Toyooka Branch Conference - November 30, 2008

Sunday we attended the branch conference for the Toyooka Branch in the Fukuchiyama District. Sister McIntyre and I spoke as did Branch President Fujikawa and District President Tada. It was a wonderful conference. Sister McIntyre also taught a short lesson in Primary and spoke in the combined R.S. Priesthood meeting. Here are some of the sisters with Rika after conference and lunch. We love this branch. There are so many wonderful faithful families there. There is always a wonderful spirit in the meetings. I recently assigned two additional Elders to serve in this branch. The members are trying very hard to share the gospel. There were 7 non-members at branch conference and a total of 54 people in attendance. Average attendance is usually somewhere in the 30's. The branch set a goal to have over 50 attend and they exceeded that.

Above- Many of the branch members. By the time we took the picture, some people had left. Through the efforts of the branch presidency and home and visiting teachers, there were several people in attendance that had not been to church in a long time. One couple came for the first time in ten years. Some members brought their non-member parents as well. The missionaries serving here are Elders Kunihiro, Jones, Sorenson and Andrews. I suspect we will see some wonderful people coming to Christ here in the near future.

Here we are with the primary kids and youth. This is the future of the branch and I think it looks wonderful! I can imagine the day when these youth become missionaries and begin having families of their own. They are being raised by wonderful parents who teach them the gospel. We just love this branch, as we do all the branches we serve.

After the conference and lunch, Sister McIntyre and I travelled and visited two part member families with Presidents Fujikawa and Tada. We were able to visit the Kishida family and Nakashima family. It was wonderful to visit with these kind families. Both fathers are not members, but wonderful men who support their families and wives and have a positive impression of the church. The Nakashima's have a son serving in the same mission, Sapporo, with Erika. My counselors also visited families in the branch with other members of the branch presidency. It was a wonderful day.

The purpose of conference is to strengthen, inspire and increase the faith of the members. This was accomplished.