and talking about life in general. I can't imagine a nicer and sweeter few minutes with Dave.
We walked the very short way to the Hyde Chapel and the last zone conference began. There are now about 200 missionaries in the England London Mission, up from 176 a few months ago. When Dave was first called, he had the mammoth job of combining 2 missions: the England London Mission and the England South London Mission. He had well over 200 missionaries and from what I hear, reorganizing it was monumental.
He and Deb have done a magnificent job. Deb however, is not well. She is experiencing a lot of pain, and her face is drawn. She has been to specialists and is under treatment - and by the way - still runs circles around me and nearly every other woman I know. I am praying for her to receive some relief from the treatment.
The APs always conduct these meetings and they are doing a great job. They are only twenty years old, but they are actually apprentices to the president, and in most missions that is a choice calling. They learn so much. After about a half hour of regular mission business and training, Dave stood and gave his thoughts about the new program we have been working on. What he has said has been different every day - and every day I've been inspired.
He started today by telling how a very special person and friend gave him a gift for graduation from high school. The person was Deb, and she gave him a leather-bound book called "Jesus the Christ." He didn't read it for a few more months - and then it was while he was on his mission. He said that it was "life-changing." He then introduced me next with and art presentation and then Sister Call with an overview of the reading program.
It was such a lovely introduction that I just couldn't help but feel the spirit already when I began speaking. I spoke for 37 minutes again today....so much to say about the art even though I had cut the number of slides down significantly.
Sister Call talked for about 20 minutes and she did a wonderful job of telling about James E. Talmage, how the book came to be, where it was written (in his own personally assigned room in the Salt Lake Temple in 1915), and what we can expect to get out of it. Dave presented it as a completely optional program, but strongly encouraged everyone to do this. I think everyone realized what a blessing it will be for each of us individually as well as a mission to read it.
We left after lunch and drove to IKEA, where we picked up some things in the kitchen department. SK said we walked nearly one and a half miles just going through that big store. When we got out of the store twilight was falling. We started the hour or so ride home.
About half-way there, we came to one of the big roundabouts with four lanes entering at a time. If you are not in the correct lane when you enter, you are hosed. We went sailing off on the wrong exit. It was seven miles til the next exit. We got off and encountered another roundabout - on which we took the wrong exit. After another nearly hour of driving over hills and dales on two-way narrow roads traveling at speeds in excess of 50 miles an hour, we got home.
Ahhhh. It has been a beautiful week. I enjoyed it immensely. But isn't it great to chill out in your own place?
So we sat in his kitchen for just a few minutes and munched on fruitcake, remembering our mother and talking about life in general. I can't imagine a nicer and sweeter few minutes with Dave.
We walked the very short way to the Hyde Chapel and the last zone conference began. There are now about 200 missionaries in the England London Mission, up from 176 a few months ago. When Dave was first called, he had the mammoth job of combining 2 missions: the England London Mission and the England South London Mission. He had well over 200 missionaries and from what I hear, reorganizing it was monumental.
He and Deb have done a magnificent job. Deb however, is not well. She is experiencing a lot of pain, and her face is drawn. She has been to specialists and is under treatment - and by the way - still runs circles around me and nearly every other woman I know. I am praying for her to receive some relief from the treatment.
The APs always conduct these meetings and they are doing a great job. They are only twenty years old, but they are actually apprentices to the president, and in most missions that is a choice calling. They learn so much. After about a half hour of regular mission business and training, Dave stood and gave his thoughts about the new program we have been working on. What he has said has been different every day - and every day I've been inspired.
He started today by telling how a very special person and friend gave him a gift for graduation from high school. The person was Deb, and she gave him a leather-bound book called "Jesus the Christ." He didn't read it for a few more months - and then it was while he was on his mission. He said that it was "life-changing." He then introduced me next with and art presentation and then Sister Call with an overview of the reading program.
It was such a lovely introduction that I just couldn't help but feel the spirit already when I began speaking. I spoke for 37 minutes again today....so much to say about the art even though I had cut the number of slides down significantly.
Sister Call talked for about 20 minutes and she did a wonderful job of telling about James E. Talmage, how the book came to be, where it was written (in his own personally assigned room in the Salt Lake Temple in 1915), and what we can expect to get out of it. Dave presented it as a completely optional program, but strongly encouraged everyone to do this. I think everyone realized what a blessing it will be for each of us individually as well as a mission to read it.
We left after lunch and drove to IKEA, where we picked up some things in the kitchen department. SK said we walked nearly one and a half miles just going through that big store. When we got out of the store twilight was falling. We started the hour or so ride home.
About half-way there, we came to one of the big roundabouts with four lanes entering at a time. If you are not in the correct lane when you enter, you are hosed. We went sailing off on the wrong exit. It was seven miles til the next exit. We got off and encountered another roundabout - on which we took the wrong exit. After another nearly hour of driving over hills and dales on two-way narrow roads traveling at speeds in excess of 50 miles an hour, we got home.
Ahhhh. It has been a beautiful week. I enjoyed it immensely. But isn't it great to chill out in your own place?
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