Three Zone Conferences--three champions at Paper, Rock, Scissors! Such excitement!
Even Sister Watson got into the action. 
I am amazed at how competitive these missionaries can be for a piece of paper and a roaring cheer from their peers. I think it has more to do with having sat through several hours of meetings.
Here is the group headed home a few days early to get into school. Don't they look great. Oh we will miss them.This was our zone conference week and as usual we held them on Tuesday in Medford, on Wednesday in Corvallis, and on Thursday in Eugene. We felt like they were well received and that the missionaries learned a lot. I did not invite my counselors or any of the local stake presidents to speak as I wanted my assistants and myself to have the time to share the last two lessons from the new curriculum with all of the missionaries. Sister Macdonald taught powerfully about the need for inspiration in our lives. She asked each missionary to take a moment and write down when they last felt inspired, and taught about eliminating things that can stand in the way of our receiving inspiration. As usual she did great! We also had the chance to meet a new senior couple who went straight to Lakeview last week. It is great to have them here.
Although the groups were a bit larger than when we go to each district for teaching and role playing, it was obvious that the missionaries really grow when they have the chance to immediately put into practice what they are being taught. We have always had some role playing with our zone conferences, but it was good to have more of it and see them immediately apply what they are being taught.
At the end of each of the zone conferences I told a story about the turkeys who wanted to learn to fly. They hired eagles to teach them. In the morning the turkeys were taught the dynamics of flight and in the afternoon they practiced take offs and landings and by the evening they were soaring through the clouds with the eagles. After dinner at the end of the conference they toasted each other, said what a good time they had, and then they all walked home. This analogy was not lost on any of our missionaries, and they committed to immediately put into practice what they had learned this transfer.
This zone conference we also held our annual Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. It was fun to watch the missionaries interact with one another and have a nice break for 10 minutes or so and then be ready for more training.
As I mentioned last week we have a large group going home this transfer and because of school start dates six of them went home on Friday. Because of this we had an extra departure dinner and had these missionaries stay at the mission home for a final testimony meeting and study time together. All of the missionaries we are sending home now are missionaries that we welcomed into the mission at the beginning of their missions. We have grown to love these great missionaries so much. It is getting even more difficult to say good bye.
On Saturday evening we enjoyed having the Smiths (one of my counselors) and the Hopkins (a stake president in Roseburg) in our home for dinner. On Sunday we went to the baptism of a young man here in Eugene. He received a fair bit of opposition from his family before being baptized, but still followed the Spirit’s prompting towards baptism. I pray that he will be solid in the new covenants he is making and that he will be able to influence his family for good in the future.
Although the groups were a bit larger than when we go to each district for teaching and role playing, it was obvious that the missionaries really grow when they have the chance to immediately put into practice what they are being taught. We have always had some role playing with our zone conferences, but it was good to have more of it and see them immediately apply what they are being taught.
At the end of each of the zone conferences I told a story about the turkeys who wanted to learn to fly. They hired eagles to teach them. In the morning the turkeys were taught the dynamics of flight and in the afternoon they practiced take offs and landings and by the evening they were soaring through the clouds with the eagles. After dinner at the end of the conference they toasted each other, said what a good time they had, and then they all walked home. This analogy was not lost on any of our missionaries, and they committed to immediately put into practice what they had learned this transfer.
This zone conference we also held our annual Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. It was fun to watch the missionaries interact with one another and have a nice break for 10 minutes or so and then be ready for more training.
As I mentioned last week we have a large group going home this transfer and because of school start dates six of them went home on Friday. Because of this we had an extra departure dinner and had these missionaries stay at the mission home for a final testimony meeting and study time together. All of the missionaries we are sending home now are missionaries that we welcomed into the mission at the beginning of their missions. We have grown to love these great missionaries so much. It is getting even more difficult to say good bye.
On Saturday evening we enjoyed having the Smiths (one of my counselors) and the Hopkins (a stake president in Roseburg) in our home for dinner. On Sunday we went to the baptism of a young man here in Eugene. He received a fair bit of opposition from his family before being baptized, but still followed the Spirit’s prompting towards baptism. I pray that he will be solid in the new covenants he is making and that he will be able to influence his family for good in the future.
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