North Zone Conference in beautiful Khabarovsk!

Half of the missionaries serving in the North Zone actually fly to Zone Conference. Because of the huge distances between cities, this is another reason why the Vladivostok mission is quite unique. 

 Sisters Allison and Huber are the first sister missionaries in Khabarovsk since we arrived in July. They bring an enthusiasm and love to the people they meet...

 ...as do Elders Krieger and Barney

 and Elders Hutchings and Crave.

 Sakhalin elders, Vasil'iev and Shannon

Elders Owens and Schneider (role-playing street-contacting scenarios)

and Elders Berdnikov and Taylor awakened at 5:00 a.m. for a 1 1/2 hour flight to Khabarovsk.

Zone Conference was held all day with a break for delicious pizza (some cow-tongue pizzas were ordered by the Khabarovsk elders as a surprise for the Sakhalin elders who were told AFTER they ate their pizza exactly what they had just consumed. The pizza really was delicious and apparently is one of the most popular pizzas ordered, but I felt a bit squeamish about what I had just eaten...I fell prey to the joke as well :) 

ENGLISH CLUB (conversation classes)

One of the big successes in Khabarovsk is the English Club (conversation classes) held on Thursday evenings. Here Sister Allison is telling (in English) a funny story about her grandfather who paid a guy without her knowing to take her (Sister Allison) on a date. A Russian man standing next to her volunteered to translate her story into Russian. There was a capacity crowd in the chapel for the class which is held once a week. Many Russian people desire to learn English. These classes are always very popular. They are conducted by the missionaries in each of the branches of our mission.

One English Clubber brought a copy of Fur Elise by Beethoven for Sister Brinton to help him with "fingering"in the left hand passages.

The Sakhalin elders were stranded Friday evening as a big snowstorm passed through Sakhalin causing all flights to be cancelled into the city. The elders spent the night in an airport hotel in Khabarovsk, but safely returned Saturday morning.

Zone Conferences are a wonderful opportunity for all of us to get to know each other better. It is a time of instruction, of spiritual uplift, of setting new goals, of discussing challenges faced, and of having fun.