Zone Conferences...

Family and Friends,

This week my companion and I had our first Zone Conferences. My focus for these conferences is to teach the missionaries how to work with leadership in the ward and stake and to encourage and liven up the missionaries. My parts have been about 50 minutes long during the conferences because we are given a specific amount of time to teach. The Assistants, the President and Sister Fortunato both talk, both the secretaries speak for about 15 minutes each. Then we have lunch and then we just do practices.

It's really interesting to me how much easier public speaking has become to me. I remember before the mission I was asked to teach one Sunday in Elders Quorum. What a mess. I didn’t even know how to TEACH! That is the biggest thing that I have learned on the mission, how to teach, not just talk. I remember that Sunday I finished my lesson with 15 minutes left to go in the meeting. So I just told them, "Well that’s it, I don’t know what to do now." So they all just talked about sports for the last ten minutes. But man, how things have changed dramatically. There should be some pictures on the Misson Facebook by now of the conferences, but I haven’t been able to take any new pictures recently. 

We moved to our new apartment this last week and it is awesome!! Other than that, nothing new has happened this week. 

Hope you guys have a lot of fun in Chicago and eat a lot of Chicago dogs for me. Send Aunt Lori and Uncle Scott a big hug for me.

Love and miss you all!!

God Speed,

Elder Smidt X