There is no typical day!

I have had quite a few people, including missionaries, ask me what my 'typical' day is like.  My answer?  There is no typical day!  Every single day is different from any other.  We sat down about 2 weeks ago and planned out our calendar for the rest of 2016.  Now that is putting on interviews, zone conferences,  MLC's, transfers, New Trainers Meetings, Retrainers meetings, some 'specialized' trainings, stake conferences, coordinating council meetings, visit from the Missionary department, etc., and all of the standard things that just have to happen for us.  It doesn't include Zone training or district meetings we will go to, baptisms, tons of other meetings that just happen with missionaries, teaching with missionaries, office meetings, and the thousands of phone calls with stake presidents, bishops, medical needs, and missionaries.  We also are waiting to hear on our Mission Tour from a General Authority in the fall.  So, the one thing we can say is that we get up early and usually we exercise, and then we try to get in our own personal study right after that, but sometimes the phone begins ringing and off you go!  But at some point we try to study--and then every day is completely different than the day before or the day after.  We try to go to bed between 10:30 -11:15...but this week we have crawled into bed at 1:40 a.m., midnight, 11:30,  and some other late nights.  We are really wanting to do better this coming up week because we are both a bit weary!
Wednesday afternoon Steve interviewed most of our departing missionaries, which is always a tender time for them.  I also go over their flight itineraries and have them fill out their customs forms.  Although they are excited to go see their families, they really do have mixed emotions.
On Thursday we held our Ward Council Trainings--one up in Calgary for all the northern zones (plus we broadcast it out to BC and Medicine Hat) and one in Lethbridge.  We felt like they went really well.  We had Elder Spackman, our Area Seventy, with us in Calgary, and Elder Evanson, our Area Seventy in the south, with us down there.  It was great to have their counsel and input.  We trained on how to work more effectively with ward councils.  We had 7 really concrete things that a missionary should do in either preparation or actually in the meeting.  Our ward council meetings are key to missionary work in the wards; so we felt this was a much needed training.  We have had good feedback from our missionaries on it.  We are very hopeful it will bring success!
Friday morning we held our 'New Trainers Meeting' for all of our missionaries that will be training the new missionaries coming in next week.  We have a great group of trainers and we have prayed about them and feel this is who the Lord wants to train at this time.  They are all always nervous and excited about this assignment.  But, we know they will do great.
On Saturday morning we left early and Steve dropped me off in Fort MacLeod because I was the guest speaker at their Stake Women's Conference.  It was a wonderful conference--the theme was "Walk in the Light of Christ".  I thought they chose a perfect theme.  I hope I added to the great spirit that was there.  While I was there, Steve drove clear out to Taber (1 hour away) to meet with missionaries out there, then came back to get me, then we drove to Magrath to participate in the Stake Conference there.  In that stake they were reorganizing the Stake Presidency, and Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Seventy, and Elder Paul Hintze were the visiting authorities.  We hadn't been asked to do anything really--just be there to support the outgoing president and the incoming president.  But during the Saturday evening session they announced we would be speaking after the congregational hymn.  I looked at Steve and kind of gulped, and said, 'well, here we go'.  During the hymn, Elder Cardon came over to us and told us to take 15 minutes between the two of us--so this was a little more than just sharing your testimony.  I said a little prayer and shared what came to my mind.  And Steve did the same.  He did a great job.  We hope we said what we were supposed to say.
It was a great conference, and we learned a lot from Elder Cardon and Elder Hintze.  I learned I need to be better at helping our missionaries recognize, rely on and act according to the spirit.  A particular instance came to my mind from the past week that I could have handled better...so I was grateful for what they taught, and I will be more conscientious about how I can help teach this to our missionaries.    I am so grateful for our General Authorities and how they teach us!  We are so blessed to be led by a prophet and apostles and other leaders.  I truly do know they are men called of God and inspired by Him to lead His work here on earth.  I know if we follow their counsel, we are following exactly what the Savior would have us do to be happy and spiritually safe.
All in all it was a great week.  This upcoming week is transfers and then our visit from President Russell M. Nelson!  Can't get better than that!!

Elders Reynolds, Murphy, Fullmer, Hewlett, Smith & Fuller (and Steve)
after a  Zone training meeting we attended this week.  It was great!