Christmas Conference 2013

  This is probably my favorite Conference we do in our mission. I love to see ALL our missionaries together. The Spirit is incredible strong. This year we had 274 young missionaries, 2 senior sisters, 11 couples, President and Sister Raehl and Larson as well as Andy and Kellie. A huge thank you to Tim Wilson and crew who cooked breakfast for all of us. Tim came in and told me, he had cooked 1000 strips of bacon and we were running low. They also cooked mountains of pancakes. Also, Thank you Nan Cowley for somehow getting 300 people in one picture.
  We started with an opening training that included testimonies from President and Sister Raehl and Larson. We then had breakfast and migrated two blocks to a school to take our picture. when we returned we played the right / left game (thank you Karolyn for writing the poem) Then we did something new. We sang the 12 days of Christmas. But we sang "The 12 Months of My Mission My President Gave To Me". It was amazingly funny. Each zone was a different month. Thank you Elder Zilles for the idea. We then had a program by the Missionaries starting with a video of the baptism pictures that were sent in. Maybe I will try and post that, because it really is quite good. The program was of some of the missionaries miracles, Musical numbers and narration by the Assistants Elders Berry and Wasden. We ended with a testimony by myself and training by President Killpack.
   As I looked over these amazing young men and women, as well as senior couples, who have all left their families at this special time of year to serve The Lord, I was indeed grateful and humble to be able to say I too am a missionary in the great ATM!