FINAL ZONE CONFERENCE- BUCKEYE/GOODYEAR & GLENDALE N ZONES June 2014

PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT INCLUDING A PHOTO OF EACH MISSIONARY WITH PRESIDENT AND SISTER TAYLOR 

We finished our final of the final Zone Conferences today...and we are still alive.  We had been dreading this day, but it ended up being just as sweet as each day of conferences because we were with people we love, doing what we love to do...teaching the Doctrine of Christ.

President Taylor began the day with a discussion about the doctrine of ENDURING TO THE END.  We like to think of it as "enduring to the endowment"...or "enjoying to the end!"

I have loved being able to focus on the Doctrine of Christ our entire mission...understanding it has been one of my the highlights of our mission...and knowing the difference it will make in each individual missionary means everything to me!

 Next I talked President Taylor and the Assistants, Elders Weiler and Bryant, to help with a health skit...this one we call MAN COLD!  It is a throw back to about 15 months ago when we first did it...check out YouTube for the Brittish version that is pretty hysterical.)

I encouraged the missionaries to know that SisterGriffin will be a wonderful mission Mom in helping them as they HELP THEMSELVES in their health care.  I told them that when we went to the MTC I was told to tell them to just BUCK UP in their health, but I never did.  I did not need to, they were awesome at learning to do it themselves!

Next I led a discussion about the focus we have been asked to do on FAMILY HISTORY!

Elder Bednar told us that WE NEED TO DO THIS!  It is "tithing slip easy" with the new Family Search.
We can teach:
ACTIVE MEMBERS
LESS ACTIVE MEMBERS
RECENT CONVERTS
NON-MEMBERS
because Family History is one part of the HASTENING OF THE WORK in Temple, Family History and Missionary Work!

If you have pictures or stories from your family, get them to your missionary to help them with this!

 President Taylor then showed a fun bike safety video he made just for fun...it was a re-make from one he showed a long time ago in the mission and it was really fun with new photos.  WE ARE A BIKE MISSION!  It is important for us to be careful and obedient so we can be safe!

 Next, Elder Rodgers did the CLEAN CAR AWARDS!  The missionaries work so hard to keep their cars clean for these inspections and they earn points towards extra miles.

We now even have THE GOLDEN PLATES AWARDS that you can look at in the web album of photos by clicking on the link above!
WE LOVE OUR OFFICE STAFF and appreciate them for their hard work and years of service!

 Lunch is a highlight...great to visit and get to know new missionaries, who we have a few new ones in these zones.

We really appreciate the wonderful wards and stakes who help provide these meals!  It makes it possible for me to focus on teaching and not on feeding!

 I brought our MISSION TEMPLE QUILT and it was fun to see everyone looking for their square.  We have built an entire Phoenix Temple!
LINE UPON LINE
PRECEPT UPON PRECEPT

 We celebrated our JUNE BIRTHDAYS!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
President Taylor
Sister Harris
Elder Graybill
Elder D Anderson
President Juchau

 Then we sang to them in every language in this zone.


SPANISH

TAGALOG (Philipplines)

HAWAIIAN...

 ...well Sister Hontanosas had us learn to do a dance and that was a lot of fun!

And check out the sweet leis that she and Sister Riches made for us!  ARIZONA LEIS!!!

 And Kings did French!
It was so good to have Elder King back with us after his heart attack a couple weeks ago!


ZONE PICTURE:  Seated on Floor: Sisters Harris, Rasmussen, Beazer, Hontanosas, Fleener and Riches.  Sitting on Chairs: Sisters Barton, McCoard, Clark, Adams, Hale, Hutchinson, Zelaya, Santana, Taylor, McAllister, Gacutan and Messick.  Standing below stage:  Elder and Sister King, Elder and Sister Perry, Elder and Sister Peters, Elders Beck and Brown, President Juchau, Elder Rodgers, Sister and Elder Cherry, Sister and President Taylor.  Seated on Stage:  Elders Crane, Lewis, Blettenberg, Madsen, Meredith, Parks, D Anderson, Lutz, Larsen, Cardwell, Oakes and Kroeger.  Standing on Stage:  Elders Bryant, Barley, Safford, Nokes, Busick, Pemberton, Graybill, O Neal, Mullenix, Weiler, Gardner and Perkes.

 After lunch, we sang our mission fight song, then went back into our meeting room and had two amazing musical numbers!

Our missionaries sound like angels!

 And Sister Santana is an amazing pianist and vocalist...today it was piano solo!

 After they brought the Spirit so strong, I got to take it and have an amazing discussion about how we can take the advice of Elder Bednar and

DECIDE NOW TO BE WEIRD!

We started by looking at the words "Peculiar" and "Strange" and looked to see what they meant in the scriptures, and how today we often use the word "weird" to describe how we are different in positive ways from the world at large.

 We made a huge list on the board of all the things we could think of...
for example, we as missionaries pay our own way...to bike in the heat of AZ!
We believe in marriage and family.
We go to Seminary.
We attend Church for 3 hours each Sunday.
We keep the Sabbath Day holy.
We talk of Christ and try to follow him.

We then had a discussion on what we can do to STAY WEIRD, it will be critical as the world separates itself even further from the Doctrine of Christ.  What we noticed was that we are able to live these principle based commandments because we have done it BY COVENANT...it gives us the strength and the power to live consecrated and HAPPY LIVES!
I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all that His restored Church has provided me that help me and my family to be truly happy...I did not say that our lives are easy or that my family has not had hard things.  Nope, we are not immune.  But I do know that by keeping my covenants, my family will be blessed!  I need to keep myself firmly grounded in keeping my covenants from baptism and the temple and do everything I can to offer those same covenants to ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!
Do you know how incredible your missionary is?  They merit blessings for themselves and their families and those that they teach and serve!

President Taylor then led a sweet discussion about the SUBSTANCE AND STYLE of any Mission President and Wife in the world.
WHAT we teach and follow is the same.  We have the same scriptures, "Preach My Gospel" and handbooks.
HOW we fulfill the responsibilities we have is completely different!
We told them that it is a lot like CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES...they have the same basic ingredients, but can be all different types: crispy, gooey, or even dough!  I baked cookies to bring to prove that point.
We told them how much we LOVE THE GRIFFINS who are coming in about 10 days.  Each time we speak with them we are filled with love for them and their desire to come and serve in this blessed mission.  We just know our missionaries are loved by them already and we are so happy to share this joy with them!

We greeted each missionary for a photo and a hug!  We will miss them so much, but be cheering for them from the sidelines for the rest of their lives!
We are grateful for the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that families can be together forever...including mission families.  Our goal for our missionaries is for them to be worthy to be in the temple forever!  Them, their children and their grandchildren!

 Google+ does a silly motion photo when they sense a series of photos so this one is pretty fun!

We love these great young people and look forward to great things from them in the upcoming years!
How could we be any more blessed than we have been in these 3 years of service...has it been perfect or even easy?  Well, no.  We have had our share of tough things, but WE HAVE GROWN!  We have been able to bless the lives of many and watch as they have done the same!







May we all continue to love missionary work and do all we can to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone possible!

We invite you to check in with us if you live in Utah or come through to visit.  We are cheerleaders for life for all our missionaries past and present. We will get you information on when we are speaking in sacrament meeting on July 13 in Provo as well.
May the Lord bless you as you support your missionary and this great work of salvation.
This is the Lord's work, and we are privileged to be a part of it.