In preparation for our Christmas conference, I spent the day Monday trying to coordinate a missionary choir and special musical numbers and invite the missionaries to submit pictures for the slide show. I also have been coordinating with Becca Morton for the luncheon. She and her husband have overseen it for the past 10 years so she knows what she is doing. However, they will be gone this year to their son’s wedding and spending Christmas in the Northwest with all their kids and their families. Lucky for me, she still coordinated all the assignments with lead people prior to leaving so I won’t have to worry about much. Grateful to all that serve with us in behalf of our missionaries.
Zac had another golf tournament on Monday. It was down in Richmond on the Pecan Grove course, which he said was one of the more difficult he has played on. He scored a 98. Hitting with the new driver was a learning curve but by the end of the day he felt it helped him hit better. He is excited to improve and looking forward to more tournaments.
Allie and I worked on her class schedule to register for Spring quarter this week. I love that she involves me because it is something I can help her out with from a distance. Slowly but surely, she is getting her generals completed. This quarter she has been working hard on her math requirements and looks forward to having them all done. Happy dance. As she reflected on the past week beyond just her school work, she stated, ‘I’ve done a lot of adulting.’ She has and it’s good for her.
This week we held three days of zone conferences to introduce the smartphones mission wide. As we always do, we kicked off the conference discussing our purpose. If there was ever a time to make sure they know why they are here and what they have been called to do, this is it. Aaron is always striving to help the missionaries focus on how the Lord has given us a number of tools to do His work, and that the smartphone would be one of the many arrows in our quiver to move it forward. Our number one concern is distraction so Aaron used the marshmallow study referenced by President Uchtdorf in one of his conference talks as an example of patience and self-mastery. He emphasizied that we need to become disciplined at delaying things we may want now for something better in the future. Missionaries now have access to their email 24/7, Facebook, the Gospel Library app and many other “marshmallows” that scream to be consumed right now instead of at a time when it’s wise to do so. If a missionary isn’t focused on their purpose, the phone can and will accelerate the wrong behavior, conversely, it can also accelerate those that “get it” and know how to make the technology work for them in their efforts.
In preparation for the conference, the missionaries have been studying what is referred to as “Safeguards for Using Technology” for the last three weeks and it is a remarkable guide to help them stay grounded in their purpose. It teaches them that they need to always have the Spirit be their guide, to have a purpose in mind anytime they pick up the phone, to always be one with their companion, and to be disciplined. Aaron likened the scripture in Alma 39:9 on how we are to cross ourselves, or have self-mastery in all that we do. As many will struggle with temptations, we teach them to be aware and acknowledge that they have weakness, to choose instead of being objects to be acted upon, and to continuously learn and improve. The counsel and teachings are so good for anyone that allows technology to rule their lives.
I took time teaching them about the new online proselyting video resources and how to use them to bless their efforts with teaching and technology. The Church produced 30 new District style videos that teach the missionaries how to use things like Facebook messenger or video chats. In the short time, we’ve had the leadership on the phones, we already have several baptisms coming where most of the lessons have been done virtually. We still have the face to face emphasis, but for people who have busy lives and schedules, we can teach powerful, short lessons each day instead of a few each week. As with most zone conferences, I had a challenge to go with my portion. I invited them to watch all 30 videos in December and incorporate the principles and approaches into their teaching skills. It is important that they understand how using the phone can be a game changer for teaching and daily follow up for them as they learn and have the vision for how it can be used effectively.
A large part of our conference was a hands-on training on how to use the area book planner and other apps. The apps the Church has created for the missionaries to help them set goals, make plans, and keep their investigators progressing are amazing. The record keeping is a powerful way for us to increase accountability. Our assistants and two sister training leaders walked them through how to use the tools and it was awesome. They are so creative in how they are using the apps and as part of the training they brought in real investigators via video chat to show the other missionaries how easy it is. Really cool to see how our investigators are responding to the various forms of teaching. It’s new for us, but for them they think this is just what we do.
Throughout November, Jessie has been studying the colonial history as part of her social studies class. They had their colonial day on Thursday which included dressing up in time-period costumes, participating in activities that would be accustomed to colonist and their grade presentation of famous colonist. They made butter, had girls and boys school, a push pin craft, along with other crafts and an authentic lunch that Jessie didn’t eat but instead opted for her home lunch. ;) Later that night they had a special Colonial presentation at a local bank that I helped with dressed in period clothes as well. A fun learning activity that she will always remember.
The #LighttheWorld campaign kicked off on Friday. We are excited to share it with others. Each of us selected specific friends we wanted to share the #lighttheWorld to extend the reach of feeling His light more abundantly. I know all of us enjoy the light of Christ in our lives regularly however I think by participating in the initiative we can feel it more and bless others as we do.
Bode started bball games this week with a tournament. He and his team played well on Thursday and Friday but unfortunately the team lost today. Jessie had a cheer camp today as well and as a result is bouncing all over the house now cheering and dancing. Love that girl’s enthusiasm. All is well on the home front. We finally set up the Christmas trees and lights in the yard this weekend. Hard to believe December is here already, but good things ahead this month.