Training and S&I Area Directors Convention

This was a much slower week. We had a mission devotional on Monday morning so we decided to go into the office so we would be prepared for training our new missionary on Tuesday. We got caught up and even went home around 1:30 so we could run some errands before our Family Home Evening group that night. The Sister who was supposed to give our lesson had to bail on us as she tested positive for COVID. She had a very mild case because she has been vaccinated, but needed to quarantine all the same. SOOOOO, we decided to discuss General Conference for our lesson. We picked up some frozen bread that we thawed and baked fresh for our refreshments and bought a gallon of milk. I put out jam and peanut butter and it was a hit! On the funny side. We don't have bread pans so we put the three frozen loaves on the cookie sheet and put them in the oven on the lowest setting to thaw. Instead of raising up like they do in a bread pan they sort of spread out and even over the cookie sheet. They tasted great even though they looked very flat. hahaha. I think we may pick up some bread pans before our next Break The Fast meal since we are having soup, salad, and hot bread.

Our friends from the previous week, who gave a great lesson on Orson Pratt, never got around to their game, so we invited them to do their game on Monday since we didn't have one planned. We had a smaller group then usual because the weather has turned colder and some didn't want to venture out in the rain at night. I think we may see some if them start groups in their own apartment buildings. We can easily add some local residents to our group if that happens.

Tuesday was a very busy day for me. We started the day with our Zoom Zone Devotional. They are always very good and a great way to start the day. I spent most of the day training Sister Hunsaker. I would find snippets of time to respond to the never ending emails and chats I get to try and keep up with the little fires that seem to arise everyday. At three, Steve called from Floor 27 and asked if Sister Hunsaker and I were planning on attending the event that evening. I had totally spaced the call time and was busy showing Sister Hunsaker our PLUNET program. We quickly went downstairs to join the group for a delicious dinner and fun discussion. This event was the second of 4 weekly events for the Seminary & Institute  Area Directors Convention. The previous week the S&I event was at 7 AM. Next week it will be 7 AM again with the last week in October at 3 PM once again. I have to admit I didn't get much out of the event because I spent the whole time training Sister Hunsaker.

Wednesday was also spent training. Sister Hunsaker was doing very well working on her own with occasional questions. I was very pleased with how well she picked up on everything. Steve was struggling with some receipts so I was helping him going back and forth between him and Sister Hunsaker throughout the day. I had more time so was able to get caught up on most of the things on my plate.

We went to the office early on Thursday so I could go through my emails and set up what I wanted Sister Hunsaker to work on. We had our Thursday Zoom Zone Devotional by our Mission President. The whole presidency is taking a turn focusing on Pure Doctrine and emphasizing excerpts from General Conference. It was really good. Next Tuesday and Thursday we will hear from the two counselors. I really like our Presidency and we have become friends with all of them.

We had a first touch of snow on Thursday. There is quite a bit of snow on the mountains as shown in some of the pictures. We also had hail that stayed on the little overhang for a little while. By the time we went home it was dry but cold. And Friday was absolutely Beautiful.

Sister Hunsaker came in around 10 AM and said she had to talk to us. She then said she was being transferred to a different department. She was changing from a Full Time Mission to a Church Service Mission and going to work in the Seminary and Institute department. Although we were sad to see her go as she was catching on so quickly, it was not unexpected. We knew from the start this was a trial basis as the Mission President said they were trying to find the right fit for her. This mission was not the right fit so we are back to needing a Senior Missionary Couple to help us out. At least with General Conference over things are a little more manageable. 

Even though we only had 1 event we needed to attend we still had 14 total events for the week. The other 13 were all language coaching or Zoom meetings. This coming week we have 5 events we will attend. I'll talk about them in next week's blog post. Well maybe I'll talk about todays event before I post the blog. I'm excited for it as it is a member devotional for Oklahoma and Kansas with President Nelson! I'll talk about the other 4 coming events next week. 

On Friday I had a wonderful Zoom meeting with Season. He helped me automate a spreadsheet for Steve to help with his receipts. He doesn't do them very often so it is hard for him to remember what to do. Soooo, with Season's help we added a couple of buttons on the modified spreadsheet that will  automatically save the reimbursement form as a PDF with the correct name and in the correct folder. Then with another button he can automatically send the reimbursement form WITH all receipts associated with that reimbursement form to finance. Sean helped with the multiple attachments on Saturday. I am so excited about this new spreadsheet. This saves about three pages of notes that he has to do to process receipts. And since he is receiving a bunch of receipts from General Conference this will make it life a whole lot easier.

On the way home that night we decided to visit the little cemetery next to our apartment. The weather was gorgeous. Heber C. Kimball and his family are buried there. There is also a memorial to Newel K. Whitney on the same site. 

We got a call from Steve's sister-in-law on Friday evening stating his brother, Roy, was in the hospital. He is still recovering from the last time he was in the hospital (about a year and a half ago). On Saturday, while I was busy with the many things on my plate, Steve decided to go see Roy in the hospital. He had a wonderful visit with Roy and Vicki and was able to give Roy a blessing. I'm so glad he was able to do that for him. So, please keep Roy in your prayers for us.

Our event Sunday afternoon was the Oklahoma and Kansas Member Devotional with President Nelson! Our speakers were Elder and Sister Uchtdorf and President and Sister Nelson. They talked a lot about the history of the Saints in the area as well as current times. President Nelson focused his remarks on Joseph Smith and the translation of of the Book of Mormon. There were also a few video clips interspersed in the devotional. Most of those focused around Oklahoma and Kansas. It was a very nice devotional.

That about covers everything. As I said before we have a very busy week ahead of us. On Tuesday we have two meetings, one first thing in the morning (The next S&I Area Directors Convention session) and in the evening we will be doing the Worldwide Missionary Devotional with Elder Ronald A. Rasband. It was formerly called the MTC Devotional. On Thursday evening we have the North America South West Senior Missionary Devotional with Elder Alonso. And on Friday morning we have a Mission Leadership Seminar with Elder Gong. Monday is filled with several Language Coaching events including the 2022 Come Follow Me Videos. I wish we could be involved in those too.  

So, until next time, have a GREAT week. Please drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. An email, or a comment on the blog works just fine. We love hearing from you.

Love always,

Elder and Sister Wilcox