Mission Leader Conference - a Wonderful 4 days
Mission Leaders from the North America West Area - October 2023
Last Wednesday morning Mark and I Ubered from our home here in Santa Rosa to SFO (San Francisco/Oakland Airport) We boarded a plane to Palm Springs for a 4-day seminar for mission leaders in the Northwest America Area. This included all the leaders from California, Oregon, Washington, parts of Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii. All together there were 29 sets of mission leaders.
Palm Springs California
We stayed at a Renaissance Hotel in Palm Springs California. It was a beautiful resort with a golf course and swimming pools, although we spent our time being trained in the conference rooms. It was well organized with delicious buffet meals. On Friday evening we had an outing to ride the Palms Springs Tram - Pine Ride and Dine Restaurant. It was a fun trip with a breath taking ride up and down the mountain and a great dinner at the top.
Palm Springs tram ride
The first night we sat down for dinner at a table where we had assigned seating. We visited with the three other mission leader couples, exchanging ideas and sharing helpful advice. As we visited with President and Sister LeBaron, President LeBaron casually mentioned that he had served his mission as a young man in the Netherlands. My ears perked up as my father had been born and raised in Amsterdam Holland and my parents Hank and Daryl Hoole had been mission leaders there in the early 1990’s. To my surprise and delight President LeBaron laughed out loud and said my parents had been his mission leaders! He grabbed my arm and said he was thrilled that I was a Hoole. He said he had been feeling badly that he wasn’t able to attend my dad’s funeral and that he felt it was a tender mercy to be able to connect with me. He and his wife had visited my mother right before they left on their mission. It was a tender mercy that we were at the same dinner table and a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted.
President and Sister LeBaron with President and Sister Quinn
Don’t you love the bonding that happens when you meet someone with a connection to your past. He showed me a photo on his phone of him with my parents that they had taken by a windmill on the first day of his mission in the Netherlands. I remember getting a photo at that same windmill. You can just see how the Lord is in the details of our lives. President LeBaron told us how much he appreciated all that he learned from my parents. And now he was able to use his experience to teach Mark and me about missions. He has been out two years ahead of us and had some great ideas to share. The Lord is so good as He finds a way to multiply blessings.
Young Elder LeBaron with Sister Daryl and President Hank Hoole - The Netherlands early 1990’s
The conference was amazing, and I took pages of notes from the speakers who were our NWA Area General Authority Seventies: President Mark Bragg and his two counselors Elder Gary Sabin and Elder Adeyinka Ojediran. Their wives, Yvonne Bragg, Valerie Sabin, and Olufunmilayo Ojediran also did some training.
The speakers spoke about our Savior. A favorite scripture of mine was quoted: 2 Nephi 25:25 “ And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
The Good Shepherd
They gave us this framed canvas print of the Savior. It was a wonderful four days. I am excited to use what I have learned for our mission and missionaries. Below are a few more photos from the trip.
Have a great day!
Photo waiting for the Tram Ride.
We all knew our missionary Elder Garside and took a photo for him.
The Carters are the Mission Leaders to a friend of mine’s daughter - Sister Gillespie. I sent this to her mother Lauren.
A photo with Elder Wilson our Santa Rosa Mission’s Area Authority Seventy. He is related to our friends Tim and Rindy Wilson.
