The Lake's Alpine Mission: Senior Conference in Innsbruck

On the 19th of April, we headed to Innsbruck, Austria on the train for our semi-annual Senior Conference with all the other senior missionaries from our mission. Our wonderful mission president's wife, Sister Laura Brown, posted a lot of fun photos from the conference on Face Book immediately after and tagged me in the post, so anyone who follows me on Face Book has already seen a post about this event. Well, now you will see and read my version of the event.

We were thrilled that the conference was held in beautiful Innsbruck. We have been anxious to see this remarkable city and we were not disappointed. But we were also excited to spend some time with the other senior couples. These are outstanding people who are serving here with faithfulness and dedication and giving everything they've got to bless the members, missionaries, and others in the Alpine German Speaking Mission. It is called the Alpenlaendische Mission here. This was an opportunity to share ideas and strengthen each other and be inspired and motivated to continue serving with hope and optimism. And that is exactly what happened!

We arrived in Innsbruck on Thursday about noon and enjoyed a lovely lunch sitting outside at the hotel. We had some wonderful workshops in the afternoon and then a delicious dinner at the hotel. In the evening, we had Elder and Sister Peery from the area office in Frankfurt speak to us. They are mental health advisors for the area. But they are also terrific missionaries. They shared some helpful information and some incredibly inspiring stories. We loved them!

Friday morning was a wonderful breakfast buffet at the hotel and then more workshops in the morning at the church, which was in walking distance from the hotel. All the senior couples participated in teaching the workshops or filling some assignment for the conference. We were on our own for lunch and then we had the afternoon free to do some sight seeing. One of the couples, Dean and Judy Wade (from Davis County, UT), gave us fabulous ideas for things to see and do. We were very blessed because the weather was absolutely perfect! A group of us took a tram to the top of the mountain and we trekked around in the snow and enjoyed the incredible view. We had dinner at the hotel and a delightful evening focusing on Family and Marriage.

Saturday morning was another breakfast buffet at the hotel, we checked out, and then headed to the church again. The Browns shared and inspired us all. We all shared "Tender Mercies" experienced on the mission which touched our hearts and caused tears to flow. It was a special conclusion to a special and memorable conference. We look forward with great anticipation to the next one!

We had a fun afternoon seeing more of Innsbruck before heading back to Ravensburg. I'm afraid the photos really don't do it justice!