SURPRISE ZONE INTERVIEWS-BONUS Dress & Grooming Photos! 10/13

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THE INTERVIEW DAY AND BONUS GRESS AND GROOMING MODELS!!

Wednesday was SURPRISE-SURPRISE N ZONE Interview Day!
As many of you know, interviews are held quarterly between each missionary and President Taylor.  This is done differently mission to mission around the world.  Some are so far removed from their MP that they use Skype

 or a phone call to talk.  We are blessed to be within a couple hours of all our missionaries so it is a great opportunity for the Zone Leaders and myself to train the zone while President Taylor interviews.
The start of the day was introducing the importance of having PASSION for things that we love.  I have found that the things I have passion for while on a mission will most likely still be a passion after the mission...missionaries and missionary work, obedience, health, exercise, happiness, Doctrine of Christ and of course, PRESIDENT TAYLOR!
 We had an introduction to the new ADJUSTING TO MISSIONARY LIFE booklet that our mission leaders were trained on last week and which our new missionaries and their trainers have been using for a couple weeks now.  I got Elders Davies and Miller to role play for me in the first photo above.
We LOVE this new program, it fits with what we have been teaching!  If you would like to see the program yourself, click on this link and then it will direct you to log into your own LDS ACCOUNT in order to see it.   https://missionary.lds.org/m-content/bc/PDFs/AdjustingMissLife_Booklet-LowRes_6-7-13.pdf
Elder Rodgers came and trained on a new online accident reporting program the Church came out with that could make his job easier...all our office missionaries are incredibly busy trying to care for our 235 missionaries (so far).

These next few slides deal with MEMBER MISSIONARY RELATIONS.

Now, you might wonder, "Is there ever a problem here?"  Don't get me wrong, we LOVE OUR MEMBERS SO MUCH!  But, often they do not understand missionary rules or purpose and may actually encourage disobedience or weaken purpose in what they try to do to serve.





We had a series of role plays that missionaries acted out to see how we could tactfully maintain our purpose to INVITE OTHERS TO COME UNTO CHRIST while still helping our members know how to best serve.
Above, Elders Severe and Hancock take on an issue...something like disregarding the meal policy.
To the left, Elders H Peterson and E Jones do the same...maybe being asked to go help someone move during evening proselyting time when members can really do it.

The Poulins handled being asked to dress up in costumes and wear funny mustaches for photos very tactfully.


Other examples: it may not be the best to invite missionaries to every party held by members, even if there are less active or non-members there.  If they have time, they may stop in to meet them, but hanging out at a party does not meet their purpose very well.
Another was members contacting the missionary's family to get them information about the missionary's health or school registration or any other matter that should be handled by the Mission Office staff or Mission President or Wife.
We had a fun time acting many scenarios out!  Your kids are great actors.

We celebrated our September and October birthdays today as well.



HAPY BIRTHDAY ELDER SKALKA AND SISTER POULIN!!!

 An Interview Day tradition is GAME TIME WITH SISTER TAYLOR!  Todays game was a throwback to 2 years ago when SOCKBALL made its debut!
Here is your crazy zone with answers to MANNERS questions...or wrong answers to manners questions, whichever the case may be!
We had the TIES and the NO TIES...and I think the outcome was...
A TIE!!!

The final thing we discussed was our ONLINE PROSELYTING and how to tighten up in our purpose...now remember our purpose in everything is TO INVITE OTHERS TO COME UNTO CHRIST.
So do you see why your missionary is not able to just chat or receive answers to questions from their weekly email over facebook, or to just be told information that does not relate to sharing the Gospel?
Do you see how you can help invite friends to listen to or "LIKE" things that your missionary posts?  They are ready to teach online.  You can help!  Thank you for not distracting them with news of home etc. online.

Now, these last photos were as a result of our discussion on missionary DRESS AND GROOMING.  Look at the link to see some of your sons or daughters posing as models for my posters.  Elder Castro here is the perfect model of what a missionary elder should look like in his nice suit, shoes and sidebag.  Yes, ALL ELDERS coming on missions since July have been asked to bring sidebags.  It IS the new Church Policy.  I taught everyone today how to make a sidebag able to hold a hydrobladder as well.  It works.

This picture of Elder Zaugg is just a riot.  It is the WHAT NOT TO WEAR for elders and we had a lot of fun with it! (He had to work hard to look so bad!)


Thank you for your WONDERFUL sons and daughters.  They brighten our day each time we are with them.  Each one is so unique and has the opportunity to grow so much as they choose how committed they will be to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how obedient they will be to His principles.

They are all learning and growing, each at their own rate and from their own choices.  It is a privilege to serve with them!