Mission President and Wife's Seminar in the Mountains

Two times a year, all of the Mission Presidents and wives gather to be instructed by the Area Presidency.   In November, we all traveled to Baguio, a resort city in the mountains about 3 hours north of us (think of Vale or Park City located on a tropical island).  The setting was beautiful and the break from normal mission routine was welcome.  We arrived on Monday afternoon and stayed until Friday and took great pleasure in associating with 20 other Mission Presidents and wives.  We also had the Area Medical personnel and Administrative Support Staff at the conference.  We are with two MP's from Brigham City.  President & Sister Reeder (Naga) and President & Sister Tanner (Cebu East).

Most of our training was together but Sis. Ardern and Sis. Bowen spoiled the sisters for a few hours with our own special meeting.  It was great to be together to learn from them.  They have both been Mission President's Wives before so they know exactly what we do.

One of the four days that we were there, we ventured out to see the sites of Baguio. We visited a large workshop called Narda's. Narda is a gifted Bontoc weaver who revived the tradition of designing and dyeing threads in vibrant colors.  Each piece is hand-made.  It takes skilled hands and many days to create their unique pieces. It was fascinating to watch the weavers work their magic.

The doorman at Camp John Hey Hotel where we stayed. 

This is a picture of our Batch Mates 2014.  (Missionaries who are called to serve at the same time are said to be part of the "same batch."  All of the Mission President's and Wives who came in 2014, are part of the 2014 Batch.  There were 8 couples that came out together.  We are bookended by the Bowen's on the left and the Morrison's (Area Medical Assistant) on the right.  Our missionaries have tender feeling for their Batch Mates, and now we know why.

The last night of the Seminar happened to be on Thanksgiving.  We had a formal Thanksgiving dinner and after enjoyed the beginning of the Christmas season.

Baguio was great!  A Mission President's & Wives Seminar was even better.  We came away refreshed, rejuvenated and recommitted to our mission and our incredible missionaries.