October 1-2, 2011 - General Conference Time

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we all look forward to getting our spiritual batteries recharged at General Conference. This was the 181st one held, and it seems like the conferences just keep getting better and better. 

Brother Belgrave and

Brother Arana can be depended upon to never miss a session.   

 Who wouldn't want to listen to a real live prophet? President Thomas S. Monson seems to know just what we need to hear. 
"My beloved brothers and sisters, communication with our Father in Heaven--including our prayers to Him and his inspiration to us--is necessary in order for us to weather the storms and trials of life.  The Lord invites us, 'Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall fine me'  As we do so, we will feel His Spirit in our lives, providing us the desire and the courage to stand strong and firm in righteousnesss--to 'stand in holy places, and be not moved.'"

A baby is always fun to hug.

This was this little guy's very first conference.

  Attending conference can bring solace to the soul. Sister Jones's husband passed away recently.

Friends enjoy visiting, and

  children enjoy playing between sessions.

Jennifer is beginning to come to church once again,

and her son is planning to be baptized very soon.

Kiera was baptized a few days ago. She has had a special glow about her ever since, and she said she loved conference. She is grateful for the knowledge that Jesus Christ is her redeemer and that He is at the head of this Church. 

This week we went to the airport to pick up Elder Gillett, who just completed and returned from his mission in the Dominican Republic.

 His family has long looked forward to this day.

Elder Gillett gets reacquainted with his nephew, who was only a baby when he left. 

After taking his family home, we brought Elder Gillett to our house, so that he could be released by President Pattee. Now we can call him by his first name, Isaiah. His testimony and missionary skills will surely help him be a great strength  in his home branch.

The temperatures are finally cooling down just a bit, and the flowers are coming out again. 

Our landlady recently provided us with a new clothesline area. It is nice to have a place just outside our house to hang the clothes. Notice the big black container at the right.   It is for catching rainwater as it comes off the roof.  Most every home here has at least one. Our landlady has several around her property. They make for good water storage. Rainy season is June through October. We've had lots of rain lately.

We attended another Strength of Youth meeting (SOY) in Belmopan this week. Also, leadership training is ongoing here. Elder Pattee often meets with branch presidents individually, and Sister Pattee attended a Relief Society presidency meeting.