May Mission Tour With Elder Stanfill

On May 10, we were able to attend our first joint zone conference/mission tour when we traveled to the Springdale Stake Center.

This is a combined Springdale/Ft. Smith photograph with Elder and Sister Stanfill, President and Sister Collins, and President and Sister Nelson who are part of the mission presidency.

After the photography, they asked us to line up as we entered into the Chapel for the Mission Tour Zone Meeting.  Each person was able to greet President and Sister Collins and Elder and Sister Stanfill one by one.  Sister Collins took this photo as Jena and Elder Stanfill spoke.

With each missionary, he asked them a couple of questions about themselves--from what we observed--a variety of questions.  They were all warm, loving and kind.  Then the first amazing thing happened.  During the times that Elder Stanfill led the zone meeting discussion, he called missionaries by name.  During that time in the hall, he learned everyone's name and in some cases, he knew who their companions were as well.  At first, it seemed like he called on people whose names he remembered, but as the meeting progressed, it was clear that he virtually knew every single person's name.  It is impressive but also so touching.  In President Collin's closing remarks, he commented about this gift to learn people's names and faces that Elder Stanfill had,  He said. "What he did with you, he has done in every one of the other five joint zone conferences over the past three days.  This is a gift he asked for and prayed for so that he can bless the lives of the children of God." Truly, we are loved one by one by Our Heavenly Father and Jesus, but also by these servants who love us.

We were taught by Elder and Sister Stanfill and President and Sister Collins about missionary work and loving with our whole hearts, using members to support missionary work, and many more things.  Elder Stanfill shared an experience in releasing a stake president where he had followed the spirit even though it seemed to be in an odd way during a conversation.  As he spoke, I realized he was talking about someone that we had interviewed as mission leaders in our first mission...a sweet connection.

There was a moment that I hope never to forget during the question and answer time near the end of the zone conference.  A young elder asked, "How do I know He loves me!" The outpouring of love that filled that chapel on top of the high level of the spirit which was already there was amazing.  And watching Elder Stanfill receive and then share his witness of that love for that specific elder was breathtaking and caused the tears to flow.  My love for the missionaries grew as well as we shared that experience together.  It tuns out later that many of the sisters and elders had sweet witnesses during this powerful moment.  God knows them and loves them one by one.

We have a list of missionaries that people back in Salt Lake told us were serving in our mission,  We met three of them here---one is the granddaughter of one of our zone members in Utah--Maria Moesinger and the other is the niece of some senior missionaries we met in the MTC.  We took the picture below to send to their families.  Sister Moesinger (the grandma) was so delighted to get a picture.

After the conference, we ate dinner with our district at Slim Chicken's   (very good) and then headed back to Ft. Smith.  It had rained that afternoon and it created these mists coming up from the streams and rivers in the valleys on the sides of the freeway.

Here you can see the mists on both side of the freeway.  It was so beautiful!

It was a wonderful day from start to finish,  These are the days of senior missionary life.