Monday, July 7, 2014

Conducting the Multi-Zone Conference

Muy buenos dìas!

So today I turn 20 months in the mission........ Ya that`s weird to hear haha. 6 months to go! (Oh, by the way, I extended my mission until January.... think I forgot to tell you that before......)
 
Haha just kidding. Sorry, but I had to do it. It`s just too funny to think about mom`s reaction to reading that haha! No I`m headed home November 21st, like 4 and a half months or something like that. But don`t get too excited, still several months to go with lots to do. Not done quite just yet.
 
So this week was awesome. Tuesday morning, I got to practice with the other missionaries that were part of these 2 musical numbers that we were going to do for the conference with Elder Uceda, the area president. Then Tuesday night we had this huge meeting in Paraìso with Elder Uceda and all of the ward councils in the entire city and Montero. And we didn`t know that they were going to be there, but we found the missionaries from the south mission too. Got to talk with Elder G** for a second and he`s doin good. And also with a couple of Elders from my group that I haven`t seen in awhile, including Elder H**, he`s doin good too. Also saw la Hermana F** and we shook hands really fast because we had to book it to catch the micro (the ghetto city bus) to get home on time. Sat next to the Bishop of Paraiso ward and saw several of the members there too, it was like being home again being in the same chapel after a month. Also saw several members that I know really well from el Plan Tres Mil. Haven`t seen them for awhile, and at least they still recognized me haha! Basically there were lots of people and it was really really good the meeting.
 
So then on Wednesday, we were in the chapel in Paraìso from 8:15 in the morning until 6:30ish. It was like the all-day conferences that we used to have with Presidente Calderòn. So we had the mission leadership council in the morning, then the multi-zone conference that afternoon. Elder Uceda reminds me a lot of Pdte Calderòn haha. So we had 2 musical numbers right? One I was invited to help them out on the piano, and the other we were told that we needed to organize in our zone... There`s not a lot of musical people in our zone and I have this song that I really really wanted someone to sing. Well, we asked this one sister who plays the piano to play it, and she learned it really fast. Then we got this crazy idea and went with it..... So I was going to sing it myself. So we practiced it and everything was really good, except the voice part haha, but that`s not important. 
 
And then Wednesday morning, Elder S**, one of the assistants calls me up and tells me that Pdte Zambrano had asked that I conduct the zone conference for all of Santa Cruz and Montero. Haha ya ok. They had also told me about a week earlier that I was going to play the piano too..... So in the end, I didn`t play the piano for the conference and when they gave me the program so I could conduct, there was only the one musical number that I was going to sing with the sister accompanying me. So in the end, we decided to hold off on that one and just do the other because that way I wouldn`t have to announce myself as a soloist and then just stay there and sing and then tell myself thanks for the musical number..... that would`ve been really funny though.
 
........so........ long story short (haha joke). The conference starts. I had everything good and organized so that we all took pictures zone by zone with Pdte y Hermana Zambrano y Pdte y Hermana Uceda. Then Elder Uceda wanted to shake hands with everyone. So everything was good there too. And because I was on the stand sitting next to Elder Uceda the whole time, I was just going to wait until the end of everyone to shake his hand..... but then Pdte Zambrano told me that I had to be in the line too to shake hands with all of the missionaries haha. So one by one every missionary shook hands with Hermana Uceda, Elder Uceda, Hermana Zambrano, Presidente Zambrano, and Elder Groneman. HA! It was hilarious. Everyone smiling and greeting each other, then they see me next to Pdte Zambrano and they just start laughing...... Awkward. 
 
So then I started the conference off....... and it wasn`t workin out for me really well haha! De verdad, it`s definitely the worst I`ve even heard anyone conduct a meeting. Poor Pdte Zambrano. I actually feel really bad about that because he had the confidence to ask me to do it and such, but ya, oh well. Ni modo. It`s definitely going to haunt me for the rest of my life haha! The first time I really messed things up, I sat down after I finished and Elder Uceda told me I did a good job. Haha ya that`s funny. I told him that I was new at this haha. Then the second time I really messed things up (like it couldn`t have already gotten worst), I went to sit down and he put his arm around me and I just laughed super awkwardly and don`t remember what he told me. I`m not gonna lie, it was hilarious. Not going to forget this conference. And I know that I didn`t even mention anything about what he actually talked about, but it was really good and exactly what I needed to know how I can get better and finish my mission out strong. Gonna be working hard these next couple months.
 
This week was really good and there`s tons to write, but I`ve already bored you all with a super long story that I just had to write down because I didn`t write it in my journal yet and I had to write it down somewhere. And there`s no more time to bore you all more even though I`d love to if I had the chance haha.
 
Shoes for Parker. Yes. Buy a 3rd pair. You`ll be happy you did. The packet might just say 2 pairs, but that`s probably just because the mission didn`t want to change anything or didn`t read through it when Salt Lake sent it to them to review and change back in February/March. If the assistants didn`t want to read it, they probably didn`t change anything. You`ll want 3 pairs, and you`ll want to use a different pair every day. Don`t use just one pair until they die. You`ll regret it because they`ll die a lot faster and then you`ll have to buy a pair down here and you don`t want that.
 
Yup. That`s about it.
Nos vemos. [See you.]
Love you all.
Que tengan una buena semana! [Have a good week!]
 
Elder Groneman

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