A House Becomes a Home - Zone Interviews

  Zone Interviews take place every three months.  This is when a missionary is able to sit with President Clark and gain insight, share testimony or ask questions.  We generally have this as a Zone, and I join the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders to do training while the interviews take place.  

President Clark and I decided that we would like to see where and how our missionaries live.  We have so few senior couples, so inspections are not taking place.  Our mission Power Scrub was done on April 4th before General Conference so this is the perfect time for us to travel around.  The missionaries have been delighted for us to travel around to see them.   It has been a wonderful and humbling experience. The missionaries have been really great about making sure their home was clean and ready for our visit.

Most visits consist of the following:

Welcome and a guide of what will happen during our visit,

one verse of a great hymn,

prayer,

then we split up for interviews with the President and instruction from me.

I ask what they love about their house.  Many give some of the features that they like in the house and others tell me about the feelings they have while studying and learning. 

The missionaries then give me a tour.  We see the kitchen, their laundry area, CR (restroom), ref (fridge), study area, bedroom (sheets required).  

I give them a body map so they can better explain to me where the pain is when they call and the Powerscrub is on the other side of it (lest they forget).

We go over the items they should have in their First Aid kits and I have one medical item to add to their kits they can choose from.  

I share 2 Nephi 5:27 and we talk about how we can live after the manner of happiness.  

I let them pick a heart sticker and put it on the back of their nametags to remember the Savior's love for them but also the love President and I have for them. A good daily reminder.

We all kneel and President Clark then re-dedicates their home 

and we're off to the next home.  

We are making a large banner where each companionship has a "3rd Chair" - The Divine Companionship Banner.  It will go in the mission office when completed.  So each companionship poses for their picture, we leave cookies and apples and off we go to the next home. The homes are near and far from one another so it has been an adventure to find each one. There is also a wide degree of homes.  Some are very crude and others are very comfortable.  We have come to realize that the Spirit and the love of missionary work doesn't discriminate.  It has been a gratifying and amazing opportunity for us to see how our missionaries live.  

It has been a sweltering summer.  We often walk out of the home with sweat pouring.  This only reaffirms what we feel --- our missionaries are our heroes.  They work in the heat of the day. Most rarely complain.  The weather has been up to 52 degrees C.  This converts to 125 degrees F.  Because of El Niño, it looks like this weather continue for a few weeks.  We pray for the safety of these wonderful young people every day!  

We have been to 31 homes and have about 56 to go!  
These homes, and the missionaries that reside in each, remind us of heaven on earth.