Busy, Busy, Busy - The Area Committee Report

Elder and Sister Shipley, Elder and Sister Cardon, Pres. and Sister Snow, Elder and Sister Golden

Once a year the Area Presidency creates an Area Committee Report that communicates what is happening in our Area. The is done through script and through a power point presentation. The report is given through video conferencing to the Area Committee which consists of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Seven Presidents of the Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopbric. So it is a pretty important event. Unfortunately I came down with a horrid cold when they needed me to begin work on the power point presentation and so the Area Presidency recruited Sr. Johnson to do that part of the presentation. Maybe this was just the Lord working things to His will. She is very talented in creating media. Sr. Johnson put together our Gospel English course, a beautiful manual filled with wonderful teaching pictures of Africans participating in gospel activities at home and in church. She has also created video training presentations for a personal business and is currently involved in developing a training video for the gospel english course. So you see she was much more qualified to do the work. Elder Shipley has been very busy helping with the script, and even creating a teleprompter for the Area Presidency...amazing to see his creativity.

The report was given last evening and it went very well. I believe it accurately described the church in West Africa. The faith of the people was illustrated in stories, the need for more economical and environmentally harmonious chapels, the precautions with security, and the development of leadership were all addressed in the report. It was a great experience for Elder Shipley.

It was President Snow's swan song. He leaves soon. A new presidency will take over administering the church in West Africa on August 1st. Elder Cardon will then become the Area President. We will miss President Snow. He has been a fantastic Area President: a great example to the Africans of Christ's love for His children, a man filled with Solomon's wisdom, and a man filled with faith in God.

The last 16 months has been an experience of a lifetime. We will greatly miss our association with these great men whom we serve. We have learned a great deal from them. We will miss their influence and their friendship greatly.