The Hermana's Conference

The Mission provided a wonderful day for the Hermanas. We all met at the Mission Home with President and Sister Sloan and the wife of the first counselor and the wife of the secretary of the Mission Presidency on February 8th 2011. Sister Sloan is at the far right below. You will be able to tell President Sloan. He is the only male.

We started with bread and cream cheese and jam and hot chocolate. The young missionaries were so thrilled to have time to be together. They talked and talked and took hundreds of photos. There is no more than one companionship of sisters in a zone so they rarely get to see one another.

These two sweet women below each taught us. The one on the left talked about the importance of future goals but emphasized that a mission is a special time that requires all of our focus and attention. Serving the Lord on a mission is a unique way of preparing ourselves for whatever the future will bring and also allows the Lord to bless us always if we learn to depend on Him. Putting all of our energy into a mission now will allow us to reap benefits throughout our lives. The one on the right spoke about the importance of small daily acts of service given freely whenever we have the opportunity. It is good to plan ahead and allot time and energy for service but even better is to be aware of when the Spirit prompts us to do something right now for whoever is in our path at the moment. They shared inspiration and concrete examples of how to apply the principles they taught us.
Lunch was enchiladas. We all made them a bit differently. We had chicken and beef, flour or corn tortillas and red or while sauce. We North Americans loved it. It looked like the South Americans ate plenty also. There was also lots of cut up fruit and taco soup and garlic bread. We all enjoyed it. Afterward Sister Sloan and President spoke to us.
Sister Sloan talked about how much they appreciated the Hermanas and how every stake president always requests to have Hermanas sent to their stake. They are not enough to go around! She gave all of us scarves as a gift and said that whenever you have a bad day, wrap the scarp around you and feel the love of your Heavenly Father. It was very sweet and the scarves are brightly colored and beautiful. Mine is blue and yellow. The girl on the right below is wearing her new scarf.

We didn't go home until after we had cake and took a few more photos.

And here are the more mature Hermanas: