Our Second Zone Conference
Monday we went out for breakfast! A lot of places are closed on Monday's so it took us about three tries before we found a place open. But it was good!! After breakfast we spent some time preparing for Zone Conference. President always sends a talk and/or scriptures to study before coming. We really enjoyed preparing. That afternoon, Robert called and wanted us to come by and visit with him in his back yard. So we went and sat in his yard for about an hour visiting him and listening to his stories. After dinner I called Debbie Craig. She is a less active sister that I have come to really love. We talked for about 45 minutes. We laughed and cried and shared a lot of stories together. She is becoming a sweet friend.
Tuesday was Zone Conference. There are 3 Zones in Illinois and we all met together in Springfield, about an hour and a half north of us. President McKay always has wonderful messages and training to provide us. There were 3 classes that we split into. Our Zone Leaders taught one, the AP's taught another and then a mission couple shared a presentation on making our Christmas in the mission the most by focusing on Light the World. I loved it! She had decorated the classroom up like Christmas, with lots of lights and probably 5 small Christmas trees and nativites. They shared how this could be one of the best Christmas's we will ever have. Gave us lots to think about and prepare for. The Giving Machines will be here for a week and there are many inspiring short videos messages to share. Their message was to start now inviting people to come to church on the Sunday we have a Christmas Program. After the conference the Relief Society had prepared lunch for us. It's so fun to be on the other side of these lunches. They are very much appreciated.
Last week we had shared the Word of Wisdom with Andrew. We didn't really know how he felt about it. He was pretty quiet about it. Then on Saturday he left us a voice mail saying he wasn't going to come to church. He wanted to talk to his Pastor about things. We felt worried about him. So on Wednesday we headed over to his house to visit with him. We had called and left a message that we were coming but he wasn't there. That had never happened before. I was feeling a little discouraged about it. We met the Astle's. They were so kind and friendly to us. They explained to us that there was black mold in the church building and they could not come to church till it was cleaned up. They seem genuine in their desire to come to church just were worried about their health. So we are checking into it. We also met Sister Sutton. Although she says she never remembered getting baptized. Her husband was the member and he had passed several years ago. She was so sweet and we visited for quit a long time.
Thursday, Dan went to get a hair cut while I did some things around the apartment. In the afternoon we visited Brother Criddle. He was baptized about a year ago and is still learning about the gospel but comes each week. After our visit we stopped at a few other houses in the neighbor hood but no one was home. We stopped by the Barneko's house. We hadn't met them or knew anything about them. She actually came to the door and visited with us. She is so lonely. She must have mentioned how much she missed her husband 6 or 7 times while we were there. He passed a few years ago and she was living there with her handicapped son. We asked if she had a Book of Mormon and she didn't think so. So we left her one. She was so happy to have it, she just hugged it and kept saying, "I'm a Mormon, I'm a Mormon"
Friday was my Birthday!! 70 YEARS OLD!! It was a special day as I felt both my mom and dad close to me all day. I haven't ever felt that before. It was a sweet tender mercy for me. Brother Taylor needed help getting to a doctors appointment in St. Louis that morning, so Dan took him over. He is having Chemo and has to get the pump taken out after 2 days. Dan said he was so sick and hardly spoke the whole time. Which is pretty unusual for him. While Dan was taking him I had lots of phone calls, which was super fun. I talked to Carrie Langlois, Bille Grandy, Bonnie, the Sister Missionaries. It was a fun morning for me. When he got home we decided to head over to the Cahokia Mounds. That was an adventure. 160 steps up to the top and down again. But it was very interesting and what a great view. The mounds were made anciently and at the top they thought it was a temple. Pictures drawn how ancient temples looked. On our way down the stairs we talked to a lady who says she comes three times a week and goes up and down 7 to 10 times, I was really proud I made it once. Dan took me out for a steak dinner that night, bought me a new black sweater and a little Christmas tree! I was so excited and happy and to top it off I talked to my kids that evening. Such a happy day.
Saturday Dan took the car in for a quick oil change, then we headed over to see Andrew. We were hoping to catch him. He was there and shared that even though the Lord had given us the Word of Wisdom we each have our own agency to except it. I think that was his way of saying, he couldn't do it. That's okay, we told him we still wanted him to come to church and we always wanted to be his friend. We told him we would arrange for someone to pick him up for church on Sunday. As we were leaving he asked us if we could help him out with $20. So we ran to the store and got some cash and came back. On our way home we made a fast stop at Sister Traynor's. She had wanted a study guide for the Book of Mormon. So we got a Come Follow Me Manual and brought it over to her. That evening the Ward had a Truck or Treat activity. First was the Chili Cookoff, then a costume parade and then the Truck or Treat part. As soon as we got there they asked us to be the judges for the Chili and the costumes. I looked at Dan and he said, "I'll do it, but Sister Beesley doesn't eat Chili." Brother Webb was like, "What, I thought everyone liked Chili" Anyways, Dan and 2 other brothers did the judging. It was a fun evening and we actually got to meet a few more people that we didn't know.
Sunday we picked up Bernard Reed for church. He has been in a wheel chair since his accident, so when he walked out of his house we were so surprised!! He said his doctor said he could start walking as long as he didn't over do. A couple of weeks ago Dan and I had been asked to speak in church and then both got sick. So they had asked me to speak this Sunday and they would get Elder Beesley another time. So I spoke on Love, Share and Invite. It went pretty well. After church the Sisters were talking to Bernard about blessings. They asked him if he would like a blessing. and he said yes. "Why So Dan asked the High Councilor that was right there to help him and they gave Bernard a blessing of health and peace. The Spirit was strong. That night we got to visit with our home ward bishop, Bishop Cable for Tithing Declaration. It was fun to talk and get caught up with him.
The gospel is true and we are enjoying sharing it with so many people. The Lord is blessing us and we see His tender mercies each day.
I have now read ALL of your blog posts. I have created a shortcut to the link for your blog, so it's easy to find. You are both so busy. It's wonderful! God bless you both for your service. I can tell from your blog that He already has been blessing you. Keep up the good work!
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