Zone conferences are some of the most anticipated activities of our mission. For us it's all about being with the missionaries. For the missionaries, it's all about the treat that Sister Turner prepares for them. We both get our fill!
The theme of our conference this transfer is "mission unity". For a mission to be 'one', it starts with the basic companionship. We are focusing on good working relationships. The average zone has about 20 missionaries. Some have more, some less.
Included in the training is health and cleanliness. Sister Turner helps them focus on their exercise time, drinking lots of fluids in the very hot and humid weather we are 'enjoying', and cleanliness of living quarters. All seem to need improvement. We started with the Incheon Zone.
They can be serious,
and they can be less than serious...
We also like to celebrate birthdays. With the heavy lunch and warm weather, rather than a cake or other pastry, we had a refreshing drink of watermelon, pineapple, kiwi, and Sprite to celebrate with. Not everyone gets to have their birthday on zone conference.
We next had the Gangseo Zone,
You have to be careful you don't leave your camera alone for a moment. It takes random pictures of whoever is standing in front of it.
These sisters sang a wonderful number that was too long to put on the blog, but if you want to see it on-line, you can go to our facebook account: KSSM Pres Turner.
They are all very attentive students. The zone leaders trained, the sister training leaders trained, and President Turner also had some time. The Assistants had some awesome training skits as well.
Next up was the Gyeonggi Zone.
We have been alternating between common Hawaiian hay stacks and a Mexican version. Today was the Mexican version for your viewing pleasure. Very little remaining, not even a smell! They really enjoyed this.
More training...
More pictures
The sister front and center was going home in two days so they all had to pose like pictures from her home country of Thailand!
This elder from the Philippines amazed us all with his sweet voice as he sang a solo.
This sweet sister from Thailand returned home this week for health treatment. We had a final meal together with her and her companion before taking her to the airport the next morning.
This sister worked doubly hard because all the learning in Korean required her to have a better understanding of English first since all our materials are between English and Korean. She had a good foundation. She worked hard and faithfully. We will miss her so much.
We like to celebrate all the accomplishments of our missionaries, like the fact he had his braces removed earlier in the day and he is now a different man. Five years is a long time!
There is always the random picture for the grandkids that has to be added... He looked like we felt. The heat index was 112 at this time. Your sons and daughters are doing amazing despite the weather.
We had to have the camera help us get a picture of our staff meeting. We meet each Monday evening for an hour to discuss the affairs of the mission.
One video for your entertainment. I'm sorry it goes by so fast. The intent was to show you that the town of Bucheon has a length of road decorated with old bicycles painted in bright colors. Sorry if you get sick trying to watch it. If you pause it occasionally, you'll see the bikes.
We look forward to next week and another set of zone conferences. Additionally, we also start our next round of interviews. New companionships, new challenges, new goals, new opportunities. They are all hot and tired at the end of the day. But they continue to be pioneers working through any challenge that comes their way. We couldn't be happier or have bigger smiles. We hope you do too!
